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.

Every 7 years, IHM goes through a two-year self-study process in order to be accredited through the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Association (WRISA). This is the first year of that process, and one of the things we must complete is a parent survey. Please watch for an email from the Diocese of Madison with this very important survey, and take the time to fill it out to assist us with our accreditation process.

You may be wondering if the new Executive Order #10 from Dane County affects IHM. It does not! We will know more about our status after the Supreme Court hears the case on Dec. 8th, but as of right now we are allowed to be in-person.

We are asking all IHM families that have students who attend in person to please be very careful over Thanksgiving, think of your school and help keep us open by avoiding getting together with those outside of your household! Please remember that your choices WILL directly affect the entire IHM community and whether we will be able to stay open and in–person. If you do travel or get together with those outside of your household, we ask that you do virtual learning for the week after Thanksgiving.  Please let your teacher know by this Friday, Nov. 20th if your students will be virtual the week after Thanksgiving. There is a flyer from the Wisc. Dept. of Health Services about how to celebrate the holidays safely linked below. Thank you for following guidelines as much as you can and for communicating with IHM School! We want everyone to be safe and healthy!

This is usually the time of year we are planning our Grandparents Day to invite our beloved Grandparents and other special people into the building. Because that can’t happen this year, we will send out a link next week of a Grandparent’s Day Prayer service to share with our beloved Grandparents and other special people!

Conferences are virtual this year over Zoom, and will be held on Tuesday, November 24th. Teachers will send out the link to their Zoom conferences on Monday, November 23rd. At your conference time, log into the Zoom conference (click on the link in the email). The teacher will let you in from the waiting list at your conference time. If you have not signed up a for a conference time, one was assigned and emailed to you.

Report Cards will be available for grades K-8 on Wednesday, December 2nd. The report cards will be available on your FACTs account.

Advent Prayer Services will also be virtual this year! We will share the link in the Eagle Express each week of Advent starting on Wednesday, Dec. 2nd. ECE and K-8 students will watch the prayer services in their classrooms on Wednesday or Thursday of each week.

Catholic Schools provide a firm foundation for the growth and development of your child. Pray for a year filled with faith and learning. Let us be a community of service to one another and to our world.

God Bless,
Callie Meiller, Principal

Office Reminders

• Zoomer Pick up for the week after Thanksgiving will be Monday, November 30th from 12:00-5:30 PM (rather than Friday!).
• Tuesday, Nov. 24th is a full regular day for 4K (AM and PM classes) and ECE (IF it is your regularly scheduled Tuesday.) ECE is also open for those who signed up on Wednesday, Nov. 25th.
• Sign up for your own private time to shop the book fair here: BOOK FAIR SHOPPING TIME
• 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 Book Fair EWallet 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!
• Please do not ring the front doorbell in the morning before 8:30 to enter the school building, even if you are late. The back door is open at that time, and the office is especially busy. Thanks for your help!
• We have noticed more and more students coming to school mask-less. Please remember to send your child with two masks every day. Students who forget their masks can wear their Badger Shield all day in school, but they do need a mask until they get to their classroom.
• If you spend time with people outside of your “COVID Bubble” during Thanksgiving or Christmas, or do any traveling, please keep your students home for virtual learning for 5 school days after contact with those people, or after you get home.
• Great Christmas Gift Idea! Use this site to order IHM Spirit Wear: https://ihm.socceretcdirect.com/index.php?route=common/home Click on “School Delivery” under Delivery Method, orders will be delivered to IHM, and we will send them home with your child as soon as we receive them! Quick Tip: If you add your name to the bottom of the order, where it says “Name if applicable,” it will add your child’s name to the piece of clothing.
• Mrs. Walters has an ongoing need for snack and sandwich-size plastic storage bags (fold over tops preferred!) and brown lunch bags. If you can donate, please send them in with your child!

Thank You!

Many thanks to our own Fr. Chad! Father Chad is amazingly supportive of IHM School, and during this strange time has spent a lot of time at school, helping in classrooms, supporting teachers, changing the times of Holy Mass to accommodate our changing schedules, and  just being generally awesome and supportive! Thank you Fr. Chad!

HSA News

Did You Know?

Next Tuesday, November 24th is a Pajama Day for the whole school!

This week’s links