Happy Friday!

What a great first few days of school. It is great to have our school doors open once again. The smiles and laughter throughout the building is truly a blessed feeling.

Thank you to all for your patience this week with arrival and dismissal. We are hopeful that we have found our rhythm.

After school will begin on Monday. If you have not registered for the monthly program and would like to- please submit the registration on Monday so that we can accommodate accordingly. If you have completed a registration form and indicated services as needed, we request that you inform the school by Sunday afternoon for the upcoming week. In an effort to plan accordingly for COVID regulations, we need to ensure the proper accommodations. As soon as restrictions are lifted, we can accommodate drop-ins.

Afterschool pick up- (Program ends at 5:45pm)

Grades K-8 pick up at the Cafeteria entrance located on 241st street near the main entrance to the school.

PreK- pick up at the gym doors until 4pm, then pick up at the Cafeteria entrance located on 241st street near the main entrance to the school.

On Sunday, you will receive a Google Health Survey, please complete the form either Sunday evening or Monday morning BEFORE your child(ren) arrive to school. There will be one form for PreK and one form for K-8. Each child must have a form completed.

Please see attached for the 2021-2022 Parent/Student Handbook.

Please see below for a special message remembering 9/11 from Superintendent Deegan.

Should you need to reach me for anything, please email me at n.cruz@stbarnabasschool.org or call (718) 324-1088.

Click here for the Archdiocese's plan for 21-22.

This plan contains important information...

https://catholicschoolsny.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ContinueSoar_FINAL_EMAIL_08-12-21.pdf

Click here for additional resources and information from the Archdiocese of New York:

https://catholicschoolsny.org/opening2021/#resources

September-

13th- After School Program begins, Bus service begins, Lunch services begins

17th - No School for K - 8, Pre-K in session

Plan Ahead:

21st- Virtual Back to School Night (All grades)

27th - MAP Assessments Begin

10/1- 11:30am dismissal K-8, PK regular school day

All School Employees, Children and Essential Visitors will need to complete a daily health self-check by answering the questions listed below and by taking their own temperatures each day prior to entering the school or being on the school property. A parent or guardian is responsible for completing the weekly screening on behalf of their child(ren). If you answer YES to any of these questions on any given day, your child may not enter the school building. Contact a medical professional for guidance and notify the school principal. For students with chronic illness, only new symptoms or symptoms worse than baseline should be used to fulfill symptom-based exclusion criteria. By completing and submitting the weekly form, you acknowledge that you read the above will comply with all requirements and received the attached updated daily checklist that you will complete it each week for your child (ren) for the 2021-2022 School Year.

Each week you will be required to complete the Weekly Health Self-Screening Google Form on behalf of your child(ren) before entering the school building Monday mornings.

Surveys should be completed Sunday evening or Monday mornings by 7am.

The Google Forms will begin September 13th

Please see the attached Tentative Year at a Glance. Monthly Calendars will be sent home throughout the school year. Last Updated 8/23/21.

Arrival Procedures

When arriving at school, students should line up 3 feet apart at their given entrance (see updated map attached). Students will have their temperature checked at the door before entering the school building. No student will be allowed to enter if they have a fever. All of the designated entrance doors to the school will open at 8:00am. Student should be seated in homeroom ready to begin at 8:15am with morning prayer.

Dismissal Procedures

Students will exit the building at their designated exit locations. ( Please refer to the updated map attached.) Students not picked up within 5 minutes of their dismissal times will report to after-school and fees will be incurred. Students attending after-school will report to their designated rooms.

After-School Pick Up Procedures-TBD

Building Access

Once the new year begins on September 8th, only students and staff will be permitted inside the school building. Parents will not be allowed to enter the building. If you need anything from the school, please call Ms. Linda in the main office at 718-324-1088.

Masks

All students must wear a mask while in school. Mask breaks and fresh air breaks will be instituted throughout the school day for every child.

Parent Parking

Please be advised that no one should be parking in St. Barnabas High School or St Barnabas Elementary School parking lots. These lots are reserved for faculty and staff. Cars are subject to tow.

Please see below for PK Back to School Letters which contain important information for all PreK parents.

As we are getting ready to go back to school, the Early Childhood Social Work team had prepared some helpful information for the families on different topics. Attached please find four newsletters with information/tips about Potty Training, Self-help Skills, Separations Anxiety and Transition from Home to School.

September's lunch menu and UPDATED SBES Map attached below for your reference.

Registration forms will be distributed the first day of school and will be due Friday, September 10th. Morning program will not begin until Monday, October 4th.

Due to limited space and teacher/student ratio, at this time we will be surveying students in Kindergarten- Grade 8.

The following credit will be applied to the referring Parent’s 2021-22 Smart Tuition account and will appear on the family’s February billing statement:

· A one-time tuition credit of $250 for each new family registered in Full-Day Pre-K 3 or 4 (not UPK) and Grades K-8, for any referring Parent whose outreach and referral efforts result in a new family registering their child(ren) at any Regional School in the Archdiocese of New York in Full-Day Pre-K 3 or 4 (not UPK) and Grades K-8 for the 2021-22 school year and remaining in good standing with the school through February 1, 2022.

Program Conditions:

· The referring Parent must

o Refer the prospective family to the school for a virtual meeting with the school principal, or his/her designee, and

o Complete and sign this referral form on or before the time of the virtual meeting with the principal to initiate the referral process. Referral forms received after the virtual meeting will not be accepted.

· The prospective family must be NEW to the school in Grades K-8, OR have a student enrolled on a full time basis in a Pre K (non UPK) program; returning families are not covered by this Program.

· The referral credit for the referring Parent will be applied to their tuition bill in time for the February billing statement provided that:

o The new family’s child has continued to be enrolled in the school through February 1, 2022, and

o The referring family has remained current on their tuition payments.

For the month of September, students will be allowed to wear their gym uniform to school in lieu of their Fall uniform (this is optional). We will be returning to our Fall uniform beginning Monday, October 4th. All uniforms must be purchased from Liebman's Uniforms in New Rochelle. Please click here to order uniforms online and to view uniform requirements. Please note there is a newly designed uniform for Pre-K and Kindergarten. (Uniforms are optional for Pre-K students) Grades 1 - 8 will have both a Fall and Spring uniform to choose from.

St. Barnabas Elementary School has partnered with Division Food Service Management and MySchoolAccount.com for the managing of our lunch pre- order service and payments for the 2021-2022 school year. Please see the attached Parent Welcome Letter for more information on how to place your order. (Student Id numbers are provided from the vendor- Lunch service to begin September 13th) If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Nicole Cestra at the email listed below: Nicole@Division-Hospitality.Com or 646-523-2028.

NEW students- please call Nicole to assist with your account set up.

As a reminder, every student must have an updated physical on file each school year. ALL students must have up-to-date immunization records and a physical exam form completed each school year. For convenience, all forms are linked below. Please note that all NYC Pre-K students, under the age of 5 by December 31, 2021, will need to have a current flu vaccine on file. For those students that require an inhaler, or other medications such as an epipen, to be administered in school, I have linked the medical administration forms.

Immunization Requirements

Medical Administration Form - Epipen

Medical Administration Form - Asthma

Required Physical Exam Form (must be completed yearly)

This year’s TACHS Test will once again be an online, at-home, remote test which will be held on Friday, November 5, 2021. Students will be required to have a device that is equipped with a webcam and is compatible with Chrome browser along with access to the internet. For security purposes, upon registration parents will be notified that their child will be recorded during the test and asked to sign or check an agreement. At the end of the test, flagged recordings will be reviewed by a trained proctor for any suspicious activity. Please be advised that the test will not be available for IPads and/or cell phones.

Registration will open on Monday, August 23rd and run through Sunday, October 24th until 5PM.

Please see below for Student Handbook and Registration Instructions. These can also be found on the TACHS website.