February 25, 2021 - News & Notes
From The Desk Of Principal Kerr
For several reasons I absolutely love turning the calendar on February every winter, and heading into March. The days are starting to get longer, and any chill in the air seems temporary. 

We are well into our third quarter now and find we still have a lot of kiddos struggling with anxiousness, making a lot of trips to see the nurse, and needing more breaks and support. Sometimes this manifests in behavior issues that can be difficult for classmates and faculty alike.

We are blessed to have the support of Stephanie Baima and our counselor, Keri Brendan. We often put our heads together on how to better help our students and families. Mrs. Brendan said something that really hit home for me. Parents need to know it is OK to operate at 75% right now. Many families are stretched thin and still trying to do everything they have done in the non-pandemic world. It is the same here at school, we need to cut each other slack and assume that each of us is doing the best we can in difficult times. Always remember, the kids want to please us, even if it doesn’t look that way on the surface in specific moments. But they do want our approval. Sometimes that means we have to hold the line, and sometimes it means we need to give some space (and then hold the line). 

We do want to hold our children to high academic and behavioral expectations, and if we do so with love, care and consistency, we will be successful. It might be only a 75% success rate this year, but we must show our kids we care enough about them to keep trying! See the information below for the March parenting sessions from Dr. Jules Nolan.

Our third grade biography unit culminates in the fun tradition of a wax museum. The teachers went ahead with it this year with some COVID restrictions in place, and the kids did a great job. Visitors met some great historical figures from scientist Marie Curie, to astronaut Neil Armstrong, to athletes like Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. It was obvious some great learning was taking place and a good time was had by all! Thank you to Mrs. DeGross and Mrs. Podominick for pulling this off safely.
Due to a number of factors including venue stability/availability during the pandemic and volunteer turnover, we will not be holding an official St. Michael golf tournament fundraiser this year. Melissa Shimek will be working on some fund-a-need ideas for our athletic program, and we will be reimagining how to meet those needs moving forward.

God bless your families this final February weekend, and go Gophers, go Blues!

Mrs. Kerr
Save The Date!

Virtual PTO Meeting
Thursday, March 4 at 6:30pm
Watch for the link in next week's News & Notes
Grades K-5: Spanish Club Survey
We are surveying interest in an afterschool Spanish program for our K through 5th grade students. This would be provided by Futura World Language who provides our middle school Spanish curriculum and instruction. Please complete the survey below.
Decision Tree
Quarantining is staying home and away from others because you may have been exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Isolating is completely avoiding close contact with others because you have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Please see the decision tree above, but these are important questions to determine close contact with COVID-19:

Were you exposed to COVID because you live with someone who has COVID? 
Yes: Quarantine for 14 days (with COVID positive individual isolating)

If you were exposed outside your household ask:
Will you test after 5 days?
If yes, return with negative result and no symptoms on day 8.
If no, return after 10 days if no symptoms develop.
COVID-19 Testing for Kids and Families

MDH announced a recommendation for all school-age youth returning to school, youth sports, or extracurricular activities, and their families, to get tested every two weeks through the end of the school year. While it is not a requirement, regular testing complements other safety measures already in place, such as masking and social distancing.


Getting tested every two weeks from now until the end of the school year can help keep schools open and sports operating, and ensure we are limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Session for Parents:
Helping your Struggling Learner

 When our children struggle in school, it is hard to know when to be firm and when to be flexible. Should we intervene early and structure the environment for success or should we view learning as developmental and expect all of our children to advance at different speeds? Should we give our kids consequences for poor grades or can we “pay” them to get A’s? How do we know when poor school achievement is something more serious than low motivation? In this session you will learn research-based strategies for helping struggling learners no matter the cause of the struggle. You will also learn signs of more serious learning issues and how to help your child thrive in school. Use the link below to register for one of the web sessions.
 
March 10, 7:00 pm
March 22, 7:00 pm
 
Wednesday Early Release Days

Wednesday Early Dismissal Care & Homework Time - April 2021

Please let us know if your child(ren) will need Wednesday Early Dismissal Care (12:15 - 2:15) in April by completing this form as soon as possible, and no later than Friday March 15, 2021. We are offering this for families who do not have other options available for Wednesday afternoons. If you are able to have your child come home at 12:15, please do so, as the teachers are finding the Wednesday afternoon planning especially necessary this year.

If you are picking up your child before 2:15, we ask that you call the office so that one of our staff members can bring your child safely to their car line pickup zone.

In order to ensure proper staffing and the safety of all students we request no late enrollment.

Please complete one form per student.

Last Call for Lost and Found!
If you might be missing any items, now is the time to check! There are many items on our lost and found table that have accumulated since the beginning of the school year. Please stop in to see if your child is missing any hats, masks, gloves, water bottles, boots, t-shirts, shorts, uniform shorts, shirts, sweaters or sweatshirts.

Whatever isn't claimed by March 1, 2021 will be donated to a local charity. Thank you for your help in returning these items to their proper homes!
Order Yearbooks Now!
It's time to order a yearbook for your St. Michael Catholic School student. Yearbooks are distributed to students at the end of the school year. Don't miss out!
Order before March 19, 2021

Yearbook ID code: 12368121
Lunch and Recess Volunteers Needed!
We still have many empty spots to fill; your help is appreciated!

  • Lunchroom and kitchen every day from 10:30am - 12:45pm. If you are available midday, please sign up using the Sign-Up Genius button below.
  • Recess from 11:10am - 1:10. Please use the Sign-up Genius button below.

All volunteers must be up to date on Virtus training.
Please visit virtusonline.org to log in or to create an account and complete the required steps to be a volunteer.
School Office: (952) 447-2124
24/7 Absentee Line: (952) 447-2230