OUR MISSION: St. Rita School inspires students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade eight to achieve academic excellence in a safe, nurturing and faith-filled Catholic environment. We prepare students to be morally responsible, innovative thinkers who, in today’s technology-guided global community, live and share the Love of Christ.

From the Desk of Mrs. Tiezzi Dear St. Rita Parents and Guardians, The 2020-2021 school year is set to begin in 12 days - are you ready?? Over the past week our teachers have been coming in and readying their rooms for their students. They are so excited to see their students even while wearing a mask. Our very dedicated teachers are preparing their rooms keeping in mind the various new protocols which will be put in place to keep all our students and staff safe and healthy. As of today, we have had approximately 20% of our students opting for the remote learning option at least through the first trimester. If you have not already done so, please let us know your decision by Thursday, August 20 so we can put together class rosters, invite our remote students and parents to meet their teachers, and pick up textbooks and technology devices. We have set aside Thursday, September 3 from 1:00-3:00 as the time for this to occur. You will be sent more details by your child’s teacher once a schedule has been developed for you and your remote learning student to pick up his/her books and devices. Currently in-person class sizes range from 10-17. Due to the large size of our classrooms we can safely distance up to 20 students in a classroom. Clear desk shields and face shields for teachers have been purchased to assist with keeping everyone safe. Students will be starting school later than in previous years, for a shortened day and with 1/3 of our students in attendance for each of the 3 soft opening days. We will continue to monitor the COVID data of Hamden, the surrounding towns, and our school population in order to ensure that we can safely open in the green phase beginning on September 1. Over the past few weeks I have spoken to or emailed many of our parents who are struggling with making the right decision for their child for the upcoming school year. I have so much empathy for each and every parent during this very difficult time, and ask that you make a decision which is in the best interest of your child and your family. Take into consideration your family dynamics, health issues of your child or family, how your child fared with remote learning this past spring, the type of student they are, where they are in their educational journey, and how much time you have to support them in their learning.  Please take into consideration the data and facts currently available to you and not the pressure put on you by others or the media. The anxiety and stress level of many of the parents I have spoken with is concerning to me as a mom with grown daughters. If I can offer you any advice, it would be to trust that God is guiding you in your decision - don’t second guess yourself!!  Your child will be fine with whatever decision you make, as long as you are. Please review our updated school calendar which was revised this week and is available in this newsletter. A link to our return to school plan is also available here. Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for entrusting your child/ren to our care. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out.  I am so looking forward to seeing you and your child/ren in a few weeks. Stay safe and be well. God Bless, Mrs. Tiezzi Principal

Hello from the HSA! We are so excited to be just a few weeks away from the start of the school year. Whether you're returning via distance learning or in person, we're looking forward to reconnecting with you all and helping each other through this unprecedented year. We wanted to send along a couple updates. First, we are sorry to pass along the news that Trisha Kozloski has stepped down from the HSA Board. Trisha has dedicated countless hours and boundless energy to the Board for several years now; we are so grateful for her work and leadership, and we are sad to see her go.  That said, we are pleased to announce that Megan Giaquinto has graciously stepped up to lead the Board going forward. Megan has been involved with the HSA for years and somehow knows everything there is to know about SRS and our past events. She has an infectious ability to generate ideas, boost enthusiasm, and make things happen, and we are all so excited to be working with her! Many of you are likely wondering about our annual Walk-a-Thon event, which is typically held in late September. We have decided that the event just isn't feasible in its previous form this year. We are planning instead to create a new Fall fundraiser that will be in keeping with the St. Rita School values and will be managed and run virtually. More details will be announced soon.  For the rest of the year, we hope to offer many of our traditional events, even if they need to be modified to meet current safety standards. We do plan to hold our auction online in late Fall/early Winter (perfect for Christmas shopping!), and we will have our annual Golf Tournament in the Spring. The rest of the year will be peppered with fun events and fundraisers, the details of which will be shared as they are available. We are committed to making this a fun, successful, and positive year for our SRS community, even if there are some details outside of our control. We hope you will join us in building a stronger than ever St. Rita School! Best, The HSA Board

Click HERE to download our opening week calendar.

Click HERE to download the REVISED 2020-2021 School Calendar

Click HERE to download our Re-opening Plan

St. Rita School 1601 Whitney Avenue Hamden, CT 06517 Phone: (203) 248.3114 Fax: (203) 248.1016 www.stritaschool.org ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌