Welcome Back Lakers!
August 20, 2019
Welcome Back and Upcoming Events at SCS
We hope this message finds you well rested and enjoying your summer vacation! While we will all treasure the last few weeks of summer, we look forward to the start of the 2019-2020 school year! In following tradition, our school year will kick off with all of our students gathering on our outdoor, recess area basketball courts to reunite with their classmates and teachers on Friday, September 6th at 8:00 AM. Parents are to remain outside of the recess field fences when dropping off your child at one of our fence entrances. Our school year will begin with a welcome back message and special prayer from Mr. Dougherty followed by our students entering the building for their first day of school! Once the students enter the building, we welcome our parents to stay for bagels and refreshments at our recess patio area, provided by the PTA as we celebrate the start of another year. If by chance we happen to experience inclement weather, students are to enter the building right away and will be directed to their classrooms.
Please take note of our upcoming events listed below and be sure to check our digital school calendar for a glimpse of all of the events for the 2019-2020 school year here: http://www.stcatharineschool.net/scsl/Calendar/
August 28th New Family Reception
5:30- 6:30 PM New Students and Parents in grades K through 8
7:00-8:00 PM New Pre-K parents (parents only please)
September 5th Pre-K orientation 9:00-11:00 AM
September 6th First Day of School All Students, Early Dismissal 12:30 PM
September 9th Full Day of School
September 11th Virtus Training 6:00 PM, please contact Religious Education office to register
September 13th First Friday Mass 9 AM
September 18th Back to School Night 6:30 PM parents of children in Pre-K through grade 5
September 19th Back to School Night 6:30 PM parents of children in grades 6 through 8
October 4th First Friday Mass 9 AM, Blessing of the Animals 3:00 PM in the school recess field area.
October 14th School Closed, Columbus Day
Dress Code Reminders
Staff updates: Best wishes in all of their future endeavors
Mrs. Cheryl O’Kelly: Mrs. O’Kelly has been an invaluable asset to the students and families of St. Catharine School for several years, instructing upper level math courses to our middle school students. Unfortunately, Mrs. O’Kelly will not be with us for the upcoming school year, however we wish her well in her new opportunity as a Math Teacher at Trinity Hall. Mrs. O’Kelly will be working with our new math teachers to ensure a smooth transition as we prepare for the 2019-2020 school year. Thank you Mrs. O’Kelly for all of your contributions to SCS, we will miss you!
Mr. Karl Ciak: Mr. Ciak has been a tremendous asset to our school community, guiding major technology adoptions, as well as assisting our quest to accomplish our major goal becoming a National Blue Ribbon School. We thank Mr. Ciak for his service, and we wish him well in all of his future endeavors.
Staff Updates: Welcome Aboard and New Assignments
Meghan Oswin joins our expanding Early Childhood Program as our new Prek-3 Teacher. Mrs. Oswin previously worked as Mrs. Brazinski’s teaching assistant working with our 3 year old students. We are excited for Mrs. Oswin’s growth into her new role!
Fabrice Cuadrado joins us from the Asbury Park School District where he was recognized as Teacher of the Year twice during his service as a public school teacher. Mr. Cuadrado brings with him great expertise in utilizing data driven instruction and providing personalized, differentiated learning experiences for his students. Fabrice is a practicing Catholic and is excited to join our Catholic School environment. He will be team teaching with Mrs. Kleinman instructing our 5th grade students.
Eileen Rufo joins us from Saint Aloysius School as a new middle school math teacher. Mrs. Rufo brings a great deal of experience instructing middle school math students, particularly in Pre-Algebra and Algebra. Eileen is thrilled to rejoin a Catholic School community and become a Laker!
Patty Burrus has previously served as a long term substitute instructing middle school ILA classes at SCS and most recently worked as an instructional assistant with the Educational Services Commission. Mrs. Burrus will be instructing a middle school math course as well as a middle school ILA course this year. Mrs. Burrus looks forward to her new role at St. Catharine School!
Kate Hoppe has been with SCS since 2017 serving as a Reading Specialist, and most recently curriculum coordinator for grades K through 5. Mrs. Hoppe has helped lead several curricular initiatives including our Fundations program, Diagnostic Reading Assessment, and iReady learning platform. Kate will now oversee all aspects of curriculum and instruction as well as special services for our students, serving as our Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction. Mrs. Hoppe is ecstatic to continue her mission in supporting the professional development of staff as well as the continued implementation of quality educational programs for our students.
Sr. Carole continues to be an integral piece of everything we do here at St. Catharine School. This year Sr. Carole is taking a reduced role in her specific class assignments, however she will have more time to continue to support our First Friday Masses, prayer services, and student preparation for sacraments. We are so fortunate to have Sr. Carole with us and we appreciate all that she does for the students, families, and staff members of SCS!
St. Catharine School
Email: rdougherty@stcatharineschool.net
Website: www.stcatharineschool.net
Location: 301 2nd Avenue, Spring Lake, NJ, USA
Phone: (732)-449-4424