Prairie Catholic successful with five days in person through COVID-19
Especially when group work is necessary, the students at Prairie Catholic have been diligent about wearing their masks.
Prairie Catholic School has been careful about masks, distancing, sanitizing, etc. in order to keep its student body in the building for learning five days per week.
By Correne Martin
Prairie Catholic School has managed to conduct a safe, five-day, in-person education model throughout the current school year despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
“One thing we’re really proud of is keeping normalcy for our students and their families,” said Principal Brenda Spindler.
Everyone entering the school is still having their temperature taken each morning, routes to and from various school areas are followed diligently, masks are worn, social distancing is observed, and disinfection procedures are carried out multiple times per day.
“If someone’s temperature is over 98.6, they come to the office, we take it again after they settle down, and then we call home if it’s still over 100. It’s gone pretty smooth,” explained Karen Fisher, administrative assistant.
She detailed more of the school’s COVID-19 plan that was set prior to the start of the 2020-21 academic year.
Classrooms were maxed out at 16 students per room this year, and many of those classrooms were filled to capacity.
“We got 36 new students this year, and we filled the day care too,” Spindler said. “We did a lot of registry and tours right before the school year began.”
Everyone wears a white mask at Prairie Catholic. They might come to school with a personal mask on, but once they step foot inside the front doors, they grab a white one. Before they leave, masks are discarded into a bin, then washed and set out again for the next day.
“The biggest change was the masks. We only had to remind kids in the beginning, but now, they’re used to wearing them,” Fisher said.
“When we decided on our mask plan, I answered a lot of questions. It was one of the parts of our plan that we kind of had to prove,” Spindler shared.
Hand washing or hand sanitizing are encouraged every 30 minutes.
In each room, every child has a desk. Even the littlest learners, who previously gathered on carpets, were upgraded to desks.
Disinfection of lockers and desks are done daily. Door knobs, railings, phones and other commonly touched areas are wiped down several times each day. Germicidal bleach is used mostly and, in some cases, sprayed in a mist onto surfaces.
Mike Wallace’s classes in particular—both physical education and technical education/computers—require the students to touch a lot of items.
“We built a 10-minute window into each class for cleaning materials,” he said. “There’s hand sanitizer by the door of each room and it’s used constantly. Even before [the pandemic], I was teaching kids to keep their hands away from their face; it’s just a part of being healthy.”
At the beginning of the year, Wallace admits being nervous about what he could and couldn’t include as part of his curriculum.
“There’s a lot of tag games for the younger kids,” he said. “We have a bunch of pool noodles we use to tag with, and one of my students came up with the idea, actually, to elbow touch their teammates to unfreeze them.”
Another example of rethinking his phy ed units involved the type of balls used and how often they’re used. He said when one group of students uses certain balls one day, he tries to sanitize as best as possible and then lets them sit in storage for a few days in between use.
“I think we have a good system. Our maintenance staff has also been wonderful,” Wallace stated.
In Michelle Kapfhamer’s science lab, she ensures distance whenever possible thanks to Xs on the floor. However, she admits there is group work that happens, and in those cases, she strictly monitors mask wearing and hand washing.
“Before COVID, I had materials just sitting out and kids could grab them. Now things are handed out and when they’re done, they put them in a bin for sanitizing,” Kapfhamer added. “The kids have done well with all of this.”
In addition, Spindler said, the school was fortunate that Prairie du Chien public school Superintendent Andy Banasik shared some funding with Prairie Catholic, allotting the school 25 additional Chromebook computers and six iPad tablets. This opportunity has made it easier for individual usage for students in fourth through eighth grades, both in school and in the very few instances where home quarantining requires virtual learning.
Breakfast and lunch times are staggered by grade level, and seating only allows for limited students per table.
Though it’s been quite different around the halls of Prairie Catholic School, Fisher and Wallace both pointed out how well everyone has worked together to get through it.
“As a group, the teachers have been helping others out who need it, especially in terms of technology,” Wallace commented. “The parents have been pretty good. I think the teachers have been able to answer questions.”
“We’ve had teachers substituting for others, and having all the teachers’ plans available for at-home capability has been huge,” Spindler said. “We had no volunteer hours this year, so we’ve had to be a little creative with things. The other nice thing has been the support of the health department.”
Also, at Prairie Catholic, the staff can see that the kids who are there really want to be there, and that’s why they’ve elected to participate in the five-day, in-person option there. Along the way, they’re receiving Christ-centered, well-rounded academics from a dedicated group of teachers and staff.
“I’m glad we’re here five days a week,” Fisher added. “It’s worked for us here. Everybody’s just been so cooperative.”
