Dear Friends,

I am starting off this week's newsletter with an announcement that certainly should have been announced earlier. As you well know, Ms. Maggie  Chouanard was hired to teach second grade this year. Ms. Chouanard stepped into the second grade roll which was previously held by Mrs. Deb Maus. In the hustle and bustle of starting a new school year we have not yet announced that Mrs. Maus retired! We are so happy for Deb to be able to spend more time with her family and hope she has a happy retirement. Because of the way our retirement works and with the date Mrs. Maus was eligible for retirement we were unable for a while to make an announcement. So, if you were left wondering where Mrs. Maus went, there is the story. If you see her around, please congratulate her and thank her for her 30 years of service to Loyola, our students and families. Thank you Deb and we wish you nothing but the best and THANK YOU!

Next week we are beginning NWEA testing for our secondary level. This year we will be only doing two tests for our secondary students, a fall and spring test. We are not doing a secondary level winter NWEA test. The timing of the winter test is always right around the same time as semester one finals and ACT testing among other tests. It gets to be test overload at that time and with the importance of the other tests we feel it is in the best interest of our students to remove this test so they can focus on the other assessments. With that being said, it is still very important our students prepare for the fall and spring NWEA assessment. This includes being well rested, properly hydrated and fed. The NWEA assessment may not have the same value to a student as an ACT but it does provide our teachers, counseling staff and administration relevant data to best support their needs in the classroom. It is a measurement we also use as a school to ensure we best prepare our students for college and their careers, so please help stress the importance of this assessment, thank you! At the elementary level we will continue to assess three times a year as usual.

Our best wishes to St. Joseph the Worker this weekend and their fall festival. Please see information  here regarding this Sunday's event.  Thank you St. Joe's for your support of Loyola!

Lastly this week let's keep our friends and neighbors in our thoughts and prayers in surrounding communities who were impacted by the Thursday evening storms and those who will be impacted by the predicted flooding from heavy rains. If you hear of anyone in need of help, please find out how Loyola can assist.

Blessings,

Adam Bemmels,  PS-12 Principal