St. Patrick Catholic School

Thursday August 12, 2021

IMPORTANT UPCOMING EVENTS

Aug. 12th: New Family Picnic with Host Families

Aug. 14: School Beautification Day 9:30-11AM

Aug 16th: Open House/Ice Cream Social 1-3:00PM

Aug. 18th: First Day of School

Sept. 2nd: Individual School Portraits

Sept. 6th: No School - Labor Day

NEWS FROM MRS. TOBERGTE

Dear St. Patrick Families,

We are so excited to see you soon!  This weekend we will have our School Beautification Day on Saturday, August 14th from 9:30AM-11AM (please note the time change).  Then, on Monday, August 16th we will host Open House where you will be able to visit our classrooms and meet our teachers.  This is a drop-in event--last names A-L will attend any time from 1:00-2:00PM, and last names M-Z will attend any time between 2:00PM and 3:00PM.  August 18th we welcome back all of our 1st through 5th graders, and staggered entry begins for our kindergarten students (see the schedule below).  Two of our teachers will not be available on Monday--Mr. Dries and Ms. Hernandez--however, their classrooms will be open for you to visit.  

If you have been around our school, you may have noticed that the city is completing a sewer and storm water project.  As a result, until the construction project ends, we will be dismissing students in the afternoon in 2 carpool groups.  Students with last name A-L will dismiss beginning at 2:20PM, and last names M-Z will begin dismissing at 2:40PM.  All students must be picked up in carpool by 3:00PM.  When construction ends we will return to our normal dismissal time of 2:40PM for all students, and we expect this will be near the end of September.  Walkers will also be dismissed differently while construction is ongoing, and families will not be permitted to play on the playground after school due to the use of our back lot for carpool.  We appreciate your cooperation, patience, and understanding as the dust swirls around.  More information regarding the route we will use for morning and afternoon carpool, dismissal, and walker procedures can be found below. We will send a map via email tomorrow.

I have received a few questions regarding our policy when students miss school due to COVID quarantine.  When students are out sick for any reason please contact the child's teacher.  The teacher will work with you to ensure that your child does not fall behind.  As mentioned in our Faithfully Forward document, we do not have an option for remote learning at this time.  Information regarding our absence and missed work policy may be found in our School Handbook.

Lastly, please also take a moment to familiarize yourself with our school dress code prior to the start of school.  2 topics seem to come up more often than not--hair and watches.  Hair for boys must be above the shirt collar and bangs for boys and girls may not be in the eyes.  Additionally, student watches may not have technological capabilities other than to tell time or track steps.  If a watch has the ability to communicate with another device, has apps on it, or is capable of accessing the internet/wifi it violates our policy, even if those features are "disabled".  Lastly, please carefully read the sections regarding footwear and accessories.

We are excited for a terrific school year!  We hope to see you this weekend at Beautification Day and on Monday for Open House!

God's Blessings,

Amy Tobergte

NEWS FROM THE SCHOOL

OPEN HOUSE

Our school Open House will be held on Mon. Aug. 16th. Parents and students are invited to meet their teachers for the upcoming year. Mr. Dries (2nd Grade) and Ms. Hernandez (5th Grade) will not be available at Open House; however, their classrooms will be open.  The PTO will have the Shamrock Shop & Spirit Store open for purchasing items as well as sign ups for volunteers and clubs during this time. The PTO will also be having an ice cream social on the playground behind the school during this time.

Last names A-L will attend from 1-2pm

Last names M-Z will attend from 2-3pm

IMPORTANT!!

REVISED CARPOOL DIRECTIONS

DURING CONSTRUCTION

There will be 2 dismissal times for afternoon carpool:

Last Names A-L dismiss from 2:20-2:40pm

Last Names M-Z dismiss from 2:40-3:00pm

Please comply with these times in order to lessen our impact on surrounding roads.

Due to the current closure of Buchanan Street and construction in the surrounding area we will need to enact a revised carpool plan until further notice. All cars must enter carpool from Kenilworth onto Pierce Street in both the morning and afternoon. All cars must go straight at the stop sign. Do not turn right onto Waverly to enter the parking lot. We will be using this as an exit point. Cars will continue down Pierce Street and into the playground black top behind the school. Cars will loop around the blacktop and form 2 lines. Cars will alternate entering the line near the dumpster, and will follow along towards the gym-side of the school.  Students will enter cars here as usual.  Then cars will loop around the parking lot and exit to the right onto Waverly.  Cars will then turn left onto Buchanan to Kenilworth. We will have staff on hand and cones to help differentiate the lines and to assist with the flow of traffic.  Please be patient and drive slowly and cautiously to keep our staff and students safe. Note: Parking for the school is available in the school parking lot only.  Parking in the rectory parking lot is never permitted.

ADDITIONAL CARPOOL NOTE

Every family will receive 2 yellow carpool placards at Open House. Additional placards can be picked up in the main office for babysitters, grandparents, etc. as needed. In order for carpool to run smoothly, all cars must have their child(ren)'s name(s) written in large black letters and have the placard hanging from their rearview mirror. The easiest way to do this is to use a pants hanger and click the placard to it. If a car comes into carpool without their placard, they will be asked to park in the lot and come in to the school to pick up their child. This applies to new families and those that have been at St. Patrick for years. An ID will be required.

NEW WALKER DISMISSAL PROCEDURES

If your child will be a walker this year at any point, be sure to select "walker" as one of the options on our Online Form (below).  This form states that your family must live within walking distance of the school (no more than 1 mile away) and as parents you understand that your child will be escorted out of the building and expected to walk home without supervision. For safety reasons we will not allow students to be walkers if you do not live within a reasonable walking distance of the school, no more than one mile.  

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR WALKERS

Due to our revised carpool routes and times, we will be modifying walker dismissal as well. Walkers will still continue to enter the gym in the morning as in years past. In the afternoon, walkers will be dismissed at 2:20pm until further notice. Walkers will be released out the door nearest the first grade classrooms which exits near the Family Life Center. A staff member will walk students to the Family Life Center area at which point they will continue to walk home.  If a parent will meet the child to walk with them, they should plan to meet their child on the sidewalk between the church rectory and the Family Life Center. Families will not be permitted to play on the playground after school due to carpool traffic.  Parking is not permitted in the rectory parking lot under any circumstance.

We will have the following for sale in the cafeteria beginning the

first day of school. Students must bring money with them to purchase.

Milk $.50

Water/Juice $1.50

Fruit $1.50

Snacks $1.50

Ice Cream $1.50

PARENT HANDBOOK & DRESS CODE

Please take a moment to read our St. Patrick School Handbook and dress code

to familiarize yourself with our rules and regulations.  You will sign an electronic form indicating you have read the Handbook in our Online Form (above).

A few reminders on our dress code:

- Only uniform fleeces and sweaters may be worn indoors,

      no other jackets, hoodies, etc will be permitted except for during outside play.

- Shirts must be neatly tucked in

- Girls' hair must be neatly styled, with no dyes, and

accessories must be simple and in keeping with our uniform

- Boys' hair may not touch the collar of their shirt or cover their ears,

and bangs must be above the eyes - alternative hair styles are not permitted

- Socks for girls and boys must match and may be white, black, green or navy

- Electronic watches may not have texting/internet or calling capabilities

even if those are disabled during the school day.

- No sandals, Tevas, boots, open back shoes or slides of any kind may be worn

- Rain or snow boots may be worn during inclement weather when appropriate

PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITES

We do anticipate having parent volunteer opportunities throughout the year. Parent volunteers will be coordinated through the classroom room parent or PTO representative. At this time, we are not permitting parents to attend lunch with their children due to social distancing requirements and a lack of adequate space in the cafeteria. We hope to be able to welcome parents back for lunch soon. Thank you for understanding. 

SUMMER READING

Below you will find the Summer Reading Assignments for all grades and the Summer Math Assignments for rising 4th & 5th grade students. These are also located on our school website under the quick links tab.

NEWS FROM THE PTO

PTO JULY NEWSLETTER & PTO CALENDAR

Please see the July newsletter from our PTO as well as the PTO schedule of

events for the upcoming school year.

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

RESOURCES

NEWS SO NICE WE SAY IT TWICE