Reopening Plan

Dear Middle School Families,

The cold weather came early this year! As our uniform requirements for middle school students have temporarily changed for this year, we need to evolve them to ensure your children stay warm on these cooler days. Similar to past allowances for P.E. during cold weather, students may now wear navy blue sweatpants during the school day. Students also have the choice to wear black, navy, or white athletic style leggings under their P.E. shorts. Please remember that this allowance is only temporary until we resume normal locker room use. 

For outerwear, students may only wear uniform-approved items while inside the building. 6th-8th-grade students may also wear the AOS athletic jacket. (Look for an email tomorrow from the Business Office on how to order an athletic jacket.)

Non-uniform outerwear such as coats, heavy jackets, hats, caps, and scarves are not permitted in the buildings but may be worn outside.

For any questions regarding this year’s uniform program, please consult the On-Campus Safety & Learning resource page, specifically the Uniforms tab under The School Day section. We are also happy to answer any questions you may have.
 

Yours,
 

Heather Haas
Head of Middle School
hhaas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5631

 

Roxanne Szumilas
Assistant Head of Middle School
rszumilas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5690

Dear AOS Families,

I write today in anticipation of Halloween and the Thanksgiving holiday. We have been relatively lucky on the AOS campus to have had very few COVID-19 cases. The upcoming holidays, combined with increasing community spread, present a potential challenge to keeping our campus open. We realized quickly through the experience of our first two quarantined cohorts that it would most likely only take three or four positive cases to close a full division or even the entire school due to the waterfall of ramifications with cohort closures.

Please continue to follow the recommended safety procedures regarding small group gatherings, social distancing practices, and mask-wearing. We are all exhausted with these precautions and are aching to return to normalcy, but I ask that you remember the active role each of you plays in ensuring the continuation of on-campus instruction. As stated in our community commitment, sustaining a safe environment for our school depends on our commitment to one another.

For those of you who are planning to travel or visit with extended family and friends, please consider the community transmission rates in the area where you will be and the risk of unknowingly transmitting this disease. I have included a few links below that provide safety guidance for Halloween and Thanksgiving. Thank you for your continued effort and sacrifice in the collective interest of keeping our community members safe and our campus open.

• CDC - Trick or Treating and Halloween Activities
• CDC - Thanksgiving
• Baylor College of Medicine - Build your own holiday bubble
   

Kind Regards,

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School

 

Dear AOS Families,

I am writing today with another update regarding our COVID-19 safety protocols and procedures. We identified several questions commonly asked by parents and answered those questions. We are also providing an update regarding the return of Mrs. AT Williams’ cohort.

If one of my children stays home sick, do all of my children need to stay home?

Yes. If any of your children display possible COVID-19 symptoms, we require that all children within that family remain at home due to the potential exposure of COVID-19 among family members. According to the CDC, the principal mode by which people are known to be infected with COVID-19 is through the exposure to respiratory droplets carrying the infectious virus. Siblings within the same family are exposed to each other during various close contact activities such as family meals and shared car rides and, therefore, could be asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 if a sibling is exhibiting symptoms. 

If a student tests positive and their sibling is in my child’s cohort, why isn’t my child’s cohort required to quarantine?

Only individuals who meet the definition of a close contact with the individual who tested positive will be asked to quarantine. We are using Johns Hopkins definition of “close contact” which deems the criteria as anyone who has been in any of the following scenarios with someone who has tested positive:

• within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes regardless of mask-wearing,
• close physical contact or shared food and personal items,
• direct receipt of respiratory droplets (coughed or sneezed upon), and
• near or adjacent for an extended period of time. 

After consulting with medical professionals, we chose to define “an extended period of time” as being in the same enclosed space for over one hour regardless of mask wearing. This means that the sibling would need to quarantine due to being a close contact, but the sibling’s cohort would not, as members of the cohort would essentially be a “contact of a contact.” If a student does test positive, we encourage the family to have their other children tested as well.

When am I required to complete the AUXS Safety App? 

The AUXS Safety App is our way of being able to see who is healthy, who is having symptoms, and who has had a close contact all in one place. It is a daily requirement for all students signed up for in-person classes on campus, even if a child is staying home that day. Parents should complete the AUXS safety app:

• before their child arrives on campus for in-person learning,
• when their child remains home from school due to illness or exhibiting a COVID-19 symptom, or
• when a student has had direct contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 and will now be in quarantine.

Families repeatedly failing to complete the AUXS Safety App Screening Form each day risk losing the opportunity for their child to participate on campus. 

My child woke up with congestion, and I think it may just be allergies or a cold. How can I be sure?

Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine the difference between allergies or a cold and COVID-19, and it may put others in danger to assume or guess. As we enter the winter season, we ask that families be diligent in keeping students home with these symptoms and follow one of our three pathways to return to campus. If your child routinely takes allergy medication, please be sure this information is included in their health form held in the AOS Nurse’s Office. 

What activities should we avoid if my child’s cohort is required to quarantine?

If your child’s cohort has been required to quarantine, this is because it has been determined that your child has been in close contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. There is a chance that your child may have contracted COVID-19 and should quarantine for 14 days. Students who are in quarantine should not participate in any non-essential, in-person activity or event regardless of safety precautions. This includes AOS school events, before- or after- school events, activities outside of school, group gatherings, and social events. Participating in any in-person activity puts others at risk of contracting COVID-19. 
 

Additionally, I’d like to share that Mrs. AT Williams’ cohort will return to campus earlier than initially planned. They will now return Monday, October 26. We implemented the original quarantine timeline in a way that intentionally avoided identifying the student who tested positive as this would violate the student's right to privacy. The family of this student has since openly shared their child's medical information with other families in the cohort. This allows us to shorten the quarantine period as we can back-date the start of the quarantine to the last day this student was on campus.

Finally, I’d like to remind you that we continue to keep our on-campus learning & safety resource page up to date. We recommend bookmarking this page for ease of access. A direct link to this page can also be found on the resource board after logging into the portal.

Sincerely,

Emily Benton
Director of Extended Day & COVID-19 Response Team Lead
ebenton@aoshouston.org
713-470-5608

Dear AOS Families,

I am writing today with a few updates and clarifications regarding our on-campus COVID-19 protocols. These updates are also reflected in our On-Campus Learning & Safety resource page.

Classroom Disinfecting & Symptomatic Students

Since returning to campus, many families have received a notice that their child’s classroom was disinfected due to a student displaying potential COVID-19 symptoms. A classroom being disinfected is not typically indicative of the presence of COVID-19. In fact, we have disinfected 32 classrooms in the last several weeks and have not yet had any positive cases on campus. We are operating with an abundance of caution so as to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.

We continue to encourage you to keep your child at home if they are at all unwell. This can feel a bit odd from a parent’s perspective because we would not always keep a child home for a simple runny nose or a headache in the past, but it is extremely important to do so this year as COVID-19 often presents with very mild symptoms in children. Remember, students can participate in Hearts & Minds at Home at any time. You just need to notify your child’s teacher and division head the morning of your child’s absence and to alert the Nurse of your symptomatic child by completing the AUXS screening app.

Siblings of Symptomatic Students

If a student displays symptoms of illness and stays home, we are also requiring his/her siblings to stay home, even if they are well. Asymptomatic siblings can return to campus as early as the next school day after their symptomatic sibling has completed one of the three pathways linked below.

Pathways for Returning to School

 

If your child displays any potential COVID-19 symptoms during the school year, we have detailed the three pathways you can follow for your child to return to school. You may find those details here.

Communication Regarding Possible Symptoms & Positive Cases

In the event that a cohort’s classroom requires disinfecting, we will notify via email only the parents of that cohort and the faculty that routinely occupy the space. Please note that we will not notify parents when the symptomatic student or sibling(s) are cleared to return.

In the event that we have a positive case on campus, the entire school will be notified via email. Anyone required to quarantine and move into online learning will be alerted via voice message, text message, and email.

 

If you have any questions about any of the aforementioned updates or any of our COVID-19 safety protocols, please feel free to contact me.

 

Sincerely,
 

Emily Benton
Director of Extended Day & COVID-19 Response Team Lead
ebenton@aoshouston.org
713-470-5608

Dear Middle School Families,

This email provides information about our new afternoon carpool routes that start today. Please ensure the appropriate person reads this email thoroughly. The biggest change we’re making includes splitting our middle school carpool into two separate routes:

• If you have a 7th- or 8th-grade child that is a “single rider” (gets picked up alone with no siblings/friends), you will enter Kipling St. from Dunlavy St. using the 7th/8th Single Rider route on the carpool map and will pick up your child in front of the lower school.
   
• All other middle school families, including families with children in other grades, will enter Marshall St. from Mandell St. using the “Primary MS Route,” and you will pick up your child(ren) in front of the middle school.

Notes

• 7th/8th Single Rider families should NOT enter the carpool until 3:30 PM, as this is the same route the 4th-grade families use from 3:15-3:30 PM, and you will disrupt this carpool line if you enter early.
• After picking up your child, 7th/8th Single Riders should plan to go straight on Kipling and exit onto Montrose Blvd instead of turning right onto Yoakum unless the police officer directs you to do otherwise.

Today will not be perfect. Please expect delays and always know that we are trying our hardest to get as efficient as possible as quickly as possible, while keeping your children safe. We’ll continue to make tweaks and changes as we see how our new system plays out. Thank you for your continued flexibility, grace, and patience.

Regards,

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School

Hello AOS Families,

I am writing this evening with an update on our morning and afternoon carpools. Friday was our first “real” test, as this was our first day with every grade back on campus. It is extremely important that you read this email and subsequent emails about carpool this week as we seek to hone our systems and make carpool as efficient as possible for everyone. This only works if every person who drops off/picks up our students knows the expected procedures before arriving to carpool each day.

Morning Carpool

We are approaching as close to as efficient as we will get with our current COVID-19 protocols in place. We were completely finished at 8:02 AM on Friday, and our goal is to get the last car through the line by 8:00 AM. Here are a few tips:

• Arrive between 7:30-7:40 AM if possible. This will cause a shorter wait for you, and it will help us prevent congestion at the end of our carpool window. Families that arrive at this time report wait times of only a couple minutes.
   
• Students should NOT exit the car until a faculty member is standing at the car. This person will take your child’s temperature.
   
• Parents should never drive off until the faculty member gives the “all clear” on the child’s temperature. If a child presents with a fever, we will immediately ask the child to get back into the car.

Jones Center/Lower School Afternoon Carpool

We get faster each day, as we make small tweaks to our internal systems, and our students get used to the procedures. The one thing our families can do to help us out at this point is to avoid entering the carpool line earlier than your child’s dismissal time.

Middle School/Combo Afternoon Carpool

Friday afternoon’s carpool exposed several problems. Our goal this year is to finish afternoon carpool by 4:00 PM, and we were nowhere near this goal Friday. We apologize for the frustration this caused many of our families, and we appreciate your continued flexibility and patience as we work to combine COVID-19 safety protocols with the complex set of variables involved in student pick-up. We will send an email by 12:30 PM Monday to all middle school parents with new instructions for Monday afternoon. Please plan accordingly to ensure that everyone picking children up during this carpool has had the opportunity to read the new instructions.

Here are a couple of things you can do prior to tomorrow (and everyday thereafter) to help the process:

• Make sure your child knows who is going to pick him/her up every day before coming to school. Our COVID-19 dismissal systems will not work if a child doesn’t know this information.
   
• If you are going through carpool twice (once to pick up a LS child and once to pick up a MS child), please make sure your MS child knows this! We had several students holding up the carpool line because they were looking for their younger siblings, not knowing they had already been picked up.

Again, thank you for your continued flexibility and patience. I am confident that each passing day will bring us closer to where we want to be with our carpool.

Regards,

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School

Dear First-Eighth Grade Families,

We are writing today to provide another update to our lunch service program. As we continue to establish a rhythm for all our new on-campus procedures, we have decided to postpone the ordering system for the lunch program. This adjustment will allow our teachers to settle into their new lunchtime routine and our dining hall team to continue to develop their systems before we add an additional layer of complexity.

Middle school students will now begin placing orders next Friday, September 18 making their first delivery day Wednesday, September 23. Once the ordering system is running smoothly in the middle school, we will then expand it to include 1st-4th grades. We will provide you with notice for when that time arises.

For now, all students will continue to choose from the predetermined options delivered to their classrooms which will now also include a salad entree (for middle school) and a side salad (for 1st-4th grade). As a reminder, all lunch options will be listed on the daily menu. 

Should you have any questions related to the food menu, please contact David De La Cruz at sage@aoshouston.org.

 

Warm Regards,
 

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602
 

Heather Haas
Head of Middle School
hhaas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5631

Dear First-Eighth Grade Families,

In all of the preparation for this week, we neglected to inform you of the specific details surrounding lunch service. Our apologies for this oversight.

Through next Wednesday, September 16, SAGE will provide a variety of predetermined options to each classroom. These predetermined options include a hot entree, a vegetarian entree, and a sandwich boxed lunch. These options will be listed on the daily menu. During this time period, we will also provide enough sandwiches so that every student who wants one can have one.

Beginning Monday, September 14, teachers will collect students’ individual orders three days in advance based on the following schedule: 

• Monday - Order for the following Thursday
• Tuesday - Order for the following Friday
• Wednesday - Order for the following Monday
• Thursday - Order for the following Tuesday
• Friday - Order for the following Wednesday

The first delivery day is Thursday, September 17. The daily options are:

• Hot entree
• Vegetarian hot entree
• Salad entree
• Ham, turkey, or soy butter and jelly sandwich with chips and fruit or salad
• Side salad

Once ordering begins, SAGE will only deliver food that is ordered. Additional salads and/or sandwiches will not be automatically available (this is to help cut down on waste). Students who would like additional servings are welcome to order more than one entree or side. Each day’s options can be found on the daily menu.

Should you have any questions related to the food menu, please contact David De La Cruz at sage@aoshouston.org.

 

Warm Regards,
 

 

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602

 

Heather Haas
Head of Middle School
hhaas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5631

Dear AOS Families,

As our Dolphins at a Distance time comes to a close, we are thrilled to welcome our 1st-8th-grade students back to campus next week. As we begin this transition, our flexibility will really be put to the test, but we will continue to adapt and improve each day. After having our youngest students on campus, we’ve gained some insight and are making a few changes we’d like to bring to your attention.

Carpool

Jones Center and Kindergarten families - Beginning Tuesday, you will have two separate carpool routes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Your morning route will not change, but your afternoon route will. You can find your new carpool map here.

1st-3rd-grade families - your morning and afternoon carpool route will remain the same, but your entry time into carpool is now 3:00 PM.

4th-grade families - your morning and afternoon carpool route and carpool entry time remain the same.

Middle school & combo families - your morning and afternoon carpool route and carpool entry time remains the same. 
 

For those families who have children in multiple divisions. You have two options to choose from:

1. Pick up each child at their respective time using their respective carpool route.
    
2. Go through the carpool once using the Combo carpool route/time. (Younger children will wait with their cohort teacher.)
    

Temperature Taking Each Morning

Please remember to take your child(ren)’s temperature each morning before leaving the house. You will need to report it as part of the pre-screening process through the Safety App by AUXS. If you happen to forget, please put N/A in the current temperature field. We will still allow your child on campus, assuming your child passes the remaining pre-screening questions, since we are also taking temperatures at the door.

Masks

We ask that parents send their child with an additional mask or two in their child’s backpack each day. This back-up mask comes in handy after exercising in P.E., spilt drinks during lunch and snack breaks, etc.

Zoom and Chromebooks

During our Dolphins at a Distance time, some of your children experienced technical issues with their Zoom experience. For those families who have chosen Hearts & Minds at Home for their children, do know that we will continue to work on these issues even with students returning to campus. Patrick Foye, Director of Technology, is sending a fuller update to our 3rd-8th-grade families later this afternoon.

As a final reminder, the return-to-campus dates for each grade are as follows:

• 1st & 2nd grade: Tuesday, September 8
• 3rd & 4th grade: Wednesday, September 9
• 5th & 6th grade: Thursday, September 10
• 7th & 8th grade: Friday, September 11

 

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day weekend, and a fantastic first week back!

 

All the best,

 

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602

 

Heather Haas
Head of Middle School
hhaas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5631

Dear AOS Families,

As we prepare for the upcoming holiday, I hope you will take this message and our community commitment to heart.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend. We look forward to welcoming our 1st - 8th-grade students back to campus next week!

Watch Video

Best,

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School

Dear Middle School Families,

I am writing to give you an update on middle school athletics. It has been a challenging time, one with many questions and few answers. I greatly appreciate your patience and flexibility.

For the overall safety and welfare of our student-athletes and all those involved, AOS will not participate in any athletic competitions with other schools during the fall season. This decision brings an enormous amount of disappointment for student-athletes, parents, and coaches. Some schools in our conference (HJPC) have already made similar decisions. Our decision stems from the incompatibility of close-quartered athletic competition with the safety protocols we enacted to prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 and keep our campus open. We have not yet made any decisions regarding seasons beyond this fall and will update you when we do.

In anticipation of this scenario, the AOS Athletics Department developed a new program to provide our student-athletes with a meaningful athletics experience despite not having inter-school competition. Our coaches will soon begin virtual meetings with their teams in 7th and 8th grade (cross country will include 6th grade), during which students will bond with their teams and train for continued growth as an athlete.    Coaches will also include sport-specific skill development and fitness during on-campus physical education classes for students in 6th through 8th grade. Your child(ren)’s coach will communicate details in the coming days.

While nothing can replace the thrill and excitement of competition, it is not the only component of the athletics team experience. Developing fundamental skills, interacting with teammates, building relationships with coaches, learning how to be a leader, practicing sportsmanship, and so much more goes into that experience. We plan to focus our efforts on providing as many of these positive experiences as is possible during our new program. We will also continue to monitor COVID-19 and examine our safety protocols in service of finding safe ways to expand the experiences of our student-athletes.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. The past few months have not been easy, yet your support and positive attitude have not wavered. John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach often referenced this maxim, “Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.” I cannot think of a more fitting quote, and I believe all of the Dolphins will come together to do just that.

Thank you,
 

Ron Robinson
Athletic Director
rrobinson@aoshouston.org
713-470-5696

Dear AOS Families,

For the overall safety and welfare of our student-athletes and all those involved, AOS will not participate in any athletic competitions with other schools in the fall season. This includes all UCAL fall sports. This decision was made in line with our decision to cancel fall athletic competitions for our middle school students. 

While this may come as a disappointment to our families, please know that our decision stems from the incompatibility of close-quartered athletic competition with the safety protocols we enacted to prevent outbreaks of COVID-19 and keep our campus open. We have not yet made any decisions regarding seasons beyond this fall and will update you when we do.

Thank you for your patience and understanding on this matter. 
 

Emily Benton
Director of Extended Day
ebenton@aoshouston.org
713-470-5608

Dear AOS Families,

I am writing today to share our comprehensive plans for reopening. Our schedule for returning to on-campus instruction has not changed and is outlined in the plan linked below. Instead of a single document, we created a reopening website that we will update regularly as information changes. In addition, we will also send notifications when major changes occur. Since our Reopening Plan Preview in late June and subsequent updates, there have been many changes. I highlighted some important points below, but please read our reopening plan in its entirety.

1. We ask all families to adhere to our community commitment.
2. We created a COVID-19 Response Team that will assemble whenever there is a suspected or confirmed case in our community.
3. Due to new research, we are no longer including neck gaiters/balaclavas on our list of acceptable face coverings.
4. We require all families to pre-screen their child(ren) for COVID-19 symptoms each morning before leaving home. To complete these daily pre-screenings, families will need to download and utilize the Safety App by AUXS. Please be sure to read carefully the At-Home Pre-Screening section of our on-campus learning and safety plan.
5. We have two new carpool routes for this year: one for Jones Center & Lower School and one for Middle School & Combo. These routes will be the same for both morning and afternoon carpool.
6. We installed an air purification system in our HVAC system that is designed to reduce the amount of pathogens (including COVID-19) in the air. Not only will it help reduce the COVID-19 virus in the air, but it will also help reduce cold and flu pathogens and provide relief to those students, faculty, and staff who suffer from allergies.
7. We updated our Major Dates & Holidays calendar.

Read Reopening Plan

2020-2021 Family Handbook

I am also providing you with the 2020-2021 Family Handbook. Our Family Handbook continues to be our formal document for AOS policies and practices. Because this document represents our “normal operating procedures,” you will find many conflicts between our Family Handbook and our reopening plan. Whenever this is the case, the reopening plan takes precedence until  we notify our community that AOS is operating as normal. It is important that each family familiarize themselves with both documents. You will receive the Family Handbook Acknowledgement form requiring both parents’ signatures via DocuSign on Monday, August 17.

View Family Handbook

Date Change: Jones Center & Kindergarten Town Hall

Jones Center & Kindergarten families: Please note that we have rescheduled your Town Hall to Tuesday, August 18 at 5:45-6:30 PM. Those families considering changing their decision for on-campus learning vs. Hearts & Minds at Home will now have through Wednesday, August 19 to report their change to Sharon Corbett.

Please submit any questions you’d like answered during next Tuesday’s town hall by clicking the button below.

Questions for Town Hall

1st-8th Grade Questions

If any of our 1st-8th grade families have questions regarding our reopening plan, we ask that you do so through the link provided below. For those common questions, we will answer via our FAQ page. For questions requiring a personal response, the appropriate staff or faculty member will follow up with you directly.

1st-8th Grade On-Campus Questions

Thank you for your continued patience, flexibility, and support as we work to offer our students the best experience possible at AOS this year.

 

Respectfully,

 

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School

Dear Middle School Families,

We are looking forward to “seeing” all of our middle school students, and in just a few short weeks, we will all be back on campus together again! We have been super busy planning how to make this year engaging in spite of all the challenges, and we can’t wait to connect with our students. While our comprehensive reopening plan won’t be available until August 14, we wanted to share a few important items with you now that will help your family prepare over the next couple of weeks. We communicated these items to the Delphi, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten families so many of you may already be aware of these developments.

Additionally, we ask that you mark your calendar for Monday, August 17. We will run a supply pick-up where you will pick up your child(ren)’s school-issued device(s) and other items needed for distance learning. More information about this pick-up will be shared Tuesday, August 11.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Heather Haas
Head of Middle School
hhaas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5631

 

Roxanne Szumilas
Assistant Head of Middle School
rszumilas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5690

Extended Day

We will offer EDC (before and aftercare) as an essential service to those families who need it and have no other child-care options. We respectfully ask that our families only take advantage of this program this year if it is truly necessary; this will allow us to keep our program small and as safe as possible. EDC will follow similar safety protocols to our school-day protocols, and the makeup of cohorts will depend on how many families sign up. In order for us to properly prepare, we ask that each family complete this survey and indicate whether or not you require this service by Friday, August 7.

Masks

We are requiring all students on campus regardless of age to wear masks at all times - indoors and outdoors - except when eating. This change from our reopening preview is based on current research and information from schools around the U.S. and world that have reopened. To view our mask guidelines, click here. Please note that we are not currently allowing face shields in place of masks for students, but we are keeping a close eye on the research in this area and may alter this in the future.

Students must have a way to attach their facemask to themselves. This may be done with a clip, an around-the-neck strap, or by wearing a balaclava/gaiter.

Return-to-Campus Waiver

All families that return to campus are required to complete a waiver for each child. We are, of course, doing everything within our power to make our campus as safe as possible for our students, but there is no way to eliminate the risk associated with COVID-19 as long as the pandemic persists. We are providing the Jones Center waiver today as a preview. We will issue the middle school waiver in a couple of weeks.

Limiting Social Engagements
(beginning August 27)

In order to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus, we ask that all families, faculty, and staff limit social engagements outside of family as much as possible beginning Thursday, August 27 (or two weeks before your child’s return-to-campus date). This includes playdates, social gatherings, and any other unnecessary social contact. On August 14, along with our comprehensive reopening plan, we will ask every community member to sign a community pledge and adhere to a list of community health and safety standards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upcoming Communications

• Friday, August 7 - Cohort groups and distance learning plans released
• Wednesday, August 12 - Virtual town hall for all MS families
• Friday, August 14 - Comprehensive campus reopening plan available

Dear First-Fourth Grade Families,

Provided in this email is important information regarding our final cohort groups, our Dolphins at a Distance learning plan, and details for the upcoming town hall.

Cohorts
We considered many complex criteria when creating these cohorts including social connections, carpool groups, and siblings. Our primary aim is to reduce the number of contacts within each cohort in order to limit the exposure to germs as much as possible. First and second grade students will have a single lead teacher (in addition to their enrichment teachers) throughout on-campus instruction and Dolphins at a Distance. Third and fourth grade students will have a lead cohort teacher (in addition to their enrichment teachers), but will cycle through the other teachers in their grade for the different core subjects.

Dolphins at a Distance
While none of us actually want to use a distance learning plan this year, we are confident that our plan will serve our students well. We engaged in intensive research and discussions with peer lower schools in Houston and around the country to determine what was successful and unsuccessful during distance learning in the spring. Data from both parent and teacher surveys conducted in May provided additional information and feedback. Armed with this research and data, a team of dedicated AOS teachers and administrators worked together over the course of the summer to develop Dolphins at a Distance.

View Dolphins at a Distance Plan

We recognize that starting the year with Dolphins at a Distance will create some challenges and anxiety. To overcome this, our focus will be on building relationships with our students and families, as no significant learning takes place without significant relationships. We commit to:

• Monday, August 10 - Tuesday, August 18 - Teachers will reach out to students and families to introduce themselves. Students will also receive postcards or letters, welcome videos, and invitations to attend Zoom meetings.
• First 2 weeks of school - Using Capturing Kids Hearts, teachers will spend time on building relationships and community in each cohort. Alongside building community, we recognize the importance of training our students in the technology that will be important for successful distance learning. Teachers will teach their students how to use their device and how to navigate Seesaw, our new Learning Management System. Training sessions and videos will also be available for parents.

Town Hall
Sam will join us as a co-host for a virtual town hall for all 1st-4th-grade families on Tuesday, August 11 from 5:45 PM - 6:30 PM. We will primarily focus on any questions you have about Dolphins at a Distance. Please submit your questions below after reading the entire plan. You will receive a link for this town hall Tuesday morning.

Submit Questions for Town Hall

What to expect:

• The town hall will be “webinar style,” meaning that you will only be able to see the hosts and not the other attendees.
• We will design our presentation based on your questions, and participants will also have the ability to type additional questions during the presentation.
• We may provide a sneak preview of a couple of campus reopening plan items, but will largely not focus on this, as our distance learning plan is more immediately relevant. Most questions about the reopening plan will be addressed when we release the plan Friday, August 14.
   

Warm Regards,

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602

Kelley Elliott
Assistant Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
kelliott@aoshouston.org
713-470-5637

Dear Jones Center & Kindergarten Families,

Provided in this email is important information regarding our final cohort groups, our Dolphins at a Distance learning plan, and details for the upcoming town hall.

Cohorts
We considered many complex criteria when creating cohorts including social connections, carpool groups, and siblings. Our primary aim is to reduce the number of contacts within each cohort in order to limit the exposure to germs as much as possible. Jones Center and Kindergarten students will have a single cohort teacher, but will also receive instruction from one other cohort teacher as well as enrichment teachers each day during on-campus instruction and Dolphins at a Distance. The lead teacher will still act as lead as she will plan and deliver the curriculum - hence the switching. The assistant will assist students with their learning and manage small groups as they practice the skills and concepts taught.

Dolphins at a Distance
As our Jones Center and Kindergarten students will begin the school year on campus, we are praying that we will not have to use our Dolphins at a Distance plan for these three grades. However, we are sharing this plan with you now as it is important, as parents, that you know ahead of time what learning will look like should any movement to distance learning become required.

View Dolphins at a Distance Plan

Town Hall
Sam will join us to co-host a virtual town hall for all Jones Center & Kindergarten families on Monday, August 17 from 5:45 PM - 6:30 PM. We will primarily focus on any questions you have about the reopening plan we plan to send next Friday, but will also happily answer any questions regarding Dolphins at a Distance. We will send more details about this town hall on Friday, August 14.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602

 

Kelley Elliott
Assistant Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
kelliott@aoshouston.org
713-470-5637

Dear Middle School Families,

Provided in this email is important information regarding our final cohort groups, our Dolphins at a Distance learning plan, and details for the upcoming town hall.

Cohorts
We considered many complex criteria when creating cohorts, including social connections, carpool groups, and siblings. Our primary aim is to reduce the number of contacts within each cohort in order to limit the exposure to germs as much as possible. For this year, our cohort groups and our advisory groups will be one in the same - and they will be the same whether we are on campus or utilizing Dolphins at a Distance.

Dolphins at a Distance
While none of us actually want to use a distance learning plan this year, we are confident that our plan will serve our students well. We engaged in intensive research and discussions with peer middle schools in Houston and around the country to determine what was successful and unsuccessful during distance learning in the spring. Data from our parent and teacher surveys provided additional information and feedback. Armed with this research and data, a team of dedicated AOS teachers and administrators worked together over the course of the summer to develop Dolphins at a Distance.

View Dolphins at a Distance Plan

We recognize that starting the year with Dolphins at a Distance will create some challenges and anxiety. No significant learning takes place without significant relationships, and students need to be well-versed in the technology we will utilize during this time period. To ensure these things happen, we commit to the following:

• Monday, August 10 - Tuesday, August 18 - Cohort advisors will reach out to families for individual introductions and questions.
• Sunday, August 16 - We will send details and instructions for the first day of school.
• Wednesday, August 19 - We will run a special first-day-of-school schedule, and teachers will spend time teaching students how to access all of the Dolphins at a Distance resources.
• First week of school - Teachers will devote significant time and effort to building community and teaching the technology needed for distance learning. This is critical for the success of the whole school year. Teachers will also show students how to use the Assignment Center and access the teachers’ class pages.

Town Hall
Sam will join us to co-host a virtual town hall for all 5th-8th-grade families on Wednesday, August 12 from 5:45 PM - 6:30 PM. We will primarily focus on any questions you have about Dolphins at a Distance. Please submit your questions below after reading the entire plan. You will receive a link for this town hall Wednesday morning.

Submit Questions for Town Hall

What to expect:

• The town hall will be “webinar style,” meaning that you will only be able to see the hosts and not the other attendees.
• We will design our presentation based on your questions, and participants will also have the ability to type additional questions during the presentation.
• We may provide a sneak preview of a couple of campus reopening plan items, but will largely not focus on this, as our distance learning plan is more immediately relevant. Most questions about the reopening plan will be addressed when we release the plan Friday, August 14.

 

Yours,

Heather Haas
Head of Middle School
hhaas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5631

 

Roxanne Szumilas
Assistant Head of Middle School
rszumilas@aoshouston.org
713-470-5690

Dear Lower School Families,

We hope you are having an enjoyable summer. It’s hard to believe that we are getting ready to start another school year at AOS—where did the time go? While our comprehensive reopening plan won’t be available until August 14, we wanted to share a few important items with you now that we hope will help your family prepare over the next couple of weeks. We have already communicated these items to the Delphi, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten families so many of you may already be aware of these developments.

We would also like you to mark your calendar for Monday, August 17. On this day we will run a supply pick-up where you will pick up your child(ren)’s school-issued device(s) and other items needed for distance learning. More information about this pick-up will be shared on Tuesday, August 11.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602

 

Kelley Elliott
Assistant Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
kelliott@aoshouston.org
713-470-5637

Extended Day

We will offer EDC (before and aftercare) as an essential service to those families who need it and have no other child-care options. We respectfully ask that our families only take advantage of our EDC program this year if it is truly necessary; this will allow us to keep our program small and as safe as possible. EDC will follow similar safety protocols to our school-day protocols, and the makeup of cohorts will depend on how many families sign up. In order for us to properly prepare, we ask that each family complete this survey and indicate whether or not you require this service by Friday, August 7.

Masks

We are requiring all students on campus, regardless of age, to wear masks at all times - indoors and outdoors - except when eating. This change from our reopening preview is based on current research and information from schools around the U.S. and the world that have reopened. To view our mask guidelines, click here. Please note that we are not currently allowing face shields in place of masks for students, but we are keeping a close eye on the research in this area and may alter this in the future.

Students must have a way to attach their facemask to themselves. This may be done with a clip, an around-the-neck strap, or by wearing a balaclava/gaiter.

Return-to-Campus Waiver

All families that return to campus are required to complete a waiver for each child. We are, of course, doing everything within our power to make our campus as safe as possible for our students, but there is no way to eliminate the risk associated with COVID-19 as long as the pandemic persists. We are providing the Jones Center waiver today as a preview. We will issue the lower school waiver in a couple of weeks.

Limiting Social Engagements
(beginning August 25)

In order to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus, we ask that all families, faculty, and staff limit social engagements outside of family as much as possible beginning Tuesday, August 25 (or two weeks before your child’s return-to-campus date). This includes playdates, social gatherings, and any other unnecessary social contact. On August 14, along with our comprehensive reopening plan, we will ask every community member to sign a community pledge and adhere to a list of community health and safety standards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upcoming Communications

• Friday, August 7 - Cohort groups and distance learning plans released
• Tuesday, August 11 - Virtual town hall for all 1st-4th-grade families
• Friday, August 14 - Comprehensive campus reopening plan available

Dear Delphi, Prekindergarten, & Kindergarten Families,

We are writing today to provide you with key information you need to prepare for your child(ren)’s first day of school. Our comprehensive campus reopening plan will not be available until August 14 (at the latest), so we encourage you to review the Reopening Plan Preview for information about campus safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please read this email thoroughly.

There are three action items (indicated in the sections below) you must complete prior to your child’s arrival at school on August 25. You may also want to mark your calendar for important upcoming communication dates:

• Friday, August 7 - Cohort groups released
• Friday, August 14 - Comprehensive campus reopening plan available
• Monday, August 17 - Virtual town hall for all Delphi - Kindergarten families

 

Warm Regards,

 

 

Sharon Corbett
Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
scorbett@aoshouston.org
713-470-5602

 

Kelley Elliott
Assistant Head of Early Childhood & Lower School
kelliott@aoshouston.org
713-470-5637

 

First Day of School - Tuesday, August 25

• Carpool and drop-off begins at 7:30 AM. Full details regarding carpool, carpool numbers, and carpool routes will be shared on August 14. In support of this year’s cohort model, we are discouraging families from carpooling with other families if possible. If your circumstances require you to carpool with another family, we encourage the use of masks in the car.
   
• Classes begin at 8:00 AM. As a reminder, we are not holding late-start Tuesdays for the foreseeable future. Carpool and class will begin at the same time, Monday-Friday.
   
• Early Dismissal at 11:30 AM. The first day of school will be a half-day so please plan to pick up your child at 11:30 AM. 

The first full-day of school will be Wednesday, August 26 with pick-up time at 2:45 PM (or 12:00 PM for Early Birds).
 

Getting to Know You and Your Child

Relationship-building is the heart of what we do, and learning about each other prior to the start of school helps ease first-day jitters and lays the groundwork for an enriching school year. To facilitate building this relationship, we have planned the following:

• Week of August 14 - Welcome Video
  Teachers will share a welcome video with students and families. These videos will introduce teachers and show classroom spaces.
   
• August 17-21 - Virtual Home Visits
  Each year, teachers conduct home visits to meet their new students and learn more about them. This visit also allows the student to meet their new teacher in a space that is familiar to them which makes the transition into the classroom that much easier. This year, Jones Center and Kindergarten teachers will facilitate virtual home visits through individual Zoom calls where students will get to show their teachers around their home and show them some of their favorite things.
   
• August 17-21 - Jones Center Classroom Visits
  Jones Center families are invited to visit their child’s classroom to build comfort and familiarity prior to the first day of school. Parents will receive an email the week before with a Sign Up Genius to schedule a time slot.
   

ew Safety Measures & Requirements for On-Campus Learning

There has been one notable change and one addition to the safety measures listed in our Reopening Plan Preview. They are detailed below.

Masks:

• We are requiring all students on campus regardless of age to wear masks at all times - indoors and outdoors - except when eating. This change from our reopening preview is based on current research and information from schools around the U.S. and world that have reopened. The information that we have received from these schools indicates that mask-wearing for children 4-years-old and older works well, and the children generally forget they are wearing them. Transparently, we have heard “mixed results” for 3-year-olds with some schools being successful and others not as much. We plan to start with this as a requirement in the interest of being as safe as possible but will keep an eye on our students’ abilities as well as current transmission rates and will alter this policy as necessary. To view our mask guidelines, click here. Please note that we are not currently allowing face shields in place of masks for students, but we are keeping a close eye on the research in this area and may alter this in the future.
   
• Students must have a way to attach their facemask to themselves. This may be done with a clip, an around-the-neck strap, or by wearing a balaclava/gaiter.

Waiver: 

• All families that return to campus are required to complete this waiver for each child. We are, of course, doing everything within our power to make our campus as safe as possible for our students, but there is no way to eliminate the risk associated with COVID-19 as long as the pandemic persists.

Action Item 1: Return a completed waiver by 12:00 PM on Thursday, August 20 in order for your child to return to campus on August 25.

• You may return this waiver via postal mail or drop it off at the school’s front desk. We must receive a signed, printed copy and cannot accept a scanned copy or a digitally completed copy. If using postal mail, please send to:

Annunciation Orthodox School
Attn: Mylie Alaniz
3600 Yoakum Blvd.
Houston, TX 77006

Getting Ready for the First Day of School: Things to Practice

• Buckling and unbuckling car seats & opening and closing car doors
  As stated in our Reopening Plan Preview, parents with children who are unable to exit their car unassisted will need to park in the lower school parking lot and walk them to/from the front of the lower school building. Having your young children practice buckling and unbuckling their car seats themselves prior to the start of school will ensure that your child can do this on their own and will allow your family to utilize the carpool line instead of parking and walking them up to school.
   
• Wearing masks
  If your child is not already accustomed to wearing a mask or wearing a mask for an extended period of time, we encourage you to begin practicing now.
   
• Handwashing
  All students will be required to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly. While our teachers will lead lessons in proper hand-washing techniques, developing that routine and habit now will help support this process.
   
• Limiting social engagements (beginning August 11)
  In order to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus, we ask that all families, faculty, and staff limit social engagements outside of family as much as possible beginning Tuesday, August 11 (two weeks before school starts). This includes playdates, social gatherings, and any other unnecessary social contact. On August 14, along with our comprehensive reopening plan, we will ask every community member to sign a community pledge and adhere to a list of community health and safety standards during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alternative to On-Campus Learning: “Hearts and Minds at Home”

Families that do not feel comfortable returning to on-campus instruction for any reason may choose to participate in our “Hearts and Minds at Home” online streaming program. Different from our “Dolphins at a Distance” distance learning program, Hearts and Minds at Home is designed to address the scenario in which most students in a cohort are on campus, but some students are learning from home. Hearts and Minds at Home entails participating in a live, one-way feed during the day via the Zoom online platform. The teacher will switch to a two-way feed when possible to allow for interaction with the child who is learning at home. Students utilizing the Hearts and Minds at Home program will be provided with a school-issued device prior to the start of school.

This approach is new for everyone, including every teacher in our school. Teachers will primarily be responsible for the students in their classrooms, but they will do their best to include students at home and tailor activities as often as possible. Please note that we consider this to be an imperfect solution, but we will tweak and improve our approach each day as our teachers learn new tips and tricks to manage simultaneous instruction for students present in the classroom and students learning from home.

While we consider Dolphins at a Distance to be superior to Hearts and Minds at Home as a virtual learning program, we simply do not have the human resources necessary to run our Dolphins at a Distance program while also conducting on-campus instruction.

Choosing On-Campus Instruction vs. Hearts and Minds at Home Instruction

To help us plan effectively for the beginning of the year, please complete this survey indicating whether you will be participating in on-campus instruction or in the Hearts and Minds at Home program. You will have the opportunity to change your mind after seeing our campus reopening plan on August 14 and participating in our town hall on August 17. You must report a change in your selection by August 18 by emailing Sharon Corbett and your child’s teacher. Families may change from Hearts and Minds at Home to on-campus learning at any point during the school year, but must provide the school with a one-week notice.

Action Item 2: Fill out the survey by Monday, August 3, communicating whether you will participate in on-campus instruction or in the Hearts and Minds at Home program at the start of the school year.  

Extended Day

We will offer EDC (before and aftercare) as an essential service to those families who need it and have no other child-care options. We respectfully ask that our families only take advantage of this program this year if it is truly necessary; this will allow us to keep our program small and as safe as possible. EDC will follow similar safety protocols to our school-day protocols and the makeup of cohorts will depend on how many families sign up. In order for us to properly prepare, we ask that each family complete this survey and indicate whether or not you require this service by Monday, August 3.

Action Item 3: Complete the interest survey indicating yes or no to requiring EDC services by Monday, August 3.

Dear AOS Families,

Today, as promised, I write to share our plan for the beginning of the school year. Understandably, there are differing viewpoints on how and when schools should reopen their campuses during the pandemic. This conversation becomes even more complicated in areas with high community transmission rates, like Houston. Our decision regarding campus reopening involves difficult but necessary judgments, none of which will be perfect for every AOS family. While our individual sacrifices may never be equal, our shared sacrifice will serve to protect the members of the community we love. We are, after all, one community united by a single goal: We all want our children back on campus as quickly as possible, learning safely.

We are confident that our on-campus safety protocols will reduce the likelihood of transmission on our campus; however, the high community transmission rates in Houston right now dramatically increase the likelihood that these protocols may not protect us. We continue to monitor these rates closely and examine metrics such as new cases, deaths, number hospitalized, and positivity rates. We sought counsel from expert medical practitioners within the AOS community and considered guidance from organizations such as the CDC and WHO to interpret these metrics for us and to help guide us in our informed approach. Our reopening task force spent countless hours reading current research, discussing options with medical professionals, and examining our capabilities on campus. We believe that the plan outlined below, which is the unanimous recommendation of the reopening task force and has the support of the AOS Board of Trustees, strikes the right balance between safety and risk and prioritizes our students’ education. We also believe that this plan is the best path to achieving our ultimate goal of resuming all instruction on campus as soon and as safely as possible.

The Plan

Delphi and Prekindergarten will begin on campus on their original start date, Tuesday, August 25.

Kindergarten will begin on campus on Tuesday, August 25. This is a change in the start date for Kindergarten. These students will not start with distance learning on August 19.

1st - 8th grade will begin the year with distance learning on Wednesday, August 19 and will return to campus according to the following schedule:

• 1st & 2nd grade: Tuesday, September 8
• 3rd & 4th grade: Wednesday, September 9
• 5th & 6th grade: Thursday, September 10
• 7th & 8th grade: Friday, September 11

Rationale

• We plan to start school on campus with our youngest students first because preliminary research leads us to believe that younger children may transmit COVID-19 at lower rates than older children and adults. Current statistics seem to support this finding. We also know that our youngest learners are the least likely to effectively engage in and benefit from distance learning, though this is a secondary consideration to health and safety.

• While Houston’s transmission numbers are currently trending downward, they are still significantly above the levels that our medical experts recommend for older students to be able to return safely to campus on August 19.

• As a private, religious school, we are not legally obligated to follow the current Harris County order/guidance for schools to delay opening for in-person instruction. However, we recognize that there is a reason why this order/guidance is in place. It did not determine our final direction, but it was one of several factors we considered in formulating this staggered start plan.

• We significantly changed the routines, procedures, and layout of our campus to adapt to educating safely and responsibly during the pandemic. The phased return described in this plan will allow us to practice, examine, and adapt our new on-campus systems and spaces with a smaller number of students instead of attempting to “learn on the fly” with all of our students in the building.

Additional Notes

• Families who do not wish for their child(ren) to return to campus during on-campus instruction may choose to livestream instruction from their child’s cohort. As set forth in the communication timeline below, we will send a communication asking families about their preferred method of instruction with additional context and detail.

• Four faculty working groups, our academic team, and members of our administration all committed considerable time and resources this summer to completely reshape and solidify our approach to distance learning. While none of us prefer distance learning over on-campus learning, we are confident that our updated approach and enhanced program will be much improved from what students experienced last spring.

Expected Communication Timeline

• Friday, July 31 - Delphi, Prekindergarten, & Kindergarten families will receive additional information and instructions regarding our campus reopening.

• Friday, August 7 - All families will receive information about students’ cohorts and the appropriate division’s distance learning plans.

• Tuesday, August 11 - We will host a virtual town hall for all 1st - 4th grade families.

• Wednesday, August 12 - We will host a virtual town hall for all 5th - 8th grade families.

• Friday, August 14 - All families will receive our comprehensive campus reopening plan.

• Monday, August 17 - We will host a virtual town hall for all Delphi - Kindergarten families.

We had hoped our full community would experience the first day of school together on campus, and we are all disappointed that we won’t hear children’s voices in the hallways on August 19. This has been a challenging time for everyone, and the outcome is not what we wanted or expected. We understand that children miss their friends, their teachers, and their routine - and we miss them. However, we do consider the disappointment of this delay to be temporary, and we are excited to have all of our students join us on campus just after Labor Day. We sincerely appreciate your flexibility, trust, and shared understanding as we work to make the best decisions we can, rooted in our mission and with our utmost regard for the health and safety of our community.

Humbly,

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School

Greetings AOS Families,

I am writing with a quick update regarding the beginning of our school year. We continue to see virus counts rise in Houston, and many public school districts, including HISD, have already stated that they will start the year using distance learning. Being a private school, we have autonomous decision-making authority, and we will chart our own path as we review plans for opening school. The likelihood of delaying our on-campus start or starting the year online seems to increase each day, but we continue to transform our campus to make it as safe as possible for our students, faculty, and staff to hopefully return on our first day of school. We base our planning on medical advice and how it relates to our community, our campus, and our resources. Safety will always come first, and we are dedicated to providing an excellent education to our students regardless of circumstance. Stay tuned, stay safe, and I will continue to keep you updated. 

Best,

Dr. Samuel V. Fragomeni
Head of School