Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic School

THE NAVIGATOR

A Note from Mrs. Dent

Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic School has set up a COVID-19 Task Force Team that is made up of medical professionals (Dr. John Wright, MD, Dr. Jeannine Griffin, MD, Michael Gaines, FNP-C and Linda Meyer, RN). This team is helping our school to set up standard operating procedures to safely educate our students on campus. The reason for this effort is that the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidance "strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school.”  The guidance says that "schools are fundamental to child and adolescent development and well-being.”  

With this approach in mind, our school is spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours to prepare for the coming school year. Teachers are already meeting to be trained on COVID protocols and develop classroom processes to meet them. We understand that parents are concerned about having their children return to school, but our teachers are fully in support of having the students back in the classroom. They know this cannot happen unless they gain your trust by implementing safe policies, following those protocols both in and out of the school environment, and communicating these protocols to families.

The OLG COVID Task Force has set up the following  special school COVID email link to answer questions and address concerns of parents and faculty as they arise, both now & in the coming months:  COVIDinfo@olgmariners.org

The OLG COVID Task Force team will meet again next week to review latest COVID policies & procedures and to discuss any questions sent in the coming week.  Our next Navigator issue will provide the results of this meeting.

These are unprecedented times, but we are so blessed to already have one of the key safety factors in place - smaller class sizes. And while we have had families approach our school to enroll because of our size and approach to this pandemic, we will be maintaining our smaller class sizes. During the current pandemic, we have decreased our lower elementary class sizes and have frozen enrollment for the coming year to focus on the safe return of those families that have been with us through the years and selected our school for not only its approach to student safety, but also our high academic standards and faith-based curriculum.  

Thank you for choosing to be a part of our Mariner Family.
 

Preparing for the New School Year!

• OLG will be an In-School Campus this year. 
• All classes will be in-person. Remote Learning will only be offered temporarily for the following situations:
  • Required COVID quarantines (for confirmed cases or cases being tested) 
  • In response to a Government order

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  MASKS - OLG staff & students in grades K - 8th will wear masks when moving about the main building.  Students will have the option to wear royal blue or grey, 3-ply cloth masks (available through the school or other suppliers) or disposable non-cloth masks.  Designer & specialty masks will not be part of the dress code.  Please go to the school website (olgmariners.org) for details and to place mask orders.  Please place mask orders on-line by July 25th to ensure your order is ready for pickup on August 7th.

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• SCHOOL SUPPLIES - Because access to the campus will be greatly restricted with the temporary COVID regulations, we are encouraging parents to pick up your student's remote lockers on Thursday, July 30th, put your student's school supplies in his/her remote locker, and then return the remote locker with school supplies to school on Friday, August 7th (and pick up your mask orders) - all via curb-side service!  The remote lockers will be waiting for the students' return in their homerooms on the first day of school, Tuesday August 11th.

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  UNIFORM SALES - Don't forget, we will be holding outdoor uniform sales on Tuesday, July 28th from 8 - 10am and 4:30 - 5:30pm.  $2/item or trade-ins welcome.

Current Preparations

Teacher Meetings

Teachers started meeting a month early to work together to plan for the upcoming school year. The new face behind the white mask is Sr. Theresa Vu - Middle School Religion & Art Teacher!
 

 

Although there are many items to consider, the teachers are eager to get back into their classrooms with their students.
 

4th grade has a new teacher to go along with a new wall and plexiglass on the desks! We are happy to welcome Ms. Michelle Madsen to OLG.

Building Construction

COVID doesn't stop construction, and every summer we have building improvements. This year we are reworking a classroom for better security and to stop leaks.
 

 

We are also replacing the glass doors at the end of the main hallway to improve access control and security.