All Saints Catholic School Communicator
Friday, April 3, 2020

Entering Holy Week!

Greetings All Saints Families!  This weekend we begin Holy Week - the most sacred time of our liturgical year.  While our churches have remained empty of our communal gatherings,  it may help to consider this as a time when our Church is actually deployed - sent out into the world to live the faith and proclaim the Good News in our homes, in our communications, in our daily work and schoolwork, and in our prayers and actions for the safety and wellbeing of our community, state and nation.

While we are unable to gather for the liturgical celebrations of Holy Week,   I encourage you to attend virtually!  Our faith is so important during this challenging time and how we live our faith at home is a powerful witness to out children. Here is a great resource for experiencing Holy Week at Home. There is a very beautiful Stations of the Cross at https://stations.wordonfire.org/stations-of-the-cross. And of course, teachers will be providing some age appropriate links for your children as well.

On the homepage of our website, the feed from Bishop Barron  will include many of these.  Other options are widely available.  Please check our diocesan website, https://www.fallriverdiocese.org/ for virtual Masses hosted locally.  Teachers will also be providing opportunities for prayer services during the coming week.  While we will have “classes” on Holy Thursday, there will be no assignments or class meetings on Good Friday. Teachers will not be responding to emails on Friday, Saturday or Sunday in observance of our Holy Days!

Our third week of distance learning has now deepened the educational experience of our students, as we have become more settled in this new process. Many thanks to our dedicated teachers, our supportive parents and to our students. 

If you did not pick up your student’s books on Thursday or Friday, please contact Mrs. Camara to make arrangements.The next available pick up times will be Tuesday or Wednesday morning, 8 am - 12 noon.

We invite parents to email photos of their student engaged in distance learning that you are willing to allow us to post on the school web page or Facebook page.  Please send photos to [email protected]. Type “Photo” in the subject line so that these emails are not lost among others!

Please note: Mrs. Camara is only available by phone on Tuesdays & Wednesdays.  Email is the best way to contact the school. Mrs. Camara, myself and the teachers are often able to respond less frequently or personally to parent emails.  We will make every effort to address your concerns in a timely manner and for common concerns, including general inquiries about tuition, Sea Lab and more, the answer to your email is found in the weekly Communicators. We appreciate your patience and understanding!  

As a diocese, the Catholic schools will be closed (and not engaged in distance learning) during the “April Vacation”, April 20 - 24.  No student work will be assigned during those days and we ask that parents and students refrain from emailing teachers during that week.  I’m sure you will agree that all of our students and families  as well as our teachers need a break to regroup and recharge as we head into the final months of the school year.

In following recent diocesan policy, ASCS will conclude the school year on June 17th, the day posted as end of year on our school calendar which takes into account a single snow day in December. We are not required to make up any additional time lost due to the COVID-19 closures - and in fact, ASCS and the Catholic schools of our diocese have continued to provide an educational program and ongoing support for our students throughout this crisis. 

Additional guidance over the next few weeks will determine when we will actually return to school and which celebrations we will or will not be able to hold.

Email, Google Meet and Google Classroom Reminders

• Continuing into week 4, classes are meeting on an improved schedule to better address curriculum and meet student needs. Homeroom meets each day and class times on Monday - Thursday, allow students to have classes for particular subjects or opportunities to meet in a smaller group with the teacher. On Fridays,( except Good Friday) students will meet for homeroom only and will have time to “catch up”, do IXL, and/or engage in an alternative learning experience provided by the teacher.

• Your student’s Google Classroom(s) is/are the primary location(s) for all assignments and lesson plans  and submission of assignments. Unless directed otherwise, students should be submitting work via Classroom and not via email.

• Again, we remind students and parents that the video conferencing sessions require your student’s cooperation, attention and appropriate behavior. We know that some students are not able to attend every session due to parent work issues or sharing technology with siblings.  Please note that all student are expected to do the assigned work and submit that work in a timely manner - and that decisions about promotion may be impacted.

• For the sake of balance in the lives of our teachers as well as our school families, please know that we will be limiting our response to student and parent emails to the hours of 8 am - 5 pm, Monday - Thursday, except for the submission of student work. Other exceptions to this may occur on a very limited basis. Should you need to email outside these hours, please know that we will respond to you or your student as soon as possible within the stated time frame. We know that there are family situations where students are working off hours and our teachers will continue to respond  to those students as they are able to.

• We know that this has been a challenging time for everyone in so many different areas of life. We will be surveying parents this coming week to get a better sense of successes and difficulties.

IXL Requirement

• IXL is a good learning, practice and review tool for Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Your student’s teachers will assign the subject areas and skills appropriate for your student’s grade.

• The focus of this requirement is now on specific skills assigned  by the teacher and not on a specific amount of time.  Students should work to 80-100% mastery unless they have been provided a different accomodation by the teacher.  Each skill completed counts toward a weekly daily work grade (usually a total of 10 points). Students may choose to complete skills on the day assigned or anytime during that week, by Sunday 6 pm.

Progress Reports

• Weekly  Progress Reports will be emailed each Tuesday for Grades 3 - 8.  These reflect only the trimester 3 assignments received (or not) by Sunday.  Progress reports are sent so that parents are aware of what their student has and has not completed. It is important for your student to keep up with daily assignments and submitting work as required, even if they are not online during the day. 

Financial Responsibilities

Many thanks for your understanding and sacrifices during this challenging time.  Our employees depend upon your continued financial support. At present within our diocese there is no change in tuition charges. Should that policy be amended by the diocese, All Saints will follow as well.

As you are aware, All Saints Catholic School as well as all of the Catholic schools throughout our diocese have continued our mission and are providing educational service for our students, therefore there is no change in tuition payment.  Please make every effort to remain current. To postpone your April payment until May, or your May payment until June 5,  please contact Mrs. Camara by email at least 5 days before your payment is due to be withdrawn. 

FACE Scholarships for 2020-2021   If your financial situation has now changed significantly due to the recent crisis, and you would like to apply for a FACE scholarship, please email Mrs. Massoud.  Be sure to type FACE in the subject line so that your email is not lost! You may also aply directly through FACTS, as the portal for applications has been reopened!

Sea Lab

See http://sealab.newbedfordschools.org/ for the latest information and changes about Sea Lab due dates. If you need teacher recommendations or a copy of your report card for the application, please contact your student’s teacher (recommendation) and Mrs. Massoud (report card)  no later than April 15.

Important Links:

• ASCS Coronavirus Updates (emails sent to our families viewable here) https://ascsnb.org/ascs-coronavirus-updates 
• ASCS Distance Learning https://ascsnb.org/ascs-distance-learning
• ASCS website: ascsnb.org.
• ASCS Calendar - http://ascsnb.org/calendar-1 
• Parent & Student Handbook 2019-2020 and ASCS Policies http://ascsnb.org/resources-1
• Parentweb (Renweb) Login https://ascs-ma.client.renweb.com/pw/
• ASCS Prayer Line - Submit prayer requests http://ascsnb.org/prayer-requests
• ASCS Parents Group on Facebook - search ASCS Parent Group and ask to join!
• Parent Tip Sheets for Eureka Math (Gr K- 5) - https://greatminds.org/math/parents

 

When you shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/90-0748611, AmazonSmile donates to All Saints Catholic School! Please support our school as you shop!

Please pray for our school, our students, and our families.  

 

Peace in Jesus and Mary,

Mrs. Susan Massoud

Principal, All Saints Catholic School

 

All Saints Catholic School provides quality Catholic education in a safe environment where Jesus Christ is the model for the spiritual, academic, and personal growth of each unique student.

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