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August 27, 2015
Dear Parents,
AND..... WE'RE OFF! It is hard to believe that the school year has begun. It is great to see the enthusiasm experienced by all of us right when school starts. The teachers have worked very hard this week attending staff development sessions, fixing up classrooms and hallways, speaking with parents and students along with many other things that get processed during the school year. I am always happy when the first day of school happens. Not only is the enthusiasm demonstrated by the students, parents, and teachers,but the hard work done over the summer has paid off. I usually say that the first day of school is now the time for the teachers to "shine" with the students.
I wish to thank you for attending the meetings last Thursday and Monday. The meetings were a great opportunity for Mrs. Nance and Mrs. Lamers to collect the paperwork as well as for us to review some of the activities and programs that are so important for school life at Notre Dame. I wish to give a special thank you to the parents and teachers who volunteered to assist with collecting forms and paperwork both evenings.
Mrs. Conway and I met with Konop Vendors Tuesday to discuss logistics for the hot lunch program this year. I would ask you to insure that when checks are made out they are made out to GRACE. If your child is late for school, and desires to take hot lunch we will need you to call the school by 8:25 am at the latest so we can get the count to Konop for the served meals. We will not be able to add on to the count after 8:30. If you have put any money toward hot lunch please do so as soon as possible. Check must be made out to GRACE/Notre Dame of De Pere. Either one check per child or designate equal amounts per child.
People who used Sign Up Genius to assist with lunch will serve food along with some supervision. I imagine the bugs that need to be worked out will be more with the processing with the teachers and their role. We addressed this at our building meeting this morning.
Another area all of us need to be vigilant about is in the area of bringing foods to school that are of a "nut" basis. Please read the new Wellness Policy as it pertains to anaphalaxis with students. Dr. James Warpinski was kind enough to teach the staff how to use epipens in case we have an issue with a student who has an allergic reaction. I also discussed with the people from Konop about seating for students who have nut allergies. We can have students with nut allergies sit in such a way that no student needs to feel singled out as having a food allergy. Students will be required to wash their hands before lunch. The lunch program will be providing each student with a "wipe" to use after lunch. Please read the Parent Handbook as to the fact that no products with nuts are to be part of student treats.
Mrs. Nance, Mrs. Lamers, Ms. Freeman and I met with Mr Ted Hayes from H3 Insurance. The purpose of our meeting was to begin discussion of providing written plans for disasters, intruders and other emergency situations. I would like to revise and update our policies with the collaboration of Mr. Hayes, the staff, and the De Pere Police Department. I don't mean to alarm anyone as updating our safety plan goes hand in hand with the efforts the parishes have made to add more cameras in each building.
All volunteers, no matter how much or little time spent with children at Notre Dame must pass a background check and take a VIRTUS class. This is a diocesan requirement that must be fulfilled by each and every volunteer. If you have any questions about either the background check or VIRTUS, call Mrs. Lamers at the elementary campus. She coordinates this information for all of the volunteers who work at Notre Dame School.
Our After Hours Program begins on August 31 from 3-5:30 pm. Note that the time has changed as the program will close thirty minutes sooner. The After Hours Program will be housed in the cafeteria with use of the gym. Mr. Steckart is nice enough to install the buzzer system so parents can pick up their child(ren). Snacks, drawing and other activities will be in the cafeteria with activities in the gym. The arrangements for the After Hours Program will be well supervised with most of the supervisors being students in the Teacher Education Program from St. Norbert College.
Last year I put Trivia questions in my newsletters. I plan on doing more of that to see if you read my newsletter. This week's Trivia Question is:
HOW MANY TIMES DOES THE AVERAGE PRE SCHOOL STUDENT SMILE IN A DAY? The only hint I will give you is that it is more than 100. The closest person who submits an answer by August 28 will receive a $3 prize. Why $3 you may ask? That is the amount my wife and I got back in taxes last year.
Thank you again for choosing Notre Dame School for your child. Remember that the main goal of Notre Dame School is to educate each and every child Spiritually, Academically, and Emotionally According To The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ.
Have a great weekend. The fun begins on Monday.
God Bless,
James A.( Jim) Clark, Principal
"I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH."
Philippians 4:13
Parent Education
Mr. Clark has set up a Education Post at the top of our webpage. This week he added the topic of The First Day of School. This site is updated constantly. There are many valuable tools in which parents can educate themselves in different aspects of their children's education. Very helpful information. Check it out here .
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