Dear Saint Ursula Community,

I hope that you and your family have had some time to enjoy this beautiful weather!   Today’s bulletin has information about two pieces of information: our safety drill on Thursday and an update on school schedule modifications.  But, first, I am glad to share even more good news.  Saint Ursula Academy is proud to announce that Cecilia Chavez and Natalia Santo Domingo received the National Hispanic Recognition Award from the College Board National Recognition Programs.  This recognition is a testament to these students’ academic achievement and hard work in high school.  You can read the full article about this honor here.

Your daughter’s safety is of utmost importance to all of us at SUA.  We will practice several types of drills throughout the year - all with the goal of making certain that our students have the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe in all environments.  On Thursday morning we will practice the first of our active threat drills with a Shelter-in-Place drill.  A Shelter-in-Place could be used if there is any type of threat in the environment or nearby community, but it is mainly used for a contaminate in the environment.  The students will learn that during a Shelter-in-Place they need to stay inside and close all doors and windows. Students will use the time during the drill to watch a presentation about the safest ways to respond if there was an active threat on or near our campus.

SUA uses the Run, Hide, Fight protocols, which are the only active threat protocols endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security.  Run, Hide, Fight is very similar to the ALICE protocols if you happen to have familiarity with them, but the actions are even clearer in Run, Hide, Fight.  The presentation will cover the importance of situational awareness and will review the basics of Run, Hide, Fight.  We will review each of these steps and the situations in which it makes sense to use them:  evacuate if you can safety get out of the vicinity of the active threat, hide and create barricades/impediments to entrance of any space where you may be, or use the items in your environment to fight if you are in imminent danger.  We will come back to these throughout the year and practice with simple situations.  The goal is never to scare but to help our students be prepared to act in their best interest and safety.  We will communicate our drill plans with you in advance and are happy to answer any questions or concerns that you may have. 

The second update is about modifications to the SUA schedule.  Saint Ursula Academy follows the best practice of conducting a formal schedule review every 5-7 years. The last formal schedule review was initiated in 2019 and was not finalized due to the COVID interruption and changes in school leadership.  Nevertheless, tweaks and improvements are made on an ongoing basis.  For example, this year we added an additional five minutes to our 5th bell in order for our girls to have a slightly longer break in their day to support their wellness and connections in the community.  

For 2024-2025, we will follow the same collegiate block schedule that we currently use.  We will continue the formal schedule review this school year in consultation with the experts at ISM, Independent School Management, a consulting organization that specializes in working with private, high-achieving schools like SUA.  As we move forward, SUA is committed to a block schedule as research and experience proves that longer blocks of time support the students’ ability to engage in learning activities that require higher-level critical thinking.  Research, discussions, project-based learning, presentations, labs, and taking advantage of our unique position in the city for experiential learning through field trips are all things that happen due to our longer blocks for learning.  

Any modifications from the current schedule review will be shared in spring 2024 with implementation in the 2025-2026 school year.  When we make modifications, they are always in the best interest of our students and to improve the educational experience. Our goal is to maximize the advantages that SUA’s schedule offers to our students.  One of our next steps is to hold some listening sessions with the students to get their input about the schedule.  We really look forward to hearing their perspectives.

I apologize for the longer letter this week.  Both of these topics are so crucial, and we greatly appreciate your time to keep informed.

Go Bulldogs!

Kathy Restle

PS:  Please help us be good neighbors.  When dropping off or picking up students from school, please be mindful of not parking in “no parking” zones or blocking driveways.  Thank you!