Dear SMCS Families,

I hope you and your family are safe and well. It is hard to believe that we are already in the middle of August. This week, several other Catholic Schools welcomed students back to campus. Please know that I am in contact with these other schools to learn what worked well and what needed to be adjusted.

Last week, we announced that all students will wear face masks, and we shared our mask guidelines with you. Students must have a way to attach their face mask to themselves. This may be done with a clip, an around-the-neck strap, or by wearing a balaclava/gaiter.

For PK3-Kindergarten students, the school will provide nap mats, so that they can be disinfected after each use. Students in PK3-Kindergarten will be allowed to bring a small blanket or stuffed animal that fits in a ziplock bag, but these items must be taken home daily and washed. 

The teachers have been working hard in their classrooms getting everything organized and ready for the students. 

We have decided to cancel the yearbook parties. Yearbooks will be handed out during meet the teacher instead. 

Thank you for your continued support. We are excited to start the new school year in just over two weeks. 


 

Upcoming Dates and Events
Monday, August 31
Meet the Teacher for students who are starting the school year with face to face learning-Please come at your designated time. 
  • 8:30-9:30 am Last Name A-H
  • 9:30-10:30 am Last Name I-Q
  • 10:30-11:30 am Last Name R-Z
Monday, August 31
Meet the Teacher/Materials Pick Up for remote learning students-Please come at your designated time. Please drive thru the carpool line under the carport and your teacher(s) will deliver your materials and introduce themselves. 
  • 12:30-1:30 pm-5th Grade Remote learning student Chromebook orientation in the cafeteria. All students are asked to wear masks. Please drop off your 5th grade remote learning student and plan to pick them up at 1:30 pm in the carpool line under the carport. *For 5th grade remote learning student families with students in other grade levels, we will have all your family materials ready to go at 1:30 pm when you pick up your 5th grader.
  • 2:00-2:45 pm Remote Learning Students with last name A-J
  • 3:00-3:45 pm Remote Learning Students with last name K-Z
Tuesday, September 1
First Day of School for the 2020-2021 School Year. Please drop your students off in the carpool line. All students must be wearing a mask prior to exiting the car. We will have staff members available to walk younger students to their classrooms. 
 
SMCS Athletic Logo


SMCS Athletics will offer a Middle School Conditioning Program for students currently in 6th through 8th grade. Registration will open in September, and the first day of the program will begin in October. This after school program will focus on agility, speed, coordination, and fitness, all of which can be transferred into any sport or physical activity. 

St. Michael Parish Sports will offer a Soccer Clinic for students currently in PreK through 5th grade. Registration will open in September. This clinic will focus on individual skills, ball work, and technique. 

More information on SMCS Middle School Condition and St. Michael Parish Sports Soccer Clinic will be shared in the upcoming weeks. 

Please continue to visit https://www.stmichaelcs.org/athletics for updated information on SMCS Athletics and Parish Sports.

 

Dear Kidventure After School Families,

We are excited to get back to running after school and seeing all of you in the next few weeks. We know, and understand, that some of you are ready to start while others have a lot of reservations and concerns as school approaches.  These are certainly unprecedented times and we are all learning new things everyday as we go along.  For the past two months Kidventure has been successfully running summer camps in Austin, Dallas and Houston with over 15 different camp locations.  We learned much over the summer, had some bumps in the road, but all the smiles, laughter, and joy reminded us why camp is so important.  

With all the discussion of physical health and COVID-19, we can't forget the importance of social, emotional and mental health of our kids.   Re-engaging in community, in camp, in school fills a void that many of our kids have missed over the last several months.  We are excited to be a part of this step for each of you and we want to share our plan so that you're comfortable sending your child to Kidventure After School. 

We all know that this year is going to be different.  We are working very closely with our schools to extend their policies into the after school day.  The same COVID-19 protocols will be extended in the after school day for staff and students some of which include:
  • Isolating groups/pods set in the school day.  
  • The same symptom and exposure protocols
  • Cleaning and disinfecting high touch points in rooms and bathrooms

WHAT'S CHANGING
Due to the pandemic, there are several things that are changing in the after school program:
  1. We will have more staff to accommodate the number of pods/cohorts set by the school.
  2. We will have additional staff to help clean and disinfect with built in substitutes to ensure the non-mixing of groups.
  3. We will be washing hands frequently, throughout the after school program.
  4. Parents will not be allowed to walk in to pick up their children.  All pick up will happen curbside from your vehicle.  
  5. There is only one option for After School this year.  Registration is by the semester only.  
    1. We are asking that all families register for the semester and to not pay in full but register for the payment plan, which will bill on a weekly basis.  If the system is asking you to pay more than a $10 deposit, please call the Houston Office at 713.960.8989.
    2. Please save your card on file, with the potential on/off schedule for this year, saving your card on file allows us to appropriately pause and unpause billing in a timely manner to keep your account up to date.
    3. Each week will be billed the previous Thursday.  Once billed, all payments are non-refundable. No prorations will be given for partial weeks.  
    4. In the event of a closure or quarantine resulting in missing an entire week or weeks, we will pause the weekly billing, adjust the overall balance due, and resume the payment plan upon return to the program.
    5. Price increase.  We worked hard not to pass on a price increase, but the extras needed to run safely during the pandemic necessitated it.  Every program is seeing a price increase please see the website for details HERE.  
  6. No drop-in care will be provided this school year.  Due to the planning and placement of students in pods, drop-ins will not be available to ensure pods/cohorts do not mix and we can adequately plan for staffing.  If you are not enrolled in after school for the semester, please make plans to arrange for your child to be picked up from school everyday.
  7. No Encore, enrichment classes, due to the increased exposure and mixing of groups.

CREDIT BALANCES
If you have a credit balance on your Kidventure account from after school or summer, we want to make sure we apply this properly to your account.  We are attaching a financial statement for the credit balance season, if you have a credit balance you will see that amount in the "PAID" column.  Do not look at the amount due.  If you have a balance, we will automatically apply this to your weekly payment for after school.  Once depleted, we will resume charges on your credit card.  IMPORTANT: You must register and pay the $10 deposit to secure your spot for Kidventure after school.  This will get you in the system and let us know you want to participate in the after school program.

One of the biggest things we know is that it will take all of us working together.  Over the last two months a great part of our success has been everyone working together to follow the policies and procedures set forth.  Together, we know that we can have a great re-entry into after school.  There is a lot more information on the website with details about each program and our procedures for COVID-19.  We hope this communication answers a lot of questions that you have about the program, but if you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact us in the Houston Office at 713.960.8989 or at [email protected].

Stay Safe and Well!  

The Kidventure Team


Getting Ready for the First Day of School:
Things to Practice
  • Buckling and unbuckling car seats: Having your young children practice buckling and unbuckling their car seats themselves prior to the start of school will ensure that your child can do this on their own and will help the carpool line stay moving. 
  • Wearing masks: If your child is not already accustomed to wearing a mask or wearing a mask for an extended period of time, we encourage you to begin practicing now. All students must be wearing masks in the carpool line before their door is opened. 
     
  • Hand washing: All students will be required to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly. While our teachers will lead lessons in proper hand-washing techniques, developing that routine and habit now will help support this process.
We are getting ready for the new school year!








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