Thank you Home & School for the warm welcome back to our teachers and staff on Monday! The teachers and staff have been busy preparing for another year of educating your children in the Catholic faith while providing academic excellence in the safest environment possible! |
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Dear Parents,
Progress! Our modular preschool classrooms have arrived on campus! We are excited to be welcoming our youngest wolfhounds to preschool in the St. Brigid Arks! Our preschool classes are being renamed this year to include pandas, giraffes and monkeys oh my!!! Mrs Harper and our wonderful preschool staff have many fun ideas to make preschool in the Ark a memorable experience.
We will be releasing information soon regarding our Parent Administration Day and paperwork. We are still waiting to finalize the new Digital Academy program. We hope to be sending your on-boarding email to Digital Academy in the next few days.
There are also many questions regarding lunch for the coming year. Yes there will still be pizza on Wednesdays!!! We will continue using “My School Account” for online payments. Directions will be released soon. Please keep in mind that students will not be using the thumbprint system this year due to infection prevention protocols. Teachers will be taking lunch count in the morning by name and the cafeteria staff will manually enter your child’s name into the accounting system. We are planning to offer a modified hot lunch menu and for grades 4 - 8 a choice of two plated salads each day. Milk and bottles of water will also be available for purchase. Students will of course have their own water bottles for hydration throughout the day and will be able to use our touchless bottle fillers to refill their individual bottles as needed.
Thank you to all of our parents for your generous donations of treats, notes and prayers. Also thank you to the Home and School committees planning Back to School events like our school supply sale, uniform exchange, new family welcome and so much more. Our school community is truly special and faith-filled.
Please continue to pray for each other, practice social distancing and wear a face covering in public. As the beginning of the new school year approaches, we all need to do our part in making a community promise to be sure we are healthy and ready to open our school safely.
Blessings,
Kathy O’Reilly
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2020-2021 Revised Plan for Arrival and Dismissal: Car Riders and Bus Riders |
Morning Arrival:
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Bus riders will be dropped off along the sidewalk at the front of the building. To allow for social distancing, K-3 students will enter the south doors (formerly the preschool doors) and students in grades 4-7 will enter the north (office) doors. Students in grade 8 will walk across the parking lot following the marked lane to Hendricks Hall.
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Car riders will be dropped off along the Enke Hall sidewalk on the north side of the building. Drivers will park along the sidewalk, and children will exit their cars. Students in grades K-4 will enter the recess doors. Students in grades 5-6 will walk on the sidewalk to the front of the building and enter the main office doors. Students in grade 7 will enter through their classroom doors (Enke Hall). Students in grade 8 will walk across the parking lot following the marked lane to Hendricks Hall.
Afternoon Dismissal:
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Busses will line up along the school driveway at the front of the building. Dismissal will begin at 2:45pm. K-3 students will exit via the south doors (preschool doors). Students in grades 4-6 will exit via the north (office) doors. Students in grade 7 will exit via their classroom doors. Students in grade 8 will walk across the parking lot to the busses following the marked lane from Hendricks Hall. Bus riders will exit the building before any car riders are called to exit.
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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 called by pod starting at 2:50. Car riders in grades K-2 will exit through the recess doors. Car riders in grades 3-4 will exit through the religious education door. Car riders in grades 5-6 will exit through the office doors and walk on the sidewalk to the Enke side. Car riders in grade 7 will exit through their classroom doors. Students in grade 8 will walk across the parking lot following the marked lane from Hendricks Hall.
- Parents will no longer enter the building. 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.
See Arrival & Dismissal parking lot maps below (click to enlarge):
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Please Return Textbooks, Tech and Library Books |
Please remember to return textbooks, technology and library books from last school year, as there is currently a shortage of some of these materials. |
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Latchkey Health Guidebook 2020-21 |
The staff at Latchkey would like to welcome all new and existing families for the 2020-2021 school year.
There will be an informative email sent next week explaining details. Thank you all for your patience through this unprecedented time.
Should there be any changes to attendance within the Latchkey program, please let me know ASAP as your FACTS accounts with need to be adjusted to reflect the changes.
We look forward to our return to St Brigid of Kildare Latchkey.
Latchkey has created a guide with information from the Restart Ohio guide for school age child care in the state of Ohio. All of these guidelines will be listed on the left side of the page. These guidelines are required under our state licensure. Saint Brigid’s procedures, which follow these guidelines, will be listed on the right side of the page. Where applicable, information on the left side of the page may come from other resources such as the Center for Disease Control or the Ohio Department of Health.
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Tech Prep Help Needed - Tonight! |
Mrs. Westendorf is looking for additional help Wednesday evening setting up tech equipment. Help needed includes:
- Remove chromebooks from a wall charging unit and prepare for student 1:1 distribution.
- Prepare 100s of chromebooks for student 1:1 distribution.
- Unbox 13 new printers
If you are available to help, please use the link below to sign up.
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Uniform Exhange Thank You! |
Thank you to the many volunteers and donors who made our outdoor, socially distant uniform exchange a big success! |
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Protecting God's Children Zoom Sessions - New Dates Added |
The Diocese of Columbus will be offering the following Protecting God's Children (PGC) training sessions via Zoom (the schools listed are hosting the Zoom meetings):
- Wednesday, August 19th (via St. Matthew's)
- Wednesday, September 9th (via St. Francis DeSales HS)
- Monday, September 14 (via St. Joseph's Montessori)
Click on First-Time Registrant, View list of sessions, Columbus, OH - Diocese to see the current offerings. This Zoom sessions are listed as the schools hosting, and are open to St. Brigid parishioners.
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Fall Updates from St. Brigid Athletics Association |
Diocesan flag and tackle football has been postponed until the spring season but in addition to cross country and volleyball, baseball will now be offered this fall. See below details:
Boys Baseball
When: Practices start late August, games mid-September - October
Who: 4th - 8th Grade boys that are St. Brigid students or parishioners.
Note: To limit the risk of spreading the virus, at this time we cannot take boys that are not St. Brigid students or parishioners.
Registration fee: $160
Cross-Country
You should have already registered for the team (if not, please do so), but we also now will need to process your " Cross-Country Payment" - please sign-up for this on the site and we can complete things now that the season has been given an approval to begin.
Volleyball
You should have already registered for the team (if not, please do so), but we also now will need to process your " Volleyball Payment" - please sign-up for this on the site and we can complete things now that the season has been given an approval to begin.
Don't forget your Spring Refund Coupons!!!
Those of you that had your Spring Athletics registration fees refunded in the form of coupons, please don't forget to use those for the fall. If you have problems with the coupon or can't find that email, please email [email protected] for assistance. |
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We have been answering many questions about the new PE uniform black wind suit. We are trying to respond to your concerns regarding availability and fit. Hopefully this FAQ will help to clarify the new dress code rules for PE:
What do you mean by a wind suit? A wind suit is a track suit combining pants and a jacket. Wind suits are loose fitting and typically made from tricot, polyester, a polyester blend, nylon, or the new dry-fit fabrics. We will not allow pants/jackets made from fleece or terry, those that look like pajamas, those that are tight-fitting, or those that look like yoga pants. Capri pants will not be allowed.
Does my child have to wear the wind suit jacket to school? We suggest that your child wears the jacket to school each day, or at least brings it in his/her bookbag. Some of our classrooms can be a bit on the cool side, so the option of putting on a jacket helps with student comfort.
When wearing the wind suit pants, what if my child is too hot at school during September? If your child finds the windsuit to be too hot to wear in school, K-4 children only may wear the navy blue dress uniform shorts on a daily basis in September instead of the wind suit on PE days and then wear the navy blue dress uniform pants instead of the wind suit on PE days starting in October.
Can my children just wear their PE black uniform shorts and PE green uniform t-shirt to school on PE days? No, the PE black shorts and PE green t-shirt are not appropriate for all-day wear at school.
Can my child wear the PE black uniform shorts underneath the new wind pants? Yes, and this will allow your child to remove the wind pants for PE class time. Wind pants will not be removed for recess.
What shirt will my child wear on PE days? If your child wears the wind suit on PE days, the options include the PE gym shirt for grades 6-8, the white polo shirt for grades K-8, or the white blouse for girls in grades K-8. Students in grades K-4 may wear the PE green uniform shirt, but this is optional. If your child instead wears the navy blue dress uniform shorts or navy blue dress uniform pants on PE days, the shirt options are the same. Shirts will be tucked in at all times.
Can girls in grades K-4 just wear their jumpers on PE days? Yes, but girls should wear shorts underneath their jumpers each day, not just on PE days.
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Preschool Donations Needed |
Home and School is sponsoring a donation drive for the preschool. As many of you know, the preschool is moving into modular units on the St. Brigid campus in order to make additional classroom space for the K-8 pods. With this move, preschool will have four pods (classes) in session at a time. As a result of this, and the combined need to keep everything separated by pod, the preschool teachers have come up with a list of items needed for their new classrooms. We are asking for donations before preschool purchases these items. Items do not have to be new and do not have to be identical. We know this has been a tough time for many families and we are hoping your generosity puts a smile on the little preschoolers' faces and relieves some stress from our awesome preschool team.
Please drop off items on one of these dates to the school (more info to come on drop offs via email as the date approaches):
8/21/2020 - 4-6pm
8/24/2020 - 4-6pm
Please do not drop off donated or purchased items until the designated drop off times. There is not currently space to store the items until the modular units are ready.
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Task Force Reopening Update - Aug 18 |
Below is information from the August 18th email update. All previous school updates can be found on the St. Brigid School Page. Click Here.
Dear Parents,
Today the Task Force is pleased to be sharing with you our Family Guidebook for the 2020-21 school year. It is a quick reference guide to our most frequently asked questions regarding Health and Safety, Infection Protocols and Academics and Programming. This Guidebook is current as of today, but please be aware that it is subject to change as more information becomes available from the CDC, The American Academy of Pediatrics, and the local Health Department. The Family Guidebook will be posted on our website on the “Reopening Safely Page” and will be dated as revisions occur. Please click below and carefully read the guidelines and refer back to them as needed during the school year.
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The window to purchase school supplies through EduKit has passed. Parents can find the school supply list on the St. Brigid school webpage under the Reopening Safely Tab. The link to the supply list is also included below. |
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First Communions Celebrated Through Septembr 20 |
We will be celebrating First Communions at weekend Masses through September 20, 2020. You can share in this joyous occasion by watching the livestream Mass through our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Please pray for these children as they come to receive Jesus.
See the link below to take you to the Youtube channel.
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Saint Brigid of Kildare School will be prepared to educate your children for the 2020-21 school year. Given that families may need flexibility during this uncertain time we are offering assistance with deferring payments until September 1st (if needed). If you find that your family needs to withdraw, please contact the school office so that we can understand your concerns. If finances are an issue, we may have additional resources available. We want to work with you to continue offering the gift of Catholic education to your child(ren). If you absolutely are not able to make tuition payments we would like to extend a more flexible COVID withdrawal policy
We offer our school families the following options:
If Saint Brigid School is restricted from offering a typical school schedule on campus full-day, families may withdraw without penalty any time prior to August 15th and will be refunded any tuition paid less the $150 tuition deposit (paid by new families). Families who withdraw after school starts will forfeit 1/10th of annual school tuition for every month the student is enrolled.
If Saint Brigid School is able to offer a typical school schedule on campus, families may withdraw without penalty any time prior to August 1 and will be refunded any tuition paid less the $150 tuition deposit (paid by new families). Families who withdraw after August 1 will forfeit 1/10th of annual school tuition for every month the student is enrolled.
We are also able to offer flexibility at this time with several different tuition payment plan options. If it is helpful for your family’s financial planning, you may choose to delay your first payment until September. You may choose the following:
- Full payment in September
- Semi-annual payments in September and February
- Quarterly payments in September, December, March and June
- 10 monthly payments starting in September
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Volunteers Needed: New Family Welcome Committee |
Are you available to help welcome our new school families into the community? Please complete the Google Survey below if you are interested in being a mentor for the 2020-2021 school year.
If you have any questions, please contact Leah McCoy at [email protected] for more information. |
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www.stbrigidofkildare.com |
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