Laker Newsletter
October 10, 2024
ST. EDWARD ON THE LAKE CATHOLIC SCHOOL
School Hours
7:45AM-3:05PM
Office Hours
7:30AM-3:30PM
1-810-385-4461
Mission Statement
We at St. Edward on-the-Lake Catholic School, work together with our families and community to create a Christ-centered environment which promotes Catholic faith formation, academic excellence, and personal development. Our students will have the opportunity to become confident, independent thinkers, and life-long learners who are responsible to God, to themselves and to society.
No School for Students October 17th and 18th
There will be NO SCHOOL for our students on Thursday, October 17th and Friday, October 18th, as our teachers will be taking part in a two day professional development conference thru the Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools. Please make arrangements for childcare on these days if need be!
All Saints Day November 1st
ALL SAINTS DAY INFORMATION
Just a reminder that our All Saints Day Celebration/Parties will be held on Friday, November 1st! Students should dress up in costume depicting saints, angels, nuns, priests, and/or other role models from the Bible (Please no props on this day).
Grades K-5th will also be attending mass at 8:00AM. Parents and caregivers are welcome to attend mass, as we have a parishioner section in church, but please be aware that space is limited.
We will once again be having a parade outside around the drop off loop, and parents are welcome to watch the parade and see all of the students dressed up. Weather permitting, we would like to do the parade for parents at 9:10AM. We will have a number of cones blocking off parking spots in the front of the school. Parents can line the area outside of the cones, as well as on the sidewalk in front of school. We will have the kids make two walks around the loop before heading back into the school.
We are looking forward to November 1st and hope that you can stop by for the parade portion of the day. Of course, Father Acervo will also be passing out a treat to all of the students as they enter the building and we know the kids will be looking forward to that!
Halloween Spirit Day
On Thursday, October 31st, we will be having a Halloween Spirit Day. Students can wear orange, white, black or fall colors on this day. Those that do not wish to participate, may have Free Dress, as it is the last day of the month!
Feast of the Lady of the Rosary
Monday was the Feast of the Lady of the Rosary! Our school participated in a whole school living rosary in the gym. The rosary is a good way to reflect on the life of Jesus and the example of service he gave us to follow.
October Happenings
October
13 Feast Day of St. Edward
15 Pink Out at St. Ed's
17 and 18th No School for Students: Teacher Professional Development Conference
22 Pink Out at St Ed's
24 PTO Meeting 7:00PM Zoom
24 Michigan vs Michigan State Spirit Day
25 Grandparent's Day
25 Trunk or Treat
31 Halloween-Wear Orange, Black White or Fall Colors
November
1 All Saints Day Mass and Parade
Port Huron Basketball League Registration Grades 1-5
St. Edward on the Lake Family Skate Night-November 14th
Join us for a St. Edward on the Lake Family Skate Night at Family Fun and Skate on Thursday, November 14th from 6:00-8:00PM. A flyer will be going home next week on this activity, and we are also attaching the note here with all of the details. The rink would like to have a head count for us for the evening, so if you are interested in attending, please fill out the bottom portion of the form and return to us as soon as possible.
St. Edward on the Lake Jersey Mike's Fundraiser
Our first Jersey Mike's Fundraiser is set for next Thursday, October 17th! We are not in school on this day, so take the kids for lunch or dinner and help raise money for the school! Jersey Mike's will donate 20% of your sale back to our school on this day. See the attached flyer for additional information on how to receive the 20% in store or using their app.
Blessing of the Pets
Blessing of the Pets Pics
Girls Basketball: Girls Needed!
We recently sent out our Girls Basketball Interest Form to our 4th and 5th grade families, along with the 6th grade girls at St. Mary McCormick. Currently, we only have five students that have turned in a form. We need at least seven girls to play. If you know of someone interested in playing that is a member of the parish in 4th/5th/6th Grade, please let us know. Practice begins in November, with ten games being played during the months of December, January and February. Also-if there are any girls that did not turn in a form, and would like to play from St. Ed's, please reach out to Mr. Metty to let him know!
Trunk or Treat and Pumpkin Decorating Contest
We are excited to once again be hosting our annual Trunk or Treat here at St. Edward on the Lake on Friday, October 25th. This event will have a few more activities this year, with some games available for our students, along with the Knights of Columbus cooking hot dogs, to go along, of course, with our Trunk or Treat! We need volunteers to run these games and could use your help. If you can spare some time during the event, please click on the Sign Up Genius Link below to sign up for a game and a time slot!
We will also be having a Pumpkin Decorating Contest this year, in lieu of our the scarecrow contest we have had in the past. Please see the flyer below on details of this fun contest!
3rd Annual Pink Out at St. Ed's October 15th and 22nd
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we are once again looking for your help to raise funds to donate to the Huron Medical Center at the Karmanos Building in Port Huron. Cancer patients spend hours at a time receiving treatment at the Huron Medical Center. The money raised will be used to purchase snacks for the patients, while they are receiving treatment, at no cost to them. So…how does it work? We will be having a “Pink Out” here at St. Ed’s on Tuesday, October 15th and the 22nd . For one dollar (or whatever you would like to give), students can dress down on this day and wear “Pink” to school. This is an optional activity, but we are hoping to get as many students involved as possible for this cause. We have had great success with this giving activity the last two years, so remember to wear pink on the 15th and the 22nd this month!
The school store gives our 4th and 5th graders the opportunity to do real world, hands on learning while providing customer service, supply ordering and balancing the register every other week. Please see the flyer for more information, along with our store dates for the year.
Library
Starting this week, many of our students will be bringing home their library books that they have checked out. Some of our older students have been able to bring them home, but not all of our students. Please be on the look out for these books, as students will be able to read them at home or with you for the week. All books are to be returned the following Wednesday, at which time, they can check out new books or re-check out their current book, if they are not finished reading it independently or with you at home!
Grandparent's Day at St. Edward on the Lake Friday, October 25th
Our Annual Grandparent's Day visit will take place this year on Friday, October 25th!
This event is open to all of our grandparents, and will include Mass at 8:00AM for Grades K-5 and a visit here at the school afterwards, as our grandparents will be able to see our new wing, and take part in an activity in the classroom before heading out! We hope all of our grandparents can make it!
Lunch Supervisor Volunteer Sign Up Link
Please see below for the link to sign up to volunteer to be a Lunch Helper during our lunch and recess cycle from 11:15-12:30PM. Duties include: Assisting students in the lunchroom and monitoring our recess sessions. Please consider volunteering, as we are always in need of help during the lunch block.
School Calendar on our Website!
Need to check out the happenings at St. Ed's? Check out the calendar on our school website. This calendar has most activities and events taking place at the school during the course of the year. There are items that are added as we go, once we have solidified a date, but most of our items can be found on this calendar. Check it out at the link below.
Background Checks and Protecting God's Children Refresher Course Requirements
The AOD Office of Child and Youth Protection has implemented new requirements for all employees and volunteers who work at the school, along with parents wishing to attend field trips with their child during the year. The Protecting God’s Children Program and training has been updated and anyone that completed their PGC class prior to January 1, 2021, are required to take a refresher course module online. Those that need to take this module should have received an email, but if you didn’t, due to using an older email at the time that is no longer in use, you can go onto the Virtus site at the below address, log into your account, and take the two-hour session. It is self-paced and doesn’t need to be completed in one sitting. Once you are done, please print a copy of the certificate for us to have on file here in the office. As was mentioned above, this refresher module will pertain to ALL family members that volunteer at the school, attend field trips, etc. We will have access to the list of people that need the refresher, and will be cross checking before you are allowed to work, volunteer or attend field trips with your child. If you took the PGC class BEFORE January 1, 2021, you will need to take the online refresher module.
https://www.virtusonline.org/virtus/index.cfm
NEW AND RECERTIFIED TRAINING FOR ADULTS
New Employees and Recurrent Adult Volunteers
All new paid employees, stipend individuals, coaches, catechists, shared-time teachers, VBS staff, lunchroom/ playground volunteers, filed trip chaperones and tutors must complete:
- A live Protecting God’s Children training, available either in- person or via Zoom
- The online Vulnerable Adults 2.0 Module
The live in-person and Zoom sessions are two-and-a-half to three hours in length and include the Protecting God’s Children 4.0 module. Sessions are available in English and Spanish.
Registrants to the live sessions are automatically assigned access to the 40-minute online Vulnerable Adults 2.0 module, which they complete on their own time. The registrant can pause, save, and resume their position in the training if they cannot complete it in one sitting. Individuals in this category will receive certificates showing completion of the live module and the online Vulnerable Adults module.
New Intermittent/Occasional Volunteers
Occasional new adult volunteers who do not serve in a recurring role with youth (as listed above) may complete Protecting God’s Children certification either through a live session (in person or via Zoom) or by completing the Protecting God’s Children Online Awareness Session 4.0 and Vulnerable Adults 2.0 combined self- paced training module.
The online modules take approximately two hours to complete. The online modules are available in English and Spanish, with closed captioning, and Polish or Vietnamese subtitles. The registrant can pause, save, and resume their position in the training if they cannot complete it in one sitting. Individuals in this category will receive a certificate showing completion of the combined module.
Recertification for all current Adult Employees and Volunteers
All priests, deacons, employees, and volunteers who completed a Protecting God’s Children workshop prior to January 1, 2020, are required to update their certification by completing the Protecting God’s Children Online Awareness Session 4.0 with Vulnerable Adults Training 2.0 combined module. The module is self-paced and takes approximately two hours to complete. Individuals may pause, save, and resume their position in the training if they cannot complete it in one sitting.
Ongoing Triennial Recertification
All individuals will be required to complete the Protecting God’s Children
online recertification module within three months of the third anniversary of their previous Protecting God’s Children certification. The Virtus system will automatically send to a participant’s email on file a notification to prompt them to complete recertification. You can access the Virtus site at: www.Virtusonline.org
IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY ACCESSING YOUR ACCOUNT, WE CAN RETRIEVE YOUR ID AND GIVE YOU A NEW PASSWORD. IF YOU ARE TAKING THE ACTUAL COURSE AND ARE LOGGING IN FOR THE FIRST TIME, YOU WILL NEED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THE INITIAL COURSE.
-Background Check Forms:
We recently sent home a hard copy Background Check form for our parents to fill out to be background checked. Per new AOD guidelines, everyone involved with our school that volunteers will also need to be background checked every TWO years. In the past, this was done one time, and you were good to go. This is no longer the case, as we look to ensure the utmost safety for our students and staff here at St. Ed's. If you have other extended family that volunteers or attends field trips at our school, they will also need to fill out the form and be background checked as well. If you have not filled this form out yet, please do so and send back to the office. We would like to get these completed this month before field trips and other on-site opportunities take place for our families to take part in. Thank you for your help with this.
Food Service Menus-Free and Reduced Lunch Applications
Please find our September Breakfast and Lunch Menus attached below. You will also receive a weekly menu that needs to be returned the prior week, as this will give us an idea of how much food needs to be prepared on each day!
If you plan on utilizing the AOD Breakfast and Lunch Service this year, please see the attached information on how to set up or view your account. There is also information on filling out a Free and Reduced Lunch Application, if you feel you might qualify.
2024-2025 School Calendar
Please find the 2024-2025 School Calendar below. A hard copy of the calendar will be sent home today! Our first day of school for the new school year will be on Tuesday, September 3rd and will be a half day!
St Edward on the Lake Facebook Page
Check us out at the link below! We try to post happenings at the school,. along with some cool pics of the activities going on at St. Ed's during the week!
St. Edward on the Lake School
Email: stedwardschoolprincipal@outlook.com
Website: https://stedwardonthelakeschool.org
Location: 6995 Lakeshore Road, Lakeport, MI, USA
Phone: 1-810-385-4461
We are the Lakers, Keepers of God's Creation!