June 15, 2020 * Comet Newsletter
Mrs. Menzies' and Mrs. D's Kindergarten Year in Review! We miss those sweet faces!!
From Our Principal
Many of you probably heard Governor Northam's announcement this past Tuesday about schools reopening in the fall, and you may have even read some of the extensively detailed document, "Recover. Redesign. Restart." There has been some confusion about the phases. The phases of school opening match the general phases for reopening in the Commonwealth. That means that the entire Commonwealth is already in Phase II as of this past Friday. Based on the governor's plan of 2-4 weeks in each phase, we have a strong expectation that Virginia will be in Phase III or beyond by the time school starts on August 24. In Phase III, St. Benedict would be able to open with all students attending normal school hours, five days per week. This might not be true of all schools, but as a small school, we have a great deal of flexibility and an easier time meeting social distancing guidelines. We are very excited to be planning for in-person instruction starting in August!

Novena
We have three days left of the nationwide  Novena for National Unity and an End to Racism . The novena prayer can be found  here .

Principal's Update for Our School
This letter was sent out via email to our parents last week. It contains helpful information from Mr. Cruess regarding our planning and preparedness efforts for our return to school the week of August 24th. We're doing everything we can to be back to together in the classroom this Fall!
Updates
Letter from the Superintendent of Catholic Schools
Please see the attached letter from Kelly Lazzara regarding Diocesan review of Governor Northam's update from last week on schools re-opening.
Yearbooks ARE IN!
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 - Mark Your Calendars for GRADUATION- - in person!
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 ! Details to come, but we are all so excited to have the opportunity to be together to celebrate YOU!
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 .

Registration Packets  
A new school year always brings lots of paperwork. To help make it easier we have pre-filled many of the forms we need from your family.  Last Wednesday at the Summer Send Off you received a packet of forms (in a bright yellow envelope) for you to update and return by 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 ).

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

Amazon Smile!
Father's Day is June 21 and if you are planning to do some shopping for him on Amazon - be sure to support our school through Amazon Smile!Click here to connect your Amazon account to benefit our school! (We're listed as "St. Benedict Elementary School")  smile.amazon.com . Also, AmazonSmile customers can now support Saint Benedict Elementary School in the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android mobile phones! Simply follow these instructions to turn on AmazonSmile and start generating donations.
  1. Open the Amazon Shopping app on your device
  2. Go into the main menu of the Amazon Shopping app and tap into 'Settings'
  3. Tap 'AmazonSmile' and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process
If you do not have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app, update your app. Click  here  for instructions.
Tell a Friend!
Spread the word about our wonderful school! Refer a friend and get 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.
Share Your Support...Thank you families!
With school being closed, we can no longer give tours or host Open Houses, which means we have to take our admissions virtual. Your recommendations for our school ARE SO HELPFUL! So, if you send a short video (1 minute or less) or simply email what you value about our school or why your family attends St. Benedict School, to admissions@saintbenedictschool.org we will gladly thank you for your help with 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!
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.)