Welcoming Back our Sisters

We are blessed to have our Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist back on campus. This year we are blessed with five sisters who will be teaching in our school, including two new sisters--Sr. Maria Diana, O.P. (second from left) and Sr. Incarnata (first on the right). Below are our new sisters' brief bios:

Sister Maria Diana was raised in Valparaiso, Indiana and is the fourth youngest of six children. While studying in Angers, France, she discerned a religious vocation and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. As a Sister, she graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio with a degree in theology. She made her first profession of vows in July 2020 and has since then served at the Motherhouse in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Georgetown, Texas; and Weirton, West Virginia. Sr. Maria Diana writes, “I am very grateful and excited for the opportunity to teach at Saint Agnes School and to help form the next generation of disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit."

Sister Incarnata was raised in southern Wisconsin and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2018. She earned her bachelor's degree in philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville and has spent several years working with children through her community's apostolate. A year ago, Sr. Incarnata spent part of the spring semester living at the convent with her fellow Dominican Sisters at Saint Agnes, so she is already somewhat familiar with our school campus and beautiful parish church – perhaps some of our students will remember her time helping in Sr. Maria Karol’s classroom!

Welcome to our New Faculty

This morning we welcomed our new faculty members for their New Faculty Workshop, taking place over the next two days. The Lord continues to bless us with outstanding educators and staff, and I am thrilled to introduce you to them:

Returning faculty will also be back on campus for Faculty Workshops this Thursday and Friday; it will be great to finally have all of our faculty together as we prepare for the beginning of the academic year next week.

Saint Agnes, pray for us!

Reminder: Please Submit Back to School Forms on Permission Click

By now each household should have received three email invitations from Permission Click to complete the following back to school forms:

• MN Non-Public Aid Request & Transportation Reimbursement
• Student Health Information – Annual Update
• Student/Parent Handbook Agreement

The email invitations only to go the primary household email address as indicated in TADS/Educate. If you have not received the email invitations or have not been able to complete the forms, please contact the Main Office. Thank you for your timely responses!

7-12 Schedules & Course Change Requests

Schedules for Upper School students will be visible in Educate sometime this coming Thursday, August 17th, and will be distributed to students on the first day of school. Students/parents may inquire with the School Counseling Office (Mrs. Jolene Schmitz or Mr. Alex Loesch) about changes or adjustments.

Course availability may be limited by section capacity. Please keep in mind that dropping or switching a course that was requested last spring will incur a $50 course change fee. In addition, parent approval will be needed for major changes (e.g. dropping a math class, switching to a different science course, or dropping an honors section for a regular section of any class). The opportunity for students in grades 7-12 to request changes ends on Wednesday, August 30th. 

2023-24 Back to School Important Dates

Monday, August 14th - Fall Sports Practices Begin

Tuesday, August 22nd - Preschool, Kindergarten, & Grade 1 "Meet My Teacher"

“Meet My Teacher” for Preschool, Kindergarten, and Grade 1 families will be Tuesday, August 22nd from 2:00-4:00 PM. “Meet My Teacher” provides students and parents the opportunity to see the classroom, meet teachers, drop off school supplies and paperwork, and prepare for a successful first day!

Wednesday, August 23rd - Upper School Orientation for ALL New Students and ALL 7th Grade Students

This special orientation event is for students who are new to the Upper School at Saint Agnes. This includes: ALL 7th Grade students and any other students transferring into the school in grades 8-12. Orientation will take place from 10:00am-12:30pm.

Thursday, August 24th - First Day of School/Orientation (Grades PreK-12)

The first day of school for Grades PreK-12 will be Thursday, August 24th. This day is a split-half day for the Lower and Upper Schools. Please note that no lunch will be served this day. Please see below for important information for each grade on the first day/week of school:

Lower School (PreK-6) – 7:55am-11:00am

All PreK-6 students report to their homerooms at 7:55am and will be dismissed at 11:00am. *No After School Care provided. All Preschool and Kindergarten students will attend half day 7:55am-11:00am on Friday, August 25. Students in 1st through 6th grade will dismiss at 2:45pm starting Friday, August 25. 

Upper School (7-12) – 12:00pm-2:45pm

All 7-12 grade students will report to House/Advisory at noon, participate in a welcome assembly, and then progress through their seven class periods. Dismissal will be at 2:45pm. They will report at 7:55am for their first full day on Friday, August 25th.

2023-24 School Supply Lists

Cafeteria & Student Meals 2023-2024

There will be new State funding for School meals. The processes are not finalized by the state yet, but this is what has been decided so far:

Applications will still be required for the free/reduced meals. This allows Saint Agnes to still apply for grants and scholarships that are based on the percentage of free/reduced students (based on federal qualified applications) attending. It also allows us to receive the federal funds for the school meals. The new state funding will cover the difference. There are several other education benefits to Saint Agnes based on the number of approved applications. There are several fees (such as some testing fees) which are waived for qualifying students.

Households which don’t qualify for the federal free/reduced program do not need to fill out the paperwork; they will be set up for the State free meal program. But if you do qualify for the free/reduced program, please plan to fill out the necessary application. Saint Agnes relies on the several hundred thousand dollars we receive annually from the need-based grants & scholarships--this helps us keep the tuition as low as possible for everyone. Applications for 2023-24 will be available after July 1 and we will let you know as we obtain more details.

The new State funding covers the regular school meal, which includes a single serving of the regular meal with the salad bar and one milk. Extra entrée’s, extra milk or milk with lunch from home will remain the responsibility of the parents.  Students will still be using their pin numbers as they move through the lunch line.  

Costa Rica 2024

Enrollment is open now to join Mr. Wappes and Mr. Walter for an unforgettable natural sciences trip to Costa Rica from June 10th-19th, 2024. You can find more information and sign up at the trip website www.explorica.com/Wappes-6221 and on this PDF.

Please watch for more information in the coming weeks, as there will be a parent informational meeting in late August. Reach out to Mr. Wappes or Mr. Walter with any questions regarding the trip. Be sure to use the code “Scholarship100” to receive $100 off for your trip by August 30th.

Day Care Assistant

Learn more here and apply here: https://careers.archspm.org/job/day-care-assistant-3/

Kitchen Help

The job description can be found here.

Please email Food Service Manager, Kelly DiPietro, with any inquiries. 

Hot Lunch Volunteers Needed Daily

We are looking for helpful hands and smiling faces to serve Hot Lunches daily from 10:30AM-1:30PM. Excellent opportunity to work with a great crew, see your students, and become an integral part of the Saint Agnes school day. You need to be current with VIRTUS/E3 and can sign up for whichever days work within your schedule. 

Sign-Up Genius links sent out monthly. Contact Volunteer Coordinator, Annette Beaudry, if interested at 651.925-8826. 

First Day of Fall Sports Practices & Registration Closes Today

Registration CLOSES TODAY (Monday, August 14th), so please register at the link below:

Saint Agnes Athletic Registration

To find out more information on each sport please visit our fall sports landing page. Here you can find start dates and practice schedules.

Questions? Contact:

Athletic Director

Mike Streitz –  651-925-8705

Assistant Athletic Director

Sam Thompson –  651-925-8716