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Happy Easter to our Good Shepherd Catholic School and Queen of Peace Parish community! This is a time for hope and renewal brought to us through Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. We wish you an abundance of happiness and beauty as we continue through Spring.  Since March 13, 2020, students from pre-kindergarten to doctoral candidates have taken to remote schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Philadelphia region, public school districts are just now – a little over a year later – opening their doors back up to in-person instruction. Luckily, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia returned to in-person instruction in September, 2020, with no in-school COVID-19 spread. This proves to those looking for in-person instruction that Catholic schools successfully met the COVID-19 educational challenge with the answer to families in need of an open school.
Parents looking for in-person schooling should look no further than a Catholic education at Good Shepherd Catholic School. We offer a well-rounded, challenging curriculum, and our faculty and staff ensure a safe learning environment. The end of the school year last year, from March to June, our teachers worked tirelessly to provide their students with lessons each school day. Catholic schools provided the best education when in-person learning was not an option. Unfortunately, many Catholic schools have been hit hard by the pandemic, having to close their doors entirely. However, with the hard work and planning of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Catholic schools can bridge the gap for students from public and other schools that cannot provide the same resources and ability to re-open for in-person instruction. Furthermore, Catholic schools are affordable for all. Our Catholic schools have shown that not even a pandemic can stop our ability to educate students effectively. Enroll your student at GSC for the upcoming school year! We accept students from all backgrounds! The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has proved over the last year their ability to provide the best education to students despite the unprecedented obstacle of COVID-19. The last year certainly has been a year of challenges, simply put. While public school districts in the surrounding area have debated how and when to reopen, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia developed and followed a plan, successfully making the return to a full week of in-person instruction (with a virtual option available) since September.
Check out the full details of what reopening our Catholic elementary schools involved here. Schools have practiced social distancing, increased cleaning and sanitation, limiting visitors to the building and more. A centerpiece of the plan entailed putting students into a “cohort.” Students within a cohort are in class together, eat lunch together and don’t interact with students outside of their cohort. “That allowed us, if there was a child who caught COVID, then we just had to try to do the tracing within that group and we didn’t have to shut the whole school down,” Archdiocesan Superintendent Dr. Andrew McLaughlin said. If a child within a cohort was exposed to or tested positive for COVID-19, the entire cohort would move to virtual instruction until it was safe to return back for in-person instruction. Philadelphia Catholic schools have maintained in-person learning thanks to the cooperation of students, parents, faculty and staff at each school respecting and following the plan set out by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Education is a pivotal and foundational piece of each student's life, a fact the Archdiocese fully understands. Many students across the country are missing out on their education due to the pandemic, but Philadelphia Catholic schools have never missed a beat on keeping students on track in their education path. Good Shepherd School will be conducting Terra Nova testing starting Thursday, March 11. These tests will be held each morning (except Wednesday) until the following Friday, March 19. Terra Nova Testing is a standardized achievement test to measure a student’s performance in reading, English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The publishers of Terra Nova, McGraw-Hill, assess students’ results based on a norm-reference scale. Instead of students receiving a grade, scores of all students participating in Terra Nova are compared. Each student is then placed in a national percentile.
In an effort to provide a virtual dialogue on issues impacting families, especially during the pandemic, the Good Shepherd Home and School Association has launched a free monthly Webinar series.
After polling parents on preferred timing and topics, the Home and School Board coordinated with local leaders and members of the school community to serve as panelists on topics that include wellness, engagement, outreach, and bullying. The series takes place at 7:00 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month (February through May) via the Zoom Webinar platform. The first session – "Family Wellness: Coping During a Pandemic" – premiered on Thursday night, February 25. All Webinars will be recorded and uploaded to school channels. You can find more information about the series on the Home and School Association's "Webinars" Webpage: https://gschomeandschool.weebly.com/webinars.html. Thank you to everyone who supported GSC's annual fundraiser for the school's STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math) programs and activities, including software and hardware upgrades! You can find details about this year's successful Catholic Schools Week event here: www.gscregional.org/dance-for-education-2021.html. GSC's Dance For Education was emceed by  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently made the case that open schools are safe amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Data from schools that have reopened this past fall illustrate that open schools have had little impact on the spread of the illness.
The CDC found data showing that "the type of rapid spread that was frequently observed in congregate living facilities or high-density worksites has not been reported in education settings in schools.” While the spread may not be found in school settings the way it is found in other highly-populated settings, researchers emphasize the minimal spread in schools is the outcome of schools implementing safety precautions. As the pandemic continues on nearly a year later, Catholic schools continuously provided a light at the end of the tunnel for many families. In New York, Kerri Kiniorski, mother to three children attending a Catholic School, St. Rita School in Webster, calls their Catholic school “a lifesaver.” As school doors were closed in the early days of the COVID-19 shut down, Kiniorski attempted to balance her children learning from home while dealing with other struggles her children experienced, like not seeing their friends or being able to go out normally. “There were a lot of tears,” Kiniorski said. “I had a countdown going” for St. Rita’s return to in-person classes, she said. “Being in front of the screen was not the same as being in the classroom.” Luckily, like many Catholic schools, her children were able to return to St. Rita for in-person instruction in the fall unlike those enrolled in public schools. For some Catholic schools across the country, this pandemic was the final straw for them. But, for other schools, the tireless efforts from faculty and staff have created even richer school communities and have helped boost enrollment. Catholic schools have provided families with stability of knowing their children can attend school each day, safely in accordance with COVID guidelines. For families who choose to stay home, the virtual option for students provides an equally sustainable option. The last year brought lots of uncertainty for many, but Catholic schools continue to provide answers for families with school-aged children. Education and stability lay the foundation for young people’s lives. Catholic schools are here to provide a quality education and much more for all families looking for a stable option! Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. Lent is a 40 day and 40 night (commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert) period of solemn period marked by repentance, reflection, alms giving and sacrifice that ends with Easter. This period of time is meant to renew faith, hope and love.
Pope Francis shared a hopeful message as we begin Lent close to a year in the COVID-19 pandemic. In his message, Pope Francis hit a few notes for fellow Catholics to keep in mind during the next six weeks:
You can read Pope Francis’s full message here. |
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