Administrative Update - 03/13/2020

3/13/2020

Michael A. Marinelli, Ed.D. ‘76

Dear Members of the Archmere Community,

As of 8:00 a.m. this morning, Governor Carney enacted a State of Emergency in Delaware. Recommended as part of his statement, the Governor asks that gatherings of large groups of people be minimized, and that we make collaborative efforts as citizens to mitigate the spread of the virus through our planned daily activities. The spread of COVID-19 has created significant disruption in our daily routines, in addition to causing anxiety and uncertainty in planning our lives.

While the impact of this virus continues to unfold, we have made the following decisions in the interest of abundant caution and care for our students and their families, as well as faculty, staff, and all members of the Archmere community.

1. Academic Program: From Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 20, classes will be held remotely. Campus buildings will be open tomorrow, Saturday March 14 from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. for students to retrieve any books, art supplies, and other necessary materials they will need to conduct their studies. There will be no students on campus for the coming week. Throughout next week we hope to learn more about the impact of the virus, and will make additional determinations, as appropriate. Mr. Jordan will communicate the specifics of our virtual schedule to the students later today. Teachers and students are equipped with the technology to conduct classes. Should there be any issues with technology access from home or other technical questions, students should email Mr. Campion or Mrs. DiPietro with any specific questions or concerns.

2. Athletic and Extracurricular Programs and Events: From Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 22, all athletic and extracurricular programs and events will be postponed.

This includes all activities of the Mothers' Guild and Fathers' Club, who, independently, affirmed the decision not to hold the Mothers' Guild Retreat on Wednesday, March 18 and the AukMadness event on Thursday, March 19.
This also includes the cancellation of the SAT testing scheduled for Saturday, March 14, as there are a large number of students registered from a number of different school communities - not an effective scenario for containing any potential spread of the virus. The SAT will be offered on other dates, and students may confer with Mr. Jezyk for more information.
We will be in touch with more details about the March Fine Arts Festival, Green Concert, Kairos retreat, and Garage Sale; however, they will most likely be postponed.

3. Domestic and International Travel: We have already made the difficult decision to suspend all international trips planned for our student groups through the end of the school year.

We will suspend any class trips, community service programming or other local group travel from March 13 through March 22.
We would encourage families to consider taking appropriate precautions should families make personal travel plans or should individual family members travel. Please know that if your family visits a country designated by the CDC as Level 2 or 3, you will be asked to stay home from school for at least 14 days, which is the recommended self-quarantine by the CDC.
To our knowledge as of this announcement, we have no reports of anyone in the Archmere community confirmed positive for the virus. However, we ask that you take all recommended precautions articulated by the CDC and State of Delaware Department of Health & Social Services.

We recognize that the impact of COVID-19 is not only potentially contracting the virus, but the psychological impact of not knowing what to expect next and the inability to plan our lives as we typically do can cause distress. If your children are experiencing anxiety and concern, please be in touch with our counselors, who are there to be of help:

Guidance Counselors

Father John Zagarella, O.Praem
frjzagarella@archmereacademy.com

Mrs. Joanna Doroh
jdoroh@archmereacademy.com

Ms. Francesca Pileggi
fpileggi@archmereacademy.com

Mr. Jonathan Jezyck
jjezyck@archmereacademy.com

4. Communication Updates: As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve, we will regularly update a designated webpage available here with any new updates and information regarding postponements and cancellations.

Finally, we are grateful to every member of our Archmere community for working together to manage through these challenging and unusual days. In today’s first reading of the Mass from the Book of Genesis, we hear the first part of the story of Joseph and his brother who sold him into slavery. Of course, the story ends with Joseph saving the lives of his family by feeding them during the famine that he predicted in his dreams and for which he had Pharaoh store grain to prepare for it. While I don’t know that we could have predicted this pandemic, I believe that we are prepared with measured and appropriate responses. With our faith and our commitment to doing what is best for our students and families, we are confident that we will grow stronger as an Archmere community. Thanks to all the members of the Archmere community for your support, patience, and understanding, and prayers.

Sincerely,

Michael A. Marinelli, Ed.D. '76
Headmaster

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