Mooney marches on into the next school year
Dear Cardinal Mooney Family:
In March, as we were beginning to understand the impact of COVID, the State of Ohio would guide schools through the rapidly changing conditions of an evolving pandemic. With extraordinary effort, over three months of quarantine, Cardinal Mooney held to the course: safeguarding the health of its community; continuing to teach and learn so that its students could complete the semester; and helping to slow the spread of the virus.
Last Sunday, Cardinal Mooney conferred diplomas to the Class of 2020 in its first virtual graduation ceremony. Friday, as seniors came to school to pick up their diploma, drop off books, and be greeted once again by their teachers, I heard sounds of students, of joy, of mixed emotions, of hope. Most importantly, I saw and heard a community fully present. That will be repeated again next week for juniors, sophomores, and freshmen.
As we conclude the 2019-20 school year next week, I am ramping up for planning the 2020-21 academic year. I indicated last week that I intend to open in person next August. Fuller updates on academic planning will come in the weeks ahead.
As Governor DeWine reopens Ohio, we will align with those guidelines. For example, the phasing in of athletic activity is a first step. We will continue to operate prudently, working in close collaboration with the Diocese, city, county, peers, and Health Department. Please read the OHSAA requirements included in this bulletin, which explains the first three phases of reopening athletics.
Conditions continue to change weekly and uncertainty remains. So we will approach our decisions in a phased way going forward, as we have done up to this point. Working this way gives us the benefit to learn from the most up-to-date knowledge possible in order to make the best decisions we can under the current conditions and guidelines.
We know much more today than we did in March, bringing clarity that is both sobering and hopeful. We now know that the virus will be with us for months to come and we expect to have a “new normal.” However, there is clear evidence that the actions we and the State have taken helped to flatten the curve, kept people safe, and allow us to plan for reopening. The quarantine gave our health and scientific communities time to respond.
Every day our physicians and researchers increase their understanding of COVID-19. With summer approaching we have time to prepare for the reopening of campus and meeting in-person.
There is important work ahead. Navigating a pandemic well takes extraordinary effort, creativity, and compassion. No one could sustain such effort successfully alone, but we have done it together. Cardinal Mooney is blessed with a community that has pulled together and remains with us.
As we pause for summer vacation, I hope you will take time to rest and recharge. Hope and promise abound on campus, and nowhere is that more evident than in this photo. When we return next August, there will be four more killdeers to greet our students.
Sincerely,
Thomas Maj
President
Click here to download our full May 31st, 2020 bulletin (PDF Format)