"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
-Matthew 18:20
Dear St. Rose School Families,
I had a good belly laugh yesterday when a Kindergarten student looked up at me earnestly and asked "Mr. G, what do you want to be when you grow up?" It was just what I needed -- he gave me hope that there are brighter days ahead and with God anything is possible!
We kicked off Catholic Schools week with a good old fashioned New England snowstorm and a traditional day off from classes. As always we were grateful to teachers and families for flexibility in learning remotely on Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday found us back in the classrooms engaged in lessons and service outreaches. On Friday we attended mass together, virtually, to recognize the significance of Catholic education and our St. Rose School family. We look forward to resuming more activities next week which Mrs. B will share in her Student Life Update.
My heart is very thankful for our dedicated teachers and staff who work tirelessly to ensure a premier education and community experience for our students and families. I'd like to take this time to recognize Mrs. B, our Dean of Student Life, Mrs. Sweeting our Administrative Assistant, Nurse Bonnie, Officer Perez, Mrs. Verdi, our Counselor, Mrs. Coppola, our Admissions Director, Mr. Rice, our Bookkeeper and Mrs. Moulder our Advancement Director, for all of their efforts. In addition to all of our wonderful teachers whom you know and love so well, I'd like to thank our Teacher Aides, Substitutes and Custodians. A special shout out to Mrs. Kirkman for taking on the role of Art teacher for the year and who will also be teaching Fourth grade Science this semester. We have a strong team in place!
We are blessed and honored to have the spiritual guidance of Monsignor Bob, Sister Thaddeus and Father Tom. They are wonderful teachers and role models who inspire us all to live our faith fully and come together as a family.
I am delighted that so many of our current families have registered for the 2021-2022 school year -- thank you for continuing the journey with us. We value your partnership and promise to maintain the high standards that have defined St. Rose School for more than 60 years. Our virtual open houses last weekend were well attended and resulted in several new student registrations which means that our family is expanding and we are grateful. Strong enrollment is a work in progress so please help us continue to spread the word about St. Rose School.
We are working diligently to stay on site and honor the distance learning needs of some students. Nurse Bonnie will continue to keep us informed regarding Covid related matters. In the meantime we ask you to review all school protocols, particularly concerning Distance Learning. I have included an important message in the box below to ensure that we are all on the same page with the details of this practice. If you have any questions please email Mrs. B, dean@srles.com.
On behalf of the Faculty and myself, THANK YOU for all of the generous outreaches this week. We relished our Marketplace lunch today, courtesy of the HSA, and the many goodies provided by so many of you. Your support means the world, especially during these unprecedented times. We are all in this together and ever so grateful for the gift of St. Rose School and Catholic education.
I hope you will all join us for the HSA meeting next Wednesday, February 10th at 6:30 p.m. via zoom. We have good news and important updates to share with the school community.
Another weekend has arrived. I hope it is relaxing and restorative. Stay healthy and hopeful!
God Bless,
Mr. Gjoka
IMPORTANT DISTANCE LEARNING FYI
We want to clarify policy for making requests for Distance Learning.
Distance Learning was an option given to families who wanted to keep their children home instead of sending them for in person learning. We realized that these concerns have fluctuated in the first half of the year and will continue to change in the upcoming months. Parents can make the request for Distance Learning if they have concerns regarding covid and in person learning. The request has to be for a designated amount of time (minimum of 1 week) and to allow for teacher planning, we need at least 24 hours notice; if requests come in on a school day morning, your child will not be able to join remotely until the next day, if the request is approved.
Distance Learning is not for absences due to illnesses (unless related to covid, quarantine, and covid testing). These are regular absences; will count as an absence; and students will have access to Google Classroom for assignments and will have the usual makeup days=to days absence for catching up on work and assessments.
For parents planning family trips in the upcoming months. Please note that Distance Learning cannot be used while on the trip or during required quarantine upon return from your trip (Nurse Bonnie keeps us updated in the weekly newsletter on quarantine and testing requirements).
The mission of the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund (BSF) is to help families in need afford a Catholic education. In the 2020-2021 academic year, BSF awarded nearly $2,700,000 in aid to families at Diocesan elementary schools in Fairfield County.
Applications opened this week -- the deadline for returning families is March 15, 2021 and April 15, 2021 for new families.
We are excited to offer weekly, live virtual tours with Mrs. Coppola for Kindergarten through 8th grade prospective families. These will take place at 11:00-12:00 noon Tuesdays. Registration required using this link. If you are interested in touring the Preschool or have other questions email admissions@srles.com. Please share the word!
8th graders made cards for essential workers at Danbury Hospital while 2nd graders studied different vocations.
A good old fashioned -- and safe -- game of Family Feud was played between Team Faculty and Team 8th Grade in the Gathering Hall. Students won!
Kindergarten students celebrate "Grow Up" day teaching us that God has a special plan for all of his children, not matter their age.
STUDENT LIFE UPDATE
by Mrs. B
Dear St. Rose Families,
As Catholic Schools Week comes to an official close tomorrow,in the great tradition of St. Rose, the celebrations will go on! As we started the week with a major snowstorm, our opening ceremony and two very, very special days were canceled, I should say postponed.
How could we call it a true Catholic Schools Week celebration without our Spirit Day, Pig Races, and of course Student Appreciation Day? It would be unheard of, especially this year! So, the festivities continue. Here are our plans for next week…
First let’s not forget the last official day for tomorrow….
Saturday, February 6th---Celebrating Families
Parents, guardians, and other family members play a vital role in Catholic education. Not only do they volunteer at the school, they instill values and expectations for academic excellence in their children at home. We hope that you celebrate with your SRS student(s) and have a fun filled family day!
Next week’s plan…
Thursday, February 11th ---Student Appreciation Day
We love and are very proud of our students and are happy to have a day to show them in an extra special way! This is a day that is well deserved by our student population! Our students have meet and exceeded so many expectations, in all ways, this first semester; so we are thrilled to bring this day to them to let them know, we did notice and we are grateful for each and every one of them!
We begin with a DRESS DOWN (our Preschoolers through Grade 2 are invited to wear PJ’s) Grades 3 through 8 are invited to wear something comfortable because…the gift of a relaxing afternoon with MOVIE TIME and SNACKS is on the lesson plan of the day!
With all this excitement how can they concentrate on assessments?! So, this is a no tests, quizzes, or assessments day!!
Of course after such a strenuous day of being honored we can’t expect them to do homework! So, this is also a no homework evening!
Friday, February 12th ---Celebrating Your Community Day
We always kick off Catholic Schools Week off with our SRS SPIRIT! This year, we will end our celebrations in a strong spirited way! Students and Staff DRESS DOWN in RED and WHITE.
Can we help others while celebrating? Yes we CAN, CAN!!
We are asking for a donation of two canned goods or other nonperishable food items as our service for the day. As the cold weather sets in and amidst the pandemic, our food pantries needs to be restocked more often; this is a great opportunity for your child to have fun while helping us serve those in need! A big part of Catholic education is learning the importance of service to others; fostering the values and faith gained by being blessed to have a Catholic education.
Our food donations will go to Faith Food Pantry; a ministry located right on our St. Rose Campus.
Our annual PIG RACES will take off that day too!! We will be safely competing two classes at a time in the Gathering Hall; and as we move through the brackets look forward to seeing which PIG will emerge victorious!
We begin Friday morning, as we do with all things, with prayer. Following prayer, we welcome a new tradition, The SRS Spirit Stroll, led by our school leaders, the Class of 2021. While our younger students line the hallways, with pom-poms, our 8th graders will take the Spirit Stroll through the hallways to the cheers of their peers and young friends as they are announced over the PA!
We ask that you submit your questions in advance along with input for any topics you would like covered. We are interested in hearing from parents about what is going well and what needs to improve in our overall school community. We'd love to share some positivity with our community about the many things that are going well in our school.
To close out Catholic schools week we are happy to report that the HSA provided a “Jar of Rejuvenation”, flowers and a catered lunch compliments of Market Place to our teachers and staff today as an expression of our thanks and appreciation for them! Special thanks to Marc and Maggie Anderson for donating the beautiful lunch and to the Naughton family for their generous financial donation. Photos are included here! Thank you to all those who sent in gifts and/or messages of thanks to the wonderful staff! We are certain it brightened their day!
Your HSA Board
TUITION RAFFLE A SUCCESS!
Congratulations to the Duda Family, winners of the Tuition Raffle!
And...THANKS to all who supported this important school fundraiser. A total of 241 tickets were sold which shows a phenomenal effort during a time when in person contact is so limited. The energy and enthusiasm of our parent committee who communicated frequently with their classes and braved all kinds of weather to sell tickets at car walk, as well as dedicated weekend time to sell at masses, was amazing. Special thanks to Mrs. Sweeting for being on call weekdays for phone sales. This was a team St. Rose School effort. Net proceeds for the Blooms Fund will be announced at the HSA meeting next week.
Fundraising is a critical component to balancing our annual budget and keeping St. Rose School healthy for the future. Thank you for offering your time, talent and treasure to help our beloved school continue to thrive.
