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Hello St. Catharine Families:

I sincerely hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Labor Day weekend. We are moving into the 3rd week of school and our students are more comfortable with learning, with their environment, and being in a school setting. Thank you for being a valued partner in keeping all of our students safer during this Fall.

Our goal at St. Catharine School is to continue to keep our students and staff safe. Please read the detailed section on Drop-off and Pick-Up procedures below. As a reminder, any student who is being picked up in a car, should do so in the back of the building in the pick-up line. For safety reasons, please do not pick your child up in front of the building.

The fact that we have had minimal quarantines and no cases (I hope I didn't jinx us), says a lot about the willingness of our school community to keep everyone safe. That, or we have been extremely lucky. Either way, we can get through this.

We are continuing to monitor local COVID cases at the Diocesan and school levels. The Diocesan principals communicate on a weekly basis and our school task force is ready to reconvene when the time comes.

One of the factors the Diocese is monitoring is the 7-Day Average Case Rate in Franklin County per 100,000. As of now, we are at 260. Once that number get below 100 (like it was before school started), the Diocesan task force will make a decision on how to move forward.

We will continue to take the necessary precautions to keep everyone healthy and safe. Please keep doing the following.

Some steps we are taking to mitigate risk:

One of the biggest differences from last year is that students 1.) don't have to quarantine if exposure to COVID-19 is in a classroom setting (while masks are worn and/ or students are vaccinated) and 2.) students can "test out" of quarantine 5 days after exposure. If you have any questions about COVID protocols, please contact me directly.

There are so many ways our amazing students can stand out with their kind words and virtuous actions. Violations of dress codes are not the best way to stand out. There are a few items, in particular, I want to bring to your attention.

Boys: Hairstyles should not cover the eyebrows, ears, or collar of the shirt. Please make sure your son's hairstyle adheres to the student dress code. Please make haircut arrangements as soon as possible.

Girls: As a reminder, girls should not wear make-up, only have one (non-dangly) earring per ear, and only clear nail polish.

Verbal warnings for dress-code violations will start this week. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please read the 2021-2022 Parent-Student Handbook and complete the Handbook Acknowledgement Form before Wednesday, September 15th. All parents are required to complete this form.

Parents, please fill out this Photo-Release Form before Wednesday, September 15th.

Tonight (Tuesday) at 6:30 PM in the Parish Hall (NEW TIME)

This 45-minute informational session will take a deeper look into standards-based grading to help parents to develop a better understanding of the "how" and "why" of K-8 grading.

We will look at how grading is used as a comprehensive communication tool to provide authentic and timely feedback for students and parents.

We will dive into some of the research from Ken O'Connor on how standards-based grading gives teachers and parents a clearer picture of our child's learning.

We will also explore how parents can become more comfortable with the standards, codes, and the thought process that goes into grading.

UPDATED TIMES: Both Choir and Jazz Ensemble will start on September 22nd and September 23rd respectively.

Please contact Dr. Ross Williams at rwilliams@cdeducation.org

Our Virtue for this week is Affability (Friendliness). Affability is one of the related virtues of Justice.

Affability refers to being easy to approach and easy to talk to... being friendly.

May God Bless all of you and your families during this time.

Yours in Christ,

Mark Watts

If anyone in your household would have a Positive COVID-19 test result, or if any student has knowingly been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, you must notify Mr. Watts by calling or texting (614) 949-7713 as soon as possible, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

We are required to post positive cases of students and staff on our website weekly. Currently, we have 0 active cases and

0 cumulative cases with students and staff for the current school year.

Volunteers are needed on Friday, September 17! Please consider volunteering to help us unload the truck and/or load cars.

We are still looking for additional help in the Cafeteria on the following days:

9/8

9/15

9/16

9/23

9/28

9/29

9/30

The Cafeteria volunteer shift is from 11:00 am -1:00 pm

Please record your volunteer hours below

Volunteers are an invaluable group of individuals who provide a sense of community for the many parish and school activities at St. Catharine. It is the expectation of the St. Catharine Advisory Board that each parish family fulfills their obligation to actively support and participate in the parish and school. In addition, it is expected that parents volunteer their time and talent in helping with church and school-sponsored activities and programs. Such involvement is not only necessary for financial stability, but parents can provide a valuable service to the school and to the children by their dedication and support. In order that tuition rates may be kept at a reasonable level, parents are asked to volunteer for a minimum of 50 hours.

Save the Dates! We will be hosting a series of presentations and discussions this Fall to help parents navigate some key aspects of their child's education and how to better collaborate to ensure student success.

St. Catharine School will be utilizing FACTS as our Student information system for the 2021-2022 School Year.

We’re excited to announce our new school management system – FACTS SIS (Student Information System). We’re also in the process of setting up FACTS Family Portal – a private and secure parents’ portal that will allow parents to see academic information specific to their children while protecting their children’s information from others.

FACTS Management gives you, the busy parent, an opportunity to get more involved in your child’s academic progress and future success – all via the Internet!

FACTS Family Portal is a private and secure parents’ portal that will allow parents to view academic information specific to their children while protecting their children’s information from others. You may view your child’s grades, attendance, homework, and conduct, as well as other useful school information. You can also communicate with teachers and other school staff online whenever necessary.

Click on this link to access our easy-to-use Family Online:

Accessing FACTS Family Portal

Thank you to everyone who saved the date for our SPICE Oktoberfest fundraiser. Unfortunately, due to current high levels of community transmission in our area, the decision has been made to cancel the event. We look forward to when we can once again gather safely. In the meantime, please consider donating to support SPICE’s important contributions to our school & parish. Visit stcatharine.com/spice or donate via St. Catharine SPICE Venmo @spice2865 

Faith Formation and making Disciples of Christ is why this school exists. We celebrate our Catholic Faith and the teachings of the church ion many ways. Our students have Religion Class daily. However, there are other ways we celebrate our faith as a school.

We will have All-School Masses every Wednesday at 9:00 AM starting in September. Students will be participant as Lectors, Cantors, Choir, and eventually, Altar Servers and Gift Bearers.

For the time being, and because of limited seating, School Masses will be for students and staff only. Thank you for your understanding.

Deacon Reis will be conducting training sessions for altar servers later next month. Any 5th through 8th grade boy or girl interested in continuing or becoming an altar server is encouraged to do so. More information will be forthcoming.

Most of our grades will be participating in Eucharistic Adoration, Praise, and Worship in the afternoon on the 3rd Thursday of most months. We are blessed to have more opportunities for our students to be in the real presence of Jesus.

We have scheduled two separate days for our school to pray to our Blessed Mother at the Grotto in October and May. This is a wonderful opportunity to honor the Queen of Heaven. One day will be on the Feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary and one during our May Crowning.

This year our 2nd grade will be receiving the sacraments or First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion while our 8th graders will be receiving the sacrament of Confirmation. We do not have dates for these solidified but will communicate with those families when we know.

The mum sale is well underway. All orders must be placed by Thursday. Thank you to those who have already ordered your mums.  

Order pick-up is on Friday, Sept. 17. All orders must be picked up between 5 pm-7:30 pm. Parents are responsible for picking up all orders in your child's name. Orders can then be distributed to those who made purchases.

St Catharines ID: 168A39F61LL94

You can also save with Kroger Community Rewards. Use organization #:81633 to register

E-gift cards and Reloads can be done at any time through the website or app (RaiseRight).

Help the St. Charles Cardinals kick off their season at our home opener vs. Youngstown Chaney HS! To help celebrate the first home game of the season, we're hosting a Cardinal Kickoff Tailgate prior to the game from 5-7pm. Join current Cardinal families, future families, St. Charles friends, and alumni to reconnect as a community prior to cheering on the Cardinals at Walt Plank Field.

Future Cardinal students who check in at our Future Cardinal table can get free admission to the game! The Cardinal Kickoff Tailgate is free for all and food will be available for purchase. Additional tickets to the game can be purchased at stcharlesprep.org one week in advance.

Sunday 8:30a - 11:00a - 5:00p

6:00a - 9:00p daily except Saturday

Saturday 6:00a -4:00p