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Dear Parents, 

As we prepare to kick off our E-Learning trial day tomorrow I wanted to share some important information and a few helpful tips with all of you. 

ALL communication for homework, assignments, updates, etc. will come to your child through Teacherease or the Google Classroom. You will receive some initial communication to your email address today and or tomorrow, but as we move forward all assignments and lessons will be sent to your child's email through Google Classroom or Teacherease. It is IMPERATIVE that you check your email for school based updates and that your child checks his or her account for academic information from his  or her teacher(s). Outside of Pre-K through 1st grade ALL students have had a great deal of exposure to the Google Classroom and Teacherease usage in many of their classes already. This is NOT brand new to most of our students. If you are unsure how to login please ask your child first, you may be surprised at what they can already do. I can assure you that many of them already know how to log in as well as how to navigate the Google Classroom. For our grade school students who do not have a school purchased Chromebook, your child can still access the Google Classroom and Teacherease from ANY device that has internet capabilities. Although it may be tricky at first they will surely get the hang of logging in.

Passwords and logins - Currently all students in grades K-12 have their own Marquette Academy Google account and password. Please note that this is the account that will link them into their specific teachers Google classroom. Students MUST use this account. Parents please be advised that we CAN NOT use your email address for your child's Google Classroom account they MUST use their school email address. The system is already set up and all Google Classrooms are created, so we will not be changing this process. If you are unsure of your child’s login information in grades K-8 please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher and they can verify their login and password. If you are still having issues accessing the account you may need to have it reset.  Our AMAZING technology support staff at Computer Spa has created a link for you to do that. If you click on the link below they will send the reset code to your child's homeroom teacher who will then contact you. I will be the person contacting all High School students with rest information from Computer Spa. Please use the link below for a password reset.

passwordreset@ marquetteacademy.net
 

Accelerated Reader: Students will still be able to access AR for tests now even from home. Please see the PDF attached to this email for information on how to access this from home.  You will still also need our school AR code which is MA-01LU  along with the additional information on the page. Please remember that students can read any books that they have at home in hard copy or they can access books through a variety of apps that allow for books to be downloaded. AR also has available nonfiction articles at the following website www.arbookfind.com.

Technology Issues: If you are facing technology issues during our trial day tomorrow I ask that you contact either your child's teacher directly or myself. We will do our best to troubleshoot any issues you may be having, but please keep in mind that this is a new initiative and it may take time to work out any issues. Our faculty and staff will be using Thursday and Friday to correct issues and also to continue to develop our E-Learning for next week.

E-Learning for the week of March 23rd- 27th: As previously mentioned we will be following a modified schedule for the week of March 23rd through March 27th. Again by attempting this process gradually we will allow for our teachers and students to better acclimate to our new way of teaching and learning. Please note that with our modified schedule we do not expect students to complete their work during their "regular" class times. Instead as we acclimate to our new system they may complete their lessons and work anytime during the specified day. Again this work is counted for completion so we do want kids to attempt everything as a means to best prepare for the following week if we do shift to full time E-Learning. It is anticipated that assignments be completed within the day they are assigned as if they were to be "turned in" the next day had they been taken home for homework. Your child can anticipate receiving lessons and homework from the following classes on each specified day. 

Monday March 23rd: High School/Junior High (5-8) -  Periods 1 & 2 Classes

Grade School (K-4) - 2 academic areas as determined by your teacher

Preschool- refer to your child’s teacher’s email regarding their E-Learning Plan

Tuesday March 24th: High School/Junior High (5-8) - Periods 3 & 4

Grade School (K-4) - 2 different academic areas as determined by your teacher

Preschool - refer to your child’s teacher’s email regarding their E-Learning Plan  

Wednesday March 25th: High School/ Junior High (5-8)- Periods 5 & 6

Grade School (K-4) - 2 different academic areas as determined by your teacher 

Preschool- refer to your child’s teacher’s email regarding their E-Learning Plan

Thursday March 26th: High School/Junior High (5-8)- Periods 7 & 8

Grade School(K-4) - Specials (Art, Music, PE and Spanish) assignments

Preschool - refer to your child’s teacher’s email regarding their E-Learning Plan.

Friday March 27th: Please watch for contact from your teachers to utilize this time for trouble shooting and preparation for the following week if we are to continue on in our E-Learning process.

Specifications for the week of March 30th - April 3rd will be released as they become available as we await further direction from the ISBE and OCS.  

I want to take this opportunity to commend and thank our faculty and staff for their hard work and diligence to make this all happen. They have already put in much effort and will continue to work extremely hard to ensure that we are still giving our students the high quality Catholic education they deserve. I truly appreciate all of their hard work and efforts and I once again implore you to be patient and continue to work with us as we attempt to troubleshoot any issues we may encounter. This is truly a brand new endeavor for all of us, so we must all work together in order for it to be successful. I also continue to encourage you all to please follow the guidelines of social distancing as it is truly the only way we can help to slow and eventually stop the transmission of this virus. Please continue to pray for all of our Marquette Family throughout this unprecedented time. 

Respectfully, 

--

Brooke Rick, Principal

Marquette Academy

High School 815/433-0125  Ext 1013

Grade School 815/433-1199

INCOMING FRESHMAN ENROLLMENT

Parents of Incoming Freshman: The upcoming enrollments scheduled for 3-26 and 3-28, will be rescheduled at a later date due to the current  COVID-19 circumstances. Please keep checking your emails.

Please contact Mindy McConnaughhay if you have any questions.

TO: School Pastors, Chaplains, and Principals 

CC: Most Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, Rev. Msgr. Philip Halfacre, 

Ms. Patricia Gibson 

FROM: Dr. Sharon Weiss, Superintendent of Schools 

RE: Coronavirus COVID-19 Plan for Diocesan Schools 

In discussion with the Office of the Bishop, the following directives will be initiated immediately for the Catholic Diocese of Peoria elementary and secondary schools. 

These directives have been written with an abundance of caution in order to assist our diocesan schools to plan for alternative learning options and the possible closure of our schools in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 

Please review these directives in preparation for a regional principals’ phone conference with the Office of Catholic Schools scheduled this afternoon. A separate email has been sent with the time and dial-in instructions for each of our four regions. 

The Office of the Bishop has approved the following directives for dissemination by the Office of Catholic Schools: 

ACADEMIC INSTRUCTION 

1. All diocesan schools will be closed during the week of March 16-20. Principals and teachers will be in attendance; however, students will not be in school. The rationale for this decision is for our leaders and educators to review, 2 update and practice their E Learning Plans. There will be many issues that schools will need to resolve, including: lesson plans and assignments; grading of these assignments (if applicable); technology requirements; teacher availability for questions during the E Learning Day(s); etc. We would like the schools to take Monday and Tuesday next week as a faculty to work with their principal and “iron out” these details. 

2. On Wednesday of next week, March 18th, all schools will have an actual E Learning “Trial” Day with their students. Therefore, your school’s E Learning Plan will need to go home to parents (via your student information system) sometime on Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday’s E Learning Trial Day. 

3. At the end of the alternative learning day on Wednesday, principals will send home an evaluation of the E Learning Trial Day and ask parents for their feedback regarding any challenges or other issues that were experienced. This feedback should be shared with the faculty. 

4. On Thursday and Friday, March 19th and 20th, each school’s faculty will continue their E Learning planning and discuss any issues that their families encountered and adapt their learning plans to correct the problems. 

5. At the end of the day on Friday, March 20th, principals will send home to parents an updated E Learning Plan, if applicable. 

6. At the end of the day on Friday, March 20th, principals will also send a copy of their E Learning Plan, with or without any changes, to OCS (rgifford@cdop.org) which will be kept in the school’s diocesan file. 

7. March 16-20 will be counted as student attendance days and will not need to be made up. Please note: assignments will not be sent home during this week; this time has been allotted for schools to work on their E Learning plans and implementation in case a school would need to be closed for an extended amount of time due to the pandemic. 

8. STUDENTS MUST TAKE ALL BOOKS HOME WITH THEM TOMORROW, FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH IN PREPARATION FOR NEXT 3 

WEEK AND THE E-LEARNING “TRIAL” DAY SCHEDULED FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18TH. 

CLEANING AND DISINFECTING BUILDING(S) 

9. During next week, principals should hire a cleaning firm or use their own custodial service to thoroughly clean and disinfect their school building(s). If the school’s custodial staff will be used to do this work, Melissa Block will be sending a separate email to pastors and principals with directions on what must be in place to disinfect and clean. Please watch for this email from Melissa that will be sent out this afternoon. 

EMPLOYEES EXPOSED OR INFECTED WITH THE CORONAVIRUS 

10. Employees should self-report any exposure or infection with the coronavirus. There will be a 14-day quarantine, with pay, for the employee from the time of the report to the principal. It is very important that employees stay home and therefore, minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus. 

ATHLETIC AND EXTRACURRICULAR EVENTS 

11. Per guidance received today from IHSA, scheduled athletic and extracurricular events (music, speech, etc.) will be limited to players, coaches, immediate family members, and referees only. Other spectators will not be allowed to attend until further notice. 

12. Per guidance received today from IESA, scheduled athletic events are to follow the requirements of the host school in which the event is played. These events should be limited to the coaches, referees, players, and immediate family members, unless the host site has cancelled the athletic or extracurricular event. 

13. During the week of March 16-20, athletic team practices may continue as usual but just with coaches and players, and these practices will be restricted to the gymnasium only. However, sporting and athletic events will follow scheduled games or events as described above. 4 

TRAVEL 

14. Families that will be travelling outside of the country during spring break will not be allowed to return to school until a 14-day quarantine has been observed, beginning with the day that the family returns home. 

15. Families travelling within the United States will need to be aware of the coronavirus instructions of the site they are traveling to, and follow that guidance. If there is any exposure to the coronavirus or to someone who has been diagnosed with the virus, we would ask that the family assist the school and self-report and observe the 14-day quarantine. 

16. OCS advises that field trips be reduced to a minimum and perhaps, cancelled, at this time, if possible. Usually the field trip venues involve places where many people gather. It may be best to err on the side of caution at this point. 

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS 

17. In regard to any of our students that may have health concerns or compromised immune systems, OCS strongly advises that these children stay home and receive instruction from their teachers via the online option. 

18. Continuing frequent and proper handwashing, eliminating touching the face and shaking hands, and sending children home who have a fever, etc. should be observed. 

It should be stated that this entire health situation with COVID-19 coronavirus has been changing rapidly day-to-day. The Office of Catholic Schools, as directed by the Office of the Bishop, will continue to monitor and share information with our school leadership as decisions are made and health updates received. 

Thank you for your assistance and cooperation as we work through this pandemic together, and as we seek the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Amen.