Holy Family School Newsletter
January 2024
A Note From Ms. Otte
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back from what I hope was a blessed, restful, and merry winter break! I hope everyone feels energized and ready for the new year! We have many fun, entertaining, and exciting events coming up in the 2nd half of the year, so be sure to pay attention to the different JMC messages and dates in the newsletter we are communicating with you.
We continue with our Capital Campaign and have been blessed with some very generous donations! As you know, we hit our first goal of $25,000 and received an additional $25,000 matching donation from the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence! We are off to a great start! A sincere Thank You to everyone for your contribution. Every donation, big or small, puts us closer to reaching our goal for the next matching grant!
Thank you for your help and support. May God Bless You.
Warm regards,
Ms. Otte
A Message from Nurse Raymie
Dear HFS Families,
We have been seeing an increase in seasonal illnesses over the 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.
We are asking this to help your child recover more quickly, protect the other students and staff from getting sick, and protect the other visitors we have in our school such as the guests for our upcoming pageant.
We understand it is difficult to have your child miss school with the Christmas Pageant, but there will be more opportunities. 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.
Parent's Day - Catholic Schools Week
Looking ahead to the end of January, we will celebrate Catholic Schools Week during the week of January 28th. We will celebrate the parents on two separate dates based on the the letters of the alphabet.
Tuesday, January 30 - Families with the student's last name starting with L - Z
Thursday, February 1 - Families with the student's last name starting with A - K
On the above dates, parents will be invited to attend mass in the morning with the students then join them afterward in the school cafeteria for bingo and pastries. Each parent's day celebration will be done by 10:45.
Community Education Class Offerings
MARCH CALENDAR CHANGES
Based on survey results, parents were overwhelmingly supportive of transporting students to AND from school on Thursday, March 21, 2024. We realize there have been a couple of changes to the school calendar for that week so here is what school will look like that week:
- 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.
January 1 & 2
NO SCHOOL - Christmas Break
January 3
Welcome Back!
JANUARY 10
Today is a 2-hour late start for the public school. Therefore, parents will be responsible for transporting their child(ren) TO HFS in the morning. (Busses will be available for afternoon transportation.)
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.
JANUARY 15
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
JANUARY 22
NO SCHOOL - Teacher Inservice/Work Day
JANUARY 25
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.
JANUARY 25
JANUARY 30 & FEBRUARY 1
FEBRUARY 1 - Parent Day (A-K)
December "Kind & Caring" Assembly
Below are the December Little World Changer Recipients for being kind & caring in the month of December.
Back from left: Raya Nathe (6), Quinncy Jennissen (6), Anna Dingmann (5), Macey Middendorf (5) & Maren Rieldand (4)
Middle from left: Ms. Otte, Sawyer Nathe (4), Henry VanHavermaet (3), Hailey Schlangen (3), Lennox Ritter (2)
Front from left: Harper Bendix (K), Luke Schlangen (K), Ali VanHavermaet (1), Isabel Primus (1) & Carter Pohlmann (2)
January Character Trait - Responsible
Responsibility is the character trait that we will be focusing on in January. Children learn Responsibility by being given age-appropriate responsibilities, carrying them out successfully, and living with the consequences when they neglect them. When children see these consequences at an early age, they realize that even though they do not always want to do a particular chore or act a particular way, they begin to see the positive in doing the right thing. This internalizing will not occur at a magic age "all of a sudden," but it is a gradual learning. It is crucial that children are given small but important tasks at home and school.
These jobs and/or responsibilities can be simple ones that take very little time, i.e., taking out a small trash can daily, picking up toys before bed, giving the cat a bowl of fresh water, bringing in the paper in the morning, speaking respectfully to others even when they are upset, etc. The important thing is that the child knows someone is counting on him/her to do a particular job or to do the right thing, and it will be noticed if he/she does not do it. They also need to see that no one else will do it for them because they "don't feel like it today." Predetermined consequences can be arranged and must always be carried out if the child shirks his/her responsibility. The side benefit is that children with responsibilities at home and school have healthier self-esteem because they feel competent and important, a feeling many children lack when adults do everything for them and do not hold them accountable.
The definition of Responsibility we will focus on this month includes four emphases: Responsible for Actions, Responsible in the Job of School, Dependability, and Commitment. As you discuss this character trait with your child, please include ideas encompassing all these aspects of responsibility.
Monthly Assembly Skit Crew
These students perform a skit at our monthly assemblies introducing the character trait for the next month.
The students who performed the skit this week include: Maddie Marthaler, Anna Dingmann, Lauren Sunderman, Laney Wilber & Emma Frank
Peace Poster Winners
For over three decades, Lions clubs around the globe have been sponsoring a very special art contest in schools and youth groups. Creating peace posters gives children everywhere the chance to express their visions of peace and inspire the world through art and creativity.
This week, local Lions Club members, Bob McLellan and Ken Gieske presented awards to the three three sixth grade students at Holy Family School. Congratulations to our competition winners:
1st Place: Kadie Miller
2nd Place: Mikey Lieser (not pictured)
3rd Place: Elizabeth Friedrichs (not pictured)
Thank you to our local Lion's Club for sponsoring this event for our students!
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.