Dear Families,

Teachers, parents, and students across the district have an opportunity to participate in the Climate, Culture, and Catholic Identity Survey utilizing the 5Essentials Survey. This survey is designed to generate a detailed picture of the inner workings of your child’s school.

As a parent, this opportunity will allow you to share your thoughts on the important elements of school effectiveness in a survey about your child’s school. The 5Essentials Survey will be administered online by UChicago Impact at the University of Chicago. The survey gathers data related to five indicators that can predict important student outcomes, including improved attendance and larger test score gains. These five indicators that affect and predict school success are:

Prior research has shown that schools that were strong on at least three of these “5Essential” indicators were 10 times more likely to improve student learning gains in math and reading than those that were weak on three or more Essentials.

All teachers and 4th through 12th grade students will be responding to this survey. 5Essentials Reports will be generated for schools if their teachers and/or students meet the response rate threshold of 50 percent.

Additionally, our district has chosen to provide the 5Essential parent survey. If at least 20 percent of Saint Francis Xavier parents complete this survey, a parent supplement report will also be generated.

Your participation in the parent portion of the survey will help us understand the conditions at your child’s school and guide improvement. Your identity and survey responses will be kept completely confidential and will never be connected to you or your child.

The 5Essentials Survey will be conducted March 8- March 19, 2021 To take the survey please visit https://survey.5-essentials.org/archchicago/survey/parent/.

Sincerely,

The Archdiocesan COVID-19 Task Force continues to monitor all published local and federal quarantine information and updates our guidelines to align with the most current guidance of the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Cook County Department of Public Health. Therefore, we are implementing the following adjustments, which include exceptions for vaccinated persons meeting specific criteria.

These guidelines are effective immediately for all archdiocesan school families and apply to all archdiocesan clergy and personnel.

Vaccinated individuals who have traveled domestically (state-to-state) are not required to quarantine if they are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated (i.e., more than two weeks have passed after receipt of the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or more than two weeks have passed after receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine).

Non-vaccinated individuals traveling domestically (state-to-state) should consult the City of Chicago’s Department of Public Health Emergency Travel Order map, which is updated every Tuesday. Depending on to which state an individual travels, a quarantine of 10 days may be required.

If your child is planning on traveling, parents must check the CDPH Emergency Travel Map prior to traveling. 

If the state you are traveling to is an ORANGE state, the Wednesday prior to travel please report that travel to school. 

Travel to ORANGE states requires a 10 day quarantine beginning the date after return. A negative Covid 19 test does not change this quarantine requirement.

I hope this clarifies any questions, feel free to reach out if you have further questions.

Be Well and God Bless,

CLICK HERE to start browsing books now!

More info to come!

It is important that everyone follows the traffic rules during arrival and dismissal for the safety of all. There is no parking on the west side of Waiola at any time during the school day including arrival and dismissal. Students should only be dropped off or picked up along the sidewalk and not from the middle of the street. Double-parking, even for a minute, is not permitted. U turns are not permitted. Cars should never block or go into our neighbor’s driveways. After parents have dropped off a child or have picked them up they need to leave the area to make room for other parents. Parents should not begin lining up for dismissal until 1:45pm to allow traffic to flow on Waiola. We expect everyone’s cooperation and patience in this matter.

Parents of bicycle riders... With the snow thaw comes the happy bike riders! Thank you for continuing to ask your children if they have been locking their bikes at school, and reinforce the need to do so!

Students must lock their bikes in the bike racks during the school day with a lock the student’s family has purchased. The school assumes no liability for bicycles.

Student council will be collecting a $1 or more donation starting March 10th through March 17th. Our school supports Team Dominic! "Do It For Dominic!"

He attended Ogden school in LaGrange. "Dominic was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma before kindergarten in 2008 and died days after he finished second grade in 2011. Dom achieved many things and made many friends in his three years of school. Dominic touched our lives briefly but left us with a lifetime of dreams to hold on to." (St. Baldrick's Website)

The students that bring in a donation will have a full green dress down day on March 17th!

DATE: Thursday, 3/11

TIME: 8:20am

PLACE: Mary Garden on the Spring Ave side of the church (inclement weather? We will gather in the church.)

If you know in advance that you will be joining us, please register on the parish website for: "Rosary--Thursday."

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044daaa72ea2f94-community1 If your schedule changes, or the morning routine goes smoother than expected, or you realize it's Thursday, or you just forget to register? No problem! Join us! We'll mark your info when you arrive. (required by Archdiocese for contact tracing, if necessary)

JOIN US VIRTUALLY: If you are interested in praying together virtually, click on the zoom link:

Questions? Contact Katie Kanzer at k.f.kanzer@gmail.com

Each Pride Pack comes with an SFX lawn chair with carrying bag, a plush navy SFX blanket, a lawn sign and a deck of SFX playing cards. The Pride Packs will be ready to pick up after Spring Break. More details about pick up will follow. All items come in the bundle; we are not taking a la carte orders at this time. Order HERE by 3/19.

How to get Tax Return Tuition Credit info from FACTS:

Step 1: Sign in at https://online.factsmgt.com

Step 2: Select 'View Details'

Step 3: Select 'View Payment Summary' (Page will open in another window or tab)

Step 4: Select the year & then 'Print'

These statements can be used to fill out the Illinois Receipt for Qualified Education Expenses for your Illinois tax return and/or, in the case of PreSchool, the Child and Dependent Care Expenses form for your Federal tax return.

Every child deserves the chance to succeed. Empower Illinois wants to make that possible by helping Illinois families find the best education for their child. In late 2017, the Illinois Legislature created the income-based Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship Program to ensure all children have access to a quality education. This scholarship program makes K–12 private schools an option for thousands of kids.

These scholarships provide children and their families with opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be available. Scholarships are based on financial need. Let us make a difference in your child’s life.

Please follow this link for additional information: https://empowerillinois.org/

Application Reminders

The application is a two-part process

• Part one is a brief reservation form which will timestamp applications

• Part one of the application is available at: https://reservation21.empowerexchange.org/

• Families will be notified when they may complete part two which is accessed here: EmpowerXChange portal https://app.empowerillinois.org/sign-in

• Families are encouraged to submit their application ASAP

• Families who intend to complete the FACTS Management Tuition Assistance application are also encouraged to complete the Empower Illinois application.

If you know a new family interested in enrolling* their children, please have them contact Mary Tassi at enrollment@sfxlg.org or 352-2175 ext. 331.

*We currently have a short waitlist in PS3 and 5th Grade for 2021-2022