'Wash Your Hands And Say Your Prayers': Blessed Trinity Catholic School In Mayfair Taking New Approach To Learning In Middle Of Pandemic
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The new school year could look a lot different for many as some schools adopt a hybrid plan with a mix of in-school and remote learning. CBS3's Trang Do visited a school in Mayfair to learn a little more about their new normal and their approach to learning in the middle of a pandemic.
Teachers are used to handling dozens of students at one time, but at Blessed Trinity Catholic School in Mayfair, they'll now have to do it in two realms: in-person and digital.
"I think it's going to be fun," Kindergarten teacher Maureen Pfeiffer said. "I'll have the microphone, the webcam. It's going to be a learning process but it'll be a positive one. So I am actually very excited about it."
Families at the pre-k through 8th-grade school were able to choose all virtual live-instruction or a hybrid of in-person and remote.
Pfeiffer spent her summer coming up with ideas to keep her in-classroom students safe. She will be wearing a special mask with a window so the children can see her mouth during lessons.
"Each of the tables is now six feet apart. They are boxed in so I know they stay there, and each table will have a barrier so there won't be any more than three kids at each table," Pfeiffer said.
Students will also eat lunch at their desks and because they can't use water fountains anymore, there are caddies for their water bottles.
"Wash your hands and say your prayers because germs and Jesus are everywhere," 7th-grade teacher Bridget Horgan said.
Horgan is also making noticeable changes to her classroom. She's ensuring there's plenty of space between desks.
"I know that we're taking the right precautions here. Everybody has to wear a mask and a face shield as a teacher. We have the hand sanitizing stations. There's hand sanitizer in every room," Horgan said.
While younger students will be split into a morning group and an afternoon group, grades 2 and up will do two full-days a week in-person. Everyone will be virtual on Fridays.
"I'm nervous about it, but I'm excited about it because it's different," Horgan said. "We live in a digital age now so we have to get used to doing things digitally and virtually just to keep up with the times."
Horgan says she's ready for her first test come Sept. 8, when the first group of students return to school.
"I'll be teaching live in the classroom and on the computer," Horgan said. "It's going to be a little like, 'coming from Mayfair live, it's Ms. Horgan, 7th grade!"