Saints School News

School News – August 31, 2020

Saint Wenceslaus Catholic School Office Update

From the Office of Principal:

Dear Parents, Grandparents, and Friends of SWS,

Welcome back to school. It has been a long time away and we are so excited to have everyone back with us again. Our open house went wonderfully today. Families were coming and going in such a perfectly distanced fashion with their assigned times. It is funny how you can see the smiles behind the masks. Tomorrow will be another great day of open house classroom introductions!

Wednesday Preschool (PreK) begins and Thursday Grades K-8 begin with full in-person classes!
There will be lots of new procedures and things to practice as we begin. We will work hard to help all children acclimate to the new safety protocols. We love your children! We want them to feel safe here at SWS and want you to know that we have their best interests in mind in all of our decisions.

Let’s ask God to bring us a blessed school year in all ways!

The Biggest Question of the Week

Will we offer a hot lunch program?
The answer is yes!

You can see the hot lunch menu every month on the main school website – under “current families”

Please be sure to apply for the free /reduced lunch program if your income quailifies you.

Here is the link to the free/reduced lunch forms:

Drop off and Pick up of Students

Drop off – K-8
K-8 preferable drop off location – cars and buses should pull through the back parking lot as normal with cars coming up from the alley or side street and proceeding north towards the hospital, exiting through the hospital parking lot. The doors will be open so that students will not touch as they are walking in.  Our goal is to keep the students staggered as they come in and get them into their homeroom as soon as possible.

K-8  alternate drop off location – students may be dropped off at the front doors of the school but will need to ring the bell and touch the door handle (these are possible places to spread germs). If a parent would like to walk their student to the front doors, they may. Then the adult can touch the door handle and let the child into the school – we would expect that you (the parent) would sanitize your hands as soon as you get to your car.

Pick up K-8
K- 8 students picked up by car at 2:30 will be called out of the building using the walkie/talkie to office PA system based upon families as they arrive for pick-up. Cars should once again proceed up the alley or side street behind the church and drive north towards the hospital. Cars may also park in the second tier or the parking lot. Parents can get out of their cars and wait for children who will be crossed by a crossing guard flag. This year, dismissal may take longer than the normal dismissal time, however it will help with spreading the students out more at the end of the school day.

K-8 students who will attend Club House will be picked up by the playground doors near the Club House room. This is the far north sidewalk by the playground. Please ring the doorbell and a staff member will have your child gather their things and meet you by the door.

Drop off and Pick up – Preschool
Preschool students must be dropped off at the preschool doors. These are the doors located by the preschool rooms off of Columbus Avenue. If you are late and have missed the time frame of when the doors are open (8:50-9:10) or if you are dropping off early for extended care, please ring the doorbell and a preschool teacher will come to the door to get your child.

Pick up for your preschool child will take place on Columbus Avenue. Please park your car on the school side of the street for pick up at 12:00 and at 3:00. The teachers will bring the children outside. They will walk the children down the sidewalk distributing each child to the appropriate car. It will help if you stand outside of your car when the teachers bring the kids out.

If your child stays in the extended care program, park on Columbus Avenue and approach the building to ring the doorbell. The teacher will bring the child out to the foyer or outside where you are waiting.

Parent Information Nights – Virtual Style
Watch for more information to come. We will hold our parent information night like usual but through a Google Meet and not in person.
Wednesday – Sept. 9 –  Grades K-4
Thursday – September 10 – Grades 5-8

We will send you the link to log in. During the sessions teachers will go over classroom expectations, curriculum, events taking place, homework, behavior, procedures, etc…

Masks are required (except for preschoolers)
3- step process
1. Masks are required for all K-8 students.
2. If a mask cannot be tolerated then a face shield may be worn (documentation of inability to wear a mask must be obtained)
3. If neither a mask or a face shield can be used – this must be documented before an exemption can be made.

A note of exemption from a doctor is allowed for students who cannot wear any face covering for any reason.

Teachers are allowed to wear face shields for instruction but must have masks for individual student or small group contact.

Please be respectful of various perspectives on this topic. There are many opinions on the topic of masks – SWS will be following guidelines from the Archdiocese and MDH in the implementation of the rule.

Teachers have the right to document a student’s inability to wear a mask as the school year proceeds. This information is confidential and challenges about the decision will not be allowed due to privacy laws.

Back to School Open House – One more day to come visit!
One to one visit in the classroom
You can bring your school supplies – to put in classroom.
Parents and students – Preschool to Grade 8

September 1
8:00 am – 3:00 pm

Preschool – 20 minutes
Grades K-5 – 30 minutes – (includes a short reading assessment)
Grades 6- 8 – 20 minutes

Masks are required (except the preschoolers)

Click here to sign up for a visit:

https://signup.com/go/GuXxumW

Back to School Paperwork and Forms

PLEASE – Go to the school website and click on the button.
Back to school paperwork and forms
We have lots of paperwork and forms that you need to complete. Many of these can be filled out on line!

Thank you for taking care of this detail. We know it is annoying be we really do need your forms filled out.

Thank you!

Club House – Extendend Care program open to all K-8 students

Please click to sign up

To pick up you child at Club House, please ring the door bell on the door that is on the far north end of our school facing the playground. Walk through the playground gate and follow the sidewalk to the Club House door.

Preschool before and aftercare program

Open 7:00-9:00 AM and 3:00-5:30 PM  –  5 days per week
$6 per hour to be billed at the end of each month based on use.

This program is exclusive for preschool students only and located in our preschool program classrooms.

Please fill out this quick sign up.

 

Acknowledgement of Risk
Attached is a form that we would like every family to sign stating that you realize the risk of sending your child to school. Sending your child anywhere outside of your home could be considered a risk and many children have have risk of exposure within their own homes. Click this link or go to “Back to School Forms” to find it.

Early Withdrawal Policy
St. Wenceslaus School carefully budgets for how many students will be in attendance during each school year. The school fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. When a student is withdrawn from school after July 1 to the end of a contract year, a hardship is presented to our school community. With that in mind, the following payment schedule shall be adhered to:

Prior to September 30 – 25% of the total tuition and fundraising commitment is payable to school.

Prior to November 15 – 50% of the total tuition and fundraising commitment is payable to school.

Prior to January 15– 75% of the total tuition and fundraising commitment is payable to school.

After January 15 – 100% of the total tuition and fundraising commitment is payable to school.

****Please note that if school starts out face to face and transitions into distance learning for a short time or a longer period, the school is ready to provide a full distance learning program and the above policy will remain in place for K-8 students.

Preschool families will be expected to continue their financial obligation through short two week quarantine breaks (if required) but if the school (K-8) closes for full time distance learning, Little Saints will continue to offer programming as long as allowed by the MDH for daycare rules within our license. However, should Little Saints Preschool be ordered to close by the MDH, families will be responsible for one full month of tuition after the closing date to assure that our preschool staff is properly and justly paid before the program closes.

 

Wanted: Substitute Teachers and/or people with 4-year degrees who are willing to step in to help with our classes if our teachers cannot be in the school. Training will be provided.  All substitutes will need to be approved with a background check and other documents through Virtus. You do not need to have a teaching degree but you must have a 4-year college degree to be in a classroom with the students. We are very short of this sort of help. Please let us know if you are willing. This will be a paid position – paid daily.

Calendar of Events:

School Starts
First day of PreK  – Wednesday, September 2 – 9:00 AM
First day of preschool 3/4’s – Thursday, September 3 – 9:00 AM
First day of K-8 students – Thursday, September 3 – 7:30 AM

Tues., Sept. 1 – One to One – Open House Preschool to Grade 8 and
Assessment (for gr. K-5) 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Wed., Sept. 2 – PreK 1st day of school- 9:00 am (with before care open at 7:00 am)
Thurs., Sept. 3 – 3/4 Preschool – 1st day of school  – 9:00 am (with before care open at 7:00 am)
Thurs., Sept. 3 – First day of school – Kindergarten-Grade 8 – 7:30 am (drop off beginning at 7:10 am)
Mon., Sept. 7 – NO SCHOOL – Labor Day
Wed., Sept. 9 – Parent Information Night – Google Meet Meetings for grades K-4
Thurs., Sept. 10 – Parent Information Night – Google Meet Meetings for grades 5-8
Wed. Sept. 23 – School Picture Day
Thurs., Sept. 24 – School Picture Day
Mon., Sept. 28 – Feast of St. Wenceslaus – School Marathon Event Challenges for Students

School Pandemic Preparedness and Readiness Plan Archdiocesan Protocols for Safely Reopening Catholic School Buildings.

Please click here to go directly to our safety plan.

This plan is a fluid plan that will be changing as needed.

Saints Return 2020
Stay up-to-date on all
activities that take place in 2020
– Latest learning plans for the 2020 year
– Resources for parents
– Links to teachers pages
Go to — Main Page — swsaints.org

TADS Account set up
Reminder: Please go onto TADS to set up your tuition payments for the school year.

Every family needs to set up an account. Monthly payments accumulate and your first payment might be quite large if you have not yet set up your monthly plan.