Dear Parents,

As we turn the calendar to October, we have much to celebrate including Halloween! First of all, thank you to everyone for following so closely our protocols for “Safe Together”. Due to the efforts of our families and our staff, our school community has overall been healthy.  Please keep up the good work, keep praying for good health and safety, and refer to documents on our “Safe Together” tab on our website if you need guidance regarding any aspect of COVID protocols.  

Next, we celebrate that we have made it to mid quarter and time for interim reports. Since Digital Academy is still in development regarding forms, we are not able to send formal interim reports at this time. However, our teachers are sending weekly digital Friday folders with regular information about assessed work. Parents are also invited to follow along with the posted Pacing Guide which may be accessed through Digital Academy. This regular communication will allow you to partner with us with encouraging your child to do quality work and to seek assistance as needed. During this “Interim Reporting Week,” teachers in K - 8 will send emails, request a conference call, or make a phone call to any parent of a student with an academic, social emotional, or behavioral concern. Also, in the spirit of partnership, parents are welcome to contact teachers at any time if you have a question or concern regarding your child’s academic, social, emotional or spiritual development.  

This coming Sunday, October 11th, we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with our Class of 2020. Please keep our Confirmation class in your prayers this week as they prepare to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit this coming Sunday.  

Plans are underway to celebrate our annual Harvest Parties at the end of the month. This year, due to social distancing guidelines we are going to offer a variety of experiences instead of a traditional classroom party. More details will be shared soon.  

As a special treat this year and to have some Fall Fun, we are allowing students to wear Halloween costumes to school on Thursday, October 29. As masks have become so important to the health and safety of ourselves and others, face masks must be worn and may be incorporated into the overall costume, if your children would like to do this.  Masks can be a way of expressing creativity, honoring a hero, making a statement about a favorite food, athletic team, book character, etc. For example, if your child is going to dress as a cow, the mask could be white with black spots, or if your child is going to be a princess, the mask could have sparkles or sequins as part of the design. 

In place of a costume, students may choose a fall color dress down day, or they may wear sweatshirts or t-shirts recognizing their favorite athletic team’s colors or logos. 

Please check your child’s costume or dress down day outfit, and make sure each outfit follows the guidelines. Thank you!  

One last important announcement. I would like to personally invite you to participate in the Crucial Conversation parent workshop: Surviving in Trying Times. The facilitator of this zoom workshop is knowledgeable, practical and entertaining. Sarah Buffie worked with our staff before school started and our staff commented that this was the best workshop ever! Please participate in our short survey so we can best plan to make this opportunity available to our school and parish community.  

Enjoy and celebrate the many blessings of autumn; stay healthy, and continue to keep our community safe.

Blessings,

Kathy O’Reilly

Parenting Workshop: Surviving in Trying Times