Even though the school doors are closed, every effort is being made at Conestoga Christian School (CCS) for students, faculty and staff members to stay connected.
Students are taking part in online learning and staff members and parents are meeting via Zoom with head of school Ken Parris. In addition, students have been praying together online in place of the normally scheduled in-school chapel. "We are making the best of it," Ken said.
Although not in preparation for the coronavirus pandemic, the school had already instituted an at-home learning program for high school students. "Four years ago we went one-on-one with our high school students, so they had their Chromebooks all the time," Ken explained. "If we had a snow day or power outage, we needed to be ready to go online. Two years ago when we had a prolonged winter storm and we were out for three days, we relied on online instruction."
The program was expanded recently following the mandate that all private and public schools in Pennsylvania be closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. "When this came down and we had to close, we took the first two weeks as our spring break," said Ken. "We spent time working through how to do (online instruction) well. Going into our online instruction, the three major concerns or platforms we preached to our teachers were academics, community and caring. That was our mantra."
Now, students are asked to complete assignments and take part in Zoom meetings. "We are tracking attendance through assignments. Assignments are mandatory, and we try to Zoom with classes at least once a week," Ken said. "We had enough (computers) on hand where parents could sign them out. Our entire school is online with devices at home."
All elementary, middle and high school students at CCS can also meet with their teachers online. School clubs, including the Student Council, also meet via Zoom.
During the Zoom class meetings, students are able to see their friends and take part in shared activities. "One of our first classes to do a Zoom meeting was second grade. Because they had not seen each other for two weeks, their faces lit up," Ken said. "One of our elementary teachers had a Zoom hangout and it was 'Zoom With Your Pet Day,' so all the kids were holding a pet. That (social interaction) counts as much as the academics."
Parents are also meeting with Ken via Zoom. "Last week, I set up evening Zoom meetings with all my parents. I broke it down into parent groups by grade," he explained. "It gave parents an opportunity to talk and share concerns. That was part of the community and care strategy."
Michelle Parris, admissions director, said that the school recorded a chapel session that featured music and worship. "They sang worship songs together," she said. "For high-schoolers, our director of student life, Jack Greenly, had some encouraging words for the students, and we had different families (and teachers) sing different worship songs. We usually have chapel on Wednesdays. It was our way to keep life somewhat normal for what (students) are used to on Wednesdays."
She added that the CCS is still accepting applications for new students for the 2020-21 school year. "Our admission office is still open online. We would love to grow our student body," Michelle said. "We are doing some virtual question-and-answer sessions for potential families." Prospective families considering CCS for the 2020-21 school year may email michelle.parris@conestogachristian.net for more information.
CCS is located at 2760 Main St. (Route 23), Morgantown. For more information, readers may visit http://www.conestogachristian.net or http://www.facebook.com/conestogachristianschool.
Leave a Review