“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
-Saint Francis de Sales.
Greetings from Mr. G
September 11, 2020
Let us take time to pray for those who lost their lives on 9/11/2001, for those who lost their loved ones, for those who assisted in the tragedy and aftermath and for our country.
May God grant healing and bring peace to hearts and homes throughout the world. Let us hold on to HOPE -- our students are living examples of this; they light our days and guide us to brighter futures.
Dear St. Rose School Families,
Week two is in the books! Kudos to our faculty, parents and students for making this a smooth and safe reentry. St. Rose School has risen to challenging times with great spirit, strength and faith. We are blessed.
It was wonderful to see so many of you at the HSA zoom meeting last night. Many topics were covered. Slides and video are included in the HSA section of the newsletter. The most important points I want to emphasize are:
Thanks to Monsignor Weiss, our Knights of Columbus, the HSA and School Advisory Board, our dedicated teachers and committed parents for all you did and do to help our school thrive.
Thanks to our anonymous donor for your most generous contribution of $20,000 for school costs and $30,000 for teacher recognition. Your incredible gift impacts us on so many levels and we are forever grateful.
Curriculum is strong and the daily schedules have been carefully designed to ensure maximum instruction with 3 built in mask breaks for all grade levels. Distance learning students are fully in the mix.
Safety measures are in place; we are adhering to state and diocesan guidelines, stay in close contact with superintendents and vow to keep you informed of all developments concerning Covid-19.
Finances. We recovered from a $335,00 deficit in a single year, ending the 2019-2020 school year with a balanced budget; re-opening expenses for the 2020-2021 school year were approximately $28K with additional expenses expected in this unique year. GAP FEE -- Tuition alone does not cover the cost of educating a child, the difference between actual cost and tuition is $1,958. If it is in your means to contribute some or all of this Gap fee it would be a significant help in balancing the budget. You can read about Fundraising plans in the newsletter.
One of the highlights of our week at St. Rose School is Friday mass. Although we are doing it virtually for now it brought great joy to come together this morning. We gain great strength and perspective by spending time together with the Lord.
The weekend is here. Take some time to relax, breath the fresh outdoor air and we will look forward to another week of discoveries in the safe halls and classrooms of St. Rose School.
Catholic schools rely on the time, talent and treasure of supporters. The St. Rose School Blooms Fund raises money for operational expenses, professional development, student enrichment programs, technology upgrades and all the things that make our school thrive. It is a critical component of the annual budget. We are charged with raising $150,000 to achieve a balanced budget in 2020-2021. Your help is needed! Here's what we have planned:
*$10,000 cash raffle - kick off late September with drawing before Christmas
*"Help Us Continue to Shine" letter campaign
*#GivingTuesday (Dec. 1st)
*Blooms Event (virtual) -- late winter/early spring
*Brick Sales (Spring start, evergreen)
Can you help? Email Laura, advancement@srles.com for details. The cash raffle needs a 6-8 person committee. It would be great to get class reps from all grades to encourage sales. Our hope is that EVERY school family can purchase one raffle ticket and help spread the word so we reach our 350 ticket goal.
Does your company offer Matching Gifts? Please check. This is an awesome way to raise money for our school. Other ideas welcome!
Together we can meet the $150,000 goal to ensure a bright future for our children and St. Rose School!
STUDENT LIFE UPDATE by MRS. B
Dear St. Rose School Families,
Another week is already completed for the school year! While each day brings us one day closer to putting the pandemic behind us; we also see each day as a blessing and opportunity to make memories of the new school year. We continue to be proud of our children and our hearts are full just watching them learning and sharing and making the most of each day in our school building!
In addition to the goal of health and safety; we continue to look to find creative ways to keep community spirit going, traditions with a twist, and bringing positive experiences to our children each day. Today was a wonderful example of this as we celebrated our Friday mass together; it was live streamed into each classroom; and it was a joy to be in the company of our teachers and classmates in each room. Click here to read complete update.
Thank you for joining us last night for the HSA Meeting/Back to School night! We hope that you were able to get clarity on your questions and concerns as we all navigate this new normal. We would like to extend our thanks to Mr. G and Mrs. B for providing updates and answering questions. Additionally, we thank Mrs. Monica Ortega, our new Athletic Director, for providing updates on athletics and afterschool activities.
We were excited to share our proposed plan and budget and the fun activities we are working on for this year, and welcome your feedback and additional suggestions as we firm up our plan to keep our community connected. We are working hard to create opportunities to have fun, make memories and fund raise while keeping our community safe, and will need help from every St. Rose family to be successful.
A copy of the HSA Slides from last night's meeting are located here:
All families are asked to enroll in the Home & School Association annually. Please complete the enrollment form (which can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qskZqHI0a5Y86mJ5aveDtod22nGqs1sN/view?usp=sharing) and return it with your dues payment. We also ask that you indicate the ways in which you can volunteer to help us this year - please consider signing up to support one of our events or programs, including the Golf Outing on 9/21 where we still need a few more people to help out. Please send the completed form and check into school with your child in an envelope marked "HSA."
There is still time to register for the Golf Outing on September 21st. We hope to recruit more golfers to fill our event and maximize fundraising, so please help us spread the word and make this event a success! Please visit SaintRoseGolfClassic.com for more info and to register. This is a fun event and a great way to meet new people!
As the year begins, please reach out to the HSA for support - you can reach us at hsa@srles.com. We appreciate your support!
Your HSA Board
BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT MEETINGS
September 14th, 6:30-7:00 p.m. -- 1st grade
September 14th, 7:00-7:30 p.m. -- 2nd grade
September 15th, 6:30-7:00 p.m. -- 3rd grade
September 15th, 7:00-7:30 p.m. -- 4th grade
September 15th, 7:30-8:00 p.m. -- 5th grade
Stay tuned for links from your teachers.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM NURSE BONNIE
St. Rose School is blessed to have a full time nurse on site five days a week. Nurse Bonnie has a lot of wisdom and important information to share. Please peruse and complete the attached forms. You can reach Nurse Bonnie via email, nurse@srles.com or phone, 203-426-5102 ext. 104.
We welcomed our littlest learners this week. The building has come alive with the sounds of their excited chatter. They bring light, laughter and love to our school community.
New 2-year-old Program
This year we are starting a Peek-A-Boo 2's Class for parents who would like to start acclimating their little ones to school in a safe, nurturing, Preschool environment. If you know anyone who might be interested in this program, please share the flyer and refer them to admissions@srles.com.
