STA will not provide STA@Home this school year to students who are sick, quarantined or isolated this school year. Students will work asynchronously with their peers in the classroom, receiving instruction and work for their core classes to do at home on their own. 

Quarantined and isolated students, as designated by our school nurses, who are home for 10+ days will follow our new STAy Home Learning Protocol for asynchronous assignments. We have discontinued STA@HOME so students will not be joining class meetings through TEAMS.

• Students will access assignments asynchronously (without live instruction).
• Teachers have access to a list of asynchronous learners and will pack up any needed schoolbooks or materials. This process could take 1-2 days and your homeroom teacher will notify you when the materials are ready for pick-up.  
• Again, there is no expectation for any student to work on assignments if they are physically ill. Our goal is to help students stay engaged in classwork while they are at home during these unprecedented times.
• Students will not be penalized in the gradebooks for missing or late assignments during their time at home, and teachers will excuse assignments when necessary.

Please note, for all students who are in the STAy Home Learning Program, teachers will be busy teaching students in class during the day. Please refrain from emailing them with questions about assignments. Students should work on what they can independently, or with parent support, and teachers will catch them up when they get back to school as needed.

• Kinder - 2nd Grade students will need to download ClassLink and SeeSaw on a device at home. Login information was sent home at the start of the school year. Contact Mrs. Hegarty at jhegarty@staschool.org if you need assistance.
• Lower School teachers will upload instructional material and independent work to SeeSaw. Teachers may also prepare packets of consumables for parents to pick up at school. Your child’s teacher will reach out with specifics as needed.
• Teachers will be busy teaching during the day and will work with students when they return to answer questions about assignments and catch students up on missing work.

• Students will download ClassLink and Microsoft Teams on a device at home if they haven’t already. Login information was sent home at the start of the school year. Contact Mrs. Hammel at ehammel@staschool.org if you need assistance.  
• Students will be added to a remote level team in Microsoft Teams. This is where teachers will upload instructional material and copies of work. Teachers may also prepare packets of consumables for parents to pick up at school. Your child’s teacher will reach out with specifics as needed. 

Students will use their school issued devices to access all instructional materials and assignments by checking the Homework tab in FACTS. This is where teachers will list what they covered during the day and where to find assignments. Students can email teachers with any questions about classwork.  

Make Up Work for Students Waiting for PCR Test Results

It is so important for students to rest and recover from not feeling well and do make-up work as they can while they are at home.  Any child awaiting test results will follow our normal make-up work procedure as if they were home with any other illness.  

• Teachers will determine how and when the student will make up missed schoolwork and will work with parents and students closely to ensure understanding of what is due when.
• If your child feels well enough to do schoolwork while home, you can request makeup classwork and homework from your homeroom teacher by emailing them before 8:30AM the day you want to pick up assignments and materials.
• Upper School (3-5) students – parents email your child’s HR teacher if you want to pick up assignments and materials for the day. 
• Middle School (6-8) students – students can access all their homework assignments on FACTS and TEAMS.
• Lower School (PK-2) students – PK students’ assignment is to spend time at home resting and playing. K-2 parents check SeeSaw for assignments.

• Stay home when you are sick.
• Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve (not your hands).
• All faculty and staff will be trained in specific COVID-19 protocols and procedures.

Visit our STA Health Clinic page to learn more about our COVID-19 guidelines.

HEALTH CLINIC and COVID PROTOCOLS

To start the school year, face masks will be worn by everyone while inside the building, including students, faculty, staff, volunteers, and visitors. If there is a valid medical reason for not wearing a face covering, within the context of COVID-19, this would also mean that attending school in person with such a condition is too dangerous to allow. Face shields are not considered masks and will not be allowed as the only face covering. 

We will continue to monitor the situation, including observing districts and schools that do not require masks for all ages, to see if a less restrictive environment keeps students from getting sick. If that is the case, we are committed to reviewing and revising these requirements when appropriate.

The Diocese has mandated no face shields.  The recommendations from their medical experts  is that it is not known if face shields provide any benefit as source control to protect others from the spray of respiratory particles. The CDC does not recommend face shields for normal everyday activities or as a substitute for cloth face coverings.

The traditional water fountains will be open this school year and we have added more water bottle filling stations on both campuses.

All students are asked to bring a non-sweating or double-insulated labeled water bottle filled with water to school each day and to take it home to clean each afternoon.

The Diocese of Dallas defines a close contact as a person who has identified as being less than 6ft away without a mask for more than 15 minutes from the person diagnosed with COVID.

If a student has been diagnosed with COVID-19, our campus nurses conduct a contact tracing investigation immediately after being notified of a COVID case on campus by asking that student's teachers the following questions:

• Does the person diagnosed with COVID use their mask appropriately?
• Do the people around the person diagnosed with COVID use their masks appropriately?
• Do you know of any exposure within the parameters of the definition above?

They also talk to the person's parents to identify any STA students that may have been in contact with the COVID contagious person outside of school.

Parent's of students that are considered close contacts will be notified as soon as possible. Those students are asked to quarantine for 14 days since exposure.

In order for us to welcome students back to campus this fall, we have to meet guidelines that keep classes (cohort groups) separate. This makes Lower School morning recess with students from 12 cohort groups an impossibility at this time. During Phase One of the reopening plan, we are not able to accept students in the building prior to 7:30 AM since we do not have the personnel capacity to staff it.  

No. Students will move from classroom to classroom and mix by grade-level for many classes, lunch and recess. We will continue to include outdoor learning, extra recess time, and additional "brain breaks" for students to relax, get fresh air, and play. 

At the Upper School, students in 3rd-8th grade will remain in their homerooms for Spanish and art.  PE and music will be outside, weather permitting.  Each student will have individual supply that will remain in their lockers when not in use. Any common used materials will be disinfected and sanitized between use.

At the Lower School, students will have art in the art room, homeroom, or outdoors, depending on the lesson. The art teacher will conduct all art lessons. 

Yes, all our Reading Specialists and Learning Specialists will still work with the students needing help with diagnosed learning differences. Those students will work with the specialists at scheduled times.

At the Lower School parents may walk their children up to the school during drop-off, but we ask that all parents use the carpool for pick-up to ensure social distancing and to keep cohort groups seperate. At the Upper School, there are no pick-ups or drop-offs outside of carpool. Walkers will be released after carpool is well underway. Please be prepared for later than usual walker release due to social distancing.

We understand that social emotional well-being of our students is an important part of their overall health. Both counselors are working on plans to address needs that arise from the abrupt disruption of the normal school day. Although things may look a little different, the teachers and staff at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School are ready to welcome our students back to a loving and nurturing learning environment.

The Upper School has adopted a new Social Emotional Learning program called Second Steps Guidance Program and the Lower School uses Paths Guidance Program to help our PK-2nd grade students learn more about their emotions and build healthy relationships with others. Learn more on our SEL page.

Both campuses are aware that the school community might have anxiety about all the changes happening at school. Both Padmini Dayal at the Lower School and Amy Miller at the Upper School will work with students individually, and in the classroom in coping with these changes. We will also continue to provide Social-Emotional Support resources on the website and in the Week at a Glance.

There will be opportunities for the students learning from home to interact through TEAMS with on-campus learners during core classes. All safe environment protocols will be followed.

• Students may withdraw for any reason and will have records transferred appropriately. These students will give up their space in that class/grade.
• Students interested in returning to St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School after withdrawing must apply for admission as a new student, per our admissions policy.
• All documents, fees, and records will be required, as for any new student.
• Students will be admitted at the beginning of each semester if space is available. Families moving into the area from out of state will be admitted in accordance with their moving date, rather than the quarter/semester timeline.
• Please note that many of our grade levels are full and space is limited.

STA is committed to providing the best remote learning model possible for our families who chose to stay home or need to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic. If the school is forced to close, we are prepared to provide distance learning for all of our students. Teachers will continue to work and teach from their own homes. Your tuition payments will continue to pay for the faculty’s delivery of online instruction and associated costs, and will not be refunded.

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School has always provided affordable tuition for our families. For the 2020-2021 school year, 80% of tuition revenue is allocated to teacher and staff salaries/benefits and 20% is allocated to supplies and maintenance of our facilities. Expenses have increased due to the COVID pandemic situation through purchasing PPE, technology updates, storage space for furniture, cleaning needs, etc. School revenue (not tuition) was lost as a result of Extended Day care being cancelled in the spring and mandatory GAP fund donations being waived. 

 We appreciate everyone’s patience as we navigate these uncertain times — it is the only with continued support of our parental community that we can continue to serve our children with the best possible education. 

STA has limited funds to help our families enrolled at STA affected by the economic fallout from COVID-19. You can apply for tuition assistance by logging in to FACTS Family Portal and clicking the Financial tab. Follow the prompts under Apply for Grant and Aid and note COVID-19 in the notes section. The financial aid committee will contact you after you submit your application. 

The DPL will provide 13 different sports to 5th - 8th grade this school year. COVID protocols for sports will be updated before school begins. 

Yes, all student-athletes will need to have a current physical on file with the Athletic Director before they register for sports. This can be done before school starts.

Athletic Physical Form