Eagle Express Newsletter November 15, 2023

From the Office Dear Parents, During this month of Thanksgiving, let’s remember to be grateful every day for the blessings that God has given to us. We here at IHM are grateful that you have chosen IHM to be your partners in educating your children and sharing our faith. After a long process, our wonderful Middle School teacher Mrs. Derks is having spinal fusion surgery next week. She would love all of your prayers! While Mrs. Derks is recovering, Mrs. Elizabeth Hoelter and Mrs. Nicole Quandt will be taking her classes (Mrs. Quandt in the mornings, Mrs. Hoelter in the afternoons).  Our Grandparents/Special People Day is coming up on Tuesday, November 21st. Grandparents are invited to come with us to mass at 8:30 AM on that day – they should meet their students at Mass. They are invited to come back to school for a classrooms open house, a donut and coffee, and to shop the book fair if they are interested! It is a half-day of school for grade K-8, so the festivities and school will end at 11:00 AM.  Parent-Teacher Conferences for grades K-8 are next Tuesday, Nov. 21st. I hope the online sign-up helped you find a time that  works best for your family. If you did not sign-up online, a time has been appointed to you. Please see an email from your child’s teacher with that time. Report Cards will be available for K- 8 on your FACTs account on Wednesday, November 29th. We will also email parents a copy of the report cards. ECE 3K and 4K report cards will be sent home as a hard copy that week. Faith Formation class for tonight! Catechesis Night at Immaculate Heart of Mary – Marian Hall at 6pm.  The topic will be The Sacraments: What are the sacraments and why are they such a big deal in the Catholic Church? What do they have to do with our relationship with God and our day to day life? Join Marc Laudonio, Director of Evangelization, as he guides us in a conversation about the healing and transformative power God shares with us in the sacraments! Catholic schools provide a firm foundation for your child’s growth and development. Pray for a year filled with faith and learning. Let’s be a community of service to each other and to our world. On behalf of Father Chad, Father Bill, Father Mark, and the teachers and staff of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, God bless you for choosing Immaculate Heart of Mary School! Peace & Blessings, Callie Meiller, Principal

Office Reminders Appointments are now required for entry to IHM School. This practice adds an extra layer of security and also helps us make sure we have enough time for you. Please note that this requirement does not pertain to individuals who have established recurring visits or parents picking up/dropping off students during the school day. You don’t have to send cash with your kid’s to the Scholastic Book Fair if you set up an eWallet! You can go to the IHM Fair website here https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/immaculateheartofmarysch8 and add funds to an electronic wallet. Only the funds that you approve will be able to be used, you can set amounts for each sibling, and you don’t have to send cash to school with your kids! Parents are welcome to shop the Book Fair before school from 7:00-7:30 and after school from 3:15-4:00 this Thursday, Friday, and next Monday, after “Rapunzel” on Saturday from 4-6 PM or from 9:30 am – 7:00 pm on Tuesday, November 21st. Pay by credit card, check, or cash! Long pants and tights/leggings under skirts are now required until April 1st. Thank you for sending your child dressed to keep warm while they are outside! IHM Illness Policy: COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 Communicable Disease/Illness  Check your student for symptoms daily before school: Fever (100° or higher), chills, or shaking chills Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing New loss of taste or smell Muscle or body aches Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough) Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms Nausea or vomiting, when in combination with other symptoms Headache, when in combination with other symptoms Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies), when in combination with other symptom *Vomiting and fever may or may not be associated with COVID-19. If your student is experiencing only one of these symptoms, they may return to school once the symptom has resolved after 24 hours without the use of medications. If one or more of these symptoms are present, please keep the student home. The CDC  recommends testing for COVID-19 with a PCR test or rapid antigen test (home test or administered at a pharmacy or clinic). Please contact the school to report illness and absence, and test results. Please also keep students with these symptoms home: Fever or chills (without other symptoms):  Check temperature with a thermometer. If the temperature is 100 or higher, keep the student home until their temperature remains lower than 100 for at least 24 hours without giving fever-reducing medication such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Nausea/Vomiting/Diarrhea (without other symptoms) within the last 24 hours. Keep the student home until they tolerate their regular diet and there is no nausea/vomiting/diarrhea for at least 24 hours. A rash or communicable infection (such as pink eye, strep throat, mono etc.) Keep the student home from school and call your health care provider for further medical evaluation. Students can return to school when their symptoms have cleared, according to the guidelines above.

Thank You Many thanks to our priests, Fr. Chad, Fr. Bill, and Fr. Mark! They are all amazingly supportive of IHM School, spend a lot of time at school, help in classrooms, support teachers, and are generally awesome and supportive! Thank you to our awesome priests!

EdCo (Educational Commission) News       edco@ihm-school.org Storybook Theatre this Weekend All families are invited to come and see Rapunzel this weekend!  Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 2pm. Tickets are $5 (cash or check) at the door. Complimentary tickets for IHM students ECE through 2nd grade have been sent home. This production is made possible by EdCo’s sponsorship, two Storybook Theatre directors, and 60 hard-working students!  We hope to see you there! RaiseRight Update Gift cards make great gifts for Christmas. Order Early, Christmas is right around the corner! Get your order in before December 8th to ensure you get it before Christmas. We will be selling every Sunday after the IHM mass from Thanksgiving through December 17th. We will also be at the St. Nick Shop at Christ the King on Saturday 9-3 and Sunday 1-3.

IHM Basketball Watch this space for IHM Basketball schedules! Go Eagles!

This week’s links (at the bottom of the email) Middle School Retreat Field Trip Notification This week’s hard copies (in your child’s backpack) Middle School Camp Gray Release

Did You Know? Correction: Our annual Benefit Dinner & Dance will be held on Friday, January 26th, 2024 at Barnwood Events ! The Benefit Dinner is our largest fundraiser benefiting our parish and school. Please mark your calendars, as it is a fun night and you won’t want to miss it!

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