Dear St. Rita Parents and Guardians,
I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday with your family. After a day of feasting, many of us spent the weekend getting ready for Christmas by on-line shopping, decorating, and more on-line shopping. Somewhere between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we may have overlooked that this past weekend we also celebrated the First Sunday of Advent.
The liturgical season of Advent is a time of "waiting" and preparing for the coming of Jesus. We often miss Advent's power because these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are full of secular Christmas events and preparations for Christmas. In previous years, the busyness of this season served to distract us from having an Advent season that truly prepares us for the celebration of Christmas, with all its meaning. With this year again being different than previous ones due to ongoing COVID concerns, let us take the extra time we have over the next four weeks to truly prepare our homes and our hearts for the coming of the Christ child, the Savior of our world.
Thank you for your generosity with our Advent Giving Tree Project. Our families contributed $4100 to help brighten the Christmas of those in our school and parish community who are in need.
This year our SRS Family Christmas tree is back and I would like to encourage each family to send in an ornament to help decorate it. These ornaments, either store bought or handmade, will help decorate our tree. After Christmas they will be returned to you.
Currently less than 20% of our student population is fully vaccinated based on the documentation we have received. If/When your child is fully vaccinated, please submit the necessary paperwork to Mrs. Palma, our nurse. Thank you for your assistance in helping to keep our students and teachers safe from COVID.
Our lost and found bin is overflowing with items - a pair of shoes, a winter hat, numerous green fleeces, navy sweat shirts, and a winter coat to name of few items. If your child has misplaced anything please have him/her check the bin which is located at the top of the gym stairs. Also, to help facilitate returning a lost item to your child, please label your child’s clothing items and other belongings.
The first trimester has ended and the grade portal is currently closed. Report cards will be sent home with your child on Tuesday, December 7. Please notice the number of absences or tardies recorded on your child’s report card. School starts at 8:15 for students in kindergarten through grade 8 and 8:30 for PreK students. Please be sure your child arrives to school on time.
If your child is absent please notify the office, as well as the teacher, for the reason for the absence. Truancy is defined as a student who has 4 unexcused absences from the school in one month or 10 unexcused absences in one school year. For absences one through nine, the student’s absence from school are considered excused when a student’s parent/guardian approves such absence and notifies the main office. For the tenth absence and all thereafter, a student’s absences from school are considered excused for the following reasons only:
- Student illness as verified by a medical professional;
- Student observance of a religious holiday;
- Death in the student’s family or other emergency beyond the control of the student’s family;
- Mandated court appearance (documentation required);
- Lack of transportation that is normally provided by the district;
- Extraordinary educational opportunities pre-approved by the administration.
With the winter season quickly approaching, our thoughts turn to snow days. We have 5 inclement weather days built into our school calendar so we will be taking snow days this winter. Snow days are a childhood tradition and are meant to be a day children can sleep in and then go outside to play in the snow. Should we have a more severe winter and exceed our 5 snow days, all students and teachers will switch to remote learning when school is closed due to snow.
Thank you for entrusting your child/ren to our care. May this season of Advent remind you of the Hope, Joy, Love and Peace found in Christ. Be well and stay safe.
God Bless,
Mrs. Tiezzi
