Monday Memo

Dear parents,

Labor Day weekend is traditionally the weekend where we say goodbye to summer and look towards fall. Fall is a fun time at Saint Susanna.

• Grandparents Day will be on Thursday, September 28th. We will start with mass at 8:45 AM in the church. Then grandparents and special guests can make their way to the gym for a light reception. Our 3rd - 8th grade students will join our guests in the gym and they will be able to visit our PS - 2nd grade students in their classrooms.
• We will have our annual pet blessing on Friday, October 6th after morning announcements. Our pet blessing is held in honor of Saint Francis's feast day in early October. Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals. We welcome all pets (on leashes, in carriers, etc.) to our north parking lot for a blessing from Father Rob and a visit from many eager students!
• Our fall break is October 9th - 13th.
• The Jamboree is a fun family event each fall. The event is Saturday, October 21st in the gym. Activities throughout the evening include a draw down raffles, chili tasting, pony rides, a Jail and Bail, concessions, and more. We welcome all chili makers for the contest! Please make plans to attend!

The September lunch menu is at the bottom of this newsletter.

God bless, Janet Abdoulaye

Wednesday, September 7th

• Dismissal at 2:50 PM

Thursday, September 8th

• Mass at 8:45 AM hosted by 4R

• Spirit Wear Friday - Students may wear spirit wear tops with uniform or spirit wear bottoms.

We are blessed to have several new staff members joining us this week:

• Ms. Jennifer Sargent is joining our EDM team. She is coming to us from Plainfield Schools.
• Ms. Kara Williams is our new second grade aide. Ms. Williams is also coming to us from Plainfield Schools.
• Mrs. Sabrina Heeren is our new City Connects coordinator. Mrs. Heeren is a licensed social worker and is excited to work to find resources to benefit our student body through this program from Marian University.
• Mr. Mateus Rangel is our new Preschool - 5th grade music teacher. He will be with us on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Friday mornings. We are sharing him with St. Michael-St. Gabriel school in Indianapolis. His biography is below.

We are excited to welcome all of these new staff members to our Saint Susanna community. We will continue to look for a music / band teacher for our middle schoolers.

My name is Mateus Rangel and I'm from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I moved to the US in 2019 with my wife and two kids (Mateus Junior, 3, and Gabriel, 2). We currently live in Bloomington as my wife pursues her PhD at IU.

I have a music degree from Rio de Janeiro State University and a Music Education degree from Candido Mendes University. I'm a cellist but I can also play and teach other instruments such as Orchestra Strings, piano, guitar, and others.

Over the last twelve years of my teaching experience, I had the opportunity to work with students of different backgrounds. In Brazil, I worked teaching grades from PreK to freshman. I worked as a Strings Instructor at Monroe County Community School Corporation Elementary Strings Program in the 2022-2023 school year. I’m deeply committed to student learning and I have participated in several national and international workshops on pedagogy and music teaching. I love teaching and helping my students improve their abilities (creativity, discipline, music knowledge) through my music classes.

Apart from that, I also have over a decade of experience in performance, playing with orchestras, ensembles, and religious groups. Music is a big part of my life and my favorite classical composer is Dvorak. I really enjoy listening to his 8th Symphony and his cello Concert. Also, my all-time favorite singer is Adele. In my free time, I like to go swimming with my family, play outside with my kids, and cook some delicious Brazilian food.

"Congratulations to all CYO Cross Country runners who competed at Saints Francis and Clare this weekend in Greenwood! It was a beautiful morning for a 3K run for our Spartans. We celebrate Personal Best times, and this week we had 13 of them across all ages. Those who placed at the meet are as follows: Grades 3|4 Abraham Harty (6) Gentry James (19); Grades 5|6 Annie Harty (14) Claire Andres (19) Abram Roell (20) Grayson Galbreath (15) Luke Harty (3) Kael Barnes (12) Blake Christian (19); Grades 7|8 Thomas Andres (20). Great job to all runners!"

Eighth graders who are planning to attend a Catholic high school will need to take the High School Placement test. This test is available in the fall at any Catholic high school in Indianapolis. You should be able to find dates and registration information on the respective school websites.

To prepare for the test, Cardinal Ritter offers a series of study sessions at the dates and locations below. The test prep sessions are extremely helpful. The placement test is used by high schools to determine scholarships for those who apply early and placement in math and English classes. Ritter charges $20 for the book used in these sessions. Students can attend all three sessions, or just the ones they want to. We can make allowances for students to leave early wtihout penalty to attend these sessions.

Our second graders learn about the sacraments as they prepare for First Communion in the spring. To help them better understand the sacrament of Baptism, Father Rob "baptized" a baby doll to walk them through and explain the sacrament.

Each year, Mrs. Whitsell's class chooses their desk pets! Throughout the year, they can earn food and gifts for their pet.

The Saint Susanna School Library needs your help! We will be having donuts after all Masses on Sunday, September 10th. All donations will go directly to the school library for books (and maybe a treat for me!). If you can help, please sign up! Any adults and middle school students are welcome! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B4AAAAE2FA02-donuts#/

Children in grades 1-12 are welcome to participate in Hendricks County 4-H. 4-H offers a wide variety of projects and activities for the youth in our community. More information about their upcoming Open House is below.

PRE-ORDERING for St. Susanna Elementary Picture Day is now open! To order with a debit or credit card, please follow the link below. All pre-ordering will close after Wednesday, September 20, 2023. You do not need to turn in any receipt or form for an online order. If you need to pay by cash or check, the office will have an order form available. Proof ordering will be available 4-6 weeks after photo day once packages have been delivered. Order here: https://www.cripephoto.com/st-susanna-order-page

If you have any questions or concerns please fill out our Customer Service Contact Form

This year's Jamboree and Chili Cook-Off will be Saturday, October 21st! We are always looking for new committee members to help organize and carry on this family event for our school and parish. Contact Gaytanna McGuire for more information at gstillamc@gmail.com or 765-720-0225

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