The Advent Season began on Sunday and marked a new year of the Liturgical Calendar. As a family, these four weeks leading to the birth of Jesus at Christmas offer special moments to prepare, reflect, and celebrate our faith.

What is so beautiful about celebrating Jesus’ birth with children is how they help us approach this season with joy, hope, and wonder. I encourage you to spend time creating shared traditions with your family that also add depth to your spiritual life- attending Mass (remember the virtual options available), adopting a Jesse Tree child in need, making your own Advent Wreath, using an Advent Calendar, and the new St. Mike's Tikes drive-through Nativity taking place this Friday evening. All these meaningful shared experiences allow us to live our faith and create lasting memories. Please be assured of my continued prayers for your family's good health and happiness this holiday season.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him…Romans 15:13

Advent blessings,

Lisa Ciesla, Director

lciesla@stmcary.org

Please prayerfully consider making a donation to St. Michael Preschool's needs-based scholarship program. Any amount is gratefully appreciated and will help provide the gift of a Catholic preschool education to a child in need. Advanced giving is happening now at https://raleigh.igivecatholic.org/organizations/st-michael-preschool Thank you for your giving heart!

Upon our return from Thanksgiving Break, we will celebrate our love for reading with a Scholastic Book Fair! You can preview the St. Michael Preschool Book Fair (link) today! This year, our Book Fair is entirely online, which means FREE shipping on book-only orders over $25* and all orders ship directly to home.

Feel like you have too many books at home? No worries, you can still support our school through this event by:

1. Purchasing teacher Wish List (link) titles.
• Sign up to purchase a book from the wish list; when the book arrives at your home, write a special message inside the cover and have your child hand-deliver the book to their teacher here at school. Oh, the teachers will be so surprised!
2. Purchase a Scholastic eGift cards for any person on your holiday gift list.
3. Donate to Read and Feed and give children in need an appetite for reading!
• Bring a new or gently used book to the preschool the week of December 1-4 to donate at check-in (no board books, please)
• Monetary donations accepted Click to Donate (Click link, Select one-time payment, Donation, note Read and Feed, and process payment)
• All Donors (monetary and/or book donors) can register for a raffle to win a "St. Michael Preschool Swag Bag and Selection of Scholastic Books".

purchase a gift

monetary donation

volunteer

Thank you in advance for your heartfelt generosity!

Due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 cases in North Carolina and our country, it is extremely important that we continue to remain vigilant in our efforts to keep our community healthy. Please note that on November 10, 2020, the NC Department of Health and Human Services updated its preschool operating guidelines in the Childcare Strong NC Public Health Toolkit. Please read the updated Daily Health Screening Questions and guidelines for Returning to Child Care. It is the responsibility of the parent/caregiver to understand and follow all protocols.

Exclusionary COVID-19 symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, new loss of taste/smell remain the same. However, scenarios now include detailed information about results based on the type of COVID-19 test (antigen vs. PCR) and length of quarantine when there is a case of COVID-19 inside a household.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: ALL ADULTS on St. Michael Campus must wear a face mask when dropping off or picking up their child. Thank you for your attention to this requirement. Although face coverings are not required by the health department for preschoolers, as we enter cold and flu season, you may choose to have your child wear one. If you decide to send your child to preschool with a mask, please ensure they have had time to practice with it and are comfortable and independent in wearing it for the 3-hour day.

The St. Michael Preschool teachers and staff are very grateful for your continued cooperation in following our health and safety requirements. Be assured of our prayers for good health for you and your family.

Closings and Delays: Our policy is to assess conditions on St. Michael Campus and the local area to determine closings or delays at the preschool. We understand this may not always reflect weather conditions in your area or follow the Wake County School closings or delays, so please use your discretion when bringing your child to school.

Parents will be informed of school closings and delays via our all call communication system through the primary phone, text message, and email provided. If this information needs to be updated at this time, please let the preschool office know.

On delayed openings, Early Arrival and Lunch Programs are canceled and children bring a lunch and attend from 11:00-1:00 pm. This later dismissal time may interfere with younger children’s nap schedules, so again, please use your best judgment in sending your preschooler on these days.

Need some extra time to run errands or get to an appointment? We can help! We still have openings in our early arrival and lunch programs. Your child will enjoy the extra time to socialize and play!

Early Arrival - available daily; drop off begins at 8:15 am

Lunch Program - available on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; pick up is at 1:30 pm

Extended Day Program Registration is now available online. It is offered in two payment options, the discounted monthly payment schedule or for ultimate flexibility a daily payment schedule. Details regarding our Extended Day Programs can be found on our website. Please note COVID procedures apply.