"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
-Matthew 5:16
Greetings from Mr. G
December 4, 2020
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we switched to remote learning this week. The teamwork is a testament to our resilient school spirit. I am also very grateful for your support of our #Giving Tuesday outreach. We surpassed our goal which is a great blessing!
Dear St. Rose School Families,
This week didn't begin the way anyone expected but we rose to the occasion and continued the learning journey with patience and purpose. It is our full intent to return to school on Wednesday December 9th. We are keeping a close eye on the situation vis a vis CDC and State Department of Health guidelines in order to ensure the optimal safety of our school community. We will keep you posted about any new developments.
Our fundraising efforts are in full swing. #Giving Tuesday was supported by so many current and alumni families, grandparents and other special family members as well as St. Rose parishioners. These funds are critical especially this year. The Tuition Raffle is also going well with over 100 tickets sold to date. We really want to reach the 350 ticket goal to maximize the effect. Every dollar we raise strengthens St. Rose School and ensures its bright future. Please share the word!
Service is such an important part of life at St. Rose School and Advent is a wonderful time to focus on others in need. The Knights of Columbus are running the Caroline Previdi Toy Drive over the next two weeks. If you are able to donate a new, unwrapped toy it would be greatly appreciated. Contributions can be dropped at the trailer behind the church. Thank you.
We received some sad news this week. Two members of the St. Rose School family passed away. Mrs. Lynn Lewis, former Librarian, and Mr. Daniel Capodicci, father of Sabrina, Class of 2016 who is currently a Freshman at the University of Notre Dame. We are grateful for the impact they made on our community. Please keep Lynn, Daniel and their families in your prayers. May they rest in peace.
It's hard to believe that we are entering the second week of Advent. I hope you are finding time for family prayer and reflection.The calendar Sister Thaddeus prepared is a wonderful guide. Please remember that Tuesday, December 8th, St. Rose School will be closed for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Apparently a Nor'Easter is on the radar for tomorrow -- stay safe and warm.
God Bless,
Mr. Gjoka
NURSE NEWS
Dear Parents,
When your child is going to be absent from class due to an illness, please inform their teacher, the secretary, and the school nurse. The school nurse needs to know why your child is missing school due to illness. When notifying the nurse be specific with their symptoms. This helps to monitor for infection control within our school community.
Thank you for helping St. Rose School Continue to Shine!
Our #Giving Tuesday outreach was a great success -- we received many generous donations and surpassed our $10,000 goal. Currently we have received $13,100 dollars which is a wonderful boost to our budget especially given the extra expenses due to Covid. The donation links will remain open until midnight, December 8th. Text Blooms to 41444 or visit,https://www.stroseschool.com/giving/giving-tuesday
Every gift makes a BIG difference!
GET YOUR TUITION RAFFLE TICKETS
SHARE THE WORD
LET'S COVER THE MAP!
Have you gotten your tuition raffle ticket yet? Nancy Sedensky, Chairperson of the School Advisory Board and alumni Mom to Stephen, Class of 2016 and Audrey, Class of 2014, stopped by to get hers recently. As the New York Lotto slogan goes "you've got to be in it to win it!"
Incredible prize -- $10,000 in tuition for any K-12 school, college/university accredited in the United States or to pay back student loans. Incredible odds -- only 350 tickets will be sold. Incredible cause -- St. Rose School.
Our goal is for 100 percent participation from all classes. Do you have family in other states? We are tracking how many sales come from different states. Let's cover the map!
How can you purchase tickets?
Email raffle @srles.com. We can arrange to meet you at school or credit card information can be taken over the phone.
Mail a check made out to St. Rose School, $100 per ticket, attention Raffle, 40 Church Hill Road Newtown, CT 06470
Mrs. Sweeting has tickets in the office during school hours.
After masses December 12th (4 p.m.), December 13th (7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m.); January 9th (4 p.m.), January 10th (7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m.)
Class parents will be in touch with more details.
Good luck!
STUDENT LIFE UPDATE by MRS. B
Advent Prayer for Week 2—Candle of Peace
Dear Lord,
Through the darkness, I look for your wisdom.
I want my heart to be open to you.
But sometimes in these days, it seems that so many things come between us.
Help me to be awake and aware of the radiance you bring into my life.
Help me to be grateful each day for the blessings of family and friends.
Let me be a peacemaker in my own life, and in the world.
Let me pray especially for those who are yearning for peace in their own lives. My heart begs for this as my Advent prayer today.
Dear St. Rose Families,
I want to begin this week with gratitude for your continued support and patience as we quickly pivoted to Distance Learning on Monday. The children were in classes bright and early Monday morning and our week continued together, learning, and sharing stories of our Thanksgiving celebrations, and also of our plans for the days leading to Christmas! The children are so proud and love to share the decorations and antics of their Elf on the Shelf when there is an extra moment in a class meet. As always, the children bring the joy and spirit of the season with them, whether in school or gathering in our virtual classrooms!
While teachers sent expectations to students and parents; and reviewed them on Monday, we also wanted to put the school expectations in one place for your reference. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me. We are proud of how quickly the children adapted to Distance Learning and remembered many of the expectations from the spring.
To help distance learning be beneficial and workable for both students and teachers, we that you encourage your child to follow these expectations for Distance Learning:
o Students should not join a class meet until the time scheduled by the teacher; and once logged out of the session, should not return until the next live lesson is scheduled.
o Students should join a class meet with their camera on and their mic muted. o Cameras must be on; teachers need to see students as they attend class and participate. Students who are not on camera are considered absent. If your child is experiencing problems with the camera on their computer, please contact their teacher. Students are not allowed to use backgrounds when in a classroom meet.
o Students should be sitting at a desk or table while on their class meet; they need to be attentive and need a work surface for taking notes and completing any classwork given by the teacher during the meet.
o Students should consider all time, in the class meet, as if they were in their classroom in the school building.
o Students may dress casual. No PJ’s All t-shirts, sweatshirts with logos and wording must be school appropriate.Students should not have hoods on or wear a hat while on camera.
o Students should not have pets or toys with them while on a class meet. o Students should not be eating or drinking while on camera, this includes candy and gum.
o Students should not be leaving virtual classes to use the bathroom; there are a number of breaks and time between class meets to allow for bathroom breaks.
o Attendance is necessary for success. Attendance is taken throughout the day at the beginning of each live lesson. When live lessons are in progress, timely attendance is expected so that no instruction is missed. If there is an emergency that prevents attendance, please email the teacher as soon as possible.
o Students should attend their sessions, on camera, as scheduled; parents can be present in the room.
o Students should be in a common area of the house, they should not attend classes from bedrooms.
o For confidentiality purposes we remind parents that the Google Meet is live and when the mic is on, students can hear what is being discussed; so please refrain from engaging in a discussion with a teacher at this time.
o We kindly ask that parent questions and comments be sent via email and not asked during live lessons or put in the chat.
Again, we thank you for your support and patience as we made it through this week! We will continue with Distance Learning on Monday, we have a day off on Tuesday for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (please join us in virtual mass that day; https://www.strosechurch.com/live-streamand we plan to return to the school building on Wednesday.
This Sunday we will celebrate the Second Sunday of Advent and light the second purple candle; the candle of peace! May the Peace of Christ be with us all; and live in the hearts of all people this Advent!
Happy Friday - we survived our first (and hopefully last!) week of distance learning! We have a few quick notes for you this week. Your kids will be thrilled to find new soccer nets installed on the large field - the HSA was able to purchase new nets for the soccer goals. Kudos and thanks to Dave Budzynski and his son Luke who installed them.
Our heartfelt thanks go to Michelle DiCandido for deftly managing our first ever virtual Book Fair in November! We are grateful to all who purchased items for the benefit of our school.
We still need volunteers to help with the Box Tops and SCRIP programs. Please contact us at hsa@srles.com if you are interested in helping out.
As you prepare for Christmas. please purchase SCRIP cards as gifts for friends, family and teachers. You can also use SCRIP cards to make purchases - all cards provide a rebate to St. Rose at no cost to you.
Your HSA Board
Coming Soon...St. Rose of Lima Virtual Christmas Concert
Check out this sneak peak! We celebrate the coming of Christ in a unique way this year through the splendor of music: a virtual Christmas Concert featuring our St. Rose Choir, a children's nativity and other musical artists! Date to be announced!