Week of June 28, 2020
A little flashback to our Catholic Schools Pep Rally this past January...Go Comets!!
From Our Principal
Principal's Update for Our School
The following letter went out to all families this past week on Thursday. It's an important and exciting update on our plans to be back in school on August 25th with all of our students. Please be sure to read.

Office of Catholic Schools Update on Return to School
Please see the following letter from the Diocesan Office of Catholic Schools on school re-openings this Fall.

Registration Packets - Please return by July 1st!  
A new school year always brings lots of paperwork. To help make it easier we pre-filled many of the forms we need from your family.  At the Summer Send Off you received a packet of forms (in a bright yellow envelope) for you to update and return by this Wednesday, 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 ). You can drop off the forms in the mailbox at the bottom of the front stairs at school.
Updates
Yearbooks ARE still available!
Yearbooks have arrived! To purchase a yearbook, fill out the google form - see link below. Please fill out 1 form per yearbook.
There are 3 ways to get your yearbook:
- pick up from the side porch of the church
- have it mailed to your home address ($5 shipping fee)
- receive it in the fall from your homeroom teacher


8th Graders - GRADUATION UPDATE!
That's right - our patience looks like it will pay off for an in-person Graduation at St. Benedict Church on the evening of Thursday, July 16 !

Here's information regarding ATTIRE for our graduates:
Graduation attire should follow church attire guidelines, which are below:
Gentlemen - oxford shirt and tie
Ladies - nice dress, skirt, or pants; skirts or dresses must come at least to the knee; no spaghetti straps or strapless tops. Since the girls' gowns are white, it might be a good idea to choose a light colored outfit that won't show through the gown.

Let the countdown begin!
Summer Reminders
Summer Reading
We want our students to enjoy a relaxing summer and we want to make sure that they are reading good books and practicing their math facts along the way! Our Middle School students will also have a keyboarding certification to complete. Be sure to check out what you will need to do over the summer now, so you can plan your time accordingly! Our summer reading is available on our website here .

Back to School Dates for your Calendar
Monday, August 24th  will be our Welcome Fair (Re-imagined!)
Tuesday, August 25th  will be the 1st Day of School for all students! 12pm dismissal for JK & K, full day 1-8
Wednesday, August 26th  - 12pm dismissal for JK & K, full day 1-8
Thursday, August 27th  - full day all students

A Word about School Supplies...
For those of you early school supplies shoppers out there, we encourage you to hold off for a few more weeks so that we can identify any items that need to be updated on the lists due to our general operating changes in the classroom and at school this year. We should be able to have those items fine tuned by the end of July and will remind you about it at the appropriate time! (If you ordered your school supplies through our in-school delivery program, no worries - you will be good to go!)
Important Admissions Update
Because of the understandable uncertainty at public schools and the challenges they are facing with re-opening plans for this fall, private schools - including ours - have been very busy taking admissions calls. At the same time, we have reduced classroom capacity at our school, as others have, to enable 6 ft distancing. Currently, we have a few classes that are at or near their new capacity level (between 18-21 students). If you know of anyone considering our school for this fall - please connect them with Gretchen in our Admissions office as soon as possible . Also, if you have an additional child you are considering to have join us this Fall, we need to know immediately so we can do our best to accommodate them before we reach capacity. Because of our physical distancing requirements, we will not have the flexibility as we have had in the past to accept late enrollments or increase classroom capacity.

And, if you refer a friend and you'll receive a $75 tuition credit! How it works: You will receive a $75 (2020-21) tuition credit on the first day of school for every new family that starts the school year  and  who listed you as having referred them to Saint Benedict. Only one $75 referral credit will be awarded for each new family. If the new family mentions multiple families on their application, only the first family listed will get the credit.
Please keep them coming!!
"We sent our oldest son through Saint Benedict’s and had a wonderful experience. Now our younger son is in 8th grade and graduating. St. B’s is much more than a school. It is truly a family and a community where you know everyone and form life-long bonds." - Patti, Mother of 2 Comet Alumni

We've been so blessed to receive such kind words of support from families over the past few months. With school being closed, please know how important it is for us to be able to continue sharing those testimonials with the broader community. If you have a minute and can send a few words about what your family appreciates about St. Benedict to Gretchen at admissions@saintbenedictschool.org it would be VERY appreciated and you will receive 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!!
Welcome New Families and New Siblings!
Junior Kindergarten Uniforms
Reminder! Junior Kindergarten students will now be wearing standard school uniforms beginning this Fall. Please refer to our uniform guidelines on our website HERE .

New Family Orientation via ZOOM will be held WED. JULY 15th from 8am - 9am. 
We will be getting you ready for your new school home....discussing the school calendar and important dates; reviewing uniforms; going over  school supplies ; discussing  summer reading ; following up on  forms and immunization  records; you'll hear from our PTO chair; learn about Parents Web, discuss billing options and; answer all of your questions to get your family ready for the fall! (whew!) This meeting is geared towards parents, so students are not expected to attend. Because of Covid - and because our school is also currently undergoing a major renovation - this meeting will be held virtually on ZOOM. A reminder with the Zoom link will be sent one week prior to the event.  Please plan now to participate.


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)

If you need to stop by the school, PLEASE CALL THE OFFICE FIRST
at 254-8850 or email pautry@saintbenedictschool.org.
Our school is a construction site right now and our office hours vary based on work currently underway.

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!
Birthday Book Club!
This summer, plan to honor your child's birthday (or any special occasion) with an act of charity that benefits the school library.  

The Birthday Book Club is still active! Select a book from our wish list and personalize it with a donor bookplate. Your child will receive the new book at school in the fall, and when he/she returns it, the book will go into circulation for everyone to check out!

All of the details can be found at:  https://www.btsb.com/sosl/saintbenedictcatholicschool/  . You can also find the link on the school website library page.

Please email  mclark@saintbenedictschool.org  if you have any questions.
From Our Finance Office
Time to get ready for next year!
As part of getting ready for the new year, over the next few weeks the business office will be setting up new billing agreements. The Business Office has notified you 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.)