Weekly Updates
Weekly Updates
Staying Connected Updates for our School
Jesuit Sacramento is continually monitoring and working with County and State health professionals and is ready to adapt plans to always keep the health and safety of our students and employees as our primary focus. We will share news continually throughout summer here, in our weekly communications, and then provide corresponding details in our Return to School section.
Staying Connected – Oct 16
Training, Screening and Return to Campus Update
Jesuit High School has now completed our all-class training week ahead of our return to campus that included our first antigen screening performed by Urgent Care Now (UCN), a presentation from school administrators, and a campus tour with specific attention to the various elements for virus mitigation. The student presence on campus was a welcome sight to faculty and staff who have been apart from students for so many months.
Training week began with the Senior class on Monday and we learned a great deal about how to improve this process for the subsequent class trainings and for the first day of classes. Given that this was the first experience of screening and the first time we have conducted trainings to our students on virus mitigation, many important lessons were learned. The seniors were patient and polite and we were proud to see them respond to all of the new changes as respectful young men. Each class thereafter ran smoothly and we were able to fine tune dialogue and presentations ahead of student questions to make sure all students had a grasp of what their return to campus will be like and what the expectations are for next week. Our four days of training oriented and toured 910 students and over 100 employees.
Bundled into this update are a few details on some of the lessons learned during training week including a message from the physicians at UCN/Immunity on the environmental factors that contributed to false positives on day one. As we move onward, the antigen screening is an important addition to our virus mitigation plan for the safety of our faculty, staff and students. However, as with all plans, this process may evolve or change depending on multiple factors. As we move through the first weeks of on-campus classes, the Safe Return Task Force along with the UCN physicians – in consultation with Sacramento County Health – will assess the feasibility of the program.
Again, please know that we are in this process together and we strive to be transparent and communicative in all we do. First and foremost, we are here to care for our students, faculty and staff always.
Peace,
Michael Wood
Principal
Staying Connected – Oct 10
Keeping you informed with Bell Schedule, Events and Happenings for the week ahead
For this week’s important communication from the Leadership Team on our Return to Campus please click here or scroll below for the copy of a Special Edition of Staying Connected.
SPECIAL EDITION of Staying Connected – Oct 9
Our Return to Campus, Training Week and Start of In-person Classes
Dear Parents, Students, Faculty, Staff, and Friends
We are excited to welcome students back to campus! The endeavor to return to campus and restructure the second quarter of the fall semester is a large and complex task that we are navigating with a multidisciplinary team. We appreciate your support of this process and your patience as we learn together how to do this effectively and safely. There are many critical details in today’s message from the Leadership Team.
Staying Connected – Oct 3
Keeping you informed with Bell Schedule, Events and Happenings for the week ahead
For this week’s communication on Return to School from the Leadership Team please click here.
Staying Connected – Sept 25
Time to do a self-check and see what lies ahead - COVID update, Student Activities, Academics, Faith and Justice.
A message from the Principal to our students, parents, families and friends
It is hard to believe, but we are just two weeks away from the end of the first quarter! It is now time to check in with all members of the community to assess how we are doing and to consider adjustments for the second quarter. While we hesitate to predict the results of feedback before issuing surveys, I am confident that one predominant theme will emerge from the student, parent and teacher responses: the sustainability of our current plan with regard to teacher and student wellness. It is becoming increasingly clear that the demands of distance learning are creating unsustainable and possibly unhealthy levels of stress, fatigue, anxiety, and frustration. We are seeing this in our peer schools and schools nationwide.
Staying Connected – Sept 17
A good time to thank teachers!
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
Last Wednesday, Fr. McGarry, S.J., and I had the opportunity to greet our students and families at the Marauder Take Over at the Drive-In event. We walked among the rows of cars and spoke with our guests on their experience at Jesuit so far this year. We were both struck by the overwhelming messages of gratitude and praise, especially for the teachers. We are also reminded of our collective longing for community and togetherness.
Staying Connected – Sept 11
Dear Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers,
My name is Jordan Brown, the Director of Equity and Inclusion at Jesuit High School Sacramento. I began this summer to facilitate an increased emphasis on diversity and anti-racism as part of the school’s journey towards providing all students with a welcoming and safe campus. As a former Jesuit High School student, I am grateful to have the opportunity to educate our community on more anti-racist practices. My experiences of studying abroad, teaching boys and young men of color, facilitating culturally relevant workshops, providing educational technology resources, and leading youth immersions have prepared me to take on this important role.
Staying Connected – Sept 4
Student Life and Activities, a Valuable Part of Educating the Whole Person at JHS
Dear Parents, Students and Friends of Jesuit High School,
As we near completion of the first two full weeks of school, we are thankful for the hard work and adaptability of our students. They have quickly learned the distance-learning guidelines and requirements and familiarized themselves with teacher expectations and syllabi. Now, we are challenging our students to consider ways to expand their learning beyond the walls of the virtual classroom. In many ways, this call to be involved in the co-curricular life of the school challenges students to embody the Magis, which asks them to seek more and strive for the better, all for the greater glory of God.
Staying Connected – August 27
Sharing Our Core Values
Parents, Students and Friends,
As Jesuit High School Sacramento has been reimagining its entire operation in response to the pandemic, we have been called to consider our core values to ensure that we do not lose what is most essential in this adaptive process. We must ask what distinguishes our particular brand of education and the character of our school while the format, scope, and context of our work shifts. One of these distinguishing core values is what we call the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP). This is our process or model of teaching; it shapes and informs not only what we teach, but how we teach it. The elements of this model, used in all Jesuit schools, offer a way of understanding how deep, transformative learning occurs.
Staying Connected – August 21
Our students give life to our mission—they are our mission.
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
After a long summer of planning, re-planning, and refining, Jesuit Sacramento is officially in session!
Staying Connected – August 14
We Come Together as a Community of Faith, of Family, of God
We call upon God in the midst of uncertainty and anxiety and fear,
but that we always look through the lens of hope and trust.
Staying Connected – August 7
We are ready!
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
First impressions are important, especially when we walk into something new. We are acutely aware that an online-only learning environment can be difficult for many students. With our school year starting with Distance Learning (DL), Jesuit Sacramento is conscious of caring for the whole person–cura personalis.
Staying Connected – July 31
The start of school
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
Due to the current state of the coronavirus in Sacramento County and the requirements imposed by state officials, Jesuit cannot reasonably plan for in-person learning by the start of the school year. We are sure this comes as no surprise given the new school guidelines and 14-day COVID status timeframe we shared last week.
Staying Connected – July 24
How Jesuit High School stands apart
Dear Parents, Students and Friends,
As families continue to process and work through the challenges of the ever-changing landscape that the COVID-19 pandemic presents, we want to remind you: we are in this together! This week’s message focuses on the multitude of opportunities that Jesuit High School Sacramento is uniquely positioned to provide despite the challenges of a pandemic. We are undertaking a conscious and dedicated effort to continue to provide a well-rounded experience for our students and community.
Staying Connected – July 9
Safe Return Update & Survey
Welcome New Families
Participate in TeachAids Concussion Program
Parents, Students, and Friends,
Today, we wanted to share an update on the ongoing work of the Safe Return Task Force and school leadership. Our draft of a comprehensive Safe Return Plan has been crafted based on the guidance and recommendations from dozens of agencies and organizations in the areas of public health, educational technology, and Catholic education. As we communicated in our previous message and webinar, this next step in outlining our Safe Return Plan will include Jesuit’s plan on protection and precautions (virus mitigation, face coverings, cleaning, COVID response, the science behind our framework, etc.).
Staying Connected – July 2
Communicating to our community
Parents, Students, and Friends,
We were proud to share Jesuit Sacramento’s Academic Framework for a full return to campus in August. The framework will be our guide as we continue to adapt to this ever-changing situation. As we navigate the situation, we want to share our next steps in rolling out the details for our safe return. And, thank you to the families that joined us this week for the first in our series of “A Look at Fall 2020” webinars. This session focused on the framework for Academic Return. If you were not able to attend, we encourage you to view the recording. During this session and in the pre-event RSVP, we received questions across a wide variety of topics and we made sure to note those for future webinars.
Staying Connected – June 26
The framework of a Jesuit Sacramento school day - an academic return
THE FRAMEWORK OF A JESUIT SACRAMENTO SCHOOL DAY
Parents, Students, and Friends,
As we have shared over the last 100 days, we frequently hear new information on how the pandemic has caused changes for families, businesses, and social traditions. Just as we assess and adapt at home with our families, we do here, as well, at Jesuit Sacramento. Through it all, one goal was always in front of us: to return to campus in August as ONE – one student body, one group of colleagues, one Jesuit High School.
Staying Connected – June 18
Parents, Students, and Friends,
Jesuit Sacramento is continuing to move forward with a safe and responsible return to campus and looks forward to sharing our Task Force plans for the start of the 2020-2021 academic year with you next week.
Today, we have a few items that are a part of the initial steps in getting ready — another group back on campus for summer, how to order dress code apparel with our online vendor, and information on participating in the fall Jesuit Drama production.
God bless,
Staying Connected – June 11
JHS intends to safely return to school in August as planned.
Parents, Students, and Friends,
As we move through June, we are focusing our energy on the Safe Return Task Force and we want to keep you informed along the way. We received guidance from the California Department of Public Health this week and have consulted with local organizations and authorities. They have confirmed that we have the discretion to create a customized plan that is best suited for Jesuit High School Sacramento and our unique campus and context.