September 10, 2021
Dear Carroll Community,
As I look outside on this beautiful day, I am filled with hope, inspiration, and excitement! Archbishop Carroll has its first increase in enrollment since 2015, with 676 students! And we are just getting started. My first 60 days have been quite the whirlwind, but I genuinely can tell you how much I already love this community. I have been to quite a few schools in my 31 years of education, and I have never felt a connection to a school this quickly and this deeply. I am honored and humbled to be here. On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, it is important for us to remember, but to also find hope in the world. Emily Dickinson once wrote, “ Hope is the thing that feathers that perches in the soul-and sings the tunes without the words- and never stops at all.” Carroll is a school of hope. I feel it. I believe the faculty, staff, and students feel it. I sure hope you feel it too!
The hallways are energized with student laughter and conversation for the anticipation of a new school year- a school year where all students will be together five days a week. It has been a long road of COVID and we still have some airstrip to go. Please make sure you have completed our Vaccine Verification Form, which can be found HERE. Close to 50% of our community has replied so far, and we thank those who have done so. Alongside the excitement and energy of the new semester, we all need to continue doing our part to support our community by following our protocols, especially regarding masks required inside the building. Every member of our community has a responsibility to our health and safety, and we are taking that seriously. When I see students in the courtyard, cafeteria, in classes, and in the new Student Center interacting in a safe way, it is clear that we are each doing our part. As I said before, our goal is to remain in school and a commitment to masks is one way to make this happen. We are ready to be back together and enjoy what we love most about Carroll- the community.
After speaking with the faculty and staff this week, I charged them with two pillars. At Carroll we are rooted in faith and we are focused on students. We have many opportunities for students to experience faith at Carroll- from our daily interactions with each other to our daily lunch masses, service projects, and retreats. We believe at Carroll that as we continue to focus on our students, they will learn, grow, and thrive. We have created a student center this year where students can go to decompress, socialize, collaborate, study, and reflect. Off the Student Center is an updated courtyard- with new tables and soon to be refurbished benches to provide a space for students outside. It’s important for high schoolers to feel there is a place just for them. We will continue to focus on our students and their well-being throughout the year. We want this year to be a year of togetherness.
I am in the process of meeting each grade to update them on our shared school. Carroll has two additional schools in the building- Saint Katherine’s and Grayson School. The Saint Katherine's Day School, a school for special needs in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, holds their high school classes in the building. The two student bodies interact on a daily basis through our Principles of the Exceptional Learner Course, where Carroll students work alongside the SKDS students and assist the teachers. Archbishop Carroll also founded one of the first Best Buddies programs in the state of Pennsylvania. We have since expanded to create a Unified Bocce team where students from both schools compete together against other Unified teams from across the state. Grayson School, Pennsylvania’s only independent school for gifted children, also shares space here at Carroll. You may hear your son(s) and/or daughter(s) speak about Grayson because there is about 10 feet where Carroll students walk past a few of Grayson’s classrooms. They occupy the first and second floor on the East Wing. Carroll and Grayson will continue to work together to make sure this shared walking space works well. Saint Katherine’s and the Grayson School add value to Carroll’s programs and we are grateful for them.
Throughout the school year, I am hoping to invite parents and caregivers to informal “Coffee and Conversations” with me. These 30-minute sessions will focus on our vision and goals for Carroll this year, as well as a way to listen to your thoughts and ideas for making Carroll even stronger in the community. My goal is to offer my first session the first week of October. I hope to see you there!
Below this letter, you will find other reminders for you and your students for the upcoming week. Please review them and reach out to the appropriate offices with any questions. Thank you for your support and dedication to Carroll.
Be safe and stay well,
Tricia
Patricia Gioffre Scott, Ed.D.
President, Archbishop Carroll
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Schoology and PowerSchool Reminders
Schoology is Archbishop Carroll’s online Learning Management System. All students have access to Schoology through their Carroll email address, and will need to use it on a daily basis to view and submit assignments for all classes. The specific website for Schoology for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is: https://aopcatholicschools.schoology.com/
If you attempt to access Schoology through the general website, you will not be able to do so. Parent access to Schoology will be sent out at the end of next week.
Parents were sent access information for PowerSchool two weeks ago. Any questions on parent access can be sent to Mrs. Trish Dudas - [email protected].
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Flynn & O'Hara Update
Flynn & O’Hara Uniform Delays - Update
Understanding that Flynn & O’Hara is currently backordered and experiencing shipping delays on a number of our uniform items, we made a few adjustments to the school uniform for this week. We will continue to keep those modifications in place through next Friday, September 17th. Those modifications are:
If a student does not have all of the pieces of their uniform, their parent/guardian must contact Mrs. Kaitlin Buchanan, Assistant Principal for Student Life - [email protected].
All students must wear one of the required school shirts (red or white polo with the school logo, or a blue or white oxford button-down shirt). Seniors will be taking their class photo on their first day, and the other grades will be taking their yearbook photos.
If any student has yet to receive any other part of their uniform, the student should still dress appropriately in what we would refer to as “business casual”. For boys, this would mean khaki pants of any color and dress shoes, and for the ladies, a skirt of appropriate length or dress pants.
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Back-to-School Message from Archbishop Perez
At the beginning of this week, Archbishop Perez shared his best wishes to all of the students, faculty, and staff as they began the 2021-2022 school year. His message can be found HERE.
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Financial Aid Night
Welcome back to the new school year from the Guidance Department! We look forward to working with your daughters/sons this year and with you as well.
The first event we would like to invite you to is our annual Financial Aid Night for college. This will be on Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00p.m. in the library, and as with all in-person in school events, masks are required. Our featured speaker is Mrs. Fran McKeown from PHEAA who will help unpack all the information regarding how to apply for financial aid and the different kinds of aid available. We highly encourage juniors, seniors and their parents/guardians to attend.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Back to School Night
Carroll's "Back to School Night" will take place in the evening on September 23, 2021. This is a terrific opportunity to meet our faculty and staff, learn more about what's happening at Carroll this year. More information will be communicated early next week.
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We had a great week welcoming back our 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade students to Carroll! We look forward to welcoming our entire student body to campus next week. |
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