A Christ-centered community,
provides excellence in education
to meet the needs of the whole child.
April 8, 2020
Dear OLMC Parents,

What a string of beautiful days the Lord has so graciously provided for us!   The sunshine and warm temperatures have certainly been an immense blessing to us, especially since the children have been able to go outside and get fresh air and exercise.

I hope your e-Learning Days are going well.  The teachers and the administrative team have been listening to parent feedback and exploring ways that we could simplify and streamline lessons and procedures as much as we can.  This week, you may have noticed three changes that the teachers have established. These amendments to our daily e-Learning Day routines were implemented because of the feedback the staff had received.

  1. Attendance/K-6 Verification Links: There will only be one email per family that is sent out each day from the office.  Each daily email includes both the Attendance and K-6 Verification links. You will no longer receive one such email for each child in your household.
  2. Assignments Due at 10:30 am: We wanted to establish a consistent time across the school that assignments will be due.  You no longer have to juggle various times by which your children need to submit their work.  In addition, school work assigned for that day will not be due at the end of an e-Learning Day; rather, it will be due the day after by 10:30 am at the earliest.  The K-6 Verification forms are also due the next day at 10:30 am. As a parent, you just have to remember 10:30 am is the magic time!
  3. Weekly Overviews: Starting next week, all homeroom teachers will be sending out a weekly overview on Monday that will give parents and students a quick glance of the teachers’ plans for the week.  The actual details of the assignments will still be posted on each individual day, but this overview will give a general summary of the week’s workload for your children. The days when the students will be given assessments as well as their Zooming schedule will be included in this weekly overview.  

It is my hope that these new procedures will simplify your family’s daily experience with remote learning at OLMC.  In an effort to continue to provide meaningful E-Learning Days for your children, Mr. Fletcher and I will be hosting three Zoom parent meetings next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening from 6:30 -- 7:15 pm.  You will be receiving an email with a Zoom invitation included. There is limited space, and each meeting will operate on a first come, first serve basis. Mr. Fletcher and I have a presentation to deliver that will highlight our plan, expectations, and goals for our E-Learning lessons for the remainder of the year.  Please think of any questions or topics you would like for us to address before next week and submit them through this Google form: https://forms.gle/2suYTiNNFHcnx5nh9 .  More information regarding these parent meetings is located further down in the Messages.

Lastly, and most importantly, this week we find ourselves in the holiest week of the year.  Holy Week is sacred for all Christians, for it marks the time in which the drama of human salvation reaches its climax.  I know for myself that it is easy for me to lose track of which day of the week it is, and it seems like all of the days blend together and are no different than any other.  Let it not be so for Holy Week! The shortest liturgical season of the year, the Triduum (Three Days), begins on the evening of Holy Thursday and ends on Easter Sunday. The OLMC parish schedule for Triduum Masses is in the Messages as a resource for you.  I hope and pray that you and your family can take part in these liturgically rich services so you can be drawn more deeply into the Paschal Mystery.

May the light of the Risen Christ fill your hearts and minds with hope and joy this Easter!

In the joy of the resurrection,
Sister Maria Benedicta, O.P.
Additional Resources for Holy Week
Celebrate the Easter Triduum by taking a spiritual journey to the Holy Land. The company, Formed, is
offering the new film,  Triduum: A Spiritual Pilgrimage,  free to everyone for Holy Week. In light of the separation we face as communities, this special documentary allows Catholics all around the world to unite and make a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land and ultimately the heart of the Passion. This video is free of charge through Easter Sunday - no subscription needed.
April
9 Holy Thursday
10 Good Friday
12 Easter

E-Learning Day Schedule :
Tuesday, April 7
Wednesday, April 8
Thursday, April 9

Tuesday, April 14
Wednesday, April 15
Thursday, April 16

Tuesday, April 21
Wednesday, April 22
Thursday, April 23

Tuesday, April 28
Wednesday, April 29
Thursday, April 30

Virtue of the Month for April
Justice - Being fair and giving each his due.

Examples for us: St. Anthony of Padua, St. Katharine Drexel and
St. Thomas More
Parent Zoom Meetings
Topic: E-Learning Days

  • 3 Meeting Dates- approx. 100 participants allowed per meeting
  • April 14, 15 & 16
  • All three meetings will be approximately the same (no need to attend all three)

If it is helpful to parents, we will offer future meetings


Timeline:
6:20pm- Zoom Meeting will open
6:30pm- Meeting will begin
6:40pm- Zoom Meeting will be locked (no one will be able to enter the meeting after 6:40pm-Safety Feature)
7:15pm- Zoom Meeting will conclude

Format:
Opening Prayer
Short presentation about the how the school will operate during April/May
Address submitted Topics
Address submitted Questions
Concluding Prayer

The Zoom invitation will be emailed to parents at 6pm the day of each meeting.  
It's PTO Board Nomination Time!
The OLMC PTO will soon be electing officers for the 2020-2021 school year.  Please fill out the PTO Nomination Form by April 15th. Thank you so much for considering and taking the time to support OLMC!
 
There are THREE OPEN POSITIONS available to any parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled at OLMC:

• Vice President
• Assistant Treasurer
• Corresponding Secretary

This can be a self-nominating process or you can nominate another individual. He/She will be contacted and must agree to the nomination to be considered. Please prayerfully consider if this is for you or someone you know. Brief job descriptions are listed below. Feel free to contact any PTO Board Member with questions you may have.

Vice President: A three-year commitment. Will serve as the next President and culminates as Past President. The Vice President will primarily shadow the President (Jane Ann Gaskill) to prepare for the following year.

Assistant Treasurer: A two -year commitment. Will serve as the next Treasurer. Assistant treasurer will primarily shadow the Treasurer (Katie Rigg) to prepare for the following year.

Corresponding Secretary: A two-year commitment. First year, responsible to send out PTO correspondence (cards, thank you notes and letters) directed by the Board. This position also shadows the Recording secretary (Aimee Flemming) to take on that role the following year.

OLMC Volunteer Spotlight:
Our spotlight this week is on Christy Denault.   Click here to learn about Christy.

We are blessed to have so many caring volunteers who dedicate their time each day to help our school and community be the amazing faith-filled place it is! We would like to spend some time highlighting our volunteers as a small way to say THANK YOU to all that they do! We are asking for your help to nominate the volunteers who give their time and talents to our school and community. Here is the link to the nomination form:   https://forms.gle/T31h7EDwU7nfKXQ7A
SCRIP NEWS:
Don't let social isolation keep you from buying SCRIP.
Use www.shopwithscrip.com to buy SCRIP online. If you are new to Scrip and would like the OLMC enrollment code, please contact Stephanie Lesher at  stephrufe@yahoo.com .

Here are a few promotions going on now (all available as ScripNow):
Chipotle is 13% (regularly 10%)
Subway is 12% (regularly 6%)

Feeling cooped up? Check out the Scrip blog to find "8 Ways to Freshen Up Your Home for Spring."  Click here to view.

Stephanie Lesher is available to answer your Scrip questions via email or text (317-446-1977).

Please note: We are not processing orders for any new physical gift cards until school is back in session.
will continue with slight modifications. If you need food assistance, please call the Merciful HELP Center at 317.663.4039, ext. 6.

The food pantry needs and welcomes additional donations in order to continue providing assistance. If you are interested in helping during this difficult time,  click here.
Spring Sports Update:
Click here for the most recent Raider Weekly which includes important information about the plan spring sports.