Mar 12, 2020

Update from the Principal - May 31, 2020

Important Message from Principal Rohr - March 22, 2020

At Home Lessons for Kids from Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine

Positive Challenges for Kids from Summit County Public Health

March 16 Letter from Fr. Valencheck

March 15, 2020 COVID 19 Press Release 

March 14, 2020 8:00 p.m.

Dear St. Sebastian Parish Families and Staff Members,

I want to thank you all for your prayers and support this week. This week has been a challenge for our community, state, nation, and world. Please continue to keep your parish and our nation in prayer through the intercession of our patron saint. I know many families were looking forward to the Spring Music Performance featuring our Kindergarten, Second, Fourth and Sixth grade students on Thursday. It was a difficult situation, but to make the best of the situation, Mr. Beshore was able to have each grade level group perform their songs. Please enjoy the videos of our talented students singing the following songs:

Second Grade

• In the Spotlight
• The Joy Inside of Me
• Flicks are for Kids

Kindergarten

• Sing a Song of Friendship
• Rain Down
• Jesus in the Morning

Fourth and Sixth Grade

• Listen to the Music
• Listen to the Wind
• Don’t Stop the Music

We also had to cancel our school mass Thursday morning. Our Pastor, Father Valencheck, decided to come to Z-Hall and hold a private mass for our 8th and 6th grade students. The rest of our students were able to participate in the Liturgy of the Word as we live-streamed from the Church with Father Simone and Deacon Terry. The audio was not the greatest, but the students were able to pray with their classmates nonetheless. 

I would also like to give a shout out to the faculty and staff including substitutes of St. Sebastian. Day in and day out, they deal with all sorts of illnesses even picking up illnesses themselves. During the peak illness season, it is rare that all students are present in a classroom. With the recent news of COVID-19 and the peak of the influenza season, the faculty and staff have really pulled together as a team. The staff has been going through disinfectant wipes, reminding students to wash their hands and cover their coughs and sneezes. Our custodians have taken extra steps to make sure classrooms are cleaned and disinfected on nights and weekends as well. We will be taking extra steps during these next three weeks to clean and disinfect even more in order to keep your child and family healthy. Again, I really want to thank everyone for doing the small things that make a big difference in our school and parish community. 

Couple of Reminders:

• There is no school Monday, March 16. Staff only report.
• The week of March 16-20 is considered Spring Break
• March 23-April 3 will consist of two weeks of distance learning
• Teachers will send out information for students and parents next week with more details for distance learning, but again, this does not occur next week.
• Materials can be picked up Monday, March 23 if needed.

O Glorious St. Sebastian, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to you do we raise our hearts and hands and implore your powerful intercession in obtaining, from God the Father, all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, and for protection against contagious diseases. O, special guardian from diseases and accidents, we are confident that your intercession on our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.  Amen.

St. Sebastian is considered a protector against the plague. He is celebrated for his protection in answer to intercessory prayer against the plagues in Rome in 680, Milan in 1575, and Lisbon in 1599.”

Please remember that social distancing and hand washing during this time period are key prevention measures that we have at this time. 

Social Distancing: This is Not a Snow Day

https://medium.com/@ariadnelabs/social-distancing-this-is-not-a-snow-day-ac21d7fa78b4

Yours in Christ,

Anthony Rohr

Principal

St. Sebastian School

 

Letter from Fr. Donald Oleksiak, Diocesan Administrator

March 12, 2020 9:00 p.m.

Dear St. Sebastian Parish Families and Staff Members,

Due to the state of emergency caused by COVID-19, this afternoon Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made the decision to close all preK-12 schools throughout Ohio. This was also mandated by the bishops of the State of Ohio. St. Sebastian Parish School will be closed Monday, March 16th through Friday, April 3rd including all extracurricular activities. The required closure is currently slated through Friday, April 3, though Governor DeWine stated that he would be advised by medical experts as to the progress of the disease and the containment strategy. The executive order and state of emergency remain in full force and effect until the emergency no longer exists. 

At this point, we are adjusting our Spring Break schedule. Next week (March 16-20) will be a Spring Break week for students, followed by two weeks (March 23-April 3) of distance learning. We will continue to monitor the advice and recommendations regarding COVID-19 from Governor Dewine, Summit County Public Health, and the Ohio Department of Health. Again, at this point, we plan to resume school on Monday, April 6-9, and then the school will be closed Friday, April 10 and Monday, April 13. Families that have vacation plans for the week of April 14-17 will not be penalized. 

The staff of St. Sebastian will report on Monday, March 16 to create distance learning lesson plans and materials for students. Grades K-2 will likely have the more traditional “blizzard bags” containing classwork to be done while they are off from school. Students in grades 3-8 will still have materials to utilize but they will also use digital online materials for their continued education. If students in grades 3-5 do not have access to a chromebook device or equivalent, chromebooks will be available to be picked up on Monday, March 23. We ask that you be respectful of the fact that this assistance is being offered for educational purposes, not to supplement what families may already have at home or to be used for recreational purposes. School-issued devices are to be used only for school-related purposes and all monitoring and filters will remain in place.

Monday, March 23 and 30 will be pick up days for any materials that cannot be accessed online and are needed for students provided by the teaching staff of St. Sebastian. We understand that picking up materials may be challenging, so if other arrangements need to be made, please contact the school office or your homeroom teacher. We also will be open to providing assistance should there not be internet access in your home during this time period. All grade level teachers will be sharing a Google Doc with families via Bloomz and with students if grade appropriate for access to learning materials. Teachers will be available during the distance learning periods. More details to come on Friday and/or Monday.

We understand how challenging this news may be, but we will all need to pull together as a community to make the best of a worst case scenario. Our teachers will do their best to stay in regular communication with your children during the closure. This is a fluid situation. These plans may change per further direction from the state level. We will keep you updated as information becomes available.

We ask that you continue to join us in praying for the health and safety of all affected by this crisis. From Father Valencheck, “As the parish of St. Sebastian, we have a particular responsibility during this time to pray for the end of this health threat since St. Sebastian is the patron to invoke against the spread of contagious diseases.  Please keep your parish and our nation in prayer through the intercession of our patron saint.

O Glorious St. Sebastian, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to you do we raise our hearts and hands and implore your powerful intercession in obtaining, from God the Father, all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, and for protection against contagious diseases. O, special guardian from diseases and accidents, we are confident that your intercession on our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.  Amen.

St. Sebastian is considered a protector against the plague. He is celebrated for his protection in answer to intercessory prayer against the plagues in Rome in 680, Milan in 1575, and Lisbon in 1599.”

Please remember that social distancing and hand washing during this time period are key prevention measures that we have at this time. 

For more information on COVID-19, please visit the following websites:

https://www.cdc.gov/

https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/home

https://www.scph.org/covid-19

Yours in Christ,

Anthony Rohr

Principal

St. Sebastian School

 

March 12, 2020 10:00 a.m.

Dear Families and Staff Members,

As the situation regarding COVID-19 continues to evolve, we will be heeding the advice of our Governor to limit large gatherings of people in our buildings. As we attempt to be part of the solution to slow the spread of the virus, we want to limit the number of outside people interacting with our students and staff members. This means that outside groups will no longer be able to meet in the school building. During the Governor’s press conference a couple of hours ago on 3/11/2020, it was confirmed that a Stark County man now has the virus and it is now a community spread issue.

In keeping with advice and recommendations regarding COVID-19 from Governor Dewine, Summit County Public Health, the Ohio Department of Health, and Summit County Superintendents, K-12 schools will remain open at this time, but effective immediately, all evening concerts, field trips, school dances, and competitions will not be held. St. Sebastian student groups can continue to hold after school practices and meetings so that they are ready to compete when the threat of illness decreases.

The typical school day will still be in session for the time being as we continue to rely on the feedback from health care professionals. If the need to close schools becomes a reality, we are prepared with an online instruction platform to deliver academic materials that will be overseen by our teaching staff. Should online access be an issue, distance learning materials will be made available. Parents, please be prepared to make arrangements for the possibility of your child(ren) needing to stay home. Also, all indoor student performances and gatherings including school Masses and Stations of the Cross have been postponed as well until further notice.

We apologize for any inconvenience and understand that the evening events are special and add to the overall educational experience we provide. Out of an abundance of caution, we feel this is the best decision to do everything we can to keep everyone in our community safe and healthy.

Students are encouraged to wash their hands frequently especially before snacks and meals or use a hand sanitizer.

Daily environmental cleaning processes continue with regular disinfection of frequently touched surfaces at school; we are prepared to accelerate such cleaning practices as needed and we will be cleaning and disinfecting the school building each weekend as well.

As the situation changes, we will continue to provide ongoing communication. In case you have seen the news about Akron Public Schools being closed on Tuesday, March 17, we believe this is due to many of their buildings being used for election polling stations. Unless things change, St. Sebastian Parish School plans on being open Tuesday, March 19.

Prevention:
The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. The Ohio Department of Health has developed simple everyday preventative actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, including:
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Cover mouth/nose with tissue/sleeve when coughing/sneezing.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
If you are sick, to keep from spreading respiratory illness to others, you should:
Stay home except to get medical care
Call ahead before visiting your doctor
Wear a facemask
Cover your coughs and sneezes
Avoid sharing personal household items
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
Parishioners who are sick should remain home. Missing Mass is not a sin if you are sick.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit the following websites:
Keeping the Home Safe:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nc-_f5Ja0x5s0WKyqPiXT8ZHGrvvIFOf/view?usp=sharing
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
https://www.scph.org/covid-19--

Yours in Christ,

Anthony Rohr

Principal

St. Sebastian School