Nike, Nike!

Pheidippides Arrives in Athens

When Pheidippides raced back to Athens and died from exhaustion right after proclaiming "Nike, Nike," for the Greek victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, he unknowingly became immortal. It is not likely that any of us will become immortal or die from exhaustion, even though we might from all the extra work we are having to do during this pandemic.

Through the support of many wonderful and generous people, we have just about met our goal of raising $10,000 to help offset unexpected COVID-19 expenses. We are currently at $9,260 with over 150 donations. I know we will reach and surpass our goal, and probably sooner than later. Once we reach our goal, we will continue the challenge until December 31st as planned.

While reaching our goal, I am hoping we increase the number of donors to 200. It appears that 80 of the donors so far are first time donors to St. Ann. That is a great sign when adding so many new donors. It is important to have more and more alumni participate in any fundraising effort as well.

Many of our alumni and friends who have contributed have also stepped up with offers to help spread the word about the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. We do need everyone to ask 10 friends to contribute to the challenge. We also need our alumni to spread the word with their St. Ann classmates.

Statue of Pheidippides

Yes, I know people are tired of challenges, campaigns, fundraising, and giving. Hey, that’s the nature of all non-profits. If we don’t ask, we don’t receive. If we don't receive, we don't exist. And, I’m not asking for myself. I’m asking for every student, future student, family, and staff member at St. Ann.

At St. Ann, we have to constantly ask for help so we can provide our students and teachers with what they need and also in order to keep tuition as low as possible. Keeping tuition low is a HUGE passion of mine. Catholic education needs to be affordable to all. This is one of the many things I learned from the teachings of St. John Baptist de La Salle: "direct service to the poor." That means keeping tuition as low as possible.

St. Ann is not an elite school for elite students. It is a wonderful, inclusive Catholic school with incredible teachers for fantastic students.

To those of you who have contributed: Thanks.

To those who spread the word on our behalf: Blessings.

To those who pray for us: Amen!

At the end of the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge, like Pheidippides, we hope to proclaim “Nike, Nike”!

God bless you and Merry Christmas,

Didier Aur, Principal - St. Ann Catholic School

P.S. According to Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory.

Safety Over Convenience

Thanksgiving 2019 was an awesome gathering for the Aur Family. We had family and friends travel to Memphis from everywhere. We celebrated Thanksgiving like any American-Brazilian family would with lots of hugs, kisses, laughter, love, and with everyone gathering in the kitchen because we cannot be too far away from the food. But then again, we do that at every gathering.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2020. The American-Brazilian Thanksgiving will look much different thanks to the Coronavirus. It will be a very small affair in order to keep everyone safe with only a handful of family members gathering together. There will be fewer hugs and kisses, but no less laughs or love, and with everyone gathering in the kitchen. There are a few things the virus cannot change.

This week, I read an article from CNBC regarding Thanksgiving and the exponential increase in the spread of the Coronavirus. I really feel compelled to share this article with you because the last thing I want is for anyone to contract COVID-19 especially my students at St. Ann. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/coronavirus-cdc-urges-americans-against-traveling-for-thanksgiving-as-coronavirus-outbreak-worsens.html

Actions by the SAS parents have been a huge factor in making sure the virus doesn’t spread at school. If their child has a cough, runny nose, headache, upset stomach, general achiness, or any symptom that raises a red flag, parents have been keeping their child home to help protect all the children. And if the child starts feeling bad while at school, parents quickly show up and take their child home. Everyone has been super-supportive and we want to keep it that way. “Safety Over Convenience” should be our new motto.

One of my fears is that people will not take seriously and adhere to the CDC warnings concerning large holiday gatherings with the possibility of those gatherings being super-spreaders of the Coronavirus.

The CDC recommends that we not travel for the holidays. Well, that’s not going to happen because I know many families have made travel plans and some have already started traveling. “For Americans who decide to travel, CDC recommends doing so as safely as possible by following the same recommendations for everyday living.”

Please be smart during your travels to keep everyone safe. Whether or not you are anti-mask, social distancing, and/or think that COVID-19 is a hoax, respect what is actually happening to hundreds of people testing positive every day just in Shelby County.

It seems as if more and more people I know have or had COVID-19. Most of them have no idea how they got it. Some have had mild symptoms, some have been hospitalized, and a few have died. And, we have no idea what the long-term physical effects will be from COVID-19, even to the folks who are asymptomatic.

COVID-19 cannot be taken lightly or viewed as some sort of conspiracy. We cannot let our guard down. The CDC has asked “every American to redouble our efforts to watch our distance, wash our hands and, most importantly, wear a mask.”

One of the CDC concerns is that people who are asymptomatic might bring infections to small gatherings. “Roughly 30% to 40% of Covid-19′s spread is driven by people without symptoms.”

The CDC also recommends “Thanksgiving celebrations should be limited only to those people living in the same household.”

If you don’t plan to adhere to CDC recommendations, below are suggestions for keeping your loved ones and yourself safe over the holidays.

• Check the Covid-19 infection rates in areas where attendees of the dinner live.

• Limit the number of attendees.

• Host the gathering outdoors, if possible.

• Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors, or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation.

• Make sure people are sitting 6 feet away, even outdoors.

• Wear a mask at all times, except when eating and drinking.

• Avoid singing or shouting, especially indoors.

• Avoid potluck-style gatherings.

• Have one person who is wearing a mask serve all the food so that multiple people are not handling the serving utensils.

• Have single-use options or identify one person to serve sharable items.

Yes, there are vaccinations forthcoming, but the holidays aren’t a time for us to let down our guard. According to the frontrunners in the race to produce a COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna, BioNTech and Pfizer, and University of Oxford and AstraZeneca) and with approval from the FDA, vaccinations will begin in late 2020 and early 2021.

This doesn’t mean the vaccinations will be ready for the general population. This link from the State of Tennessee outlines to whom and in what phases the vaccinations will be given.

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/COVID-19_Vaccination_Plan.pdf

 

The bottom line is BE CAREFUL. If you go to a family gathering and are exposed to someone testing positive for COVID-19, quarantine yourself and your child(ren) so that others at school aren’t exposed. We have 3-weeks of school left of the 2nd quarter and until the Christmas break. Let’s continue to protect the children and keep everyone out of harm’s way.

 

We’ve been sacrificing and following guidelines and protocol since March 16th. A few more months and we will be able to look back at all the great things we have been able to accomplish together. The vaccine isn’t here yet and COVID-19 is spreading. Let us work together to contain the virus. "Safety Over Convenience."

 

God bless you,

Didier Aur

10 x 10 Colts Challenge

I finally figured out 2020! It has taken since March for this epiphany to take place, but it finally has. 2020 is just another level of Jumanji. Unfortunately, we have to get through this level to move forward in the game. I just hope the next level is much easier than this one. Between the Coronavirus and the elections (don't know which is worse), "We the People" are the ones who have to endure this level. We can endure this level. The thing is, we are going to have to do this together and be patient because we are still in the beginning stages of whatever level of Jumanji we are in.

Here is an interesting fact: "We the People" is the opening phrase of the Preamble of the US Constitution as well as the Constitution of India.  Thank you Sheldon Cooper.

What does this have to do with the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge? Actually, a lot. First, let me explain the 10 x 10 challenge and then give the whys.

We are calling all members of the St. Ann Family (parishioners, alumni, faculty and staff, parents, grandparents, and friends) to join together and participate in our first ever 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. Here's the way this challenge works. We are asking our St. Ann Families to donate $10 and pray a decade of the Rosary for St. Ann. Then, we also ask that you forward an email to 10 friends asking them to support St. Ann by donating $10.

The challenge will begin on November 9th and run until December 31st. We have created a page on our website specifically for the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge, which will be made available starting on November 9th.

Tomorrow's Monday Mail will give you more information on the challenge, and we will continue to send out information, including a sample email you can send to 10 friends, in the hopes of building enthusiasm behind the challenge.

Donor Board

Now the whys: The challenge is to help with unforeseen costs in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as hiring online teachers and extra substitute teachers, purchasing tools for meeting safety requirements and cleaning supplies, and lowering the number of students in each classroom.

These COVID-19 expenses were not budgeted because we had no idea how to budget for education through a pandemic. If we have another pandemic in the near future, we will be better able to develop a more accurate budget.

The hiring of online teachers and extra substitution teachers will add an extra $25,000 to our salary expense line from August to December. If this continues through the end of May, we will add another $25,000 in salaries on top of that.

Supplies to keep everyone as safe as we possibly can steadily increases on a weekly basis. The State of Tennessee and a grant from the Buckman Foundation have been a tremendous help to the school with safety gear and hand sanitizers. The rest, we have to purchase or build ourselves.

Limiting the number of students in each classroom hurts in oh so many ways. Because of this, we have limited our enrollment. This in turn, lowers the amount of tuition revenue. Ouch! Instead of having up to 25 students in those classrooms, we basically have 20 students. We have closed enrollment to PK4, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade. That means we have a waiting list for those grades, which in turn means we are turning families away from receiving a Catholic education. If we turn a family away because of space, those families will find other schools and not St. Ann.

And, don't forget the amount of financial assistance we have given to support families experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19. The financial assistance amount jumped from $77,000 last year to $133,000 this year. That a $56,000 difference we have to make-up for in our budget.

These are the whys of the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge. For these reasons, we would greatly appreciate your support. Please consider becoming a part of the 10 x 10 Colts Challenge and help us get to the next level of Jumanji.

God bless you, 

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Finally Did It!

Even though we still have about two and a half months left of this year, I will miss 2020 once it is gone, simply because I have made it a point to enjoy this year. I have taken all the negatives this crazy ______ (fill in the blank) year has thrown our way and looked for ways to, as I wrote in an earlier blog, put honey in my lemonade.

Hard times can make a person better and stronger or just the opposite. It all depends on the person and how that person reacts. No, I do not live as though COVID-19 cannot hurt me. Just the opposite, I understand the consequences and dangers of being infected and spreading it to others especially the students and staff entrusted to my care. As Br. John Johnston once told me, "You are at the bottom of the upside-down pyramid and it is your responsibility to care for all those above you." Very true.

My Father, Dr. Rhomes
Aur at St. Jude

Yet, I have decided instead of living in a shell and in fear of what might happen that I would live my life and make things happen; things I've been wanting to accomplish for some time now, but have always found an excuse not to do them. If the lifespan of the Aur male continues as is, I have twenty years left on this earth unless some unforeseen event cuts short the remaining twenty years. My opportunity to finally do the things I want to do is quickly passing me by. I'm not going to spend a year of those twenty in hibernation waiting for all dangers to be bulldozed from my path. I will be cautious, wear a mask, observe social distancing, take my temperature daily, wash my hands 100 times per day, and disinfect things. But, I will continue to live life, cautiously but with zeal and gusto. An oxymoron? Maybe. St. John Baptist de La Salle often used the word "zeal" to describe our work as Christian educators. My father often used the word "gusto" with gusto. My friend Philip Cantrell often enjoyed using "oxymoron" in a sentence.

Below are several things accomplished on my "finally did it" list. 

Since Monday, March 16th, the day St. Ann started virtual learning, I have not been able to focus my brain on reading for pleasure. I started, however could not finish six different books. Those six books are all resting neatly on coffee tables, end tables, and night stands throughout my house.  Those books pretty much ended up where I quit reading them. With all that has been going on in this crazy educational world we are living in, my mind has been much too busy figuring our next-steps, emergency scenarios, what-ifs, and answering devil's advocate questions that I have not been able to relax enough to do something I truly love to do: READ! Read for pleasure that is! Hey, that's an incomplete sentence. That's okay because the sentence before is a run-on sentence. Put them together and they both somehow work; kind-of.

After months of trying to read a book from cover to cover, I "finally did it!" I read a book. No, it was not a comic book (even though that is about all my mind can comprehend at times), children's book (their Lexile levels are too high for me), or professional book on distance/virtual/online learning (God help us!). It was my favorite type of book; non-fiction about real people in real life situations. I read Lake of the Ozarks; My Surreal Summers in a Vanishing America by Bill Geist.

I read this book during the fall break while on the beach in Panama City Beach while hoping Hurricane Delta (sounds like an infantry division or drink on Bourbon Street) would stay well west of the Florida panhandle. It, the book not the hurricane, is about the summers Bill Geist spent working at his aunt and uncle's hotel at the Lake of the Ozarks. The book was hilarious especially since I used to live near there and what he wrote made so much sense. Vacationers sitting near me at the beach must have thought that I had way too many Hurricane Deltas, as I was laughing out loud. It was one of those books you wish would just keep going. Unfortunately, it didn't. Now, I need to find another book that will hold my interest and keep me laughing. Not easy to do at this time. But, I sure did need the laugh.

Here's another I "finally did it." After selling my last bicycle back in 2006 when I moved to Missouri, I finally purchased a bike in late March after the world Coronavirus shutdown. I have always had a bike and used to ride bikes everywhere I went. Few things in life are as satisfying as riding the Wolf River trails. Sad that I stopped riding. Kind of traded my bicycle for a motorcycle. Also very satisfying riding a motorcycle on the country roads of Mid-Missouri.

The shutdown gave me the opportunity to start bike riding again, so I have. Since I started riding again and using the Strava app (app to monitor your running and biking), I have ridden over 1,300 miles on my hybrid bike. My hybrid bike is perfect for me. I'm not going to win any races or break any distance riding on my bike. It is not build for speed or distance, but for comfort and just to enjoy a ride. If you use the Strava app, look me up and follow my rides.

During the fall break, I rode over 100 miles in the PCB area. On Sunday of fall break, I rode 27 miles on the trails of Conservation Park. What an awesome place to ride. So, I'm riding at 7:30 am with no one around. I have never ridden here before, so this was all new to me. One of the reasons I ride is just to help my mind relax. Since my mind was relaxed, maybe that's why I was able to actually finish a book. I also use riding as a time for prayer and to put life's problems aside.

I was doing okay riding the trails at Conservation Park because the first part of the trail was called Osprey. Cool, maybe I'd see one. The second part of the trail was called Kelly. That's good because I married a Kelly. Actually I married a Kelley, but close enough. The third part was called Bear Track. Now, here I am all by myself on a 27 mile trek in a park that advertises they have alligators, wild boars, and eagles and the next trail is called Bear Track. So, I'm looking for bears hoping not to encounter one, but if I did, I was hoping for Smokey or Yogi and not the bear in Revenant. Really did not want a bear tossing me around and standing on my head.  Leonardo DiCaprio survived that bear attack and even managed to kill the bear while winning an Oscar doing it. Don't think that I would accomplish any of those if attacked by a bear. Just sayin'. It helped me pedal a little bit faster to get to the next part of the trail. To face my fears, I rode Bear Track twice. I never saw a bear, but I did see some snakes and an alligator.

Here's another we "finally did it!" When I started at St. Ann, one of the first things I noticed needed to be done was to update and improve our Language Arts and Math curricula. This year, we have! It isn't cheap changing a school's curriculum. We had to purchase brand new books for everyone; everyone in all grades including the teacher materials. I am thrilled that we are finally using the same curriculum throughout the school. We are using Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Journeys for Language Arts and Sadlier Math. Both have online components just in case of a COVID-19 shutdown or the rare snow day. Snow days are now no longer a reason to miss school. Hence, online components. I can hear my teachers' eyes rolling.

Me and My Suzuki Blvd S50

Here is yet another we "finally did it!" We made it through the first quarter! It has taken forever to get here and at the same time the quarter has gone by in a flash. Fall Fest, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are just around the corner. Then, we will be halfway through the 2020-21 school year and we will be done with 2020.

Yes, it has been difficult. Yes, I cannot wait for our brilliant doctors and scientists to come up with a COVID vaccine. Yes, I will celebrate as will the rest of the world.

I'm sorry about the deaths caused by COVID-19. We have all felt the deaths, and have a loved one or acquaintance who has died during this time from COVID related illnesses. Most died alone with no one but hospital personnel around them, and were also buried with only a few close relatives allowed to attend the funeral. Sad. From this sadness, we have to grow strong and do our best to be more humane and compassionate to everyone. We all have to be a reason for hope and not fear for those around us. Let's hope and work for a better tomorrow. It isn't just going to happen if we sit around doing nothing but complain about 2020 and fear living life. We cannot stop living. Let's use the final quarter of 2020 to get ready and make 2021 what we hoped 2020 would have been. But, let's do this together. It works better that way as we at St. Ann have been able to do together.

Support St. Ann

Once that happens, we will all be able to say, we finally did it!

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal - St. Ann Catholic School

The Beauty of Broken Mirrors

 

The Beauty of Broken Mirrors

By Anthony Maranise, Obl.S.B.

 

In the hectic bustle and scurrying that can be our lives sometimes, we have the tendency to overlook certain luxuries. Many of us, I would venture to guess, likely take for granted the common mirror. Yes, the mirror is a luxury in that we do not need it to ‘get by’ in this world or this life, though it helps tremendously. Imagine how much more difficult driving would be without that polished reflective glass there to be of assistance. But I digress. Most of us use or rely on mirrors within our homes— whether they be decorative or for personal grooming, dressing, etc. They are a common luxury; this much we know.

NEEDTOBREATHE

Some months ago, a loved one (who most unfortunately has ‘fallen away’) and I were discussing our mutual enjoyment of the contemporary rock and Christian music group known as ‘NeedToBreathe’. One of their newer songs is entitled, “Banks”, and has a beautiful lyrical verse within it. Truth be told, this verse alone inspired the composition of this article with a bit of prayerful reflection with the song itself. The verse intones, “If you ever feel like you’re not enough, I’m going to break all your mirrors.”

Now, “why”, I thought, “would someone break another’s mirrors because they felt like they weren’t (good) enough?” I stayed with this thought for a while not primarily because of the question it evoked within me, but instead because of how the verse resonated with my own soul and ‘interior disposition.’ I often feel like I am not (good) enough – whether that be for my colleagues, my principal, my doctoral studies professors, my friends, my parents, my girlfriends over the years, and most importantly of all, for God Himself. While I would like to believe I am not alone in feeling this way, I wonder if perhaps I do not, for some reason, feel this inadequacy more often than others. Alas, that is something I will take with me into further spiritual direction.

 

During the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy one afternoon, accompanied in prayer by my seventh-grade scholars, the answer to the question finally ‘dawned’ on me. Why would someone break another’s mirrors because they felt like they weren’t (good) enough?

 

Because mirrors show us only our external reflections. Designed to provide a clear and full reflection, they can, at best, only ever accomplish half their intended purpose. Mirrors cannot show us the most authentic, real, affirming, and beautiful reflection of all, namely, the ways in which we reflect the imago Dei in which we have been created (cf. Genesis 1:27)!

 

Thus, if we stare into our external reflections alone and for long enough, we will begin to believe what we see in those reflections. We might, for example, see one whose hair has begun to grey; one whose face is distorted by stress wrinkles; whose torso bears the marks of surgeries, injuries, or even ‘stretch-marks’ from weight gain. If we focus too intently on our external appearances, we run two risks of excess: (1) either we begin to see ourselves as inadequate and grotesque or (2) we begin to see ourselves in a rather narcissistically positive lens, forgetting that though we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are still sinners “in need of God’s mercy in which we ought never lose hope” (Rule of Saint Benedict, 4.74).

I might content that insofar as mirrors only show us ‘the lesser half’ of our true selves (the external), they are all somewhat ‘broken.’ Yet, here is the beauty of it all (and the simultaneous beauty of these ‘broken’ mirrors):

We were and are, moment-by-moment, loved into existence by the One who, at our creation, looked at us and proclaimed what we will hope to hear again as we enter into ‘eternal Easter’, namely, these phrases: “Very good!” (Genesis 1:31) and “It is I who have fearfully and wonderfully made you!” (Psalms 139:14).

Therefore, next time you gaze into your reflection in a mirror, I encourage you to remember these three things: (1) You are using a ‘broken’ instrument to provide you with a less than full reflection of who you truly are, (2) Who you truly are is God’s child and as such you are created in His own dazzling image and likeness, and (3) As a result of that creation alone, you are more than (good) enough!

 

About the Author

 

Anthony Maranise, Obl.S.B. is the middle school religion instructor at St. Ann Catholic School of Bartlett (TN) and is a doctoral scholar in the Ed.D. program for interdisciplinary leadership at Creighton University (Omaha, NE). Apart from these roles, Anthony is the author of five books, a New Memphis Institute research and leadership fellow, a certified chaplain, and an oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict associated with St. Bernard Abbey (Cullman, AL). You may learn more about him by visiting his personal website at: amaranis.wix.com/amjm or by visiting his LinkedIn profile at: www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-maranise.

 

I Was The Jinx

We are starting our sixth week of school already with Fall Break coming in a little over three weeks. We were hoping to go a little farther than one month before our first positive COVID-19 case, but one month is as far as we got. Just so everyone knows, I'm the one who jinxed us as for our first positive test. At 7:27 am on September 4th, I sent out the following email to the St. Ann staff:

"We are finishing week four of the 2020-21 school year. We weren’t certain we would make it this far without a shutdown, but we are doing things right and keeping our people safe for the most part. We have had a number of scares and sent a number of students home on the side of caution.

It is time for our first break- Labor Day! Thanks for getting us this far into the school year. We have a long way to go and we have to keep our guard up to keep everyone safe. Let’s be vigilant and do all we can to prevent a shutdown.  Over the 3-day break, stay safe and be smart.

I appreciate everyone of you very much.  I appreciate your heart and your dedication to St. Ann and our students.  You and St. Ann are in my daily prayers.  I am thankful I get to work with all of you."

That is how I jinxed us because at 11:00 am, we received the positive COVID-19 test result and started putting our COVID-19 plan into action; a plan which we hoped to never have to use. Thank goodness the front office staff was on their game. We typed up COVID-19 notifications letters, one each for 7-M (7th grade Mr. Maranise's class), all middle school grades, 3rd grade, and the whole school. The letters were emailed out and we also contacted every 3rd and 7-M parent by phone in case they didn't get the email. Those parents were here in no time to pick up their children with all their school books/materials and started the quarantine process. Many of the 7-M parents have had their children tested for COVID-19 as well. Ms. Ghio and the middle school teachers were also tested.

Ms. Ghio used the shutdown plan all teachers have in place and her class was virtual by Tuesday morning since Monday was Labor Day. The middle school teachers did the same with 7-M. Unfortunately, we have experience in successfully switching to virtual learning in no time flat.

I'm thinking that all this happened because I planned to take off at noon that Friday to drive to Orange Beach for the Labor Day weekend, and hoped to be there in time for dinner. It was a little before dinner time when Kelley and I actually left for Orange Beach. I'm not complaining because I got to go to Orange Beach for the Labor Day weekend! The bad part was the drive back from Orange Beach. That became a two-day ordeal, but that's a whole other story.

At 2:49 pm, here's my follow-up email to the St. Ann staff:

"Did I jinx us or what!!!! Man, I am never sending out another email like this one ever again.  Sorry, sorry, sorry.  Going to give myself lashes.  Where are the sackcloth and ashes? Forgive me Father for I have sinned."

So, what we hoped wouldn't be the inevitable positive COVID-19 test came. We were prepared to deal with this situation. We really don't want to have to deal with it again. It is avoidable if we all follow the rules developed by the Diocesan Transition Task Force and the St. Ann Rules and Procedures Committee.

Let's do our best to keep everyone safe and sound. Let's all make good decision so that we won't have to quarantine again. As we move into the future, will one or more classes at St. Ann have to quarantine? If I were a betting man, I'd say yes. The thing is, I'm not a betting man but I am a hoping man. And, I hope we can count on one another to do the right thing to keep everyone safe. Honesty, communication, and prayer go a long way in keep us all safe.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Previous Blog: https://didieraur.blogspot.com/2020/08/there-is-no-finish-line.html

There is No Finish Line

Learning About Saints

The original title of this blog post was "Preparing to Go Virtual Again." But, doesn't that title give you a sick feeling? The sad thing is we ARE preparing to go virtual again. We spent so much time since the spring shutdown getting ready for school to reopen that we have not spent but a minute planning for another shutdown. Not planning for a future shutdown as of now has completely changed. We were super-well prepared for the last shutdown, but we plan to be even more for a next possible shutdown. So, if you are wondering what fills our days at St. Ann besides the usual, everyday, procedural-laden, Covid-19 form of education; well, getting ready for a shutdown is what we are doing.

Reading Time

So, why did I change the title of this blog post? In our virtual principals' meeting yesterday, one of the principals talked about how everything we do in education typically has a finish line. With this pandemic, there is no finish line. Not having a finish line causes stress and anxiety with many folks. Nationally, quite a few teachers are experiencing these in big ways, which is leading to an educational exodus that will have negative affects on learning for generations to come.

People can endure just about anything if they know where the finish line is. With what's happening, there is no finish line. The finish line might be this fall. Many have heard it said that this will all end on Election Day. I am not a conspiracy theorist, at least not yet. So, I don't buy that. The finish line might be the fall of 2021. No one knows. And, this is going to increase stress and anxiety levels. Bottom line is there is no finish line. There is no end in sight. How many of you keep forgetting what day it is? Some folks have to remind themselves we are nearing the end of July, I mean August. 

Writing Time

So, we are preparing for what we can prepare for and putting the finish line in God's hands. We are going to put our stress and anxiety in His hands as well. Personally, I'm going to not question so much. I'm not going to cause others more stress and anxiety by questioning everything.

I mentioned in my blog post "Honey in My Lemonade" that this has been one of the best summers of my life. The best summers of my life were the summers my family spent on Santos Beach in Brazil, my native country. My plan is to have one of the best autumns of my life in 2020. Every day will be me enjoying Santos Beach. Instead of seeing the end of this pandemic as the finish line, my finish line is going to be the end of every day when I go naninha (Portuguese for night-night). The race will start again the next morning. 

Peaceful Protest

Here's how we are planning for a possible shutdown. Led by Annmarie Ghio, every teacher is designing a shutdown plan. Yes, they are putting their plans in writing because we want to be ready to distribute the shutdown plans if it happens. Their plans will list all the websites we will be using (FACTS, blogs, IXL, ReadWorks, Be My Disciple, Google Classroom, Seesaw and about ten more) and where to find your child's passwords to log-in to these sites. The plans will even have a daily academic schedule for your child to follow.

We have spent the last few days getting all students and educators registered with Houghton-Mifflin-Harcourt's Journeys for English Language Arts (ELA). This is the new ELA curriculum we purchased with online components in case of the dreaded shutdown. The online components of Sadlier Math have already been put into use. This is the updated Math curriculum we purchased for virtual learning. We have added science and social studies to IXL language arts and math. We are currently exploring other programs such as BrainPOP that teachers can utilize to help students.

Learning About Saints

It is bizarre to think that while the school year moves forward in-person for 90% of the students (10% of the students are virtual), we are preparing to go 100% virtual just in case. I am hoping that all the preparation for virtual learning is done for naught. If we are able to go live all year without a shutdown, think we will have to throw a massive end of the school year party for everyone at St. Ann. If that were to happen, then that massive party will be our finish line. Until then, I'm just going to jog and not sprint to the finish line because we are only in week three of thirty-seven.

Will we be prepared if we go 100% virtual again? There is no doubt we will be prepared academically. Mentally will any of us be prepared? Hopefully, we will never have to answer that question.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

The 2020-21 School Year Has Begun!

One week down with 37 more weeks to go for the 2020-21 school year. This week was just week-one of what could possibly be the toughest school year we will ever face in our lifetime. Yes, this week was not a full-week being that it was a four-day school week with a half-day thrown in the mix, and PK and Kinder had staggered schedules the first week.

The first week had many distractions, like the grass cutting crew deciding that the first day of school would be the best day to cut the grass. AT&T had issues with the internet on the first day back, which continued for the whole first week. This made it especially difficult for our online educators working with the online students. The internet connection kept dropping, but everyone stayed persistent and it all worked out.

Morning drop-off worked perfectly! A special shout-out to May Young and George Dhuy for volunteering for the third year in a row to help the students at morning drop-off. The afternoon pick-up had a hitch in its giddy-up, but Sara Westrich and Angela de Jong came up with solutions and quickly communicated the solutions with everyone. By Thursday and Friday, the afternoon pick-up was over by 3:06 pm, and will only get better quickly.

The temperature checks have worked well with all the specials teachers stepping up to lend a hand to help the regular classroom teachers with getting the students ready for the day. All temperatures are recorded and those records are sent to the office so that we can keep a complete temperature log of all the students for the year. All staff members have their temperatures taken and recorded daily as well.

The students are doing a great job wearing face masks and face shields. Thank you parents for working with your child(ren) on wearing the masks. Your work has made a big positive difference. We have learned that students who wear glasses are having problems with their glasses fogging up when wearing the face masks. When they wear the face shields, they have no problem with their glasses fogging up.

We had no idea how this week would go, but as I said before, we have been planning this week since March 16th. This week went better than we planned for. Then again, we planned for the worst. If you plan for the worst and the worst doesn't happen, then that's a good thing.

Since this was the week we have been working towards since the middle of March. We are happy how week-one turned out. With all that we have had to overcome, this past week was a success.  The students came back to school after five months of being gone from this building.  This week has been as close to normal as life has been for all of us since March 16th.

Thank you to Christy Matlock, James Newell, and Lori Morgan for designing and building the plexiglass shields used in the PK classroom. Blake Matlock participated in the build as well. Christy and James also build the partitions in the Covid-19 room. Cannot believe that schools now have Covid rooms. Crazy. Gotta do what you gotta do to follow the guidelines.

Annmarie Ghio built partitions in her 3rd grade classroom as well to keep the students safe. Karen Otts is building partitions for E-Care. Lots of creativity and hard work going into keeping the students as safe as possible.

The middle school lockers have been moved/separated to help with social distancing. When middle schoolers have to change classrooms, we are utilizing outdoor entrances as much as possible for two reasons. The first is to help with social distancing by not having the students in the hallways and the second is for a mask break. If they are outside and practicing social distancing, they can remove their masks. Took lots of practice to figure out the movement from classroom to classroom. Think we have it figured out now.

The State Department of Education has provided us with five more thermometers and roughly 6,000 disposal masks. If a student or staff member needs an extra mask, we have plenty. The masks have been distributed to all the classrooms.

We have made good use of the washer and dryer donated to the school. We are constantly washing the towels we use for cleaning the classrooms. That worked out well and helps hold down the cost of cleaning supplies.

The hallways from one end of campus to the other have a dot on every sixth floor tile (floor tiles are 12 inches long) on both sides of the hallway for the students to stand on. There is never any doubt about how far six feet is. If you are not on a dot, then you are too close to the next person and there is a good chance I will be yelling at you. Sorry, that won't be a time for me to be Mr. Nice Guy. And, that's when positive motivation and reinforcement go out the window. Safety first, your feelings second.

For all the spending related to Covid-19, we have added an expense line to the budget for Covid-19. Wish we had a Covid-19 revenue line to go with that expense line. Unfortunately, there is no Covid-19 revenue. All schools and businesses everywhere are experiencing the same thing. 

Now, we focus on week two. We cannot get complacent. We have to stay vigilant. When I say we, I mean all staff, students, and parents. We also need to stay home if we are not feeling well. We cannot jeopardize anyone's health by not being honest with how we feel. All it takes is for one person to not follow protocol to cause harm to themselves and others. An outbreak of Covid-19 can happen. If we follow protocol and health guidelines, chances are an outbreak won't happen.

Please follow all health guidelines, stay safe, and keep the school in your prayers.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School