July 28, 2020       

Dear St. Anne’s School Community,

As we approach August, we begin to see our new academic year just around the corner. This year, as you know, presented us with some new challenges and, as a parish school, I believe we met those challenges head on. Here are some items that I wanted to share with you.

By July 31, Governor Cuomo is asking that all schools submit re-opening plans. These plans are to include options to re-open in-person, virtually, or a hybrid of the two. Msgr. Harold and I have been meeting with a leadership team and developing this plan since the second week of July. This team meets twice a week to go over the latest regulation(s) established by New York State.

My previous letter mentioned that we would be meeting with Perrotta Consulting to review our re-opening plans. They have been identified by The Diocese of Rockville Centre and The Morning Star Initiative to guide us, and other Catholic Schools, on how we can best resume in-person classes come September 8, 2020. Our meeting with Perrotta Consulting occurred on July 14, 2020. Although their final report is not yet complete, they did give preliminary recommendations for us to work on, which started on July 15th. This initial report also stated that Saint Anne’s School “is the most well-prepared school that I have met with.” That is something we should be proud of. Their final assessment will be included in our plan. The preliminary plan, which includes different opening options, will be submitted to New York State in a few days. 

For years, Diane Buono has been a member of the St. Anne’s School community as a parent, employee, and volunteer. Last March, she began her role as the Coordinator for School Building Maintenance and Security -- a position that does not exist in most parish schools. She has been instrumental in ensuring that our building will be safe and ready for our students in September. During the last few weeks, Diane has worked with me to secure new hand sanitizing stations for each classroom, rearranging the classrooms to reflect safe and healthy distances (as recommended by New York State), and to develop a comprehensive cleaning schedule for multi-use rooms, such as our bathrooms.

Meetings with the faculty have continued. It has been a joy to meet such a wonderful community of educators dedicated to the mission of Saint Anne’s School. To support them, we have solidified two professional development opportunities, which we believe will sharpen our skills as we plan to start our school year in September: 

1. Google for Educators (a preparation for Level 1 Google Educator Certification)

2. Re-Adjusting to School During a Pandemic: Supportive Social and Emotional Learning

Every school throughout New York State is waiting to hear from Governor Cuomo regarding what the final regulations for school re-openings will be. Rest assured that we at Saint Anne’s School have worked diligently to develop plans and partnerships to continue educating your children at a high level. We are continuing to work on our plans and we are continuing to improve and modify them as we continue to receive guidance from the Diocese, the State Education Department, and the New York Department of Health. We hope to have a re-opening document for you in the near future.

God bless,

07-14-2020 Letter
07-07-2020 Letter