All Saints Catholic School Communicator
Wednesday, November 25, 2020

All Saints Catholic School Communicator  - Wednesday, November 25, 2020 

Thanksgiving Greetings! 

We wish all of our students and families a blessed Thanksgiving and an enjoyable break.  Despite all of the challenges of the past year, we know that each of us truly has so much to be thankful for!  As a school we are thankful for the support of our parents, the cooperation of our students and the dedication and many sacrifices of our teachers - and so much more!  God has blessed us abundantly! Let us give thanks!

Please remember that your family’s choices and actions in the coming days may impact not only your family, but your child’s classroom in the coming weeks. Thank you ahead of time for supporting our efforts to keep all of our students and staff safe!

Thanks for your support of our Thanksgiving Spirit Day!   We raised $379 to benefit those in need served by the St. Vincent dePaul Society, St. Mary’s Conference. See below for Advent & Christmas dress downs planned in the coming weeks, also to benefit St. Vincent de Paul. On the dress down day, donations are placed in the office bin in each homeroom.  Donations may also be made on-line at https://ascsnb.org/annual-fund-2021. On-line donations made on the day of, day before, or day after the dress down day are credited to the charity noted. Donations at other times are credited to our Annual Fund.

Just in time for Christmas! On Tuesday your student brought home a flier for our on-line or on-app Pasta Fundraiser.  Details are found on that handout and also attached to this newsletter.  Easier still, 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 Vermont and Hawaii are 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. While it remains true that the spread of the virus has been minimal in schools, increased positivity in the area means that there is higher overall risk, despite our continued efforts to keep our students safe. At present we will continue to offer our program on-site, however we know that some of our Grade 1 - 8 families may wish to switch to distance learning for a few days or week after Thanksgiving. 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.  

Calendar Change - In the interest of the health and wellbeing of our staff and students the Catholic Schools Office has allowed schools to change the start date of Christmas break at end of day on Friday, December 18th.  All Saints will provide Extended Care service until 5:30 pm, December 18, then will be closed for two weeks - December 21 - January 1 - reopening on Monday, January 4.  It is our hope that this break provides much needed and deserved change of pace for our staff and students! An updated school calendar is attached. 

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.

 

This Week: 

• Sunday, November 29 - Advent begins

• Wednesday, Dec 2 - Lifetouch retakes and candids - Dress uniform! 

• Friday, Dec 4 - Bishop Stang Placement Exam for all Grade 8 students at school - distance learners will also take the exam on-line with Bishop Stang Proctors at the same time.. 

Calendar Reminders: 

• 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!

• 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 - Christmas Vacation begins

• 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. To date we have raised $1250 through our on-line campaign! Our Annual Fund link remains open for anyone who would like to contribute. 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