Eagle's Edge
St. Therese Weekly Newsletter - November 4, 2020
Be Kind Anyway...
World Kindness Day is next Friday, November 13th and your eagles are thinking of ways that they can be kind to themselves, each other, and members of our community.
In a time when people are dealing with so much more than they have ever had to deal with before...be kind.
In a time when many are afraid of getting sick...be kind.
In a time when many we know and love have fallen ill...be kind.
In a time when teachers are struggling to reach their students, and students are struggling to reach back...be kind.
In a time when churches feel like far off places, and God sometimes feels far away...be kind.
In a time when our country is divided, and prayers don't feel like enough...be kind.
Our children are watching us and listening to the ways in which we manage our world - it's how they will learn to manage theirs. I have experienced tremendous kindness in this community, and feel the warmth and security each member, together, provides.
Look for a special Kindness Week smore on Monday filled with challenges that you and your family can complete together, to make our world a kinder, gentler place. As always, our beloved St. Therese community is better together.
God's blessings on you all,
Rosemarie El Youssef
Principal, St. Therese School
School Mass, Thursday 11/5 at 10 am
Teachers will post the link to mass in their Google Classroom stream. Please help your students get into the Vimeo broadcast.
Auction Liquidation Sale, Saturday November 7th
Brand new items ONLY. We have children's toys, crafts, grill sets, and so much more! Everything donated for our spring auction is taking up space in our library. Some items will be bundled in a ready-made gift basket, while others will be sold individually. Come and get some Christmas shopping done and help our school generate some much needed funds.
We will be enforcing safe social distancing, and this event is only being advertised within the St. Therese Community.
Spirit Week Drive-thru was a hit!
Take a look at some of the photos from Friday's drive-thru celebration. Staff handed out treat bags and our students and their families showed up in Distance Learning T-shirts and costumes - we had a blast!
St. Vincent de Paul Soup and Pasta Drive
Thank you for all of the generous donations so far - let's keep them coming through the end of this week!
If you'd like to bring a dried pasta or canned/packaged soup donation for St. Vincent de Paul we would appreciate it! When you drive up we will add it to our collection bin - bring it when you arrive for LIP Learning, or on Friday when you come to pick up materials.
If you, or someone you know, is in need of food assistance, please call Shasta Hatter at the SVDP office 503-253-7566.
Conferences November 23rd and 24th
Thank you to all who have signed up for a conference time!
Look for a link to sign-up for conferences in your emails on Monday - you can schedule a virtual conference, or an in-person conference. Thank you for your patience in this digital world!
BottleDrop Thursdays!
We are so grateful for your generosity! With your donations we purchased a Distance Learning T-shirt for each student and staff member to wear on Fridays, prizes for spirit week, and the pumpkins for our St. Therese Pumpkin Patch. The school budget is tight this year, but there are some things that we believe students shouldn't go without - your can and bottle donations make this happen!
Parents' Club Corner
Here is the Parents' Club schedule of meetings for the rest of the school year. We will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6-7pm via Zoom. Our last meeting was on 10/21. Please look for meeting minutes soon.
11/18
12/16
1/20
2/17
3/17
4/21
5/19
Please contact Melanie Reyna at 503-467-1805 or via email at melanie.reyna@usbank.com with any questions.
SAFE & READY SCHOOLS UPDATE as of 11/4
The governor released new metrics, but what does this mean for our school?
Just as a reminder, all Catholic schools are required to follow the metrics and guidelines set forth by the state of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Education. There are no exceptions.
On Friday morning, Governor Brown and ODE released new and updated guidance in a press release. With our numbers in Multnomah County continuing to trend upwards, this doesn't give us an immediate return to school, but it does give us some hope. Some of the changes are as follows:
- Exception to bring students K-3 back to school sooner has widened to include K-6
- Case count / 100,000 in the population needed to utilize the K-6 exception was increased from 30/100,000 to 50/100,000
- The time period required to maintain that count decreased from 3 weeks to 2 weeks
So, what does this mean for us? Our count in Multnomah County is still hovering around 70/100,000 and while it was trending downward, recent data is showing a see-saw trend (up and down). Our two week case count was 167.2, and we need to be at 100 or less in order to reopen for K-6 students. In the image below, this is the yellow section of the chart. We need to be at 50 or less in order to return as a whole school, K-8. In the image below, this is the green section of the chart.
We will continue to offer limited in person learning opportunities, and a robust comprehensive distance learning program. Our Return to School Committee will continue to work on safety plans so that the MOMENT we meet our metrics we can bring our kiddos back to school.
We know that not all families will be comfortable sending their students back to school when the time comes for us to return - we are working to make those accommodations now so they are ready when the time comes.
Thank you for your continued patience, and your partnership through this challenging time. The best we can do is keep our community healthy, and do our part to bring the case count down in our county. And keep the prayers coming!
ODE’s Ready Schools Safe Learners Page
School Office Hours - changes in procedure due to COVID-19 safety measures
Effective Monday, August 31st please call ahead if:
* You need to meet with a staff member (Rosemarie, Penny, teachers, etc.)
* You need to pick something up, or drop something off (materials, payment, etc.)
If you are in the parking lot, please just call us from your cell phone, if you can and we will accommodate you if we can safely do so. We will do our very best to meet your needs and appreciate your cooperation as we work to keep our students and staff safe.
St. Therese Catholic School
Email: elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org
Website: stthereseschool.org
Location: 1260 Northeast 132nd Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 253-9400
Facebook: Facebook.com/StThereseSchoolPortlandOrFamilyPage
Twitter: @sttherese_pdx