Hawk Happenings!
Holy Rosary Bilingual Academy
Message from the Principal - Aug. 29, 2018
Happy Wednesday!
It has been a wild, but wonderful week thus far. First off, I want to say a huge “THANK YOU” to parents for their patience as we get things going for the year. Starting off with the flood and room change in Pre-K 4, a new electronic attendance system for DEL (The Department of Early Learning) for all of the Pre-K parents, having our first grade teacher out for the first two days, learning the rules for drop off and pick up, and starting cross country...has really tested everyone’s patience. Parents have been WONDERFUL. Thank you for your understanding and working with us to make things go as smoothly as possible. It is stressful for the teachers and staff, as well and they have been so patient and flexible. It is fantastic when we all work as a team to make our kids successful!
The kiddos are enjoying being back at school and are learning a lot already. Here are a few tips to make the beginning of the school year go well:
- Make sure to establish a bed time that allows your child(ren) to get enough sleep
- Give children enough time to wake up and get ready with enough time to get to school on time (between 7:45-7:55). The gates close at 7:55, so if you come after that, please come through the front doors. Children arriving to class after 8 am are considered tardy.
- Pack backpacks (with lunches, if possible) the night before and set them by the door so you can get to the car easier and more quickly
- Check and use planners so that you can stay informed about what is going on in the classroom and due dates
- Read newsletters from the school and attend Back to School night to stay informed
We are truly excited to have all of these beautiful children and the amazing families back with us and we thank you for choosing Holy Rosary Bilingual Academy. Giving your child(ren) a high quality, innovative, spiritually rich, bilingual education is the best thing you can do to help your children be successful in the future. It is not always easy due to logistics and finances, but please know that it is worth the effort! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact any of our staff so that we can help.
Blessings,
Katie Dempsey
Principal
P.S. Don’t forget that this Friday is a NOON DISMISSAL. We do have Extended Care available for the regular fee. If you need to sign up for Extended Care, just pick up a form in the office and register. Also, there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, in honor of Labor Day.
Scenes from this Week...It’s So Good to be Back!
Upcoming Events:
Wed, 8/29- Envelopes and school wide electronic newsletter go home. Please check your weekly envelope for statements. If you are not on FACTS, then payments are due by the 10th of each month. August was our first month of tuition. If you have not paid it yet, please make sure to pay it by this Friday.
Thursday, 8/30
- Pay2Dress...students can wear free dress and pay $2 to support our orphans, Brayan and Kenia in Mexico and Honduras. Please make sure items are not tight, short, or ripped and appropriate for a Catholic School. Students who do not want to pay for “free dress” can wear their spirit gear (school spirit shirt or Seahawks shirt/jersey with jeans) for free. Spirit gear can be worn every Thursday for no cost. Spirit shirts and sweatshirts can be ordered through the front office. The next Spirit Gear order will be sent out on Friday, Sept. 7th and will be back by the 21st of September.
- Envelopes due back to the office.
Friday, 8/31 - Noon dismissal with Extended Care available.
Next Week...
Monday, 9/3 - No School for Labor Day
Weekly Newsletters and Envelopes - What is the Routine?
This will be the regular day for weekly newsletters from the office. Each family should have at least one parent/guardian who receives the newsletter electronically each week. This has valuable information about things that are happening all around the school. If you have other people in your life who want this info, especially aunts/uncles/grandparents who are involved with picking the children up or dropping them off, just send us their email addresses and we are happy to add them to the weekly electronic newsletter. Also, sometimes the newsletter can go to your “promotions” file or spam, instead of your inbox so keep an eye out for it. The teachers will also send you a newsletter with information specific to the child’s classroom and this will go out on Monday or Tuesday of each week. If you are not receiving any of these, just check in with the front office or your child’s teacher(s) to make sure we have your email address. The Smore format makes it easy to view on your phone and on the go, so feel free to scroll quickly for the info you need and pull it back up, if you need to review it at a later date!
Also, on Wednesdays, families receive a weekly “Yellow Envelope” that goes home with the youngest child in each family. Please check your child’s backpack to make sure you received it. Take the contents out and review them and just return the envelope the next day....and Friday at the latest. If we do not receive your envelope in the front office by Friday, we will have to make a new one for the following week and families will be charged $5 per incident/envelope. Today’s envelope has A LOT of great info, including the Free and Reduced Application, monthly statements, meal calendar for Sept, and even tickets to the Fair!
What’s Happening with that New Playground???
The new playground is installed. We have a Big Toy for the Pre-K/K and one for Kindergarten through grade 8. The cement is set and it’s ready for the kiddos...EXCEPT...we are waiting on the cedar play chips. They had a 2 week delay but we are HOPING they can get them earlier. We are hoping to get them this week. Once the chips are down, the kids can have free reign on the toys. We will be putting the swings and the teeter totter back (with cement) very soon. Mr. McKinney installed one basketball hoop and will have the other installed in the next few days. This allows us two half courts for the kids. Finally, the Clifton/Young family is donating a brand new Gaga ball pit. This should be in very soon.
CYO Cross Country: REMINDERS! STARTS TODAY!!
Hello Cross Country Families,
It is almost CC time so I wanted to send out a little note to let you know a few things.
- Our first practice of the season has been changed to Wednesday, August 29th from 3:15-4 PM. That’s TODAY!!
- The last day to sign up for CYO CC is Sept. 10th.
- Great news on the shirts for this year. We have decided to use the new Spirit Gear t-shirts with the Hawk logo. So, they can be worn for CC and for Spirit Days! As long as it is the new shirt (short-sleeved) for this year, you do not have to buy a separate shirt for CC. The cost for these is $12 (plus $5 if you want your first or last name printed on the back). Orders MUST be in by Friday, Sept. 7th (morning).
- Practice Schedule: Practices generally will be held Monday and Friday for kids in PK-3rd grade and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for kids in 4-8th grade. Practices will be immediately after school from 3-4 PM.
- Pre-K students must have a parent in attendance or another adult who can sign the child out of Pre-K for the day and then stay with the child at practice.
I am looking forward to another great year of Holy Rosary Cross Country! Go Hawks!
Coach Pickles
Does Your Child Have Allergies?
If your child has food or environmental allergies, we take those issues very seriously. Please send us information about the allergy and how it is treated, as well as what to avoid. The doctor can provide a form for each allergy. Also, if you need to have medications at school for your child, an Oral Medication form must be completed for each medication, in order for us to treat the child.
Breakfast Changes!
This year, we will be having breakfast for Kindergarten through Grade 8 from 8-8:15 every day, with announcements immediately after breakfast. This will allow every child to start their educational day with something to eat. It also helps the teachers to have a better first block of uninterrupted time for academics. Finally, it is less disruptive when students enter the classroom late. Breakfast will be served until 8:10. Kids can get breakfast in the auditorium (they eat in their classrooms) or can bring their food with them. This makes things easier at home in the morning because you can plan on your child eating as soon as they get to school. If they are hungry before lunch, they are welcome to bring a small snack out to recess with them. Please make this something simple that does not require utensils. Pre-K still has breakfast at 8:30 am.
Free and Reduced Lunch Forms - Due Sept. 14th!!
The applications for Free and Reduced breakfast and lunch are in today’s weekly envelope. All families who would like to apply for Free or Reduced MUST complete an application and return it (signed) to the office. Ms. Lizbeth will process these and make the determination for eligibility based on the guidelines. She will then let you know whether you qualify as Free or Reduced (or do not qualify). If you do not want to be considered for this, then you do not need to return the application. If you do not apply, then you will be billed the regular cost of breakfast ($2.50) and lunch ($3.75) when your child eats those meals. Billing goes out the beginning of the following month for the previous month’s meals. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Lizbeth at Lduran@holyrosarybilingual.org. How are things with the Pre-K 4A Classroom?
We have dried out the carpet, but it will need to be replaced. Also, the wall was damaged (the leak came in through a bad hose that flooded from the parking lot above, down the wall, and into the classroom), so we just had the sheetrock removed. We will soon have the old carpet (and tile underneath) torn out and replaced with new carpet. Once that is all done, then we can switch the classrooms back. I do not have a firm timeframe yet, as we are waiting on our various contractors. Thank you for your patience and we will let you know as soon as we know!
