June 1, 2020 * Comet Newsletter
From Our Principal...
MONDAY, JUNE 1: - ATTENTION 5TH GRADE!! New Middle Schooler Orientation
This is for ALL new middle school students (rising 6th grade and new students). Parents, please plan for your student to participate. The schedule with zoom links was emailed to all of Mrs. Herrity's parents last week and it is also available HERE .

TUESDAY, JUNE 2: Virtual Field Day!
See the schedule below. Our teachers have put together a great day of fun activities, now we just need YOU to support your House and earn the final points of the year!!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3: Summer Send Off!
On Wednesday, June 3 , the last day of school, we will hold a Summer Send Off! in the Church parking lot to collect books and other supplies that need to be returned to school, and give you any supplies your student may have left in the classroom. All returning families will also receive one "registration" packet in a bright yellow envelope in the bag of the youngest child's belongings .   In consideration of our neighbors, we ask all families to drive east on Stuart Avenue, take a RIGHT onto Sheppard St., a RIGHT onto Hanover Ave., and enter the Church parking lot FROM Hanover. You will exit onto Belmont. Please follow THIS MAP to make our drop off orderly for everyone. ALSO, in order to avoid long lines and wait times, we have a schedule below that is alphabetical by last name .   Please contact pautry@saintbenedictschool.org if you will not be able to make it at your assigned time OR if you are picking up another family's materials in addition to your own.

All of our teachers look forward to seeing their students and giving them a GREAT Summer Send Off!!

10-10:30 : A-B
10:30-11: C-E
11-11:30: F-J
11:30-12: K-N
12-12:30: O-R
12:30-1: S-Z

Please note: Teachers will all wear masks for the Summer Send Off. Parents and students will remain in their cars and are not required to wear masks, however we ask that the person in your car who hands us the bag with your returned items does wear a mask. Thank you!

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3rd: End of School Year Mass
Please join us via Facebook Live for our Closing Mass of the School Year on June 3 at 5:30pm . Students are encouraged to wear their uniforms, even though we will participate in Mass from our homes. Parents - please snap a pic of your students and email them to Mrs. Ridgely at admissions@saintbenedictschool.org for our social media!!

Yearbook Update!
The 2019-2020 Yearbooks have been printed, but due to COVID-19, there has been a delay with delivery. We are going to wait to take orders until the yearbooks arrive. Thank you to Mrs. Houghton for all her work to put these beautiful memories together for all of us!

Lost & Found
We can't have parents going through our Lost and Found items right now due to Covid, so we will hold onto everything for the Fall. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Autry at pautry@saintbenedictschool.org.
Field Day is Tuesday, June 2nd!!
Everybody loves Field Day and we're not going to let Covid-19 get in our way! ALL STUDENTS - (that includes you too, 8th Grade) - are expected to participate and help earn points for your House! Don't forget - this is for the HOUSE CUP!!!
Don't let your House down!!


We have planned different activities for different grade levels. Please note the grade levels in parentheses. Students should join their class at the Zoom link at the designated time.

9:30AM
Mystery Bag (Grades JK-2) - Mrs. Young 
Guess the mystery item hidden in a bag!
Meeting ID: 889 6023 9469 Password: 7LHg0H 

Paper Plane Cornhole (Grades 3-5) - Ms. Howell
Land your paper airplane in the target!
Supplies Needed: paper for 3 airplanes, a laundry basket, box, or other container
Meeting ID: 731 5961 8974 Password: 4gY0JH 

Head’s Up (Middle School) - Mrs. Cisik
Let’s play some Head’s Up like you’ve been practicing in the Comet Cafe!
Supplies Needed: A smartphone with the free Head’s Up app if you want to guess, but you can participate by giving clues without it
Meeting ID: 728 5496 3103 Password: 8GDgLV 

10:00AM
Cookie Face (Grades JK-2)
Move a cookie from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands!
Supplies Needed: an oreo cookie works best, but any cookie will do
Meeting ID: 762 6386 0042 Password: 8jHw8G

How Well Do You Know Your Principal? (Grades 3-5) - Mr. Cruess  
Take a quiz to see how well you know Mr. Cruess!
Meeting ID: 748 6779 8593 Password: 8af4ax 

Beach Towel Challenge/Cup Stack (Middle School) - Mrs. Lehmann
Two fun challenges for students to master!
Supplies Needed: towel, 5 thin plastic cups, 5 index cards
Meeting ID: 771 5469 0805 Password: 1E12XC 

10:30am
Rocket Launch (Grades JK-2) - Mrs. Menzies  
Make your own paper rocket to launch!
Supplies Needed: envelope, straw, tape, crayons or markers
Meeting ID: 488 433 3981 Password: 676959 

Pictionary (Grades 3-5) - Mrs. Brunner
Who can guess the drawing first!
Meeting ID: 761 1165 6299 Password: 4fzBaV 

Air Squats (Middle School) - Mr. Cronheim
Compete to see who can do the most air squats!
Meeting ID: 746 2775 0413 Password: 7Vnmpx 


11:00AM
Scavenger Hunt (Grades JK-2) - Ms. Carter  
Compete in a scavenger hunt to look for items around your house!
Meeting ID: 748 2928 5586 Password: 7GdKwC 

Talent Show (Grades 3-5) - Mrs. Herrity
Perform randomly selected talents!
Meeting ID: 582 939 2946 Password: 047423 

Spoon Challenge (Middle School) - Mr. Clary
Defy gravity by balancing a spoon on the end of your nose!
Supplies Needed: metal spoon
Meeting ID: 538 860 2995 Password: 242694


11:30AM
Bingo (Middle School) - Mrs. Barlow  
Everyone’s favorite game to see who can be first to five in a row!
Supplies Needed: paper, pen/pencil, ruler
Meeting ID: 725 0727 6595 Password: 4LSkTB


12:00pm
End of Year School Lunch with Mr. Cruess in the Comet Cafe!
Let's wrap up our time together on Zoom for the end of the year! Grab a sandwich and join Mr. Cruess for an end-of-year wrap up and a kick off to summer!
Meeting ID: 762 5713 7064 Password: 7rJpQN


For the afternoon, Coach T challenges you to complete the following activities. Be sure to send Coach T your scores as well as pictures or video clips! 

1. Race Against Time: a. Mark 20 yards or 60 steps b. See how fast you can run that distance c. Maximum 3 tries, record your best time Equipment: something to mark the Start and Stop line- chalk, belt, rope, cone, a timer/stopwatch 

2. Open Space Board Jump: a. Mark a starting point, jump as far as possible b. Record the distance from the start line to your landing heels c. Maximum 3 tries, pick your best distance d. Record your distance Equipment: ground marker (just like in the first event) and something to measure the distance jumped- ruler or tape measure 

3. Egg Carry Race: a. Mark a starting point, count 20 steps and mark the end point b. Place the egg on the spoon and walk back and forth as many times as you can in a minute c. Count your laps but if you drop the egg, that lap doesn’t count Equipment: ground marker, a spoon, a real or plastic egg, a timer 

4. Clothes Relay:  a. Mark a start line, 10 yards away or about 30 steps, place pile of clothes b. Start timer to see how long it takes to run to the clothes, put on a piece of clothing and run back to the starting line c. Run back and forth until the pile of clothes is done, stop the timer d. Record your time Equipment: ground marker, jacket, pants, socks (put on one sock at a time :)) and shoes 

5. Balance On One Foot: a. Pick a foot to balance on b. Close your eyes and start the timer c. Balance as long as you can without putting your other foot down or opening your eyes d. Maximum of 3 tries, record your best time Equipment: timer 
Share Your Support...Thank you families!
With school being closed, we can no longer give tours or host Open Houses, which means we have to take our admissions online. Your recommendations for our school means so much! So, if you send a short video (1 minute or less) or write down what you value about our school or why your family attends St. Benedict School, and email it to admissions@saintbenedictschool.org we will gladly thank you for your help with 1 PTO Volunteer Hour for the 20-21 school year! That's an easy hour and does SO MUCH GOOD for your school in this time! THANK YOU!!
Summer Contacts
Principal - Sean Cruess (scruess@saintbenedictschool.org)
Administrative - Pam Autry (pautry@saintbenedictschool.org)
Financial/Technical - Elizabeth Hanson (ehanson@saintbenedictschool.org)
Admissions/Development/Communications - Gretchen Ridgely (gridgely@saintbenedictschool.org)

Nurses Corner...Get Ready for Fall!
It is a state requirement that   all students entering Kindergarten and new to the school in grades 1-8 have a physical, including up-to-date immunizations, completed by their local doctor within the year. There is a state-mandated form ( found on the school website here ) that needs to be completed by the doctor at that visit. 
 
We will need an immunization record from a health provider for all incoming JK students . All students entering 6th grade  are required to receive a Tdap booster and must provide the clinic with a copy of this immunization update.  

And a reminder to all students with emergent/as needed medications kept in the clinic, such as Epipens and inhalers, the required medication administration forms, found on the school website , need to be completed by a physician within the year.

All of the above forms are required for the first day of school ( but turning them in sooner is greatly appreciated) .  Stay healthy!
From Our Finance Office
Time to get ready for next year!
A new school year always brings lots of paperwork. To help make it easier we have prefilled many of the forms with the information we already have.  On Wednesday June 3, as you return things and pick up things, we will also have a packet of forms for you to update and return by July 1 . (Registration - 1 per student, Health Clinic - 1 per student, Testing form - 1 per student, Family Information - 1 per household, Parent Involvement Program - 1 per family) We are holding off on the Handbook and Transportation Forms until we have completed more of the planning for the fall - please don't turn those in now. New students will also need to submit a Demographic Form (available on our website HERE ).

Also as part of getting ready for the new year, over the next few weeks the business office will be setting up new billing agreements. In order to receive the Catholic Discount you should submit a Catholic Verification form at least 30 days before your first payment is due. This year we have reached out to the parishes on your behalf to get these forms completed. The Business Office will be emailing you over the next week if you indicated that you were seeking the Catholic discount and we have not received your form.

Also, in order for the business office to set up your new FACTS agreement, you MUST have valid banking information. Now is a great time for you to log into FACTS and make sure all of your information is up to date.

As a reminder you will have two FACTS accounts, one for tuition and one for incidentals.

Going forward Incidental charges will be entered in FACTS and be due on 5th of the month. Unlike the tuition account, the incidental account can be changed so payments are not automatic.

Incidental invoice emails will contain a payment button that allows you to make payment without logging into to your FACTS account. Consequently, the email can be forwarded to allow someone else to make payment if you desire.

For 2020-2021, families who are paying tuition in one lump payment will pay $10 to have both a tuition account and an incidental account. Families who are paying tuition monthly will pay $45 to have both a tuition account and an incidental account. Families who need a second incidental account will pay $10 the additional account.

If you make a partial payment, it is applied proportionally to charges that are due. If you need the payment applied another way, you should make the payment by phone with a FACTS representative or send in payment to the school office.

FACTS Payments: Please be advised that FACTS is experiencing a heavier than normal call volume. If you need to adjust a payment date you have the following options:
1. Log into FACTS and
-- for payments on the tuition plan, move the payment up to 10 days yourself
-- for payments on the incidental plan, you can turn off automatic payments
2. Email  ehanson@saintbenedictschool.org . You will normally get a response within 3 hours, but you should allow 24 hours. Be as specific as you can with your request.
(Please be advised, that if you call FACTS, the first thing they will ask is if you have reached out to the school.)

Enrollment Update: Given the uncertainty that everyone is experiencing we are extending the contract cancellation deadline for 2020-21 from April 20, 2020 to June 3, 2020.
As a reminder, tuition assistance offers are made based on the retrospective financial information provided in FACTS.  Families with a recent change in circumstances can work with Elizabeth Hanson at ehanson@saintbenedictschool.org for temporary assistance, which will be reviewed quarterly. We love our Comet Family and are here for you!
From Your PTO
As we close up the year, YOUR SBCS PTO wants to send a sincere thank you to all of our wonderful families for their support in making activities at SBCS one of a kind. We can’t wait to get back at it next year with our many fun events already being planned. 

Stay tuned for some fun summer opportunities to get together as a community as our environment allows!

Have a great summer!
Tell a Friend!!