All Saints Catholic School Communicator
Friday, March 27, 2020

Greetings All Saints Families!  Our second week of distance learning has shown continued growth and success! Many thanks to our dedicated teachers, our supportive parents and to our students, most of whom have risen to this new challenge.

As you know, Governor Baker has extended our time out of meeting as a physical school until May 4th, however we will continue to be actively engaged in distance learning. We will have a book and materials pickup on Thursday, April 2 (4 - 6 pm) and Friday, April 3 (8 am - 12 noon). As our previous pickup, parents are asked to enter through the gym door outside the lobby at the front of the school and to pick up their student’s materials from their class table. The door will be open during the hours posted and social distancing is required should other parents be in the gym at the same time. Please watch for teacher emails, as some classes may not have materials to be picked up!

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!

Due to the volume of emails received,  Mrs. Camara, myself and the teachers are often able to respond less frequently or personally to parents.  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 you know, we are no longer able to attend Mass publically.  I encourage you to attend virtually!  Our faith is so important during this challenging time. On the home page of our website, the feed from Bishop Barron is now hosting daily Mass.  Other options are widely available.  Please check our diocesan website, https://www.fallriverdiocese.org/ for virtual Masses hosted locally.

Please note: Mrs. Camara is only available by phone on Tuesdays & Wednesdays.  Email is the best way to contact the school.

Google Meet and Google Classroom

• Your student’s Google Classroom(s) will be the primary location(s) for all assignments and lesson plans (not FACTS SIS), which will substantially cut down on the number of emails for parents & staff. Google Classroom will allow students to complete some assignments directly on-line, find links and everything they need in one place, except for physical textbooks.
• As we enter week 3, teachers will be providing parents and students with an improved schedule to better address curriculum and meet student needs. Homeroom times will not change, but additional class times will be added so that on Monday - Thursday students will have classes for particular subjects or opportunities to meet in a smaller group with the teacher. On Fridays, students will briefly meet for homeroom and will have time to “catch up”, do IXL, and/or engage in an alternative learning experience provided by the teacher.
• Teachers have provided their classes with norms for the conferencing time.  Excitement over the  novelty of video conferencing now needs to be redirected to the intended purpose of education and appropriate social interaction. Parents are asked to assist us in being sure that students are behaving appropriately.  Please know that students who chose to do otherwise will be removed from that day’s session by the teacher.
• We have had a few requests to borrow chromebooks, but regret that this is not possible at this time.  Middle school Chromebooks are wired into a cart in a way that we cannot remove the charging cords - (Mr. Massoud and I spent over an hour trying to dismantle the cart to no avail!). 

IXL

• IXL is a good learning, practice and review tool for Math and Language Arts. Beginning week 3, IXL may also be assigned for Science and Social Studies, in support of topics currently being studied or as a review of topics covered earlier in the year. 
• As noted previously,  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.

Report Cards and Progress Reports

• Trimester 2 Report Cards were emailed out last Tuesday.  Please be sure that a you have accessed the acknowledgement link https://ascsnb.org/report-card-received so that we know you have received the report card.
• 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. Please note that a low "average" is a clear indication of work not done or not submitted.

Financial Responsibilities

A few parents have contacted the school about tuition during this time of physical school closure. 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  Watch for an announcement about FACE in the coming week.  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!

Sea Lab

The Sea Lab application and financial aid application are attached.  New due dates are as follows:

• All Applications, Registrations for Former Students, Scholarship Forms are due on May 4, 2020
• The above Forms may be mailed to Sea Lab, 71 Portland Street, NB, 02744; or FAX to 508-984-5660; or e-mail to sbourgeois@newbedfordschools.org
• Interviews are to be held on May 11; May 12, May 14 from 3:15 through 5:00 PM and Saturday, May 16 from 9:00 to 12:00 (tentative dates depending on further school closure)….call 508-991-4362 for Interview dates/times
• Testing for Applicants will be held on Friday, May 8, 2020 from 2:45 through 4:30 pm (tentative date depending on further school closure)

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.

We Are One + We Are All Saints

Academically focused, Spiritually alive Community of Saints in training