OLQA Family,

Thanks for a great week despite the flu going around! Kids did great and were working hard on NWEA MAP testing. It was also the last day of Quarter 2. Amazing how quickly the year is going by! Report cards will be distributed the week of 2/3 and honor roll ceremony is 2/7.

We are also looking forward to Catholic Schools Week next week! We will start will the 1:00 Mass at St. Cecilia's on Sunday, then the HS acceptance ceremony on Monday, Angel Expo on Tuesday, 9:00 School Mass at St. Anne's Wednesday and the potluck on Friday. It should be a ton of fun and a great way to celebrate all the great things happening at OLQA!

Have a great weekend and looking forward to Catholic Schools Week!

Mr. Sayer

Principal

Our Lady Queen of Angels School

Excited to announce our Catholic Schools Week calendar of events! Catholic Schools Week starts on Monday 1/27. In particular, we'd like to invite parents to:

• Monday 1/27 = HS Acceptance Ceremony at 8:00 AM
• Tuesday 1/28 = OLQA Expo from 2:30 - 4:00
• Wednesday 1/29 = 9:00 AM Mass at St. Ann's Church (110th St btw 1st & 2nd Ave)
• Friday 1/31 = International Potluck at 5:00 in the gym

Full schedule of events follows below:

Rep your school by attending 1 PM Mass at St. Cecilia's (106th St. Btw Lex and Park). Please come in dressed in your OLQA uniform (no gym uniform, and join us in song and prayer.

Join us for morning prayer as we celebrate the high school acceptances of our 8th-grade students!

Represent your country with an accessory. Scholastic Book Fair all week!

Dress as the career you choose! Join us for our annual Angel Expo from 2:30 - 4pm. Parents, join us in the classrooms to see the incredible work your child has been doing this semester! Scholastic Book Fair all week!

We will be having mass in St. Ann's parish on 312 east 110th street. There will be a permission slip going out on Monday for all the students. Only regular uniform, NO GYM uniform. Get to hang out with your buddy class and wear your crazy socks. Scholastic Book Fair all week!

Wear your blue and gold colors to represent OLQA. Order your OLQA swag before thursday! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWWn7eF39HqVaMJq4F8fVzbJuk6gQ5a9rk_IwFMFfEtfJZlA/viewform . Staff vs. Students in basketball!

wear your PJ's to school! Join us for the international potluck, bring your favorite dish from your home country from 4-6:30.

7th Grade is starting TACHS prep now to help prepare for the exam next year. The classes are from 4:15 to 5:15 and cost $50 total for 5 months of tutoring. Make sure to register using the link below.

Please remember to bring in your Medical Forms. The flue shot is PAST DUE for students in prek3 and 4! Students will be restricted from school if they do not bring proof of flu shot IMMEDIATELY. New York State requires all immunizations to be up to date and your child can be excluded from school if they are not completed.

Please ensure to bring the documentation to the main office this week if you need to bring proof of immunization.

Friendly reminder about the importance of attendance, as we noticed a drop in December and this first week of break. Attendance is crucial and students must be in class to learn. To help build this lifelong habit, attendance is tied to student conduct grades.

• Students will earn no higher than a B in conduct if they have 5 or more unexcused absences OR latenesses

Please make sure that your child is at school every day and that, in the event they are absent, you send a note explaining why upon their return.

Basketball continues weekly with games and practices. If interested, come and join the teams (JV Boys, Varsity Boys, Girls) as they are a ton of fun and build character. Games will continue this week and can be found on the SE Tourney App and the link below.

Additionally the game schedule will be beginning. Below is the link to access the team schedules:

As a head's up, we will be having a general school fundraiser starting in mid January. We will be selling World's Finest Chocolate bars, with prizes going to the families that sell the most chocolate.

Congrats on your child's hard work with the high school admissions process! It is a stressful process, but we are extremely proud of the 8th graders achievements getting into high school. We want to help and guide you through the enrollment process. Many schools are looking for decisions and enrollment deposits as early as February 8th.

To assist in this process, make sure to complete the high school acceptance survey below and send acceptances to Mr. Sayer (james.sayer@olqaeastharlem.org).

We will have a mandatory HS registration workshop on Wednesday 1/29 from 5:30 to 6:30. This will discuss the next steps in the Catholic HS admissions process. Make sure to attend to discuss your child's future.

All 8th grade families should apply to Inner City Scholarship Funds high school aid program. It does not cover all tuition, but is a major help in making HS affordable. We will be sending home INDIVIDUALIZED scholarship applications with an INDIVIDUALIZED code for each student to apply.

Be aware, this is DIFFERENT than the individual HS financial aid application. You will need to complete Inner City Scholarship Fund financial aid application AND the school financial aid application to maximize your financial aid to HS.

Reminder that the winter uniform has started. This means that students:

• Must wear a white dress shirt / blouse. They cannot wear the polo shirt.
• Boys will need to start wearing the tie with their white dress shirts.
• Students must wear the sweat pants with the gym uniform, no shorts.
• Students cannot wear winter boots, they must change into proper shoes at school

Make sure boys wear a tie with their regular uniform. Not doing this will lead to a uniform slip.

We had our first week of some new expectations to raise the bar for our middle schoolers. They are:

• Extracurricular Eligibility - For students to remain eligible for extracurricular activities (Basketball, Latin, Dance), they must maintain a B in conduct. Therefore if students receive 3 pink slips, in a quarter, an automatic C in conduct, they will lose eligibility to participate in extracurriculars.
• Class Point Update - As we raise expectations for our middle schoolers in class, the bar to earn recess each day will be moved up to 22 class points a day. This will help push each class as a community to be more focused, and therefore learn more, in their classes.

PK Parents, please be aware that we will be making an adjustment to our PK tardy procedure. TAs have been missing almost all of breakfast, a key time where they are needed to assist with safety, clean up, and bathrooms. Moving forward, students need to be on time to attend breakfast. If students are late, we will hold them by the main office and bring them up with the TA at 8:25. This will help ensure that TAs are able to be fully present at breakfast to start the day.

Metro cards were given to students. If you have not received a metro card please reach out to Ms. Jenniffer. jengarcia@olqaeastharlem.org. There will only be one replacement if the child loses it.

Verification letters for students will be done on Wednesdays ONLY. Please note that creating verification letters takes time. Kindly allow sufficient processing time for your requests. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

We are no longer accepting cash deposits. Please bring in a check or a money order. If you bring cash you will be turned away. Thank you families for understanding.

We suggest you pay online using FACTS. FACTS can also take payments in debit or credit card for your convenience.