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Dear St. Rita School Parents and Guardians,
Happy Easter! The celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection continues in the Church for eight days, called the Octave of Easter. Each day of the Octave is ranked as a Solemnity in the Church’s liturgical calendar. The Octave of Easter ends on the Second Sunday of Easter, the Sunday of Divine Mercy. In the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass in which he canonized the humble religious Sister Faustina Kowalska, Blessed John Paul II declared that from then on throughout the Church the Second Sunday of Easter would also be called the Sunday of Divine Mercy. This Sunday, April 27 at 3:00 P.M., please join in the devotions and celebration to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday at St. Rita Chapel located in the lower level of the church.. We hope you will join us to proclaim the saving power of God’s “merciful love”.
Thank you to all our school families for your generosity with our Lenten Service Project. With your assistance we are able to donate $6,738 to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. The monies will be used to help with research for childhood cancer. Congratulations and thank you to our top class, Mrs. DiRenzo’s 3rd grade, who raised $1089.79; our second place finisher, the office staff and friends who brought in $713; third place class is Mrs. Hamling’s sixth grade class who raised $642.14; and Mrs. Gertz’s class finished 4th with $614.30. Very impressive totals for sure! On Monday, June 9, we will have a celebration to thank all our students for their hard work with this fundraiser and we may have a few volunteers willing to shed their locks for a good cause, as well.
Today is Administrative Assistant’s Appreciation Day. We are blessed to have two amazing Administrative Assistants, Laura McKay and Mike Halloran staffing our main office, assisting our parents, teachers, and students daily, as well as keeping me on track which is quite the undertaking. Thank you Laura and Mike for all that you do for our school community. We hope your day is as amazing as you both are! It is with personal regret but warm wishes that I announce the retirement of Mike Halloran at the end of this school year. Mike has been instrumental in helping to fully automate our school office as well as serve as our “tech guy” for both the school and the parish. His calm and cool demeanor and can do attitude will be missed. Thank you, Mike, enjoy your much deserved retirement!
During the week of May 5-9 we will celebrate our marvelous and dedicated faculty during Teacher Appreciation Week. Also during that week on May 7, we will celebrate National School Nurse’s Day. Please take some time over the next few days to encourage your child to write a thank-you note/card/picture to give to their teacher during Teacher Appreciation Week and if they are a frequent flyer at Mrs. Palma’s office a special card/note for her on Nurse’s Day as well!
Thank you to everyone who has completed their on-line re-enrollment via your FACTS account. Now is the time we start planning for staffing, classes, materials and programming for the upcoming school year. Please be advised that the Financial Aid portal is available once your re-enrollment is completed. As financial aid monies are limited, funds will be distributed on a first come, first served basis until the money is depleted. If you have not yet re-registered for next year, please do so this month so you don’t miss out on the opportunity to apply for financial assistance.
Please be reminded that students transition into summer uniforms on Monday, May 5. The summer uniform footwear is sneakers. Those students who choose to continue to wear the regular school uniform may not wear sneakers.
Much excitement is growing around our upcoming play “Mary Poppins” scheduled to open on Friday, May 16. If you have not yet purchased your tickets you may do so by following this link. The cast and crew along with our marvelous director, music director , choreographer, and producer, have been working diligently since January learning their songs, lines, and dances. Much thanks to our Team Mom and Team Dad for your support and hard work to make this production an extravaganza to remember.
It is amazing how fast the school year has flown by. Today is day 145 which means we only have 35 more days until the 2024-2025 school year ends.
Below please find a list of upcoming important dates. We will continue to update this list, so be sure to check it regularly.
Administrative Professional’s Day - Wednesday, April 23
Mother-Son Event - Friday, April 25
Principal Appreciation Day - Thursday, May 1
MAP Testing - April 28-May 12
May Crowning - Thursday, May 1 @ 1:45 P.M. by the Mary Statue
Changeover to Summer Uniform - Monday, May 5
Golf Tournament - Monday, May 5
Teacher Appreciation Day - Tuesday, May 6
1st Communion Parent Meeting - Tuesday, May 6 @ 5:00 P.M.
School Nurse’s Day - Wednesday, May 7
Plant Sale - Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8
1stCommunion - Saturday, May 10 @ 10:00 A.M.
Play - Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17
St. Rita Day Celebration - TBD
Early Dismissal - Friday, May 23 No Aftercare
Shred Day - Saturday, May 24 9:00 A.M. -12:00
Memorial Day - No School-May 26
Ascension Thursday - May 29 Mass TBD
Spring Concert-Grades 1-3 - Monday, June 2 @ 1:30 P.M.
Spring Concert Band and Chorus - Tuesday, June 3 @ 1:15 P.M.
Graduation - Friday, June 6 @ 6:00 P.M.
Last Day for hot lunch and aftercare - Friday, June 6
HSA Ice Cream Social and St. Baldrick’s Celebration -
Monday, June 9 @ TBD
June Early Dismissal Days - Monday-Thursday-June 9-12
No Aftercare
PreKindergarten 4 Celebration - Tuesday, June 10 @TBD
Prekindergarten 3 Last Day - Tuesday, June 10 @Noon
PreK New Student Visiting Day - Wednesday, June 11-2TBD
Early Dismissal Day - Wednesday, June 11 @12:00 Noon
Kindergarten Celebration - Wednesday, June 11 @ TBD
Early Dismissal Day - Thursday, June 13 @12:00 Noon
End of School Year Mass - Thursday, June 12 @TBD
Last Day of School - Thursday, June 12 @ 12:00 Noon
Summer Program - Monday, June 16-Friday, July 25
Finally, I’m sure many of you were as shocked as I was to wake up Monday morning to the news that our beloved Pope Francis died on Easter Monday. Pope Francis, referred to as the” People’s Pope”, was a man of humility and simplicity. During the 12 years he served as the leader of the Catholic Church he sought to bring the Church closer to the people and was seen by many as a symbol of unity and hope. Pope Francis showed grace and kindness to people around the world and embraced the marginalized in ways that no pope has done before. Over the next few days there will be many opportunities for you and your children to experience the specific rituals and ancient traditions associated with the Pope’s funeral and the upcoming Conclave of Cardinals who will choose the new pope. Please take time as a family to watch history in the making and also please keep everyone involved in your prayers.
Thank you for entrusting your child/ren to our care. Happy Easter Octave!
God Bless,
Mrs. Tiezzi
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