The world changed for Houston and surrounding communities while St. Thomas was on Spring Break in March. Because of our small-by-design model, we were able to pivot quickly and begin distance learning the same week we were set to return to campus from break! Our teachers and staff continue to support students academically, emotionally, and spiritual during these challenging times, and will continue to do so through the end of this markedly different school year.

Our number one priority has been to accommodate our families individual needs by being flexible in our approach to organizing lessons. School is still in session, but we don’t want families experiencing any more stress than they are already under!

Our teachers worked tirelessly to create purposeful learning kits (pictured above) that were distributed to each of our students directly. At first the kits contained enough material for 2 weeks at a time, and now are being delivered with a month’s worth of materials. Items include books to read, helpful manipulatives, and supplies for at-home science lessons.

Teachers have been utilizing Zoom to teach students directly, as well as Google Classroom to send and receive assignments. Additionally, teachers have been creating guiding videos like the one below to assist families endeavoring to teach kids at home.

Continuing community

Social distancing is hard, and so we’ve found creative ways of staying connected with one another. For example, we held a side-walk chalk-art challenge based on the passage from John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it”