Please see the correction in red below to the Upcoming Events dates.
WOLFHOUND WEDNESDAY
August 18, 2021
Our 2021-2022 School Theme: Writing Our Next Story: Pencils in the Hand of God
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Sun, Aug 22: New Family Welcome
Mon, Aug 23: Meet the Teacher (4-6 PM)
Tues, Aug 24: K-WOW Day
Wed, Aug 25: First Day of School (A-K)
Thurs, Aug 26: First Day of School (L-Z)
Fri, Aug 27: First Day of School (All Students)
Mon Sep 6: No School - Labor Day
QUICK LINKS:
The O'Reilly Minute
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  
Back to School Handouts
Please review all the Back to School handouts at the links below. All other forms that need to be completed will be emailed to you to complete digitally prior to Wednesday, August 25.

These forms may also be found on our website by clicking the "Current Families" box.


Handbooks & Procedures:

(a paper version of the H&S brochure will be sent home the first week of school)



Action Items & Sign Up Forms:




Save the Date:

Barn Bash
is Friday, October 22 from 6 - 8:30 pm
A Note from Public Busing
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All Buses:

Please remember you cannot ride public busing from your district of transportation unless you are registered. For instructions to register, please click here.

For Hilliard City Schools Bus Riders:

Families can check their transportation arrangements with Hilliard City Schools by visiting the district's website at: www.hilliardschools.org. At the top of the page, on the right side, they will see “FIND MY BUS STOP”. Select that, then select “NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENT”. Once there, they should fill in their student’s information (NOTE: birthdate must be entered in the format displayed).
Return to School Slideshow 21-22
A slideshow with details for our return to school plan for the 2021-22 school year was shared via email on Monday, August 16, 2021.

For a quick link to access that slideshow, click the button below.

Updates and information on health and school protocols for the 21-22 school year will also be archived on our Safe Together page, available on our website at stbrigidofkildare.com/safe-together.
Arrival & Dismissal Information
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Morning Arrival Procedures for Children:

  • Bus riders will be dropped off along the sidewalk at the front of the building. Students will enter the main doors of the school building.
  • Car riders will be dropped off along the Enke Hall sidewalk on the north side of the building and in the marked spots along the front (east) sidewalk. Drivers will park along the sidewalk, and children will exit their cars. Students exiting their cars on the Enke Hall side will enter the school through the recess doors. Students exiting their cars on the front sidewalk will enter the school through the main office doors. 

Afternoon Dismissal Procedures for Children - Bus Riders:

  • Busses will line up along the school driveway at the front of the building. Dismissal will begin at 2:45pm. K-4 students will exit via the south doors (old preschool doors). Students in grades 5-8 will exit via the north (office) doors. Bus riders will exit the building before any car riders are called to exit. 

Afternoon Dismissal Procedures for Children - Car Riders:

  • Dismissal for car riders will take place on the Enke Hall side of the building. Due to an increase in car riders this year, this will be done in two shifts.
  • Car riders with their last name beginning with the letters A-K will be exit starting at 2:50. Car riders will exit through the recess doors and the Enke Hall doors.
  • Parents will park their cars in the Enke lot. Once the lot is full, all cars will be turned off and the lot will be closed off, allowing the children to safely walk to their cars from the sidewalk. Parents must stay by their cars but are encouraged to put an identifiable ribbon or streamer on their car antenna to assist their children in finding their car. Once all A-K car riders are safely in their cars, the lot will be opened and emptied, allowing the cars for L-Z families to enter and follow the same routine.
  • Car rider pick-up for letters A-K will run from 2:50-3:00. Car rider pick-up for letters L-Z will run from 3:05-3:15.
Free Lunch Program Continues Through 2021-22
We are pleased to announce that we have government funding to once again offer free lunch and milk for the coming school year. Students will be able to purchase extras of certain items. 

Parents will be establishing a lunch account in our new FACTS School Information System. More details to follow soon about how to add money to your lunch account. Any families with a leftover balance from last year will have that balance carried forward to this year.  
A Reminder: Our Attendance Notification Policy
If your child will be absent or tardy, please call the school office that morning before 8:30 a.m. (614-718-5825) or email the attendance email at attendance@stbrigid-school.org so we can notify the teacher.

This is an email address that all office secretaries can access.

Thank you!
Uniform & PE Uniform Information
Physical Education:
Students in even-numbered grades will have PE for quarters 1 and 3.
Students in odd-numbered grades will have PE for quarters 2 and 4.
They will have PE 2-3 times each week.
Students in grades K-4 aren't required to wear the school PE uniform, but may do so if they please. If parents of kindergarten students choose to buy the PE uniform, Mrs. Stuart's class will have PE for quarters 1 and 3 and the students of Mrs. Hare and Ms. Katona will have PE for quarters 2 and 4. 

For information on the school uniform and PE uniform, see the school dress code, beginning on page 42 of the handbook here.

Uniforms and PE uniforms are available to purchase from the following locations:

Schoolbelles
867 Bethel Road
Dublin, Ohio 43220
614-336-2040

Educational Apparel
3906 Brown Park Dr.
Hilliard, OH
614-876-3030

Online (includes spiritwear for sale)

Please note: anyone needing their PE items by Fri Aug 27th needs to have their orders placed by end of day Wed Aug 18. 

The site will remain open for a few more days if people want to still purchase spirit wear, PE items, etc but they can’t guarantee they will have it by Aug 27th.

The store will open again for students needing PE items for Q2 in late Sept or early Oct.
Back to School Parent Tips
Please click on the link to find Nationwide Children’s Hospital On Our Sleeves program. This website has many great resources to help parents prepare students for starting back to school in an abnormal year. 
 
Innovation Team
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We are pleased to announce that we officially merged our library and technology departments and have created a Saint Brigid of Kildare Innovation Team. The team will be comprised of:
  • Kerinan Jordan and Nathan Graham (part-time band and part-time Innovation Team) working as educational technology coaches, 
  • Bridget DeSocio working as an innovation and discovery specialist helping students not only find good fit books, but encouraging discovery of new ideas and resources,
  • Kyle Kubiak, from Xtek, supporting and overseeing technical support.

The role of the Innovation Team will be to help students and teachers use technology in authentic real-world situations, discover new resources and information, and create solutions to real-world problems. This year will be a pilot year for our Innovation Team and we hope to monitor, adjust and grow this team into an integral part of our teaching and learning process.  
Adult Volunteers: Protecting God's Children Class
The Diocese of Columbus will be offering Protecting God's Children (PGC) training sessions at the following times:

 • 8/23 at Our Lady of Victory at 6:00 pm - in person 
• 8/25 at St. Mary Delaware at 6:00 pm via Zoom
 • 8/28 at St. Joseph Montessori at 9:00 am via Zoom 

Please visit www.virtus.org for registration and meeting instructions. Click on First Time Registrant, View a list of sessions, choose Columbus, OH (Diocese) and create a Virtus account.

Potential volunteers with children and youth must also complete a St. Brigid volunteer application, and submit a signed code of conduct, copy of photo ID, and submit to a criminal background check.

Full details and forms can be found at https://stbrigidofkildare.org/safe-environment/ or contact Stacey Nerone, Safe Environment Manager at snerone@stbrigidofkildare.org.
Choice Wine Program at St. Brigid of Kildare
The Choice Wine – 7 Steps to a Superabundant Marriage program begins Sunday, September 19 at St. Brigid of Kildare Parish in Hendricks Hall.

For details on the program and to register, see the link below.

For questions or more information, contact Fred Smith at fjsmith@osusmith.com.
Submit Materials for Wolfhound Wednesday
If you have information you'd like included in the next Wolfhound Wednesday, email it to Allie Wing at mrs.wing@stbrigid-school.org.

To view past issues of the Wolfhound Wednesday, find them archived on our website here.
www.stbrigidofkildare.com