The spirit of our St. Rose School community continues to warm hearts and light the way to a bright future. I am very grateful to everyone who is supporting us during these uncertain times. We are all in this together -- working and praying to ensure that our school stays strong and continues to be a place where children bloom in mind, heart and soul.
Dear St. Rose School Families,
It was wonderful to see so many of you at the HSA/State of the School Zoom meeting last night. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to join us. If you could not make it the meeting slides are attached to the newsletter. Here are the highlights:
-St. Rose School is safe, following state
and diocesan guidelines. Student mask
compliance is excellent. We are working
on emphasizing distancing at recess and
ask for parents' assistance in reinforcing
this with your children.
-Budget is tight with extra Covid expenses; fundraising throughout the
year is critical. Gap fee, $1,958, is an
ongoing issue. Thanks to those who
have covered it. Please consider donating
some or all of the Gap fee. It is tax
deductible and helps to
strengthen our school for the future.
-Students are re-acclimating to being back
in the classroom. Teachers are
encouraging return to pre-Covid
academic standards for which St. Rose
School is known and valued. Partnership
with parents is much appreciated.
Students are encouraged to meet with
teachers for extra help in the mornings
(many arrive early to school).
-Covid related news and protocols come
from the Diocese and will be
communicated to parents promptly as
needed.
-Faculty grateful for parent support and breakfast from the HSA this week.
Yesterday we kicked off our Tuition Raffle which is an important school fundraiser. It was a beautiful day and the energy was amazing. This will be running for 3 months and we are excited at the opportunity to reach our goal of selling 350 tickets. Thank you for helping make this happen!
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week there will be early dismissal at 11:30 a.m. for parent/teacher conferences. I hope you have secured a time slot. Preschool to 5th grade parents should have received sign up links from teachers directly. The Middle School and Specials links were sent in an earlier email from me this week and can be found in the newsletter.
Our Book Fair also begins on Monday. It is a virtual store with so many terrific offerings. Please be sure to visit -- reading is a wonderful activity for people of all ages and books make great gifts. My thanks to Mrs. DiCandido for organizing the Fair.
On Friday November 13th the Knights of Columbus will hold a Veteran's presentation for the school at which six students will be awarded for the essays and posters they submitted for review. The ceremony will take place at 9:45 a.m. virtually so we hope you can join us. Let us keep our brave veterans and their families in our prayers as we recognize their many sacrifices for our freedom.
This is a unique year that cannot be compared to any other year. Open communications and continued partnership are critical components of our ongoing success. Thank you for entrusting your children to us; their health, education and spiritual well being are always the top priority.
I am sure by now you have read the earlier email about Fr. Tom being diagnosed with Covid today. Based on our conversations with him he was not in close contact (less than 6 feet or more than 15 minutes) with school students or parents. Please refer to the parish email for details and pay special attention to Nurse Bonnie's information in this newsletter. She is available to answer any questions or concerns you might have. We continue to follow all state and diocesan safety guidelines. Let's keep Fr. Tom, Monsignor and the parish community in our prayers.
God is blessing us with beautiful weather this weekend. Enjoy every moment in the sun with your families.
In light of the recent uptick in Covid cases, Nurse Bonnie has composed an informational letter that can be a helpful guide to all families. Please know that Nurse Bonnie is constantly monitoring the health of St. Rose School students and faculty and works with Mr. G to ensure all safety protocols are being implemented. Please feel free to contact Nurse Bonnie with any questions or concerns, nurse@srles.com
VISIT THE BOOK FAIR FROM THE COMFORT OF HOME (OR PHONE)
Saint Rose of Lima School invites you to shop our Online Book Fair and support our school! The Fair runs from November 9th - November 22nd. All purchases will benefit our school directly (25% back in rewards!). Don’t miss these two weeks of events, fun, and books!
As the famous New York lotto slogan says, "You've got to be in it to win it!" The same is true of the St. Rose of Lima School Tuition raffle. It's an incredible prize -- $10,000 to be used for tuition in any K-12 school, college or university accredited in the U.S. or it can be used to pay off student loans. Incredible odds -- One grand prize winner/only 350 tickets. Incredible cause
-- our beloved school! The Kick off was strong. Let's build the momentum to reach our goal of selling 350 tickets! Class parents will be in touch. Tickets are available weekdays at the main office; parents will also be selling tickets at car walk/pick up Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Tickets are $100 -- check and cash preferred but credit cards accepted. Let's cover the map -- spread the word to friends and family! Questions? Email raffle@srles.com. Thank you for your support!
GEAR UP WITH SCHOOL SPIRIT WEAR
Show your school spirit by sporting some cool duds! Check out the online spirit wear shop that is open now through November 6th.
Delivery before Christmas! Questions? Email Mrs. Ortega, athletics@stroseschool.com.
STUDENT LIFE UPDATE by MRS. B
Dear St. Rose Families,
The month of November is one where we give more attention to the practice of gratitude. It is the perfect time to reflect on the many blessings, the little things, that are sent our way each day that we sometimes take for granted or intend to say “thank you” for, but lose track of in the busyness of life. Let’s work together as a community this month, to encourage, and be the example, for our children, of showing gratitude for the everyday things, the little things that bring joy, comfort, and peace to our lives. Let’s be an example of showing appreciation for those who do things for us that many times are unseen or go unnoticed. Troubled times sometimes overshadow the positive and good; let’s break that cycle and find the positive, even in the midst of the confusion and chaos in the world. Let’s be grateful for the blessing of sharing this journey together!
On behalf of the faculty and staff, I would like to, once again, thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to our children and school! Your generous donations to our classrooms, making sure that our teacher wish lists were fulfilled, have helped us maneuver through these initial months! Your generosity in helping us, with our efforts to serve others, through your donations to our Pink Day and Trick or Treating for Faith Food Pantry, began a chain of gratitude from us to those who will discover others do care about them! We remember in our prayers all those who will be served by your generosity.
We have logged 44 days of school and are looking forward to our 50th day on November 16! This will be a dress in 50’s attire day with a few surprises sprinkled throughout the day! We will keep the momentum going and look to celebrate the 60th, 70th, 80th, and 90th! For the 100th day we will take our lead from our primary grades, as they always have a creative way to mark that special day!
Recap from State of the School-Quarter 2 and Beyond:
Last evening, during our State of the School Meeting, I posed the question, what do our students need most? The answer is simple, they need all of US! The parent – teacher partnership hasn’t ever been as important to our children as it is right now! We formed a strong working partnership during the spring of Distance Learning; and we know and appreciate how
instrumental our parents were in the successes we saw during that time. So we are asking you to continue that partnership with us to navigate our current situation, while looking to our
children’s future beyond 2020-2021.
We all shared the concerns last spring about what gaps we would see when we returned to the classroom; as teachers we have found that there were less gaps in academic ability and content knowledge; and more in the way of work habits. We need to remember the children were away from the structure of an in-person classroom for an extended period of time and then off to summer vacation; so we need to work together and take the lead of guiding them in rebuilding and strengthening work habits, especially when it comes to time management, focus, stamina,
and thoroughness of completed work. Our academics must continue returning back to a place of strong expectations, through these habits, which will best serve them today, and for the future.
Empowering them, during a time that challenges all of us, helps us to foster resiliency. We ask you to work along with the teachers and staff, to encourage them to be responsible for their learning, and to take ownership for their academic success and their choices.
As the quarter continues, please be sure to partner with your teacher(s). Encourage your
child(ren) to advocate for themselves and seek help when needed. For our younger learners,
please reach out to the teacher on their behalf. Regarding homework, remember it is a working
tool for teachers; it helps gauge how students are grasping and retaining information from
lessons. If your child is struggling, please reach out to their teacher; or encourage them to seek
help. We also have homework help and tutoring available. In the upcoming weeks, we will
provide more information on how you can help your child(ren) this year. Please do not hesitate
to reach out with questions!
Parent-Teacher Conferences:
This year our conferences will be virtual; please be sure to sign up for a conference with your
child’s teacher(s). Consider emailing your questions and/or topics you’d like to discuss to your child’s teacher, prior to your conference day.
Shout Out to the Class of 2021:
Immaculate High School Reminder:
Admission, Financial Aid and Scholarship Application Deadline is Saturday, November 21.
Visit www.immaculatehs.org/tuition
Holy Cross High School Invitation:
Virtual Open House is Thursday, November 12th at 6:30pm RSVP today!
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY...Lands’ End Scholarship is open for submissions! Please see
the flyer in the important documents section of this newsletter. They will accept applications
until they have 1,000 or until December 15th; so please get your application in early! This is a
wonderful opportunity as they will award $5000 to up to 5 students to use towards school or
college tuition!
We look forward to meeting with you during Parent-Teacher Conferences next week. In the
meantime, there is a beautiful weekend on the forecast;; I hope you have time to make some wonderful fall memories!
Thank you to the many parents who joined the HSA/Annual “State of the School” virtual meeting last night. We would like to extend our thanks to Mr. G and Mrs. B for providing updates and answering questions. A copy of the HSA Slides from last nights meeting are located here: http://bit.ly/hsaslides11-05-20
Finally, for those of you who were unable to attend the meeting, here is a link to the recording of last nights meeting:
http://bit.ly/hsameeting11-5-20
Thank you to all those families that participated in the Trunk R Treat! It was a great evening. We’d like to thank all our volunteers and extend a special thanks to the Bauco family for a spectacular fireworks show!
We are excited for the upcoming virtual Book Fair which will take place November 9th – 22nd. There are over 6,000 items including new releases, best sellers and value packs. Starting Nov. 9th please go to www.scholastic.com/bf/stroseschool10 to get started. All purchases benefit our school.
Finally, we’d like to express our gratitude to Carine Kari for her time and energy in managing the Uniform Exchange over the last few years! Your efforts have helped many families – thank you! And we are grateful to Monica Lopes for stepping up to take on the exchange.
Please reach out to the HSA for support anytime - you can reach us at hsa@srles.com. We appreciate your support!
Have a great weekend.
Your HSA Board
Social Concerns Thanksgiving Drive
Week of November 9-13, 2020
Due to the Covid restrictions, the St. Rose Parish Social Concerns Committee is asking for donations of gift cards to Stop and Shop, Big Y, CVS, Walgreens or Walmart, or a simple monetary gift, instead of actual items this year.
Our school community has always been so supportive of this outreach. If means allow, please send in gift card or monetary donations, in an envelope marked Social Concerns, with your child who will give it to their homeroom teacher.
On Friday, November 13, teachers will send all donations to the school Office and we will give them to the Social Concerns Committee.
In turn, the Social Concerns Committee will distribute these donations to parishioners and the community in need through 11 food banks, soup kitchens and shelters – including FAITH Food Pantry, Catholic Charities, and Dorothy Day House.
The need is even greater this year. Please consider getting gift cards through the Scrip program which will double your support -- you'll be helping those in need AND assisting St. Rose School!
May God bless you for your generosity and support.
LET'S HONOR OUR VETERANS!
Do you have a family member or friend who is a veteran? The Knights of Columbus would like to recognize them in a special tribute board that will be displayed during their presentation at school on November 13th. Please send photos, names, ranks, branch of service to Scott Anders, wscottanders@gmail.com by November 8th.
We are so grateful to the brave service of our veterans -- may God bless them always.
