OUR MISSION:
St. Rita School inspires students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade eight to achieve academic excellence in a safe, nurturing and faith-filled Catholic environment.
We prepare students to be morally responsible, innovative thinkers who, in today’s technology-guided global community, live and share the Love of Christ.
FROM THE DESK OF MRS. TIEZZI

Dear SRS Parents,

The annual HOPES (Help Our Parish Elementary School) dinner will be held tonight and two of our faithful volunteers will be recognized as the St. John Neumann Volunteers of the Year at this dinner. Congratulations to Elaine Lamboley and Chris Ponzio. Elaine has served as school board chairperson for the past 6 years. She is SRS past parent and current SRS grandparent. Chris Ponzio served as our H.S.A. treasurer for the past three years and also served on various H.S.A. committees during his time at St. Rita. We are grateful to both of these talented individuals for helping to further the mission of our school.

Please mark your calendar for four events that will be happening next week.
On October 1, the students in all grade levels will switch over to the regular school uniform. Please consult the handbook for specific uniform requirements.

On Wednesday, October 2, St. Rita School will be closed for a Professional Development Day. On that day, St. Rita School will be hosting over 150 teachers and administrators from the New Haven Catholic schools for the Teaching and Learning Conference.

 On Thursday, October 3 we will showcase area Catholic high schools at our high school night. Eight area Catholic high schools will be here to share what makes them a great place to continue your child’s Catholic education. The night begins at 6:00 P.M. in the gym and is open to any middle school aged student and their parents. Feel free to bring a friend or neighbor who might be interested in learning more about Catholic education. 

Finally, on Friday October 4 at 8:45 A.M. we will celebrate Mass outside in our new outdoor classroom space. In honor of the Feast of St. Francis, Msgr. Joe will celebrate Mass outside assisted by our 4 th grade students.  Following Mass we will bless and dedicate our new outdoor classroom and MakerSpace. Feel free to bring your lawn chair and join us for Mass.

Thank you for entrusting your child/ren to our care. Happy Fall!!

God Bless,

Mrs. Tiezzi

School News 
Attention Grades 6-8 Parents:
If your child has received a new Chromebook this year, the User Fee will be posted on your November SMART Tuition bill. This is a change from the information given to you when you met with Mrs. Tiezzi at our soft opening. Thank you for your understanding.
WINTER UNIFORM WILL BEGIN OCTOBER 1st
All students must wear their winter uniform beginning October 1st.
No Shorts allowed
No sneakers allowed Grades K-8 (only with gym uniform)
Please review the Family Handbook for proper uniform information
Attention 4th and 5th Grade Parents:

   Study Skills Workshop

   Does your child need some assistance adjusting to their new grade level?
Does your child need to strengthen their organizational skills?
Does your child need extra help with their study skills?
Mrs. Conklin, a retired SRS teacher, will be offering a 4- week workshop reviewing some organizational and study skills and teaching some new ones to 4th and 5th graders.

  When: Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24
  Where: St. Rita School
  Time: (Dismissal) to 4:00 p.m.
  Cost: $40.00 cash only
Virtus Training Information
At St. Rita School there are endless opportunities to get involved as a parent/grandparent. We welcome your ideas, insight and knowledge to help strengthen our SRS community. 
All volunteers must become certified in the Virtus Training and 
complete a background check. 
Please visit the Virtus Training website for upcoming training dates, locations and registration. 

Upcoming Dates:
Monday Sept. 30th St. Rita Church 6pm

**IF YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR VIRTUS CLASS PLEASE BRING YOUR CERTIFICATE AND HANDBOOK SIGNATURE TO SISTER ANNE.
WANTED:
Parent volunteers for our Robotics club
Email Mrs. Tiezzi for more information
DONATE YOUR HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!
(Donations can be dropped off at SRS)

Sacred Heart Academy is hosting a Halloween Party for the children at New Reach in New Haven. New Reach is a shelter for homeless mothers and children and works on placing them into homes. Currently, there are 40 children and 20 mothers living there. They are in dire need of Halloween costumes for the kids because they do not have access to any and would love to give the kids residing there a normal, fun Halloween. We would be grateful if St. Rita's could collect new or lightly used costumes for our cause. We would need to collect the costumes before the party on October 19th,   so preferably by October 17th or 18th. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact Lauren Jerram at  ljerram@sacredhearthamden.org . Thank you so much for your consideration, the kids at New Reach thank you!

L. Jerram
Sacred Heart Academy '21 (SRS '17)
SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR ANNUAL
HIGH SCHOOL NIGHT
Open to all students (SRS and non-SRS) in Grades 6-8.
Share the news, bring a friend!
Stew Leonard's
Golden Apple Award
Nominate your FAVORITE teacher!
Help us celebrate our cultures here at St. Rita School.
 We are now collecting for the month of October!
Home and School Association
Dear Parents,

This Friday is the last day to submit contributions to the 2019 St. Rita School (SRS) Annual Walk-A-Thon , which is the most relied upon fundraiser of the school year to support SRS activities and initiatives. Donations that students raise help to make a difference at the school.

All Walk-A-Thon pledges are tax deductible, and count 100% towards the annual family assessment.  A lot of families use this opportunity to fulfill the required annual assessment sooner than later. Pledges must be submitted by Friday, September 27, 2019 for students to be eligible to win a prize.

Hope you will be joining us on Sunday, September 29th after the 11:30am Mass. The after party is an afternoon filled with fun. There will be games, food, face painting, moon bounces, and a DJ. The SRS Walk-A-Thon is a great way to kick off the school year and become involved in the St. Rita community.

Thank you for supporting our school!

The Walk-a-Thon Committee

All Walk-A-Thon materials can be found on the SRS website, at http://www.stritaschool.org/news.




Please help to support our school with the below fundraisers and FREE rewards programs!

COMING SOON!!

Keep an eye out for our Fall Fundraiser with Boon Supply! St. Rita School will receive a percentage of every order you place, so you’ll be able to shop for great gifts for double the giving! More information coming soon.

       Support St. Rita School
         with Mabel’s Labels!

Hoping for a year with fewer lost mittens and water bottles? 
Our new fundraiser will help keep your kids’ items out of the Lost and Found.
Start your shopping here , or learn more by clicking here .

Support St. Rita School by Shopping at Boscov’s!
St. Rita School is selling tickets to Boscov’s Friends Helping Friends event on                            
October 16 th 2019. Tickets are $5 each and are good toward 25% off purchases the day of the event. There will also be refreshments and prizes! Passes can be used at any Boscov’s location. Passes are available in the St. Rita School office or St. Rita Church Rectory. The entire $5 donation directly supports St. Rita School! *Smart tuition can be used to pay for tickets* Just send an email to hsasrs.stritaschool@gmail.com with the number of tickets you want and the name of the student to send them home with.
Crusaders Corner Store
 A St. Rita School Initiative
Crusaders Corner will be open every Thursday during all lunch periods. Please send your child with cash or check to purchase items!
The school store is NOW OPEN! NEW Items Available!
Athlete's Corner
Check back here for all Athletic News
Soccer Games this week:
Tuesday, Sept 24 th  vs St Bridget @
Moretti Field, Hamden – 3:45
Thursday, Sept 26 th  vs St Mary-St Michaels
 @ Bradley School,
Derby – 3:45

 
Sports Backpack for Soccer and Basketball are now on Sale!
Be ready for the Basketball Season!  
All forms are due back by Wednesday, Sept 25 th !   
 
If anyone is interested in purchasing a Water Bottle for $1 to
support the Athletic Program, please contact  athletics.stritaschool@gmail.com
 
Basketball!
Cheerleading!
 
St. Rita School offers two winter sports
 Basketball for students in Grades 3–8 and
Cheer Squad for students in Grades 5–8. 
 
Interested in learning more?
 
SIGN UP TODAY!

 
If anyone is interested in purchasing a Water Bottle for $1 to
support the Athletic Program, please contact  athletics.stritaschool@gmail.com

Reminder:
If your child is absent from school or leaves school sick, they will not be permitted to participate in any athletic events (games or practice)
PICTURES WANTED! If you love taking pictures at our SRS sporting events, please share them with us! Please send to ccivitello.stritaschool@gmail.com
Divine Mercy Parish News

Student Spotlight
Did your child/ren do something amazing? Share with us!
Please send submissions to
Please be patient as we receive many wonderful stories of our SRS students and Alumni!
Prayer Corner
Please keep the following SRS community
members in your thoughts and prayers



If you have a special intention that you would like to share in our prayer corner, please email Carissa Civitello
Support SRS
Rewards Program

Click HERE for a flyer with all of our rewards programs.

Does Your Company Offer Volunteer Grants? 
Volunteer grant programs, also known as “Dollars for Doers” programs, are corporate giving programs created to encourage volunteerism in communities where employees live and work.
Through these programs, companies provide monetary grants to organizations where employees volunteer regularly. 

Please take a moment and ask if your employer participates in a Volunteer Grants Program. Your time and talent at St. Rita School could turn into dollars for our school! Questions? Feel free to contact Joanne Bruno at  jbruno.stritaschool@gmail.com .
The Box Tops for Education program is changing the way we can earn cash for our school

           Over the summer, participating brands began to change their packaging from the traditional Box Tops clip to the new Box Tops label. Going forward, instead of clipping from packages and checking expiration dates, all Box Tops will be earned digitally by scanning your receipt. The Box Tops for Education team has worked hard to build a NEW-and-improved, user-friendly Box Tops mobile app , available now. The new app features state-of-the-art technology that allows you to scan your store receipt, find participating products and instantly add Box Tops to our school's earnings online. 

If you still have traditional Box Tops clips at home, make sure to send them to school. We will still earn cash for all clipped Box Tops until they expire. Better yet, you can “double dip” during the packaging transition by clipping traditional Box Tops AND scanning your store receipt containing participating products. 


Visit amazonsmile.com , and anytime you purchase an eligible item, Amazon will donate a portion of the profit to our school! Select “Divine Mercy Parish
Corporation” as your charity, and St. Rita School will benefit every time you
shop.

Link your Stop & Shop Card to St. Rita School, and we’ll earn CASH when you
buy groceries! Click here  and use School ID: 06434.


 Link your ShopRite Price Plus card to St. Rita School, and help us earn school supplies! Click here and use School ID: 50073, or email your PricePlus card number to Alice Kuether, alicemcgrew23@hotmail.com .


THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Caritas Christi Center
UPCOMING DATES - 
September 29- Walk-a-thon
October 2- No School
October 3- High School Night (grades 6-8)
October 4- First Friday Mass 8:45am
October 11- 12:15 Dimsissal
October 11- Parent Teacher Conferences
October 14- No School
October 15- 12:15 Dismissal & Parent Teacher Conferences
October 25- Trunk or Treat Event & Middle School Halloween Dance

SHARE THE NEWS!
The Annual Open House for prospective families will take place on Sunday,November 3rd!
St. Rita School
1601 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06517
Phone: (203) 248.3114
Fax: (203) 248.1016
www.stritaschool.org