Cathedral High School Hosts Classes Online During Snow Day

ST. CLOUD - Despite having a snow day, St. Cloud Cathedral High School Students were able to do classwork online from home on Monday.

The school is trying a new system where teachers and students do lessons and classwork online during a snow day. Cathedral Principal Lynn Grewing says students have Macbook Laptops that they take home with them every day, allowing them to work from home anytime.

"Administators and teachers hope to avoid the loss in learning time and continuity that typical snow days cause-this alternate way of delivering lessons will work well," Grewing says.

When a snow day happens, teachers post their lessons by 10:00 a.m. for students. Videos, assignments, quizzes or activites can all be posted online. Teachers also post office hours for students so they can email questions and get a quick response.

Cathedral teachers use Schoology, an online learning, social networking platform to post lessons. Many of the student textbooks are also available online.

The school says technology will never replace in-class instruction, however it gives them another option to minimize lost class time. Last year five school days were lost due to snow and frigid temperatures.

"We're hoping this system allows us to not worry about having to make-up days at the end of the school year," Grewing says.

Cathedral is planning to get feedback from students and teachers this week and will host a "Practice snow day" again on November 21st.