Immaculate Heart Opens New School Year with Distance Learning

Immaculate Heart High School & Middle School opened the new school year this week in the same way it ended instruction last year – by bringing teachers and students together in virtual classrooms for distance learning.

Although IH launched online classes on Thursday, August 13, administrators spent time this summer developing a class schedule that accommodates a choice of instructional options if and when the pandemic and public health orders ease.

“Our hope is to transition to a hybrid mix of online and face-to-face instruction for students when possible,” Immaculate Heart High School Principal Naemah Morris said. “Ultimately, our goal is to welcome all students back to campus classes when it is safe to do so.”

When both the high school and middle school switched to distance learning in March in response to the Covid-19 virus, teachers met the challenge by creating virtual classrooms almost overnight. “The fact that our teachers and students already utilize technology in their classes made our switch to distance learning a smooth one,” Morris said.

IH Middle School Principal Gina Finer also singled out faculty members for their help in creating a successful new learning experience for students last spring. “Everyone stepped up to the plate with ideas and suggestions,” Finer said. “Teachers worked tirelessly to provide our girls with the same high-quality education and sense of community that they would have had here on campus. I have no doubt they will continue to rise to the challenge this fall.”

Over the summer, many IH teachers attended professional development workshops to explore tech tools that would enhance their online classes via Google Meet. These tools and other instructional tips were shared as part of Immaculate Heart’s faculty in-service held earlier this week.

In recent days, the IH campus has not been entirely devoid of students. New middle schoolers picked up their school-issued iPads, as well as books, supplies and swag bags that included an Immaculate Heart t-shirt and a Panda bear in honor of the school mascot. The students then attended a virtual iPad Boot Camp on their new technology.

Similarly, incoming high freshmen recently received their laptops as part of Immaculate Heart’s 1:1 technology program. As the students arrived in small groups on campus, Associated Student Body officers and other student leaders held welcome signs and handed out care packages that featured a Panda t-shirt in the freshman class color of green.

All new students recently attended virtual orientation programs to prepare them for online classes. During last week’s Middle School orientation, teachers joined student leaders to welcome 67 students to the sixth grade, along with six new seventh graders and two new eighth graders, to the IH Panda Family.

This week’s high school orientation celebrated the arrival of 135 freshman students in the Class of 2024, along with five transfer students, including two sophomores, two juniors and one senior. In small groups students moved through virtual sessions covering distance learning procedures, student services, the freshman year experience, and a virtual campus tour with student leaders.

For the start of Thursday’s first day of classes, high school students came together as one school community for a virtual assembly. Welcoming them were Principal Morris and ASB President Cleo Riley, who rallied students by likening today’s challenging times to runners falling during a race. “Immaculate Heart students always get back up and we can cross the finish line,” the senior said. Afterward, students met in virtual groups to discuss the value of academic integrity and to officially affirm the school’s honor code.

Immaculate Heart High School & Middle School is located at 5515 Franklin Avenue in the Los Feliz foothills of Los Angeles near Griffith Park. Virtual Shadow Days for prospective students and Admissions Information Sessions featuring virtual campus tours are available. For more information, visit Immaculate Heart’s website at immaculateheart.org.

About Immaculate Heart

Founded in 1906, Immaculate Heart High School & Middle School educates young women in grades sixth through 12th from its central location in the Los Feliz foothills near Griffith Park in Hollywood. The school has a long and distinguished history, with more than 10,000 graduates. Today’s student body of more than 700 young women is both geographically and ethnically diverse, drawing on students from throughout Los Angeles County. Last year, virtually 100 percent of Immaculate Heart graduates matriculated to colleges, including to the most prestigious schools in the country.