CtRCS 2020-21 COVID-19 & Hybrid Learning Plan

For the FAQ, scroll further down this page.

• The school will be outfitted with additional hand sanitizing stations.
• Students will receive instruction on proper handwashing techniques; and visual reminders will be posted throughout the campus.
• Students will have increased hand-washing opportunities and supervision.

• Gloves, masks, and face shields will be available to students and staff in need.

• The school will have additional signage on the floor and around the campus reinforcing social distancing.
• Student seating will face the same direction and be spaced 6-feet apart.  However, students may sit as close as 3-feet apart if they are wearing masks. 
• Reduced use of communal spaces on campus.

• Visitors will not be allowed on campus.
• Parents will not be allowed to drop off forgotten items, including lunches.
• There will be no in-person gatherings or events held on campus.

• A student, a family member or a person with whom the student has come in close contact has a lab-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19
• A student has symptoms consistent with a presumptive positive case of COVID-19

Lab-Confirmed Diagnosis

Any faculty, staff, student, or campus visitor who is lab-confirmed to have COVID-19
must stay at home throughout the infection period, and cannot return to campus until
the school screens the individual to determine if the below conditions for campus
re-entry have been met:

1. At least 72 hours have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications)
2. AND The individual has improvement in symptoms
3. AND At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared

A health official will perform contact tracing to the extent possible following a lab-confirmed case on campus. The cohort exposed to the lab-confirmed case may start learning virtually from home until the tracing is complete and we have confirmation that it is safe for the cohort to return to school.  

Symptomatic

If a student exhibits COVID-19 symptoms, they will be presumed positive. Parents will be contacted to arrange for immediate dismissal from school. Parents must arrange for their students to be tested for COVID-19 or arrange a consultation with a medical professional within a 24-hour period. The student may not return to school until cleared by a medical professional or until receiving a negative COVID-19 result. Test results may be forwarded to [email protected] prior to the student returning to campus or students may bring results upon their return to school.

In the scenario of a positive COVID-19 case or individual with symptoms among a household member of one of our students, the following conditions must be met before returning to campus*:

• At least 72 hours have passed since recovery (resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications)
• AND the individual has improvement in symptoms
• AND at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared

* These guidelines apply to faculty and staff as well.

Close Contact

Anyone who has had close contact with someone who is lab-confirmed to have
COVID-19 should follow Presumed Positive expectations.
A close contact situation is defined as:

• Being directly exposed to infectious secretions from an individual who is lab-confirmed with COVID-19 (e.g., being coughed on while not wearing a mask or face shield)
• OR being within 6 feet of an individual who is lab-confirmed with COVID-19 for a cumulative duration of 15 minutes, while not wearing a mask or face shield. In the case of asymptomatic individuals who are lab-confirmed with COVID-19, they are presumed infectious at least two days prior to the confirming lab test.

Finally, it is important to note that any student who must quarantine at home for any period of time will begin learning through our Virtual Crusader Classroom, given that he/she is feeling well enough to do so.  The teachers and administration will help the student transition to this new mode of learning.  

Please see the documents below for a further explanation of confirmed and presumptive cases, along with what constitutes as "close contact" and finally a helpful self-screening diagram.

• All adults on campus will be required to wear a mask/face covering, including faculty and staff members.
• Students in grades 1-8 are required to wear a mask/face covering throughout the day.  However, they will be provided with masks breaks regularly throughout the day, including PE, recess, lunch, and silent reading time. When students are unable to socially distance during recess or PE, they will be asked to wear a mask.
• PreK - Kindergarten students will be required to wear masks when moving through hallways or classrooms, working in cooperative learning groups, and when unable to socially distance on the playground.
• All masks/face coverings should cover the nose and mouth and fit securely over the child's face.
• Masks/face coverings may be any color and have a design as long as they are school-appropriate.
• Neck gaiters are not an acceptable face covering. Administration reserves the right to deem a mask appropriate or not appropriate for school.

Mask Recommendations

Here are a few masks we like and recommend for children. Click on the images to visit the stores' websites for prices and sizes. Please note: Neck gaiters and porous material masks (i.e. lace) are not acceptable face coverings.  Administration reserves the right to deem a mask appropriate or not appropriate for school.  

 

• Review the health-screening checklist on the back of your carline tag each morning to ensure your child(ren) are symptom-free.
• Do not exit the car until a staff member has taken each child's/children's temperature.
• There are two arrival locations. 
  • PreK-1st Grade Map
  • 2nd-8th Grade Map
  • • Please note a slight change in the arrival procedure for morning arrival: Cars will be directed to move all the way forward and to follow a route similar to our afternoon dismissal.  Staff will be outside to assist families to know what to do. Thank you for your patience and flexibility.
• The morning carline begins at 7:40 am and ends at 8 am in both locations.
• Parents will have to drop each child off at the designated grade level line (siblings can not get out of the car unless that is their grade level entry point)
• Parents are responsible for unbuckling students
• All students are required to wear a mask into the building.

Dismissal

• Be sure you have your green carline tag visible to staff in carline. This helps to make carline move much quicker.
  • YOU MUST HAVE YOUR GREEN TAG EVERY DAY.
• Please refrain from using your cellphones during carline.
• Be attentive to staff member directions and campus signage.
• Pre K - 1st grade will dismiss at 3:15 p.m.
  • While in front of the Community Center, cars will form two lines side by side. A staff member will tell you when to merge back into one line. Please be courteous to other drivers and let them back into the flow of traffic.  
  • Once in the back parking lot, we will "snake" around the first two rows of parking spaces to the third row, before coming back along the side of the Parish offices and the Church.
• Grades 2-8 will dismiss at 3:25 p.m. exiting through the main lobby doors
• If parents have another child in grades 2-8, they will drive around to the next line
• All students need to wear a mask when leaving the building.
• View dismissal plan maps:
  • PreK-1st Grade
  • 2nd-8th Grade

Committed to our Catholic Identity and forming leaders who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, CtRCS students will continue to attend mass weekly. In the beginning days of our school year, students will attend mass virtually though our parish's livestream in their homerooms.  Our school mass will be celebrated on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m.  It is our hope that as the academic year progresses our school community will once again be able to join our parish community in celebrating Mass in person.

General Procedures

• At the beginning of the school year, students in grades 1-8 will eat lunch in the classrooms.
• Students in Pre K and Kindergarten will eat at assigned tables and seats in the Parish Hall at specific times.
• Students should bring their own refillable water bottle labeled with their name.

Lunch Options

• Students bringing lunches from home are highly encouraged to bring lunches that are completely disposable. If this is not feasible for your family, we ask that each night reusable lunch kits be cleaned and wiped out.
• CtRCS will continue to partner with Justus and Co. to provide a hot lunch option for our CtRCS families.  
• Hot lunches will be packaged in “sack lunch” type packaging and will be delivered to each homeroom. 

Justus & Co. lunch prices for 2020-21
    Pre K-2nd: $5.35
    3rd-8th: $5.55
    Chik-fil-A Days (All Students): $6

Emergency Lunches

• During the 2020-21 school year, CtRCS will be unable to accept forgotten lunches. If a student forgets his/her lunch Justus & Co. will provide an emergency lunch and parents will be invoiced.

Outdoor Lunches

• When it is safe to do so, outdoor lunches will be introduced.  
• Each grade level will be assigned an outdoor location. 
• Homeroom teachers, by grade level, will establish a rotation of utilizing outdoor lunch options in order to maintain health and safety measures.

• In an effort to minimize transitions and keep students out of smaller spaces, some Enrichment teachers will move from class to class.
• Teachers in departmentalized grades (3rd-8th grade) will move to each group for their core subject areas.
• Students will still be able to go to the gym for PE and outside for recess.
• To minimize cross interactions, we will keep students with their cohorts (their homeroom classes) as much as possible.
• Beginning in November, students attend Fine Arts class in the Redeemer Activity Center.

Athletics

• CtRCS remains committed to offering both Middle School Athletics (grades 5-8) and Youth Sports (Pre K-4th grade).  
• At this time we are awaiting further guidance from the Catholic Schools Office, GHCAA (Galveston Houston Catholic Athletic Association), and WHCSA (West Houston Christian Sports Association) on season openings, procedures, and schedules. We will continue to update families as information becomes available.

Eligibility

• Students participating in remote instruction through the Virtual Crusader Classroom are not eligible to participate in CtRCS Middle School Athletics or extracurricular activities until they return to on-campus instruction.

Extracurricular Activities

• CtRCS Administration and faculty have made the decision to delay the implementation of any extracurricular activities (clubs and organizations only) that would normally occur after school.
• All students must be picked up at regular dismissal, or registered for our Before and After School Program.

CtRCS will continue to offer before and after school care through BASP. We encourage families to utilize these services only if truly needed. BASP will operate under all of the same safety protocols as the school day. Our BASP Director will communicate regularly with registered BASP families regarding procedures and safety measures in place.

BASP registration is now open through ParentsWeb. To assist in our planning please register as soon as possible.

Before School Hours: 7-7:40 a.m. 
After School Hours: 3:25-6 p.m.

Note: Dismissal for aftercare will begin at 4 pm. If your child needs to be released/picked-up before 4 p.m., please make arrangements to utilize the car line. 
 

• Parents with students enrolled in the VCC program should refrain from taking vacations during school allotted times which would hinder student participation and progress.
• Parents are required to review students’ grades weekly in RenWeb.
• Students in the VCC program will follow school guidelines regarding sick days and the process of making up school work in a timely manner. 
• Students must abide by the Expectations outlined on this page as well as our Technology Acceptable Use Policy (to be updated in August 2020).
• Students engaged in online learning are still expected to be in school uniform during the school day.
• Students in Pre K-4th grade will utilize Seesaw for the submission of assignments and reviewing lessons.
• Students in 5th-8th grade will utilize Google Classroom for the submission and reviewing of their lessons and assignments. 
• All students and teachers will utilize Google Meet or Zoom for live, synchronous lessons.
• Students in grades 3-8 will utilize their planner to organize assignments and due dates.
• Students should be actively engaged with the live classroom and parents should ensure the elimination of other distractions such as electronics (TV, phones), younger siblings, must be visible on the screen, etc.
• Students learning from home will refrain from messaging or sending Google Hangouts to other students in class during the scheduled school day unless otherwise instructed by the teacher to participate in group discussions.
• Assignment submission equal to those students actively participating in the classroom unless prearranged by the teacher. 
• Late assignments will incur the same penalties as in-class students.
• Students should utilize Chromebooks for school-related learning only and always follow the school technology agreement.
• During live class times, students should utilize the chat box feature to ask questions of their instructor. 
• Enrichment classes, such as PE, Fine Arts, Library, and Spanish will be conducted in an asynchronous model.
  • Spanish in grades 4-8 will have scheduled, live (synchronous) class time.

• Internet access for students between 8 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. Monday - Friday
• Proper learning environment such as a table or desk for the student to use 
• Chromebook (or other designated device for each individual learner), charger,  and headphones for each student
• Materials, books, and supplies as provided by the school, such as textbooks, workbooks, journals, pencils, etc.  It may be necessary to replenish these supplies at various times throughout the VCC learning period.  CtRCS will provide the initial supplies, but the replenishment of supplies is the responsibility of the parent. 

Time is displayed in averaged minutes per day, with the exception of Enrichment