Dear Creighton Prep Community,

We are very excited to be two short weeks away from the official start of school. It has been five months since we last had students in the building, and I am so grateful to the faculty and staff for all the work they have done to prepare for a safe, exciting, and successful return to in-person learning. Despite all the planning and preparation, there will be ongoing changes throughout this school year and it will be through our combined efforts to help each other that we will experience the Prep community at its very best.

On July 20, Prep published a three-level learning plan to help us respond to the pandemic. Since then, the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and local public health officials have released further guidance about how schools should adjust their approach toward keeping their communities safe by accounting for the rate of local COVID-19 transmission. We have updated our back to school plan to incorporate that guidance using the Douglas County Health Department's (DCHD) color-coded risk assessment dial to move between the levels outlined in our plan.

• When the dial is green or yellow (low to moderate risk), we are in Level 1 with near-normal capacity.
• When the dial is orange (high risk), we will move to Level 2 to more aggressively mitigate the risk by physical distancing.
• When the dial is red (severe risk), we will move to Level 3, remote learning. 

The dial is updated every weekend. Last week, the dial moved from yellow to orange putting us in the high-risk range, where it remains this week. Consequently, we will begin school in Level 2 - Hybrid Learning to Decrease Density. While some local school districts have decided to open at 25% capacity, we are confident that we have sufficient resources and procedures in place to allow us to start Level 2 at roughly 50% capacity

In Level 2, we are better able to maintain six feet of distance between everyone anytime they need to be together longer than a few minutes. In the event someone present at school has COVID-19, no student or staff member should be designated a close contact by DCHD because we will be able to maintain prescribed physical distancing in all settings and avoid anyone being required to self-quarantine for two weeks. (Please review this video we released in our last email if you want more insight into how the process works when county contact tracers determine who needs to go into self-quarantine after having a close contact with a positive case.)

Below you will find important details for how starting in a Level 2 - Hybrid Learning to Decrease Density model is going to change the schedule for our first few days of school. Please pay special attention to the information about registration day as it has changed significantly from what it has been like in the past. Additionally, you will see that the first two days of class have unique schedules so that we are able to have all our students see their teachers in-person before moving into the regular Level 2 schedule. Tomorrow, freshman parents will receive an email with details about Freshman Big Brother Orientation Day on August 14 and Freshman First Day on August 17.

For those families facing circumstances that do not make a return to in-person school possible even in a Level 2 scenario, you are still able to sign-up for the remote learning option using this form. Remote learning is available to anyone – students do not need a doctor's note. Additionally, a Prep student can move from remote learning back to in-person learning once his parents determine it is safe for him to do so.

As detailed in our back to school plan, we will need to switch between learning levels to respond to the circumstances we are facing throughout the year. Our main goal is not to simply bring all students back to Prep but to keep them here. Once the DCHD determines that the COVID-19 transmission levels are back to moderate (yellow) or low (green), we will switch to our Level 1 - Near Normal model. Hopefully the measures that everyone is taking across our wider community will keep us from moving into the severe risk level (red) resulting in DCHD directing schools to go to remote learning. We will be sure to communicate these changes quickly and clearly as they arise and give everyone as much advance notice as possible.

We know this is a stressful time for everyone as we try to balance work, school, and childcare concerns. It is our sincere hope that circumstances within the county go back to where they were a few weeks ago, and we can move from Level 2 to Level 1 as soon as possible. No matter the situation, we remain committed to ensuring all of our students have the fullest possible experience of Prep – not just rigorous academics, but all of the clubs, athletics, student activities and campus ministry programming that we intend to make possible through carefully coordinated planning.

Let us continue to pray for each other and look out for one another as we work together to overcome the challenges ahead.

AMDG,

Mr. Jim Bopp
Head of School

Registration Day Details - Monday, August 17

Registration for sophomores, juniors and seniors has been segmented into 30-minute increments with students assigned a time slot by last name. Please attend the time associated with the student's last name as indicated in the chart below. Students will need to arrive in dress code since school photos will be taken that day. Refer to the Student-Parent Handbook for appropriate dress code details. 

Freshmen will experience their first day of school on Monday, August 17 to help them learn how to navigate the school, find their classrooms, and meet with each class. See the schedule below. More details will be shared with freshman parents tomorrow. Students will need to arrive in dress code. Refer to the Student-Parent Handbook for appropriate dress code details. 

What Does the Level 2 Schedule Look Like?

In Level 2, school is open with increased physical distancing restrictions in place to reduce density and more aggressively mitigate the risk through physical distancing. Students are divided into Blue and White cohorts. Students with last names A-L are in the Blue cohort. Students with last names M-Z are in the White cohort. Cohorts will attend school in person for two consecutive days followed by remote instruction for two consecutive days.

Although we would like to accommodate needs like specific carpools, we are unable to do that and maintain a student population balance in these cohorts. With the exception of Tuesday, August 18 and Wednesday, August 19, we will preserve the same bell schedule and academic calendar. The cohort learning remotely will join their class using the link to the class meeting posted on the course Canvas page. 

2-Week School Calendar 

The calendar below outlines how the schedule if we are in Level 2 through the Labor Day holiday. 

Annual Update & School Communication

If you have not already done so, please take a moment now to log on to PowerSchool and select "Annual Update" in the left column under each son's name to update family information and sign the Student-Parent Agreement as soon as possible as the deadline was July 31. The annual update is required, and only one parent needs to sign the agreement. 

Preparing for School Reminders

• Review the information on our Preparing for School page, including the checklist and the sections on emergency notification, lockers and padlocks and parking permits.
• Complete the "Annual Update" of student and parent information in PowerSchool ASAP.
• Get up-to-date on all of our COVID-19 communications.
• Find ongoing school information in our weekly e-newsletter, Parent Pulse, beginning on August 14.

Athletics

As of today, all athletic practices and competitions are moving forward as scheduled. Any changes will be communicated to teams as needed. Different sports will face unique changes based on their specific circumstances.

Questions?

You can send an email to the High School Office or call at 393-1190.