Sacred Heart plans ‘blended learning’ for school year

Sacred Heart Catholic School believes it has everything it needs to have students in the classroom five days a week for the 2020-21 school year — although like other schools, it’s taking things one day at a time with the coronavirus.

Sacred Heart will be implementing “blended learning,” according to principal Gary Cumberland, with online learning taking place if the school has to close due to an outbreak within the school or a state order like the one Gov. Tony Evers gave in March. Most classrooms are already around 10 or 11 students, Cumberland said, but those that are larger will be broken up between the teacher and classroom aides to avoid having too many people in one location.

“We’ll try it just so we can get used to it,” Cumberland said, of the online learning. “Obviously, last year we didn’t do a good job because we didn’t know this was going to happen. We’re going to make sure that even our younger students are aware of the Google Classroom and how it works. The teachers are putting together lessons through a (Microsoft) Powerpoint system. They’ll have themselves videotaped and embed those in the lessons. If we have to close down or if we have to quarantine, at least we’ll have that ready to go.”

Busing is still up in the air, although Cumberland noted that a majority of Sacred Heart families already transport their children to school themselves. Sacred Heart works with the Shawano School District and its bus contractor, Kobussen Buses, and the district is still working out its own details, Cumberland said.

“I’m also putting out (to families) that hopefully they can find someone who will give them a ride to school versus using the bus, because I don’t know where that’s going,” he said.

School hours will remain the same, with school starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 3:15 p.m. Students will be required to enter “assigned doors,” according to Cumberland, in order to prevent a large group of students coming together at the same time and potentially becoming a hub of infection.

Any student who eats breakfast before school will need to grab the meal and take it to the classroom, Cumberland said, and the lunch period will have three separate shifts for students instead of the single gathering that took place last year.

“The one thing I’ve been telling everyone is to be flexible,” Cumberland said, “because everything might change.”

Sports for middle school students are still expected to happen, according to Cumberland, but with some guidelines. Volleyball will still happen in the fall, but extra steps will be in place to sanitize balls and other equipment daily.

Cleaning overall will be enhanced, as well. The school has purchased a commercial sanitation machine that “mists” surfaces in every room to clean them every night, according to Cumberland, and staff will be cleaning during the day while students are at recess.

“We’re going to make sure we have sanitation stations in each classroom for students to wash their hands and those types of things,” he said. “Common surfaces will be wiped down daily, as well.”

In the event of an outbreak at the school, the school plans to consult the Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department for guidance. If the coronavirus cases are limited to the school, officials will determine whether to make changes in the affected classroom or the school itself, Cumberland said. But if the cases are connected with community events, that could result in the school closing for a period and going to online learning.

“We’re just going to take things one day at a time,” Cumberland said.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com