Eagle's Edge
St. Therese Family Newsletter - January 6, 2021
The Gift of You
Today is the Feast of the Epiphany, and we remember the gifts that the Magi brought to the baby Jesus when they arrived to adore him. Today, I've been thinking a lot about gifts; especially the gifts we bring to our community
The greatest gift we have to give, is the gift of ourselves. I witness teachers and instructional aides pouring love and light into our students each day, and I stopped by a few classrooms today to see sweet, smiling faces on the screen. The building has been so empty and sad without our kids, and we have been working to prepare for their return to in-person learning. In fact, I feel almost giddy about it! There is much to do, but we are combining our gifts to make it happen.
You'll notice that the updates about metrics have been removed from the newsletter - it's because they no longer impact our ability to return to in-person learning. I will continue to monitor the data, but the Governor's announcement on December 23rd released us from those requirements and gave schools the control to make whatever decision we believe is best.
Our Safety Committee is joining forces with the Transition Team to make the necessary plans for the return to in-person learning. This team is made up of teachers, instructional aides, and other administrative staff who have volunteered their time to work on our transition plan. This plan will account for all things, from drop-off and pick-up, to lunch and recess, to how we sanitize and move around our spaces, and how we will deliver curriculum. We will work together to write our return plan, and when it's ready, we will share it with you.
My goal is to have more definitive information to share with you all by Monday, January 11th following our Transition Team meeting tomorrow, and our staff meeting on Friday afternoon. We are moving fast, while remaining thoughtful and considering the needs of all. Included in that email will be some times for parent informational Zoom meetings that I will host in the coming weeks to answer questions.
Transitions, like all change, can be difficult. We might lose some of the things we have come to enjoy about distance learning, but we will gain some of the things we've missed about being together in the same space. As we let go of and embrace various elements of this transition, let's give each other the gifts of patience, compassion, and grace.
Please continue to keep our incredible community in your prayers. We are so grateful for the gift of you!
God bless you all,
Rosemarie El Youssef
Principal, St. Therese School
FACTS Financial Aid - APPLY NOW!
https://online.factsmgt.com/SignIn.aspx
Our school may be eligible for additional financial aid from outside grants, but only based on the applications submitted by Monday, February 1st. PLEASE complete your application prior to that date.
The deadline for completing financial aid applications is March 1, 2021 in order to be considered for financial aid.
Photo Release Authorization - REMINDER
Thank you to all who have filled out this form so far!
We would love to include photos of our students on our website, newsletter, and on social media. Please complete the photo release letting us know if this is OK or NOT OK. We will keep these permissions on file for the rest of the school year and renew each fall. Please know that this also includes the YEARBOOK - we need your permission for students to be pictured there aw well.
Click here to complete the Photo Release Authorization Form for 2020-2021 school year.
Catholic Schools Week, January 31st - February 4th
If you would like to attend mass, please call the parish office at 503-256-5850 or email info@stthereseor.org to sign up. Parish office hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and if you call outside of business hours, Colleen, our lovely receptionist, will call you back to confirm your sign-up.
Mrs. El Youssef will have a special treat for those students who attend! Stay tuned for more information about virtual open house and other activities we are planning for that week.
St. Vincent de Paul
St Vincent de Paul thanks St Therese students, parents, and staff for their generosity during the November food drive. We collected approximately 350 pounds of food. Thank you.
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please contact Shasta Hatter at the SVdP office 503-253-7566.
Catholic High Schools - Recommendations and Records
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
St. Mary's Girls Night In
A message from Jen Bash at St. Mary's Academy:
The SMA admissions team has been busy working with our student ambassadors to plan a fun virtual event for 8th grade girls in January called Girls Night In. This is purely a social event, and a great opportunity for girls to connect with other 8th graders throughout Portland. They will also have an opportunity to learn more about high school life at SMA. In this unusual year, I believe that providing space for expanding social connections is so important.
Girls Night In with St. Mary’s Academy
Calling all 8th grade girls!
You’re invited to Girls Night In, a fun virtual event with your friends and the SMA student ambassadors on January 6, 4:00 – 5:15pm. Choose what rooms to visit or how you want to connect with others during the event. There will be virtual games (including Among us) along with space to chat with friends online! RSVP early to receive a custom gift box mailed directly to your door with sweet treats to enjoy during the event. The event is open to all 8th grade girls. Click here to RSVP on the St. Mary’s website
Thank you so much for your help supporting St. Mary’s events, and please feel free to contact me for questions or more information.
Blessings!
Jennifer Bash
Director of Admissions
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. We recently purchased an eagle mascot costume and our new mascot will soon be visiting classrooms to learn what it means to be a St. Therese Eagle!
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 next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 20, and we will be discussing future fundraisers. The zoom link for that meeting will be sent to you via email on Monday, January 18th.
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.
Please see the attachment below for the meeting minutes from 11/18.
Parent Obligations for the Year - Fair Share and Fundraising
If we all work together, we can make this happen!
Rather than having MANY events with specific obligations, we have one financial obligation for each family.
Dual-parent household - $500 (fundraised or donated)
Single-parent household - $300 (fundraised or donated)
This replaces the auction basket obligation, auction project obligation, jog-a-thon, and raffle.
If we make our goal of $36,000 and everyone pitches in, there is no reason to bill people for what they aren't able to fundraise.
Our goal is to have one BIG fundraiser in the spring - if we can generate enough money to fulfill our obligation to the school our tuition won't go up. Jog-a-thon seems doable with the changing of the metrics and there are MANY ways we can get creative to make it happen.
The key to making this happen is ALL of us working together!
You are not expected to figure out how to fundraise on your own - but come to Parents' Club meetings and share your ideas. We are always better together!
School Office Hours 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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