COVID Updates

Parents and students, please use this page to refer to ongoing updates.

We are extremely excited to share with you our attached reopening plan for the 2020-2021 school year. We have worked diligently throughout this summer to ensure that we are evaluating and taken into account the many details and logistics surrounding the realities of this school year. Our plans have been created in accordance with the CDC, the Louisiana Department of Health, the Louisiana Department of Education, and the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette guidelines for reopening schools.
I would like to express my gratitude to our administrative team and our entire faculty who have sacrificed much of their well-deserved summer break to work through our plan and assist in its creation. I would also like to thank our Advisory and Foundation Boards for their input as well as many parents who have voiced their thoughts and concerns.
St. Bernard believes that it is extremely important that our students return to campus for instruction 5 days a week. We are fortunate that we will be able to accommodate this desire both in Phase 3 and Phase 2. You will notice that Phase 1 will require an adjustment of our routine and 3rd-8th grade will have to convert to a distance learning format if we enter this Phase. We have created a schedule that will allow PK-2nd grade to remain on campus even in Phase 1.
In order to bring our faculty and student back to campus, we all must adhere to adjustments in our daily operations. We know there will be many questions and we wish to answer them. We have and will continue to compile a list of questions and provide clarification to everyone on a regular basis by presenting a "FAQ Document." We will also be conducting grade-band specific meetings for our parents next week via Zoom. The dates and times can be found at the end of our reopening plan attached. We will speak more in-depth about the adjustments we are making to the daily operations at each grade level during these meetings.
Although we do feel it important that students are on campus 5 days a week, we will be offering a distance-learning option. Based on the feedback we have received and out of our desire to charitably walk with our families, we recognize a legitimate desire for this option. The attached plan does not speak to this option, as we still believe and hold that our face-to-face plan is primary. Due to the significant infrastructure and logistical obligations, along with the increased work level added to our staff to conduct both face-to-face and digital learning simultaneously, we will only be able to offer this option to students in 3rd-8th grade.
Should your family desire this option, we ask that you follow this link to submit your official desire for this option. If you desire our primary option of face-to-face learning there is no need for you to notify us. We do have a set of specific guidelines and procedures that must be followed if the distant-learning option is chosen in place of the reopening plan attached. These guidelines can also be found at the link above.
Our theme for this year comes from The First Letter of St. John 4:7-8. "Beloved, let us love one another...The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." I find it extremely fitting that this year is the "Year of Charity" in our Virtues in Practice program. We wish to express our continued heart-felt appreciation for your trust in us and we hope to continue walking in charity in the formation of each of our students. this year will require a continued and renewed effort from all of us. We, the faculty, staff, students, parents, and community, will be asked to come together in a profoundly charitable way to educate and form our children. The faculty and staff relish in this calling and are looking forward to the plans God has for us this year. Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to providing continued clarification and any updates that develop.