It is hard to believe that we are already half way through July already! I hope you are all taking time to refresh and recharge during this time when schedules are often a little more flexible. It has sure been a hot and sunny summer so far ~ and I hope you are enjoying it, our garden sure is! Take a look at the update below from our Rainbow Garden.

School is moving forward to resume in class learning on Tuesday, September 8th. It is our goal and our hope for teachers and students to be able to return to the building on that day. We miss each other!

The NYS Governor's Office released their official guidelines for re-opening to schools on Tuesday and we are expected to get the additional guidance specific to Non-Public schools this afternoon. We have a school based committee working on the plans that will be submitted to NYS by July 31st. We are also taking the data from the COVID-19 feedback survey from the Department of Catholic Schools which is specific to our school community into consideration as well.

All public and private schools are required to submit their plans with information included for:

• Opening fully in the building
• Opening in the building with plans for moving to Distance Learning if COVID-19 data warrants shut down of schools
• Opening schools through Distance Learning

Any re-opening plan will be based on our guiding principle that the health and safety of our students, families and staff is our top priority. Some of the work we have been able to start includes:

• lowering classroom caps in Preschool to allow for social distancing
• communicating with our cleaning company who has been phenomenal in keeping us up to date with the CDC guidelines around school building cleaning and disinfecting
• Faculty and staff did a lot of work the week after students left to think around how learning will look in the fall to give our students the best start academically and mentally. This included getting more resources for classrooms and teachers to support the students at school and at home.
• The Main Office is getting a face lift to provide extra measures for social distancing and health and safety

These updates are current as of today and I cannot guarantee that information will not change tomorrow or within the next hour. I will be able to give you more updates next week as they become available from the Task Force Committee as we will be closer to submitting our official plan. I will also share out the information included in the final plans submitted to New York State when they are complete.

Additionally, Governor Cuomo has given us a date of Friday, August 7th for his announcement regarding school buildings opening in the Fall. As a result of this announcement coming later in the summer, we were given flexibility from the DORDCS for FACTS tuition payments. Saint Kateri School will be moving the due date for monthly tuition payments to the 20th of each month starting in August. This will give our families time to make an informed decision regarding the upcoming school year before the first payment comes out. Look for a letter next week from Annette Syracusa regarding more detailed information. If you have any questions for me, please do not hesitate to call or email me.

Please know that every day I am praying for you and our school ~ we are such a special community and I appreciate you all more than I can say!

Peace and Light!

Mrs. Terri L. Morgan, Principal

Email: Terri.Morgan@dor.org

Phone: (585) 467-8730

Please feel free to stop by the garden ~ it is our school garden ~ and we welcome anyone to come by to weed and water. Our tomato plants are getting so big it has been necessary to cage them! We have also had some animal visitors to our garden and some vegetables have gone missing ~ the flowers are doing great!

If you come to school during our summer office hours we do have a rolling watering system that you can use, it runs on human power and kids would love it!

Saint Kateri School and the Diocese of Rochester-Department of Catholic Schools offer a variety of scholarship and financial aid opportunities, click below to find out more.

Ambassador Program

Saint Kateri School continues to receive mail, as well as any voicemails left on our Main Office phone number. Please contact us with any questions you may have regarding Registration or Financial Aid process.

Thank you!