Resurrection - St. Paul School
News and Notes 3/29/2020
2019-2020 Year to Lead...I Have Called You By Name!
Important Contact Information
School Board: schoolboard@resstpaul.org
H.S.A: HSA@resstpaul.org
Clubs: tunderwood@resstpaul.org
Newsletter submission requests: cmartin@resstpaul.org
The events listed below are subject to change as new policies go in place due to the coronavirus.
Sunday, March 15th - Friday, April 24th
- We will start mandatory class times starting on Monday, March 30th
- April 4th - April 15th is Spring Break! No student work or classes will be assigned for over Easter Break.
- Time to submit your name to the HSA if you are interested in holding one of the following open positions: 1st Vice President, Secretary, Room Parent Coordinators (additional details below)
Prayer Requests
All of the people of the world, as we are all affected by this pandemic in various ways.
Novena prayer against coronavirus
Eden Kennedy - family friend of Mrs. Bell's
Donna and Jim Leonard - Thomas Rosen's (5A) Grandparents
Lisa Wall - friend of many families from the Catonsville area
Special Intentions among our faculty and staff
For those who are no longer with us:
Cecilia Joan DeMoll - daughter of Kenn and Nicole DeMoll
Greg Zmijewski - son of Bob and Cathy Zmijewski
Daily Rosary Monday - Friday at 2:00 p.m with Mrs. Keys
Morning Prayer and Pledge of Allegience
Each morning, Mrs. Rensberger has posted a morning message along with our morning prayer and Pledge of Allegience. Starting Monday, these announcements will be in video format. If your child would like to be the one leading the Pledge of Allegience or the Morning Prayer, then please send the video of your child(ren) to office@resstpaul.org!
You are still invited to contribute to our morning greetings for one day next week, write your words of wisdom, an inspirational thought, a challenge for your peers, etc. Then send an e-mail to Mrs. Rensberger, rrensberger@resstpaul.org. Please make sure you provide your name and grade in your message so you can get credit for you message. Be a good digital citizen and keep your message appropriate for school and social media. Mrs. Rensberger can not wait to see how you would do the morning announcements!
Show your Panther Pride, be respectful, safe, prepared, and smart in your words, thoughts and actions.
Closing Prayer for the School Day
Below is a copy of this prayer. We encourage you to continue to say the prayer with your family.
School Communication
Faculty and staff of the school will not be in school during the two week building closure. The administration team will be checking voicemails and responding to emails. Teachers will still have access to email as well, and students or families who have any questions about the remote learning environment or assignments should reach out to the teachers.
Although this may be a challenging time, we know that by working collaboratively and remaining positive we will be able to overcome the obstacles that have been put in front of us. RSPS is a strong, powerful, faith-filled community, and we know that together we will meet the challenges ahead successfully.
Community Building in the Time of Social Distancing
Spirit Themed Days!
We encourage you to participate in our spirit themed days and post pictures online so we can see our Panther families.
https://www.facebook.com/ResurrectionStPaul/
Something Special is taking place this week. Students are encouraged to join us in the "Special Operations" challenge! Each day one of "The RSPS Special Forces Team" members will put out a challenge to our students. We want to see pictures of you taking on these challenges. Please upload your pictures to our Facebook site to share with other members of our RSPS community.
This week's Special Operations Challenge is as follows:
Monday is Music Monday with Mrs. Bowie
Tuesday is STEM Tuesday with Mrs. Grue
Wednesday is Workout Wednesday with Mr. Shurman
Thursday is ArTful Thursday with Mrs. Ruppert
Friday is Fiesta Friday with Senora DeNicolis
Support Fellow Members of our RSPS Community!
This list of community businesses looking for our support will be loaded onto a new page of our website. Please stay tuned for additional details!
The RSPS Grateful Garden Continues to Grow!
In the weeks before the school building closed, our Grateful Garden began to bloom in the school foyer. Although we can not physically be at school to see our garden blossom, we invite our community to share what they are grateful for on our Facebook page on "Thankful Thursdays."
The Health Council initiated the Gratitude Project because it conforms with our goal to promote the safety, health and wellness of our school community. There is a plethora of scientific evidence which shows expressing gratitude promotes physiological, psychological, emotional and social health and well being. I am grateful to you all for your efforts to promote the safety, health and well-being of all members of our community.
Be Part of the HSA Executive Board!
It is that time of year, HSA Executive Board election season!
Per the Archdiocese of Baltimore's HSA/PTO Manual for Catholic Schools:
Terms of Office (page 22)
Officers of the HSA/PTO generally serve a term of one year with the possibility of a second consecutive term. Officers who have served two consecutive terms may be re-elected to the HSA/PTO after a lapse of one year.
- Officers include a President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary (responsibilities for this office may require both a recording and corresponding secretary).
- The Officers, with the Principal and chairs of standing committees, form the Executive Committee.
Process for Electing Officers (page 19)
The President, in consultation with the Principal, appoints an ad hoc nominating committee chair who appoints four additional committee members. The nominating committee members are not members of the Executive Committee.
Members of the nominating committee are not eligible to hold an officer position. The Principal is an ex-officio member of the nominating committee.
The nominating committee:
- conducts an active, open search for HSA/PTO officer candidates from the general membership.
- develops a slate of two candidates per office (if possible)
- reviews the slate with the Principal
- contact the candidates, explains the duties, and determines their willingness to serve.
- presents the final slate to the general membership one month prior to the election at either a general meeting or in writing
The following HSA Executive Board member positions are up for election for the 2020-2021 school year. Elections for these officers will take place at the end of May:
- 1st Vice President
- Secretary
- Room Parent Coordinators
If you are interested in being nominated or would like to nominate someone else for one of these positions, please contact hsa@resstpaul.org
Distance Learning
Update Pertaining to Distance Learning!
As a school system, the Archdiocese of Baltimore is making a promise to continue to educate our students for the 2019-2020 school year. We began our distance teaching model with review packets for weeks 1 and 2 of the initial school closure. For week 3 and beyond, our teachers will be continuing our distance learning model including video conferencing and live or recorded content delivery with some necessary tweaking after teacher, student, and parent feedback.
Mandatory class times for students will start on Monday, March 30th!
There are many areas to consider with Governor Hogan’s announcement and many of these areas were addressed in the letter sent out to parents and guardians on March 25th. Please take the time to carefully read through each section and access any links or attached documents. This information can be found on the Distance Learning page of our website.
Distance Learning Instructional Minutes and Independent Work Expectations
We receive directives from the AOB, but what the distance learning and/or instruction delivery looks like will vary depending on the needs and capabilities of each school in the diocese. Our intent is to maintain consistent learning for our students based on daily teacher instruction through assignments and activities provided.
At Resurrection-St. Paul, we are blessed with a STEMcentric educational model that allows our students to thrive in this distance learning model. Grades 3-8 are very well versed in Google Classroom and are used to working online. While our K-2 students are used to working on Ipads and desktops, they usually work under the immediate guidance of their teachers and may not be independent with accessing apps and necessary online resources. Our teachers understand that each student has different strengths and needs and continue to support their students with differentiated lessons.
Distance learning expectations can not be the same as a traditional school day in a physical school building. Here are the best practices we will be using at RSPS.
- All assignments will be posted by 9:00 a.m. for classes using Google Classroom.
- For Grades PK3 and 4, teachers will be designing lessons and making them available on-line. We have seen some very cute Zoom meetings with our little treasures singing songs and learning letters.
- For students in K-2, please check your regular communication method with your teachers to access assignments, live lessons, and activities.
- For Grades 3-8, each ELA and math class will have one hour and twenty minutes of instruction a week. This may not be all teacher-led. The teacher may teach for 10-20 minutes and then use the remainder of the live class time to assist students. These classes will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
- Students will participate in other classes for other content areas on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a total of 80 minutes of instruction a week and 60 minutes of independent work per week per content area.
- Teachers will be posting all assignments in Google Classroom on the main stream as well as in the Classroom Assignments section with due dates. These assignments will prepopulate on your students’ To-do list and on the Google Calendar feature in Google Classroom. This is being done to help organize student work.
- Students are also advised to use their school-issued daily planner to write down assignments as they receive them and be sure to add them to not only the day assigned, but on the day they are due as well.
Teacher Office Hours PreK-2
Please email teachers with any questions or concerns regarding academic content or student work. They will reply during normal school hours 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Please use this time to teach valuable age-appropriate life skills: how to make simple meals, tying their shoes, planting vegetables and flowers, tracking print as you read to them, folding laundry, observing nature, letter or word scavenger hunts in your homes, etc.
We have posted many free resources such as virtual field trips, and online learning sites. Please take advantage of those opportunities. But also, make time for free creative play. There are so many life lessons embedded in collaborating with siblings, innovating new games, communicating ideas naturally and without a rubric for evaluation.
Teacher Office Hours Grades 3-5 M-W-F
Teacher Office Hours Grades 6-8 M-W-F
Teacher Office Hours Grades 3-8 Tuesday and Thursday
Announcements
Invention Convention Competition on May 6th
The Invention Convention is a STEM-aligned competition that teaches students to seek out problems and create solutions. In this competition students create an invention (gr. 3-8), research an inventor (gr. 3-8), or perform an experiment (gr. 6-8) and present their product or findings in front of judges. Students in grades 3, 4, & 5 can participate in the competition at their option. Students in grades 6-8 will be required to participate. We are encouraging all students to work on their projects during the two week school closure.
Students may participate as individuals, pairs, or as a group of three, but must adhere to grade-band constraints. You may download the competition packets and contact your child’s homeroom teacher with any questions. Middle school students/families should direct all questions to Mrs. Grue and/or Mr. Fiumara.
The school and teachers will provide support for contestants, but teachers will not be responsible for producing the projects. Inventions should be original and created by the students with adult guidance, support and supervision.
Please see the letter and information below for more details.
School Spirit Wear Shop is OPEN!
Students will be able to wear their spirit wear on select Fridays during the school year.
Club News
Good Works Club - Participate from Home!
In addition to the suggestion of writing cards as listed below, here is an additional way we could do a little service while we are social distancing...
As of March 23, all 860 Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store locations are offering curbside pickup and home delivery of free kits to make masks, gowns and "other essential items" to be donated to American hospitals. All open stores are carrying face mask kits in adult and youth sizes. We suggest you call ahead of time to let them know you will be picking up kits. Make sure you get an adult from home help you use a sewing machine and create these masks!
We'd love to see what good works you are doing at this time! Please feel free to share your photos on our Facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/ResurrectionStPaul/
Previous suggestions:
As you know, nursing homes are at a high risk with this pandemic and many have shut their doors to volunteers and visitors as well as cancelled group meals and activities.
The Little Sisters of the Poor are still accepting mail. If the kids could write letters or draw pictures to sent to the residents to brighten their day and maybe ease the isolation just a bit, it would be appreciated.
There are homes all over the country but the two closest to us are:
St. Martin's Home, 601 Maiden Choice Lane, Catonsville, MD 21228
Jeanne Jugan Residencee, 4200 Harewood Road NE, Washington, DC 20017
Address the outer envelope eto the Activities Department and they could share with the residents, post on walls, etc!
KC Dance and Fitness
All missed classes will be made up. If school is open during spring break, we will be holding classes that week plus extending our session by 1 week. If school has spring break as currently scheduled, we will be extending our session by 2 weeks. So the Wed class will finish June 3rd and the Thurs class will finish May 28th.
KidzArt
KidzArt is postponing the start of spring classes until schools reopen. We hope you will join us and look forward to continuing our classes with all new, exciting projects. Full refunds will be issued if we are unable to run the session for any reason.
I'm A Chef Too - Additional Sessions
The third session, originally scheduled to begin on 3/18, will start their session when school resumes!
Go to www.ImtheChefToo.com to find out more information and to register for the class.
Cost is $85.00 per student.
A Note from the Silver Knights Enrichment Program (Chess Club)
At Silver Knights, our first priority is always the safety of the children in our programs and our staff. With this in mind, I wanted to reach out with information about the potential impact of Coronavirus on our enrichment programs:
-We follow the guidance of the schools and districts we work in. If school is open, we’ll operate as usual, and if it’s closed, we’ll cancel programs.
-If programs are canceled, we’ll schedule make-up classes as needed, similar to how we have done in past years for weather-related cancellations.
-If school should be closed for an extended period of time, we’ll reach out with additional information.
-We’ve asked all our instructors to stay up to date on the CDC’s guidelines
We’re monitoring the situation closely, and will be in touch with updates if and when we have them. Feel free to reach out to me, or your Program Manager if you have additional questions.
Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely
Daniel Weissbarth
Director of Operations
Class of 2020 Date Reminders
- May 20th - Eight Grade Memory Boards Due (Boards will be distributed to all students to use. Additional details regarding the board will also be distributed with the boards.)
- May 6th - Evening of Excellence Night 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (previously Cultural Arts Night)
- May 20th - 8th Grade ELA exam
- May 21st - 8th Grade Math exam
- May 22nd - Field Day
- May 26th - 8th Grade Science exam
- May 28th - Retreat at Friary
- May 28th - 8th Grade dinner 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. (for students and parents only)
- May 29th - 10:00 a.m., last school mass and 8th Grade Baccalaureate Mass
- June 2nd - Graduation
HSA Committee Contacts
Where will you be shopping this week?
Order your Gift Cards through our SCRIP program and get a little money in return!
There are many reloadable gift cards that you can use from a phone or other hand held device. You could reload your digital card while waiting for the check to come when your are out at dinner. A convenient and easy way to save!
Have you purchased from our SCRIP program before? If not, the link to enroll in SCRIP can be found on the school website and our Enrollment Code is CBDC913E1599.
Orders are placed on noon on Mondays and are available for pick up the following Friday.
Order gift cards for over 750 of the most popular brands, from groceries to coffee to entertainment to gas.
Over 300 brands are available immediately with our eGift card products, and over 100 are reloadable.
Already know a place you go to buy gifts? Then pre-purchase your gift cards to use and save a little money while also helping the school.
RSPS Resources
Amazon Smile!
Buying from Amazon? Support RSPS while shopping! Click on this link, Amazon Smile, to automatically update your charitable giving.
Volunteers Needed-Earn Your Service Hours
Required training for all volunteers
2019-2020 Parent-Student Handbook
RSPS Referral Program-Earn $500 Tuition Credit!
Resurrection-St.Paul School
Vision Statement
At Resurrection-St. Paul School, students have unique opportunities for real life critical thinking, problem solving, and experiential learning through enrichment programs built into our curricula such as theater, art, outdoor education, and much more. We offer a well-rounded academic education rooted in the Catholic tradition of excellence and values. We prepare our students to assume responsible, creative roles in an ever challenging and changing world.
Mission Statement
Resurrection-St. Paul School, through the teaching of the Catholic Church, is dedicated to the total formation of the child by preparing them for a global society through innovation, problem solving, and cross curricular collaboration.
Email: office@resstpaul.org
Website: resstpaul.org
Location: 3155 Paulskirk Drive, Ellicott City, MD, USA
Phone: (410) 461-9111
Facebook: facebook.com/ResurrectionStPaul/