HALO NOTES

Dear Saints Family,

This week has been an incredible start to what looks to be a very fruitful school year! It has been a beautiful experience to see so many familiar faces and to begin to learn all the unfamiliar ones, too. I have asked a great deal from our students, and they have been incredibly receptive. There will be some growing pains, but I am confident, with the support of the faculty, our parents, and the student leaders of this school, we will quickly navigate those minor growing pains.

I ask as we move through the first few weeks and months, that our families pay close attention to all the opportunities you will have to be present, to be involved, and to further contribute to our school community; there are plenty of exciting events on the horizon. Between the upcoming school masses, the ever growing athletic auction, the busy events of Homecoming week ahead, and the re-launch of our Capital Campaign, there will be countless opportunities to help contribute to our amazing Saints community. As we all know, ‘It takes a village’... and I would say ours is pretty fantastic!

Please know, our number one priority as educators in this school is to help guide our students on the journey to Heaven. Catholic education is truly a gift; it is a gift to your students on the receiving end, and it is a gift to those of us who get to be on the giving end of it, as well. We are more than excited to be able to continue this journey of education and faith with each of your children!

Thank you for choosing St. Louis Catholic! Go Saints forever!

Blessings,

Kelly

• Weekly newsletters with important information are emailed to those listed in our SIS FACTS system every Thursday afternoon. Check your SPAM folder. To update contact information, call the front office.
• Lunches, practice clothes, etc. for students should be sent with students each morning. We understand the occasional hurried morning, but please help teach responsibility and executive functioning skills by having your student prepared for the day.
• Not clear on something? Please have your student ask the appropriate adult either in person or by email. All faculty and staff should respond to questions within 24 hours.

• Parking Tags- All student drivers must purchase a parking tag each year in the front office for $35. The deadline to purchase is August 25. After August 25th all Juniors and seniors will be charged through FACTS for a parking tag. If your student will not drive, please email Mrs. Melissa before Aug 25th.

• Lunch on campus – All students that eat the school lunches will be billed through FACTS. You will receive a statement each month. Each lunch is $2.75. If approved for Free/Reduced lunch then it will be .40. There will be no free lunches this year unless your family is approved for DC.

• All families should complete the free/reduced lunch application even if the student will not eat lunch. Please return to Dawn Mayo in the office or by email. This allows us to qualify for federal money! Thanks for your help!

• Medication Form- Please complete if your student will be taking medication at school & return it to the front office.

New students and parents must complete these steps to set up their FACTS account. The parent AND the student will each need to create an account. Please email Mrs. LeJeune with any issues.

Be a Saint during arrival and drop-off!

Student drop-off and parking will be the same as last year along 9th street making a right turn on Kirkman Street. Students should not arrive on campus before 7:15 when a duty teacher is present. Student drop-off and pickup will not be allowed in the teacher parking lot along Kirkman.

Drop off

• Vehicles should travel west only, coming from Bank Street, and drop off students on the west end of 9th St.
• Students are to stay in their vehicles until pulling into the semicircle for drop-off.
• After drop off, vehicles are to proceed to Kirkman for departure.

Student parking will be as follows:

• Seniors- West end of the Kirkman and 7th St. parking lot.
• Juniors- East end of the same parking lot, and the remainder of the parking available on 7th.
• Sophomores- Parking lot along Bank.
• Any overflow will park along 9th by the concession stand

Pickup

• For after-school pickup, parents will follow the same route.

All Seniors will need to complete this form with their parents in order to check out for off periods, starting Friday. Until this form is completed, you will not be able to check out.

Please return to Mrs. Melissa in the front office or through email.

*Note - specific off-periods are not guaranteed and are subject to SEAT time requirements for other classes. More information will be provided to students.

After further research and many discussions, SLCHS along with Office of Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Lake Charles has decided to transition all students to a 10-point grading scale starting with this school year (2024-2025) to align with the standards set by public schools in Louisiana. This change reflects our commitment to ensuring our students are evaluated equitably and can compete on a level playing field with their peers across the state. This will not be a retroactive change, and all credits earned in previous years will not change. Students’ transcripts are accompanied by our school profile sheet which will include both grading scales so that colleges are aware of the two scales.

We are working to align FACTS with this new grading scale. Therefore, grades may not be available to view online for the next week. If you have any questions about a specific grade in a class, please reach out to the teacher.

Please be patient as we navigate this transition. We believe this change will benefit our students by promoting fairness and clarity in their academic achievements. Thank you for your continued support as we implement this important update. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Administration

All schedules were emailed to students on Friday, August 2nd. Every effort was made to accommodate students’ preferences in class choices. Any schedule change requests must be turned in on our schedule change request document with all parts filled out to be considered for a schedule change. This document can be emailed to your students' counselor or dropped off to the Counseling Department starting August 14 until August 28.

Click here for the schedule change request form.

Classroom sets of calculators are provided for in-class use only and are in limited quantities. Students are not permitted to borrow or remove calculators from the math department for any reason. Due to a limited number of available calculators, we suggest that students bring their own. Please label with their name!

WHO NEEDS A GRAPHING CALCULATOR: Students in Algebra II and above will be using Graphing Calculators. Any student planning to take Dual Enrollment, PreCal or AP Calculus should start using this calculator as soon as possible to become familiar with it. Graphing Calculators can also be beneficial on the ACT, but only if the student has had ample practice with it.

WHO NEEDS A SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR: Any student taking Algebra 1 or Geometry can be successful with a scientific calculator if they already have one. However, if you are purchasing a calculator, a graphing calculator is a good investment for later courses. The more time a student has to familiarize themselves with the calculator the more they can benefit from its usage. The Math Department will demonstrate using the TI-84 Plus but any calculator on the ACT Approved Calculators list is acceptable.

CLICK HERE for more information on what your Saint needs to prepare for Math 24-25!

Please use a backpack with a dedicated laptop compartment, or purchase a protective sleeve. Students must bring their backpacks and/or protective sleeve to school on the first day, as part of the dress-code checklist.

Below are two examples of protective sleeves. These should be used if there is no protection built into the backpack.

Sleeve: Laptop Sleeve, Durable Briefcase Shockproof Protective Case, Handbags Portable Laptop Bag for 15.6 inch HP Dell Asus Lenovo Notebook Computer with Front Pocket, Black https://a.co/d/gWpdEuU

KCY Laptop Sleeve Carrying Case 13-14 Inch, Slim Computer Cover Bag Compatible with MacBook Air 13 M1/M2 2020-2022, MacBook Pro 13/14, Chromebook 14, 13.3” Hp Lenovo Dell Acer Asus Laptop, Grey https://a.co/d/5CNHX0I

If you are interested in learning more or taking this course, please contact the counseling department.

Saints athletics is gearing up for another strong school year. Up first are our fall sports – football, volleyball, cross country and swimming.

You can get your first look at the Saints football team Friday at the Blue & Orange intrasquad scrimmage. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on campus. Admission is FREE to all! Key returning players for the Saints include OL Colton Guillory, DL Devin Kee and TE Nathan Ughovwa.

Volleyball features four seniors – Emma Broussard, Ashley Jones, Clara Powell and Taylor Wilder.

Calling all lovers of Saints and sports!! Countdown to Kickoff TABLES & TICKETS are ON SALE NOW!!

Click HERE to go marching in with our SAINTS and secure your buy.

Please click HERE to access the application form for Homecoming Court. Paper copies are also available at the front office.

Those of you interested in attending this next year's March for Life: Please CLICK HERE for the information packet.

March for Life is a wonderful opportunity to witness community at its best, and for many, this is a life changing experience. Fundraising opportunities will be available leading up to the trip, so please don't let financial concerns keep you for registering! Here is a link from the March for Life website that can help give you a glimpse as to what its like. Let us know if you have any questions.

God bless,

Blaine Wyninger

Assistant Principal

Dean of Student Life

Do you have your membership secured with the Alumni Association? CLICK HERE to join us and make sure you have access to all things Saints Homecoming in September. See membership details above.

Can't find the most recent email with the current edition of Halo Notes? Halo Notes can be accessed anytime on our website!

On the home page, click on "News" at the top of the page and you will see the link to Halo Notes. We also keep previous editions on file for your convenience. This way you can always access everything St. Louis Catholic!

OUR FOUR PILLARS:

Wonder - Identity - Community - Service

Email: saintsmail@slchs.org
Website: www.slchs.org
Location: 1620 Bank Street, Lake Charles, LA, USA
Phone: 337-436-7275
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slchssaints
Twitter: @slchs_saints