General Information and Reminders!
March 2021
We have been very blessed over the past two months with very little in the way of illness at the Lower School. We are strictly enforcing hand washing, as well as sending children home who exhibit any symptoms. PLEASE do not send your child if he or she is coughing, has a very runny nose , has vomited in the last 24 hours or has pink eyes. Children can catch up on missed school work, but everyone suffers and misses more days when a sick child spreads an infection.
We have been very blessed over the past two months with very little in the way of illness at the Lower School. We are strictly enforcing hand washing, as well as sending children home who exhibit any symptoms. PLEASE do not send your child if he or she is coughing, has a very runny nose , has vomited in the last 24 hours or has pink eyes. Children can catch up on missed school work, but everyone suffers and misses more days when a sick child spreads an infection.
Reading At HomeEvery year we emphasize the necessity of reading aloud to your child. Not only does it build a reading culture within your family, but it helps develop many skills necessary for the child to become an independent, life-long reader and lover of books. Parents are often at a loss though as to what they ought to read and many of the books promoted today for young readers are banal, poorly written, loud, badly illustrated and sometimes immoral.
The following books are highly recommended to help with the selection of good books: Honey For A Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt The Read Aloud Revival by Sarah MacKenzie Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson The Classical Reader by Leslie Rayner and Christopher Perrin Although all are good, I particularly recommend the first two because the first part of each book lays out the why and how of reading to children. Homework is very limited in the lower school. In part because its effectiveness is highly debatable and also to give the child an opportunity to read and be read to. |
Special Days(We hope to offer this during Second Semester this year)
Every first Wednesday of the month is Pizza Lunch Day for those who would like to order pizza. One slice is $1.50 (pepperoni or cheese) and the maximum order is 2 slices. Please try to have the exact amount as it is difficult to have enough change on hand for the increased number of students. 
Since we are not allowed to use the drinking fountain at this time, please send your child to school with a large enough water bottle to accommodate his or her need.
Parents are free to send treats to school to celebrate a child's birthday, but, until further notice, any food item must be individually wrapped as per covid-19 precautions.
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Lent
Fr. Thaddeus came on Ash Wednesday to speak to the children about Lent and to bless them with ashes. They were well-prepared by their teachers and could answer Father's questions about the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We will continue to encourage the children in their Lenten sacrifices and devotions at home and in school. We plan to do a simplified version of the Stations of the Cross every Friday with all the students. Upcoming Dates March 17th, the feast of St. Patrick, is Classics Day at the upper school. Your child has been assigned to a team (Rome, Athens, Sparta, etc.) of mixed grades and will participate with their teams in the academic, artistic and athletic competitions based upon the ancient world. Each team also has an assigned color to help the children identify their team mates. Costumes will be worn in the morning for the plays and recitations and for the luncheon, then the children will don a t-shirt in their team color and shorts (P.E. or dark color is best) afterwards for the procession to the athletic field. The children are very excited to be a part of this grand event! We have costumes for the first and second grade (Greek) and we are in the process of having additional ones made for the second/third grade (Roman). Field Trips Parents have inquired about field trips for the coming year. Due to coronavirus all field trips were put on hold until second semester. We hope to be able to schedule some after the start of the new year. Please think about volunteering to be a field trip coordinator for your child's class. |
Reminders*****Very Important**** Do NOT send your child to school with medicines/inhalers to be administered by the child. Contact the teacher and give her the medication, along with specific dosage instructions. Any medications and inhalers need to be in the teacher's possession for obvious safety reasons- NO exceptions! Children love to share and sometimes do not understand why they cannot share these as well as their toys. LOST AND FOUND We have a pile of dark blue, unclaimed sweaters with no names written on the labels. If owners do not claim them by the end of the month, they will be donated to the local Goodwill. Uniform One of our school mottos, "External order produces internal order" applies not only to the intellectual and spiritual habits we are trying to form, but also to their very physical appearance. It might not seem like much, but a child who pays attention to cleanliness and neatness is learning to live in a community and take proper pride in the esprit de corps of the group. It also shows respect for those with whom one lives and works. I tell the children that they are not just a single person but part of a community. They represent their family, their school, their parish and every one they are associated with. Please try to send them to school with clean uniforms, hair groomed, clean hands and faces and no holes or rips in their clothes. It can be difficult to accomplish, but so worth doing. Things tend to slide a bit as the school year progresses, so please try to stay on top of this. |
REGULAR SCHOOL SCHEDULE
8:30-8:45 a.m. Morning Recess
8:50 a.m. First Bell
9:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. Morning Session (Language Arts and Theology)
10:10 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Second Session (Math)
11:45 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Lunch/Playtime
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Third Session ( Science/History/Geography/Art/Music)
2:00 p.m.- 2:10 p.m Clean Up and Dismissal
