MCS students return to school online

To ensure Mount Carmel School students, families, and employees are safe during the COVID-19 crisis, MCS transitioned to online classes on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, through Zoom and other free online tools. In this photo are MCS students and their teacher during the first day of online classes. (Contributed Photo)

Despite the global impact of the COVID-19 virus, Mount Carmel School students returned to school through online synchronous sessions last Wednesday, April 1, and last Thursday, April 2, 2020. 

After the first day of online classes, Mount Carmel School’s 4th-grade teacher, Claire Cabrera, said, “The first week of classes went very well. While my students are still adjusting, many of them are eager to learn and come together for class. …“I’m also very happy to see just how supportive our parents are to ensure their children are prepared for this transition. This is all new to us, but we are all doing our best to make it work.”

MCS fourth grade student Jayson Tagabuel said, “The first day back to school was great. I am looking forward to getting good grades.”

Another from Cabrera’s class said, “My first day back to school was amazing. I’m looking forward to us getting used to Zoom, Edmodo, and all the other apps and websites like it’s our normal school day so we’re used to it.”

The president of the MCS Parent Council, Tina Tudela Crisostimo, said, “Although my son is still getting used to online classes, it was a great first day back to school and instructions were easy to follow. I’m very happy to see my children learning again after the postponement of classes.”

To help parents prepare for the transition to online classes, Mount Carmel School provided a “Parent Guide for Online Learning” and all the primary tools MCS faculty members will be using for online courses, which include Zoom, Edmodo, Achieve3000, and Khan Academy, all of which have a free account option.

Mount Carmel School president Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero said, “Despite the drastic impact the COVID-19 epidemic has made on our community and around the world, we are happy to have our students learning again and establishing a new sense of normalcy for them. …We know that online learning is not the most preferred method for primary education, but our team at MCS is committed to effectively engaging and teaching our students despite the present circumstances.”

To meet the needs of families and educational needs of students, Mount Carmel School prepared to hold asynchronous and synchronous classes. During asynchronous classes, students are not required to log in at a specific time to complete their coursework and can work independently with the help of their family. Synchronous classes are defined as an online class structure similar to that in a face-to-face class, in which students meet with their instructor in real time and communicate with each other.

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, MCS will hold asynchronous classes and every Wednesday and Thursday, students are expected to participate in synchronous classes following the school’s original block schedule for those days.

The school’s Leadership Team, guided by Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez and the school’s board of directors, are making decisions based on the best and most accurate information available at any given time. Stakeholders are assured that the school will provide ample notification and information to all students, parents, teachers, and families through the school website, social media outlets, and local media. (PR)