School Newsletter 1-28-21

Progress Reports – Second Trimester

The second trimester ends on Friday, March 12.  This week marked the halfway point in the trimester.  Homeroom teachers will send progress reports home with students next week.

I-Ready

Some of our classes (kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and fourth grade) will begin the second round of I-Ready testing.  This testing is usually conducted 3 times per year to track how students are progressing in their skills.  Other classes (third grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, seventh grade, and eighth grade) will only test twice this year because they didn’t get the test until December.

We will prepare progress reports to send home with the students soon that will show you where your child is in relation to grade level skills. These tests do not count for any grades. They are meant to help educators set up lessons to support students.  We still do have a few students who haven’t quite finished the first round of testing yet.  However, we will move forward with releasing individual scores at the end of next week.

Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week is upon us!!! It’s our time to celebrate and have some fun! The theme for this year is Faith, Excellence, Service. We have an abundance of all 3!

The dress down (or up) days are:

Monday_ Swim or Sled…wear warm weather attire if you prefer swimming and warm weather or wear cold weather attire if you prefer to sled in the snow and build snow forts!

Tuesday_Pajama Day…this will be a St. Gerald GIANT PJ party, complete with comfy pajamas, slippers, and robes! We’ll even hold dance breaks throughout the day!

Wednesday_Mismatch Day…wear your craziest get up ever!  Who said that plaid doesn’t go with polka dots? It does on mismatch day!

Thursday_Celebrity Day…Did someone say glamourous? Dress up like someone famous – it could be a specific famous person, or it could be a fictional celebrity. Sunglasses and feather boas are all the rage!

Friday_Favorite Sport/Team Day…L et’s cheer on our favorite teams by wearing their spirit wear or uniforms !  Wear any sport/team items to show you’re a fan !

New Logo/Mascot

Check out our amazing new logo/mascot suggestions on our Facebook page during Catholic Schools Week!  We had 28 student submissions for a new logo/mascot design.  We’ll ask students and families narrow down our search by voting for the design that they like best. Once a design is chosen, we’ll work on getting it digitized so that it can be incorporated into St. Gerald items like stationery, spirit wear, etc.

Recess Reminder

Please make sure that students have cold weather attire appropriate for winter. We do try to take the students outside for recess.  The cut-off temperature is 30 degrees, no rain or snow.

Spring Break Travel

Several parents have asked about traveling and quarantining during spring break.  The Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools is supposed to issue guidelines on that next week.  Please watch your email for their updates.

Congratulations Mr. Zagata!

As many of you may know, our beloved head of maintenance, Frank Zagata, is retiring as of Friday.  This is very exciting for him as he gets to begin a new chapter in his life and do all the things he can’t do now (like sleep in a little)!  We will miss Mr. Zagata very much. He has been apart of St. Gerald for many years and has kept us going. Without his many talents, we wouldn’t have shiny floors and most recently, sanitized areas. We thank Mr. Zagata for his service and wish him many blessings in his retirement! He will be very missed!

Virtual Queen of Hearts

This week’s Queen of Heart’s Jackpot was $2,235.  Out of play are cards 5, 8, 11, 21, 23, 24, 27 and 28. 

The Jackpot will roll over to the next weekly drawing on Sunday 1/31/2021. Drawing will be posted on Facebook by 2pm every Sunday.

The Game: 

- All face cards will pay $100 

- Queen of Spades is a kill card, if pulled a new board with 54 new chances will begin 

- Queen of Hearts wins 50% of the Jackpot 

Ticket Cost: 

- $1 - 1 Ticket 

- $5 - 6 Tickets 

- $20 - 30 Tickets 

To Play: 

-Place an envelope with your Name, Phone Number and Guess(es) in the drop boxes located in both vestibules of the church, the Homestead Barr or the slot on the Parish Office door. You can also play remotely on Give Central by clicking on this link: https://www.givecentral.org/location/499/event/27212 or contact the development office at [email protected] for more information.  We will fill out your tickets for you.

All ticket orders must be in by 11 am on Sundays.

2021-2022 School Registration

We have been working on school registration for next year.  Mrs. Markham has been working with the Archdiocese on online solutions so that families do not have to come into the school to register or try to return paper forms.  We hope to be able to release registration and tuition information the week after Catholic Schools’ Week.  Registration will be open for current families first and then we will open enrollment to the parish and public at the end of February.  Most schools are looking at a 2-3% tuition increase for next year.