In this week's bulletin Fr. Jeff writes about meaningful ways of encountering Christ, and how our faith community can change each of our lives by our own participation in that encounter. Through the strife of this past year with the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice, political turmoil, and many other hardships, we are all seeking meaning, comfort, and peace. The Catholic community of St. Patrick and our parish school have worked hard to be your faith family. It has been wonderful to encounter one another in-person this week, and we’ll do our best to continue it as long as we can.
Celebrate Diversity
The Catholic Church and its social teachings strive to celebrate the new and growing breadth of diversity in our Church and the world. We believe that we have a right and duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all people. Celebrating God’s diversity, our unique gifts, and cultural diversity are embedded throughout the Archdiocesan Curriculum Framework in all subjects, and this has been an important focus for classroom instruction this week and looking ahead. From JK-8th grade, our students have been learning more about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s message, his life, and the way it relates to other parts of history and our Christian beliefs.
As we transition to February and Black History Month, teachers plan to conduct units on topics like influential Black leaders and artists, and themes such as peace, inclusion, equality, harmony, and dreams. Students will be studying age-appropriate literature on racism, the history of segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, the Harlem Renaissance, and the U.S. Constitution itself, to name a few. For the past few years, our faculty and School Board have openly discussed how we can improve diversity at St. Pats. We are far from perfect and there are many areas to improve. Important steps of progress on this journey are to celebrate our current diversity and to better understand the importance of an inclusive and loving society that promotes the common good for all people.
Catholic Schools Week - January 31-February 6
We are planning a fun-filled celebration for CSW in a few weeks. Plans and details will be shared out soon.
In the meantime, we would like to invite our families to contribute “Celebrate Your School” submissions to the Record. It would be wonderful to see some St. Pat representation in print!
Describe one reason to celebrate your school this past year.
Be specific (50 to 75 words). Send responses by Jan. 19 to: record@archlou.org with the subject line “Celebrate.” Please include name of Catholic school, name of individual submitting, grade level (if student or parent of student), and include a head and shoulders photo (cell phone photos okay). If you have any questions, please contact Marnie McAllister, mmcallister@archlou.org, at The Record.
Admissions Update
Online applications have been flooding in! St. Patrick anticipates a possible Wait List in multiple grades! The application deadline for priority consideration is January 15, 2021. If you or a family friend are considering applying, please act now. Applications will be accepted post January 15, but the priority deadline will be honored first.
Go to 'Apply Today'
to find our new and convenient online application. There you will see step-by-step instructions, including space to upload documents and pay the application fee online (first-time applicants).
Tuition assistance information from CEF is available at www.ceflou.org.
The application window is December 15th, 2020 to February 28th, 2021.
Attendance Clarifications
Please call the absentee line by 9:00 a.m. at 502-719-0371 to report your child’s absence. See section 30 of the Parent/Student Handbook for more specific instructions. You can say in your message the days your child will be absent if it’s more than one. If the absence is related to COVID-19, please call the main office and speak to Ms. Marcellino, Office Manager, or Mrs. Harryman, School Nurse.
Students who are in quarantine because of direct exposure are marked present and should work with their teacher(s) for remote learning. While our updated online platforms better support any reason for absence this year, families can not “choose” remote learning because their child is sick, travelling, or absence for other reasons unrelated to the pandemic. Regular excused and unexcused absences will be assigned for students not present at school for reasons unrelated to the pandemic. If your child tests positive for COVID-19, it would be designated as an excused absence for illness in the same way as the flu or a sinus infection. High absenteeism will be tracked but handled by school leadership on a case-by-case basis.
