Charger Check-In
December 18, 2020
A Note from Ms. Owens
We had so much fun at St. Catherine this week! We are truly joyous this Advent as we do a bit of early Christmas celebrating. Our K-4th grade students performed a virtual Christmas concert singing "The First Noel" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" in American Sign Language. (The video is posted further down in this Check-In.) Our Student Council put up Advent garland with students' prayers in the school hallways. Our 3rd-8th graders participated in a virtual Reconciliation Service with Fr. Dennis. We donned our crazy Christmas socks, Santa hats and reindeer headbands on Thursday. Today, we wore our PJs to school!
On Monday, students are invited to wear red and green, and on Tuesday, it's finally time to go Crazy for Christmas! Pull out those ugly Christmas sweaters, a favorite Christmas shirt, a Christmas bulb necklace, some Christmas pajama pants, or whatever other Christmas attire you have at home. (Please remember to keep is safe and school-appropriate! ) On Tuesday, school will be dismissed at 11:30AM. Students will not have lunch this day and after care will not be available.
Christmas Break and Covid Reporting
- Over Christmas Break, principals have been asked to continue to track both positive and presumed positive cases of Covid-19. Please reach out to me via email if someone in your household tests positive or is noted as a presumed positive.
- Beginning January 5, please contact me regarding any Covid exposures, as well as positive and presumed positive cases. A person exposed to Covid can develop Covid for 14 days after their exposure. We want to continue maintaining a safe environment for both our staff and our students once we return to the building.
- As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact me.
Our Covid awareness needs to continue. If a member of your household knows they will be going for a Covid test or is waiting for the results, your child must stay home until results are received. If the results are negative, if your child has not had exposure to anyone who has tested positive and if your child is free of symptoms, they may return to school.
I urge you to monitor closely the health of all members of your household. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever (temperature greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.
- If a member of your household has even one Covid-like symptom, your child(ren) should not come to school that first day of a household member having symptoms.
- If your child has symptoms on a second consecutive day, your child will need a negative Covid test in order to return to school. Per IDPH guidelines issued on October 27, this Covid test must be a PCR test. (See button below for more detailed information.) Your household should quarantine while awaiting the results.
- Do not send your child(ren) to school medicated to camouflage symptoms.
- If your child(ren) has been identified as a close contact to a confirmed or presumed positive case, you child(ren) will need to quarantine for 14-days from the last day of contact with the positive case.
- If your child(ren) has been identified as a close contact to a confirmed or presumed positive case and develops symptoms, contact your medical advisor to discuss evaluation and testing.
- If your child(ren) has been identified as a close contact to a confirmed or presumed positive case and does not develop symptoms, it is recommended to be tested 5 to 9 days after your child’s exposure to the positive case.
I ask that you continue to partner with us in a shared effort to maintain a safe environment for our school community. We have gone through extensive measures to put protocols and procedures in place for our collective health and safety. Maintaining cohorts is at the heart of that plan. We ask for your cooperation in maintaining this model whenever feasible so that our staff and students are able to experience a safe and sustained return to school.
A Bit More News
- On Tuesday, December 22, school will dismiss at 11:30AM. Students will not have lunch this day and after care will not be available.
- If your family is traveling out of state or internationally over Christmas break, please make it a priority to be back home no later than Tuesday, January 5. This will ensure that your family can quarantine for 14 days before returning to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 19.
- Thank you for your generosity in supporting our Dress in Purple to support research in the fight against pancreatic cancer. We were honored to donate over $550 the Hirschberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research in memory and celebration of our dear Regina Schoeberl.
- Thank you for supporting FSA's Annual Christmas Wreath Sale. As of last week, all inventory had been purchased! We are grateful to St. Catherine families and FSA for all your efforts!
- If you know of an SCA family who owns a small business that we can publicize here to help support them, please reach out to me via email. Scroll down to see local businesses we can support.
As we prepare for the birth of Jesus, I wish you and your loved ones a safe, healthy and blessed Christmas and New Year!
Peace,
Kristine Owens
Updated Emergency Travel Order
Under Chicago's Emergency Travel Order, states will be placed in three categories – red, orange and yellow – based on the status of the outbreak in the states and how the data compares to the situation in Chicago. There are currently 46 states in either the orange or red categories. This list is updated every other Tuesday.
The following language is taken directly from the Chicago Department of Public Health's Emergency Travel Order webpage, "Anyone traveling from a state on the Orange list is directed to obtain a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 72 hours prior to arrival in Chicago or quarantine for a 14-day period (or the duration of their time in Chicago, whichever is shorter). Anyone traveling from a state on the Red list must quarantine for a 14-day period or the duration of their time in Chicago, whichever is shorter."
To see the full language of and additional information about the modified Emergency Travel Order, click on the button below.
For our Archdiocesan schools, any travel outside of the United States will also require a 14-day quarantine for students and employees upon their return.
A Bit More Focus on Our Quarantine and Sick Policies
Please be aware of these situations in which a student/faculty/staff/volunteer will need to remain home.
- Any student/faculty/staff/volunteer who has close contact to a person who is symptomatic, awaiting test results or diagnosed with COVID-19 will need to stay home.
- Anyone with close contact with a confirmed case must quarantine for 14 days from date of last contact with confirmed case.
Close contact is defined as "anyone (with or without a face covering) who was within 6 feet of a confirmed case of COVID-19 (with or without a face covering) for at least 15 minutes. The period of close contact begins two calendar days before the onset of symptoms (for a symptomatic person) or two calendar days before the positive sample was obtained (for as asymptomatic person).
Any student/faculty/staff/volunteer who presents with any of the following symptoms - fever (100.4 or higher), headache, shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, congestion, new loss of taste/smell, nausea, fatigue or muscle/body ache will need to stay home or will be sent home if they are at school. All members of that person's household will also be sent home.
Re-Registration for Current SCA Families.
The online form for re-registration for current families is below as is a link to Smart Tuition. Finally, you will see a link to email communication about paying the re-registration fee.
Remote for Two Weeks in January
- By now, all SCA school families should have received information regarding the schedule for teaching and learning activities during our two weeks of being remote. These schedules provide overviews of the day rather than details of the exact content being addressed each day.
- We know that a number of our students will need to borrow devices during the period of remote learning. iPads are available to our K-2 students and Chromebooks are available to our 3-8 students. If you would like your child to borrow a device, please fill out the form below. The form will close Saturday, December 19 at noon so we can prepare those devices to go home.
- For our K-2 families who plan on using your own tablet during remote learning, please visit the button below to see the apps you will need to have on your own device for your child to use.
- If your family is traveling out of state or internationally over Christmas break, please make it a priority to be back home no later than Tuesday, January 5. This will ensure that your family can quarantine for 14 days before returning to in-person learning on Tuesday, January 19.
It is important that students have all necessary materials with them before they leave for Christmas break. The school building will NOT be open during our two weeks of remote teaching and learning.
The Sunday Collection
Visit the link below to set up your recurring contribution. Donors can change the amount of the contribution or pause it at any time.
Our Church is Open!
- Saturdays - Mass at 4PM
- Sundays - Mass at 8:00AM, 9:30AM and 11:30AM
In order to attend, parishioners must sign up online. The sign up is available below. Be sure to read the protocols that must be followed by those attending Mass in-person.
You are also invited to attend a weekday morning Mass on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday in-person at 8:30AM. You will need to register in the vestibule when you arrive and all protocols must be observed.
Ways to Support Our Local Small Businesses
If you know of an SCA family who owns a small business that we can publicize here to help support them, please reach out to me via email.
So Many On-going Ways to Support St. Catherine!
Upcoming Events
Monday, December 21
- Christmas Spirit Days - Wear Red & Green
Tuesday, December 22
- Christmas Spirit Days - Crazy for Christmas
- Dismissal at 11:30AM
Wednesday, January 6
- School resumes - Remote Teaching and Learning
Monday, January 18
- No School - Dr. Martin Luther King Day
Tuesday, January 19
- In-person classes resume
About us
Website: www.scaoaklawn.org
Location: 10621 South Kedvale Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL, USA
Phone: 708-425-5547
Facebook: facebook.com/scaoaklawn/