Holy Family School Newsletter
April 2024
A Note From Ms. Otte
Dear Parents/Guardians,
I hope this newsletter finds you well and excited for the warmer temperatures that are sure to arrive soon. The end of the school year will be here before we know it! It has been a busy year with many exciting things taking place! Recently, we hosted Kindergarten Roundup, and it was a great success! Special thanks to our teachers, staff, foster grandparents, sixth-grade student helpers, volunteers, and everyone who contributed to making this a successful turnout!
We will host DARE Graduation on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, with Officer Preston at 1:30 in the gymnasium for our fifth-grade students. Parents should contact the classroom teacher if there are any questions regarding the program.
In other news, Holy Family School recently received word that we were awarded a $40,000 grant from the Koch Foundation! Allison Norgren has been collaborating with me on this grant and has done a wonderful job! The grant application was submitted last spring, and was written for new cafeteria tables for our students. This will be a great help in updating our tables and providing students with circular tables and seats, promoting more opportunities for students to socialize at lunch. This is very exciting and definitely helps to meet our goals of updating the school and providing students with more great experiences. We have enough money to purchase 20 round tables that seat eight (8) at each table. We will let you know when the tables arrive.
The school calendar for next year is complete. Please see below for a copy of the calendar. Next year, there will not be any late starts; instead, you will notice that the public school will have early outs. Holy Family School will follow the public school calendar and will also have monthly early outs. Therefore, parents will not need to transport their children to school next year (other than September 3 & 4). However, parents will need to communicate transportation plans for early-out days for students who typically get picked up every day. The calendar will be posted on our school website for future reference.
SAVE THE DATE:
The annual Spring Golf Endowment Outing will be held on Friday, June 7, 2024, a change from previous years. There will be a shotgun start at the Lynx Golf Course. You can play 9 or 18 holes of golf, along with great prizes and dinner. More information will be coming soon! Come out for fun and camaraderie while supporting Holy Family School.
The August Dinner date has been changed to Saturday, September 7, 2024, at Diamond Point. It will be an evening filled with food, fun, and laughter. A comedian will provide entertainment after dinner. More information will follow as the date approaches.
Please share these changes with your family and friends who have attended in the past or who may be interested in attending in the future.
As we approach the end of the school year, field trips will start being planned. If you are asked to chaperone on a field trip, you must complete a background check. The background check fee is $19 per person and is good for five (5) years once it is completed. Parents/guardians are responsible for this cost - check should be made payable to Holy Family School and mailed or dropped off in the Business Office at HFS.
Lastly, Linus Dunn, a sixth-grade student, at Holy Family School, was selected as a finalist for the Genesis Entrepreneurial Contest offered to Catholic Schools across the state. This opportunity has been made available to us through the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence (CSCOE). He is one of 6 finalists that was selected out of 43 entries. He presented live, on March 23rd, at the University of St. Thomas. It was an opportunity for him to show off his skills and ideas for Dunn Brothers Popsicles!! Focused on developing the entrepreneurial spirit of students, Genesis invites young innovators in grades 6-8 to submit their big ideas for the chance to pitch live to a panel of judges, “Shark Tank-style,” and win cash prizes.
Linus placed 3rd in the competition. He was awarded $500, and Holy Family School received $500.
Congratulations to Linus on a job well done!! Your HFS family is proud of you!!! We are including a few pictures below of Linus presenting.
Thank you, and God bless!
Ms. Otte
UPDATE: Annual Registration Process
- Submit the $110 family registration fee.
- Submit the Blackbaud tuition registration form
- Submit the tuition down-payment
- Submit a completed Registration and Tution Agreement form
- Complete the online registration process through JMC. Some things to note when completing the online portion of registration:
- Change the school year drop-down when logging in to JMC to "2024-2025". IMPORTANT: You will need to change this back to "2023-2024" the next time you log in to JMC to get back to the current school year.
- Complete all steps in the registration link
Important Registration Step That is Getting Missed!
There are several families who have completed the online portion of the registration process but did not actually finish. Please note the following:
- You MUST submit signatures on certain forms for ALL children in your family who attend HFS. When you add signatures for one student, click on the drop-down at the top of the screen to switch to your next child then submit a signature for that child.
To add signatures or to check if all signatures have been submitted, you can simply login to JMC for the 2024-2025 school year and click on the registration link. From there, you can click on the forms link then click the student name drop-down in the upper left hand corner and switch to the next child.
Solar Eclipse - Monday, April 8
As most of you know, we will be experiencing a partial solar eclipse on Monday, April 8. Minnesota will not be in the path of totality but will be able to see a 79% partial eclipse that will start at 12:49 pm and continue until 3:15 pm. The peak eclipse will occur at 2:02 pm and last for approximately 4 minutes. The current extended forecast calls for a cloudy day with light rain possible. Minnesota weather in April is difficult to predict. However, if the sun is visible, it is important for everyone viewing the eclipse to wear special eclipse glasses. Regular sunglasses are not adequate to protect your eyes from the sun's damaging rays. Here is a link to a good article about the safe way to view the eclipse.
Parents who are outside waiting for students to be dismissed should use caution and not look directly at the sun while waiting outside. Further, you may want to consider sending some sort of eye protection for your child(ren) on that day. The morning announcements will also warn students not to look directly at the sun. It’s an amazing event that allows us to reflect on our place in the universe and give God glory for his magnificent creation!
Godchild Project
Bowl for YoHanna
The last Friday in April has typically been set aside to raise money for our adopted godchild from Guatemala. This year will be no different. Friday, April 19th will be a special day at HFS as we "Bowl for YoHanna", our eight year old godchild. This will be our fourth year of sponsoring YoHanna.
Each year this day-long event is used to try to raise enough money to cover our sponsorhip fee for the year, which is roughly $450. The money raised goes to YoHanna and her family to help cover schooling costs, doctor visits and basic food and clothing needs. Money raised over our sponsorship fee may be put towards future CAP funds for a local family in need.
Every grade will be assigned a time during the school day to go down to the gym and bowl for YoHanna. The sixth graders will be setting up bowling lanes and assist the students with their bowling and scoring. They will also have a concession stand set up for all the students to receive a beverage and treat.
We raise money for this event by encouraging all students, staff, and families that wish to donate, to bring in change or dollar bills. All students and staff may also wear caps that day, but they are not asked to bring in an additional dollor for the cap. Students can bring in money beginning Monday, April 15th. Each class will bring their container or jar of money to the gym when they go down for bowling. Our day will be filled with fun and treats but our ultimate goal is to have collected $450 or more by the end of this event.
We hope you can help us with this worthy cause. We give a special thanks to the 5th & 6th grade students and teachers for hosting this event!
Winter Outdoor Attire is Still Necessary
While the calendar tells us it is Spring, the snow and cooler temps tell us we should still be prepared for winter weather. As the temps get warmer, the snow melts but with that comes very wet and muddy conditions on the school grounds. Please continue to send boots, snowpants, jackets, hats and gloves with your child(ren) until the playground has completely dried up. Because students may get wet during recess, it is also a good idea to provide a change of clothes (including socks and pants) in their backpack should they need to change after recess. We will notify you when we direct students to bring their winter clothes home for good - we hope that will be soon!
Please note some important dates for some of our upcoming 2024 events:
HFS Endowment Golf Tournament - Friday, June 7
The annual Holy Family School Endowment Golf Outing will be held on Friday, June 7, 2024, a change from previous years. There will be a shotgun start at the Lynx Golf Course. You can play 9 or 18 holes of golf, along with great prizes and dinner. More information will be coming soon! Come out for fun and camaraderie while supporting Holy Family School.
August/Fall Dinner will be moving to September - Saturday, September 7
The August Dinner date has been changed to Saturday, September 7, 2024, at Diamond Point. It will be an evening filled with food, fun, and laughter. A comedian will provide entertainment after dinner. More information will follow as the date approaches.
APRIL 3
DARE GRADUATION
Our 5th grade students will be completing their DARE classes with a graduation.
APRIL 7
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
APRIL 12
DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET
We will be doing an all-school divine mercy chaplet in the gym
APRIL 17
PARENT TRANSPORT DAY
Today is a 2-hour late start for the public school. Therefore, parents will be responsible for transporting their child(ren) TO HFS in the morning. (Busses will be available for afternoon transportation.)
To ensure a safe flow of traffic, during drop-off on these late-start days, please follow these procedures: at least 5 cars should pull through the parking lot onto Birch Street (past the barricades and along the curb by the playground) and 5 cars should line up in the parking lot. Children should exit the vehicles on the passenger side. (Essentially, 10 cars will be dropping off at the same time.) Staff will be directing traffic to ensure a smooth process.
APRIL 19
GODCHILD DAY - BOWLING FOR YOHANNA
See above for more information about this fun day!
APRIL 26
CARING ABOUT PEOPLE ("CAP") DAY
Students are allowed to wear a hat/cap all day if they pay at least $1. 100% of funds donated during these days are given to a local family in need.
March "Self-Discipline" Assembly
Below are the March Little World Changer Recipients for showing self-discipline in the month of March.
Back row from left: Kali Yarke (5), Clare Minette (5), Scarlette Deters (6) & Grace Hass (6)
Middle row from left: Ms. Otte, Wyatt Meyer (2), Spencer Dirkes (3), Charlie Anderson (3), Kalim Saltmarsh (4), Marie VanHavermaet (4)
Front row from left: Chloe Arceneau (K), Tori Essler (K), Ayla Borgerding (1), Piper Henrichs (1) & Sylvia Sjogren (2)
April Character Trait - Cooperation
In April, we will focus on being cooperative as our character trait of the month. The family is an ideal place to model and teach the value of cooperation. There are numerous times and occasions in our home settings when each of us has to show his or her skills at getting along and working together for the good of the whole group. This characteristic is crucial at school and in the workplace. Our children need our help recognizing the value of cooperation and learning how to cooperate. Especially in this day and age of individualism.
Have fun thinking of traditions and times in your family's life when cooperating is important, and how it would be different if no one got along during these times. For example, what about family vacations? We cooperate on where we will go, and even though it is usually an adult decision, it is a place the children will enjoy as well. The trip there, either in the car or by plane, is a setting in which we will have no fun if we do not cooperate with each other in using the radio, headphones, car games, bathroom stops, nap times, etc. What about a simple trip to the grocery store and how everyone needs to cooperate to accomplish the goal, or when children are on a team playing a sport? These are great discussions that can be had about the importance of cooperation.
Cooperation is an important character trait because by working with others, we learn different perspectives and strategies, and can express our own thoughts to teach others. It can also help us reach a goal much faster with someone than if we were working alone! Thank you for your help and support in teaching your child about this very important trait!
CHECK THE SCHOOL WEBSITE!
We are continually updating our school website with important information while also providing you access to our monthly newsletters, school calendars, lunch/breakfast menus, JMC resources and more! To be brought directly to our school website, click the picture above (or go to www.holyfamilysc.org) then click the "Current Families" tab.
NOTE: When viewing the website from a mobile device, you have to click the hamburger menu in the upper left hand corner then click the drop-down arrow next to "Current Families".
KEEP TRACK OF HFS EVENTS!!
To stay informed of everything happening at HFS, follow us on Facebook.
In addition to Facebook, please watch page 3 of the the Sauk Centre Herald every week to read up on spotlight events in the school. We are very thankful to our sponsors for giving us this space in the weekly newspaper.
Questions about JMC?
We are continually updating our school website (www.holyfamilysc.org). Under the "Current Families" tab, a link to the JMC login page has been added along with a page for families to gain access to different resources and FAQ's regarding the JMC Family Portal and the JMC Family App. Please continue to check the website for other updated documents. We appreciate and welcome feedback on how we can offer you more resources in the future through our website. Please do not hesitate to call the school or email admin@holyfamilysc.org with your questions.
WANT TO MAKE A GENERAL DONATION TO HFS OR DONATE TO OUR ONGOING WORKATHON?
Holy Family School is excited to have a new website set up for community members, extended family members, family friends, etc. to make donations to specific causes at Holy Family School. As we have mentioned in previous communications, students will participate in year-long Workathon projects to support our community. If you know someone who may need help with a project or a day brightener out in the community, please let us know. We would be happy to help and add it to our Workathon.
If you or someone you know would like to donate to the Workathon or another cause at Holy Family School, please scan the QR code below, or click the "Donate" button above to be brought to the donation landing page. This page will be updated as we add different causes throughout the school year.
Holy Family School At A Glance
Holy Family School, a fully accredited Catholic school through MNSAA, is open to all kindergarten through sixth-grade students. We currently have 254 students in K-6, two classroom teachers per grade, a music and computer teacher, a librarian, a large support staff, and foster grandparents. Yearly goals and our strategic plan help build a community of faith, knowledge, and service at HFS. Our Parent/Student handbook, formal and informal conferences, and JMC keeps parents updated on our yearly goals. Jesus is the center and purpose of our school. Our mission is to reveal God’s message in our daily life. The school partners with our families, ACC Parishes, and the community to provide a faith-filled environment where students and staff grow spiritually and academically.
Tuition, parish subsidy, donations, and fundraisers help make Holy Family School an option for all families. The generosity and involvement of our families, ACC, and parish members, the commitment of our volunteers, alumni, businesses, and community, and the dedication and care of our staff are felt and appreciated in this unique partnership, which enriches and blesses our students’ lives.
Community education, sports, and special programs are available to all students attending HFS. Special Education services, Title I, Speech, and counseling services are provided in partnership with our local school district. Visit our school to see what HFS has to offer.