Eagle Express Newsletter

February 23, 2022

 From the Office

 Dear Parents,

Many thanks to our Visiting Team for our WRISA Accreditation, who visited our school this week Tuesday and Wednesday. We appreciate their time in looking at our school self-study, conducting interviews, and learning about our community! Thanks also to the parents who assisted with these two days with their time and donations, and to the staff at IHM who worked extra hard to prepare for the accreditation! The next step is to work on our school improvement plan.

Dane County has indicated that the County mask mandate will end as of next Tuesday, March 1st. Masks at IHM are mandatory until then, after that they will be optional but recommended, unless the County Mandate changes again, or the Covid situation changes. Parents, this is a family decision,  please discuss your wishes with masking at school with your children, and make sure they know what you expect from them. Our teachers will not keep track of who needs to be masked and who does not. This is a very personal decision with strong feelings often attached, and the staff at IHM will work hard to make sure that all decisions are respected. We ask that parents do the same, and model and discuss this with their children. The CDC still reccomends that K-12 schools stay masked. Our current quarantine policies will remain the same for the time being.  Please note that the Monona Grove 4K students will need to follow the policy of the Monona Grove School District regarding masking. All staff with 4K will also be masked if Monona Grove is requiring masking.

Spring Conferences are scheduled for Thursday March 10th, and in a typical year they would be student-led conferences. We need to adjust for this year, so this year Spring Conferences will be by Teacher Request only for all levels. Watch for an email from your child’s teacher if they would like to request a conference for that day. If your child’s teacher did not request a conference with you but you would like one, please feel free to email them and they will schedule with you!

IHM will again be offering a Summer Camp for students entering 1st grade – 6th grade in the Fall! A flyer with more information is linked below. Sign up here: https://immaculateheartmonona.wufoo.com/forms/q1x57ph00ottcg0/
IHM will also have Summer Session ECE available for younger students (entering ECE, 4K, and Kindergarten). Watch for that sign-up soon!

I would like to encourage you, if your child forgets something in the morning, to refrain from delivering it to school unless it truly is a need (eyeglasses, for example). Rest assured that we have extra gloves, hats, hot lunch, etc. to provide for students. We  want to work with our parents to provide logical and appropriate consequences for forgetting items at home. A day that you need to eat hot lunch at school even if it’s not your favorite, or play on the black top because you forgot your boots or snow pants, is often all that is needed to remember in the future! Thanks for your support!

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

• Deadline extended!  Order the Talent Show DVD before Friday, Feb. 25th here: https://forms.gle/fAsndxMYUJVqg9NW9.
• A reminder about IHM policy from our handbook for requesting homework ahead of vacation or absences:  

“When a student is absent due to a family vacation, it is extremely difficult to anticipate what homework will be assigned because lesson plans are based on students’ reaction and application of material. Students who are absent from school due to vacation will have their assignments collected in a portfolio until their return. The student can make arrangements with each teacher regarding the due dates of the assignments. No assignments will be given in anticipation of a vacation.”

• Mrs. Walters could use donations of plastic & paper grocery bags, and towels/rags for the Fish Fry! Please send them in to be dropped off in the kitchen! Thank you!
• If you need to find out how much you paid in tuition or child care last year for tax purposes, please follow these steps:

1) Log into your FACTs tuition account
2) Click the “View Details” link just to the right of “Payment Plan & Billing”.
3) Use the drop down menu to make sure the box below the words Transactions says “All”.
4) Click the box “View Payment Summary”. The screen will give you a total of what you paid in each category. 
5) If you need more help, please email Bernie Heit at bheit@ihmparish.org

• The IHM federal tax ID number is 39-0828125
• 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!  If you add a name to the bottom of the order, where it says “Name if applicable,” it will add your that name to the piece of clothing. Please note that personalized items cannot be returned, so make sure your sizing is correct.

COVID INFORMATION BELOW

• Staff and students should not come to school if they have or develop:

1 or more of the following COVID-19 symptoms:

Cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever (or chills) above 100.4 within 24 hours, new loss of taste or smell, *Vomiting and/or Diarrhea* – is not a very common sign of COVID -19 but exclusion is advised until able to tolerate your normal diet 24 hrs after vomiting/diarrhea stopped.
2 or more of the following COVID-19 symptoms:

Congestion or runny nose, nausea, headache, fatigue, muscle or body aches, sore throat
If a student has 1 or more of the symptoms in the 1st list, or 2 or more of the symptoms in the second list, they should stay home until they are symptom-free without medication for 24-hours OR if they have a negative Covid test 5-7 days after symptoms start. Let us know if you have any questions, and thank you for keeping everyone healthy and safe!

• Keep students home if anyone in the home has any symptoms, including adults
  Keep students home if they have been exposed and you are awaiting test results, even if they have no symptoms.
• Let the school office know the situation at your home: if your child has symptoms, if they were exposed to a positive covid case, if you are waiting for test results, or if they are Covid positive, AND the exact dates for those items. Don’t wait for us to ask!
• Let the IHM School office determine that day your children can return, and adhere to that date.

Thank You

 Many many thanks from the teachers and staff to organizer, parent Katie Schwinn, and all of the other parents who provided a lovely breakfast and a yummy lunch last week! It was much appreciated and enjoyed! We are blessed to work with such wonderful families!

HSA News

The SCRIP 9% bonus expires this week but there is a special 2-day “ThankScriping Day Sale” happening February 24-25! Check the Raise Right app on the 23rd for a sneak peak!

Help us hit our SCRIP fundraising goal of $10,000 this school year!

IHM Basketball Schedule

The regular season is over! League tournaments coming up soon – go to www.maislathletics.org for the tournament schedules!

This week’s links (at the bottom of the email)

 March Menu

Summer Camp Flyer

This week’s hard copies (in your child’s backpack)

 Nothing this wee