Dear Saints Family,
Greetings from campus where there is a flurry of activity as we prepare for in-person teaching and learning beginning Monday, August 17th. I was just on the phone yesterday with Eagle County Public Health and they are enthusiastically supportive of our plan. I shared our
reopening plan
with you almost a month ago, and we remain committed to on-campus teaching and learning 5 days a week. However, modifications are being regularly made to our reopening plan to ensure optimal health and safety for our faculty, staff, students and their families. For example, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Colorado Department of Education are now requiring masks to be worn by everyone (all faculty, staff, and students) while inside, including when seated in classrooms. That’s a change from our late June reopening plan.
Next week, I will communicate additional reopening plan changes as well as share high-level results from recent parent and faculty surveys. Parent survey participation was absolutely outstanding with normal anxieties expressed as well as a great deal of enthusiasm for our reopening plan and bringing in-person school back for our students. The faculty are working tirelessly during their summer vacations to learn new technology, revamp their courses, and put in place new safety/health protocols.
Teachers are my frontline heroes!
For those VCHS families concerned about in-person teaching and learning on campus, know that remote learning will be an option as early as August 17th. Please also know that we are working with Eagle County Public Health and Colorado Department of Public Health to understand what we might be able to do with a local ‘Retreat’ experience sometime during the week of August 24th. At this time, we are seeking definition on health/safety standards in a camp-like environment. From there, we will examine our options and make a decision as soon as we can.
We are almost 3 weeks (yes, 3 weeks) away from the 1st day of school. Our faculty and staff are incredibly excited to see our returning Saints and welcome the Class of 2024 as well as all of our incoming transfer students.
Pray hard and stay strong!
Warm regards,
Steve O’Neil
Head of School
