Lower School

Classrooms

To support a healthy campus, Lower School students will remain in their primary classes for all daily instruction. The exception will be recess and PE. For information on how each specialist teacher (art, foreign language, science, music) will meet with the students, view the Lower School COVID plan.

Classrooms will have plexiglass divider panels installed on desks to create protective shields. All desks will be aligned in rows facing the front of classroom with the maximum space between desks the rooms will allow. 

Sinks for hand washing will be placed in all Kindergarten through 5th grade classrooms.

Carpool Drop-off and Pick-up

Drop-off and pick-up of Lower School students will be by carpool only. No in-person drop-off or pick-up will be allowed.

All families must utilize the Scotland Yard Carpool Lane for morning drop-off.

Afternoon pick-up will occur as follows:

• Kindergarten and 1st Grade - 3:00 p.m. through the Scotland Yard Carpool Lane
• 2nd-3rd Grade - 3:15 p.m. through the Scotland Yard Carpool Lane
• 4th-5th Grade - 3:15 p.m. on the north side of Jackwood Street

For full drop-off and pick-up procedures, see the Lower School COVID plan. 

Lunch

Students will have the option of bringing their own lunch or ordering through our lunch provider, Epicurean Group. Lunches will be delivered to classrooms. All students need to bring their own water bottle each day. Unfortunately, parents may not drop off lunches for students. If your child forgets his/her lunch, you can call the school and the lunch provider will provide an emergency meal. You will need to follow up with the lunch provider for payment.

Recess

Consistent with our values that movement, exercise, and outdoor time are necessary, students in all grade levels will continue to have regularly scheduled outdoor time for playing. We will take all appropriate safety measures. There will be organized activities, with social distancing.

Although some aspects of the school day will feel different for our students, we are committed to providing a fulfilling experience at STE. Our goal is to start the school year with all students and teachers in classes on campus while carefully adhering to health and safety protocols.

As we shifted quickly to remote learning last spring, we received valuable input from parents and students about the experience. We are using this feedback to help us as we reopen in the fall. We are committed to on-campus, in-person instruction, but we are also planning for teaching/learning scenarios in which some students and/or staff may be unable to attend class, as well as the possibility of mandated school closure.

For more information on procedures for students streaming classes from home, view the Lower School COVID plan and the Lower School Streaming Portal.

School Hours for Lower School

Kindergarten & 1st Grade: 7:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
2nd – 5th Grade: 7:45 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. 
After School Care will be available until 6:00 p.m. 

Schedule

We will follow our regular rotation schedule with alternating specialists’ classes, as well as regular PE class.

Technology

Students in 4th and 5th grades will have their own Chromebooks for school use.  These will stay in the classrooms. Chromebooks will be sanitized before each use.

There will be no checking out Chromebooks this year unless a specific situation warrants it.

Specialty Classes

PE will be offered regularly and will follow social distancing guidelines. We will take advantage of our outdoor spaces. Specialty classes (foreign language, music) will also be offered, and teachers for many of these classes will rotate into each Lower School homeroom. For more information, view the Lower School COVID plan.

Chapel

Although we will not be able to convene in the church for Chapel, we are committed to providing this important component of our program. Students will participate in their classrooms.

Athletics

Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer our Youth Sports programs this fall. In consultation with the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS), our Athletics Department has established start dates for winter youth sports. Social distancing (six feet at a minimum) will be encouraged at all times.

Fine Arts

We plan to continue offering fine arts during the school day while taking precautions and practicing social distancing.

No extracurricular after school activities will be offered outside of select after school dance practices and After School Care for the fall semester. Please note that students who stream classes from home will not be able to participate in any on-campus activity.

Lower School strings will be conducted online through small group lessons on Zoom.

Our return to campus will require shared responsibility among all STE families in supporting the STE health and safety protocols. We are relying on parents to keep their children home when they are not feeling well. We will be educating our students with explicit instruction on health and safety procedures.

We view the use of face coverings as an important way that our community can slow the spread of the virus and protect one another. At this time we are requiring students, faculty, and staff to wear masks while on campus. Masks include non-medical grade disposable face masks and cloth face coverings (over the nose and mouth). Parents must supply masks that are school appropriate.  Neck gaiters and masks that feature exhalation valves are prohibited. Faculty will be provided with disposable masks in the event a student forgets, loses, or breaks his/her mask. For more information, view the Lower School COVID plan.

We will have an isolation area in the nurse's office to care for any student exhibiting potential COVID-19 symptoms while at school.

A safe and healthy learning environment is our highest priority. We will disinfect the campus in the following ways:

1. Clean and disinfect all high-touch areas of campus throughout the day
2. Ensure adequate supplies for proper hand hygiene (paper towels, hand sanitizer, etc.)
3. Place hand sanitizer stations throughout campus and especially in high-traffic areas
4. Clean and disinfect bathrooms every hour
5. Increase the disinfection of classrooms throughout the day
6. Disinfect all classrooms, restrooms, offices, and other common spaces nightly using an EPA-registered disinfectant demonstrated to be effective for COVID-19. We will adhere to required contact times on all surfaces.