PRIVATE SCHOOL PREVIEW
Sacred Heart Greenwich
Over the summer, the Board of Trustees’ special COVID committee created four different scenarios for the fall semester. The school year will begin using Scenario 2, which includes every girl being on campus every day, with health requirements in place. Everyone will wear a cloth face mask; each classroom has been reconfigured to maintain six-feet of distancing; new air purifier systems were installed around the campus; large tents were set up in the courtyard to accommodate any classes that want to move outside; and one of the athletic spaces was redesigned as an overflow dining hall to enable all students to eat at a six-foot distance.
Middle and Upper School students will be able to engage in outdoor sports, but not play a typical competitive schedule; they will participate in sport-specific training and intramural games and scrimmages within their set grades. All students will take Physical Education. Fifth graders will mix with sixth graders; and seventh graders with eighth graders.
While the main focus is getting every girl to class every day, SHG recognizes that there are circumstances that may lead some students to choose to stay home. Consequently, a home learning experience will be offered for every class. All classes are outfitted with cameras to make live streaming of classes possible.
The students who are learning from home will be partnered with students at school who are learning in their grade or in their advisory. They will check in with each other on how things are going, as well as spend time communicating with their advisors or lead teachers. This will ensure that the program is working for their educational needs, and, if not, that supplemental assistance will be provided.
Fortunately, Sacred Heart has its own online platform, SophieConnect, which they launched in 2012. The system hosts online classes throughout the school year for anyone at this or any other Sacred Heart school. So, if a student wants an AP course that isn’t offered at their Sacred Heart school, a connector locates a teacher and interested students to set up a class.
Lower Schoolers will now be able to train on their own personal iPads and Chromebooks to become comfortable if it becomes necessary to move to online learning again. SHG will offer normal extra-help before or after school by appointment, as well as virtually.
Upper School classes will now start at 8:45 a.m. in order to stagger the start times of each division to help lessen crowding in the hallways. Additionally, because the Upper School moved to a block system, similar to what colleges offer, many class schedules will be four-a-day with half-day classes on Wednesday, and wellness times built in. Through the later start and half day Wednesday, there will be more time to get extra help from a teacher.
