Eagle Express 9/3/20

From the Office

Dear Parents,

We are up and running this week for many of our families as child care, and it’s going blessedly well! I know the teachers are enjoying this time to form strong relationships with the students. We hope your children are enjoying it, too! We miss those virtual faces, but hope to see you again soon over Zoom or Big Blue Button.
This Friday is the day that there should be a decision on Emergency Order #9. If Emergency Order #9 does NOT get overturned, IHM GRADES 3-8 WILL BE AVAILABLE IN-PERSON for child care for our students starting Sept. 8th. Grades K-2 is not included in the order, and will continue as previously planned. We will be operating as a Collaborative Learning Program, with our teachers as the highly-qualified child care professionals to assist in distance learning. Please trust us that our very qualified staff will do everything they can for your children under the requirements of the order. You can trust that we will continue our high academic standards. There are no extra child care fees above tuition for grade K-8 if we continue as a collaborative learning program.
If Emergency Order #9 does get overturned, we will start up as an in-person/virtual school on Tuesday, Sept. 8th according to the plans previously shared. Look for an email from us Friday or Saturday.
How about uniforms?
Grades ECE and 4K have no uniform requirements
Grades K-2: Uniforms are required starting Tuesday, Sept. 8th
Grades 3-8: If the order is overturned (when we are a school again!) Grades 3-8 will need to start wearing uniforms on Tuesday, Sept. 8th
If the order is not overturned and we are functioning as a child-care center, grades 3-8 do not need to wear uniforms.
Picture Day is coming up on Wednesday, Sept. 16th! Capital School Pictures will be here that day from 8:00-8:30 for walk-ins for our virtual students, and will stay to take pictures of the rest of the children that day. They also invite virtual students to walk-in to their studio in Cottage Grove on Thursday, Sept. 17th from 8-5! You can order picture packets online at their store here: https://capitalschoolpictures.square.site/shop/2. See the link below for more details!
Thank you for following the guidelines for dropping off and picking up students from our back playground! We have a lot of new families, so these first few weeks the line may be a little slow – please be patient! Student safety is our top priority!
A few notes from Pick-Up for K-8:
  • If you are driving a car to pick up a K-8 student in the back of school, we ask that you please stay in your car in the line, rather than parking and walking over to collect your child. In order to support IHM in staying open, please do not congregate after school on school/church property. Thanks for your help with this!
  • If you wish to walk to pick up your child (instead of driving) please come to the back of school near the basketball hoops, on the other side of the “peninsula” from where the kids line up. Get a teacher’s attention, and the teacher will collect your children for you. Then you can safely escort them across the car line.
If you are interested in the COVID guidance from Public Health Madison & Dane County for who can attend child care and schools, the guidelines are listed here: https://publichealthmdc.com/documents/Child%20Care%20Center%20FAQ.pdf. Let us know if you have any questions!
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

  • Mrs. Winter will send email reminders to all who still have IHM library bookschecked out last spring. If the book is not returned by Friday, September 14th, if will be charged as lost to your FACTs account.
  • Once we come back after Sept. 8th, if you want to switch Roomer/Zoomer status, please let your student’s teacher know and give them at least a week to make the required transfers!
  • FACTs allows you to find staff and family contact information! Log into your account, find “Directory” on the left hand menu, and there are tabs on top for Staff and Students. Parent contact is only shared if parent’s allowed sharing on the enrollment form, and is only available to other IHM parents behind a password-protected wall.
  • The Grant & Aid application is available here: Grant & Aid Application. The form may indicate that the deadline has passed, but there is no deadline, so please apply if you need to. Funds may be limited, so apply as soon as you can. Let us know if you need help with the application.

Thank You!

Thank you to all of the families who have decided to send their kids to Immaculate Heart of Mary School! You have all been INCREDIBLE at communicating, reading the TONS of changing information we seem to constantly be sending out, following directions, and supporting us! We can’t thank you enough, or be more grateful of our amazing community!
We know we will have a fantastic school year, and we will all make the most of the challenges ahead!

HSA News

The Home and School Association (HSA) at IHM exists to enhance opportunities for all students. Primary functions include organizing/sponsoring special events and fundraising; watch next week’s newsletter for a 2020-21 overview and events flyer. All parents of IHM students are members of the HSA body. The HSA board meets monthly on second Tuesdays, and will be meeting next on September 8 at 7:00 pm. Please join us! It’s a fun crew and we’re always in need of fresh input. The meeting agenda is linked to the end of this email. RSVP to ihmhsa@gmail.com for a Zoom invitation and password. We are accepting nominees or volunteers for the Vice President and Treasurer offices for 2020-21.
Important: HSA is asking all families to complete this very brief survey as soon as possible to help us plan in this more restrictive year: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L7JQZ6W

Did You Know?

Grades 6-8 have the opportunity to get extra milk at lunch time (in addition to the one milk that comes with a hot lunch). Grades 6-8 also have the opportunity to take a milk at morning break time. These extra milks will be charged to your FACTS account at 35 cents each. Please discuss with your child if you want them to take extra milk, and how many extra they are allowed. Let your child’s homeroom teacher know if you don’t want them to take extra milk.
Thank you!

This week’s links