School Newsletter 2-11-21

Reminders: Tomorrow students may be out of uniform and wear red, pink, or white for Valentine’s Day.

We do not have school on Monday, February 15 in observance of Presidents’ Day. Enjoy the long weekend! (There were no requests for extended care so it will not be available.)

Our next out of uniform day for charity is Friday, February 19. We are collecting funds for Mrs. Jacky’s Soldiers.

Our next early dismissal day is Wednesday, February 24 at 1:30.

Thank you to Mother’s Club for the delicious staff lunch on Friday last week! We truly appreciate your kindness in thinking of us during Catholic Schools Week!

Morning Drop Off

When dropping off students in the morning, please do not park in the street and walk around the car to get your child out of the car. Traffic is getting backed up and causing dangerous situations as people try to drive around others. We do not have any available staff members to direct traffic in the morning as we are all assigned to wellness checks or to monitoring students in class, so we are pleading with parents to be patient, but also to just stop, drop, and drive.

We know that the snow has created little space. If you must help your child out of the car and must help him/her navigate walking into the building, please park in the church parking lot instead of driving up to door 1, 2, or 10 and parking in the street. We just want to insure everyone’s safety. Thank you!

OUT OF UNIFORM: Our next OUT OF UNIFORM day is Friday, February 19. We will be collecting funds that day to send to Mrs. Jacky’s Soldiers – an organization that makes and sends care packages to soldiers overseas. We welcome any monetary donation for this great cause. Students may bring in more than $1 to donate.

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE LOGO/MASCOT IDEA! Students submissions for logos or mascots have been posted to Facebook. Go to our Facebook page and vote for your favorite design! The design that wins will be digitally transformed into a logo/mascot for St. Gerald School. We will include the logo/mascot on our letterhead, as well as other St. Gerald items. Please vote by 3:00 February 12.

DePaul University, Education and Counseling Center

Tutoring & Counseling Available!!!

We hope this new year is filled with joy, happiness, and the love of learning. The ECC will continue to provide services in the safest ways possible as we continue to work with the ever-changing conditions. Below are descriptions of our counseling and tutoring services and directions on how to reach us! Please share this with students who would benefit from extra support.

Student testimonial: "I did not want to start tutoring at first, but now I like coming to tutoring because my tutor is nice to me, listens to me, and helps me with my work."

Parent testimonial "Our tutor is wonderful, very helpful, and accommodating. My son has been continuing tutoring remotely, and it’s been working out well." Student Testimonial "I am incredibly thankful for all the tutors who not only tutored me but also managed to balance their learning as well. Thanks to them I have managed to get straight A’s so far. They truly are an inspiration to me."

Online Tutoring for ages K-12

To give students the advantage and achieve success, DePaul students are now available to tutor in ALL Subjects. Appointments are more convenient than ever. Brush up on skills or set up regular weekly appointments with a knowledgeable, vetted DePaul student. Contact us today!

DePaul University - Remote Counseling Services Available- accepting new referrals- all ages!

Virtual tele-mental health services now available!

We want to make sure we are doing our part to keep providing quality services to the community, especially during this challenging time. Therefore, we are offering safe and secure virtual counseling sessions. Although we cannot meet in person at present, we will work with you to make sure we develop a comfortable and meaningful space together.

DePaul Education and Counseling Center provides affordable counseling services to the community using evidence-based interventions and individualized service created in collaboration with our valued clients.

Common issues addressed: depression, anxiety, life transitions, relationship/friendship issues, bullying, low self-esteem, adolescent issues, anger, college readiness, and goal planning.

The DePaul Education & Counseling Center offers a safe, confidential environment for adults, children, couples, and families in search of personal counseling and support. Graduate counseling interns serving under the direct supervision of doctoral level licensed clinicians, conduct counseling sessions for individuals of all ages, couples, and groups.

Fees: Counseling services are being offered for free at this time to assist our community!

For information or to get scheduled please email Dr. Martha Mason, Director, at [email protected].

We are also offering our Strengths Program virtually, as well as tutoring/homework help. Strengths Program https://www.smore.com/u38gp Tutoring https://www.smore.com/tde5u

How to reach us To register email us at [email protected] Include your child's age, grade, school, subjects to be assisted, availability. The ECC provides services for $15.00 or (on a sliding fee scale) to those in the communities we serve who have limited income and limited ability to pay.

DePaul University
College of Education
Education and Counseling Center
2247 North Halsted Street
Chicago, Il 60614

https://education.depaul.edu/about/centers-and-initiatives/education-counseling/Pages/default.aspx education.depaul.edu/about/centers-and-initiatives/education-counseling/Pages/default.aspx

Registration Reminder: Registration for next year has begun. Please access your Power School parent portal and use the re-registration button on the left side to register for the 21-22 school year. If you need access to your parent portal, please contact Mrs. Reynolds.

We will begin advertising registration to the public next week via our parish marquee. All current families will have a spot until March 15, after that, we can’t guarantee spots. We are planning to open in late August under somewhat “normal” conditions. We will keep you updated on any changes throughout the spring. Next year’s tentative calendar should be available in the next newsletter.

*Just a reminder about Power School, once you have created a parent account, you can set up email notifications about grades. You can have those sent weekly, or even daily.

Family, Student, and Staff Surveys

The Archdiocese will be releasing surveys for families, students, and staff next week. The surveys were created by the University of Chicago and measure climate, culture, and Catholic identity of schools. The results of the survey will be shared with schools in late May. Schools are then expected to use the results to plan adjustments, activities, and professional development for the upcoming year. Letters will be sent to families and staff next week regarding the surveys. We hope all families will take the survey so that we get accurate information for planning the upcoming year. Small samples of surveys make it difficult to get enough information to make an impact. Please consider taking time to complete the surveys when they are released.

Standardized Testing

The Archdiocese plans to proceed with standardized testing in April. Students in grades three through eight take the Aspire test. The testing window will be April 19-23, with make-up windows being April 26 – May 7.

We will test all students, kindergarten through eighth grade again in I-Ready in May and family reports will be sent home. There has been a correlation observed between how well students perform in I-Ready to how well they perform in Aspire. Each student has an individualized plan to increase skills in I-Ready and teachers will assign practice as it relates to lessons in class. If you have any questions, please contact your child(ren)’s teacher or Mrs. Markham.

Spring Break Quarantine

At this time, the Archdiocese has decided not to schedule remote learning after spring break. They are encouraging families to stay within Illinois for break. Right now, anyone that travels outside Illinois must quarantine upon return. St. Gerald’s spring break follows Easter, April 5-9. We still have 2 months before that time, so the guidelines may get updated. We will keep families posted as more vaccinations roll out and guidelines change.