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Hello St. Catharine Families:

I hope your Thanksgiving break was a restful and relaxing one. Thanksgiving is the perfect time for gratitude, and a time for hopeful anticipation of Advent and a new beginning. As much as I enjoyed our time off with my family, it was great to see our students back this week,

Please ensure your children are dressed for the weather. We will continue to have outdoor recess as much as weather permits.

As we enter this Advent season we light the prophesy candle to signify the week of Hope. As we look forward to the Nativity of our Lord, we think about the hop that our holy family had and the hope we all have in anticipation of our savior being born.

Most of our 3rd through 8th graders will receive the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation this week. We have spoken about the various steps in receiving this sacrament of healing.

Enrollment for returning families begins tomorrow. Families will receive an email with a link to re-enroll their students through FACTS will be sent out this week. Registration will be completely online this year. If you have any questions, please contact me directly.

This Friday marks the halfway point of the second quarter of school. Interim Grade Reports will be published this Friday evening on FACTS. Just a few points to consider:

If you have any questions, please contact me directly.

Our Virtue for this week is Sincerity. Sincerity is one of the related virtues of Justice.

Sincerity is trustfulness in words and action; honesty and enthusiasm toward others.

In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells us, "Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no." To be sincere means that when we say it, we mean it. As the old adage goes... "Mean what you say and say what you mean." We can all work to be more sincere in everything we do.

May God Bless all of you and your families during this time.

Yours in Christ,

Mark Watts

Thanks to the USDA Free Lunch Program, school lunches have been free of charge, regardless of income status for families. It is unclear if this program will continue for the 2022-2023 school year.

Title I is a federal program authorized by ESSA to benefit all public and private schools with supplemental academic assistance in Reading and Math. Funding for each school is dependent on the financial eligibility of families independent of the academic eligibility of students.

Our funding is determined by the Free and Reduced Lunch applications we receive. Students that are academically eligible for Title I Math or Reading Tutoring directly benefit from the Free & Reduced Lunch Applications even if their family income doesn't qualify them.

Even students who are not academically eligible benefit from Free & Reduced Lunch applications due to staff-student ratios and smaller groups during WIN periods.

The amount of Title I tutoring hours and resources are a direct result of these applications.

Below we are including links to the Free and Reduced Lunch Application. Even though all students are receiving a free hot lunch this school year as part of the USDA National School Lunch program, we still need the lunch forms to be completed by eligible families. These funds are VERY IMPORTANT to our school.

In the future, we are hoping that income information through FACTS will be an acceptable form of income verification for Title I eligibility. In the meantime, please click on the links below.

If anyone in your household would have a Positive COVID-19 test result, or if any student has knowingly been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, you must notify Mr. Watts by calling or texting (614) 949-7713 as soon as possible, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

We are required to post positive cases of students and staff on our website weekly. Currently, we have 0 active cases and

2 cumulative cases with students and staff for the current school year.

We will be re-enrolling for 2022-23 starting next month. We will be using the FACTS SIS system. If you have never logged in you will need to set up an account for your Family Portal. Here is a helpful video. Password is PORTAL Please contact Johnean Goodwin at info@stcathschool.com if you have any issues logging into your parent portal.

I feel so blessed and grateful to be here at St. Catharine school! I have been a classroom aide and substitute teacher for 7 years, at my previous school (St. Mary Magdalene) I also taught technology to grades K-8 for 4 years. Last year due to COVID our Technology class was all virtual for most of the year, so I am grateful to be back in the classroom working with all of the wonderful students. Over the summer I was unsure as to if I would be able to be in a school working with students this year, but by the grace of God here I am and I could not be happier! I received my teaching degree from Ohio Dominican University (4-9 ELA and Science, and 7-12 Science), as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. On a personal note, my husband and I got married in October of 2020 and bought our first house, which was a fun adventure! When I’m not working, I enjoy reading a good book and spending time with family and friends.

I feel very blessed and grateful to be at St. Catharine School! I have taught K-8 technology classes for 20 years. Last year the Tech Lab at my previous school (St. Brigid of Kildare) was shut down due to covid, and it was decided not to reopen it. So last year I taught 3rd grade Science, Social Studies and Religion. I really missed having the Tech Lab and teaching all of my students the world of technology. I took a job at financial office during the summer, but the Holy Spirit recently directed me to the Catholic Diocese employment page. Low and behold, I saw the Technology Teacher position at St. Catharine was available and I quit my office job and applied here. It was truly a Godsend. I have my teaching degree from Ohio Dominican, and my Master’s degree in Classroom Instruction from Ashland University. On a personal note, 5 years ago I lost my husband to cancer. I have a wonderful family and friends who are my lifeline. My biggest hobby is doing competitive ballroom dancing for the past 4 years.

Saint Catharine School is excited to let you know that Ashley Daugherty and Maegan Flannery will be on site and available to meet with students. Ashley will be on site on Mondays and Maegan will be on site on Thursday this school year.

Ashley Daugherty MSW, LISW-S Ashley is approved by the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Supervising Licensed Independent Social Worker. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Walden University and her Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Dominican University. Ashley specializes in working with children, adolescents, families/caregivers, and adults in many areas. Ashley has worked in the school setting with adolescents that have behavioral and educational difficulties and has extensive experience in working with trauma as well as with abuse survivors.

Maegan Flannery

MA, LPCC

Maegan has been approved by the State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Arts degree in Counseling, and Christian Counseling Certification from Franciscan University of Steubenville. Maegan has practiced for five years working in local nursing homes and secured behavioral units. She has also been a volunteer and mentor for St. Catharine Church youth ministry. She is passionate about helping others through life’s difficulties by empowering and educating her clients while focusing on their God given strengths.

Our Role at St. Catharine School

Ashley and Maegan will provide counseling services for Saint Catharine School in the following ways: classroom guidance, group and individual counseling. Students can be referred in a variety of ways. Your child’s teacher, administrator, or school counselor can make referrals to Ashley and Maegan. You can also make a referral by calling, emailing, or by returning a counseling consent form. Be assured that ongoing group or individual counseling would not occur without your written consent.

Ashley and Maegan use a variety of techniques to help school aged children and will work collaboratively with parents and guardians to ensure that the student receives the best services possible. These services are provided at no cost for your child(ren). Group counseling sessions will typically last between 30 to 45 minutes and individual sessions will last about 30 minutes.

Goals of Counseling

The goal of counseling is to treat mental and emotional issues. Ashely and Maegan will collaborate with students to set objectives to help them meet their specific goals.

Benefits and Limitations

Counseling can be very beneficial to children. Through counseling, children can realize their strengths and focus their efforts in more positive directions. Together, your child and I can explore goals and develop plans for those goals to be met.

Counseling also has some limitations as success primarily depends upon the child working to create and attain meaningful goals. For this to happen, the child must be an active participant in the counseling relationship. If the child is unwilling to be active, counseling is likely to have minimal positive effects.

It is important to understand that counseling is not always an easy process. Children may try new ways of conducting themselves that initially feel uncomfortable, and change can produce anxiety for students. Every effort will be made to minimize these risks for students.

Counseling occurs during the school day. Ashley and Maegan will make every effort to pull the students at times when they are not academically impacted.

Confidentiality

Ashley and Maegan have an ethical obligation to keep confidential any details disclosed by students as part of counseling. Ashley and Maegan will not share detailed information with administrators, teachers, or other students without the explicit consent of the student and/or parent(s)/guardian(s). Because counseling takes place in a school setting, Ashley and Maegan will provide the following general information to the principal: (a) student name, (b) date of session, and (c) session focus.

In general, there are limitations to confidentiality. These limitations are listed on our consent forms. If you have any questions, please let Ashley or Maegan know.

Contact Us

-Ashley Daugherty: ashley@sopcc.org

         614-442-7650 Ext. 05

-Maegan Flannery: maegan@sopcc.org

  614-442-7650 Ext. 16

Mrs. Green will now be leading Catechesis of the Good Shepard for the Kindergarten and First Grade. For more information, please visit www.cgsusa.org

She also will be providing academic support to our middle school students, especially in Math

Contact Emily McFadden with questions or to purchase any of these items at emilymarieklein@gmail.com or 614-207-5449.

St Catharines ID: 168A39F61LL94

You can also save with Kroger Community Rewards. Use organization #:81633 to register

E-gift cards and Reloads can be done at any time through the website or app (RaiseRight).

Volunteers are an invaluable group of individuals who provide a sense of community for the many parish and school activities at St. Catharine. It is the expectation of the St. Catharine Advisory Board that each parish family fulfills their obligation to actively support and participate in the parish and school. In addition, it is expected that parents volunteer their time and talent in helping with church and school-sponsored activities and programs. Such involvement is not only necessary for financial stability, but parents can provide a valuable service to the school and to the children by their dedication and support. In order that tuition rates may be kept at a reasonable level, parents are asked to volunteer for a minimum of 50 hours. per family

St Catharine School presents

Join us for Future Cardinal Night as our Basketball Cardinals take on

Tuesday, December 7th, 2021!

We will meet in the Walter Student Commons at St. Charles at 6pm before the game for pizza and refreshments and a short welcome from the St. Charles faculty, staff, and our student ambassadors. After the welcome, we'll head over to the game which tips off at 7pm.

A great way to serve our community and receive all your family's necessary volunteer hours is to help with our Diocesan Youth Recreation program. We are currently looking for commissioners in the following sports:

Girls Lacrosse

Boys Football

Boys Baseball

Please contact Paul Keiffer at 614-668-0134 or pkeiffer@gmail.com if you are interested in finding out more about these positions.

Sunday 8:30a - 11:00a - 5:00p

6:00a - 9:00p daily except Saturday

Saturday 6:00a -4:00p