Cara Ragusa is the director of communications for Immaculata Catholic School in Durham, which has 535 students from pre-K to eighth grade. She lives in South Durham with her husband, Kevin, who works for Duke, and children Nathan, 9, and Anna, 8, who also attend Immaculata.
We’ve all been home together since March 14. There’s a lot of coordination that goes on, juggling school work with two full-time jobs. I ordered a white board and some visual- schedule magnets to help my kids know what to expect for the day. We just try to check everything off our daily list and don’t assign times to anything – I have great intentions to do things in a certain order or by a certain time, but then I’ll have to jump on a time-sensitive project or my husband has to take a work call, so it becomes an impromptu recess for the kids. My daughter has special needs, so that throws another element into the mix, but we’re lucky that her resource teachers and therapists have been doing one-on-one video calls with her several days a week.
I’m an introverted homebody so I don’t mind all the secluded at-home time, but it can also be incredibly stressful some days just trying to manage it all (my house is a mess!). My kids have adjusted surprisingly well, but I think they miss the routine and their teachers and friends, and just getting out and about to playgrounds, restaurants, etc.
Like most schools in our country, Immaculata has transitioned to a distance-learning platform. We look forward to returning to campus as soon as possible but are working hard to stay connected as a community through virtual office hours with teachers, online prayer services, family-led morning announcements and even a virtual spirit week – families sent in photos like these each day.
For St. Francis Day, students read to their pets – like first grader Ben Miller, here with his dog, Red. 
Third grader Brady Gentile reads to his pet cat, Luigi. 
Second grader Chris Miller reads to Leppy the lizard. 
Seventh grader Millie McClernon and Bossy. 
Kindergartener Brooklynn Burns celebrates Pajama Day, when students were encouraged to eat breakfast for lunch while they video chatted with friends. 
For Spiritwear Day, students wore Immaculata T-shirts and accessories and wrote down their favorite things about the school. Here, pre-kindergartener Mercer Downs and second grader Brynn Downs with school mascot Phil the Eagle. 
Seventh grader Kenan Soffera, Immaculata Advancement Director Robyn Soffera and second grader Isabella Soffera. 
Second grader Katharine Bolte reads to her pup, Bella. 
Third grader Laila Sutton.
