Monday Memo

Dear parents,

Many thanks to Maureen Soglo and all the parents who helped make this weekend's My Girl Dance a success! We appreciate the outpouring of time and talent to make a memorable evening for our girls and families.

We have seen a number of confirmed cases of Influenza A in the past few weeks. Some of the main symptoms of flu are fever, body aches, cough, and vomiting and diarrhea in children. Parents, please keep our sick policy in mind when assessing your children for school:

• A fever is a temperature of 100.4 or higher
• Students should be fever-free without Tylenol, Advil, etc. for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Students must be symptom-free (diarrhea, vomiting, etc.) for 24 hours before returning to school.

The February lunch menu is at the bottom of the newsletter.

God bless, Janet Abdoulaye

• Early release at 2:50 PM

Thursday, February 8th

• All-school mass led by 8K

Friday, February 9th

• Valentine's Day Parties
• Students may wear casual clothes - Valentine's Day-themed or pink/white/red
• Students may wear spirit wear tops with spirit wear or uniform bottoms

_________________________________

Future Dates of Note

• Friday, February 16 - 1:20 PM Dismissal
• Monday, February 19 - Presidents Day, No School
• Friday, March 1 - No EDM due to Spring Gala preparation
  
• Saturday, March 2 - Spring Gala at Saint Susanna
• Friday, March 15 - 1:20 PM Dismissal for Spring Break
• Monday, March 18 - Friday, March 22 - Spring Break, No School
• Friday, March 29 - Good Friday, 1:20 PM Dismissal
• Monday, April 1 - Easter Monday, No School
• Monday, April 8 - Remote Learning Day due to solar eclipse

The Spring Gala - Mardi Gras is just around the corner. The Gala is a great evening with friends, food, fun, and fund-raising for the school! There is a silent auction of locally donated items and teacher-donated experiences. The live auction includes one-of-a-kind items and experiences. This year's event will take place at Saint Susanna.

Tickets are on sale at the school office and can be purchased after upcoming masses. The ticket price includes event admission, entrance into a $5,000 raffle, and dinner.

The Gala Committee needs help staffing after mass ticket sales. Can you help in the coming weeks? This is an easy way for someone who is new to our school to volunteer and be involved! The committee will tell you all you need to know to be successful - check out opportunities here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080E4BACA622ABFA7-47448641-mass#/

Saint Susanna's Spring Book Fair is coming! Mark your calendars for February 29- March 6 to

stop in and help support our school. The fair will be open to parishioners and students

throughout the week and before/after weekend masses. We will have many new

and popular titles that make great basket stuffers for Easter. There will also be an opportunity to

donate to our amazing teachers’ classroom libraries during the fair with gift certificates or

purchase something from their wishlist. All money earned will be used to ensure every student

receives a book and to build our school library! Please check out our webpage for dates and

times or to shop online. https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/stsusannaschool

Each year, the state of Indiana increases the maximum household income allowed to qualify for Choice. Please see below for this year's eligibility requirements.

To submit paperwork for Choice Scholarships for K-8 students, I will need a copy of your 2023 Federal 1040 Tax Return. You can upload it at www.saintsusannaschool.com/upload, email it to jabdoulaye@saintsusanna.com; or drop a copy off at the school office addressed to Mrs. Abdoulaye. You can get this paperwork to me any time after you have filed your taxes. I will start filing applications for Choice in March and start signing paperwork in April and May.

Financial Aid applications in FACTS for additional aid for PS - 8th grade are not yet open. These typically open in May. Watch this space for more information in the spring.

Tax documents for extended day have been emailed directly to you from Mrs. Carson. Tax documents for tuition paid for preschool - 8th grade are available in the FACTS system.

To retrieve your statement from FACTS:

1. Login to your FACTS account.
2. Click on "View Details" next to the heading Payment Plan and Billing.
3. Click on "View Payment Summary" and ensure that you have the year 2023 in the drop down menu.
4. Print this sheet. This will show totals paid per child and category and has our Federal Tax ID number on it.

Father Rob and I met with Joe Hansen, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Policy Support, at the beginning of December to learn about the process of finding a new principal for fall for Saint Susanna Catholic School. We are only the second school in the Archdiocese to list an administrative position and are in a great position to have a wide selection of candidates.

• Father formed a search committee in December. This committee is made of up a good cross-section of individuals from our parish representing different interests. I am very pleased with the expertise this committee brings to the search.
• The job description was posted on the Archdiocesan OCS Careers page, Nimble, and our social media last week. All applications go through the Archdiocese and will be accepted until February 23rd.
• Once the application period closes, the Archdiocese will contact the search committee and provide them with the applicant’s packets for review and interview selection.

I anticipate that interviews will take place at the end of February into March with a decision coming later that month. The new principal will take effect on July 1, 2024, as all administrative contracts in the Archdiocese start on July 1st. I will continue to serve as principal through the end of my contract in June.

Candidates must hold a valid Indiana administrator's license and be a practicing Catholic. Interested candidates can learn more at https://archindy.applicantpro.com/jobs/3202153

Anyone who needs to get caught up on vaccines can visit the Hendricks County Health Department on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and one Saturday a month to get caught up.

In order for our cafeteria to be self-sufficient, we must receive regular and timely payments from those who participate in the hot lunch program. As such, I have updated our lunch policies accordingly. Please see below for the excerpt from the attached Student Parent Handbook:

• For any student with a negative cafeteria balance, the student will continue to be eligible for a hot or cold lunch and milk; however, they will not be eligible for extra servings or any a la carte items including bottled water, until the account is brought positive. Students are always welcome to bring their own refillable water bottles to lunch with them.

• Preferred: www.myschoolbucks.com Payments made through MySchoolBucks credit to a student’s account automatically and accounts are updated without delay. Previously setup accounts will continue to work throughout your child’s time at Saint Susanna. Accounts can be set up with the lunch number that will come home in your child’s back-to-school packet. This system also shows parents all of the charges and credits to a student’s account.
• Alternate Method of Payment: Payments made outside of the MySchoolBucks system are subject to delay in crediting your student’s lunch account: 1) Online via www.saintsusanna.com/pay 2) Check sent via backpack mail to Mrs. Carson’s attention clearly describing the amounts to be applied to each student account. Do not send cash.

New uniform polos for K-8th grade for the 23-24 school year must be purchased from Schoolbelles and carry our monogram. Students can also wear monogrammed Educational Apparel red shirts from previous years. Students may not wear non-monogrammed polos as part of their uniforms.

Our plaid is unchanged. Girls may continue to wear the previous years' skirts or can purchase new ones at Schoolbelles as well. You can order through their website at www.schoolbelles.com with the school code S3012. Below is a flyer that shows items that Schoolbelles has to offer. The only item that must be purchased through their company is the monogrammed polos (highlighted). Other items are optional and are permissible in our dress code.

Middle school students will continue to have specially monogrammed shirts available from Avon Sports Apparel.

All volunteers must have a background check and completed safe environment training through the Archdiocese's Safe Parish system. All volunteers' background checks are monitored quarterly. All volunteers must be registered in the Safe Parish system before they can volunteer. Instructions for registering and training are in the newsletter each week (see below).

In order to volunteer in our school building during the day or attend field trips as a chaperone, you must have current safe environment training on file with us. This requirement includes safe environment training and a basic background check through the Archdiocese.

To obtain a new training and background check:

1. Go to the website www.archindysafeparish.org
2. Create an account.
3. You will need a passcode in order to create an account. The passcode is Archindy2021
4. Complete the background check for school or parish VOLUNTEER and select Saint Susanna as a recipient of your information.
5. Complete the training video and questions.

Please allow up to two weeks for this process to be completed.

The service hour tracking form can be found here and a copy will be sent home in the back-to-school packets. We ask that each family complete five service hours this school year. These hours can be completed during school or parish events.

Box Tops for Education

Here’s how it works:

• Step 1: Download the new Box Tops App (iTunes or Google Play) – it’s free
• Step 2: Create a username and connect it to your child’s school
• Step 3: Scan your grocery store receipt. Items with the new Box Tops label will be automatically credited to your school

Does this mean I should stop sending in my paper Box Tops that I have already clipped? No! Continue to send those to the school!

Kroger Community Rewards

Information on the Kroger Community Rewards program can be found here on their website or under the "rewards" tab in your Kroger app. You will need to search for the exact name of our organization as SAINT SUSANNAS SCHOOL PTP . From there, you can link your Kroger card with our organization and a portion of your spending at Kroger will come to us.

St. Susanna Catholic School's mission is to provide a Christ-centered, quality education that prepares and inspires its students to excel as they progress in their scholastic careers. Based on Catholic teachings, our students and staff exemplify the value of faith, service, love, and respect in all situations and with all people.

Email: jabdoulaye@saintsusanna.com
Website: www.saintsusannaschool.com
Location: 1212 East Main Street, Plainfield, IN, USA
Phone: 317-839-3713
Facebook: facebook.com/stsusannaschool