Health Center

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From the CDC: If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately.

Emergency warning signs include:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Persistent pain of pressure in the chest
• New confusion of inability to arouse
• Bluish lips or face

This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning.

You will need your health insurance card, picture ID, bring a book, (and an empty bladder), as the wait for testing may take hours.

Dear Parents,

I hope you and your family are healthy as we partner together to do what is best for your daughter. The end of the school year is in sight and so, too, may be the first wave of the pandemic. As I write, I am aware that I greet each of you in your individual homes in which you may be experiencing different periods of hope, frustration, and unexpected moments of joy or grief. This crisis can catch us all at our best and worst, sometimes on the same day. I hope this letter extends grace and space for hope and patience about our moving into the future.

Here are a few important highlights of the letter, and please read this message in its entirety as many more details follow.

• May 1 is an all-school holiday honoring the Class of 2020.
• May 15 is the last day of instruction.
• The deadline for uniform orders has been postponed.
• Tuition payment options have been extended.
• You will be invited to Virtual Parent Town Hall Meetings next week.

The recent research about lifting restrictions is allowing the School to make more informed plans and to share those contingencies with you. Also, as we bring this term to a successful close and plan for next year, we invite you to join us in celebrating the remarkable Class of 2020. 

Finishing the Academic Year
Immediately following the Governor's recommendation last week for Tennessee classrooms to remain closed, St. Mary's announced that the campus will not reopen this school year. The last day of instruction will be Friday, May 15. The following week will be set aside for students who need a little more time to catch up or finish out the year due to illness. You will receive more information about that final week and how you can retrieve student supplies and school work from campus.

Celebrating "Senior 2020 Day"—All-School Holiday
Thursday, April 30 is the seniors' last day of classes. We have planned several ways to keep alive the tradition of "Black Friday" that immediately follows. The entire School community will honor the Class of 2020 on Friday, May 1 by celebrating "Senior Day" as an all-school holiday. 

Virtual Parent Town Hall Meetings
Next week I will host parent Town Hall meetings where you will have the opportunity to hear from me and to ask questions. Please be looking for emails with more information on the Town Hall meetings, a link for submitting questions in advance, and a link to join us online.

Reopening the Campus for Summer and for 2020-2021
St. Mary's is planning to be open for summer camps and the 2020-2021 school year as soon as it is safe to return to campus. We are preparing to make the transitions nimbly, safely, and with as much notice as we can provide. Our mission to provide an excellent educational experience obviously depends on the environment as well as available resources.

The American Enterprise Institute's Road Map to Reopening, which aligns with the White House and CDC's guidelines, proposes steps necessary to reopen businesses and schools when certain conditions are met. The following preconditions must be met in order for schools in Shelby County to reopen in Phase 2:

• a sustained reduction in cases for at least 14 days; 
• hospitals' ability to treat all patients without resorting to crisis standards of care;
• the ability to test all people with COVID-19 symptoms; and 
• the ability to conduct active monitoring of confirmed cases and their contacts.

After meeting those thresholds, we hope to open campus with some combination of the following measures:

• during the summer and school year, having full-time nurses on duty;
• managing the size of student groups;
• screening students and teachers for symptoms or antibodies, 
• complying with test and trace protocols; and 
• returning to remote learning temporarily if the school becomes a "hot spot."

And even when the school opens, we will all need to take special precautions for vulnerable populations within our families and staff.

Providing continuity for your daughter's education will require a different approach next year. Many experts warn that we could see these precautions in place for a significant time until a vaccine is ready. We are warned to expect several cycles of lifting restrictions and suppressing outbreaks. Consequently, we expect to teach both on campus and at home to accommodate shifting populations of healthy and quarantined students. 

We are taking care and expense to be safe, supplied, and staffed for reopening. Over the summer and in fall orientations, we will equip parents and teachers for this hybrid model. St. Mary's will continue to teach your daughter under any circumstances. As an independent school, we can control the pace, content, and delivery of the curriculum in order to keep your daughter where she needs to be academically.

Extending Uniform Timetable
When COVID-19 forced us to close campus, we were not able to roll-out in-person fittings and ordering as we would have liked. Recently, our provider Flynn O'Hara was required to temporarily stop operations. Consequently, they are unable to guarantee a uniform production timetable. Therefore, we will extend the order deadline and adjust the first day of required uniforms once we know a little more about what our next school year will look like. Any orders that have been placed are secure and will be delivered as soon as Flynn O'Hara resumes operations.

Tuition, Fees, and Financial Hardships
I know that some of you are anxious about your livelihood and your ability to afford tuition if home-bound online learning were to continue into the next school year. I want to hear from parents in order to assess the financial impact in our community and provide as much help as we can.

As a payment date approaches in June, you have asked questions about tuition. The vast majority of tuition goes to teacher salaries, healthcare, and other benefits. Tuition also ensures that we maintain the campus and have the resources to prepare for a safe return. With the current uncertainty, I understand the risk that enrollment may present both to families and to the school for the next year. 

In the upcoming tuition invoices, and auxiliary and FLIK statements, you may see credits on your accounts for:

• refunded or collected trip fees; 
• Aftercare between March 16 and 31; and 
• the unused portion of the FLIK meal plan. 

Fees for 2020-2021 class trips will not be billed on your May tuition invoice as they normally would be. We will only bill those fees once we are confident that the trip is viable and travel restrictions will be lifted.

If you need to change the payment plan you elected during enrollment, there is still the opportunity to do that. To provide additional financial flexibility to families who choose the monthly plan, payments will be charged over twelve months instead of the normal ten. The Tuition Refund Plan (TRP) is included in the monthly plan and for any family receiving financial aid. For families that elect the one or two payment plan, the deadline to purchase the TRP is August 1. Please contact the business office as soon as possible, but no later than June 1, with any changes to your payment plan or if you have questions or concerns about your account.

We do not know the full extent of how this crisis is affecting your family. If your financial situation has changed and you would like to apply for financial assistance, please contact Nicole Hernandez, Director of Admission and Financial Aid (nhernandez@stmarysschool.org).

Finally, I want to thank you for the opportunities I have had to talk with many of you. We are all in this together, and St. Mary's will continue making plans for your daughter to succeed on and off campus, now and into the 2020-2021 academic year. I look forward to seeing you and being able to greet you in person soon.

Albert Throckmorton
Head of School

Dear Parents,

Following the Governor's recommendation yesterday, St. Mary's will not re-open campus this spring and will continue to provide remote teaching and learning to complete the academic year.

On Monday, I will send a letter to you with the many details that follow this necessary but unfortunate action.

We all had looked expectantly to this season to celebrate achievements, performances, traditions, games and tournaments, class days, and graduation. For students, teachers, and parents, these losses disappoint and grieve us. As a school community, we have planned, and continue to seek, creative ways of preserving what we can of the celebrations and recognitions and look forward to sharing those moments with you and your daughters in the coming weeks.

Thank you for caring for your families so well under such trying circumstances. And thank you more than ever for being partners with us in the education of your girls.

Albert Throckmorton
Head of School

Dear Parents,

We are entering the fourth week of distance learning and working remotely, and we continue to make adjustments as we learn what is best for everyone's health, safety, and education. Ours is a gracious community, and the St. Mary's faculty is working harder than they ever have to provide the appropriate pace, quantity, and means for learning. Not surprisingly, we are all asking, How long? What next? And what if? I have written a longer letter today in order to give you the answers I have. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

Calendar and Year-end Events

We are making contingency plans to anticipate a return date or to complete the semester from home. With each week away, we adjust to what would be the best use of the remaining academic term. We have no plans to extend the academic year, and we are planning for our summer programs to continue unless circumstances mandate a delay. 

While many events are canceled or indefinitely postponed, we want to celebrate as many traditions as possible. We have selected the following alternative dates for the major year-end events.

Holidays

Families of various faith traditions will be celebrating their holidays soon. Absences related to religious observances continue to be excused absences. To honor our upcoming school holidays, St. Mary's will not assign work from Good Friday, April 10, through Easter Monday, April 13. We hope all of our families and our staff will find rest and enjoy a full break from schoolwork.

Grades/Exams

Regardless of a return date, St. Mary's will not be giving final exams this year. Graded work will continue through the end of the semester. The days scheduled for exams will be reserved for supporting students in finishing the academic year. We will communicate more on that later.

Parent Survey and Webinars

Our first parent survey helped us to gauge the needs of our families and to understand how the transition to schooling at home was for each of you. We were able to quickly adjust our program and resources based on your responses. I encourage you to complete this new survey, so we may better understand your needs and how to serve you.  

And if you were unable to attend the SAIS webinar "Parenting in a Time of Crisis," here is the link to the recording. On that page, you will also find additional resources and information for the next parent webinar: "How Should We Talk About College Now?"

 

Tuition, Fees, Trips

Our Board of Trustees and Administration have been discussing the pandemic's financial impact on homes and school. We continue to weigh the needs of our families and take care of our faculty and staff while we adhere to the emergency orders. Our challenge is to accomplish all those goals in the best way possible.

Our faculty and staff are committed to providing an excellent educational experience to care for, support, and teach your students. Distance learning requires even more time and commitment from our faculty, technology team, and administration. We also are working diligently to reduce expenses while maintaining the campus and paying the staff. These are the current financial considerations and adjustments we are making:

 

• For parents who use After3 Care, St. Mary's will credit families for the last two weeks in March and not bill anything after April 1 for days we are not on campus.
• For families who have made payments toward dining, trips, and events, we are working with vendors to ensure you will receive a credit on your account for that amount wherever possible. All prepaid snacks for the time we are out are being donated to the Memphis Food Bank.
• The terms of our enrollment contract do not provide for a tuition reduction, but please be assured that the Board and Administration continue to look at the situation carefully and will communicate with you again when we have more information about the duration of the pandemic.  
• If you are experiencing financial hardship due to the economic impact, please contact Nicole Hernandez to receive information about Financial Aid. For information about restructuring your current payment plan contract, please contact Evelyn Walker (901-537-1430) or Sharon Donovan (901-537-1821).
• If you wish, you may donate all or a portion of any fee credits to support the school and financial aid.

 

Financial Support

I am grateful for the concern many of you have shown in asking about the immediate needs of the students, faculty, and staff. At this unprecedented time, many families are in need as well as organizations that depend on philanthropy. If you would like to help, please consider a gift to the school, perhaps in honor of a teacher who has been particularly supportive of your family, or a gift to our financial aid fund for much-needed tuition assistance for families who suddenly face economic hardship. The recently enacted government stimulus bill (the "CARES Act") provides some additional tax relief for donors. 

Our ultimate goal is to stay healthy and return to life on campus as soon as possible. My prayer is for your family's health and for a swift return to the rhythms of work, celebration, and community that we all appreciate even now more in their absence.

Be well and stay connected,

 

 

Albert Throckmorton

Head of School

Dear St. Mary's Community,

On March 12, during what turned out to be a well-timed school break, we announced that St. Mary's would close our campus instead of returning to school after spring break travel. Six days later, St. Mary's began distance learning and conducting school remotely.  Since then, each day has brought challenges and opportunities, with the disruptions often outpacing the response to the outbreak of COVID-19. Currently, we are following the Governor's request to stay closed through at least April 24.

The people of St. Mary's Episcopal School–students, parents, faculty, staff, and administration–are flexible, creative, resilient, and kind. They have responded to an unpredictable situation with grace and understanding and are working together to learn and teach in new ways. We are helping students and parents navigate this new landscape, not only academically, but socially and emotionally. We have begun to offer Chapel and other vital touchpoints, even as we all care for families and neighbors in need. I am deeply humbled by and grateful for this community.

Many of you have written to share your thoughts, expressing encouragement and support.  Thank you for your empathy, patience, and trust. My thoughts are with all of you as you face unprecedented challenges. My heart goes out to our students who are missing their teachers and each other, especially our seniors whose year-end anticipation has turned to disappointment as many of our beloved traditions and celebrations have been canceled, postponed, or suspended.

In our 173-year history, we have survived numerous crises, responding with constancy of purpose and emerging ultimately as a stronger school. As we look ahead to the eventual return to campus, I expect our teachers will be more nimble instructors, our girls will be more independent learners, and our school family will be more closely bound by the love and support we find in this remarkable community. 

I look forward to when we can gather again as a community and welcome you back with a less distant social embrace. In the meantime, take care of yourselves and each other. Stay in touch. If you have questions or concerns, please contact me or a member of our leadership team.

With gratitude,

Albert

Dear St. Mary's Families,

You and your girls are constantly on my mind and heart as I work with school leaders to provide what you need from the School in the face of this pandemic. I appreciate your patience, kindness, and flexibility. In retrospect, we made the right call to avoid congregating after Spring Break. I am proud of the school administrative, academic, and technology teams who prepared our faculty for remote operations. They have exhibited resilience, professionalism, and dedication during these first days of distance learning. Our team is prepared for the challenges we will certainly meet in the coming weeks. I am also proud of our students and parents who have embraced this new environment with equal dedication. We have all become both teachers and learners this past week.
The Mayor announced today a stay at home order through April 7. As much as I wish I could name a date when we will return to campus, I cannot. We will be teaching remotely for at least a few weeks longer. We will continue to offer frequent updates to families. Here is the most important news for you this week:

Academics

• You will continue to hear frequently from your division heads and teachers regarding academic plans and distance learning. 
• In addition to continuing to deliver content via PowerSchool Learning, teachers are preparing to offer opportunities for girls to connect synchronously with their teachers and classmates in virtual spaces. We will be able to record some of these opportunities to share with students who are not able to attend live sessions. This plan will roll out in different stages and timing by division.
• The most current communications from the School, including technology updates, are on the web pages linked in the buttons below.

Parent Survey: Technology and Student Needs
We understand that distance learning is unexpected and may create a burden for families. In an attempt to best assess the needs of our families, please complete this survey by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 24. 

Third Quarter Grades

• Early Childhood families will receive an email from their teachers regarding grades on Wednesday, March 25.
• Lower School grades will be online in the parent portal linked below on Wednesday, March 25 by 3:00 p.m.
• Middle School and Upper School grades are now posted online in the parent portal.

Update on Events

Various events and activities have been either canceled or postponed. We will update this list with as much notice as possible.

Postponed

• Alumnae Weekend
• Senior Mother-Daughter lunch 
• April Buckman events

Canceled

• All school field trips 
• American Southwest Hiking Trip 
• International French Immersion Trip
• All extended and after school care

Athletics
The network of school athletic directors is working together to be prepared for an abbreviated schedule or post-season, depending on when we are able to return to campus.
I am aware that each of these announcements comes with its own disappointments. We are looking into alternate dates and creative ways of celebrating events that may be cancelled. We look forward to sharing more details with you soon. 

We are here to listen and respond to your needs. Please reach out to your daughter's division head, faculty, staff, administration, or me anytime. I continue to think of you, pray for you and your family's health, and eagerly anticipate our being together again.

Be well and stay connected,
Albert

Dear Upper School Parents,

I hope this email finds you and your family well. As mentioned in Mr. Throckmorton's message last week, we are transitioning to distance learning for our students beginning Wednesday, March 18. Our faculty and staff will be on campus Monday and Tuesday working to ensure continuity of learning, and I will send another email to parents and students tomorrow with more details about the online learning process.  

The purpose of this email is to make sure all students have the materials and resources they will need while working remotely. Before Spring Break, Mr. Throckmorton asked all middle and upper school students to take all books and materials home. If your daughter left something that she needs at school, we are providing an opportunity for those items to be retrieved on Monday or Tuesday from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM.

Please do not send anyone to campus who has:

• returned from foreign travel;
• returned from a cruise;
• returned from a U.S. hot spot where COVID-19 is active: NYC, New York State, Washington State, California (check here if you are uncertain);
• been sick recently or are sick: cold, fever, cough, flu, diarrhea;
• been in contact with a COVID-19 patient.

We ask that students or parents coming to pick up books, etc. enter through the Athletic and Wellness Center (back parking lot off Perkins Rd.). Additionally, in the spirit of keeping everyone safe, please refrain from close contact with others and arrive and leave without any unnecessary delay.  

As we work through this process, a number of questions will undoubtedly arise. Please do not hesitate to email, text, or call me if I can be of assistance. My contact information is listed below:

Cell Number: 901-826-9755
Email Address: csteakley@stmarysschool.org

I will follow up with another email tomorrow with more details on how you can expect your daughter's superior educational experience to continue in these challenging times.  

Thank you for your continued support and patience.

Sincerely,

Carrie

Dear St. Mary’s Community,

To proactively combat the spread of COVID-19, St. Mary’s will close its campus to students for the next two weeks (March 16-29). We are cancelling or postponing all school-sponsored events, including all extracurricular activities, trips, athletics, Auxiliary programs, and Buckman programs. 

On Monday, March 16, the faculty and staff will have a professional development day to continue training and preparing for distance learning. Online instruction for students will begin on Wednesday, March 18.

We will contact parents and older students soon with more information and procedures for distance learning. If any student is housing- or food-insecure, we want to help. Also, if Internet connection or device availability is a problem, please let your division head know.

There are many details that will follow, but we want you to have this news as soon as possible. Please remind your children in grades 3-12 to check their email and PowerSchool/Haiku accounts daily. Early Childhood and Lower School teachers will email parents with more direction.

Please note that we will be performing system maintenance on our student information system on Sunday, March 15, 2020 from 12:00 a.m. until Monday, March 16, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. During this window of time, please do not log in to the Parent Portal for any reason. While the portal may be accessible, no updates or changes to data will be saved during this period including online account payments. 

Our priority is the health of our community. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this unprecedented situation and the challenges that a pandemic creates. Our sincere hope is to return to school as soon as possible.

For continuity of response, we have set up a single email address for questions about COVID-19. Please send your questions to healthcenter@stmarysschool.org.

Wash your hands and get plenty of sleep,
Albert

Dear St. Mary's Community,

During Spring Break, St. Mary's has been monitoring the Novel Coronavirus, now a pandemic, and has cleaned the campus thoroughly. We are in contact with the Shelby County Health Department and with other schools. While there is only one patient in Shelby County, who is recovering, the news from other cities and the preventative actions of many universities signal the prudence of keeping social distance, acting early, and, if necessary, moving to learning online.

St. Mary's administration is meeting this week to discuss a course of action that prioritizes student, family, and faculty health. The large number of Memphis families returning from traveling the country and the globe presents challenges to a school. We are prepared for resuming school as usual, postponing the return from Spring Break, or closing the campus if necessary. But we have not made a decision. We will contact you as soon as a decision is made that affects Monday's return to school. We understand that any disruption may present a hardship to families, and so our course of action will be determined carefully and with the health of our community at the forefront.

In the meantime, please know that we all must take seriously the prohibition against coming to school sick, with symptoms, after exposure to a COVID-19 patient, after a cruise, or after having traveled to any national or international COVID-19 hot spot. If in doubt, stay home and seek medical advice. Our health center is also available to help. The graphic below may help you in your decision making.
 

Thank you for doing your part for the health of our community as we decide what is the healthiest path forward for the school.

We are keeping a list of our communication and resources on the St. Mary's Health Center webpage linked below.

Sincerely,
Albert

Dear St. Mary's Students and Families,

I am aware that many of our families have plans to visit colleges during the break.  Each day I learn of colleges and universities that are cancelling their tours and yield events due to the outbreak of Coronavirus.  I received an email from Yale University this morning and have heard from Columbia, Williams, Vanderbilt and UVA in the last 24 hours.  Every college in the country is determining how they will work to keep their students and communities safe and new information comes available each day.  As you consider traveling to different parts of the country please use the link below or go directly to the college's website to find out if tours and information sessions are still available.  While many schools are still open for tours the list of schools determining it is safest to cancel these programs grows longer each day.

list of schools where campus visits have been affected by Coronavirus concerns.  

I wish you all a healthy and restful break.

Sincerely,

Vicki Englehart Thompson
Dean of College Counseling

Dear St. Mary's Community,

I am writing to follow up on last week's communication about Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). We at St. Mary's continue to monitor timely resources to ensure the health and well-being of our community. While it is unsettling for us to read daily about COVID-19, the CDC has advised schools and other organizations to be prepared for the possibility of needing to manage this new virus. In order for St. Mary's to be as prepared as possible, we are providing the following guidelines to our community.

Spring Break Travel Guidelines
With the approach of international Spring Break travel, we strongly encourage you to adhere to the CDC's guidelines on travel. We understand this information changes frequently, so we encourage you to check this website regularly. Many countries have instituted restrictions and quarantines that could directly affect you. 

Self-Quarantine After Travel
Please note that the CDC is asking all travelers arriving in the U.S. from China, even if asymptomatic, to self-quarantine for 14 days. In an abundance of caution, we ask St. Mary's students, parents, faculty, staff, and volunteers who are traveling in CDC Level 2 or Level 3 areas, or whose household members are returning from those areas, not to return to school (including any school activities on or off campus) until a 14-day period has elapsed following their return to the United States. After 14 days, medical clearance must be obtained before returning to campus. If you travel to these areas, we ask you to self-report, via the emails listed below, to the Director of Health Services and your respective division head. Please contact your personal physician for specific instructions regarding self-quarantine. Should your student require quarantine post-travel, we will do our best to provide remote learning and extend deadlines.

Notify Us After Exposure or Diagnosis
We also ask St. Mary's students, parents, faculty, staff, and volunteers to notify us if anyone in your household has a COVID-19 diagnosis, has come in contact with someone who has traveled to a country under a CDC travel advisory, or has come in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Plans for Possible School Disruption
In the event the campus must temporarily close to students, we are preparing to teach classes remotely. We suggest you ensure that your daughter in grades 3-12 has access to the Internet and PowerSchool should virtual learning need to occur. First and 2nd grade families would receive email instruction from their teachers; and Early Childhood families would receive advice and resources from their daughter's teachers. If access is a problem for your family, please contact your daughter's division head. I have asked our accrediting agency how an extended disruption would affect our year-end calendar.

Contacts for notifying the School of any household travel to CDC Level 2 and 3 countries, exposure to or diagnosis of COVID-19 infection:

• Director of Health Services, Judy Bearman, RN
• Early Childhood Head, Laura Hutton
• Lower School Head, Hilary Robinson
• Middle School Head, Katherine House
• Upper School Head, Carrie Steakley         

It is my hope that St. Mary's will operate without any disruption or serious illness, but the current situation calls for preparation and contingency planning.  As always, please feel free to contact me or any member of the administration if you have questions. 

Sincerely,

Albert L. Throckmorton
Head of School

Dear St. Mary's Community,

As the nation monitors the spread of the new Coronavirus, COVID-19, we want to share with you how we are preparing for any change in the education and care of our students. The CDC states the COVID-19 is a rapidly changing situation, the site linked in the CDC Updates button will be your best source of information. We will also communicate timely information with you through St. Mary's Health Center webpage.

The most important action we must all take is to stay home when sick, cover coughs and sneezes, and practice good hand washing. More CDC guidelines are provided online on St. Mary's Health Center page.

In addition to reinforcing the most effective precautions for any virus like COVID-19 or the flu, the School has professional resources available from its member associations and is discussing how a serious outbreak would affect teaching and learning and student travel. In the extreme case that the School might temporarily close, we are preparing to provide education remotely, and you can expect detailed communication.

If you are traveling during Spring Break, please carefully check the CDC Travelers website linked in the CDC Travelers button below to ensure a safe experience for your family. Alert your division head if anyone in your immediate family will be traveling out of country, is symptomatic, diagnosed with illness, or quarantined.

St. Mary's maintains a continuous education and practice of illness prevention. Our faculty and nurses are teaching and expecting our students to cover coughs and sneezes, increase frequent handwashing, and avoid touching their mouth, nose, or eyes--all ways to stop or decrease the spread of many illnesses. 

Finally, please remember that students take their emotional cues from the adult community. We encourage you to monitor your child's engagement in the topic and help them understand what they are seeing and hearing to avoid anxiety. Being prepared is not a cause for panic or alarm. Here is a helpful article on how to talk to your child about the Coronavirus outbreak. St. Mary's Health and Counseling staff are here to help you, too. We encourage you to explore the resources provided below.

Sincerely,

Albert Throckmorton, Head of School

Dr. Laura Leathers, Assistant Head of School

Judy Bearman, RN, Director of Health Services