Holy Family School Newsletter
February 2024
A Note From Ms. Otte
Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):
Thank you to everyone for celebrating Catholic Schools Week with us! We hope you enjoyed your time on Parents Day. We always look forward to that day, and children are most excited to have the opportunity to spend time with their parents and show off the things they have been working on at school.
I am grateful daily for the teachers, staff, board members, parents, and volunteers who make our school so successful. Catholic Schools Week is an excellent time to thank everyone for their dedication and service. The staff at Holy Family School are grateful for the support the parents and community provide to our school. The community and business efforts help make it possible for us to offer an essential educational alternative to the families of our community. Parents and community members are a role model and an inspiration for genuine community service. Thank you for celebrating Catholic Schools Week with us!
The school year is quickly passing us by!! We are already into February, and planning for Springfest is well underway! We want and need you for Springfest. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and your help and support are critical. You can make that happen this year in many ways, such as volunteering, making an item for the bake sale, selling raffle tickets, and/or donating an auction item or basket. We are excited to offer an in-person and virtual event through the website http://bidpal.net/hfsspringfest2024 . Watch the event website, bulletins, and newsletters for date and time reminders or updates. Please check our website frequently, as auction items will be added and updated weekly. More information on how to participate can also be found on our website.
Finally, Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, February 20th, and Thursday, February 22 from 3:00-6:15 pm. More information for signup will be coming out late next week. These conferences will be student-led. This means your child is preparing to lead the conversation to show what they have learned. They review strengths, accomplishments, and goals for improvement. This is an excellent opportunity for students to take ownership of their learning. When students know they will be sharing this with their parents, they care more deeply about the quality of their work. It is very important for every parent to attend with their child. As parents, you will take pride in seeing your child tell you about what they are learning.
Thank you for your help and support.
God Bless,
Ms. Otte
Sunday, March 3 - 10:30-3:30
Our annual Springfest is rapidly approaching and will take place from 10:30 - 3:30 on Sunday, March 3rd. We are starting to add baskets and other donations to our event website - please visit the site for details on our event by clicking on the link below. We need your help in many ways:
- Families are required to volunteer in at least one area for Springfest. Please know that there are several options where we need help on days that do NOT fall on Springfest day. If you haven't already done so, please click the link below and sign up for a time slot.
- We ask that all families sell the six raffle tickets that were sent home with their oldest child. If you would like more raffle tickets, please call the school office or stop in and request some. We need all sold AND unsold tickets back to us by Friday, March 1st.
- We are accepting live and silent auction items now through Friday, February 16th. All items will be available for viewing through out event website.
- All families are encouraged to donate for both the lunch area and the bake sale. Items will need to be delivered to HFS on Friday, (March 1st), or Saturday morning (March, 2nd). Suggested donations include:
- Families with last names beginning with A - L: Bake sale goods
- Families with last names beginning with M - Z: Cookies and bars for the lunch area
Please watch for more detailed information coming home with your children in the coming weeks.
A Message from Nurse Raymie
Dear HFS Families,
We have been seeing an increase in seasonal illnesses over the past couple of weeks. These include Influenza A, Influenza B, strep throat, sinus infection, pink eye, stomach bugs, and common cold symptoms. Your child must stay home if they have fevers, nausea, a cough that is not controlled, body aches, headaches, fatigue, or if they are complaining of feeling sick.
What we are seeing is that not everyone has a fever with their illness, so fever alone is not the only reason to keep your child home. When deciding if your child is well enough to attend school, please look at the whole child. We want to keep all students healthy, especially during the Christmas Season.
Your child must be fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medications such as Tylenol or ibuprofen before returning to school.
Your child needs to stay home 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting before they can return to school.
Your child must be well enough to participate in classroom activities before returning to school.
If your child is out of school for a lingering illness, it might be helpful to check in with a physician
Some helpful reminders for our students -
Wash hands frequently. Remember to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap before rinsing them. Use a clean towel to dry.
When having nasal drainage, please blow your nose in a tissue, dispose of it in the garbage and wash your hands.
Please do not touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth. If you do, please wash your hands.
When you are coughing or sneezing, please do so into your elbow, a tissue or in a way that prevents you from spraying germs into the air.
If unable to wash your hands right away, use a hand sanitizer to get your through until you can properly wash your hands.
If your child comes to school and is found to have a fever or has had a fever reducer to prevent a fever, has recently vomited, or is unable to participate in school, you will be called and asked to come and pick your child up.
Thank you!
Recommendations from the MN Department of Health
Should students with influenza-like illness (ILI) be excluded from school?
- Yes, students and staff with ILI should stay home from school and school activities.
- ILI is defined as a fever (at least 100°F) and a cough or sore throat.
- Students and staff who become ill during the day should be immediately isolated from others and sent home.
- Students and staff can return to school 24 hours after both vomiting and their fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medication, (e.g., Tylenol or Advil). They should also be well enough to participate in school before returning.
Please note some important dates for three of our upcoming 2024 events:
Kindergarten Round-Up - Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - 8:45 - 2:30
HFS Endowment Golf Tournament - Friday, June 7
August Dinner will be moving to September - Saturday, September 7
MARCH CALENDAR CHANGES
Based on survey results, parents were overwhelmingly supportive of transporting students to AND from school on Thursday, March 21, 2024. We realize there have been a couple of changes to the school calendar for that week so here is what school will look like that week:
- Monday, March 18
- HFS & public school in session
- Tuesday, March 19
- HFS & public school in session
- Wednesday, March 20
- Public school in session
- HFS in session for Grades 1 - 6
- NO SCHOOL for current Kindergartners - Kindergarten Round-up
- Thursday, March 21
- HFS In Session
- Parents must transport to AND from school
- No School for public school students
- Friday, March 22
- NO SCHOOL (Teacher Work Day/Inservice) at HFS or the public school
Please visit the school website (or click the link below) to find an updated school calendar.
FEBRUARY 7
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.
FEBRUARY 13
VALENTINE'S DAY PARTIES
Because Valentine's Day falls on Ash Wednesday, classroom parties will be held a day early this year.
100TH DAY OF SCHOOL
SPRINGFEST CANDY-MAKING
FEBRUARY 14
ASH WEDNESDAY
All students and staff will attend mass in the morning.
FEBRUARY 19
NO SCHOOL
School and offices will be closed all day
FEBRUARY 20 & 22
STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES
Conferences will be from 3:00-6:15 each day. Sign-up information will be sent out next week.
FEBRUARY 23
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.
January "Responsibility" Assembly
Below are the January Little World Changer Recipients for being responsible in the month of January.
Back from left: Tyson Kleinschmidt (4), Hank Wiener (5), Brynn Borgmann (5), Rhyan Anderson (6) & Kacie Nelson (6)
Middle from left: Ms. Otte, Drew Vogt (2), Maya Middendorf (2) Sylas Deters (3), Kendall Sunderman (3) & John Miller (4)
Front from left: Oliver Moritz (K), Brynn Bromenshenkel (K), Cole Pohlmann (1) & Rehn Ruegemer (1)
February Character Trait - Honesty
This month we are focusing on Honesty, the ability to tell the truth, even when we are not proud of what we have done. With younger children, it is essential to remember that they are still learning to differentiate between what is accurate and true and what is not. Their understanding of reality and fantasy is still being developed. We need to keep this in mind as we help them learn to tell the truth and not use guilt too heavily to try to make them honest. They need to understand that we are counting on them to tell us the truth and that it is another way to do the right thing, even when it is sometimes hard. They can also understand that the consequences of not telling the truth are much worse than admitting a mistake. When you read to your children, look for books that stress telling the truth, like the well-known Pinocchio. As children hear what he went through for telling a lie, they can relate to this in their own lives and realize how much worse it makes everything.
Those who influence children every day must also remember the power of modeling. As we tell “little white lies” on the phone, at the store, to the highway patrolman, etc., they are listening and learning another lesson different from the one we want to teach them about honesty. It is confusing to children to hear one thing but watch us do something else, and honesty is one area where many of us adults fall short, thinking it won’t matter. Children can’t differentiate between our understanding of “big” and “little” lies, so we must always be consistent and tell the truth if we want them to do so to.
Remind your children daily that you are there for them whether they are doing the right thing or messing up, and that together, you will get through the mistakes if they always tell you the truth and let you help. Honesty from parents and children forms the basis of a trusting, caring relationship that will get you and your child(ren) through many of the challenges that may lie ahead.
Monthly Assembly Skit Crew
These students perform a skit at our monthly assemblies introducing the character trait for the next month.
The students who performed the skit this week include: Lauren Sunderman, Kali Yarke, Elizabeth Friedrichs, Anna Dindmann, Laney Wilber & Claire Pohlmann
Keep Christ in Christmas
To help promote the true spirit of Christmas in homes, schools, parishes and communities. the Knights of Columbus hold a poster contest for 4th and 5th grade students about what it means to "Keep Christ in Christmas". Holy Family School was lucky to have three winners in each of those grades. Local Knight of Columbus, Dan Krousey presented the awards to the students. Thank you to the local Knights of Columbus for sponsoring this event for our students!
5th Grade: Levi Middendorf (1st), Clare Minette (2nd) & Laura Hennen (3rd)
4th Grade: John Miller (1st), Sawyer Nathe (2nd) & Audrey Johnson (3rd)
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.