September 4, 2020 - News & Notes
From The Desk Of Principal Kerr
Happy Labor Day Weekend St. Michael Families,

It was great to see so many of you here on Wednesday night, and we were all commenting on the positive spirit of the evening, and how wonderful it was to have kids in the building. We have been preparing for the return of the students over the last several weeks, and actually seeing them here was extremely rewarding! The pandemic forced us to come up with a new plan for Back to School Night, and we all really liked it, as teachers felt they got a chance to talk with more students and parents with assigned groups. If you missed BTSN, we have linked a video of the first session (for new families) below.

We opened our teacher workshop week with a reading from Mark’s gospel:
Mark 4:35-41 
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
This school year will feel a bit like a squall. But we know Jesus is in the stern of our boat, so we can handle this storm.
We have many mitigation protocols in place to keep each other safe. And we cannot stress enough the importance of having everyone’s compliance.

God bless your families on this last summer weekend,
Principal Sue Kerr
Important Drop off and Pick up Info!
If you are driving your children to school, please follow the protocols sent last week in the Back to School booklet on pages 11 or 12 and shared at Back to School Night. The booklet contains a lot of important information about new routines this year. It is on our website and linked here. Please take time to look at the visuals and instructions as they contain important information about drop off and pick up procedures. Thank you for your patience as we work through this new procedure. Drop off begins at 7:25am. Students should go directly from their vehicle to their classroom.

Whether you arrive via bus or car line on the first day of school, 8 adults (teachers without a first period class, the admin team, and Father Tom) will be outside to receive the kids and direct them into the building. We will have signs to help kids know which doors they will enter. K-5 teachers and middle school teachers with a first period class will be in the hallways near their classrooms to help kids find their way. 
Message from Prior Lake Bus Company
The first protocols you will experience are with transporting your kids to school. The bus company has limited the number of students who will ride each bus, and they have prepared a video for your children to watch before their first ride to school.

We ask that students maintain a social distance of six feet while waiting at bus stops and have their face covering ready to wear while riding district-provided transportation. The bus driver will load the bus from back to front to limit the number of students passing by others. There will be an X on seat spots that are not to be used for social distancing. Siblings should sit together, if possible. When students arrive at school, students sitting near the front of the bus will get off first. At the end of the school day, busses will be loaded from the back to front.
Bus
Keeping Everyone Healthy
Distance
Some Things to Remember the First Day of School:

  • Please remember to send a clean mask and water bottle to school every day. The children should also have a small ziplock bag with their name on it to store the masks when not in use. 

  • We need parents to take the temperature of your children every day before school. The new MDH decision tree states that students (or staff) must stay home if they are experiencing ONE of the following more common symptoms: a fever of 100.4 or higher (without fever reducing medicine), new onset and/or worsening cough, difficulty breathing, or loss of taste/smell. Additionally students (or staff) must stay home if they are experiencing TWO or more less common symptoms: sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, muscle pain, excessive fatigue, new onset of severe headache, new onset of nasal congestion or runny nose.


Air exchange:

The virus that causes Covid-19 is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person through respiratory droplets moved through the air. Good air quality solutions in buildings can help prevent community spread. The gym and middle school, including the library, lunch/multipurpose room, band room, and art room, have air circulation systems with outside air exchange and filtration. The original building built in 1959 does not have such air exchange or filtration systems.

We have purchased HEPA Air Purifiers for the original school building classrooms. The air purifiers provide medical grade H13 True HEPA 3-stage filtration with dual air intake and ionizer, and are rated to completely pass all the air in the room every 12 minutes (5 times per hour). H13 True HEPA filtration removes 99.9% of particles down to 0.1 microns! The units are designed for quiet operation with 4 fan speeds.

The air purifiers cost $6,500. We expect to receive federal ESSER funds to cover this purchase. Replacement filters are needed each six months at a total filter replacement cost of $1,625.
 Our air purifiers were expected to ship on August 31st. However, the manufacturer states that with increased demand their fulfillment teams are stretched as far as possible and they are working around-the-clock to fulfill orders. They are experiencing some delays in shipping and the manufacturer asks for our patience. We hope to receive and install the units in early September. Until that time, we will be able to keep the windows open and use fans to circulate the air.
Volunteers Needed
Are you interested in volunteering at St. Mike's? Volunteers will need to have Virtus training completed and up to date prior to volunteering. Please visit virtusonline.org to log in or create an account and complete the required steps.

  • We are looking for volunteers, especially for our lunch periods every day from 10:30am - 12:45pm. If you are available midday, please let Tricia Peters (952) 447-2124 or peters@saintmpl.org know and we will get you on the schedule.
We're Hiring!
Adventures Plus Child Care Aid:
Two positions are open for an Adventures Plus Child Care Aide at St. Michael Catholic School. Candidate must be available to work 2:00 – 5:00 when school is in session, have strong communication skills, enjoy working with children and have or be willing to get their First Aid/CPR certification. Please contact Julie Herbst at 612-619-7484 or julieherbst@saintmpl.org for more information.


Preschool Substitutes Needed!
Faithful Beginnings Preschool at St. Michael Catholic Church is looking for qualified subs for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.

Substitutes are required to have the following in order to sub in preschool:
 -Essential 3 through the Archdiocese
  -DHS background study and fingerprints
  -Pediatric first aid/CPR
  -Child development training
  -Orientation/policies/procedures/allergies
  -Abusive Head Trauma
  -Cultural training
  -Disability training

Full job description available by contacting our Preschool Director Ashely Lind. To apply, please send your resume to ashleylind@saintmpl.org.

Full Time Custodial Position: Please contact Sue Kerr (952)447-2124 or kerr@saintmpl.org for more information.