This is becoming very real for me. I missed greeting all of you and your children this week. The teachers were very busy finishing grading, updating records, cleaning classrooms, and moving classrooms. The new principal, Mrs. Sarah Hensien, was present quite a bit asking questions, taking notes, zooming into grant meetings with me, and interviewing people for a few non-teaching staff positions we still have open in the school. Things are progressing in a positive way for the upcoming school year. Here are some facts you need to know. Please open this post to view the complete newsletter.

This newsletter will be factual. Next week I will send another Newsletter out once the Report Cards and STAR Parent Reports are mailed. I will list what you need to know below. Please open this post to view the complete newsletter.

Families we are making sure that the students are safe in the school. No one is allowed in the school currently unless they come through the Main Office doors. We are not allowing adults or former students in the building due to adults reporting COVID cases in their households. Please open this post to view the complete newsletter.

St Clare of Montefalco Catholic School in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan seeks a principal who possesses a strong commitment to the Catholic faith and Catholic education. The school educates a diverse group of students in prekindergarten through grade eight. The school is part of a vibrant parish community; however, many students come from areas outside the parish boundaries to receive the benefit of a Catholic school education. St. Clare of Montefalco School is accredited by the Michigan Association of Non-public Schools. The new principal should be prepared to work closely with the pastor, faculty, staff, and parents as well as working with the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools to ensure the Four Dimensions of Unleashing Our Catholic Schools.

It was a great week for the school in my absence. The school chugged along smoothly under Ms. Cooley’s leadership. The entire staff continued as they always do, demonstrating their support by making adjustments when they were needed. This demonstrates the outstanding learning community St. Clare of Montefalco is. I sure did miss seeing everyone and was so pleased to see all the smiles at Drop Off this morning. Please open this post to view the complete newsletter.

Beginning Friday, April 8th, the St. Clare of Montefalco students will begin praying a Novena for the recovery of Mrs. Valerie Albright who is moving through the beginning of cancer treatment. Mrs. Albright is our school's administrative assistant and mother of three children in our school. A novena is nine days prayer for a special intention. So we ask you to pray each day from April 8th through April 16th the following prayer. It is best to set aside a special time when you will pray this as an individual or as a family.

During Easter Break students will bring home rapid Covid tests allowing you to test your children over break and the night before the students return from Easter Break on April 25th. All students to bring a negative test to school on Monday, April 25th. Families who travel domestically only need to mask for 10 days and do not need to quarantine upon return. International travel requires quarantining if not vaccinated. Masking is necessary if vaccinated. Please open this post to view the complete newsletter.

We are staying very COVID-19 aware. The students and staff are following all the protocols and are good with the mask optional choice. To ensure safety, on Thursday, March 31, we are going to implement a school-wide antigen test in the morning. You may administer the test in your cars if you feel more comfortable with that Thursday. Preschool and kindergarten will take home tests Wednesday night for the parents to administer and return on Thursday. Open this post to view the complete newsletter.

We had a fun day as many students dressed in green and participated in St. Patrick’s Day activities. National Junior Honor Society sponsored the Free Dress Day raising money for the people of Ukraine on this day too. NJHS had a busy week. After mass on Wednesday, NJHS inducted two new members, Taneya Louis and Gustavo Leyva. They were brought into the organization because their character, leadership, faith, scholarship, and citizenship are outstanding. Congratulations! Please open this post to view the complete newsletter.

We have so much to celebrate today. Congratulations needs to be given to our Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kathy Pawlowski. Today she was awarded an Honorable Mention as an Amazing Catholic Educator from the Catholic Foundation. Families who have had children pass through her classroom fully understand why she would receive such recognition.   A note from Ms. Cooley: We must also extend congratulations to our principal, Ms. Crowley, who received an Amazing Catholic Principal award today from the Catholic Foundation. I know I speak for all our staff, students, and parents when I say we are eternally grateful for Ms. Crowley’s leadership in our school community. We are so proud of Mrs. Pawlowski and Ms. Crowley! What an incredible group of educators we have here at St. Clare.

Family Literacy Night is going to be a very fun night. Families will be together in small groups for the first time in the school since COVID lock down two years ago. Bring your children and enjoy board games, decorating free backpacks, sight word games, stories read aloud in our library, a social and emotional learning presentation for adults, and pizza slices in our cafeteria.

Antigen tests are being sent home with your children today. They must take the test the morning they return from Winter Break to allow them to be mask less with their classmates outside the school. Write the child’s name on the test and have them return it to their teacher. Families who want their children to continue to mask outside may let their teacher know this. Wayne County Health Department lifted their masking requirement today. Due to the fact we have many children who are not vaccinated, we are remaining a masking school. Open this post to view the complete newsletter.

St Clare of Montefalco Catholic School in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan seeks a principal who possesses a strong commitment to the Catholic faith and Catholic education. The school educates a diverse group of students in prekindergarten through grade eight. The school is part of a vibrant parish community; however, many students come from areas outside the parish boundaries to receive the benefit of a Catholic school education. St. Clare of Montefalco School is accredited by the Michigan Association of Non-public Schools. The new principal should be prepared to work closely with the pastor, faculty, staff, and parents as well as working with the Archdiocesan Department of Catholic Schools to ensure the Four Dimensions of Unleashing Our Catholic Schools.

It is at this time I am officially notifying you that I will be leaving St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School at the end of the 2021/2022 school year. The time has arrived for your wonderful learning community to move forward with another leader. This new leader will guide an incredible Catholic school which proved itself as it remained stable and even grew during a once in a century pandemic.

Registration for next school year begins Tuesday, February 1, 2022 for all current families. We will be using the FACTS enrollment process for registration this year. Since you all completed the FACTS enrollment packet for this school year, the process should be more streamlined. Most of the information needed will already be filled in, though please double-check everything for accuracy. The registration fee will be paid through FACTS when you submit the packet. This fee must be paid in order for your enrollment packet to be submitted. The fee is reduced to $200 for returning families who register on or before March 31, 2022. The fee returns to the usual $300 for anyone who registers on or after April 1, 2022.

Many thanks for sending your children to school dressed for this very cold weather. We have been inside the past week due to temperatures being under 20 degrees. The goal is to get fresh air so when the wind chill does not make the temperature under 20, I am making sure the students get 20 minutes of fresh air at recess. This helps in staying ahead of COVID.

Middle of the Year STAR testing is happening next week. Please be sure your children get a good night's sleep and breakfast so they are in good form for thinking. Report Cards go home Tuesday. Virtual Conferences happen next Wednesday from 4:00 to 5:30. Teachers are reaching out to families they feel they need to touch base with as these are not mandatory conferences. If you need to speak with Special Classes teachers, please schedule an individual conference with them.

Due to the changing conditions around school safety in our community, we are adding this addendum to our Crisis Safety Plan Handbook. It is in place until the Archdiocese of Detroit reviews and makes any changes to it. Chrome books/devices will be allowed to be used at home after school beginning Tuesday. They should only be used for school assignments. School administration will be flagged and sent any emails that have profanity or threats of violence contained in them. This will allow for immediate suspension of use of the student’s Google account sending out the inappropriate content.

Due to the increase in Covid cases in the community, our January Open House is cancelled. We are planning to host an Open House event in late March or early April, during which prospective families could meet our teachers and tour the school. In the meantime, please visit our Virtual Open House website, visitstclareschool.org, or call the school for more information. If you would like to be added to our contact list, please call the school so we can keep you informed of future events.

It’s so good to be back to school. We are remaining face-to-face for now as we move through this next COVID Omicron variant. Please keep your children home if they have any signs of a cold or flu as these are the signs for COVID too. Parents, you are our first defense against this variant. All the other parents rely on you making sure your own children are healthy enough to come to school. Here is the sign up for vaccination of anyone 5 and older. Registration forms will be sent for registered children. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBEyBPCcVzKONB98l3DT2OtVRPidW3WGLeDVrKL4-WUTZgYQ/viewform?usp=sf_link