Hello Saint Kateri School families!

I pray that your Lent has been a time of needed reflection and a time to share your joy in your faith with your children. Tell them about the times in church that filled you up ~ and I pray you have those times and memories. During the Parish Council meeting this week we talked about how grateful we are for our grandparents and their support us. My grandparents we instrumental in the faith development of my sister and I. They brought me to church ~ at 7:00am! ~ each Sunday, helped me find my place in the missal so I could follow along and modeled peace and reverence while in God's house. I was amazed how loud a sneeze of a cough could be in such a massive stone church. Great memories that I will always cherish. Easter is a good time to reminisce about Easter's past and use your memories to connect your faith to your child's faith. What a blessing!

Beginning immediately, SKS will no longer be requiring families and staff members to complete a Daily Health Check in PUP. We will continue to rely on our families to make us aware of any changes to their child's health/symptoms and to follow the current school guidelines for notification and next steps. (See clarification below from our nurse, Mrs. Trimaldi) We will continue to use PUP for ALL absences and dismissal changes as we have these past two years. It will take a while to remove the Daily Health Check option, please bear with us.

Transportation forms are due to all public school districts by April 1st. Failure to adhere to the April 1st deadline could cause your child to be unable to receive bus transportation through your district for the next school year. You will find information and applications on your public school website.

Our 3rd - 5th grade students have completed the NYS ELA assessments and I couldn't be prouder of them. Some of our students were worried about taking "the test" but were able to say afterward that it wasn't as bad or as long as they thought. These assessments are not factored into their report card grades but are used to help school plan instruction and instructional resources. Way to go SKS! The Math assessment will be held on Tuesday, April 26th and Wednesday, April 27th.

Thank you for all you do for SKS and our students ~ our families are the heart of SKS!

Mrs. Terri L. Morgan, Principal

Email: Terri.Morgan@dor.org

Website: www.saintkaterischool.org

Phone: (585) 467-8730

Please pray for the following people:

• Mrs. Borden's brother-in-law, Don
• The family of Clay Shaw
• John Interlichia, Uncle to Salena and Vinny
• All those in our Saint Kateri School community

Notify the Main Office if you wish to add anyone to this prayer intention list.

A fun family event to connect with other Saint Kateri parish families!

Last Stations of the Cross date:

• Friday, April 4
• No school on April 8 and April 15

Please start sending in your cereal box donations!

Classrooms have tally sheets outside their classroom so that we can keep track of how many cereal boxes are coming in ~ and some friendly competition. Each Friday we will announce the class with the most tally marks. Remember the boxes need to have cereal in them as we are donating them after we create our Domino Run. Did you check out the video below of another schools Cereal Box Dominoes?

This year Saint Kateri School will be “Knocking Down Hunger” by collecting boxes of cereal during the weeks leading up to Holy Week. On Wednesday, April 13th we will be using these cereal boxes to create a school-wide domino track – and knocking it down! Our goal is for the cereal box dominoes stretch throughout our school and into the Gym ~ ending in an SKS. When we are done, all cereal boxes will be donated to local charities.

MARCH:

• 3/30: NYS ELA Assessments
  
• 3/31: NYS ELA Assessments Make-Up day

APRIL:

• 4/1: Stations of the Cross at 8:45am (5th grade)
• 4/4: Niagara Chocolate Sale ends
• 4/5: K-5 School Mass (2nd grade)
• 4/6: May Hot Lunch opens
• 4/6: Parent's Association 6:00-7:30pm
• 4/8: NO SCHOOL
• 4/12: Quiet Mass (3rd - 5th)
• 4/13: "Knocking Down Hunger"
• 4/13: May Hot Lunch closes at 9:30am
• 4/14: Report Cards go home
• 4/15 - 4/22: NO SCHOOL - Easter Break
• 4/26 - 4/27: NYS Math Assessments
• 4/26: Quiet Mass (K-2)

MAY:

• May 2-May 6: Teacher Appreciation Week
• 5/3: Quiet Mass (5th/2nd)
• 5/6: Kindergarten Screening - more info to follow
• 5/10: Quiet Mass (4th/1st)
• 5/11: FULL DAY OF SCHOOL
• 5/13: Kindergarten Screening - more info to follow
• 5/16 - 5/20: Scholastic Book Fair - Buy 1, Get 1
• 5/17: May Day Prayer Service at 9:15am (2nd grade)
• 5/17: No Quiet Mass
• 5/20: Kindergarten Screening - more info to follow
• 5/21: Walk-A-Thon begins at 10:00am
• 5/21: Walk-A-Thon Food Truck Rodeo 11:00am-2:00pm
• 5/24: No Quiet Mass
• 5/24: K-5 Spring Concert (10:00am and 7:00pm)
• 5/26: K-5 Ascension of Jesus Mass lead by 1st grade at 9:00am
• 5/27: Kindergarten Screening - more info to follow

PK3 Mrs. Moore: Fun In The Sun

PK4 Mrs. Slocum: Game Night

PK4 Ms. Valvo: Let's Go Camping!

PK4 Mrs. Gasic: South of the Border

Kindergarten Ms. Tabor: Sports

1st grade Mrs. Garbach-Blakey: Buffalo Bills Tailgate Party

2nd grade Mrs. D'Aprix: Sundae Fun Day & Date Night

3rd grade Mrs. Roberts: Bird Watching & Gardening

4th grade Miss Sofia: Science & Technology

5th grade Mrs. Steele: Arts & Crafts

Hi SKS families!

As you know, our annual Walk-A-Thon is quickly approaching. We are looking for lots of help to make this event a success!

If you are interested, you can email Katie (stam.kaitlyn@gmail.com) or Nicole (n_staebell@hotmail.com). We will also be sending out a Volunteer Form in the coming weeks. Keep your eyes peeled! :)

Our next PA meeting will be in-person on Wednesday, April 9 in the school Art Room. All are welcome!

We will be having our next Parent's Association Meeting:

• Wednesday, April 6th
• In-Person in the SKS Gym (Please note: this is an update from our original schedule)
• All are welcome!

Volunteers must:

• Be CASE trained prior to volunteering (process can take up to two weeks)
• On March 2nd the mask mandate in schools was lifted. Masks are no longer required in school or school events unless there has been prior notification. We will continue to follow our other 2021-2022 COVID guidelines ~ social distancing and hand wash/sanitize frequently. (These guidelines are subject to change as guidance is updated.)
• Be fully vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID test

Email Katie (stam.kaitlyn@gmail.com) or Nicole (n_staebell@hotmail.com) with any questions or items to add to the agenda.

As we have had an increase in sore throats, colds and stomach bugs we are getting more questions about what our current guidelines are so I am offering some clarification:

• Prior to the pandemic, and currently, we ask that children remain at home until symptom free for 24 hours.
• Symptomatic students are still required to show proof of a negative test to return to school. Rapid home test kits are now acceptable to show proof of a test result. COVID-19 test results should be shared with myself or the Main Office by emailing a picture of the test.
• If any person tests positive for COVID-19 and is isolated, they may still return to school on days 6-10 but MUST mask when in school buildings.
• If someone has a known exposure to COVID-19, they SHOULD mask while in school. That is, masking is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
• When a student is ill and does not get tested, they should stay home for at least 5 days following onset of symptoms and until they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without using fever-reducing medication while other symptoms are improving. After returning to school, they must wear a mask for days 6-10.

• We are now heading into allergy season and beginning to see many sore throats with congestion and runny noses. COVID symptoms and allergy symptoms are very similar. I don't want to have to send students home with COVID symptoms and it is really allergy symptoms. If your child typically typically takes medication for seasonal allergies consider contacting your child's PCP to see if it is time to begin.
• We have many boxes of At Home COVID Test Kits for any family that would like them. Please contact me directly to have them sent home or picked up.

Thank you ~

Mrs. Elizabeth Trimaldi, SKS Nurse