Third-grader Aubriana Cox gets her temperature taken by Phys. Ed./Health teacher Jerry Renfer on the first day of school at Wyoming Area Catholic.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Second-grade student Justin Catalano stands behind the first day of school frame while school principal Eileen Rishcoff takes his photo.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Eileen Rishcoff, Wyoming Area Catholic principal, took photos of all the students on the first day of school. Shown in the photo with Rishcoff is Chloe Kelly, left, and her sister, Grace Kelly.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area Catholic Principal Eileen Rishcoff adresses students prior to classes starting on the first day of school.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area Catholic faculty member Erin Weiss discusses the proper use of a mask to her to students.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area Catholic displays a back to school banner on the first day of 2020-2021 school year.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
EXETER – As many of the school districts in Wyoming Valley opted to teach classes virtually for at least the first quarter of the 2020 – 2021 school year, the Diocese of Scranton decided to forge ahead with a regular in-school schedule.
Wyoming Area Catholic (WAC) officials welcomed students without a customary hug but instead took each student’s temperature upon arrival while staying socially distant.
According to Principal Eileen Rishcoff, the diocese always planned on teaching in school for the fall.
“I think they (Diocese of Scranton) always thought they would go back because we have smaller classes, so logistically we could do that,” Rishcoff said. “If we didn’t have the room and (were) unable to put the students six-feet apart, we could have done a hybrid schedule.”
Rishcoff said all the students would eventually receive computer Chromebooks once they are delivered to the school to aid in their schoolwork.
Teachers and students will remain in their homeroom all day with the exception of teachers instructing upper classmen and specialized teachers to prevent as little co-mingling as possible.
With homeroom students staying together as a unit, if one child gets infected with COVID, it would make it easy for contact tracing, according to Rishcoff.
“If I get a call from a parent saying they were exposed at work and they are quarantining and they are going to keep their child at home, we would probably make that student’s classmates do distance learning until quarantine is over,” Richcoff explained.
Maria Ciampi, mother of three children from West Pittston, had all of her children enrolled at Wyoming Area School District going into the 2020-2021 school year. In a last minute move, she enrolled her youngest child Tyler Karcutskie, 9-years-old, into third grade at WAC.
“Tyler needs structure so since WAC was having in-school classes, I transferred him to here,” Ciampi explained. “My other two children will be doing virtual at Wyoming Area.”
Ciampi feels Tyler will be safe from COVID with all of the precautions the school has taken so far.
“I’ve had anxiety through the roof with everything going on, and it really would have been tough to have all three at home this spring,” Ciampi said.
Kendall Morris, an eighth grader at WAC, hasn’t seen her classmates since this past mid-March, was happy to be back in school.
“It feels good to be back even though I can’t hug them or high-five them, I still get to talk to them,” Morris said. “I knew coming back it was going to be a safe environment for everyone and they will be sanitizing everything, so I feel I’m going to be safe.”
Morris said she would be interested in what the school will do with sporting programs as the year progresses.
“Last year I played volleyball and flag football,” Morris said. “Even though we might not be doing sports, I’m sure they will do substitutes for it.”
