Important Updates from the Principal-Wednesday, April 8, 2020
April 8, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,
Greetings to all of you as we are about to enter the Holy Triduum and celebrate Easter, and a Happy Passover to our Jewish brothers and sisters. I hope that you are safe and healthy and are finding ways to virtually stay connected to extended family and friends. Today marks three weeks that we have conducted online classes. I applaud you for your tremendous work and effort. This has been incredibly challenging and I am proud of how you have handled it. Please see several announcements below.
Extension of online classes:
We will continue with online classes after the Easter Break. Our earliest possible return date to the school would be Monday, May 4th at this point. I will be watching how things progress in the coming weeks and will communicate any changes in these plans via email.
Easter Break:
Easter vacation begins tomorrow, April 9th, and extends through April 19th. Online classes resume on April 20th. There are no online classes from April 9th-19th. Enjoy the rest and relaxation.
Friday, April 24th:
Please note there will NOT be online classes on Friday, April 24th. The faculty will be in an online training that day. Students will have that day off.
Regents exams:
As you have seen on the news, the state has cancelled the June 2020 Regents exams. I will send out a separate email that outlines the details of those implications. Please look for that email in the coming days.
3rd Quarter Report cards:
Grades will be available on the Plus Portal this evening and will be emailed, as well.
Temporary tuition assistance policy change:
In January, Brother Thomas, President, informed you that La Salle Academy was implementing a new policy regarding accountability measures associated with retaining tuition assistance. Those measures were to go into effect this semester, and the results of this semester (GPA, behavior, attendance, etc.) would be assessed to determine if tuition assistance amounts would be cut for the fall semester of the 2020-2021 school year. The policy outlined that if the benchmarks were not met by students, that the aid would be cut by 50% for the semester that follows. Because of the reality we face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and sensitive to the fiscal challenges associated with that unfortunate situation, our school policy has been adjusted for the current semester only. School is still in session and accountability measures and their consequences are still in effect, but the amount of reduction in tuition assistance for the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year has been cut in half from 50% to 25%. Please reach out to our Finance Department with any questions regarding this change.
Students supporting healthcare workers and first responders:
Students in the Civic Spirit Club have partnered with Dr. Fidel Lim, a clinical associate professor at the NYU Royer Meyers College of Nursing, and the Men Entering Nursing student leaders to electronically send cards and letters of gratitude to first responders and healthcare workers at local hospitals such as NYU, Mount Sinai and New York Presbyterian. In addition, Vinny Estevez’s religion classes made Easter cards for first responders and healthcare workers that will also be sent to these hospitals. Dr. Lim and the NYU Men Entering Nursing student leaders have been La Salle’s steady partners through the Guest Lecture Series established by Ann Straub and now we continue this partnership from a distance. If you are interested in making a card or writing a letter of gratitude to first responders/healthcare workers, feel free to email it to Caitlin Kerwin at [email protected] and she will make sure it gets to the right place.
I wish you a Happy Easter. Thank you, again, for all of your hard work. Students, we will “see” you again in online classes on April 20th.
Sincerely,
Kerry Conroy
Principal
La Salle Academy
