August 5, 2022
Dear Parents, Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year: a fresh beginning and a chance to start anew. I hope you and your children are enjoying a good summer.
The first day of school is Monday, August 15, at 8am sharp. We are dismissing all students at 1:00 that day, and we will serve hot lunch. Don’t forget you need to apply for the lunch program this year (I sent you an email about that). Unfortunately Congress did not renew the free meals program.
This year we have acquired a new K - 8 math program called iReady Classroom. It is a combination of digital and print materials. Math continues to be our “School Improvement Plan” academic focus this year. Studies show that success in high level math leads to success in college.
We also have a new program for grades K - 8 to address the children’s social and emotional needs called Caring School Community. We believe this program will increase academic success and have a positive impact on social behaviors and relationships (see attached letter).
OLC needs parent support to enforce the school uniform policy. Gym shoes must be ALL WHITE or ALL BLACK — no contrasting logos! A red sweater, red vest or OLC sweatshirt must be worn by boys in grades K-8 and by girls in grades 5-8. Thank you! This year students will enter the school from the parking lot at the staggered times noted below: 7:50 AM grades PK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4 7:55 AM 5, 6, 7, 8 Students will be dismissed at the staggered times noted below (notice the longer day for some grades): 2:40 PM PK & K 2:50 PM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
The tardy bell rings at 8:00 am, and students must be at their desks, ready to begin the day at 8:00. Tardiness has a negative impact on the entire school community. It not only affects the child who is tardy, but disrupts the learning environment of every student in that classroom.
Each student is permitted to be tardy three times a trimester.
Should the child be tardy a fourth time, he/she will receive a warning note and counseling by the teacher.
The fifth tardy will result in the child being sent to the office for a conference with the principal.
The sixth tardy will result in a mandatory parent conference.
Subsequent tardies may result in a morning or afternoon detention with a supervision fee of $5 added to FACTS.
Please get your child to school on time.
I am delighted to welcome our new 6th grade religion and social studies teacher, Ms. Phoebe Unzueta. Phoebe is a graduate of St. Leonard School, St. Joseph High School, and DePaul University. She completed her student teaching in history last spring in Morton High School District 201. As some of you know, our Spanish teacher Ms. Alvarez, our operations director Ms. Cornacchia, our P.E. teacher Mr. Lopez, and our marketing director Ms. Rosales have moved on from OLC (Ms. Rosales will be here through next week). We wish them success in their future endeavors.
I wanted to follow up with you on a couple of student service projects from last spring. Our dress down held on May 11 to benefit a Catholic parish in Ukraine earned $235! These funds are wired directly to the church there. Also, we collected a total of $521 with our Lenten rice bowls. These funds provide food for the hungry in the U.S. and abroad. Are you interested in our extended care program before or after school? You may qualify for the program free of charge. See Mr. Infante in the school office for details.
Once again this year we are asking each family to help supervise our lunchroom. If you have a child in one of the following grades, this guideline will assist you in fulfilling your required three hours of lunchroom supervision. As a reminder, all parents must volunteer for a total of fifteen hours over the course of the year: August: office September: 5th grade October: 8th grade November: 3rd grade December: 4th grade January: 6th grade February: 1st grade March: 2nd grade April: 7th grade May: kdg/8th grade You will be contacted by either your child’s teacher or the room parent coordinator to schedule two days for your assigned month, for a total of 1.5 hours each day. If you cannot volunteer, please find a family member 18 years or older to fill in for you.
Important dates: Monday, August 22: Extended care (before and after school) begins. Remember there is no breakfast served this year, but children may bring a morning snack. Thursday, September 1: Back to school open house, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (plan to attend!) Monday, September 5: Labor Day (no school) Wednesday, September 7: Early Release day for students (30 minutes before the regular time)
Yours in Christ,
Frank S. Zarate, Jr.,
Ed.D. Principal (708) 652-0262
fzarate@olc-school.org
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