Good evening, Trinity families.
There was a special Board meeting tonight. Board Pres. Brian Van Engen began by reading Psalm 91, which reminds us that our Heavenly Father is ever watching over us.
The Board then made the difficult decision that Trinity classes will not meet the rest of this week. Teachers will be meeting tomorrow morning, working out a solution for the tests and assignments that were scheduled for tomorrow and the rest of this week. Teachers will spend the balance of the week working at school preparing their courses for teaching via electronic communication. This online instruction is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 23. Watch for more complete details in an email which we plan to send out at about noon on Tuesday.
Thank you for your support and understanding in these uncertain times.
Sincerely,
Mr. Regnerus
And then the following, along with the attached letter, was sent early this afternoon:
Good afternoon,
Attached is a letter the staff is sending as an overview of the coming weeks. The letter represents the school-wide format.
It is requested that you come on Wednesday if you need to pick up school materials. Trinity facilities are closed for all other activities, including sports practices and open-gyms.
Thanks for your support and understanding.
Sincerely,
Mr. Regnerus
Dear families of Trinity Christian High School,
Deo volente, or God willing. Sometimes we abbreviate it to D.V. More commonly in the English we say “the Lord willing.” All proclaim the instruction of Scripture we read in James 4:15, “For we ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” That truth is before us as clearly as it ever has been as we depart from what we had planned and face uncharted waters for our high school. May we be humbled, and yet confident, knowing that God gives the angels charge over us (Ps. 91:11a).
Last night the Board deliberated and ruled, closing the school for regular classroom instruction for an extended time. The goal is that learning will continue remotely. This morning the teachers had a unified and profitable session of devotions and sharing. A plan was formulated of how to carry out the remote learning. What follows below is the structure of how we envision this proceeding.
First of all, the remainder of this week the staff will be implementing a time of transition. Teachers are in the building working. Some might be finishing up material we expected to cover this week. Tests planned for today, Tuesday, will still be taken this week. There will be other assignments. However, the bulk of the teachers’ work this week will be in preparation for the next two weeks when remote learning will start in earnest. Parents and students who need to pick up books or other items are asked to do so Wednesday morning or afternoon during regular school hours. Please ensure that students check their email every day, starting today.
Then, the weeks of March 23 and March 30, Trinity will have ten days of strictly remote instruction. Teachers will communicate every morning by 9:00 am the day’s lessons and assignments. These will be communicated by way of Moodle and/or Office 365. These are familiar tools to our students, but students will need to diligently check them. Each teacher might have their own style, but these will not be novel to the students as the students are already familiar with each teacher. Due dates will remain in place. The teachers will be available for questions and clarifications electronically. We cannot allow students to come to the school building, so teachers are committed to a standard of promptness in responding to students. As teachers are still laboring in their calling, the fastest responses will be during the hours school would regularly be in session.
The following week, of April 6, will be the planned week of spring break. That will stay in place, and there are no plans for instruction that week.
Then finally, the next week Monday, April 13, will be the longed-for return to the halls and classrooms of Trinity Christian High School!
Standing in loco parentis, we ask each home’s help in navigating the coming weeks. We rely on the home’s help in students checking Moodle and email. May the home and school do what we can to be vigilant in maintaining integrity and truthfulness in student work. We pray that there may be a mutual respect of each other’s efforts as we make the best of a compromised educational environment. Yet, may the larger lesson of a sovereign God ruling on His eternal throne never be compromised.
So we plan. And so we carry on. And all Deo volente.
Sincerely,
The staff of Trinity Christian High School
