Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the decision tree regarding when your child should stay home from school. Guidelines may be subject to change.

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/symptoms.html#symptoms

Please reference the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) What Happens if There is A COVID-19 Case

School COVID-19 Response

We will work directly with and seek guidance from the MDH if there is a case(s) in the school.  Based on the recommendations of the MDH, a determination will then be made about who, if anyone, will need to quarantine and any potential closure of the school including the possibility of a short closure for cleaning.  

Yes. Cleaning of spaces will follow the guidelines of the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). 

https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/clean.html

Common areas and bathrooms will be wiped down at least 2 times per day. We are developing a detailed cleaning log to ensure all cleaning is recorded.

We have purchased electrostatic sprayers that will be used to clean the classrooms and other areas of the school. This will be in addition to the regular cleaning schedule.

This year, we are capping each grade at approximately 40 students. (Our normal capacity would be 50 per grade).  

The school supply lists remain the same with the additions of each student needing to bring a  water bottle, hand sanitizer and a mask. See the list here. If you would like to purchase extra cleaning wipes and hand sanitizer for school wide use, that would be appreciated. We will provide each student with a newly purchased drawstring backpack to store their supplies in.  

Our teachers are currently assessing their classrooms and being creative and flexible about how they can be setup to accommodate the best learning environment while maintaining social distance. We have purchased yoga mats and lap desks for students in grades K-5 for use with alternative seating.

Teachers can share information about their classroom set up closer to the beginning of the school year.

We are planning to have increased supervision on the playground.

The goal is to keep students from moving about the building as much as possible. Specific plans are still being determined regarding the best practice for how specialist will interact with each classroom.  

We are working with our maintenance crew to ensure increased ventilation throughout the school. Due to the age of our building, we do not have an HVAC system with forced airflow.  We have purchased several air purifiers to help with air quality throughout the school building.

We will limit the number of students allowed in the bathroom at one time to the number of stalls in each bathroom.

Catholic Schools and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis are taking into consideration the guidelines of the Governor, however, decisions about learning models and the safety of our students and staff will be made in partnership with the Archdiocese.

Our Academic Planning Committee has been working hard this summer to streamline and build upon the distance learning that occurred this spring. Teacher committees have been meeting, attending trainings and learning more about virtual learning tools to ensure a high quality education for students should we have to move to distance learning. 

We will support students who need to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19.  Other illnesses that require students to miss only a few days will be provided homework and other material that they missed as in previous years. 

We plan to have the extended day program. We will continue to use the protocols we had in place this summer. These include: temperature checks, social distancing, and proper hand washing and respiratory etiquette. 

Should we have to close due to worsening infection rates, a decision will be made at that time based on the needs of our community.

We understand the importance of physical exercise for our students, we plan to have outdoor PSPE and recess when weather permits. We are blessed to have an abundance of space in our gym should we need to move inside. It would accommodate dividing students into small groups.

These are important traditions in our school and we are working with Father Deziel to develop options in which we can safely celebrate Mass and attend Adoration.

We plan to have our first school Mass on Thursday, September 24. Students will be divided into separate Mass times. More details to come.

We are blessed to have a large campus with plenty of outdoor space. We are exploring using our large tents to allow for outdoor learning. 

Our primary goal is to limit the amount of traffic into the school, Parents will need to wear masks at all times while on campus with their children. We want parents to drop off in the carpool line. Considerations will be made for younger students as they transition to the new school year. 

We feel we have a sufficient amount of substitute teachers for the coming year. In addition, all of these individuals have been contacted to confirm they are willing to teach during this time.

Students will be able to move around the classroom while wearing their mask and keeping social distance. Students will still be able to work together as this is an important part of the learning environment.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/COVID-19/Pages/Return-to-School-During-COVID-19.aspx

In accordance with Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-81, masks are required in all indoor spaces. Our intent is to have outdoor time which will allow for some mask breaks.

Please contact the school if this should happen.

For all grades, students will be divided into areas that allow for proper social distancing.

We ask that all students wear ear lopped masks, no neck gators.
Any color/pattern is fine, no offensive graphics or language.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/CFC_Guide_for_School_Administrators.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-to-wear-cloth-face-coverings.html

A back to school packet is being sent to homes. 

Yes, all large gatherings are suspended at this time. We are exploring a staggered time Back to School Night. We will be looking into options for making events virtual.

Current CDC guidelines do not recommend universal system screenings in children which includes taking of temperatures. We strongly encourage families to do daily temperature checks at home prior to arriving at school. Our school has the ability to check student temperatures throughout the day when necessary.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/symptom-screening.html

https://www.aappublications.org/news/2020/06/26/schoolreopening062620

The water fountains will only be accesible for filling water bottles. Students should bring a water bottle to school.

Middle school students will stay in their home base classrooms as much as possible. The classes they will be moving for are math and science. Teachers will wipe down their classrooms between classes.

We plan to do proper handwashing demonstrations with every grade. This education will be reinforced by all staff. All of our K-5 classrooms have a sink in the room. In addition to this, we have purchased several hand santizer stations to be spaced throughout the entire school. Students will be encouraged to wash their hands prior to any eating. We are working with our school nurse and plan to have more protocols in place by next week.

We do have waiting lists for most grades, however, we are waiting to accept new applications until we hear from our current families about their plans.  Under normal circumstances, our grade capacity is 50, but this year our capacity is approximately 40 per grade. If your child's grade level is not full next year or we end up being able to go back up to our normal 50 per grade capacity, then we would prioritize your child on that list for next year if you notify us by January 1, 2021. 

Should distance learning need to occur for a class due to a quarantine, instruction will still continue for that class.  It will look similar to the spring. Annunciation teachers and staff have been working very hard all summer to improve the experience.  We plan to share what school-wide or class-wide distance learning will look like including but not limited to modifications in parent communication, increased synchronous learning experiences (especially in the older grades), on-line teaching tools, assessments, digital learning platforms and social emotional learning.  

We will support students who need to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19.  Other illnesses that require students to miss only a few days will be provided homework and other material that they missed as in previous years. 

The group of parents consisted of indiviuals in the medical, human resource, and mental health fields with direct experience with COVID-19 related issues. This group also included members of the ASC and APO.

Middle school will not be having mixed grade level home bases but will instead have single grade level sections.

We will support students who need to quarantine or isolate due to COVID-19.  Other illnesses that require students to miss only a few days will be provided homework and other material that they missed as in previous years. 

A substitute teacher would continue the learning. We feel we have a sufficient amount of substitute teachers for the coming year. In addition, all of these individuals have been contacted to confirm they are willing to teach during this time.

Yes, we are in the process of collecting resources to send to families.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/for-parents.html

Please reference the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Decision Tree for People with COVID-19 Symptoms in Youth, Student, and Child Care Programs.

We will work directly with and seek guidance from the MDH if there is a case(s) in the school.  Based on the recommendations of the MDH, a determination will then be made.

Please reference the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) What Happens if There is A COVID-19 Case.

We are currently working on cold weather options.

We are following the Governor’s mandate as well as the city of Minneapolis Emergency Regulation 2020-12 that went into effect on May 26, 2020, which requires people in Minneapolis to wear cloth face masks or coverings when they are in an indoor place.

http://www2.minneapolismn.gov/coronavirus/notices/WCMSP-224618

All teachers will be supplied with face shields. They can wear them all day if they like. 

Students will not be allowed to wear face shields. Teacher will be allowed to wear a mask AND shield unless teaching phonics. 

Please watch for more information from APO, their main focus this year is supporting teachers.

Our current plan is to have limited use of lockers at the beginning and end of the day for larger items, i.e. backpacks and jackets.

We have been updating technology throughout the school to better support synchronous learning. We have ordered cameras and hope they will arrive by the first day of school.

Middle school students will remain in their home base classrooms and the teachers will rotate through the classrooms.