By the radiance of thy holy life,

You were counted worthy of divine glory

And did send roses and apples

From paradise to Theophilus.

O, Dorothy, ask that we who praise you

May receive the forgiveness of our sins

Through Christ, our Lord,

Amen.

"Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting."

– Psalm 107

Dear Bruin Family,

What an amazing first week of school here on campus! From assemblies, to community gatherings, to procedures and emergency drills, to pre-tests and the start of academic instruction, we are in full swing here at St. Dorothy Catholic School! The energy is palpable and vibrant and we are excited to keep it going for another 175 days of instruction! The start of school would not have been possible without our fabulously committed PTO, our dedicated teachers and staff, our Student Council, and multiple others within our parent community! To all who assisted in getting us started, THANK YOU!

Next week we start with full instructional days for 1st-8th grade students with our TK/K classes remaining at minimum days for one more week! We also have our Back To School Night on Thursday evening at 6pm. Come get to know your teacher and see what is in store for the year ahead! See below for more information!

I want to wish all of our parents and students a wonderful and restful weekend!

Sincerely,

Mr. Ryan Nearhoff

At the beginning of every school year, we distribute a "family envelope" of acknowledgement and consent forms for parents to sign and return. This year, we have digitized most of them for your convenience - and to save some trees! Two additional forms must be sent home for physical signature, so please be on the lookout for these: Student Technology Contract & Income Survey. If you have not already done so, please complete each form below before August 30th.

Please note that the counseling form below is required regardless of whether or not your child will be requesting counseling services.

Below is a Bruin Club registration PDF that can be completed on your computer/device and emailed to Mrs. La Rocca at clarocca@stdorothyschool.com, or printed and sent to the office. This is required even if you do not expect to use Bruin Club. Please submit the Bruin Club form by Monday morning, August 26. Bruin Club will begin next Monday, August 26th.

On Thursday evening we will host our annual Back To School night at 6:00pm. All parents should meet in the parish hall at 6pm for a brief meeting with Principal Nearhoff. After our introductory meeting, we will have three 15 minute sessions in which you can visit your child's classrooms and see what is in store for the year ahead. We will also be joined by the Glendora Public Library where you can register for a child's library card, learn about their Homework Help program, and more! Also, EPIC Programs will be joining us and offering sign ups for their after school programs being offered at St. Dorothy this year.

This is typically a parent-only event but we would love to offer assistance for families who may struggle with childcare. If you are unable to procure childcare Thursday evening, please complete the Google Form below to let us know. This will be offered for students of St. Dorothy Catholic school as we are not licensed for children under the age of 4. Please submit your form by Monday, August 26th.

We look forward to seeing you there!

TK Parents, Mrs. Ornelas has communicated a slightly altered schedule with you so please refer to her communications regarding the schedule for Back To School Night for TK parents only.

Calling all 4th graders and 5th-8th graders who are new to St. Dorothy Catholic School! Is God calling your child to serve at mass? On August 27th from 3:30-5:00pm, we will be offering altar server training specifically for St. Dorothy students. This will prepare students to serve at both school masses and on weekend masses for our parish. If your child is interested in serving in this capacity, please have them attend the training. Serving at mass is a great way to get children involved in the liturgy and enrich their faith life!

We will be making a change to our weekly schedule for the 2024-2025 academic school year. Beginning August 30th, we will end our school day at 1:00pm every Friday. This change is being implemented to improve student learning by allowing our faculty and staff adequate time for weekly meetings, professional development, STAR data analysis, instructional planning, and more. Please note that despite the early release, we are ensuring that we are still within the ADLA guidance for required weekly instructional minutes.

Bruin Club will still be offered immediately following school on Fridays with the exception of certain special days throughout the year (usually before a holiday). In addition, we are excited to continue offering our Bruins Explore program. This program is run by parent volunteers and comes at a low cost to all who wish to participate.

We recognize that this may prove difficult for working families and we want to provide as much support as possible as you adjust your schedules for Friday pickup. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Nearhoff at rnearhoff@stdorothyschool.com

As per the handbook, school instruction time begins promptly at 8:15am. This means that all students should be in their classrooms at 8:15am. Our carline gates will be closing at 8:10am. All students that arrive after 8:10am must enter through the office. Students that arrive in the office after 8:15am will be marked as tardy and be given a tardy slip.

Cater Tots lunch service will begin on Monday, August 26th. Lunches can be ordered via their online platform up to 9:00 a.m. the business day prior to delivery. Cancellation of orders must be made no later than 9:00 a.m. the business day prior to delivery by contacting Catertots, Inc at (714) 751-8500 or online for full credit. Sick cancellations received by the office by 8:00 a.m. the day of service will receive a 50% credit. A credit will only be valid for use if issued by the office or if the parent cancels a pre-paid meal online. Cater Tots reserves the right to review all credits and reverse any credit issues for meals not paid for, or as a result of user misuse of the system.

The St. Dorothy Catholic School apparel store is now open for a limited time only! Click the link below to order your SD swag and show your school spirit!

Our Signup Genius links have been posted to the website and can be found below to sign up for regular volunteering opportunities including Cater Tots, Yard Duty, and Health Room attendant. Just click on the link and enter your name to start completing those parent hours! As a reminder, family members can complete hours on your behalf as long as they are fingerprinted and Virtus certified.

Though we have a uniform dress code at SDCS, we have many fun days throughout the year when students get to dress up for a cause, a holiday, or just for fun! In hopes that you can plan ahead we've provided a list of all dress up days for the year in the PDF below. Thank you to Ms. Ruiz and our Student Council for putting this together! Please note that normal "free" dress days are not included in this list. If there is a change to the list we will communicate with advanced notice of the change.

We are looking for coordinators and volunteers to continue offering our Bruins Explore activities throughout the school year! As coordinator, you will choose the activity for that week, plan, and oversee it. As a volunteer, you will assist the coordinator on that given Friday. Bruins Explore will be offered on Friday's after school this year. Snacks will be provided. Please contact Kathryn Hnatiuk with any questions via the SignUp Genius below. (Activity ideas: arts & crafts, STEM project, drama/theater, gardening... the possibilities are endless!) Please note: last year we had approximately 50 kids registered for each activity. This is a great opportunity to fulfill your hours while simultaneously offering our students extra-curricular development! We thank you for your willingness to contribute.

On Friday, August 30th, teachers and students will go to the church to learn about the mass and prepare for our weekly school liturgies. We are also asking that students wear their mass uniforms that day so that we can check that students are outfitted properly for our first school mass on Friday, September 6th @ 8:30am. As a reminder, all families are invited to join us for weekly mass and celebrate the eucharist with us!

The Next Generation Parish: Called to Renew campaign is progressing wonderfully, with over 200 parishioner families participating in renewing and enhancing our parish church for the Next Generation of parishioners, our students. Together, we have pledged over $3.6 million towards this important initiative. Now is the time to submit your pledge card to the parish office and fulfill your pledge by making a gift online. Thank you to all who have pledged their support! For more information, visit the link below.

Once a month, St. Dorothy Catholic School partners with the Religious Education department to present a Family Mass. In this Sunday mass, students are given the opportunity to serve in ministries typically reserved for our adult parishioners such as ushering and serving as lectors. We encourage all St. Dorothy Catholic School families to attend these masses as we continue to build community with our parish! See the 24/25 schedule below.

And now for some helpful parent information and some laughs! Got any good parenting tips or articles you want to share? Send them to Mr. Nearhoff for the next newsletter!

August 24-25 || Teach children to evaluate sources

Your children will likely spend a significant amount of time online. All sources are not created equal, so teaching them to evaluate the information online is critical. Using concepts appropriate for their age, teach your children to consider the expertise, motive, and relevance of the information they consume. Being able to separate fact from fiction, and to evaluate the quality of the information received, will help your children assess truth. For more tips, read the VIRTUS® article “Keeping Kids Safe Online By Teaching Them to Evaluate Sources” at lacatholics.org/did-you-know/.

August 31-September 1 || Should your child be friends with teachers on social media?

It is an adult’s responsibility to maintain safe, appropriate boundaries with the children in his or her care. For teachers, this means keeping things professional in school and beyond — including online. Parents should be aware of who their children are friends with on social media sites, especially if their friends lists include teachers, coaches, or other authority figures. For more information, read the VIRTUS® article “ ‘Friending’ Students on Social Media” at lacatholics.org/did-you-know/.

To educate TK-Eighth grade students in a Catholic environment in which the curriculum emphasizes spiritual, ethical, and social values of the Catholic faith to become responsible and moral citizens within the global community.

Supporting the belief that parents are the primary educators of their children, we as educators at St. Dorothy Catholic School, dedicate ourselves to partner with the parents in preparing children to become contributing members of the community. To achieve this, we provide holistic development in psychological, emotional, social and physical health, with an emphasis on academics, faith, and Christian service.

In collaboration with parents, we champion student achievement through the presentation, practice, and study of Catholic doctrine, a strong academic curriculum, multimedia and multi-cultural experiences, physical education, extracurricular programs, and the dedicated commitment of the teachers and staff.

Email: info@stdorothyschool.com

Website: www.stdorothyschool.com
Location: 215 South Valley Center Avenue, Glendora, CA, USA
Phone: (626) 335-0772