May 20, 2020

 

May 1, 2020

 

Dear Catholic Schools of Broome County Families & Staff:

I know that this has been a difficult time for all and I greatly appreciate your partnership in maintaining education for our students. Today, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all schools in New York will be closed for the remainder of the academic year. At the Catholic Schools of Broome County, we continue to serve our students by providing academic instruction through distance learning. We are currently evaluating options for year-end activities, virtually and/or in person (if possible) and exploring summer enrichment programs. More information regarding these specific plans will be forthcoming as we receive guidelines from the state and county on social distancing restrictions.

If your child and/or family are struggling, please reach out to your child’s teacher. We have resources available such as school counselors, community schools coordinator, special education teachers and resource teachers as well as social work student interns.

Our Catholic School community draws strength from the many positive messages we have received regarding the dedication of our teachers and staff. We are encouraged and hopeful because of your prayers and well wishes. We are all in this together spiritually even though we are apart physically.

May God bless you all,
Elizabeth Carter, PhD
President, Catholic Schools of Broome County

Friday, April 17, 2020

Dear Catholic Schools of Broome County Families & Staff:

I hope you are all keeping healthy and safe as we continue to navigate this uncertain time. The most recent executive order from Governor Cuomo indicates that the NY on Pause is through May 15, which means schools would not start back until May 18. We will continue to monitor information from the state and county for guidance on school openings and extended closures.  Although physical distancing dictates school buildings are closed, the education of children is continuing.

4th Quarter Instruction
On behalf of the CSBC teachers and principals, I am providing updated plans and expectations for the 4th quarter. Over the past several weeks, we have been enhancing educational experiences in the best interest of all our students and families. During the 4th quarter, teachers will increase their direct instruction, interaction, and feedback on individual student progress. We are using a mode of distance learning that requires a partnership between teachers, parents and students. We greatly appreciate parents assistance in helping students access the materials, in setting work routines/structures that meet family needs, and informing teachers of any challenges their children may be facing.

Technology
Each week, elementary students will receive an overview plan indicating their required assignments for the week. Seton students have received an organized schedule of interactive meetings for their classes. CSBC teachers are using a variety of technology tools for instruction and communications to deliver online lessons, assignments, videos, videoconferencing, quizzes, exams, discussion posts and virtual office hours. If the student or you are having difficulty accessing materials or video conferencing, please contact your child’s teacher.

Completion of Assignments
It is important that students attend any core instructional experiences that have been assigned as well as experiences from the Special Area teachers. Attendance at these sessions is expected. Teachers will be monitoring student participation.

Seton 4th Quarter Grading
Students will continue to be graded on assignments given in the Google Classroom.  These assignments and assessments will be important in determining 4th quarter grades.  We will continue to use numerical grades during distance learning.  All grades 7-12 will be following similar grading protocols for the 4th marking period.

Elementary Schools K-6 4th Quarter Grading
Going forward, grading of assignments will be translated into a standards based score to accommodate various factors due to the current distance learning environment.  Standards based grading measures are used to assess proficiency on learning objectives.

The scores are as follow:
4= Exceeding grade level expectations consistently
3=Meeting grade level expectations
2=Progressing toward meeting grade level expectations
1=Not meeting grading level expectations at this time
NA=not assessed at this time

Future CSBC Activities/Events
We are in the process of rescheduling some of the postponed events and will notify you once new dates have been set. Summer camps are being planned/scheduled as well as potential day trips by grade level. We are hoping that COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted in time for most of these activities and events.

If your child is struggling, please contact your child’s teacher. We have resources available such as school counselors, community schools coordinator, special education teachers and resource teachers as well as student interns.  Please notify teachers or principals if you have any questions on this information. I know this time apart has not been easy and we greatly appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation with all the transitions. Looking forward to a time when we are all back together again!

May God bless you all,
Elizabeth Carter, PhD
President, Catholic Schools of Broome County

 

Thursday, April 16, 2020

SCC Community,

I hope everyone is safe and healthy.  Thank you so much for your constant contact and your support through this crisis.  As we start our 4th marking period, we are implementing another addition to our distance learning plan.  We received a lot of feedback from students requesting more interactive classes with face-to-face communication with their teachers.  Therefore, after meeting with teachers, we have organized a schedule of interactive meetings for their classes. The schedule can be downloaded below. This will allow some structure and regularity for the students and teachers. This will not replace other interactions that the students are having with teachers currently.  This will be an addition to what work is happening. This new schedule will officially start on Monday, April 20th. Also below is a simple graphic organizer for students to download to help simplify their schedules.

Students will continue to be graded on assignments given in the Google Classroom.  These assignments and assessments will be important in determining 4th quarter grades.  We will continue to use numerical grades during distance learning. All grades 7-12 will be following similar grading protocols for the 4th marking period.  If you have specific questions regarding how this may impact your child, please contact their counselor Also please contact teachers with any course-specific questions. Thank you again for all of your support and assistance.  We hope to see everyone soon.

God Bless,
Mr. Martinkovic and Mr. Monachino

Online Schedule and Graphic Organizer 
COVID-19 Teaching Schedule

Monday, April 7, 2020

Dear Catholic Schools of Broome County Families & Staff:

We hope this letter finds you well. Our greatest concern, as always, is the health and well-being of our CSBC students, families, and staff. As the world faces the impact of Covid-19, we are revising and improving our plans and continue to update you with changes. Today, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered all schools must remain closed through April 29th.

The administrative staff and teachers are currently making plans to continue distance learning instruction beginning April 14th through April 29th. We know this health crisis has posed challenges to all and we will continue to provide our rigorous academic offerings through a distance learning format due to the circumstances.

As we receive further guidance from New York State, Broome County, and the Diocese of Syracuse regarding ongoing closures or re-opening of schools, we will keep you informed. Please know we will remain committed to delivering quality educational instruction in person or online as needed. Stay healthy, stay Saints Strong and have a Blessed Easter.

God bless,

Elizabeth Carter, PhD
President, Catholic Schools of Broome County

Saturday, April 4, 2020

A message to our St. James students….

Friday, April 3, 2020

A message to our All Saints students…

 

A message to our students at SCC…

Video for SCC Students 2020 from Catholic Schools of Broome Count on Vimeo.

 

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

SCC 7th Grade Families,
I was speaking with my staff today and we decided to suspend the LOTE for 7th-grade students for the remainder of the quarter.  We want the students to focus on the rest of their class work.  If distance-learning continues into the 4th quarter, we will do the same for the 4th quarter.  We believe that they need to focus on core instruction.  Mr. Calkin will send out a form that the parents will fill out indicating which Language they would like to take next year.  We will get that out in the upcoming weeks.  Please keep in contact with your teachers and thank you so much for your support.

God Bless,

Mr. Martinkovic

Monday, March 23, 2020

SCC 7th and 8th,
If you have been watching the news, you may have seen that NYS assessments have been canceled.  So far that means the 7-8 NYS tests (ELA and Math) have been canceled.  Our teachers will still be teaching all of the goals and objectives of the courses.  These tests were an additional tool for teachers to assess where students were in correlation with the skills and standards.  Teachers still use internal assessments, that will evaluate the students’ understanding.  We have had no word about NYS Regents exams at this time.

Best,
Mr. Martinkovic
SCC Principal

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

The following are Google sites created by St. James teachers for their students:
Grades 4-6, Mrs. Kreeger, Mr. Corrigan, Miss Barnes

Thursday, March 19, 2020
The SCC office open will be open from 9 am – 12 pm, please contact Mrs. Levis to make an appointment.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

The following are Google sites created by St. James teachers for their students:
Mrs. Rabarsky’s Kindergarten Website
Mrs. Dennison’s First Grade Website
Mrs. Marco’s 2nd Grade Website
Mrs. Corrigan’s 2nd Grade Website

 

 

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Message from Principal Martinkovic
SCC Community, I hope everyone is safe and healthy today! I just wanted to give you an update today. Most teachers have been in contact with their students and working hard to continue the education at SCC. If you have not heard from your teacher please be patient, they are working to get everything out. Please contact the office if you need to pick up anything from the school. I am proud to be part of this great community and the support has been inspirational. If you need anything please reach out to us.

Proud to be a Saint,
Mr. Martinkovic

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Pick-up times for students to retrieve items:

All Saints:
Wednesday, March 18 & Thursday, March 19
7:30 am – 4:30 pm
Please refer to the letter below from All Saints’ administration for more details about what to do when you arrive. 

St. James:
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Last name A-M: 9-10:30 am
Last Name N-Z: 11-12:30 pm
If these times do not work, please call the school directly on Wednesday as to the best time for your family. They could also offer drop offs if these times do not work. There will be no more access to the building after this time.
Please refer to the letter below from St. James’ administration for more details about what to do when you arrive. 

St. John’s
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
7:00 – 9:00 am or 12:00 – 5:00 pm
Please refer to the letter below from St. John’s administration for more details about what to do when you arrive.

SCC
Please contact the school directly to make arrangements to pick-up your items.

Monday, March 16, 2020
Letter from SCC Administration
Letter from St. John’s Administration
Video message from Principal Kitchen & Letter from St. James Administration
Principal Pipher’s debut youtube video & Letter from All Saints Administration
Letter from Bishop Lucia

Monday, March 16, 2020

Dear Catholic Schools of Broome County (CSBC) Families,

We hope you are staying healthy and finding ways to protect yourselves from COVID -19. As you know, at this time, school is closed until April 14, 2020. Our goal at the CSBC is to deliver instruction to our students through distance learning formats. Our plan is to have student learning continue through the period that school is closed.

Implementation: Teachers have been working tirelessly to convert their lesson plans to a distance learning format.  Our goal is to create an educational experience that aligns with the continuation of the ongoing curriculum they were teaching prior to school closure. Our distance education program for Pre-K through 12 will be fully operational on Monday, March 23^rd.  You may even receive information sooner. Please be patient during this process as it is complicated and time-consuming to create quality online instruction.

Access to Technology: Currently underway is an assessment of our families’ technology/internet access. Please complete the survey that your child’s teachers will send to your email. This survey will help ensure that all families can fully participate in our distance learning.

Communication: Please continue to monitor emails as families/students will receive further instructions for access to instructional materials through email.

School Building Access: For those of you who need to access the schools for books, Chromebooks and other supplies, please note that each school will schedule days/times for material pick up.

Instructional Plans: Expect to receive information from CSBC teachers about required school work.

Nutritious Meals for Students: The CSBC website also has links to a list of district locations for nutritious meals for students as well as restaurants providing meals.

Above all, we are putting the health and safety of our CSBC community first while continuing to provide the education that our families have come to expect. Please continue checking your email for updates, as the situation is continually evolving. This is a difficult time for all of us, but the CSBC has always been a strong community and we will get through this together.

Please join me in praying for our community.
Elizabeth Carter, PhD
President, Catholic Schools of Broome County

Sunday, March 15, 2020

CSBC Families,

After careful consideration, the Catholic Schools of Broome County in coordination with the regional school districts are closing all schools and canceling all co-curricular events effective Monday, March 16 until April 14. There are no known cases within the CSBC, however, we are using an abundance of caution in making this decision. Our administrative team, faculty, and staff have been evaluating strategies to continue the educational process while schools are closed and will be meeting on Monday, March 16. There are many factors to consider in making decisions about our processes and appreciate your patience during this time. Please continue to monitor your email for future information and know that we will be adhering to all health and safety directives from Broome County, NYS and the Diocese of Syracuse. Be assured that our major concern is for the safety of all our families.

Please continute to check this site for updates and resources.

Thank you,

Dr. Elizabeth Carter
President, Catholic Schools of Broome County