All Saints Catholic School Communicator
Friday, December 4, 2020

All Saints Catholic School Communicator  - Friday, December 4, 2020 

Greetings All Saints Families!  

We are entering the second week of Advent and the fifteenth week of school!  10 more school days until Christmas Vacation begins.Trimester 1 Report Cards for Grades 1 - 8 are now available through FACTS SIS and sent home as a paper copy on December 8.  Please take a moment to review your child’s progress, and sign and return the acknowledgement form attached below (also sent home with the paper copy)! Congratulations to all of our students who have earned honors this trimester, even in the midst of the many challenges of the pandemic.

ASCS Christmas Tree  Be a part of an All Saints tradition!  A beautiful artificial tree was donated by the families of the Class of  2013 – since then a single ornament has been given by each family in the school to decorate it! This week will be using those ornaments once again to decorate our lobby tree.  All families new to ASCS for 2020-21 are invited to send in an ornament to represent their family on the ASCS tree.  For safety, please do not send glass ornaments.  Please write your family’s name and anticipated year of graduation on the ornament.

Just in time for Christmas! Check out our Pasta Fundraiser  - down load the Funpasta app or simply go to https://funpastafundraising.com/shop/all-saints-catholic-school to explore the “pastabilities” of affordable and fun pastas to give or share this season! Orders must be completed by December 8 for anyone who chooses to participate. 40% of your purchase is credited to your family’s Fundraising fee.

Traveling?  Please be sure you are aware of Massachusetts Travel Order: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order . Please check for the latest advisory on states considered “safe travel” as of the date of your trip.  Currently, only Hawaii is considered low risk! If your student will miss more than two or three days of school while traveling, we highly suggest distance learning while you are away - and note that all assignments are available on your student’s Google Classroom.

As noted in last week’s Communicator, daily Covid case counts and percent positivity continues to rise in New Bedford and the surrounding towns. Increased positivity in the area means that there is higher overall risk, despite our continued efforts to keep our students safe. We will continue to offer our program on-site, we know that some of our Grade 1 - 8 families may wish to switch to distance learning for a period of time.  If you are planning to keep your student home for distance learning, even for a day or two, kindly email the teacher and principal ahead of time (at least the day before) and be sure your student has taken books and materials home. 

We are beginning to have difficulty with some students’ lack of cooperation with mask policies. Parents are reminded that a clean mask must be worn daily. Please be sure your student’s mask fits properly so that it does not slip down.  Policies about types of masks are found on our website. Students in grades 2 - 8 must wear a mask at all times in school except when eating or drinking, which may only take place in designated areas at designated times.  The mask must cover the student’s nose and mouth. Earlier in the year due to warm weather, additional mask breaks were necessary. Now, in the midst of greater spread of Covid in our local communities, it is crucial that mask breaks are limited to when eating or drinking, or if students are outside the building and truly socially distanced. Please know that teachers and Extended Care staff are strictly enforcing these policies, as it is for the health and safety of our school community.  Please know as well that students who are repeatedly reminded to cooperate will be removed from class and the student’s parents will be called to pick up their student.  

The Massachusetts Department of Health is now requiring that students must be vaccinated against the influenza virus and must present a certificate of such vaccination to the school before December 31, 2020. Please contact your child’s pediatrician if you need to obtain certification that ‘vaccination endangers your child's health.

A request for our new families from NCEA:

The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), the largest private professional education association in the world, supports and engages Catholic schools and communities across the nation. As part of NCEA’s continuing efforts to improve our services, we would like to know about your experience at a new Catholic school. We will use your feedback to inform and improve our support for Catholic schools. 

The survey should take about five minutes to complete and your responses will be kept confidential. Please complete the survey by Wednesday, December 23 to make sure your voice is heard and your community is represented. You can take the survey here:  https://nationalcatholicedu.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bCJ51qHYQRRsGqN 

If you have any questions or problems with the survey please contact Annie Smith at [email protected]. Thank you for your willingness to be a part of a collaborative effort to strengthen Catholic schools nationwide!

FACE Scholarship Applications for 2021-2022  are open! Those who have applied for the current year have been contacted directly by FACE. If you feel you are in need of financial assistance please see https://www.face-dfr.org/how-to-apply/. Don’t delay!  Start your application now and upload 2020 tax documents after the new year.

 

This Week:

• Tuesday, December 8 - Immaculate Conception. 

  • Due to Covid restrictions, we will not be able to attend Mass as a school on this day.  Mass will be scheduled for Grades 3 - 8 within the coming weeks.

  • Last day for Pasta Fundraiser orders!

  • Report Cards for Grades 1 - 8 distributed. Please check your student’s folder! Report Cards are also available for viewing on FACTS SIS beginning Friday, December 4.

• Wednesday, December 9 - Advent Spirit Day (Grades PK - 4) -  $2 or more donation to benefit the St. Vincent dePaul collection to assist those in need for Christmas. Students and staff are invited to wear an Advent themed or purple colored top with jeans or sweatpants and sneakers. Donate in the classroom or online.

• Wednesday, December 9 - Middle School Advent Spirit Day -  $2 or more donation to benefit Box of Joy - Cross Catholic Advent project sponsored by ASCS Middle School. Gr 5 - 8 students and staff are invited to wear an Advent themed or purple colored top with jeans or sweatpants and sneakers.  Donate in the classroom or online.

• Friday, December 11 - December Scrip Order due - order will be placed by noon today!

Calendar Reminders: 

• Tuesday, December 15 - Christmas Spirit Day $2 or more donation to benefit  the St. Vincent dePaul collection to assist those in need for Christmas. Students and staff are invited to wear a Christmas themed or colored top with jeans or sweatpants and sneakers. Donate in the classroom or online.

• Friday Dec 18 - last full day of school, Ex Care is available until 5:30 pm

• Dec 21 - January 1  - Christmas Vacation - No Ex Care

• Monday, January 4 - school reopens 

Supporting Our School:

• The ASCS 2021 Annual Fund is focused on defraying the costs of the special items we have and will need to purchase to keep our school community safe and socially distanced.  To date we have spent over $11,000, which was not originally budgeted - our goal is $15,000. To date we have raised $3200 thanks to the generosity of our parents! Our Annual Fund link remains open for anyone who would like to contribute. Please note that the website has been adjusted to accept both Annual Fund and Outreach donations for whatever charity is currently supported - at this time it is St. Vincent dePaul, St. Mary’s Conference. Donations will be billed to your FACTS Incidental Billing or you may send a check to the school. 

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

• BoxTops for Education - While the Box Tops program has shifted to on-line, it remains a booster to our school funds, without costing our families!  Please join the program and scan your receipts - 10 cent donation from products you buy can add up to hundred of dollars for ASCS!

• Stop & Shop Gift cards - We have these on site for purchase!  Please contact Mrs. Camara if you are interested. 5% of your purchase is credited to your Fundraising Fee.

• Shop With Scrip Program - see https://shop.shopwithscrip.com/ . Hundreds of gift cards available! This is a great way to support ASCS and earn back your Fundraising Fee! You may order and pay directly on-line or order on-line and pay the school. School payment orders are processed once per month. Our school # is  45CF5EE531292.  Next due date is December 11.  Check out the Holiday Gift Guide available at https://www.shopwithscrip.com/giftguide

Important Links & Contacts:

• ASCS website: ascsnb.org.

• ASCS Calendar - http://ascsnb.org/calendar-1 

• Faculty and Staff Listing with emails: https://ascsnb.org/staff

• Learning Choices - On-site / Distance Learning / Hybrid -  https://ascsnb.org/2021-return

• Used uniform sales. Contact Mrs. Camara at 508-995-3696 or by email [email protected] 

• Purchasing new gym and spirit items from the school - https://ascsnb.org/gymwear-orders

• Purchase masks - https://ascsnb.org/mask-orders 

• 2021 Return and DESE links -https://ascsnb.org/2021-return

• NBPS menu for All Saints - see https://schools.mealviewer.com/district/NewBedfordPublicSchools,MA (skip the log in)

• FACTS SIS Family Portal 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 

In faith and together as a community, we can make this year a successful academic, social and spiritual journey for our students, as we try to keep everyone safe and healthy!  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.

We Are One + We Are All Saints

Academically focused, Spiritually alive Community of Saints in training