Principal's Desk |
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June 24, 2010 Dear Families of Old St. Mary’s School, It is hard to believe that the month of June is almost over! We have been busy here at school, getting ready to welcome you to the 2010-2011 school year. Classroom spaces are being reconfigured to serve the 200 students who will be with us this fall. The faculty and I are both honored and grateful that you have entrusted your children to us. We look forward to providing an instructional program that will challenge our students, while promoting academic, spiritual and social growth in each and every child. School begins on Wednesday, August 25 with an opportunity for you and your children to meet teachers and see the classrooms between 9:30-11:30 A.M. Thursday, August 26, will be the first full day of school. Children need to be in perfect uniform on this date. The playground gates will open at 7:45 A.M. with school beginning at 8:00 A.M. Morning drop off has been made very convenient, thanks to the help of the Parent’s Association. Cars pull up on Michigan Avenue, and volunteers will be there to help your child out of the car. I will be at the gate to welcome them. We ask that parents do not get out of their cars. If you are a new parent and want to walk your child to the gate, you must first park your car. All parents are invited to Church/Commons area immediately following the morning drop-off. Parent/Student Handbooks will be distributed and reviewed. I look forward to personally welcoming you and answering any questions you may have. Before the school year begins, your child’s health forms need to be on file in the office. If you have not already done so, please schedule your child’s medical appointments. State law requires these records in order for your child to begin school.
Health Exams and Proof of Immunization are required for all new students entering our school and prior to entering Kindergarten or first grade. Dental exams are required for all children beginning Kindergarten and second grade. Vision exams are required for all new students enrolling in our school for the first time or prior to entering Kindergarten. The Technology Committee is working through the summer again to provide a more interactive website that will continue to serve the OSM community as we move towards a “greener” school. More and more of the materials that have gone home in the Brown Envelope in the past, will be arriving to you directly via our website. Building a comprehensive student information system continues to be a priority of this committee. We are using Pearson’s Power School this year to move us closer to our goal. In order to move us towards these goals more quickly, a reduction of $25 in the $250 yearly activity fee will be extended to each student whose family has completed the Emergency Information Form included in this mailing and returned it to school by July 16, 2010. Uniform information is available at Land’s End and French Toast. To access this information online, you must enter the access code (Land’s End - 900127085 and French Toast - QS5GWMZ). We have included information for both of these companies with this letter. Please read the information on the uniform requirements carefully, as students are expected to be in perfect uniform every day, starting with the first full day of school on August 26. This year the children in Kindergarten through 5th grade will be required to wear a gym suit on gym days. The gym suit consists of navy blue athletic shorts or navy blue athletic pants and white tee shirt with school logo (available only at Land’s End). All children must wear their gym uniform and tennis shoes on gym days or they will be unable to participate in gym class. Volunteering is an integral part of our program here at Old St. Mary’s School. We rely on this assistance from our families to be able to hold down costs, while still providing a quality education for all of our students. Each family is asked to donate 20 hours of service over the course of the year. There are many and varied opportunities to volunteer throughout the year, such as assisting with daily recess supervision, morning drop-off support and field trips, working on service projects, or on one of the committees planning the Oktoberfest, Spring Gala, Poker Tournament, and the New Parents Tea. Parents who are unable to fulfill this commitment of time may make a donation of $400 to the Parents’ Association. All volunteer hours should be completed by May 15, 2011. More information about the service commitment and many opportunities available are on the website, in the Student Backpack area, under Volunteers. The Archdiocese requires that parents who volunteer in the classroom or on field trips complete the following: * Background Check * Attend Virtus Training/Protecting God’s Children Training for Adults * Read the Code of Conduct and sign the Personnel Acknowledgment form * Complete the Child Abuse Neglect Tracking System form (CANTS). (Information on all of the above are online at www.archchicago.org under the Protecting Children section.) These items should be turned in to the school office the first week of school. The Parents Association has chosen Gourmet Gorilla as a provider of student lunches next year. With its emphasis on healthy organic food choices served in an environmentally responsible manner, this seemed to be a good fit for our school community. This service is entirely optional. Lunches are ordered online directly from the vendor and then delivered to the school. More information is included in this mailing. I hope that you are enjoying a wonderful summer, reading lots of books, visiting new places, and learning new things. I will be sending out one more letter in August and your children will be a receiving a letter mid-August from their new teachers. I look forward to seeing you all on August 25th.
Sincerely, Mary Lee Calihan, Ed.D. Principal
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