February 2008
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back after our mini- winter
break. We do hope you had some time to relax especially after
our snowy/rainy day last week. Our system of getting the news
out about weather related schedule changes seemed to have worked
better this time. After consulting with our HSA Board members we
have concluded it is not necessary for class parents to utilize
a phone chain to disseminate information. We will rely on other
methods for this. What should you do?:
·
Check our website
– A trailer will travel across the top of the page.
·
Listen to WFAS or Channel
12 News.
·
Call our school phone –
A message will be there with relevant information.
·
Look for signs around the
property – We have
ordered new signs, unfortunately they were not ready last week.
They will be poster-sized, neon orange so that they can be seen
easily in stormy weather.
If a two-hour delay is called this
means that children can be dropped off between 10:00
and 10:10 a.m. (two hours later
than the usual 8:00 – 8:10 a.m.). Please do not bring them
earlier, as staff members are not in place to receive and
supervise them until 10:00 a.m. All students should enter
through the cafeteria doors, not the front door. Please
do not drop your children off and drive away before you are sure
they have gained access to the cafeteria. On days with delayed
openings Before Care will not be available.
Parents of half day Pre-K children should use their judgment
about sending children to school on these days.
UNIFORMS
After conversations with students,
HSA Board members, faculty and staff (the pastor too!), we are
initiating some changes in the student uniforms.
Girls
will be given the option
of wearing slacks to school. Navy for
girls in Grades 1-5, black for girls in Grades 6-8
(5th Grade remains the transitional year where both
options, navy or black, just as both options of the jumper or
skirt are available). In today’s society it is necessary for
girls to learn how to wear both skirts and slacks appropriately.
We can begin this process during their time in school so they
are fully prepared to join the work force! Please take some time
to check the length of your daughter’s skirt. Skirts/ jumpers
should be worn at knee level. Some need adjustment!
Boys
in Grades 1-5 will continue to wear navy uniform
pants and navy ties. Boys in Grades 6-8 will
change over to black pants and black
ties. We will ask the uniform company to embroider ICS on the
ties. (5th Grade remains the transitional year where
both options are available.)
We will also introduce an
optional sweat shirt. This will be a heavy- weight,
royal blue, hooded style. The blue fleeces we distributed in the
fall remain quite popular and can still be worn. We ask that
students wear either the blue fleece or the new sweat shirt if
an additional layer is necessary in the winter. This will
eliminate students being out of uniform by wearing a variety of
extra sweaters or sweat shirts. We want your children to be warm
and comfortable while still maintaining a uniform appearance.
Next year we will have a contest to
select a school mascot. We will then design a logo for our gym
wear and school sports teams uniforms. Start your creative
juices flowing now!
Although these changes will take
place in September 2008, families may opt to make
changes for the second half of this year if children have
outgrown their current size and need replacements. Girls
uniform slacks are available now. We will determine
whether girls slacks will be worn throughout the year or only
when the winter uniform regulations are in place. Samples of
these items are on display in the front hall. Please stop in to
see them.
Also starting in September,
Kindergarten will wear the ICS gym suit to school. This will
more closely identify them as members of our school. Pre-K
students may opt to wear the gym suit, but it will not be
required.
SIS – STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
We did it! Finally we have opened
the grading / assignment portion of the system to parents. Each
parent / guardian should receive a password to allow access to
your child’s grades. This was sent home on February 13th.
Please be sure to ask your child for this communication if they
have not already given it to you. We anticipate that we
will encounter some bumps in the road. Please be patient as we
work these out together. If you have any problems please direct
an e-mail to Mr. Swift,
aswift@icschoolonline.org . He will address it as soon as
his teaching schedule allows him the time to do so.
HOMEWORK
Both
the teachers and the office have been receiving a rash of
requests for books and assignments for homework. Our policy has
changed. Please review the information below which was sent home
in the Fall. Homework calls will not be accepted at the office,
nor should they be directed to teachers. Books and assignments
will not be left at the office or in any other location in
school.
Let’s simplify this. Unless your
child had an appointment that could not be scheduled outside of
school hours, you kept them home because they were either
contagious or they were too sick to come
to school. How can they then be expected to complete both class
and home assignments when they are sick? They can not!
When your child is not in school we
offer these guidelines for completing assignments:
-
Books will not be sent home
from the office or left in another location for pick-up.
-
When your child returns to
school their teachers will determine what assignments need
to be completed and will allow for extra time to complete
them. Usually one day absent equals one extra
day, etc.
-
You can access your child’s
assignments on-line. Teachers will utilize School Notes
more consistently and will post assignments. Our Student
Information System is now available to parents so that
you can access both grades and assignments. Posting of
information may vary according to grade, also please
understand that this process will be new for all of us and
we will need some time to work out the glitches.
-
Calling a classmate is also an
acceptable method of retrieving assignments.
-
If you were able to retrieve
assignments but your child does not have the books they need
– no problem. They will get them when they return to
school and complete the work as determined by the teacher.
-
If a student will be out for
an extended period of time we will make arrangements with
you to get all the necessary books home. Please call the
office.
In other words, this is your
principal speaking- “It is okay not to do homework when you are
sick! We’ll see you in school when you are feeling better.”
PHONE CALLS
We have tried this before, but it
is necessary to once again request that phone calls to the
office to arrange pick-up arrangements should only be made in
emergency situations. On any given day we can
receive between 15-25 phone calls about changes in pick up
arrangements. I am sure families are not aware how disruptive
this is both to the smooth running of the office and to
instructional time in the classroom. When we receive a call
first, the ladies must record the information accurately, then
determine the location of the student (our students are quite
mobile between special subject classes, visits to church, Jr.
High schedules, etc.), then either send a note to the location
or utilize the public address system to relay the message. Each
message can take up to 5 minutes or more to complete. Multiply
that by 25 calls and we are talking about hours of interruption!
If you find you are stuck in traffic or will be late for another
reason, please do not call us. Your child will be taken back
inside the building and lovingly cared for in our After Care
Program until you arrive. Thank you for your understanding.
RE-REGISTRATION
Have you returned your
re-registration fee to the rectory? We are actively engaged in
admitting new students and need to have an accurate count of how
many of our current students will be returning next year. Thank
you.
I know this was quite a bit to
digest. Thank you for taking the time to read all
of this information.
Sincerely,
Maureen J. Harten
Principal
