Dear St. Giles Families,
This is a big week for us at St. Giles! On Wednesday we return to church for our first all-school mass since 2019. This also coincides with the Feast of St. Giles, so a dual celebration. K-8 students will celebrate mass with Fr. Carl on Wednesday in church at 8:30 am. Parents are welcome to join the mass but due to distancing requirements, please remain in the back of the church where there are open seats. Masks are required in church for all participants. Our weekly Mass schedule will begin next week. Grades K-2 will attend Mass on Tuesdays and grades 3-8 on Wednesdays. The Wednesday mass is not a parish mass and will begin at 8:25 if parents are interested in attending.
This Thursday, September 2nd is our annual Curriculum Night, an opportunity for parents to meet the teachers, see the classrooms and hear about curriculum and expectations. Traditionally, our Curriculum Night has included in-person presentations by myself and the teachers; however, due to ongoing COVID concerns and the feedback we received that parents appreciated prerecorded introductions and curriculum highlights by teachers, we are pivoting to a different approach this year. Our Curriculum Night will be an open house format between 6:30-8:00 p.m., where parents and guardians can visit classrooms for a meet and greet. Teachers look forward to meeting you, but all formal presentations about themselves, their expectations and the curriculum will be prerecorded in videos that will be shared on their teacher pages and remain there for the year. I will be recording a welcome as well, but will be available in the courtyard (along with Fr. Carl and PTO and School Board leadership) to say hello. Please watch for a special eNews next week with more details about this event. We look forward to having parents back in the building and to partnering with you this year.
Lastly, we appreciate your patience as we have returned to school with more normal operations than last year. We have developed a protocol for disposing of lunch waste at school rather than having your Lions bring it home with them. Details can be found here and have been implemented this week.
Have a wonderful week!
Meg
Reminders
Pets on Campus
While we love our furry friends, we cannot have any pets on campus at any time. If you are picking up or dropping off your Lions with your pet, please remain across the street from school.
Drop-off/Pick-Up
This week our 8th graders returned to their patrol posts helping our K-2 students get to their cars quickly at pick-up. Please adhere to these reminders when in the drop-off/pick-up lines:
- Please don't get out of your car - the 8th grade patrol students on Linden will help get kids into cars
- Please do not leave your car without a driver
- Please keep moving your car up as cars exit the carpool line
- Students always enter cars on the curb side
- Please do not use cellphones in carpool line
- Please always use the crosswalks; parents of older students, please remind them of the crosswalks and not to run across between cars on any street
- Students who ride their bikes need to be aware of cars and their surroundings at all times
- In the morning - please do remain in the carpool lane. Once your Lion has exited the vehicle, please move out so other cars can safely drop their children off at the curb.
Please review our traffic map for daily drop-off and pick-up.
PreK Kids Klub: Calling all 3rd - 8th Grade helpers!
Is your Lion good with younger kids? Do they like to help others? We are looking for a few special helpers, 2-3 each day, during our after school PreK Kids Klub program to play and engage with the many preschoolers who participate in the program. These student volunteers in grades 3-8 will be fully supervised by adults and will not need to pay for Kids Klub care. The time would be 3:15 pm - 4:15 pm. Interested? Click here to register your child helper or email Kathy Lofgren with questions.
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Mrs. Monica Lechowicz is our School Counselor, entering her 16th year with St. Giles. Each week Mrs. Lechowicz will provide insights on how to navigate the school year and share insights for social-emotional learning.
Welcome back to a new school year where we will be creating new routines and learning/remembering what works and what doesn’t. It has been a while since we have had to wake up early and rush out the door. We are back to preparing backpacks, making lunches, organizing uniforms the night before, and perusing PowerSchool, our school emails and teacher webpages to find out what our Lions are doing at St. Giles. Of course, trying to be as organized as possible helps! I look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Thursday so book your babysitter now. This article from Urbansitter.com has great ideas for navigating the evening and making the most of your experience as we begin a new school year. If you need help finding a sitter, Kelly Richard in our development office has a list of St. Giles alumni who are available to babysit.
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Fall Enrichment is Back!
Fall After School Enrichment is back at St. Giles in 2021! Students can choose from various activities such as Gym Games, Giving Artfully art workshop, Infinity Arts Academy theatre program, and Chess Ed! Sign up for one, or more than one! Registration opens up this Sunday, August 29th and will go until the day before the first day of camp. Below, please find the link to register.
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Photo Permission
We love to share our Lions in action as well as celebrate their accomplishments with the community. If you do NOT want your child's photograph shared in any of our materials, on our website, via St. Giles social media platforms, please complete the photo permission form here. This ONLY needs to be sent to the office if you choose NOT to share your child's photo.
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From your SGS School Board
Please join us on August 30!
Please join us at our first school board meeting of the 2021-2022 school year. Hear updates from Fr. Carl, Miss Bigane and our committee chairs, and learn more about our initiatives and how you can get involved. We hope to see you there!
SGS School Board Meeting
Monday, August 30, 2021 at 7:00 p.m.
McDonough Hall Conference Room
Interested in joining a committee or learning more? Please email Meghan Hurley Gibbs, school board chair, at schoolboard@stgilesschool.org.
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Save The Date: Great Grades Parties
You may have read in last week's eNews that Great Grades parties are back this year. We are thrilled to have a chance for the parents of each grade to get together for a fun evening to meet and mingle. The dates of each party are below, so start lining up sitters now. And, look for e-vites to come with more details soon!
Click here to see dates and locations for our 2021-2022 Great Grade parties.
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We are very excited to welcome our parent volunteers back into the buildings this year! Please review the updated compliance requirements that need to be completed for all volunteers.
The Archdiocese of Chicago has established the following Compliance requirements for all volunteers. You must complete everything prior to beginning volunteer service.
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Register with Virtus Online
- In Virtus - Complete the criminal background check online
- In Virtus - Complete the Code of Conduct/Archdiocese Standards of Behavior
- In Virtus - Complete the Declarations
- In Virtus - Complete the Protecting God's Children online class or Keeping the Promise Alive online renewal class
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Complete the Cants 689 (DCFS background check) - email to Michele Bibbey
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Complete the online Mandated Reporter class - email the completed certificate to Michele Bibbey
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Complete the Cants 22 (Mandated Reporter Acknowledgement) - email to Michele Bibbey
Please see attached checklist for detailed information and instructions. If you have further questions, please contact Michele Bibbey.
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HFS Chicago Scholars helps underserved Chicago high school students flourish in and out of the classroom by providing educational enrichment through our lifelong mentoring, college readiness and academic excellence programs, as well as providing financial assistance to attend top Chicago-area schools. For additional information, check out their website.
- Application Deadline - November 15th
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Application link - bit.ly/HFS2026
- Info Sessions
- Coffee Chats - 7:30am
- Biweekly - 8/26, 9/9, 9/23, & 10/7
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Registration link - bit.ly/HFSCoffeeChat
- Fall Open House - 6:00-7:30pm
- Thursday, October 21st
- Location TBD
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Registration link - bit.ly/HFSOpenHouse2021
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Our Personal Tour Night is Wednesday, September 15th. Prospective families will take a student-led tour of our campus, learn what makes a Man of Carmel, and attend presentations on our academics, Catholic mission, and how to make a Mount Carmel education affordable. Families will also have the opportunity to meet our faculty and staff, speak with club moderators and athletic coaches.
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DePaul Prep offers a strong and diverse curriculum along with talented and dedicated teachers. When you walk through the doors on your first day of school, you will feel confident that DePaul Prep is the perfect fit for you, and that the students, faculty, and staff value you as an individual, unique student in our school community.
Take a deeper look into our energy, community and spirit of DePaul College Prep through our viewbook!
Contact Mr. Nick Bizzieri, Admissions Counselor; Shadow Day Coordinator with any questions.
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