SPB Family Newsletter
Thursday, February 11, 2021
Mission Statement
The Eucharistic community of Saint Paschal Baylon Catholic School
focuses on Christ-centered values and develops the unique potential of each student
through a rigorous and engaging curriculum.
Calendar of Events
Monday
President's Day--NO SCHOOL
Tuesday
Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
School Mass--Grades 3-4
Thursday
Walk-a-Thon 2020 T-shirt Dress Down Day
Faculty Meeting--2:30-4:00 pm
Friday
A Note from the Principal
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent when we are called to present ourselves before the altar and are asked to “turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel." Lent is a time of preparation where Catholics pray, fast, and give alms. You are invited to attend Ash Wednesday Mass either in-person or online on February 17 at 9:00 a.m. During the season of Lent, our students will be participating in different activities that include prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. If you are looking for some Lenten activities to do at home, please click HERE for ideas your family can use to understand and embrace the season of Lent.
In today's communication folders, you will find a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Rice Bowl. Through CRS Rice Bowl, families learn about how our sisters and brothers across the globe overcome hardships like hunger and malnutrition, and how through Lenten alms, we have the power to make the world a better place for all. Students and families can make small monetary sacrifices that will help those in need around the world and in our own country. Rice bowls can be returned during Holy Week prior to Easter break.
Finally, I am happy to share that we have been assigned a date for our faculty/staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccination if they choose to receive it. Our first dose will be on Saturday, February 20 so there will hopefully be no disruption to our daily schedule.
Peace and blessings,
Diane Raguz, Principal
Valentine's Day Dress Down Day TOMORROW!
Some Important Reminders Regarding COVID-19
If your child exhibits even one symptom on the list of common COVID-19 symptoms, please keep him/her at home. Children and adults who are only experiencing what they would normally consider to be a minor symptom are testing positive. Please don’t brush it off as nothing. We want to keep all of our students and faculty/staff members safe, but we need everyone to closely monitor their symptoms and consider the common good.
If someone in your home is being tested for COVID-19, please keep your child at home until you know the final results. This is very important because you could be potentially exposing students unnecessarily.
Also, if a family member tests positive, everyone in the household is considered a close contact and should quarantine for the 14 days recommended by the CDC.
Please inform us as soon as possible should your child test positive so that we can begin contact tracing immediately and identify high risk close contacts. This is an essential step in helping to slow the spread.
The boards of health in different counties are overwhelmed with cases; therefore, you may or may not receive a phone call from them should your child be identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive. Should your child be identified as a close contact in school, we will communicate this to you. Your child should quarantine for 14 days as recommended by the CDC. While they have put out new guidance for a shorter quarantine, we will remain with 14 days of quarantine which is what was recommended to us by the Cuyahoga County Board of Health during their visit.
Masks need to be worn by K-8 students at all times during the school day except for lunch. Masks need to be worn during recess and gym. Please make sure your child’s mask fits properly, that they have an extra or two in their bookbags, and that they are washed regularly.
If your family traveled to a state on the advisory list or if you spent time with those outside your family bubble, please remain at home for the 14 days recommended by the CDC.
MAYFIELD BUS-IMPORTANT
February 4, 2021
Dear Private/Parochial Schools Administrators,
To accommodate the COVID-19 vaccination schedules for all Mayfield employees, Mayfield City Schools will be closed for instruction on Feb. 11, 2021 and March 4, 2021. Transportation services will NOT be offered on Feb 11, 2021 and March 4, 2021 for students who receive busing from Mayfield City Schools.
We understand this closure is another disruption for families, but please partner with us so all of our staff members who voluntarily choose to vaccinate against COVID-19 have the opportunity to do so.
Although this is a big step in helping to protect all of our K-12 school employees from COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and officials from the State of Ohio, Ohio Department of Health and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health continue to reinforce that those who are vaccinated can still be carriers and spreaders. Mayfield City Schools will continue to enforce wearing a mask, working to maintain 6 feet of distancing, and washing/sanitizing hands. These safety practices remain critical strategies and will be our reality in our schools, on our buses and in our communities for the foreseeable future.
Sincerely,
DR. Keith Kelly, Superintendent
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Bus-IMPORTANT
Our district will receive the recommended Pfizer vaccination on these days.
Transportation will not be provided. Please make other arrangements for your students on the stated days.
We appreciate your assistance as we continue to navigate through these unprecedented times.
South Euclid Lyndhurst Transportation Department.
216-691-2029
Forgotten Items
Remote Learning
Keeping the Faith: The Future of Catholic Elementary Schools
The Keeping the Faith: The Future of Catholic Elementary Schools Initiative is a major undertaking in the diocese. A task force has been assembled to lead this process and present the bishop with a strategic plan for our Catholic elementary schools by May 2022 for implementation during the 2022 – 2023 school year.
The task force is charged with creating a plan with objectives, strategies, and tactics to keep our schools grounded in the Catholic faith, academically excellent, and as widely available and affordable as possible within the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Please watch Bishop Malesic's video introducing the plan HERE.
The 8th Grade Class of 2021 Musical Review
The 8th Grade Class of 2021 will be presenting “Together” this Spring
Due to COVIID, the traditional 8th Grade Play needed to be reinvented. The Class of 2021 will present a virtual musical review in the spring. Rehearsals have been taking place and now it is time to fundraise.
Please mark your calendars to take part in a Lenten Fish Fry thanks to La Vera on Friday, March 12, 2021. A flyer and link for signing up will follow soon.
Thank you in advance for your support and please keep a lookout for updates about “Together.”
Diocesan Tuition Grant & Aid through FACTS
FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment will be conducting the financial need analysis for Saint Paschal Baylon Catholic School for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year. Families applying for financial aid will need to complete an application and submit the necessary supporting documentation to FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment by March 15, 2021. Applicants can apply online by clicking this FACTS link. Once an online application has been completed, the following information will need to be sent to FACTS to complete the application process:
Copies of your most recent Federal tax forms including all supporting tax schedules.
Copies of your 2020 W-2 forms for both you and your spouse.
Copies of supporting documentation for Social Security Income, Welfare, Child Support, Food Stamps, Workers’ Compensation, and TANF.
All supporting documentation can be uploaded in pdf format online.
Documentation can also be faxed to 866-315-9264 or mailed to the address below. Please be sure to include the applicant ID on all faxed or mailed correspondence.
FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment
P.O. Box 82524
Lincoln, NE 68501-2524
If you have questions or concerns about the application process, you may speak with a FACTS Customer Care Representative at 866-441-4637.
The Diocese of Cleveland has provided a flyer explaining the FACTS Grant & Aid Application process. Remember that you must apply for Diocesan Tuition Assistance and complete the FACTS Grant & Aid application to be eligible to receive any assistance from the Saint Paschal Baylon GIFTS Program. The deadline to apply for first round consideration is March 15, 2021.
Kotoch Family Scholarship Application
New Student Referral Program
ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?
A very generous donor who is a member of our parish has challenged us to raise $10,000 to purchase lockers for additional classrooms in our school. This donor will match what we raise up to $10,000! Should we meet this challenge, we would be able to equip a total of FIVE classrooms in combination with the money we raised through We Give Catholic in early December. This locker replacement project has been the focus of We Give Catholic the past two years. Last year we were able to replace lockers in two classrooms.
We are reaching out to you to help us meet this challenge. Our gracious benefactor said that it could be one donor, fifty donors, or 100 donors who help meet this goal of raising $10,000. If you are interested in donating, please contact Diane Raguz, Principal, at draguz@saintpaschal.com or 440-442-6766 or Michelle Mazza, Parish Business Manager, at mmazza@saintpaschal.com or 440-442-3410. Are you up for the challenge?
Lenten Meal Blessing
Lenten Meal Blessing
We bless you, Lord, and we praise you,
for you have given us this meal to share,
provided by the earth and prepared by human hands.
Help us remember those who cannot eat
because of poverty or sickness.
Let the brief hunger we feel this Lent
make us hunger even more for justice.
May this meal strengthen us to do your will.
Blessed be God for ever.
All: Blessed be God for ever.
Acknowledgement:
Diana Macalintal “Lenten Meal Blessing,” in The Work of Your Hands: Prayer for Ordinary and Extraordinary Moments of Grace (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014), 71. As printed in the February 2021 issue of Give Us This Day www.giveusthisday.org (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021). Used with permission.
Student Assignment Notebooks/Folders
Schoolbelles Uniforms Promotions
Hot Lunch Menu Update
2nd & 3rd Grade Parents--We Need You!
We are asking that each family (mom, dad, grandma, etc.) choose at least two days to volunteer each time slot being 11:15 am-12:50 pm. There are many, many time slots open! We are so grateful for the help!
This is a great way for you to interact with your child and his/her classmates during the school day! Recess Volunteers should arrive to school at 11:10 and check in at the office. Duties will include supervising students at recess, escorting the students to and from the school doors. Volunteers will be with one school staff member each day to help direct.
Remember that after your two volunteer time slots, you are done for the year, as each month is assigned to a different grade.
COVID-19 Volunteer Protocol: all recess volunteers are required to wear a mask and complete the Visitor Self-Screening form when they arrive at school.
Thank you again for your time and service to the students and teachers of SPB! Simply click on the following links to sign up: Grade 3, Grade 2
Thank you to our parents who were able to help us during the month of January: Mrs. Beth Velotta, Mr. Fred Mance, Mrs. Gina Quagliata, Mr. Bryan Bickar, Mr. Matthew Murphy, Mrs. Kate Herberth, Mrs. Chris Muttillo, Mrs. Maria Patyk, Mrs. Monica Bickar, Mrs. Ruth Pak, Mrs. Erica Majernik, Mr. Sean Vogley, Mrs. Megan Baco, Mrs. Iveta Fitzwater, Mr. Tim Velotta, Mr. John D'Angelo.
PTO Fundraisers
Romeo's Pizza on March 3
5th Avenue Deli and Grill on February 20
Our monthly Box Tops Dress Down Days for February will be held on Monday-Tuesday, February 8-9, due to Catholic School Week activities.
Thank you for your overwhelming support this year!
Summer Solutions
Heinen's Teaming Up for Education
Amazon Smile
Community News
Beaumont School 20-21 Admissions at a Glance
Beaumont School Admissions Checklist
Lake Catholic February Admissions Information
Mad Science Winter Program Registration
Mayfield Village Players Basketball
St. Ignatius-Grade School Language Programs
St. Ignatius Summer Enrichment Program
Tale Spinners Childrens Theatre