We are off and running!

The smooth start to the school year is a true reflection of the quality of our teachers and staff, the careful preparation of our students from you- our parents, and the abundant prayers from our close and extended WCS community.

What a joy it is to see our hallways full with learning, activities, and friendship!

We are one week away from Tosa Fest! Please come visit WCS volunteers as we host the Corn Booth. My husband, Tom, and I are ready to jump in for the first shift (Fri., 5:00-7:30). We will be located in the parking lot of Jose's Blue Sombrero and hope to raise lots of money for our school.

1. On half days, there is no lunch hour. Pick up your students at 11:30.

2. On regular school days, students should be picked up by 3:10. If you have an emergency, they can join WC Childcare but you will charged a fee.

3. Please have your students wear shoes that cover as much of their feet as possible. While we understand the weather is still warm, we need to protect those precious feet from recess injuries. For example, an accident resulted in some broken glass this week on the playground.

4. All forms that were in the WCS folders received during Meet and Greet must be returned to the school office by Tuesday, 9/6.

Thank you for your cooperation!

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has provided guidance to K-12 schools for the upcoming academic year.

The DPI states, "The DPI’s role in providing the following recommendations for the school setting is to provide a balance between science-based mitigation measures and creating an environment conducive to schools operating during a third pandemic year."

As such,

• WCS is a mask-optional environment. While masks are not required in school, any individual who wishes to continue to mask will be supported in that choice.
• Anyone experiencing symptoms of illness should stay home from school. If experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, they should also get tested for COVID-19 regardless of vaccination status.
• Staff or students are not allowed to work or study in-person while sick.
• When a student can return to school will depend on the duration of illness, type of symptoms, laboratory testing for COVID-19 or other illnesses, or other medical diagnosis.
  
• Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 should follow their doctors' orders about when to return to school. The school office cannot provide medical advice about isolation periods, masking, or return dates.
• WCS will neither monitor COVID-19 cases nor send out notifications about individual cases. However, we will notify when clusters of cases or outbreaks occur.
• Those who have been exposed but are asymptomatic can continue to come to school.

Basic Infection Prevention:

• Stay home when you are ill.
• Clean and disinfect classrooms, materials, and surfaces.
• Provide good ventilation and air flow.
• Wash hands and use good cough etiquette (cover coughs).
• Vaccinate against vaccine-preventable illnesses.

Covid-19 Symptoms:

• Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• New loss of taste or smell
• Muscle aches or body aches
• Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
• Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms
• Nausea, vomiting, when in combination with other symptoms
• Headache, when in combination with other symptoms
• Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
• Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies), when in combination with other symptoms

It is incredible that we were one of the only schools to retain in-person instruction during the height of COVID. Thank you for continuing to remain flexible and attentive to our staff's and students' needs.

All WCS volunteers must have their Safe Environment Certification completed before volunteering. Please go to: https://milwaukee.cmgconnect.org/ to log into your CMG Connect Account to register for and complete the curriculum for your initial Safe Environment Certification. As a note, your initial certification expires after 5 years.

Grandparents are perfect volunteers for this role. Thanks for all who helped last week!

Below you will find the sign-up form for this upcoming week.

Note: K-3rd graders eat lunch first (11:40-12:10), then have recess (12:10-12:40).

Conversely, 4th-8th graders have recess first, then eat lunch.

Volunteers must have completed the Safe Environment Certification.

All parents of players should sign up for 2 shifts to work this volleyball season.

Volunteering for volleyball can be counted as PIP hours and is a fun way to see our students play.

Middle school students are allowed to volunteer with adult supervision.

Order deadline is Wednesday, September 14.

ORDERS WILL BE DELIVERED TO TOSA CATHOLIC SCHOOL UPON COMPLETION.

The bolded dates below are changes.

Dates: 9/9, 10/14, 11/4, 12/2, 1/6, 2/3, 3/17, 4/21, 5/5

Thank you to all of our Wauwatosa Catholic families who have made voluntary contributions to the Home and School Sunshine Fund. This fund provides: the welcome back lunch/snacks, conference meals, holiday treats and cards, gift cards, and other surprises during Staff Appreciation Week!

A very special thank you to Mrs. Katie Pawlowski (mother of Grace, Jackson and Henry) for taking time from her busy schedule to complete our state Immunization report. Katie has been our “immunization parent” since 2011.

We appreciate Katie and all of our parents who volunteer their time and resources. We know how busy all of you are!

Please submit your t-shirt order by Friday, Sept 16. Remember there are sizes: Youth XS through Adult 2xl so consider buying a shirt for each member of the family. T-shirts will be ready the first part of October. The shirts can be worn on scheduled spirit wear days and other indicated days throughout the year.

Our registration deadline for band and orchestra lessons is coming up on Wednesday, September 7. This is your reminder- 3rd through 8th grade students!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15Nv2ARnTysclAxwjrwSIOG9R2f3LlqrjERXY8Gsm_qQ/edit?usp=sharing

4th grade is selling "Big Mama's" baby plants to raise funds to care for their new class guinea pigs, "S'more" and "Tony."

$2.00 for little plants and $5.00 for plants that come in clay pots.

For more than two decades, a group of volunteers have done projects big and small for both the school and church (building walls and ceiling for Clairvaux Hall, painting, landscaping, general cleaning, etc.). Current participants work on Thursday mornings since they are now retired. With moves and general aging issues, they are down able hands. For this volunteer work to continue, Building and Grounds needs a new generation of workers! This new group may choose to work a weekday night, weekend day, or whatever fits their schedule. Remaining members are more than happy to assist in the transition. Contact Ms. Kathy to let us know you are interested.

Be safe if you are traveling. We look forward to seeing your children again on Tuesday.

Thank you for following us on social media @wauwatosacatholicschool on Instagram and search for Wauwatosa Catholic School on Facebook. Please share our posts!

If you should have any comments or suggestions, please email me at nschroeder@wauwatosacatholic.org.

Kind regards,

Nicolle Schroeder

Principal

Wauwatosa Catholic School

414-258-9977 (ext. 110)