Dear Saint Mary’s Families,
Construction continues to move forward and I am looking forward to having all our faculty and staff back on campus on Monday.
Joining us on Monday are some new faculty and staff members:
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Mrs. Danielle Moretti will be joining us as our Music teacher. In addition to private lessons and time with SPARC, she is most recently coming from Hermitage High School where she was the choral music teacher.
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Mr. James Hodges will be teaching IB Math part-time. He comes to us after teaching high school Math for many years, most recently in Stafford County.
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Mrs. Terri Miller will be serving as the After School Care Coordinator. She will be the on-site manager after 3:30 p.m. After raising four boys of her own and being a nurse, she is looking forward to helping us with our students in the afternoons.
We have had two unexpected departures this summer. Mrs. Clopton, Learning Specialist, has taken a deaf/hard of hearing teaching position with Henrico County. Mrs. Clopton’s background is in deaf education and she is very excited to return to her roots. Mrs. Oliver, 3rd Grade Teacher, let me know on Wednesday of this week that she has accepted a teaching position in Henrico County teaching 5th grade self-contained. She is looking forward to teaching all subjects again, which she did not do here, and is excited about working with the ESL students she will have in her class. I am working to fill both positions.
Before we can have a successful day at school, we have to have a successful morning carpool! As I mentioned last week, all students will be dropped off in the back of the building. Because we need to be specifically attuned to traffic flow, all vehicles must come onto the property from Gaskins Road to Marywood Lane and then onto campus.
Once you enter campus, you will drive toward the playground and then around to the back of the building. There will be no traffic in the alcove in the back of the school, which means that we will be lining cars up from the front edge of the sidewalk in front of the ECDC entrance all the way through the end of the sidewalk behind the middle school.
It is imperative that you pull all the way up regardless of what grade your child is in. You must drop your child off where your car ends up in line. We cannot have parents wait to drop children off at a specific spot. We will have plenty of people available to make sure that all children get exactly where they need to be once they are dropped off.
It is also imperative that you wait in line and do not drive around any car. Our number one priority is the safety of our students. Driving around cars is unsafe, not to mention provides ample opportunities for car accidents, which is not how anyone wants to begin their day.
After you drop your children off you will then continue around the church building to exit at Gayton Road closest to Pinchback Elementary. Marywood Lane will not serve as an exit.
I do not have any more specific information for you at this time regarding Meet the Teacher on Friday, the 24th. As you can imagine we are taking things a moment at a time. Again, as soon as I have more information I will let you know.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we get the best year ever under way! And, thank you for your continued prayers!
Joyfully,
Jenni Ellis
Principal
IMPORTANT DATES THIS WEEK: Please visit the school calendar regularly for the most up-to-date information as times and dates may change.
Monday August 27th – First day of school
Saturday September 22nd – Save the Date – Go Forth 5k, at Deep Run Park — kids’ run at 8:00 a.m., 5k at 8:30am.
This summer our hours are 7:30 to 3:30, Monday through Friday. To get to the temporary offices, enter the building as you are going to the church offices and come into the ECDC wing. We are located in the fourth room on the left.
NEW – Saint Mary’s Kick Off Cook Out: The Kickoff Cookout has been put on hold due to construction. We will give you more information once we have it.
NEW – 5th Annual Go Forth 5k: The fifth annual Saint Mary Catholic School Go Forth 5k and kids’ fun run will be on Saturday, September 22 at Deep Run Park. The kids’ run starts at 8 a.m. and the 5k walk/run at 8:30 a.m. Please come help us kick off our school year with community, family, fitness and fun! Jogging strollers are welcome. The registration link is here. We’d love our registrants to sign up by September 8th so that we can get race t-shirts to everyone before the race! Thanks to many local sponsors, including Short Pump Orthodontics, Shana Branch Realtor, Wash Your Way RVA, RedRidge Pet Market, James River Irrigation, Bushin Martial Arts Academy, Fleet Feet Sports Richmond, Endorphin Fitness. Would your business like to sponsor this event? Contact Jennifer Janus at jennifer.janus@gmail.com. All proceeds to benefit the school renovation.
Early Release verses Half Days: Please note on the school calendar, there are listed Early Release and Half Days.
A half day is a day with a 12:20 pm dismissal. An early release day is 1:30 pm dismissal and students will have lunch.
After School Care New information and Registration for Full Time: Families whose children will be using After School Care full-time, please register by August 24th using this link.
2018 – 2019 Important Key Dates Calendar: Looking toward next year, the key dates calendar for the 2018-2019 school year is linked here. You will see that the revision date is in the lower right-hand corner. We will make sure the most updated calendar is always available on our website and we will let families know if any changes to the calendar are made.
NEW Band GRSM @Saint Mary’s Catholic School: The Greater Richmond School of Music (GRSM) will provide music instruction in the form of GRSM band program at Saint Mary’s Catholic School for the 2018 – 2019 school year. Click here for details.
Summer Reading Lists:
Entering 1st Grade
Entering 2nd Grade
Entering Third Grade
Entering 4th Grade
Entering 5th Grade
Entering 6th & 7th Grade
Entering 8th Grade
Student Supply Lists:
Junior Kindergarten Supply List
Kindergarten Supply List
First Grade Supply List
Second Grade Supply List
Third Grade Supply List
Fourth Grade Supply List
Fifth Grade Supply List
Middle School Supply List
Church Events:
“Are You Interested in Becoming A Catholic?”
If you have never been baptized, if you were baptized in another Christian denomination and would like to become Catholic, or if you were baptized Catholic, but never received the Sacraments of Eucharist or Confirmation, you are welcome to join our RCIA Inquiry Process. For more information, call Sr. Pat at 740-4044, ext. 13, or go to our parish web page, and click on “Interest in Becoming Catholic
Helpful Links:
Volunteer in the Lunch Room
Painless Fundraising
Flynn O’Hara Uniform inform