CBHCS 2020-21
Dear Families,
To ensure the well-being and safety of our students and families, we are preparing the 2020-21 CBHCS year with special precautions and back-up plans in place.
CBHCS In-Person Sessions
We are planning and preparing our program to open in-person in the new school year. The program itself (teaching, curriculum, etc) will be more or less the same as it generally is. However, there will be a few changes to the structure of the day and classroom protocol, to ensure that we are together in the healthiest and safest way possible.
These include:
● Family minyan (Family prayer) - Our morning family minyan (family prayer) service will be performed in individual classrooms, amongst the teachers and the students for each classroom. (Parents will not stay for family minyan, but can potentially Zoom into their children’s classrooms if they still wish to participate.) This will be in lieu of meeting as a large group as we usually do for family minyan on Sunday mornings.
● Drop-off & Pick-up - We will use the staircase to the left of the lobby to enter classrooms, and have parents and students leave down the staircase on the third floor, which exits at a different part of the building. This will create a one-way flow of foot-traffic, cutting down on crowded hallways and minimizing exposure risk. Signs will be posted to help families navigate.
● Elevator Usage - As always, use of the elevator will be limited to teachers and Education Director ONLY, with the exception of students who are disabled/injured students who cannot reasonably be expected to use the stairs.
● Face Masks - All teachers & students will be required to wear a face mask during Sunday school (excluding during snack time).
● Sanitary Measures - Upon arrival, coming back into the classroom from recess, and before leaving, students will be expected to wash their hands or use hand-sanitizer. This goes for teachers, as well.
● Distancing - Teachers will do their best to arrange classrooms with adequate space between students’ desks, preferably 6 ft, as much as is physically possible.
● Class Sizes - We will keep class sizes on the smaller side, to minimize exposure within class groups.
● Staggered Recess - Recess will be staggered to limit the number of classes that are exposed to each other on the playground.
● Staff - We will keep our madrichim (teenage counselors) limited to one per classroom, and teachers and madrichim will be trained in our classroom/school COVID-19 safety policies before the school year starts.
● Health - Any students with a temperature above 99.5 degrees or with respiratory symptoms (that are not related to officially diagnosed asthma) will be asked to remain home, or will be sent home.
CBHCS Virtual Back-Up Program
Should there be any Sundays in which we have to revert to stricter social distancing protocol (as determined by the CDC), we will launch our back-up program. This program will be used to cover any Sundays between being in-person, so that your child doesn’t have gaps in their Jewish/Hebrew education.
We hope that the year ahead will allow for us to meet in-person for all the 28 Sundays we offer throughout the school year. However, because we can’t predict exactly what will happen in the 2020-2021 school year, we are committed to providing you the best possible programming that will fit any circumstances that we might encounter. Should we encounter periods of time when we aren’t able to meet in person, we will pivot to our virtual Sunday program.
We have identified 3 priorities for periods of virtual learning:
1. Emotional and spiritual health of our children (and using Jewish stories and teachings that support this)
2. Hebrew learning
3. Community connection
Please keep in mind that everything we are planning for our virtual program will be covered in your regular school tuition--there are no additional costs to you.
Virtual Sundays at CBHCS
Sunday Mornings - Judaica & Community Connection:
Family Minyan (facilitated by Rabbi G & Kate, via Zoom)
● 9:45am-10am - Pre-ZOOMinyan social “hangout” time
● 10am-10:20 am- Family ZOOMinyan with Rabbi G Class Time (facilitated by CBHCS teachers, via Zoom)
● 10:30am-10:45am - Virtual Circle Time (check-in, everyone can share about their weeks, show-and-tell, etc)
● 10:45am-11:30am - Core Judaics lesson (includes Judaics lesson, class discussion, and interactive group game/activity)
Weekdays - Hebrew Literacy:
● Hebrew tutoring sessions for our students, focusing on the skills they need to develop/practice
○ We will work with you to schedule a time/day slot that works best for your family.
○ Please note: This is covered by tuition, and comes at no additional cost to you.
In addition to both programs outlined above, please remember that we are here to support your family as best we can through current events. Always feel free to reach out if you have any questions, need extra support, or have ideas for additional ways we can support your family through the pandemic. Though we can’t make any guarantees, we are always happy to think creatively and do our best to make your lives a little easier and more connected.
Best,
Kate Hennessey
She/Her Pronouns
Education Director at Congregation Bet Haverim