Coronavirus (COVID-19) Important Information

Dear Parents/Guardians of Saint Mary School Students:

The recent events and information regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced all of us to make some difficult decisions.  The principals of Holy Cross Academy, St. Benedict, St. Leo the Great, and Saint Mary School have come to a joint decision to close all our schools for a two-week period beginning March 16th.  Our anticipated return to our buildings will be scheduled for March 30th. This would limit the spread of this virus and allow deep cleaning of our facilities.  

All schools are equipped to facilitate instruction through online resources such as Schoology and Class DOJO, while other materials have been sent home in hardcopy through student folders.  Teachers will be responsible for posting lessons in all academic subjects, religion, and specials classes on Sunday and Wednesday evenings for their students to complete during the normal school week. Teachers will be online and available to answer questions and assist with instruction Monday through Friday from 10am to 2pm.  For these 10 days to count as official school days, instruction must be evident for students.  Please submit all work electronically or keep in a folder for submission upon returning to school.  All work will be reviewed and graded depending upon the objective of the individual assignment.

As part of these steps to protect our students and families, as well as the community, ALL extracurricular activities and community gatherings are cancelled or postponed until further notice. This includes all play practices/music lessons, all athletic practices and competition, school trips, Mother/Son Dance, Dine-to-Donate, etc. If any activities or events can be rescheduled, you will receive information about them under separate cover. Events scheduled for later this year will be evaluated based on the most current information as the date(s) become closer, but further cancellations may be necessary.

Please note that in order for these actions to be successful it is paramount that we practice social distancing and that students actually stay home during this period of online instruction. Saint Mary School students should not view this as free time where they can be out and about in the community.

Lastly, it is extremely important that you contact Mr. Palmer at cpalmer@stmaryes.org if your son, daughter, or any members of your family become ill and test positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Again, it is very important that you notify us so that we can make any appropriate adjustments in our timeline to account for the incubation period. Remember that the campus will be completely closed until at least March 30; if for any reason you need to return to campus or have any other emergency, please contact Craig Palmer by email.

It is our hope and intention to continue to provide quality, Catholic education by effectively using the technology we have in place.  

God bless you all,

Craig Palmer
Principal