Dear Parents,
Our school theme for the 2021-2022 school year is “Writing Our Next Story: Pencils in the Hand of God.” This theme is based on famous quotes from Mother Theresa.
“I am a little pencil in the hands of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”
“I am a little pencil in God’s hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing."
Pencils come in all shapes and sizes, including colored pencils, golf pencils, chubby pencils, lead pencils, and decorative pencils, but they all do the same work and they all have value. We all come in all shapes and sizes and our Catholic Church is open to everyone! This year will provide many opportunities for us to explore and expand these ideas with our students and with each other as we begin to write together the story of the next 25 years of Saint Brigid of Kildare School.
We begin this year with a “Welcome Back Birthday Party” on Monday, August 23rd from 4:00 - 6:00 pm hosted by our Home and School. This event will be outdoors behind the school. Families will be invited to visit classrooms to “Meet The Teacher” and then spend time outdoors visiting information tables and enjoying Dairy Queen dilly bars and Sno Cones. There will also be Silver Birthday Pencils as gifts for everyone! It is suggested to help pace the event and to avoid large indoor crowds that families whose last names begin with A - K visit from 4:00 - 5:00 pm and families with last names L - Z visit from 5:00 - 6:00 pm. While visiting indoors we ask all students and adults to wear face coverings. Come in front doors, stop by the Home and School table, pick up your treat tickets and birthday gift and proceed to meet your teacher and then go outside for the party.
FACTS
FACTS is our new private and secure parents’ portal that will allow you to view academic information specific to your children while protecting their information from others. Before accessing FACTS, all parents must set up their own accounts. We will be sending out an email from Kathy O'Reilly tomorrow (Thursday) at 10 AM with instructions on how to set up your FACTS parent account. After you set it up, you will be able to fill out the Web Forms which are the required back-to-school paperwork for each child. You will also then be able to see your child's teacher. If you do not receive an email with these FACTS instructions from Kathy O'Reilly Thursday at 10 AM please contact the school office to verify we have your accurate email address in FACTS.
STAFF NEWS
I am sad to share that a few weeks ago Mrs. Julie Boyles resigned due to her husband’s job transfer. Mrs. Boyles and her family will be moving to Florida at the end of the month and we wish her all the best with her new adventure in the sunshine state. We welcome Mrs. Melissa Holloway as our new 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Holloway is an experienced teacher and a member of St. Patrick’s parish in London. We also welcome back at this time Mrs. Sue Kessler. Mrs. Kessler previously served for 10 years on our staff and is very excited to return. She is joining the 5-6 team to teach ELA since Mrs. Kerinan Jordan is joining our new Innovation Team. Read more about the Innovation Team in the story below.
The following is a current summary of the staffing changes and additions:
We welcome the following new staff or staff with new roles!
Mrs. Sara Wolfe - 4th grade teacher
Ms. Brittany Katona - kindergarten teacher
Ms. Jackie Friesner - 6th grade teacher
Mrs. Paula Thompson - 8th grade teacher
Ms. Rachel Jordan - P.E. teacher
Ms. Rachel Reindeau - 1st grade teacher (moving from long term sub position to permanent)
Mrs. Sandy Peecook - Office Manager (moving from part-time to full-time)
Mrs. Allison Mensching - Nurse (Monday - Thursday)
Mary Rowland - Friday Nurse
XTek - Mr. Kyle Kubiak - Lead consultant on site
Mrs. Melissa Holloway - 2nd Grade teacher
Mrs. Sue Kessler - 6th grade teacher (replacing Kerinan Jordan who is now on our Innovation Team)
Shannon O’Neil - Latchkey
Kristin Underwood - Latchkey
IMPORTANT DATES:
Parent Administration and Meet the Teacher - August 23, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Kindergarten WOW - August 24, Please see your letter for your assigned time
Opening School Mass - Friday, August 27, 10:00 AM
TRANSPORTATION NEWS:
All bus rider families need to register with the public district that provides their transportation. If you have not registered for bus transportation for this school year, please click on this link for directions.
As our new school year begins, we can be proud of the spiritual and academic excellence nurtured at Saint Brigid of Kildare School and in knowing that we are truly making a difference in the lives of our children. On behalf of the faculty and staff, we look forward to working with all of our students and with you in the new school year.
Blessings,
Kathy O’Reilly