Health & Safety Updates E-backpack

Summer News and Updates

Dear Parents,

This week you should have received updated information from the Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools regarding health and safety guidelines for the 21-22 school year. The staff and I are in the process of customizing these guidelines for St. Edward School. Please know that we are continuing to keep the health and safety of our students, staff, and families our highest priority. We know that many of our families have members whose health is compromised. The guidelines from the Office of Catholic Schools take into consideration guidance from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and consultation from their team of medical advisors and the Archdiocesan COVID-19 Task Force. The guidelines strive to return to a more normal looking school year while ensuring a continued safe in-person learning environment. Please read over the updated guidelines from the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools. The staff and I will be applying these guidelines to St. Edward School and will continue to update you with any new or changing information.

If you have any questions, please reach out.

St. Edward, pray for us!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sara Lasica

Principal

slasica@stedwardschool.com

Physical Distancing

Arrangement of desks will allow for 3 feet of physical distancing whenever possible.
Group tables can and will be used to maximize best practices while maintaining physical distancing to the best extent possible.
3 feet of distancing will always be maintained during lunch and snack times.

Masks

Masks are not required for fully vaccinated students. The School will require a copy of the vaccination card. Fully vaccinated students (two weeks post final vaccination) are not required to quarantine. The School will be in touch with details on how we will collect copies of the vaccination card. All records will be kept confidential in the school office.
While the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools is working on mask usage for unvaccinated individuals, we anticipate that our students who are unvaccinated should be prepared to wear masks while inside school buildings.

Illnesses

Students and staff who do not feel well or who are experiencing any symptoms must stay home! We will once again suspend the perfect attendance award so there is not undue pressure to come to school while not feeling well. The office recorded far fewer incidents of communicable illnesses last year thanks to all of our efforts to keep everyone healthy. Please do your part by keeping your students home if they are ill.

Building Guidelines

We will maximize ventilation through open windows and air purifiers.
Students will be encouraged to use hand sanitizer when entering the buildings and when entering the lunch room or a classroom.
Desks and other high traffic areas will be wiped down at least once per school day. Each classroom and other areas will continue to cleaned daily.
Water fountains can only be used to refill water bottles. Each student is encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle to school daily.
Morning wellness checks are no longer required. Please monitor your child(ren)'s health each day before school.
In lieu of cohorts, every class will maintain an assigned seating chart so any quarantines will be limited to only the students in closest proximity to a COIVD-19 positive student. Guidelines concerning quarantines will follow prevailing local health department guidelines.
We will continue to use dedicated entrance/exit doors. In the main school building, first through third grades will use the front door, fourth through sixth grades will use Door C, and seventh and eighth grades will use Door B. The classrooms in the Dominican Learning Center will use classroom doors.
We will return to regular arrival and dismissal times. All students can begin entering the buildings at 7:50 AM. The tardy bell will ring at 8:05 AM. K-8th grade students will be dismissed at 3:00 PM. PreK students will be dismissed ten minutes prior to all other grades.
We will once again attend Mass as a school family on Tuesday mornings.
After school activities will also resume. Please check upcoming e-backpacks for more information.
Before and after care will continue to utilize an online sign-up to ensure that we do not exceed capacity. More information will be sent out closer to the beginning of school.

2021-22 Registration is open!

Registration is online this year. Click here to register!

New Family Referral Program

Refer a new family to St. Ed's for the 2021-22 school year and receive $500 off of your tuition after they register and attend next year! Tuition credits will be applied to accounts in March 2022. You can do this an unlimited amount of times!

In person tours are being scheduled during the summer; virtual tours are also available! Email office@stedwardschool.com for more information.

If your family has been financially impacted by the pandemic and is in need for financial aid for the 21-22 school year, please complete an application through FACTS as soon as possible. We will start awarding scholarships in June based on need as determined by FACTS and on the amount of scholarship funds we have available and the number of families that apply. Click here for more information.

2021-22 School Calendar

Upcoming Dates and Events

July 23: Neighborhood Movie Night, 7:00 PM

Check out our online school calendar for dates for the 21-22 school year!

School Supplies

Please visit the school website for supply lists for each grade. We also partner with School Toolbox for customizable school supply boxes shipped directly to your home. Click here to visit the School Toolbox website.

Uniforms

Students in Kindergarten-8th Grade wear uniforms daily. PE uniforms are worn twice a week; regular uniforms are worn three days a week.

Click here to access the uniform policy for 21-22. We work with three uniform vendors:

Regular uniforms: Schoolbelles and Land's End

PE uniforms: Land's End and Fantastic Lettering*

*Fantastic Lettering Order information: order by 7/29 for pick-up starting 8/12

SEPO (St. Ed Parent Organization) will host a uniform exchange toward the beginning of school. Families donate uniform items in good shape so other families can reuse them.

Required Medical Forms

Preschool/PreK--a completed medical form dated within one year of the start of school
Kindergarten--medical form, dental form, vision form
2nd Grade--dental form
6th Grade--medical form, dental form

Medical Form

Dental Form

Vision Form

Early Childhood News

Our Early Childhood department is once again hosting a summer virtual camp for all incoming early childhood and kindergarten students and families. The program is called Little Red Early Childhood Summer 2021 and can be found on Facebook. If you have any questions about the group or joining, please email Mrs. Holbach at sholbach@stedwardschool.com.

This year our part-time programs for both 3 and 4 year olds will be three days a week. Our full time program will continue to be a full five day program.

The part time programs for both 3 and 4 year olds will be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while the full time program will be Mondays-Fridays. With a part-time program schedule of Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, we will be able to offer a consistent program with little to no days off of school. Most of our days off of school land on Mondays and Fridays, which in the past meant that over the course of some weeks our part-time students attended school on a Wednesday and then not again until the following Wednesday due to a teacher inservice on a Friday and a holiday on a Monday or a long weekend trip that a family took. That schedule was not consistent enough for our littlest learners; we are excited about this new schedule and the possibilities for increased learning time for our classrooms.

What is TRIP?

TRIP (Tuition Reduction Incentive Program) helps families lower tuition payments at no cost to the family! Purchase physical or e-gift cards through the Raise Right app at face value. A percentage of the purchase price of the card is donated back to your family's tuition account by the various vendors. Raise Right sells gift cards and e-gift cards for gas, grocery, stores, restaurants, hotels, and many other businesses. We have families who earn hundreds of dollars in tuition each year!

You can purchase e-gift cards anytime on the app or purchase physical gift cards through the school office. TRIP orders are processed the second and fourth Thursdays each month.

Email office@stedwardschool.com with questions.

St. Edward School participates in Amazon Smile!

Indicate St. Edward School/Parish as your preferred charity when shopping on Amazon!

News from St. Edward Parish

SUMMER FAITH CAMP

Totus Tuus Summer Camp!

MORE INFORMATION