The CDC has made significant updates to the masking recommendations and is now recommending varying levels of masking based on a community's COVID-19 designation or level. The designations are high, medium and low based on hospital beds being used, hospital admissions and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in the area.
Read MoreThe Elms will return to in-person classes tomorrow, Tuesday, January 4th, and will remain in-person as safely as possible. We spent the break deep cleaning and ensuring the buildings are ready for students to safely return. We will continue to be vigilant with our mandatory masking, temperature checks, hand washing, classroom air purification and social distancing. As we again navigate this together we will continue to rely on each other to provide the best education possible for your child.
Read MoreI hope your child has had a happy start to the school year! We recognize that with new beginnings come opportunities -- changes to routines, lots of questions ranging from the very simple to those more complicated and shifts in friendships/relationships. From our perspective, we would say the transition from summer has been very normal, particularly since we have more students enrolled than we did a year ago.
Read MoreIn both buildings, where we have adults in our community who have health concerns, those individuals may ask students to mask-up while in their classrooms or spaces. On buses, for athletics or field trips, the CDC requires students to wear face masks. When visiting the Dominican Sisters at the Motherhouse, students will be required to wear face masks.
Read MoreTwo factors were key as we updated our COVID-19 safety protocols for this new school year. Our primary objective, every day, is to keep safe every member of our community. In addition, serving a community that spans ages 3 through 18, it’s not one size fits all. We have invested endless hours in assessing last year’s protocols and how our results impact the opening of a new school year.
Read MoreStudent safety protocols and procedures will be announced on Friday, August 13. We will have instructional videos that will demonstrate the policies for each building. We are carefully watching the guidance from the State of Ohio, Ohio Board of Health, CDC and Summit County Public Health to provide the safest learning environment for all students.
Read MorePlease watch this video from Mr. Kelly on the latest health and safety protocols for the new semester at the Upper School. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact kkelly@theelms.org.
Read MoreThank you for your flexibility. We are grateful to you for helping us keep Elms students learning and leading! As of today, slightly more than 50% of our students, Grades 6-12, have chosen to be continuously learning from home. With that in mind, we have made the decision to move all of Grades 6-12 to continuous learning from home for next week (December 14-17).
Read MoreYesterday’s news that Summit County is now at Level 4 – Purple is disheartening to all of us. We recognize that some families may have loved ones suffering from COVID and/or may have lost a family member or friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.
Read MoreAs we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we are aware of the stay at home advisory issued this morning by Summit County Board of Health. As you know, we have plans in place for continuous learning from home for Grades K-12 the week after Thanksgiving. In light of this morning’s advisory and the current positive COVID cases reported regionally, we have decided to extend the Elms Thanksgiving break to include Monday and Tuesday of next week.
Read MoreWe feel compelled to evaluate the calendar and how best to keep our students, faculty and staff healthy. We spoke with the Summit County Board of Health, leadership and staff on how to achieve the health of the students while maintaining the continuous learning process. After much discussion and thought, the following adjustments have been made to our academic calendar.
Read MoreWhile SCPH has seen significant cases associated with schools in Summit County, the cases are primarily linked to outside activities and social gatherings versus spread from within the school buildings.
We need your help by reinforcing with your children the following strategies that we know work to slow the spread of COVID infections:
Read MoreCurious about what your school day will look like? Watch the videos below to join Mr. Kelly and Mr. Mitchell for "A Day at the Elms".
Read MoreThe Elms strives to offer an exceptional educational experience for every child in our care while prioritizing the safety and wellness of every member of our community. We will begin our school year in person on Wednesday, August 26. Details on our plans to return to school in-person, Monday through Friday, are included via the link below.
Read MoreWe want to share our good thinking about how the Elms will restart school in August. On a positive note, our plans fit well within the guidelines identified by the Governor. We now can add details that heretofore were not quite ready for public release. Let me share the following with you as we work as a team to ensure every child and every adult in the Elms’ community is safe and comfortable within our environment.
Read MoreOur first official day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26 and we intend to return to a full 5-day school week. Please know we continue to monitor updates from Summit County. We have also gained insight from a recent statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics that strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with the goal of having students physically present in school.
Read MoreWe're inviting all parents to a virtual meeting to learn more about our plans for the start of the 2020-2021 academic school year.
Read MoreThis is a difficult letter to write, but something has come to light that I need to share with you.
A former Our Lady of the Elms student, who graduated more than 40 years ago, has recently come forward to allege sexual misconduct by one of our former faculty members. We take an allegation of sexual misconduct very seriously and immediately began an investigation into these specific claims, as well as to ascertain if any other former students may have been impacted. This investigation is ongoing.
Read MoreI hope this email finds you well and healthy!
As you know, we are in the final stretch towards the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. Teaching days will conclude on Friday, May 22, with next week, Memorial Day week, reserved for drop off, final projects and tests to be completed, pick-up of materials for summer reading, used uniform drop-off, etc. Friday, May 29, is dedicated to celebrating our Seniors.
Read MoreI hope this finds you well and healthy! The Governor's mandate on April 20 that schools would continue distance learning through the end of their respective year was not a huge surprise. We optimistically planned to return on May 4 and recognize that it is for the safety and well being of all that we will continue as things have been since March 17. With that in mind, we have a plan for the final five weeks of school, which includes the end of year activities.
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