St. Cecilia Catholic School Insider

Weekly Insider - September 11, 2020

Java With Jeff

Mark your calendars for the annual start of the school year "Java With Jeff" sessions with school Principal Jeff Matthews which begin on Monday, September 14th.

All sessions will be virtual on Zoom.

The Zoom links will be sent first thing in the morning at the start of the week of September 14th. The time for all sessions is 8:15AM to 9:15AM. The dates for the specific grade level events are below.

September 14th - PK3 - Kinder

September 15th - 8th Grade

September 16th - 1st & 2nd Grade

September 17th - 3rd - 5th Grades

September 18th - 6th & 7th Grades

Note from The Clinic: Absent Student Notification

Please notify the clinic by emailing our Nurse Meredith Coursey if your child is absent from school due to illness. Thank you!

Missing Library and Classroom Library Books

Thank you to those students who have returned classroom library books and school library books from last school year. If you find any additional classroom or school library books at home, please send them back to school with your students.

Lunch / Cafeteria / ECI

All families should have received emails from our Cafeteria food provider - ECI. If you did not receive the email, please check your spam or junk folders for the email from eci@ecimanagementgroup.com - if you did not get the email please contact ECI at the email address listed above.

Please note, ECI is putting into place a new system to order lunches this year, so if your child wants to order a lunch, you will need to setup this account.

Students can still of course bring lunches, however this year because the students are eating in their homerooms - microwaves will not be available. Lunches may not be dropped off at the front office at this time.

The Cafeteria page on our website has also been updated with the menus for September.

Please follow the steps and information below to setup an account to pre-order lunches.

ECI Management Group and St. Cecilia Catholic School are pleased to inform you that we are offering a pre-order online service.

Create your account at https://MyMealOrder.com

Add your profile (as Student) with the “Student ID” sent to you via email

Video Instructions

Dining Pay Funds from Last Year:

We have this pre-order system in place to prevent gatherings and promote social distancing. Once we get by these times, your funds will return to the Dining Pay system and your funds will be there for use. If you have any additional questions or comments regarding your account setup, feel free to respond back to this email or give us a call. Thank-you for choosing ECI for your dining needs.

ECI Management Group

eci@ecimanagementgroup.com

Customer Service: 713-722-7773

Main Office: 817-887-8460

2020-2021 Bridges Reminders

Dear Bridges Parents,

Procedures have changed slightly from our previous school year.

Here are a few reminders for Bridges:

· Please wait outside the Denise Street glass doors (near the cafeteria/playground) for your children.

· Mrs. Rodriguez will call for your children in their classrooms as you are waiting. You will no longer need to enter the building and retrieve your children from their classrooms.

· Your children will be given a snack at Bridges, but they are also welcome to bring a snack from home instead.

· Students may not be picked up from Bridges until after 3:45 pm.

If you have any questions, please email Bridges

HSA 2020-2021 President's Welcome Letter

We hope everyone is well, healthy, and happy to start this school year. My name is Yael R. Garcia, and I will be serving all of you as the school's Home and School Association (HSA) President. Assisting me on this year's HSA Executive Board are Brooke Drake as Vice President, Jeni Walcik as Secretary and Megan Pavelka as Treasurer.

Whether you are a returning family or new to our community, I would like to extend a warm WELCOME on behalf of the St. Cecilia's Home and School Association (HSA). As a parent with a child at St. Cecilia, you are automatically a member of the HSA. HSA provides a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the year that are available for parents to sign up for, such as becoming a Room Parent or certain school events. Volunteering is a great way to show your support and get to know the school community. It is most likely that many of our traditional events will look and feel different during this time; nevertheless, your time and involvement are essential. We want to show our kids that we love St. Cecilia for many reasons, but mostly for the community and families who make our school what it is today. Please join us!

To sign up to volunteer, please fill out this form
To sign up to be a Room Parent, please fill out this form

We hope to see you at our first virtual monthly HSA meeting on October 13th, at 8:00AM (the link will be sent out via the Insider closer to the date). We hold monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of every month where you can hear first-hand from our Principal and learn about any current or upcoming school events. Please feel free to reach out with any questions, we want to keep everyone involved and informed. If you have any ideas, questions, or concerns, please contact me directly. I am looking forward to a great year as we navigate this new normal together!

Yael R. Garcia

HSA President 2020-2021

Counselor's Office: COVID Talking Points

Speaking to your kids about the coronavirus can be difficult. We have compiled some talking points in case you need a resource as conversations and questions arise. Please reach out to either Rachel Nunez or Tori Hicks if you need any additional support!

FACTS Family Portal Demographic Updates

As a follow up to the email sent earlier this week, please review your family demographic information in FACTS Family Portal so that we can update our IRIS Emergency Alert notification system. Please complete this by the end of school on Monday, September 14th, 2020.

Link for reference to email sent this week
Link for FACTS Family Portal
Link for instructions

Auction Sign Up Parties and Grade Level Books

All of the grade level books that were purchased in May during our Virtual Auction have been printed and today were delivered to your students. They will be bringing them home this afternoon. For the families with remote learners, we will reach out to you to arrange a pickup for your auction books next week. Also, many members of our community bought tickets to some upcoming sign-up parties that were scheduled to be held during this semester. We have talked with all of the sign up party hosts and all of the parties are being postponed and will be re-scheduled for a later date. As we move forward in the school year, we will communicate more as to when the sign-up parties can be held. We appreciate your continued support.

Pencil and PE Bags

If you missed purchasing the pencil or PE Bags at the Used Uniform sale this past week, you can now purchase them online. When you purchase them online, the school will deliver the items to your child's homeroom.

With our current restrictions in place, purchasing online is the only way to buy pencil or PE bags as we will not be selling them in the front office and taking cash and checks.

Please note: Pencil bags are required in Kinder and 3rd Grade. Even though students will not be dressing out for PE this year, the PE bags are still available for sale and delivery.

Math+ Class at Strake Jesuit - Geometry

Reynold D’Souza, a Mathematics Instructor at Strake Jesuit. will be

teaching an online Advanced Mathematics class, Math+, this Fall for boys and girls in the 6th to 8th grades. This Fall, the Math+ program will be focused on advanced Geometry. Geometry has critical real-world applications ranging from standardized tests to engineering disciplines.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, we are launching a new format utilizing Zoom and other interactive online tools to challenge students and help them share their responses. Each class will feature a challenge, time (off-screen) for students to explore that challenge, reconvening on-screen to analyze student responses, and time for help with one-on-one issues.

This season’s course will be taught on Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 pm Central time starting on Tuesday, September 22nd for six weeks. The program will cost $200. Families can sign-up HERE.

Fall Fest 2020 -St. Cecilia Catholic Church

Traditionally, St. Cecilia Catholic Church hosts an annual Fall Festival which benefits both our communal life and our parish resources. Due to the current health situation, our traditional parish festival will take a different form this year. Like so many events of late, Fall Fest 2020 will be celebrated virtually! While disappointed that we are unable to celebrate together in person this year, we pray that all parishioners will still be able to come together to support our parish.

Raffle

Our raffle is one of the most highlighted events of our festival. This year we carefully considered prizes that could prove especially useful during these uncertain times. In fact, more opportunities to win have been included. Simply download the form, print and fill it out for the amount of tickets you wish to purchase. Please turn in your form, along with your check or cash payment, either by placing them in the collection basket at Mass, dropping off or mailing in the form to the Parish Office no later than October 1st. Each ticket is $10. The raffle drawing will be on Saturday, October 3rd.

Be a Fall Fest Sponsor

Recognize your family or promote your business. Fall Fest Sponsorships are available. This year’s proceeds will go toward the support of our beloved parish.

$5,000 - Gold Leaf Sponsor - Recognition on St. Cecilia social media, website, Flocknote and bulletin | Exclusive St. Cecilia Swag Surprises

$2,500 - Red Leaf Sponsor - Recognition on St. Cecilia social media, website, Flocknote and bulletin | Exclusive St. Cecilia Swag Surprise

$1,000 - Orange Leaf Sponsor - Recognition on St. Cecilia social media, website, Flocknote and bulletin

$500 - Purple Leaf Sponsor - Recognition on St. Cecilia bulletin, website, and Flocknote

$499 - ($499 and Under) Pink Leaf Sponsor - Recognition on website

Click HERE for sponsorship form.

Auction

We will be hosting an online auction that also supports our local business community. If you would like to donate a premade basket, item, or gift card for the online auction, please purchase them from a local business as a thank you to those who have supported St. Cecilia in the past. Please drop off your items to the Parish Office no later than October 1st. Use this link to donate your item!

Fr. Fall Fest

This year, Fr. Fall Fest can celebrate at home with your family. Simply click here to print him off, cut him out, and include him in your family activities. Fr. Fall Fest loves all sorts of activities like game nights, bike rides, karaoke, family celebrations (hint: his birthday is Fall Fest weekend), and anywhere your imagination will take you. Be sure to take pictures with Fr. Fall Fest and submit them below by September 25th. A video montage will be created from the submissions and uploaded on October 3rd. Your submission gives consent to St. Cecilia Catholic Church to use photos of you and your family (including minors) for the Fall Fest video. Have fun creating Fall Fest memories!

Our mission at St Cecilia Catholic School is the ongoing Catholic formation and education of the whole child in mind, heart, and spirit, in preparation for an adult life of commitment and service.