Latest Updates for COVID-19

Last Updated: Friday, September 18th at 3:15pm

2020-21 Pandemic Handbook

September 18, 2020

After careful consideration and examination of our Pandemic Handbook, we have decided that we will be returning to the school building for in-person learning beginning Monday, September 28. Please know though, that this is for students and families that feel comfortable sending their children back to school. We will continue to offer a remote learning option for the entire school year.

We have updated our Pandemic Handbook to include the latest mandates from the State of Ohio. This includes the order that all students will be required to wear a mask and parents will be required to report a positive case of COVID-19 to the school within 24 hours.

Our return to the classrooms is a team effort. We need your help at home. You must screen your child(ren) for symptoms at home and keep your child(ren) home if he or she is sick. We are also asking for patience and understanding, as we work through any unforeseen problems. We may need to adjust routines and policies as we see fit.

It is imperative that you read the information below as well as the attached Pandemic Handbook, to ensure a successful return to the classroom.

• Packets are being mailed home to families today that contain important information and documents that need to be returned by Monday, September 28 for those students returning to the classroom. Parents also have the option to drop off completed paperwork to the school office prior to September 28 (school office will be closed Friday, September 25).

• Families MUST notify the school office by Tuesday, September 22 if your child(ren) will be returning for in-person learning or remaining virtual. We are not using the previous list that was compiled for we feel that many families will be choosing a different option. Families will have the option to switch learning options at the end of each academic quarter.

• Students returning to the building should bring the assigned school supplies with them on September 28.

• Hot lunch will begin Monday, September 28. As a reminder, all students, regardless of financial status, will be given a free lunch each day. A menu is being sent home in the packet. There will be no forms to fill out. Each day the teachers will take a count of which students need a hot lunch for the day. It will be assumed that if a student packs a lunch, that he or she does not need a hot lunch.

• We will continue to have a morning care and after care program. Morning care will begin at 7:00 am in the church hall. Morning care is not a time for students to gather and socialize. We will be monitoring our numbers with morning care and may need to limit the amount of students that attend. If possible families are encouraged to drop students off at 7:35 am and avoid the use of morning care. Students will be screened prior to entering and will be sitting in homerooms. After care forms must be completed before a student can attend after care (see mailed packet). Again we will need to monitor these numbers to ensure we are following social distancing guidelines.

• The doors on East 200th Street will not be open for arrival. Students will gain access to the school through the doors on the parking lot side only. Each student will be screened prior to entering and will not be permitted to enter if he or she has a temperature. Please review the drop-off procedure for arrival. Families are not permitted to park and enter the building with their children. Students will be permitted to enter the building beginning at 7:35 am each morning and report to their homeroom.

• A new schedule for our online learners will be taking place because now these students will follow the schedule of the in-person learners. Teachers will be communicating with families the change in these schedules. Art, physical education, and STEM will continue to be posted on our learning platforms for our online learners and will not be live classes.

• We are limiting visitors in the building. This includes parents dropping off items for students. You will be greeted at the door by the office staff.

• All students whether online or in-person will still be required to call the school office to report any student absences.

• Please make sure that the school office has current information including emergency contacts and phone numbers.

We also have to remember that even though we will be returning to the building, some of our students will remain online and that etiquette online is crucial to the success of all of our learners. This etiquette includes not having interruptions by family members, having a non-distracting background, sitting at a desk or table, being in school uniform, and not eating.  We want to create a positive atmosphere for all of our students. We appreciate your help with this.

Just a couple of other reminders for the week include: Magazine Drive ends Tuesday, September 22. Please help support our school with this online fundraiser. There is no school for the students on Friday, September 25. The school will be closed. Conferences will be held virtually on Thursday, September 24. You should have a scheduled virtual time to meet with your child’s teacher.

These past few weeks have reminded me of my love for this school community. The patience and devotion that I have seen has been humbling. As we have said from the beginning, we are in this together!

Dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass remains in effect. The Easter Duty obligation is extended for a period of one year from the end of the Easter Season 2020.

Masses will resume at Our Lady of the Lake on Monday, May 25 at 9am.

Mass Schedule:
Monday - Thursday at 9am
Saturday at 4pm
Sunday at 8:30 and 11am

*Masks and Social Distancing will be Required.  Please see below for additional Guidelines.

The rectory office is closed. Please leave a message on the parish voicemail and we will return your call when we are able

• Your health and safety are our primary concern.
• The dispensation from worshiping at weekend liturgies remains in effect indefinitely.
  • Please take full advantage of this dispensation, especially if you are in the part of the population that is at highest risk in the pandemic.
  • That means those with pre-existing health conditions and those who are sick or who are living with someone who is sick should stay at home.
  • It also means that those who are sixty-five or older would be advised to refrain from participation, at the very least until a few weeks have passed and we have had a chance to test the plan and make initial refinements.
• Our weekend schedule will now be 4 pm on Saturday and 8:30 am and 11:00 am on Sunday. 
• Social distancing, which is mandatory, will reduce the church’s seating capacity significantly.
  • Social distancing means six feet distance in front of, behind and between participants. 
  • In our space this means sitting in every other row of chairs, with two chairs between participants. 
  • Members of a family or a single household may sit next to one another. 
  • It will be necessary to sit where directed by the ushers rather than where you may have become accustomed to sit.
• It will be necessary for everyone in the church, no exceptions, to wear masks or face coverings.
• Entry into the church building will be permitted only at the southeast entrance (parking lot side closest to Lake Shore Boulevard.).
• Please arrive no earlier than fifteen minutes before Mass.
• Everyone is asked to sanitize their hands upon entering the building.
  • To the degree that we can gain access to agents to sanitize, we will provide them. 
  • Please bring your own sanitizer with you when you come. 
• After Mass, additional doors will be open through which you may exit according to directives that will be provided.
• Congregational singing is indefinitely suspended.
  • The hymnals have been temporarily removed.
  • Any music will either be instrumental or sung by a cantor.
• There will be no entrance procession, no presentation of the gifts, no (recessional) exit procession. 
• Communion:
  • When it comes time for communion, please follow the directions of the ushers in order to maintain six feet of social distance between communicants. 
  • Communion will be given only under the form of bread. 
  • For the sake of protecting the ministers of communion and other participants, you are asked to receive communion in the hand. 
• The ministry of ushers will increase in importance as we try to implement this plan.  If you are willing to assist in this ministry, please contact the rectory at your earliest convenience. 

Cancelled/Postponed Events

• All physical events at the Parish and School are cancelled/postponed.
• The Rectory will is temporarily closed.  Please call and leave a message and we will return your call as soon as we are able.
• ALL rehearsals and choir activities within liturgies are cancelled until further notice.
• Eucharist for the Homebound is suspended.
• Parish Lenten Mission (Postponed) - March 22-24