Additional Information

6/26/2020

Dear Buccaneer Families,

I am so excited to continue serving our teachers, families, and school community! Following the close-out of the 2019-2020 school year (phew!), it is difficult not to reflect on the changes we have seen. Interestingly enough, although we have all been distanced, our journeys include shared experiences: our homes became schoolhouses; we dusted off the Monopoly game under the bed; we baked that super decadent treat we hadn’t made in years; we rediscovered genuine conversation -- even if through Facetime or Zoom -- with parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles; we renewed our appreciation for our fun and loveable family pets; and most importantly, we experienced a reawakening to God’s precious gift of family!  

Our teachers and administrative team are so thankful for the partnership we share with each and every family we serve. We are very much looking forward to starting a fresh and strong school year.

This brings me to what most of you are asking: what will the 2020-2021 school year look like? We are encouraged by our state and local leaders’ efforts to re-open Louisiana. We are cognizant of both the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) and Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) recommendations for reopening schools.  Since we are under the MSAIS umbrella, Mississippi guidelines impact us as well. Here is what we know now based on both national and state recommendations and continued monitoring of the Covid-19 pandemic:

· BGS Plan A -- Open for a normal school day schedule on August 7th with clearly communicated and executed measures of safety, health, and wellness. This may include, but not be limited to daily temperature taking and wellness screening, heightened daily sanitation and mask-wearing for personnel and students grades 5 and up in situations where social distancing is not possible.

· BGS Plan B -- Open for a normal school day schedule on August 14th or August 17th, and eliminate some holidays to ensure that we complete school in May as scheduled.  The same measures of safety, health, and wellness listed in Plan A will be in place. 

Additional measures of safety and preparedness will include

·  the installation of extra handwashing stations throughout the school

·  a sanitation plan that includes the cleaning of multi-use areas several times a day

·  a sick-child policy that will be strictly enforced

·  adapting and modifying assemblies, cafeteria procedures, and other “group” situations based on specific phase recommendations

·  a plan for continuous academic instruction during potential periods of modified operations

Our leadership team is in daily prayer over God’s provisions for a safe and ‘normal’ start to our school year. We will be in communication with families this summer regarding a concrete direction when things become clearer in terms of such allowances. In the meantime, students should continue reading their assigned summer readings in preparation for the 2020-21 BGS school opening.

As always, please reach out to me anytime! God bless,

Beverly Young, Head of School