OUR MISSION:
St. Rita School inspires students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade eight to achieve academic excellence in a safe, nurturing and faith-filled Catholic environment.
We prepare students to be morally responsible, innovative thinkers who, in today’s technology-guided global community, live and share the Love of Christ.
From the Desk of Mrs. Tiezzi
Dear SRS Parents and Guardians,

Happy New Year to all! I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new pastor, Fr. Christopher Tiano, who has been selected to lead the Catholic community of Hamden, at St. Paul VI Parish. Fr. Tiano will oversee St. Rita School, St. Rita Early Learning Center, St. Rita Church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Blessed Sacrament Church, Ascension Church, as well as St. Mary Cemetery. The faculty, staff, and I look forward to working closely with Fr. Tiano to further the mission of our new parish, St. Paul VI. Joining Fr. Tiano as parochial vicar is Fr. Mauricio Galvis. Senior parochial vicar, Msgr. DiSciacca will stay on in residence for the foreseeable future and assist Fr. Tiano during this time of transition. Msgr. Joe will be leaving for a well deserved vacation on Sunday but will be back in time for Catholic Schools Week at the end of the month.

Thank you to all our families for your generosity during the Christmas holiday. Your acts of kindness through the overwhelming number of cards and gifts bestowed on us all, are immeasurable and did much to spread Christmas joy to our hardworking and dedicated faculty and staff. 

I would like to invite all St. Rita parents to a free 90 minute virtual presentation on Internet Safety for your Children by renowned expert, Scott Driscoll. The presentation about the importance of safety when using technology will be held this Monday, January 10 at 7:00 P.M. The link for the program is listed below. His presentation will cover the following topics: social networking concerns, cyberbullying, texting and sexting, popular apps, picture sharing, privacy settings, digital footprint, parental monitoring apps/programs, parental controls, and available resources. St. Rita parents, regardless of your child’s age or grade level, are invited to attend this free parent event. Scott will be presenting two in-person programs for our students in grades 4-8 on Monday morning.

Now that winter has officially arrived, I want to remind you that all important school inclement weather closing and delayed opening information will be sent out to parents via text, email, robo call and also posted on the various TV news stations. St. Rita School will usually follow the decision made by the Town of Hamden in regard to school delays, closings or early dismissal as we receive busing services through First Student. Our school calendar has allotted 5 inclement weather days for our students. If we need additional days off from in-person instruction due to an excessive number of inclement weather days, we will provide remote learning for all our students.

Unfortunately, we have had an uptick in the number of COVID cases within our school community similar to what is happening within the state. These cases occurred over Christmas break; however we have many students out either with COVID or quarantining after an exposure. For the safety of our community we will continue to follow the 10 day rule for quarantining. Please monitor your child for any signs of illness and do not send your child to school if he or she is sick. Cold-like symptoms are one of the signs of this current variant of COVID. Just a final reminder, if your child has been fully vaccinated please send his/her vaccination record to Mrs. Palma. Currently we have approximately 38% of our student population fully vaccinated.

Thank you for all that you are doing to help keep our SRS community safe.

Thank you for entrusting your child/ren to our care. Best wishes for a happy, holy and healthy 2022.


God Bless,
Mrs. Tiezzi
On January 10, 2020 St. Rita will host an Internet Safety program for both students and parents.

Scott Driscoll, President of Internet Safety Concepts and former law enforcement youth officer, will present three separate programs:
an in-school program for grades 4-5 students,
another for grades 6-8 students,
and an evening virtual program at 7:00 pm for parents.

Scott’s presentation will heighten students’ awareness of what could happen if they are not thinking about safety or the consequences of using today’s ever changing technology.

The parent program shows parents the positives and potential pitfalls of today’s most popular technology applications.

Please click the link below to join the
parent webinar at 7:00 pm on Monday, January 10:
 
Passcode: 707516
 
 
Webinar ID: 850 8776 3945
Passcode: 707516

Our Lost & Found bin is overflowing!! If your child is missing anything, especially a fleece, please have him/her check the lost & found bin at the top of the gym stairs.
Order Your Yearbook Today!
Click HERE to order!

Yearbook Order Code: 7912222
Early Bird Price: $25
if ordered by January 31st!
after January 31st the price will be $30
Yearbook Includes:
• Sturdy softcover with protective coating
• All-color pages that vibrantly capture your memories
throughout the school year
• Durable saddle-stitched binding that keeps the
yearbook intact through wear and tear

Xavier High School will be hosting 
an Open House:
 
Wednesday February 8, 6:00 to 7:30 pm
Hamden Hall Country Day School is once again offering its popular Summer Engineering & Science Academy to students entering Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 who enjoy challenging themselves with hands-on activities in the fields of engineering, science, technology and mathematics.

Experiential learning is at the nucleus of this complimentary, fully funded, week-long enrichment program, which is scheduled this year for July 11-15. Students perform lab work and collaborate in groups to fully explore and make discoveries in the areas of DNA technology, forensics, cryptography, sustainable architecture, chemistry, and more.

Interested families are able to learn more about this opportunity by clicking HERE

Click the buttons to download the application paperwork
Nurse's Corner
Welcome back and Happy New Year!

As we headed back to school this week we had several families impacted by COVID. Because of this we have decided to stay with the 10 day quarantine for those impacted by COVID. We will begin to adopt the new DPH and CDC guidelines of a 5 day quarantine beginning next week. The new guidelines are as follows:

1). If you have symptoms of COVID - stay home and test.

   a. If you test positive - Isolate for 5 days and return on day 6 if fever free for 24 hours and symptoms have improved. Continue to mask for 5 more days when in the community.

   b. If you test negative - return to school when fever-free for 24 hours and symptoms have improved.

2. If exposed to someone with COVID-19 and you are fully vaccinated (greater than 2 weeks since last vaccine dose), 
   
   a. You may come to school if you are symptom free.
 
   b. Test on day 5.

   c. If it is an in-house contact with someone with COVID-19, monitor for symptoms and consider quarantining for 5 days unless the person in the home is truly quarantining away from the family. 

3. If exposed to someone with COVID-19 and you are not fully vaccinated:

   a. Quarantine for 5 days and monitor for symptoms.

   b. Test on day 5 of last exposure.

Remember an exposure is greater than 15 minutes and within 3 feet of that person.

We will no longer be doing contact tracing if there is an in-school contact. You will be notified if there is a positive case in your child's class. 

Please continue to send in a copy of your child's COVID vaccination card after they have received both doses of the vaccine. 

Lastly, please continue to keep your child home if they display any cold symptoms. As we all know, this new variant spreads rather quickly so it is better to remain cautious.

Thank you for working with us in keeping our school community healthy and safe. 
HSA
Home/School Association
N.U.T. (No Uniform Today)
Coupons are back!

You can help support our school with fun themed N.U.T. days - One scheduled day per month from January through May where students can dress the part! We will be sending the coupons home the first week in January.
5 Coupons for $25 (charged to your March Smart Tuition)

Please sign up HERE!
Shop with Scrip Fundraiser:
With the help of over 750 brands, Scrip turns your everyday shopping into earnings for St. Rita School through the purchase of gift cards.

Monies for our school are earned through the purchase of gift cards. Every gift card has a rebate percentage on it so every time a gift card is purchased that rebate goes directly to St. Rita.

There are over 750 fabulous brands to choose from - whether your needs are groceries, gas, dining out, home improvement projects, clothing, travel, parties or special occasion, there's a Scrips gift card for every occasion.

IT'S EASY, IT'S REWARDING, AND IT FITS PERFECTLY INTO YOUR BUSY LIFESTYLE.

Thank you for supporting SRS and Happy Shopping!
Please pray for the Holder Family, and all those who are suffering or have lost a loved-one during this pandemic.
Please pray for Mrs. Joan Foley (grandmother of Pearl Tuttle), the Jones Family, and all the deceased members of our
St. Rita School community.
St. Rita School
1601 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06517
Phone: (203) 248.3114
Fax: (203) 248.1016
www.stritaschool.org