2023

Dear St. Therese families,

Staff has been hard at work this week, getting ready to welcome students back to campus. On a rainy Thursday, we finally opened our doors to kiddos and families for Supply Drop-off. There was lots of excitement around new teachers, new classroom spaces, fall sports, and new experiences!

We officially return to school next week, and Tuesday will be a full day of classes, but students are welcome to wear free dress. If you are new to St. Therese School and your student is feeling a bit of the first day butterflies, feel free to park and enter through the main entrance, in order to walk them to class. At the end of the day, students will be accompanied by their teachers out to the parking lot to meet parents. See the map below for pick-up procedure.

There is sure to be plenty of info and paperwork coming your way in the week(s) to come. See the info and dates in this newsletter for the basics.

From one parent to many: please do not panic if you can't find that last pesky item on your child's supply list. If you don't have dress code memorized, relax, because kids can wear free dress on Tuesday. As wonderful and exciting as the new school year is, it shouldn't be a source of anxiety. Much better to enjoy this weekend and get some rest before we blast off! Our awesome teachers, Mrs. Barnett, and I, can field those questions soon enough. Happy Labor Day weekend!

All the best,

Principal Schoning

• Gates/doors open at 7:55 a.m.
• First tardy bell rings at 8:15 a.m.
• Regular dismissal time is 3:15 p.m.
• Dismissal on Wednesday is 2:30 p.m.

• Cost for Before Care and Extended Care has increased in order to keep up with inflation. Price per student: $10. For the second child in a family: $9. Third child: $8.
• If a student is not picked up within 15 minutes of dismissal, we will accompany them to Extended Care.
• Cost for lunch provided by school: $6. If a student forgets a lunch, we will provide them with a Lunchable, fruit, drink, granola bar.
• (We're not quite keeping up with inflation, and we've had to raise our costs.)
• Every student, pre-k to 8th grade needs to bring their own personal water bottle, every day. The office will no longer be distributing paper cups in order for students to get a drink. We have really handy bottle filling stations throughout the school. Please encourage your student to use them. If a student needs a bottle of water, we will provide one at the cost of $1. Be assured that nobody will be denied water--we are just encouraging our students to be responsible and reduce waste.
• All incurred costs will be applied to your student account via FACTS Student Info System.

***Please contact the office if you need support in purchasing school supplies.

If your child is interested in helping Father Jeff at mass, as an altar server, please take the time to read about the upcoming trainings.

FREE English Language Tutoring

ALL AGES – CHILD TO ADULT

If you or anyone you know is working to learn or improve their English as a second language (ESL), please call or email ME:

Kate McLean, your St. Therese Reading Specialist.

I am offering 20 hours of FREE tutoring to complete a ESL training requirement through

International TEFL Academy

Tutoring support may continue as you desire.

mcleank@stthereseschool.org

St Vincent de Paul needs substitute drivers. We deliver on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday mornings. On weekdays, you could drop your student off for school and then come to the pantry. If you are available on any of those days on an occasional or regular basis, we need you. This is a fun job to do with a friend, spouse, or older child. Must be able to carry 15-20 pounds and climb stairs repeatedly. Call or text Shasta Hatter at 503-467-1922 to volunteer or get more information.