All Saints Catholic School Communicator
Friday, October 23, 2020

All Saints Catholic School Communicator  - Friday, October 23, 2020 

Greetings All Saints Families!! 

We have just completed our eighth week of school! As we near the end of the month, we will be focusing on the celebration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, and as we begin November, the month of All Souls - remembering in our prayers all those who have died. Attached you will find our traditional paper candle project reminding us to pray for the souls throughout November. We invite your student and family to color and return as many remembrance candles as you would like! 

As the daily average Covid case count and percent positivity in New Bedford and the surrounding communities continues to climb, we need again to ask all of our families to be vigilant in upholding the same mask, handwashing and social distancing precautions in their outside of school activities as we do at school.  We are hearing discussions about some of our students engaged in risky behaviors and activities outside school - parties, group sleepovers, sports without Covid precautions, and more. In the quickly evolving Covid climate,this puts not only the student, but the rest of the class and our teachers at risk.  Please remember that we are among the few schools with a full time attendance option at this time - and we are working hard as teachers, staff, and concerned families to keep it that way for as long as safely possible.  Please do not allow your student to participate in sports or any other activities, including family gatherings, that do not follow known Covid precautions. The less opportunities your student has for exposure, the safer we all are as a school community.   Many thanks to the families who have shifted their student temporarily to distance learning out of caution when they have needed to to engage in an unprotected event or are unsure if their student has been exposed outside of school.  Thanks also for the awesome cooperation we have had in families following DESE/DPH quarantine and testing requirements.  Together we can work to keep all of our students, teachers and families healthy and learning at ASCS on-site!  We ask for your continued cooperation and attention to this matter.

This Week: 

• Wednesday, October 28 - Halloween Spirit Day -Students and staff are invited to wear a Halloween color/themed shirt with jeans and sneakers. No costumes or masks. Be sure graphics are appropriate for school - if in doubt, please ask! Spirit uniform is also acceptable 

  • Due to Covid restrictions and the climbing metrics in our area, and out of an abundance of caution, we cannot allow outside food treats or any other items to be distributed this year.  

• Friday, October 30 - 11:30 am dismissal  - Faculty and Staff PD - Our biannual CPR Certification. Ex Care is available!

Calendar Reminders: 

• Wednesday, Nov 11 - Veteran’s Day - No School, No Ex Care

• Thursday, Nov 19 - Walgreens Flu Clinic at ASCS - https://ascsnb.org/walgreens-flu-clinic 

  • If your child is receiving the flu vaccination at a physician’s visit, please be sure to send documentation to Nurse Erin. All students are required to receive the flu vaccination by Dec 31, 2020 (MA DPH/DESE)

• Wednesday, Nov 25 - 11:30 dismissal - Ex Care to 4 pm - Thanksgiving Break begins

• Thursday / Friday, Nov 26,27 - Thanksgiving Break - No School

• Wednesday, Dec 2 - Lifetouch retakes and candids

• Wednesday, Dec 23, 11:30 am Dismissal, Ex Care is available - Christmas Vacation begins

• Dec 23 - January 1  - Christmas Vacation - No Ex Care

• Monday, January 4 - school reopens 

Uniform reminders

•  Full dress uniform with ASCS sweater and dress shoes are now required every Friday.

• Dress shoes may be worn with both the regular and dress uniform.  All black sneakers /athletic shoes (no white or colored edges, no hightops) may be worn with the regular uniform or gym uniform.  Sneakers of any color are acceptable for gym or spirit days. 

• Outerwear may not be worn indoors.  Only the school sweatshirt, school sweater,ASCS fleece jackets or ASCS vests may be worn inside the school building.

• Winter uniform options for regular uniform days include a white long sleeve turtleneck worn with the school sweater or sweatshirt, and on spirit/gym days the ASCS t-shirt may be worn over a solid white or dark colored long sleeve t-shirt or turtle neck.  Girls may also wear Donnelly's khaki pants and are encouraged to wear black tights instead of socks.  Please see the ASCS Uniform Policy, found in the 2020-2021 Student and Parent Handbook for additional information.

Learning Choices - Please email Mrs. Massoud if you would like your student to return on-site from distance learning or if you would prefer your student to begin distance learning. 

Attendance reminders:

• Parents must call or email when the student is absent. 

• K - Gr 8 students who are absent, but able to participate in distance learning are expected to do so. For  planned absences, be sure books and materials are taken home the day before.

• When students are returning to school after experiencing COVID-19  symptoms or quarantine, a negative COVID test or doctor’s note clearing the student for return must be provided to the school the day prior to returning. Doctor’s notes may be emailed, faxed or dropped off in the office.

• Travelling?  Please be sure you are aware of Massachusetts Travel Order: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order .  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.

Homework Club for Gr 5-8  meets Mondays and Tuesdays ONLY and is dismissed at 3:15 at the ramp exit of the Moore Center (Annex). Masks must remain on while in attendance.

After School Activities - Please note that we are awaiting diocesan approval to begin Track and other after school activities which will have limited enrollment. Please watch for info at https://ascsnb.org/student-activities  

• ASCS Track Club - Parents of students interested in participating in ASCS Track may complete the interest form at https://ascsnb.org/ascs-track-club 

• STEM Opportunities - Grades 1 - 8 will have some special STEM opportunities  - both in classes and after school - in the coming months as ASCS participates in the Diocesan STEM Academy. Grades 1 - 4 will be participating in a STEM Olympiad and Grades 5 - 8 (as a club) will be exploring Robotics.  More information coming soon! 

The schedule for Grades 1-3, and 5-8 remains unchanged. Grade 4 was emailed a new schedule last week.   Log in codes are provided on the schedules. Your student’s Google Classroom is the “go to” for information about schedule changes, etc!  

Supporting Our School:

• We are in need of high volume hepa/UV air purifiers for our classrooms as we enter the winter months. Donations to the ASCS 2021 Annual Fund are much appreciated - and needed  - so that we can purchase these units which will cost over $3000! The ASCS 2021 Annual Fund is focused on defraying the costs of the special items we have needed 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 $400! 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 - Please see https://shop.shopwithscrip.com/ . 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  25D594B831292.  The November order will be placed on Friday, November 13.

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 (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 

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