Thursday Note Home

Dear Visitation Families,

We had a wonderful Open House on Sunday, February 4th. We had many people (over 100) come through to visit our school. Some were alumni coming to see how the school had changed and others came with interest in enrolling their children. Our student tour guides did a great job of showing our school.

Thanks to 7th grade student ambassadors Elise, Ben, Sammy, Michael, and Logan. Also thank you to our 5th grade greeters Jonathan and Tessa.

Our School Commission members were here to answer questions and give information about our school. Thanks to Jennifer Keller, Joe Swortz, Cecile Reider, and Elisabeth Albers. Finally, thank you to our wonderful Cub Scout Pack 10 for the tasty breakfast goodies.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART: It’s that time of year again and Visitation Catholic School PE will be Celebrating “Heart Month” by jumping rope to benefit the American Heart Association. Your child will be bringing home a pledge form. Guardians, please sign and return the signature part so that your child can receive a certificate and a sticker. We will be working on jump rope skills this week and next.

Also next week in PE, on the 14th and 15th, we will be jumping the entire PE period.

Sponsor packets( donations of money for the American Heart Association) are due in Mrs. Marcy’s box by Friday, February 16th. If you would like to come to school and be part of the Jump Rope for the Heart during your child’s PE time, come by and help twirl a rope or bring a healthy snack/water for the class.

SPEAKING OF HEARTS: Yes, Valentine’s Day is next Wednesday. Please be sure to check with your child’s teacher for guidelines on treats and cards.

CONGRATULATIONS: The Box Top/Label Contest is over and the winners are 1st Grade which wins a pizza party. Pre-K was second, winning an ice cream party, and 2nd grade was third, winning a free dress day.

THANK YOU: To one of our new parents, Laura Earles, who brought supplies of hand sanitizers, Kleenex, and surface cleaners. The staff and teachers really appreciated these supplies!

Thank you also to Tony Rector, who did a great job as referee for our Staff/Student Basketball game.

PLEASE SAY HELLO: We have hired two new staff members. Sonia Garza is assisting in the Kitchen at lunch and Bridget Gardner is the new playground monitor working with Mr. Leister. They are great additions to a great staff!

ACCREDITATION UPDATE: As you know, Visitation Catholic School has been working on an accreditation self-study under the auspices of the Northwest Association of Private Schools. We were scheduled for our pre-visit on February 13th and our three day visit on March 28th, 29th and 30th.

Due to extenuating circumstances, the chair of the visiting team was unable to continue in that capacity. We were very lucky to have another qualified chairperson step forward so that we could continue our accreditation process.

However, our calendar has been adjusted to accommodate the new team. Our new pre-visit date is March 27th. Our three day visit is now scheduled for April 16th, 17th and 18th.

I would like to particularly thank our Leadership team of Mary Ann Woodard and Elizabeth Harburg-Petrich for their flexibility and humor as we have gone through these past few weeks. I would also like to thank Dr. Henry-Borroughs from the Archdiocese who worked tirelessly to support our efforts and help us continue with the accreditation process.

COLD AND FLU SEASON: You might have noticed that colds and the flu are making their rounds through the school population. Please be sure to keep your child home if he/she is running a fever, coughing / sneezing a lot, or complaining of a sustained headache. These seem to be the most common symptoms.

Please remember that a parent or guardian is expected to call the school office between 8 am and 9 am each day to report their child is staying home (unless you tell us the child will be out for the week). If we do not receive this call, the office must call you at home or work. Please know that we appreciate your call as it saves the office making multiple calls on multiple students!!

Upon their return to school, a note verifying the date and reason for the absence is required. The written excuse should be given to the teacher and kept on file for the school year.

RE-ENROLLMENT: We will be sending home the re-enrollment forms for next year in next Thursday’s Envelope.

LENTEN CALENDAR: Please read over and keep the Lenten Calendar that came home in today’s envelope, compliments of our kindergarten teacher, Ms. Hoffmann. Lent is just around the corner and this is a good way to help your child progress through the season.

Peace and Blessings,

Sheila Harrison