The O'Reilly Minute

Dear Parents,

Thank you for the great participation in our closing of the year events. It was so wonderful to celebrate and amazing to see so many of you in person after all of these months!!

As you know, Saint Brigid of Kildare School is already preparing to educate your children for the 2020-21 school year. The Governor announced yesterday that schools may open in the fall if they can meet the established guidelines. Each district will have flexibility in meeting the guidelines, however, the guidelines are not yet posted.  I have read the CDC guidelines for opening schools and our task force is already considering ideas. We do not know if the current CDC guidelines are what we will be working under, but it gives us a starting point. We of course are keeping in close contact with Dublin City Schools and will be receiving guidance from the Diocese.

I do want to emphasize that Msgr. Hendricks and I are committed to doing whatever is necessary to keep our Catholic school viable. It is our goal that we will welcome students back on campus in the fall, while following the guidelines and keeping safety at the forefront. Just this morning we were discussing space accommodations such as using Hendricks Hall, the gym, renting additional space, renting portable temporary classrooms, etc. This parish values Catholic education and will support our families wishing to attend our parish school. At yesterday’s faculty meeting, all of our teachers committed to working this summer to prepare classroom spaces and programming that will be needed. We are all on board and we will make it work according to the established guidelines for the health and safety of our children, families and staff. Our teachers will be preparing the following plans:

By preparing all three models, we will be better able to pivot if at some point there is a resurgence of COVID19 and we need to change our delivery model with little or no notice once again.

 In addition to planning to be back on campus we know some families will have special circumstances that will not allow them to return immediately. We will also have a plan in place to support such circumstances. Please continue to pray for us as we plan and we will continue to pray for your families as you also continue to figure out how to navigate your family through this pandemic.

With the closing of the school year also comes the final report card. The report cards will be posted on Wednesday, June 10th. You will be receiving a Schoolspeak email when they are available for viewing. I would also like to mention at this time that we will be changing our school information system from Schoolspeak to Digital Academy. This change will take place at the end of June so you will only be able to access your report cards for 2 weeks or until June 24th. Part of the reason we are switching to Digital Academy is that they have online resources that will help with standardization of digital learning should we need to once again turn to a total or blended platform.

I do have good news to share about the upcoming summer. Our teachers will be offering summer camp programs. These will be short term, fun, yet academic based experiences to provide learning options this summer. These programs will be developed during the month of June and will be available for a nominal fee during July/August. Our hope is that many of these programs will be held on campus depending on the guidelines for gathering at schools this summer. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

In closing, please pray for a peaceful, compassionate and respectful resolution to the current unrest. Our parish is offering a virtual prayer service tomorrow evening

Topic: Prayer for Peace in the Midst of Chaos

Time: Jun 3, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting with this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81641486739?pwd=R1dnMmNubWVWZlYxUFFEaGppa2J1Zz09

Meeting ID: 816 4148 6739

Password: 792942

May Saint Brigid continue to bless your families and our school,

Kathy O'Reilly

Monsignor Hendricks

P.S. Congratulations to Allie and Jon Wing on the birth of Emery Lousie this morning at 5:00 am! All are doing well!! Mr. Chris Mazon will be covering some of Allie's communication responsibilities while she is on maternity leave. If you have a summer submission for the Wolfhound Wednesday please email Chris at  [email protected] .

Where's the Wolfhound Photos

We had a great time celebrating the end of the year and seeing all of your faces during our Where's the Wolfhound event last Thursday! Below are some photos from the event, and click the album link below to view more. Thank you for all the signs and decorations many of our families brought to celebrate!

School Building Upgrades

The school has been undergoing some major improvements this week! We are currently getting a new HVAC system installed in the gym that will heat and cool the back end of the school. The entire school roof is also being replaced this week. In addition, all of the old 5-8th grade school lockers have been torn out, and new ones are being installed. We are excited for these improvements as we look forward to the new school year!

Returning Items to School

If you are a returning K - 7 student and you missed Monday's drop off you may bring items to school Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week from 9:00 - 3:00. You can place the items in a bag and leave it on the table that is inside the first door at the main entrance.

All students returning to St. Brigid for the 2020 - 21 school year will keep their Chromebooks for summer use. Return all other items that are school-owned (Textbooks, Library books, Literacy books). Place books for each student in a separate bag, and label the bag with Student name and Homeroom

Preschool Summer Activities

This summer we would like to provide you some summer learning opportunities! These will be posted on the school website under summer learning. You can access these free resources here.

In addition to these resources, have some fun this summer with our preschool-to-go bags! These awesome resources include everything you need to complete fun, educational, and engaging learning opportunities from your home. Each bag follows a theme and includes all materials and directions to complete 14 activities across the developmental domains for children ages 3-5. Activities can be done at your own pace and are great fillers for those summer days when you need some extra entertainment.

Each preschool-to-go bag costs a small fee of $10.00 This fee helps us provide all of the materials included in your kit! Purchase one kit, or purchase all 5! All kits must be purchased by Sunday, June 7 in order for us to plan accordingly.

Use this link to purchase and for more details.

8th Grade "Go Light Your World" Candle Song

On Friday, May 22, 2020 we celebrated our 8th grade Class of 2020 graduation with a drive-in ceremony in our parking lot. As part of this ceremony, our students recorded the annual tradition song “Go Light Your World.” Click the link below to view the beautiful recording as our children came together virtually to participate in this special tradition of Saint Brigid of Kildare School.

Go Light Your World. Words and Music by Chris Rice. Copyright 1993 by Universal Music – MGB Songs. Music podcast by permission under OneLicense.net #A-727122. All rights reserved.

Class of 2020 Graduation Awards and Scholarships Announced

Several eighth grade students were recently honored with graduation awards and scholarships as they finished their careers at Saint Brigid of Kildare School. Congratulations to all!

Serra Award for Outstanding Service as an Altar Server -  Brady Bennison, Andrew Freiburger, Ryan Huttsell, and Lexi White

Wolfhound Award - The students earning this award should be of good character. They have demonstrated a great attitude, and a tremendous love of our school. They have been consistently kind to others, and their demeanor and positive nature have made them a pleasure to have in class: Matt Drab, Maddy Lynch, Leo Walling, and Lydia Wieringa

Mother Teresa Award - This award represents the characteristics of Mother Teresa, such as courage, a Christian attitude, individualism, a commitment to service, and looking for Christ in others: Audrey Eilerman, Sophia Heise, and Justin Smith 

Saint Pope John Paul II Award - This award represents the characteristics of Pope John Paul II, including a true care for others, a love of learning, patience, acceptance, and a gentle spirit: Julia Belli, Dillon Brown, Kyle White, and Addie Yarbrough

Our Lady of Good Help - This award is named for our Blessed Mother under the title of her apparition in the US in 1859. The students earning this award should represent the characteristics of Mary as disciple, including a kind and gentle spirit, an unselfish nature, patience in the face of trials, and a true love for others: Will Baumgartner, Isabella Casado Klein, and Caroline Romano

Kildarian Award - The students earning this award have embodied the mission of our school. They have been kind, caring, compassionate, and hard working. They are dedicated to their faith, to their studies, and to the service of others: Sara Goodlive, Carly Henry, and Ryan Huttsell  

Bishop Griffin Service Award - This award honors students who completed over 100 hours of service during their middle school years: Andrew Freiburger, Pierre-Andre Geoffrion, Elizabeth Hohlefelder, Niki Maxwell, and Analia Sagnuolo

Bishop Watterson Academic Scholarships - Claire Davis, Pierre-Andre Geoffrion, Ryan Huttsell, and William Malerich

Saint Charles Academic Scholarships - Jacob Funkhouser, William Malerich, and Andrew Moore

The Prechtel Family/ Bishop Watterson Academic Scholarship - Avery McClain

The Bishop Brennan-Murico Family Scholarship - Caroline Romano

Social-Emotional Resources for Summer

From Dare to Parent, here's an article about this summer and your teen -- and how it can be the best summer yet!

Mental Health Minute from guidance counselor Stacie Williams:

The next FREE parenting workshops from Syntero are set for Thursday, June 4th at 10am and 7pm.

St. Brigid Alums Soar at Bishop Watterson

As the members of the Bishop Watterson High School Class of 2020 completed their high school careers last week, many students from our Saint Brigid of Kildare eighth grade Class of 2016 received significant honors. Twenty-five percent of the valedictorians from Bishop Watterson's graduating class are alums of Saint Brigid, as are 33% of the recipients of the highest award recognizing service to the community. One of our alums served as senior class president this year, another served as student council president, and two of the four BWHS students who were honored as National Merit Semifinalists or Commended Scholars also call Saint Brigid home. We are so proud of all that our alumni accomplished during their high school careers at Bishop Watterson High School.

Let's Stay Connected: Share Your Learning!

We love to see your photos of your children continuing their learning and creativity while social distancing.

Prayers Needed at Hope Hollow

Earlier this school year, our school community came together to support Hope Hollow, a faith-based, non-profit organization that works to provide support for patients undergoing cancer treatments and their families. Our collection was hugely successful, and ended up being very timely, as we were able to deliver all of our donations to Hope Hollow right before the COVID shutdown.

Shortly after our collection, our school community received a thank-you note from the mother of a very young cancer patient. Elijah and his family came all the way from Texas to secure treatment for Elijah, and they received gift cards, snacks, hand sanitizer, prayer cards, and other gifts from our collection. They felt our love and support immediately upon their arrival here, as they faced an unbelievably difficult and scary time in their lives.

In the coming weeks Elijah will begin his 10th round of chemotherapy…the most intense yet. He will then undergo a stem cell transplant on June 3rd. Please keep Elijah and his family in your prayers! Let our prayers be the very best gift we can give to Elijah from our school family.

Summer Work Links

Below are links to opportunities available for summer work from many Saint Brigid of Kildare teachers. The grades listed are for the student's current grade level.

These links are also listed on the e-learning webpage and will remain there throughout the summer.

Summer Tutoring

As we do at the end of each school year, we are sharing a summer tutoring list with you. In the world of COVID-19, we don't know whether or not 1:1 tutoring sessions will be allowed to happen in person. But, we thought we would share this in case things begin to open up and you would like to consider extra supports for your child.

Staff can be contacted via email or by calling the school office and leaving a message.

JA BizTown Summer Camp - Register by Today

JA BizTown will be offering TWO 2-day Virtual Entrepreneur Camps!

June 8-9, 9:00-12:00 - Be an Eco-Entrepreneur

June 17-18, 9:00-12:00 - Be a Restauranteur

Campers will run their very own business and create a product for their community at this at-home virtual camp! Registration for camp closes June 3.

For more information and to register, please click here.

Register for Bus Transportation 20-21 by June 14

The transportation departments from Dublin, Hilliard and Olentangy schools require all new and returning families to register your students for busing this fall. If you are a new family moving to the area, and don't know your new address yet, please contact them as soon as you have this information.

They would like these forms to be completed by June.

Click here for instructions and form links to register for bus transportation for all three districts.

If you have any questions, please contact Megan Wachalec at [email protected].

Refund Policy 20-21

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:

Support SPiCE: 20-21 Volunteers Needed

The SPiCE program at St. Brigid of Kildare thrives because of the time and talent of people like you -- without your support, these programs wouldn't be possible.

From volunteering to help with an event, chair a committee, or donate financially, any bit of help you can give to support our SPiCE program is deeply appreciated. Click the link below to learn about the many ways you can support SPiCE at St. Brigid of Kildare.

Open positions for the 20-21 school year include:

Use the link below to view all volunteer opportunities and sign up. Please contact Karri Brady if you have any questions at [email protected] or 614-596-1725.

Schoolbelles & Educational Apparel Uniform Ordering Info & Sales 20-21

Educational Apparel is having a 30% off Back to Business Sale May 10-31st.

Click here for details and offer codes.

Schoolbelles wants to make uniform shopping convenient for the families at St. Brigid Of Kildare and stress free for the administration! Below is a URL that will directly link your school’s website to the Schoolbelles "St. Brigid Of Kildare" shopping page. Purchases made under your school number s2649 helps you earn more towards your School Rebate.

http://www.schoolbelles.com/myschool/M37/s2649

Also, click here for a PDF copy of our school's Buying Guide.

NEW! Schoolbelles would like all customers to take this survey regarding summer ordering.