We are excited about the start of a new school year! We love seeing all the familiar faces, and we especially welcome all of the new students. We welcome the opportunity to share smiles and God’s love with our school community. With God as the center of all we do, we can look forward to a great year!

Safety remains a priority at MQPCS. Click here for the school safety update in case you missed the email.

Please screen your child every day. Students having symptoms that indicate a possible illness should stay at home. This is the best method to combat the spread of illness.

Parents or caregivers are encouraged to monitor their child for signs of infectious illness every day.

• Temperature 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher
• Sore throat
• New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing
• Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain
• New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever

Students, who are suspected of being sick, having a communicable or infectious disease (pink eye, ringworm, fever, etc.) after having arrived at school, will be removed from class, isolated and parents will be called to pick up immediately.

Students with a positive COVID-19 test must notify the school principal immediately.

REPORTING ABSENCES

• Parents are required to complete the Absence Reporting Form or call the office to report absences before 9:00 a.m.
• A student who is absent five or more days, or a student who was diagnosed with a contagious disease must present a doctor’s release to the office/homeroom teacher to be admitted to school.
• An excused absence is a result of sickness, medical appointment, family emergency, etc.
• If a student knows that he/she will be absent due to personal or family matters, please advise the teacher/administration of the absence in writing as soon as possible. Arrangements regarding the completion of missed assignments/tests/exams will be at the discretion of teacher/administration.

RE-ENTRY TO SCHOOL AFTER STUDENT ILLNESS

STUDENTS SHOULD NOT RETURN TO SCHOOL:

• Until at least 24 hours after they no longer have vomiting or diarrhea
• Until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever (temperature of 100.4 or higher) without the use of fever-reducing medicine (e.g., Tylenol)
• If they have signs of a fever (chills, feeling very warm, flushed appearance, or sweating)
• If they have discolored (yellow to green) nasal discharge
• If they have head lice or nits (must have been treated to return)
• If they have pink eye (must have a doctor's note to return)

Thank you for following the carline procedures. Remember to drive slowly when entering the parish grounds and refrain from cell phone usage. Bus service is available in certain areas. Contact the school office if you need a bus form. All students must arrive and dismiss in carline. Please do not exit your car except to secure car seats, after you have moved from the front of the school, as necessary.

Please help us to be good neighbors to Fontainebleau. It has come to our attention that during morning and afternoon carline, cars waiting to enter MQPCS are blocking or pulling up too close to the entrance/exit drives making it difficult for motorist leaving the subdivision to safely see oncoming traffic. For the safety of all concerned, we ask that you leave at least a 20-foot clearance before and after the drives entering and exiting the subdivision.

At times, carline can extend far down the shoulder; please do not bypass the line and cut into the parking lot in front of waiting cars. Thank you for your cooperation.

To ensure the safety of all, we ask parents to follow carline procedures when entering campus afterschool. It will be one way in and one way out. Therefore, anytime you enter the campus for school purposes, always stay to your right and proceed as you would for regular carline.

Aftercare is held in the main school building in the Pre-K hallway. Parents must sign their children out at the door farthest to the left. The door will be labeled "Aftercare". The EZ School App will be used for Aftercare payments. You may access that portal HERE.

In our school, we have many students who have peanut/nut allergies. While this can be a life-threatening food allergy, we have designated areas of the playground during snack and, in the cafeteria during lunch as a peanut/nut free area. Additional information will be shared at the grade level(s) of the student(s) with the peanut/nut allergy. To ensure the safety of each child and in the spirit of caring for others, we thank you for your support and understanding.

Our school Mass is Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. In August, grades 1-7 will attend in person and Kindergarten will attend via live stream in their classrooms. Kindergarten will join grades 1-7 and attend in person in September and PK 4 in October. Parents are always welcome .

The first Wednesday of the month is our Feed the Hungry and Christian Service Mass. Students are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item for the less fortunate. The Christian Service theme for the month will be introduced at Mass.

We had a great start to the school year thanks to our parent volunteers. The dads that helped on Dad’s Work Day cleaned and painted, repaired and landscaped. The Co-Op Board welcomed the teachers with a Back to School Breakfast and a special treat. Co-Op also provided the welcome back yard sign. It was a great backdrop for photos during the first week of school. Please consider getting involved and experience the feeling of being an important part of MQPCS Cougars success!

SAFE ENVIRONMENT – Every year all parents have to complete the required documents for their Safe Environment certification in order to be compliant. Your certification must be updated every three years. All initial and renewal training will be completed though the program Virtus. The link is www.virtusonline.org. Please do not create duplicate accounts. If you forgot your username or the email that your account was linked to, please contact Lisa Lanoix, llanoix@maryqueenofpeace.org.

STUDENT BIRTHDAYS: Students are allowed to wear the MQPCS spirit shirt with school uniform bottoms on their birthday.

DADS CLUB: MQPCS Dads Club will be holding its first meeting of the year on Thursday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria. All MQPCS dads are welcome.

STUDENT PHOTO PRIVACY: All photos of students that are run in any media format must be sent to the school office for approval before publishing. Please send to Amber Broussard at abroussard@maryqueenofpeace.org along with a caption and names of students in the photo.

LABEL ALL BELONGINGS: Please put your child’s name on all articles of clothing or personal possessions (i.e. lunch boxes, water bottles, etc.) brought to school. Lost and found drawers are located in the school office. Items that are labeled are returned are placed in teachers boxes as they are brought into the office. Items that are not claimed nor labeled are donated to a charitable organization at the end of the school year. Please check the lost and found often for missing items.

STUDENT PICTURE DAY - Barberito will be here Friday, August 25, to take individual student pictures. All students must wear their school uniform. Packets will be sent home soon with the students. Picture packages may be ordered online. Check for more details soon.

CAFETERIA INFORMATION - If you have not already set-up an account and need your child’s student ID number, please call the Cafeteria Manager at 985-674-0346. During the school year, the Cafeteria Manager will send home Balance Alerts to keep you updated on your child’s account balance. If you do not receive her e-mail, please contact the school office to verify your e-mail address. The lunch menu is available on our website and also at schoolcafe.org. Click here for information about the Free and Reduced Lunch program.

STUDENT LUNCH - If you have not sent in money for your child’s lunch account, please do so promptly. Students will not be allowed to purchase items without funds in their account. You may check your child’s account balance at www.schoolcafe.org. Payments can be made online at www.myschoolbucks.com.

2022-2023 YEARBOOKS - Yearbooks for the 2022-2023 school year went home the first week of school with those students that ordered one last year. A limited amount of yearbooks are still available for purchase through the school office. The cost is $60.00 and checks should be made payable to MQPCS.

MQPCS CO-OP OPPORTUNITIES - To make the 2023-2024 school year an unbelievable one, parent involvement is key! There are volunteer opportunities to fit even the busiest schedules! Please click https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CABA62FAAF9CF8-mqpcs4 for the Committee Volunteer Sign-Up.

BACK TO SCHOOL BINGO BASH - Our Back to School Bingo Bash is this Friday, August 18th from 6-8 pm. This is a great event to meet new and existing MQP families! Admission tickets are advance purchase only through Cougar's Den. Concession booklets, raffle tickets and additional bingo cards are available for purchase in advance or at the event. Our committee is still in need of volunteers to help make this event successful. Please sign up here to volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4CABA62FAAF9CF8-back

CO-OP DUES - All new and returning parents are encouraged to join the MQPCS Co-Op! If you did not have an opportunity to pay your 2023-2024 dues with your tuition statement, you can still join by paying your dues HERE through the Cougar's Den. Co-Op Family Dues help fund student events, school programs, family events, and teacher classroom supplies.

CO-OP MEETING - SAVE THE DATE - You are all invited to attend our first Co-Op meeting Tuesday, August 29th at 6:00 p.m. This meeting will be held in the Parish Center. Meet our new Co-Op Board and hear about the great things they have planned for our students this school year.

COUGAR'S DINE OUT - September 13th - Location TBD

COUGAR'S DEN - All orders placed through Cougar's Den are filled and delivered to your student at school. If there is an exchange request, bring in the unused, unwashed items with the original pink slip to the office with the exchange request written on it. If there are any other Cougar's Den questions contact MQPCS.cougarsden@gmail.com.

*** If you recieved an IOU for an item ordered they will be delivered once those items become available. ***

SUNSHINE COMMITTEE: The sunshine committee is here to help bring a smile to MQP families in time of need. If this is something you can help out with throughout the year please consider joining the committee. Also, if you know of any MQP family in need or celebrating a birth please reach out to us. Want to join/questions? Contact Mariel Riffle, 985-768-8093, email her at mag9756@yahoo.com

ALTAR SERVER TRAINING - Students in grades 5th-12th, if you are interested in becoming an altar server there are some upcoming trainings you can attend. Also, if you are currently an altar server you must attend one of these meetings as there are some changes that Fr. Cooper would like everyone trained for. Please see flyer for more details.

HANNAN - Archbishop Hannan High is holding their Shadow Day and Open house sign ups now. Visit their website to sign up. Click here for more details.

ST.PAUL'S BAND CLINIC - Join the St. Paul's Marching Wolves at their annual band invitational and Dance Clinic. Saturday, September 9th boys and girls 4th - 8th grade for band and girls PK - 8th grade for Dance. Click HERE for more details.

ST. PAUL'S SHADOW DAY - Come join St. Paul's students for a day in the life of a Wolf. Shadow Days are coming up. To Register click HERE and for more details see flyer. Also you can click here to register for one of the upcoming Open Houses.

CUB SCOUTS- PACK 310: Pack 310 is having a Cub Scout recruiting event at MQP in the Parish Center Auditorium on 8/17 from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. The next meeting will be September 17th at 4:00 pm. For more information please contact brad.johnson@ferguson.com, or see flyer.

August 18 - Back to School Bingo - 6:00 p.m.

August 18 - Room Mom Meeting - 7:45 a.m.

August 22 - Queenship of Mary Mass - 9:00 a.m. Student Council Induction

August 25 - Individual Pictures

August 29 - Co-Op Meeting - 6:00 p.m.

August 30 - School Mass - 9:00 a.m.

August 31 - Dad's Club Meeting - 7:00 p.m.

September 4 - Labor Day Holiday - No School

September 6 - Feed the Hungry Mass - 9:00 a.m.

September 8 - Spirit Rally - 1:30 p.m.

NEWSLETTER DEADLINES: All notices/flyer submissions should be sent electronically no later than 10:00 a.m. on Monday for the Tuesday publication to abroussard@maryqueenofpeace.org

Mary, Queen of Peace Catholic School is a Catholic elementary school for boys and girls in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 7. Established in 1996, it serves the families of the Mandeville and Covington area. In this capacity, it has educated many students in the Catholic tradition, giving them the moral and academic foundation from which to develop prosperous and fulfilling careers.

Email: school@maryqueenofpeace.org
Website: https://www.maryqueenofpeace.org/school
Location: 1515 West Causeway Approach, Mandeville, LA, USA
Phone: (985) 674-2466
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mqpcs/
Twitter: @mqpcscougars