2020-21: Planning for the year ahead

With being prepared to accommodate all of our students in the building as a priority, O'Hara began ordering, modifying and otherwise planning for this coming school year in May. When and if metrics allow us to open the building for all grades, we have the necessary space and a plan in place to do so. 

Below, we've included a bulleted list of decisions, purchases, modifications and other updates unique to our 2020-21 school year. This list is a work in progress, and we continue to work through decisions and information on a daily basis as guidance from authorities is released and clarified. The list will be updated as we know more and decide more. Please remember that we are bound by the decisions and directives from the Governor, the Oregon Department of Education and the Archdiocese of Portland and the items listed below are subject to change should their directives require it.

O'HARA RESOURCES

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COVID-19 RESOURCES
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ODE Guidelines to open schools
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Current COVID-19 metrics in Oregon, by county
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MODIFICATIONS, TO DATE, FOR 2020-21 SCHOOL BUILDING REOPENING

Calendar updates

• Passport Day (Tuesday, September 8) is cancelled. Students do not report to school on this day.
• First day of school is Wednesday, September 9.

Updates to building & campus facilities and sanitizing procedures

• Portable classrooms for Preschool & PreK are being installed on our campus. Other classrooms have been rearranged in the building to make sure everyone has enough space. (Per ODE 35 sq ft per student requirement.)
• O’Hara will install temporary tent structures in multiple locations on campus to be used for student check-in.
• O’Hara has purchased Air Scrubbers that will be placed on the HVAC units that serve the classrooms and the office area. Air Scrubbers help to reduce contaminants in the air by purifying the air of 90% of airborne contaminants by using special light waves to clean the air moving through our HVAC units. 
• Plexiglass shields will be installed in the office and other high-traffic areas.
• Lockers will not be used by students this year.
• We will have a designated and centrally-located sick room for students.
• Contactless thermometers purchased for each classroom & front office.
• Two portable hand sanitizing stations have been purchased.
• Multiple large orders of sanitizer, cleaning supplies, disinfectant wipes and supplies for our Clorox 360 machine have been placed. We began placing these orders in March, and continue to receive shipments.
• Additional cleaning protocols will be put into place throughout the day, per ODE guidelines, including increasing our cleaning staff.

Updates to student schedules, procedures & services

• O’Hara will have a staggered drop-off and pick-up schedule utilizing multiple points of entry/exit on campus.
• Per state guidelines, health screening will be required at the beginning of the day.
• Students will be assigned to a cohort and remain with this group of students throughout the day (for all classes, breaks, lunch, etc.). Cohort size will vary based on the capacity of the classroom per ODE requirements.
• Students will eat lunch with their cohort, in their classrooms.
• To minimize mixing between cohorts, siblings/relatives in the same grade will be placed in the same homeroom in grades PreK - 5. 
• Grades 3, 6, 7 & 8 will have three homerooms each.
• Primary Spanish class is suspended for the 2020-21 school year.
• One-way traffic flow will be established within the building for all travel paths, including entrances & exits throughout the building.
• PE class will be held outside, not in the gym.
• Extra breaks and hand washing times will be built into the schedule for all cohorts.
• No in-person Masses or all-school gatherings will be held; we will schedule Masses and assemblies via Zoom and/or live stream. 
• Mass Dress requirements are suspended for the duration of the pandemic restrictions.
• O’Hara’s lunch program will exist, with modifications for safe handling. 
• After the Bell, O'Hara's on-site after-care provider, will continue offering their services to our families when students are in the building. Updated rate sheets and more information will be posted on our website as it becomes available.

Parent access & involvement

• Parents and visitors will be permitted in the front lobby of the school building only. 
• Current guidelines from the Archdiocese prohibit volunteers except as specifically requested and documented by administration. As such, FIP hours are waived for the duration of the COVID-19 restrictions.
• Parents will be asked to partner with us in adhering to strict guidelines for when and how long students must stay home if they present symptoms. As the specific guidelines are released to us by the authorities, we will publish them for parents.

Preschool & PreKindergarten

• We are in the process of applying for an Emergency Childcare License (applicable and available for Preschool and PreK only) through the Early Learning Division of the State. This is the normal licensing body for our Preschool and PreKindergarten programs. Obtaining this license will afford us the opportunity to keep our Preschool and PreK programs open and running, even if the governor chooses to close all schools again. By bringing in temporary portable classrooms, our Preschool and PreK students will have their own building and protocols, and will be seen as stand-alone from the school. These students will still receive specialist instruction during their week and will have access to their normal PreK Park playground. 
• With the addition of the portable classrooms for our youngest students, we will also be creating an additional & adjacent outdoor space for PreK & Preschool to play. As such, if your family has outgrown play structure type items that you would be willing to donate for our students to play on, please email Miss Stacy Davis (PreK). Thank you, in advance, for any gently-used donations you might be able to give.  
• If you have any questions about our Early Childhood program and how it will be run in the fall to meet the requirements of the Early Learning Division, please contact our program director (and Preschool teacher), Mrs. Alyssa Hendrix. 

Updates to school supply lists for the 20-21 school year

We anticipate students will be outside in light rain or wet ground conditions more often than in the past. As such, we are requesting that all students have:

• Rain boots - they may be worn to/at school in wet weather
• Rain jacket
• A complete change of uniform clothes to keep at school. Please send a set of extra clothes (socks, pants, underwear, uniform shirt) in a sealed, labeled Ziploc bag.  
• Current state guidelines require everyone over the age of 5 to wear a mask, in both indoor and outdoor public spaces. This mandate will apply when students are on campus, and includes students in grades K & up. There are not specific color requirements for masks. However, masks should not have words or phrases. Additionally, they may not have any graphic or design that is distracting, scary, or otherwise inappropriate for an elementary school setting. We do encourage families to prepare for a way to label their masks with student or family names. Please click here for one option we found.