Charger Check-In
March 21, 2024
A Note from Ms. Owens
It was a great day at St. Catherine! Today, our K-8th grade students learned about Rachel's Challenge. The organization is named in honor of Rachel Scott, the first victim in the Columbine school shootings. We had three different assemblies this morning for K-4th grade, for 5th and 6th grade and for 7th and 8th grade. In the afternoon, our 6th and 7th graders returned for a second session to learn about Friends of Rachel (FOR). In schools where students want to take up the challenge of bringing more kindness, compassion and empathy to their community, FOR Clubs are established. This afternoon, so many of our 6th and 7th graders said "yes" to the invitation to bring FOR to St. Catherine. I'm excited to see and support the positive work they want to do! Thank you to our wonderful FSA for funding this experience.
It's time for the Men's Club's annual Easter Essentials Drive to support Our Lady of Guadalupe, our sharing parish. Non-perishable food, personal hygiene products and paper products can be dropped off in the church vestibule. Donations will be picked up on Sunday, March 24.
We have less than a month until we pull the winning tickets for this year's Dream Raffle. And we have 800 tickets left to sell. As the graphic below states, this is the largest fundraiser for the school and church, and this effort helps keep our school tuition as low as possible. The winning tickets will be pulled on Sunday, April 14 which is just one week after we return from Easter Break!
A Bit More News...
- Thank you to everyone who supported St. Baldrick's last Friday with a monetary donation. Due to your generosity, St. Catherine is donating over $490 to the fight against childhood cancer.
Thank you to Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Rusin for planning and hosting last Saturday's Breakfast with the Easter Bunny. The event was a huge success!
Tickets are on sale for our FSA's Second Annual Derby Fundraiser. Early bird tickets can be purchased until Tuesday, March 26. The event is set for Saturday, May 4!
- Over Easter Break, St. Catherine will have some asbestos abatement work done in the Fr. Lion Center. School will not be in session while this work is occurring. I am including the official notification letter for those who would like to read it.
- If you know of an SCA family who owns a small business that we can publicize here to help support them, please reach out to me via email. Scroll down to see local businesses we can support.
5Essentials Survey
Thank you to all the school families who have completed this year's 5 Essentials Survey. We have surpassed the 20% threshold required in order for SCA to receive your feedback. If you haven't had the opportunity to complete this survey, please do. The survey will remain open through tomorrow, Friday, March 22.
SCA Athletics to Live-Stream Court Sports
The St. Catherine Athletic Board is excited to share they are working with Hudl, a company that helps schools and other athletic organizations stream and record athletic games. We know this will bring smiles to many people's faces as they will be able to watch games when they can't be at SCA and family members who don't llive in the area will be able to see their loved one play. We also know that this will raise concerns of online safety for other families.
Please know that St. Catherine has worked closely with the legal department from the Archdiocese to ensure we are following the necessary steps to protect the privacy of our students and to protect the school from any potential liability. Here is an overview of the steps St. Catherine will take to protect our students' privacy while also allowing games to be viewed by Charger fans who can't be in the Alexandria Center.
- While Hudl offers a plethora of options, at St. Catherine, we will only be live-streaming games. Games will not be available on-demand. We will not be creating highlight reels for individual student-athletes.
- SCA home games will be available only on Hudl, not on YouTube. Those who want to watch the live-stream will need to create a free account on Hudl. (More information for this will follow at a later date.)
- Recordings of the games will be archived. Coaches will be able to access the recordings to help with skills development. Recordings will not be available to the public.
- St. Catherine will not be sharing any student information with Hudl which means we will NOT be uploading team rosters.
- The parents/guardians of student-athletes playing a court sport will need to sign a consent form regarding live-streaming of their child's image. All members of a team must have signed consent forms in order for that team's games to be live-streamed.
- Signage will be posted prominently in the gym to alert those attending games that the games will be live-streamed.
Additional Information
- The installation process has begun. The Athletic Board hopes to begin live-streaming boys volleyball games this season. (Consent forms will go home to families with boys playing volleyball soon.)
- A contract for the remainder of this school year and the next two school years has been signed with Hudl. The Men's Club will be paying for the contract. The cost for this 2+ year contract is $8,600.
- If you have questions about this decision, please contact the Athletic Board.
Academic Eligibility Pause at Start of Trimester
Our third trimester began on Monday, March 4. In accordance with the policy listed in the Parent-Student Handbook, we will pause academic eligibility for the first three weeks of the trimester. The rationale for this is because, at the start of any marking period, a student who misses a single assignment or who earns a low grade on a single assignment can end up with a failing grade.
- We will resume reviewing grades for academic eligibility on Thursday, March 28 (which is Holy Thursday).
- Any students in 4th-8th grades , along with their parents, earning an F will be notified of their probationary status.
- If that failing grade is still in place on Thursday, April 11, the student will be ineligible to participate in any and all extra-curricular activities until the following Thursday.
Holy Week - Easter Liturgy Schedule 2024
March 28: HOLY THURSDAY
- 8:30am Morning Prayer
- 7:00pm MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
- Exposition of the BLESSED SACRAMENT
- After the Mass of the Lord’s Supper until Midnight; Closing Prayers are at 11:45pm
March 29: GOOD FRIDAY
- 8:30am Morning Prayer
- 3:00pm STATIONS OF THE CROSS
- 7:00pm THE PASSION OF THE LORD
March 30: HOLY SATURDAY
- 8:30am Morning Prayer
- 1:00pm Blessing of Easter Baskets
- 7:30pm EASTER VIGIL MASS
March 31: EASTER SUNDAY MASSES
- 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:30am
- No 6:00pm Mass on Easter Sunday
March 25 - 27: Adoration Chapel - open 3:15pm to 6:15pm
Confession Schedule
- Every Saturday: 3:00pm to 3:45pm
- Good Friday: March 29, 4:00pm to 5:00pm
- No Confessions on Holy Saturday
How to Print Your Year-End Statment from Blackbaud
As tax time approaches, school families can access and print their year-end tuition statements directly from your Blackbaud accounts.
- Please log into your account on the Blackbaud parent site.
- On the homepage, find the "Related Links" section.
- Look for "Family or Student Year-End Statement."
If you have any questions, please email Mary Omiecinski.
The Sunday Collection
Visit the link below to set up your recurring contribution. Donors can change the amount of the contribution or pause it at any time.
Ways to Support Our Local Small Businesses
If you know of an SCA family who owns a small business that we can publicize here to help support them, please reach out to me via email.
This law firm is owned, in part, by an SCA family.
This residential/commercial landscaping and commercial snow removal company is owned by an SCA family.
This small business offers individual basketball training and skill development and is owned by an SCA family.
So Many On-going Ways to Support St. Catherine!
Upcoming Events
Friday, March 22
- All-School Liturgy at 8:30AM - cancelled
Thursday, March 28
- Holy Thursday Prayer Service (all-school) at 10AM
- Dismissal at 11:30AM - extended care not available
Friday, March 29
- Good Friday
- Start of Easter Break
Sunday, March 31
- Easter Sunday
Monday, April 8
- School resumes
About us
Website: www.scaoaklawn.org
Location: 10621 South Kedvale Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL, USA
Phone: 708-425-5547
Facebook: facebook.com/scaoaklawn/