Reopening Team Update
The Reopening Team is currently finishing up the School Health Plan that is required for submission to the Catholic Diocese of Richmond and the State Department of Health. This plan includes answers to a number of questions about how we are addressing additional health, safety, and hygiene requirements due to COVID-19. In addition, the Team is working on revising the daily school schedule for next year to limit the number of class changes, and we are working on an appendix to the School Handbook that will detail the procedures being established to meet the reopening guidelines. Once we have a completed draft of the appendix, we will share that information with the school community. We are looking forward to resuming in-person school in August.
Faculty Updates
We've have some exciting faculty updates to share and a fond farewell. We are all sad to be saying good-bye to Mrs. Horvath, our Junior Kindergarten teacher. She is going to miss her little ones at St. Benedict, but has decided to pursue an exciting new career opportunity. We wish her and her husband, Mike, all the best. They will be missed! Mrs. Brunner will be taking over as our Junior Kindergarten Teacher and is excited to be transitioning back to the grade level she taught when she first started at St. Benedict.
We are also excited to announce that Mrs. Molly Korte will be joining St. Benedict as our new Fourth Grade teacher. After growing up in St. Benedict Parish, Mrs. Korte earned a Bachelor's Degree from Lynchburg College and Post-Baccalaureate Elementary Teaching Certification from the University of Richmond. She taught elementary in Henrico County before taking time off to raise her own children. Last year she returned to the school setting as an Instructional Aide for Special Education with Chesterfield County. Mrs. Korte shared, "I want to be in an environment that will combine my love of working with students, my constant education in deepening my faith, my creative nature, and love for my all-time favorite grade - the fourth grade classroom." Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Mrs. Korte, as she joins our Comet Family this Fall.
Don't forget to return your Registration Packet!
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 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. If you have not yet returned your forms,
please do so as soon as possible
. Thank you!
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Classroom Supply Kits
All families should have received an email with the link to order their classroom supplies for each grade level. If you haven not received it, please reach out to Georgia Riccobono @
georgia.a.riccobono@gmail.com
and we will get you the list. The deadline to order kits is July 24th at 12:00pm.
*Please note there was a typo in the Kindergarten Supply list. Kindergarten kits are $50.00 and not $60.00*
PTO Update
The PTO is in full swing planning for some fun activities for parents and students alike in the coming weeks and months. We currently have a Class Rep for each grade level except for JK. If you are a JK parent and would like to learn more about the PTO and the role of the Class Rep please reach out to Georgia Riccobono @
Georgia.a.Riccobono@gmail.com
.
We are also in search of a parent to serve as Secretary on the PTO Board. This is a fun introductory role in the PTO. The Secretary will help to facilitate PTO Meetings by gathering attendance and taking notes, as well as participate in the planning and execution of PTO events. If you have any interest please let us know!
YOUR SBCS PTO Board and Class Reps for the 2020-2021 School Year are:
President: Georgia Riccobono(Quinn 3rd Grade)
Vice President: Jordan McKinley (Eli 4th Grade)
Treasurer: Beth Middleton (Mallory 5th Grade)
Volunteer Coordinator: Juliet D'Agostino (Will 6th Grade, James 3rd Grade)
Class Reps:
JK: TBD
Kindergarten: Patti Ramos (Jakob)
1st Grade: Andy & Elizabeth Anderson (Charlie)
2nd Grade: Danielle Kelleher (Emanuela)
3rd Grade: Linda Houghton (Camden)
4th Grade: Maria Mangano (Gio)
5th Grade: Beth Middleton (Mallory)
Middle School: Mish Wilson (Brodie)
The PTO also sponsors some ongoing programs throughout the school year including:
Feed The Homeless program: Laura Sigmon (Everett 3rd, ELizabeth K)
The Yearbook: Linda Houghton (Camden 3rd, Caiden 7th)
The Comet Shop: TBD
Box Tops for Education: TBD
If you have any interest in helping to oversee the Comet Shop or the Box Tops for Education program, please reach out to Georgia Riccobono @
Georgia.a.Riccobono@gmail.com
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Welcome New Families and New Siblings!
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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 has been
POSTPONED
until late July (TBD).
With the big influx of families right now, we have decided to postpone our upcoming New Family Orientation a couple of weeks, so that we can have this important conversation with as many of our new families as possible. We will post the new date in next week's newsletter and there will be plenty of time to get ready for August 25th. In the meantime, families can find information about
school supplies,
summer reading,
forms and immunization
records
,
and
uniforms
here! Should you have any questions, please reach out to Gretchen at admissions@saintbenedictschool.org who will be happy to help!
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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
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
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SBCS hopes to offer several sports this fall, including elementary soccer and middle school flag football and cross county. Our ability to do so, however, will depend upon forthcoming diocesan health guidelines. In the meantime, please fill out the parent survey so we can gauge community interest in our usual sports offerings. This is a survey to measure interest only; should we get the go-ahead from the diocese, we will follow up with formal registration.
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Important Admissions Update
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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.
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Please keep them coming!!
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"This was our first school year at Saint Benedict. Saint Benedict is an amazing school. The principal, the teachers, and staff are not only well prepared, but also excellent human beings. I will also say that it is a very organized school...the school was able to run from day one of quarantine during the pandemic until the last school day. We feel so blessed that our daughter, Allison, attends Saint Benedict." - Angelica
,
Mom of Rising Kindergartner
We've been so blessed to receive such kind words of support from families! 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!!
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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.
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Nurses Corner...Get Ready for Fall!
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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!
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Time to get ready for next year!
The Business office is almost done setting up new billing arrangements.
As a reminder you will have two FACTS accounts, one for tuition and one for incidentals. FACTS is our student accounts system of record and all charges and payments are recorded there.
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:
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.)
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