Dear MCCS Community,
We received word today that certain MCCS families did not receive the official email notification on Thursday night, (3/12/2020), about school closure for the coming week. Obviously, with Governor Wolf’s announcement on Friday, this building closure will be extended into the coming weeks as well. Additionally, we will be sending out a series of clarifying emails laying out a plan for how we intend to finish the schooling process for 2020, should it be impossible to return to the building collectively during the remainder of this school year. There will be a series of meetings of teachers and leadership over the next couple of days, after which time we will be communicating to families and secondary students with our intentions moving forward. We appreciate your patience at this time. We have every intention to offer as much clarity as possible and not simply scripted ambiguities, but it will take a couple of days to put together a quality response to the most recent accelerated developments. Below is the official letter of school closure that was sent to families on Thursday evening. If you did not receive this, please make sure your current email addresses and contact information is updated in FACTS.
Respectfully,
Dr. Sheard, 3/15/20
Dear Parents,
I would like to inform you that the official Trustee Board of Mount Calvary Christian School will extend Spring Break for one week because of the escalating health crisis surrounding the spread of COVID-19. Health recommendations concerning social distancing are critical to containing infection rates, so we believe it is our responsibility as a school to delay re-entry and reconsider our options next week. Additionally, many of our families are returning from different parts of the country and the world, and we feel that caution is critical at this time. This situation is fluid and complex, and we are grateful for your support as we pray through the many issues surrounding the changing landscape. We continue to cry out to God for wisdom in these matters.
The Board is also cancelling all extracurricular activities beginning Friday, March 12, 2020 through next week. This includes sports practices/games, drama rehearsals, and other activities.
It is our desire to not put vulnerable population segments at risk within our community. Over the past several weeks, we have been working with the leaders of our school to discuss the implementation of changes in daily routines that will help our students stay healthier, in the classrooms, halls, the cafeteria, and in specials when the school reopens. We are fully aware of compulsory attendance laws, the possibility of virtual learning steps, and other critical issues that may be necessary moving forward.
There have been extensive measures to clean the school during the past week, and we will continue additional sanitation practices. Please rest assured that school leadership is addressing the situation proactively and following prevention-recommendations as they arise.
We understand that this move on our part to extend Spring Break for the safety of our children will create a hardship on families who will have to look for alternative childcare. We feel deeply for you but believe this extension of Spring Break is in the best interest of our school family.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Department of Health will be making recommendations to local school districts tomorrow. We may have additional clarification once those directives are made public.
Please pray for our teachers and leadership as we move forward in this process. Our leadership team will continue to pray and watch the situation closely and provide further updates next week.
Respectfully,
Daniel Sheard, Superintendent
