Mount Sacred Heart Catholic School
August 26, 2020 Newsletter
Message from Head of School Mrs. Brooks
Dear Eagle Families,
A special welcome to our virtual learners! It was wonderful to see your faces and begin to build a classroom community with you. These first two weeks have been a roller coaster ride indeed. We are continuing on the slow but steady uphill climb through connectivity and interaction issues. Each day brings new solutions and inches us up to the top of the ride. When we finally get to the top, it will be an exhilarating ride!
Next week will bring some new additions to our technology-assisted education. First, the teachers will be beginning to implement the Its Learning student management program. This will be the dashboard for your students to find activities, video lessons, and other instructional pieces designed by your teacher to facilitate instruction. This is also the place where assignments will be submitted. The teachers will be training the students on using this beginning next week. Our goal is to have one assignment successfully submitted by the end of the week. Information for parents will be sent on Friday by the Technology Team so you can get an advanced preview of the program. The Archdiocese will be sponsoring a formal parent training in the near future.
Also, next week, our catered lunch program will begin. Parents will be given the opportunity to prepay for student meals. Each morning, the teachers will submit your child’s order based on the selections of the day selection, and this will be sent to the caterers who will prepare the lunches and have them ready for delivery to classrooms. You will be able to see the selections your child has made in your FACTS accounting program. A detailed explanation of how to use this system is included in the newsletter today. The September menu is also included.
Finally, the first delivery of our bundled technology is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. The Promethean ActivPanels will be here and ready for us to install and learn more about. We are still waiting on a delivery date for the Jigabots. We have been in contact daily with our contracted IT specialists who are working on fixes for slow and spotty internet connections in parts of the building. We will continue this support until we are all up and running at top speed.
With all these new ways of learning, your support is critical in partnering with us to give your child the best opportunity for success. In the newsletter today, the teachers in the three grade bands have posted classroom expectations for virtual learning in advance of Teacher Open House meetings. Please review these with your child and help us ensure that focused, respectful student behaviors are practiced. Technology offers many opportunities for collaboration and connection, but with these features comes new responsibilities for disciplined and productive behaviors.
I am so proud of the efforts of our students and teachers this week. Each day brings more success and one step closer to the top of the roller coaster mountain.
Blessings,
Kim Brooks
Head of School
Latest Updates from Mrs. Polin
Welcome- Please join me in welcoming Alyssa Favila to our Mount Family. Ms. Favila will be joining us as a full-time Business Manager. Mrs. Ruth Dionne is moving to the Archdiocese but will continue to support our school from there. Should you have any questions regarding any business matters you may contact Ms. Favila afavila@mountsacredheart.com or Mrs. Veronica Zamora vzamora@mountsacredheart.com
Prayers for Mrs. Norris - We ask our community to please pray from Mrs. Norris and her family. She and Ryan are headed to Boston for a procedure for baby Ryan. We pray for all those who will be caring for them and for a speedy recovery for Ryan.
Housekeeping:
Due to COVID, no visitors are allowed to enter the building without an appointment. Appointments must be made prior to entering the building. ALL VISITORS MUST fill out a form and will have their temperature checked upon entry of the building.
Our families have done a fantastic job with carline procedures, please advise all family members who may be dropping off or picking up your student that they MUST REMAIN in their cars. Please display your yellow car tags during pick up. If you need an additional car tag, please email Mrs. Vina.
Should any technical issues arise throughout the day for your virtual learners, please email elearningsupport@mountsacredheart.com This will ensure that our Technology Specialists can collect and service your issue in the order in which they were received. Thank you for your continued patience.
Reminder Morning and After School Care are available for our families. If you would like to join please email Mrs. Veronica Zamora vzamora@mountsacredheart.com A copy of the form is linked in this newsletter and in the Parent Portal.
If you did not complete the survey for Morning Care, After School Care, Dance, Tumbling, and Guitar, please do so. https://forms.gle/fGaTHgf7dRbGeMMp8
Blessings,
Tina M. Polin
Director of Development and Communications
I humbly ask you to continue sharing the great work and news that is happening at Mount! We truly care for our Mount Family and will continue to provide excellence in education, faith, and communication.
NEW 2020 - 2021 Lunch Procedure
Parents, this year all payments for lunch will be handled through your FACTS account. You will see this account as a Prepay Account in your account. The instructions below are how you will set up your account for this school year.
Please log in to your PARENTSWEB
Click on FINANCIAL tab on the left hand side of your screen
Then you will see 3 columns- you are wanting to click on ADD FUNDS under the Prepay Accounts column.
Please follow the prompts on the screen
Important notes:
There is a $25.00 minimum to set up the account.
When your account is at $10.00 you will receive an email from FACTS stating that your account is below $10.00
- See photos below to see where these options are located.
Message from Counselor Flores:
Welcome back to school! I want to introduce myself. My name is Michele Flores and I am our new school counselor. I await with pleasure of working with you and helping students with any difficulties that arise. My credentials include a MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and I am currently pursuing my License of Professional Counseling.
I will be at Mount Sacred Heart campus Monday to Friday from 7:30 am-4 pm. I can be reached for appointments or consultations by contacting the school office or via email.
I am continuing to provide individual counseling sessions (related to peer relationships, stress, anxiety, loss, death, academic stresses, or pursuits) and guidance classes focusing on social-emotional learning. During these unprecedented times, I also want to let you know that tele-counseling sessions are available for students. These sessions can be scheduled as needed or for ongoing purposes (students may be referred to outside counseling as needed.)
If at any time during the year you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. My email is jmflores@mountsacredheart.com. I look forward to serving Mount Sacred Heart Catholic School students, parents, and staff!
Message from CYO President Cardenas:
MSH CYO REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
***Registration closes 9/6/20***
Fall sports registration link is below. This is pretty much the same as the paper form, with a couple of updates. The first is a link to the SA Archdiocese page with Covid related info, please read and initial. CYO's Zero Tolerance policy will pertain to these items as well.
As always, we ask that you ALSO register via SportsPilot (link provided once form is complete) - this is the system the Archdiocese uses and filling this out greatly helps our registrar with processing. (If you have an existing account, it's just several clicks and takes less than a minute.)
Our zone wishes to reiterate the likelyhood that teams will be formed by division and not age/grade level. This may be of particular concern for the Tots (ages 3-6 could be playing together), we will separate them as team scheduling permits.
Practices will be held at MSH but games will be played offsite as facilities are permitted to open. Please be prepared for a limited number of entries per participant - unfortunately, this year we will not see as many siblings, grandparents, and family as we have enjoyed in the past.
Thank you for your time, support, and we welcome all, as you feel comfortable with participating. Please be as patient and understanding as possible with all of the changes we've experienced since Spring Break, we're in new territory here and we will work to keep everything flowing as smoothly as possible.
We only have two weeks of registration, so let's make sure we get the word out to our MSH families!
Coaches Certification:
https://www.archsa.org/cyo/Coach-Certification
Covid Update from Archdiocese (last updated 8/18/20):
https://www.archsa.org/images/uploads/CYO_Covid-19_Mitigation_Guidelines.updated.8.18.20.pdf
Registration Form:
KEEP AN EAGLE EYE OUT FOR:
- an email and form regarding your child's educational option moving forward,
- Its Learning instructions for how to use from our Technology Specialists.
Reminder the PE Online Store is closing tomorrow Thursday, August 27th.
Eagle Family Prayer Request
MSH families who are experiencing hardships due to illness, death, economic struggles, or any other needs. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be our strength.
Baby Ryan (son of Mrs. Norris)
Joan Radous (mother of Mrs. Brooks)
*If you have a prayer request, please feel free to submit your request to prayers@mountsacredheart.com
Important Documents
Mount Sacred Heart Catholic School
Email: info@mountsacredheart.com
Website: mountsacredheart.org
Location: 619 Mount Sacred Heart Road, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: (210) 342-6711
Facebook: facebook.com/mountsacredheart