Lancaster Catholic High School Crusader Connection September 11, 2020
Fall Sports Update- A Letter from Mr. Hinnenkamp “Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen at once” (Paulo Coelho). I think we all probably feel this way during the last few months. Certainly, everything has been happening all at once, but there are probably many days where we feel that nothing is happening at all. I have been living this every day, so by this standard, my Will has had quite the workout!! I want to define as much as I know regarding spectators attending athletic events and what that will look like. I know most of you are anxious about this, as I have been. I am sure we are all aware of the PA Legislature Bill that was passed by the House and the Senate. This Bill could allow more spectators to attend contests, but we are really not sure when this will become law. I will try to address both scenarios. Regarding home contests: At this point, we will only allow parents of those involved in the contest to attend the contest. So for football, this would include football players, cheerleaders, and band member’s parents. For other sports, it will just be the player’s parents. We will either create a set of tickets for each team or we will hand out tickets to each player to be given out for each home contest. WE WILL NOT BE CHARGING ADMISSION (at this point no team in the league is charging admission, but this could change). This is not an easy decision, but it will be very difficult to set up ticket sales for only certain individuals on both home and away teams. It can be done, but the time to do this will be overwhelming to the athletic office. See next page for more information regarding the 2020-21 Athletic Season
Fall Sports Update Continued By not charging for admission, this loss in income will hurt the Athletic budget, but it is the best way to go for now. If you feel like donating to help offset this loss, ANY donation would be appreciated. Checks can be made to the LCHS Boosters and sent to the athletic office. I will still need game help, so please look to volunteer as often as possible. At all contests – home or away – following the rules is mandatory to stay in the stadium. The rules for all schools are: Wear a mask, practice proper social distancing. If you can’t abide by these rules, it would be best to stay home. At home, we will have areas or bleachers blocked off to provide proper social distancing. Please follow these markings. Live Stream – We will be live streaming many of our contests. Events where most of the normal fans can attend, we will probably not live stream. We are finalizing what platform we will be using to send out the live stream and will have this ready for the first live event. There will be a charge to watch the live stream, but it will be affordable. We need help from students to accomplish this. I need between 25-30 students to pull this off. Please encourage your son or daughter to volunteer, especially since that is the only way to see any contests. Regarding away contests: At this point, there are many variations to how opponents will handle spectators. As of today, almost every school is not allowing visiting spectators to attend football games. For football parents, you need to prepare that this will not change. For the rest of the sports, some are allowing anyone, some limited number, and some no visiting spectators to any event. For some of these, I will be giving tickets to parents of players. This is changing every few days as laws are passed and school boards make changes. My plan is to send out emails to coaches to forward to parents for their contests that week. PLEASE make sure your child’s coach has your email. All LL League schools are planning to live stream any event where spectators are limited. See next page for more information regarding the 2020-21 Athletic Season
Fall Sports Update Continued I currently have plans to create 3 different zones at both our stadium and our gym to allow more numbers to attend. For volleyball, my desire is to have our parents attend at least our home matches. I believe I can make this happen. I will make you aware when this is allowed. Other important information: Our bus providers are not able to provide transportation to most of our events. We are working to get coverage for some more events, but most teams will be using vans to get to away contests. ***We will need some help from parents to help to drive our teams.*** You will need to have your volunteer clearances completed and also the driver form. Coaches will reach out with a schedule of dates help is needed. We will also need help in other areas and are working on a signup genius to sign up. Every day there are changes. So I ask that you continue to be patient. This has been tough for everyone, but the most important thing at this point is having our students being able to play in games. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or call me. Thank You, Mr. Richard Hinnenkamp Athletic Director Lancaster Catholic HS
September 11th Mass Today’s September 11th Mass, the first school Mass of the year, will be live-streamed via Vimeo at 9:30 AM. All are welcomed to join us virtually as we celebrate Mass as a community and remember the souls who lost their lives during the September 11th terrorist attacks, especially alum Denny Cook ‘86.
Click here to stream the September 11th Mass.
Back To School Update Lancaster Catholic’s “Back to School Night” will look very different this year. Back To School Night will now be a virtual event and will be held on Thursday, September 24th. More information will be forthcoming!
Would you like to carpool to school? Please complete this form if you wish to add your name and information to a shared list of those interested in possibly forming carpools to/from LCHS for your student. Only families who complete this form will have access to the information on the list. Once you have joined please feel free to reach out to one another directly to facilitate a conversation and possible carpool arrangement. If you have questions or concerns please reach out to Ms. Baumler in the Enrollment Office at abaumler@lchsyes.org or 717-509-0313 x217 Click here to complete the carpool form.
Lancaster Catholic’s Parent Webpage Not sure where the daily announcements are posted or where to add money to your student’s lunch time account? Most of the time the information that you would be looking for regarding your student can be found on the Parent’s Tab. Both the Parent and Student Tabs have received a make-over during the summer break. Check out what the Parent Tab has to offer by clicking here!
Senior Portraits Seniors portraits will take place on: • Saturday, September 26th from 9AM to 3 PM • Saturday, October 3rd from 9AM to 3 PM • Saturday, October 10th from 9AM to 3 PM Appointment cards will be mailed and the senior students are asked to log onto the PrestigePortraits.com website to “self-schedule” their appointment using their unique ID number (located on the appointment card) to select a date/time convenient for them. To help with the “No-Touch” policy, Lifetouch is asking that sitting fee payment be made online, but they are accepting payments on site as well. If you have any questions, please contact Lifetouch’s Customer Care Line at 410-644-7700 or email Answers@Lifetouch.com.
School Counseling Corner Seniors An email with a tutorial about Naviance was sent to your LCHS email. Please watch this video as it will be incredibly helpful when you begin applying to colleges. Your Counselors will be sending you passes to discuss post high school planning. If you are ready now, please reach out and schedule an appointment today! Schedule Changes Requests for study hall changes will not be honored. Due to COVID-19 we are limiting the amount of students assigned to all study halls. Additionally, schedules will need to be followed for at least 2 weeks unless a teacher contacts the School Counseling Office or an error was made. Due to remote and in-person learning, schedule changes require more than just a change in Rediker and we need to remain cognizant of overall numbers in particular sections of classes. We ask for your ongoing patience and support throughout the forthcoming weeks. Standardized Testing We know many students and parents are wondering if SATs and ACTs are necessary. Many colleges and universities are loosening up their requirements as we begin a new school year with the continuing threat of COVID-19. Please ask the question when you are looking at a school and follow their guidelines. If you are shopping around for a college virtually, send an email to the admissions counselor who serves our area. Be aware that although admissions practices may not require an SAT/ACT, merit scholarships being offered may require a test score. PSAT Testing The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a great tool for students considering college. The PSAT/NMSQT measures critical reading skills, math problem-solving skills and writing skills. Please see next page for more details.
PSAT Information Continued Lancaster Catholic High School recommends that students take the PSAT/NMSQT in order to receive feedback about strengths and weaknesses, enter the competition for National Merit Scholar scholarships (11th graders) and to help prepare for the SAT. For the 2020 PSAT/NMSQT, students at Lancaster Catholic High School will be registering online. This registration will take a few minutes and can be completed from any computer with Internet access. Online Exam registration opened on Sat, Aug 15, 2020 at 8:01 AM and will end on Wed, Sep 30, 2020 at 5:00 PM. In order to register, students should click on the link provided on the school website or visit www.TotalRegistration.net/PSAT/392100 to register. To complete registration, students must answer all of the required questions. Registration is not complete until students have printed the pdf of the confirmation page that is provided at the end. Lancaster Catholic High School is excited to offer families the convenience of paying exam fees online at the time of registration. Please be sure to have a debit or credit card available before beginning registration. Paying online is a great way to make sure that payment has been made while avoiding mailing payment. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we cannot offer testing for non-LCHS students. Here are the important dates for the registration process: • Wed, Sept. 30, 2020 at 6:00 PM - Registrations and payments after this date will incur a $10 late fee . • Wed, Sept. 30, 2020 at 5:00 PM - Registration Ends • Sat, Oct 3, 2020 - Registrations that have not been paid for will be canceled and exams will not be ordered. Please contact Mrs Jill Grosh, jgrosh@lchsyes.org , if you have questions or require financial assistance.
COVID-19 Attendance Policy By definition, the blended learning environment means that a student will attend classes according to their official LCHS schedule, including Homeroom and Crusader Periods. In accordance with the LCHS Student Handbook, teachers will take attendance at the beginning of each class, including Homeroom and Crusader Periods. Consequences for late and absent students continue to apply. Parent/medical notes will continue to be required per LCHS policies. • ALL students are expected to show up for EACH scheduled class ON TIME. This includes students in the distance learning environment. When learning remotely, the environment should be a quiet place, with as little noise as possible. Students should be properly and completely clothed. No inappropriate references of any kind should be visible on clothing or on camera. All students learning remotely should refer to the “casual dress policy” in the LCHS Handbook. • All students are expected to attend Crusader Periods and use this time for make-up tests, tutoring, counselor visits and club activities. • Eligibility for athletics and extracurricular activities remain unchanged, per the LCHS Student Handbook. • In an effort to limit the total number of people in the building each day, we are instituting “Student Privilege” instead of “Senior Privilege”. Any student, regardless of grade level, who has a first period Study Hall may come to school late, but in time for the Homeroom period. In addition, any student, regardless of grade level, who has a last period Study Hall may leave early. (The exception is if a student athlete has an early dismissal for a game/match. They must remain until the scheduled athletic dismissal.) • To support this new adjustment to the schedule, homeroom will now be AFTER 1st period. Students will begin the day in their first period class. For students learning remotely and are absent for the day, the following procedure must be followed. • Upon returning (remotely) from an absence, a parent note must be emailed to the attendance officer, Mrs. Katie Fritz at kfritz@lchsyes.org within three (3) days of the absence. • The email address must be from a parent email the school has on file. Attendance excuse emails will only be accepted for students who are learning remotely. Attendance excuse emails will NOT be accepted from students who are learning in person. Those students must bring in an excuse note from a parent and turn in to the attendance office.
Synchronous Learning Guidelines for LCHS Students Learning Remotely Students must be logged into your Google classrooms at the start of each class and remain in the class the entire period: Period 1 Homeroom Period 2 Lunch Period 3 Period 4
Regular Schedule
8:00 – 9:14 9:20 – 9:33 9:39 – 10:53 10:59 – 12:17 (Free time to eat lunch, receive tutoring) 12:23 – 1:37 1:43 – 2:57
The bell schedule can be found on the student tab on LCHS website or here. • Please refer to your hand book for special schedule times. • Must be physically present on video (and audio when applicable); not a picture/ bitmoji, etc.) • Must be visible on video (enough light on face). • Must be in appropriate attire, according to the LCHS casual dress guidelines found in the student handbook which can be found on the student tab the LCHS website or by clicking here. • Must be sitting at a table or desk (if possible) with the materials needed for each class. Environment should be quiet and well lit. • Must actively and respectfully participate in each class. • Must follow each teacher’s syllabus guidelines.
Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) Every school (K-12) must have their buildings inspected by state certified inspectors. This information is complied by a certified asbestos planner into a Asbestos Management Plan. This Plan also includes information on subsequent inspections, testings, remedial actions, and any notifications to teachers, parents, and contractors. Each school must have their Asbestos Management Plan on file in the administration office and available for review for those who have a desire to see it. Click here to read more about the Asbestos Management Plan.