Holy Family School Newsletter
March 2024
A Note From Ms. Otte
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
Words alone cannot express the gratitude and appreciation in my heart! Thank you so much for your support with our Springfest fundraiser. As you know, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we surpassed our goal! This is no easy feat, and it would not be possible without the support of parents, everyone in the school community, the parishes, and the larger business community. Your contribution, whether in the form of volunteerism, donations for the auctions, PAC (parent advisory committee) planning, marketing, or monetary support, is greatly appreciated! The support of everyone speaks volumes about the value you hold for our children's faith-based education. HFS could not do what it does without the generous support of a caring community! Thank you again; our hearts are full!
I also want to congratulate the Faithful Five band for a successful performance at the Shine On competition, sponsored by the Catholic School Center of Excellence (CSCOE) on Sunday, March 3. It has been a wonderful experience for all of them, and they did an amazing job representing Holy Family School and our community! Please see the information below for more details on their performance.
The Catholic School Center of Excellence (CSCOE) is also why HFS is able to participate in the Believe and Read program this year. This has been an incredible program and experience for our students and teachers in K-2. Our first round of test results has been remarkably successful! The teachers have been working hard and are doing an amazing job to implement this program with fidelity and integrity!
The school year is going by fast, and soon, the registration process will begin for next year. Please watch for more information to come out soon. This week you should have received your tuition/registration agreement. Please complete the yellow form and return it to the office by May 1st, along with the down payment as stated on the form. If you choose the opt out option for the fundraisers, we will need this paid before the start of the new school year. Please reach out to Carla in the Business Office if you have any questions.
Lastly, Kindergarten Round-up is set for Wednesday, March 20th, and the invitation letter has been sent to families. If you know of a family who may be interested in having their child attend HFS and did not receive information from us, please have them contact our main office.
May God Bless You as you have blessed our school!
Blessings,
Ms. Otte
Believe and Read Success is in the Data!!
2023–24 Fall to Winter Test Scores
The data below shows fall-to-winter growth for our Believe and Read curriculum for Kindergarten, first and second-grade students. Kindergarten data is slightly different because the students don't have baseline data when they start school. However, in reviewing the data, you can see that we did not have any students in the red (high-risk area) in the winter. Instead, 10% of students were at moderate risk, 65% were at grade level, and 10% were performing above grade level. We will see more growth and comparison scores in the spring testing. However, this winter data is great for Kindergarten because no students are in the red, high-risk area. We look forward to seeing continued growth in the Spring!!
When reviewing the first and second-grade data, you can see the growth from fall to winter!! These results are exciting for our students at Holy Family School!!!
Congratulations to The Faithful Five!
Congratulations to “The Faithful Five” on a fabulous performance on Sunday night (March 3rd)!! They were phenomenal and captivated the audience. They had some tough competition, but that did not intimidate them! The band received the Honorable Mention Award.
This year, the Honorable Mention award was new and created because of the stellar performance and work of two competing groups. The judges were so taken with the originality and spiritual dedication of two acts that were performed that they asked the Catholic School Center of Excellence to include them. As a result, two Honorable Mention Awards were given, and The Faithful Five is one of those groups. A $100 prize will be given to the group.
The Catholic Schools Center of Excellence provides amazing opportunities for our students and community. They do so much to support Catholic schools and their students, and we are so grateful for their support! A special thank you to the parents and Mrs. Polipnick for the time and dedication they put forth to make this possible!
Congratulations to The Faithful Five on a job well done and on representing Holy Family School with such a stellar performance!
Below are all the winners of the performing and visual arts competitions.
A Message from Nurse Raymie
Dear HFS Families,
We are still seeing several cases of seasonal illnesses these past couple of weeks. These include Influenza A, Influenza B, strep throat, sinus infection, pink eye, stomach bugs, and common cold symptoms. Your child must stay home if they have fevers, nausea, a cough that is not controlled, body aches, headaches, fatigue, or if they are complaining of feeling sick.
What we are seeing is that not everyone has a fever with their illness, so fever alone is not the only reason to keep your child home. When deciding if your child is well enough to attend school, please look at the whole child. We want to keep all students healthy, especially during the Christmas Season.
Your child must be fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications such as Tylenol or ibuprofen before returning to school.
Your child needs to stay home 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting before they can return to school.
Your child must be well enough to participate in classroom activities before returning to school.
If your child is out of school for a lingering illness, it might be helpful to check in with a physician
Some helpful reminders for our students -
Wash hands frequently. Remember to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap before rinsing them. Use a clean towel to dry.
When having nasal drainage, please blow your nose in a tissue, dispose of it in the garbage and wash your hands.
Please do not touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth. If you do, please wash your hands.
When you are coughing or sneezing, please do so into your elbow, a tissue or in a way that prevents you from spraying germs into the air.
If unable to wash your hands right away, use a hand sanitizer to get your through until you can properly wash your hands.
If your child comes to school and is found to have a fever or has had a fever reducer to prevent a fever, has recently vomited, or is unable to participate in school, you will be called and asked to come and pick your child up.
Thank you!
Recommendations from the MN Department of Health
Should students with influenza-like illness (ILI) be excluded from school?
- Yes, students and staff with ILI should stay home from school and school activities.
- ILI is defined as a fever (at least 100°F) and a cough or sore throat.
- Students and staff who become ill during the day should be immediately isolated from others and sent home.
- Students and staff can return to school 24 hours after both vomiting and their fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medication, (e.g., Tylenol or Advil). They should also be well enough to participate in school before returning.
Please note some important dates for three of our upcoming 2024 events:
Kindergarten Round-Up - Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - 8:45 - 2:30
HFS Endowment Golf Tournament - Friday, June 7
August Dinner will be moving to September - Saturday, September 7
REMINDER OF THE UPCOMING MARCH CALENDAR CHANGES
- Monday, March 18
- HFS & public school in session
- Tuesday, March 19
- HFS & public school in session
- Wednesday, March 20
- Public school in session
- HFS in session for Grades 1 - 6
- NO SCHOOL for current Kindergartners - Kindergarten Round-up
- Thursday, March 21
- HFS In Session
- Parents must transport to AND from school
- No School for public school students
- Friday, March 22
- NO SCHOOL (Teacher Work Day/Inservice) at HFS or the public school
Please visit the school website (or click the link below) to find an updated school calendar.
MARCH 20
KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP
There will be NO SCHOOL today for our current Kindergartners. If you or someone you know is interested in attending Kindergarten Round-up and you have not received a letter from HFS, please contact the school office.
MARCH 21
LAST DAY OF QUARTER 3
MARCH 21
School IS in session for HFS (the public school is NOT in session). Parents will need to transport their children TO AND FROM school today.
To ensure a safe flow of traffic, during drop-off on these late-start days, please follow these procedures: at least 5 cars should pull through the parking lot onto Birch Street (past the barricades and along the curb by the playground) and 5 cars should line up in the parking lot. Children should exit the vehicles on the passenger side. (Essentially, 10 cars will be dropping off at the same time.) Staff will be directing traffic to ensure a smooth process.
MARCH 22
NO SCHOOL
School and offices will be closed
MARCH 26
REPORT CARDS PUBLISHED
Final report cards for quarter 3 will be published to JMC.
MARCH 27
CARING ABOUT PEOPLE ("CAP") DAY
Students are allowed to wear a hat/cap all day if they pay at least $1. 100% of funds donated during these days are given to a local family in need.
MARCH 28
NO SCHOOL - HOLY THURSDAY
MARCH 29
NO SCHOOL - GOOD FRIDAY
MARCH 31
HAPPY EASTER!
February "Honesty" Assembly
Below are the February Little World Changer Recipients for being honest in the month of February.
Back row from left: Isaac Zenzen (5), Graham Dirkes (5), Colton Soenneker (6) & Karly Homan (6)
Third row from left: Ms. Otte, Tenley Henrichs (3), Brynlee Prohl (3), Avery Moeller (4), Jackson LaVoi (4)
Second row from left: Finn Gruber (1), Eli Bertram (1), Silas Zabel (2) & Maren Rieland (2)
Front from left: Max Flowers (K) & Joseph Winters (K)
March Character Trait - Self-Discipline
In March, we will focus on self-discipline as our character trait of the month. We are breaking this idea down into the following areas: discipline (doing what you should be doing even when it is not what you want to do), Self-Control (impulse control), Self-Reliance, and Good Judgment.
Our younger students will have some difficulty with self-control, of course, because one of the typical behaviors of K-2 children is to be impulsive and act before thinking. This is no reason for us not to gently expect more from them; however, children's behavior will often be as good as our expectations. A fun and valuable way to teach self-control in children is to make a game out of it and talk to them about it while playing. Jenga is a great game for kids who need to work on self-control and can be played at home.
We will discuss times with all our students when it is hard to show self-control or discipline when asked to do something we don't want to do. Again, experiencing the consequences of completing the task and doing the right thing can be quite rewarding for children. They begin to see that the impossible is possible, and they gain great satisfaction from that. When you see your child follow a direction, wait his or her turn, do an unpopular chore, etc., comment to him or her, “You are really showing self-discipline today, and it must make you feel very proud of yourself.”
As our children demonstrate good discipline in their decisions, we can also relate this to being able to count on ourselves to do the right thing and not always look to others to tell us what to do. This is where self-reliance and good judgment come in. Developing good judgment takes some experience and age, but we all must start somewhere. Give them the opportunity to make some of their own decisions about what they wear, where they go, or how they spend some of their birthday money. When they make mistakes, use these opportunities to teach them good judgment. We have no way to learn it if we never have had the chance to try our wings and learn from our mistakes.
Thank you for your help and support in teaching this important character trait.
CHECK THE SCHOOL WEBSITE!
We are continually updating our school website with important information while also providing you access to our monthly newsletters, school calendars, lunch/breakfast menus, JMC resources and more! To be brought directly to our school website, click the picture above (or go to www.holyfamilysc.org) then click the "Current Families" tab.
NOTE: When viewing the website from a mobile device, you have to click the hamburger menu in the upper left hand corner then click the drop-down arrow next to "Current Families".
KEEP TRACK OF HFS EVENTS!!
To stay informed of everything happening at HFS, follow us on Facebook.
In addition to Facebook, please watch page 3 of the the Sauk Centre Herald every week to read up on spotlight events in the school. We are very thankful to our sponsors for giving us this space in the weekly newspaper.
Questions about JMC?
We are continually updating our school website (www.holyfamilysc.org). Under the "Current Families" tab, a link to the JMC login page has been added along with a page for families to gain access to different resources and FAQ's regarding the JMC Family Portal and the JMC Family App. Please continue to check the website for other updated documents. We appreciate and welcome feedback on how we can offer you more resources in the future through our website. Please do not hesitate to call the school or email admin@holyfamilysc.org with your questions.
WANT TO MAKE A GENERAL DONATION TO HFS OR DONATE TO OUR ONGOING WORKATHON?
Holy Family School is excited to have a new website set up for community members, extended family members, family friends, etc. to make donations to specific causes at Holy Family School. As we have mentioned in previous communications, students will participate in year-long Workathon projects to support our community. If you know someone who may need help with a project or a day brightener out in the community, please let us know. We would be happy to help and add it to our Workathon.
If you or someone you know would like to donate to the Workathon or another cause at Holy Family School, please scan the QR code below, or click the "Donate" button above to be brought to the donation landing page. This page will be updated as we add different causes throughout the school year.
Holy Family School At A Glance
Holy Family School, a fully accredited Catholic school through MNSAA, is open to all kindergarten through sixth-grade students. We currently have 254 students in K-6, two classroom teachers per grade, a music and computer teacher, a librarian, a large support staff, and foster grandparents. Yearly goals and our strategic plan help build a community of faith, knowledge, and service at HFS. Our Parent/Student handbook, formal and informal conferences, and JMC keeps parents updated on our yearly goals. Jesus is the center and purpose of our school. Our mission is to reveal God’s message in our daily life. The school partners with our families, ACC Parishes, and the community to provide a faith-filled environment where students and staff grow spiritually and academically.
Tuition, parish subsidy, donations, and fundraisers help make Holy Family School an option for all families. The generosity and involvement of our families, ACC, and parish members, the commitment of our volunteers, alumni, businesses, and community, and the dedication and care of our staff are felt and appreciated in this unique partnership, which enriches and blesses our students’ lives.
Community education, sports, and special programs are available to all students attending HFS. Special Education services, Title I, Speech, and counseling services are provided in partnership with our local school district. Visit our school to see what HFS has to offer.