As we enter into Phase 2 of our reopening plan at Brother Martin, we wanted to take a moment to update you on our progress this summer. The past few weeks have been a breath of fresh air as we have welcomed back students and faculty working in our Credit Recovery program; returning textbooks, collecting belongings, and cleaning out individual lockers; participating in team events in the weight room or on Farley Field, just to name a few of the activities that we have been able to re-implement as our city, state, and school attempt to resume some normal activities.
With New Orleans’ transition into Phase 2, all of the health and safety protocols remain in place that we outlined in our May 16 email. In some cases, our social distancing guidelines have been revised to align with those of the city of New Orleans. In other cases, such as Credit Recovery class sizes, the social distancing guidelines from Phase 1 are still in effect. We will resume other student programs as needed in Phase 2 and continue to follow guidelines set by the state and city in terms of population and social distancing. Summer Enrichment, Summer Camp, and Specialty Camp programs are all scheduled to begin on Monday, June 29.
Brother Martin High School is founded on the charism of Fr. Andre’ Coindre and the educational tradition of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, both of which rely on trust in order to evangelize the young people entrusted to our care through education. As partners in our shared mission, we thank you for trusting us as we prepare for the uncertain future that lies ahead. The trust that binds our relationship is forged through the realization that we must adapt to these unusual circumstances we face as we prepare to meet the needs of our changing world.
As we plan for reopening school in the fall of 2020, we will continue to balance the following priorities:
With this in mind, our school leadership, faculty, and staff have been working diligently on creating three options for learning, each of which we fully anticipate having to implement at some point during the school year:
We have been engaged in bold and intentional planning throughout the spring and summer to continue to ensure that we provide a sanctuary for our students that fosters academic excellence in a caring environment that promotes self-discipline through religious values and personal attention. In order to create the best plan possible for the Brother Martin school community, we have engaged a number of our constituents in the following ways:
As you can see, formulating plans for re-opening the Brother Martin High School campus remains our top priority along with providing a safe and secure environment. To that end, our campus continues to go through extensive sanitization on a daily basis; we are currently reimagining the use of various locations throughout campus to create more classroom space to provide for potential social distancing requirements; we have invested in a number of PPE, including face coverings, shields, partitions, and sanitizing stations, to name a few.
As we have outlined above, we are doing all that we can in preparation for next school year. We hope to provide you with more specific information about what the fall of 2020 may look like in the coming weeks. Our preparation continues while we also await any mandatory and recommended guidance from the state department of education, city officials, and public health officials.
We remain hopeful that we will return home to Elysian Fields in some fashion this fall, and we will continue to look for the opportunities within whatever challenges we face. We trust that our school community - students, parents, faculty, and staff - will do the same as we all have time and again as partners in our shared mission.
Please be assured of our commitment to you and your sons and of our daily prayers.
Ametur Cor Jesu! Ametur Cor Mariae!
Ryan Gallagher '00
Principal
Greg Rando '77
President
