Irish Insider
April 6 , 2021
We hope you enjoy the Irish Insider. For consideration in future editions, please email info@stcathschool.com by 9am Monday for the Tuesday's edition.
In This Issue
  • Upcoming Events
  • Thoughts with Mr. Watts
  • COVID-19 Update
  • St Catharine School Return to Full Time, In-Person Learning
  • School Mass Schedule
  • *Updated*Gym Day Schedule
  • School Lunches
  • New Communication Days
  • Legislative Action Network
  • Flower Sale
  • Latchkey
  • Community Night - TT Murph's
  • TRIP/SCRIP
  • CCL Spring 7 on 7 League
  • St Catharine Athletics
  • St. Catharine Spring Sports Registration
  • Lindy Infante Foundation Scholarship
  • Commissioners Needed
  • St Catharine Church
  • Middle School Youth Group
  • 2021-2022 School Calendar
Upcoming Events
  • Sunday, April 11
  • Middle School (6th-8th) Youth Group
  • School Gym 6p-8p
  • Tuesday, April 13
  • Irish Insider
  • Home & School Meeting 6p
  • Advisory Board Meeting 7p
  • Wednesday, April 14
  • School Mass - K-3rd
  • Thursday, April 15
  • Community Night - TT Murph's 3:30p-Close
  • Sunday, April 18
  • Middle School (6th-8th) Youth Group
  • School Gym 6p-8p
  • Tuesday, April 20
  • Irish Insider
  • First Communion Rehearsal
  • Church 6p
  • Wednesday, April 21
  • School Mass - 4th-8th
Thoughts with Mr. Watts
"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."
-1 Peter 2:21
St. Catharine Families:

Happy Easter to all of you. I hope you had a joyous break and we are so blessed to have all our students back together. We are looking forward to a strong finish to this year.

Sometimes when we are on a journey, we get caught up in how far we still need to go. I am not denying there wont be more challenges ahead for our school community. However, I feel it is important to look back at all we have accomplished over the past year. A journey is better judged by the distance traveled and obstacles overcome that the final destination.

Finally, we often find ourselves relying on the skills we were taught and the experiences we've had when facing challenges. What this past year has taught us, is that when we face unknown challenges and obstacles, we must rely on our virtues. This pandemic has the potential to bring out the best in our students. This pandemic has the ability to reveal our character. We look forward to helping our students discover who God meant them to be, especially through those challenges.

Yours in Christ,

Mark Watts
"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 1:5-8 
COVID-19 UPDATES
If anyone in your household would have a Positive COVID-19 test result, you must notify Mr. Watts by calling (614) 949-7713 as soon as possible, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

If anyone in your household has been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is awaiting a COVID-19 test, the rest of the household must quarantine for 10 days or until the test results come back negative. Please call the school office as soon as possible in this situation. at (614) 235-1396.
 
We are required to post positive cases of students and staff on our website weekly. Currently, we have 0 active cases and 5 cumulative cases with students and staff. (As of4.5)
St Catharine School Return to Full Time, In-Person Learning
Highlights of the plan

  • Begins Tuesday, April 6
  • Arrival/ Dismissal
  • Drop-Off between 7:45 and 8:00 AM
  • Pick-Up begins at 2:45 PM
  • School Day 8am - 2:45pm
  • Masks must be worn at all times
  • No Gaiter type masks
  • Masks breaks will be outside, 6 feet apart
  • Latchkey is available before and after school
School Mass Schedule
School Mass Dates
School Mass will continue to be closed to family members for the remainder of the year. As we increase the number of students attending Mass while still maintaining social distancing, it is not possible to allow visitors at this time.

Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grade Masses
Wednesday, April 14th
Wednesday, April 28th
Wednesday, Mary 12th
Wednesday, May 26th
Wednesday, June 2nd

4th, 5th, 6th. 7th, and 8th Grades Masses
Wednesday, April 7th
Wednesday, April 21st
Wednesday, May 5th
Wednesday, May 19th
Wednesday, June 2nd
*Updated*Gym Day Schedule
There will be three major changes to with gym class starting on Tuesday, April 6th.

1.) Kindergarten students will now have gym on Tuesdays
2.) 4th Grade Students will now have gym on Thursdays
3.) All students will have a second gym day on Wednesdays, every other week.

Gym Days by Grade
Every Tuesday
Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grades should wear gym uniforms

Every Thursday
4th, 5th 6th, 7th, and 8th Grades should wear gym uniforms

Wednesdays (Alternating "Odd" and "Even" Days)
Wednesday, April 7th - K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grades
Wednesday, April 14th - 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades
Wednesday, April 21st - K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grades
Wednesday, April 28th - 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades
Wednesday, Mary 5th - K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grades
Wednesday, May 12th - 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades
Wednesday, May 19th - K, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grades
Wednesday, May 26th - 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades
School Lunches
We will continue to provide Free USDA Lunches for the remainder for the school year using the same School Lunch Sign-Up Sheet we have been using. Please be sure to update whether your child(ren) will need a lunch no later than 8:30 each morning. Teachers will also confirm during attendance each morning.


Contrary to prior communications, we WILL be allowing students to bring lunch boxes to school. Please make sure your child's name is labeled on the lunch box.

We will not be able to provide free milk or water to students who are not receiving a lunch from the school. Nor will we be selling milk or water at lunch. If your child packs a lunch, please ensure they have packed a drink as well.
New Communication Days
Less is More... At least that is what they say!!

Now that life seems to be heading to a more "normal" state, we have made the decision to streamline our communications. You can expect:
  • Irish Insider
  • Every Tuesday (We are in school)
  • Submissions for the Insider are due Monday at 9am
  • Weekly Wrap-up
  • Every Friday (We are in school)
  • Mr. Watts will give you a wrap up of all the week's activities and what's to come.

Need to know what uniform, what's for lunch, or where your child has recess? Bookmark this link for the daily update.


You can also keep up on all of the fun, day to day activities in our classrooms on our Instagram and Facebook pages. Click on the icons below to be directed to our feed. Then Like and Follow !

You may also receive emails and texts outside of this time frame but they will be last minute information that can not be held. If you have any suggestions that would help to make St Catharine School communication more effective, please don't hesitate to reach out to info@stcathschool.com
Legislative Action Network
The diocesan Office of Catholic Schools has a newly formed advocacy arm, the Legislative Action Network (LAN). This network represents our schools, students, and families through efforts with the legislative process. The LAN is a vehicle for disseminating government affairs information to parents in our school communities, and to organize legislative activity such as letter and email writing, legislator visits, and phone calls about important issues that our elected officials debate during each legislative cycle. Those issues include the following and more: religious liberty, school choice, alternative testing, transportation, student safety and other regulations.  

We are asking for parents like you to join us in this effort of advocating for our children! The State Budget is in full swing. Currently the Ohio House is hearing testimony from agencies and stakeholders regarding HB 110, that creates appropriations for FY 2022-2023. There are several important budget items we’d like to ask our representative to support.  Here is a template you can use to contact State Representative Dontavius Jarrells, as St. Catharine School is in his district. This can be emailed to him at rep25@ohiohouse.gov or mailed to 77 South High Street, 10th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215.

We will keep you informed through the Irish Insider! Contact Beth Henney henneybeth@gmail.com to receive all legislative updates from the Office of Catholic Schools, action alerts, and email templates for letter writing campaigns.

For more information about the LAN and the legislative process, please visit the LAN page of the Our Catholic Schools website: https://education.columbuscatholic.org/legislative-action-network




Click on the letter to download the template
Flower Sale
Thank you for supporting St. Catharine Home and School! Mark your calendars for curbside pickup on Saturday, May 15, 10a-1p.
Latchkey
Afternoon Latchkey will resume on Tuesday, April 6th. Please click on the form below if you are interested in morning or after-school latchkey. There will be an options for morning (7:00-7:45) and afternoon (2:45-5:30) latchkey. Please indicate which days and times you are interested on the form. 
Community Night - TT Murph's
Join us on Thursday, April 15th (starting at 3:30pm) to show T.T. Murph’s the love that they have always shown us!! Please dine in or place a carry out order to say

“Thank you for always supporting us!”
TRIP/SCRIP
Kroger Quarterly Report
It is now time to report your quarterly earnings from you Kroger Plus Community Rewards Card.
Still don’t know how to use SCRIP? Need to still get registered?
Please reach out to Alli Brinkmeyer at 614-214-5428 call or txt or email at stcatharinetrip@yahoo.com

Get your order in for physical gift cards. Alli will be placing the next monthly order on Friday, May 7

Current inventory of physical cards available today (just reach out to purchase and money goes right into your OWN TUITION ACCOUNT)

Amazon 4 -$25
Chipotle 3- $25
Dicks Sporting Goods 1- $25
Giant Eagle 1- $100
Kohls 2-$100
Lowe’s 1- $25
Meijer 3- $25
Meijer 5- $100
Menards 1-$100
Panera Bread 4- $5
Starbucks 8- $10
Starbucks 3- $5
Target 5- $10
Target 2-$25
TAT 6- $25
Tim Hortons 3- $10
TJ Max, Marshall’s and Homegoods 4- $25


*St Catharine School and Church in not responsible for lost or stolen gift cards. They do not keep records of card numbers. Therefore, we suggest making note of your card numbers in case you are a victim of theft
E-gift cards and Reloads can be done at anytime through the website or app (RaiseRight).

Get Signed Up TODAY
CCL Spring 7 on 7 League
St. Catharine Spring Sports Registration
Baseball
Grades 4-8
Baseball starts April 5 games start April 26-May 24
COACHES NEEDED!
Questions contact Paul Keiffer: pkeiffer@gmail.com
Lindy Infante Scholarship
The Lindy Infante Scholarship Foundation helps families who need assistance paying for Diocesan athletic fees. Please fill out the application and send to:

Marty Raines
Diocesan Recreation Association
197 E. Gay St.
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Commissioners needed
  • football
  • girls lacrosse
  • baseball
  • summer baseball 
  • basketball
This is a great way to volunteer!!

Please contact PJ Keiffer with any questions at 614-668-0134 or email, pkeiffer@gmail.com

Go Irish!!
St Catharine Church
Middle School Youth Group is back!

Select Sundays // 6:00pm-8:00pm in the School Gym

2021 Dates:

April 11th
April 18th

Questions? Contact Dorothy Allwein, dorothy@damascus.net
2021-2022 School Calendar
These dates have been set by the Diocese. We will be adding addition dates (Teacher Professional Development Days, Record Days, etc...) at a later time. Please check the school google calendar for the most up to date information
  • Wednesday, August 25, 2021
  • First Day of School
  • September 6, 2021
  • No School – Labor Day
  • November 25 and November 26, 2021
  • Thanksgiving
  • December 20 through December 31, 2021
  • Christmas Vacation
  • January 17, 2022
  • No School – Martin Luther King Day
  • February 21, 2022
  • No School – Presidents’ Day
  • March 14 through March 18, 2022
  • Spring Vacation
  • April 15 and April 18, 2022
  • Easter (Good Friday and Easter Monday)
  • May 30, 2022
  • No School – Memorial Day
  • June 2, 2022
  • 8th Grade Graduation
  • June 3, 2022
  • Last Day for Students