Weekly Newsletter

Thursday, December 19th:

• Red & Green Free Dress Day!

Friday, December 20th:

• Holiday Attire/PJ's Free Dress Day!
• Noon Dismissal for All Students
• No After School K-8 Extended Care
• No Full Day or PM Pandas Preschool Program

Monday, December 23rd-Friday, January 2nd:

• No School: Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Winter MAP Testing begins Tuesday 1/14/25 and goes through the end of the month. Makeups will take place throughout the testing period. Students in 1st-8th grades will take the math test and students in 1st-5th grade will also take the reading test. Data from MAP tests is important for monitoring student progress, assessing growth, and providing instruction that continues to meet individual student needs. You will not receive a report with your child's winter MAP test scores, but will see these scores included on the report sent in Spring 2025 after spring testing.

Please help make sure your child gets a good night's rest the night before each test and a filling breakfast that morning. See testing dates below. Please let your child's homeroom teacher know if your child will be absent, late, or leaving early on any of these days. Email Ms. Elsner (celsner@stcatherineschool.net) if you have any questions.

2nd-8th Grade Math - Tue 1/14-Wed 1/15

1st Grade Math - Tue 1/21-Wed 1/22

1st Grade Reading - Tue 1/28 and Fri 1/31

2nd-5th Grade Reading - varies by class, week of 1/20

The tuition assistance process for the 2025-2026 school year opened on October 1st. If you think that your family may be in need of financial aid for next school year, please complete an application. Tuition assistance is available for Kindergarten-8th Grade students only.

The entire process is completed online through FACTS. All applications are first reviewed by the Fulcrum Foundation, a fundraising arm of the Archdiocese. Once Fulcrum determines their assistance awards, then the St. Catherine Tuition Assistance Committee will review the applications and distribute financial aid for the 2025-2026 school year. Some families may qualify for assistance from both the Fulcrum Foundation and the St. Catherine program, but only one application is submitted.

The application deadline is December 31st, 2024. This is a firm deadline - all completed applications AND required tax documentation must be submitted by this date for consideration. You can access the application here. And FACTS charges a $35 application fee.

If you have any questions about the process or application, feel free to email Kathy Cox or you can access the FAQ page on the Fulcrum Foundation website here.

Using the button below, place your order and join the holiday hoopla! Youth S-L & Adult XS-XL are available in limited quantities.

T-shirts have arrived to the school office and can be picked up the next business day during office hours. The order form does ask for a delivery address but t-shirts will not be delivered to that address.

Note: The youth sizes run small. And with the limited quantities available, no exchanges or refunds. All sales are final!

St. Catherine School families are set up on a rolling admissions schedule. Existing K-7 families who will "opt out" for the 2025-2026 school year must notify the school by filling out the opt-out form by January 10, 2025. Parents can access the opt-out form via their FinalSite Parent Portal, located in the Optional Checklist section. Notice of families not returning for the following school year after the January 10, 2025 date will be charged the non-refundable $250/child registration fee.

Dates: Saturday, January 4, 2025 & Saturday, February 8th, 2025

Time: 5:00 - 8:30 PM

Location: St. Catherine Gym - Victoria Hall

To attend your child must be at fully potty trained and able to use the bathroom by themselves.

Use the buttons below to register for one or both of the Babysitting Nights. If you register for both, please use discount code DCBABY25 at check out to get $5 off each admission.

The Yearbook staff needs your help. Please send any pictures you take throughout the school year to yearbook@stcatherineschool.net to be included in the yearbook. As always, we need your help documenting out of school events like CYO Sports, Harvest Festival, and eventually things like Ski Bus and the Christmas Program. Thank you for your help!

'Tis the season for giving, and our school auction is your chance to make a big impact!

Let's reach for the stars - your generosity will help us fly higher than ever!

Please use this form while you are visiting friends, family, and local businesses to help procure items for our annual St. Catherine Auction. Do you own a business or know a business that would like to sponsor? Share our Sponsorship form. Don't forget to check out the auction website today!

Questions? Reach out to auction@stcatherineschool.net

MINECRAFT MODDING
Grades 3-5
Mon, 3:15 PM-4:15 PM
Jan 13 - Mar 31
no class on Jan 20, Feb 17
$259 / 10-week session

Calling all Minecrafters! Join us in this course to build Minecraft mods (modifications) while learning coding. With a drag-and-drop coding environment, students learn coding concepts, such as Variables, Conditionals, and Loops. They apply the concepts to personalize the game with custom world maps, new items, chat commands, and mini-games! It will be an exciting journey of coding and creativity!

REGISTRATIONS: www.codingwithkids.com/session/71386

LITTLE CODERS: MINECRAFT MODDING
Grades 1-2
Tue, 3:15 PM-4:15 PM
Jan 14 - Apr 1
no class on Feb 18
$285 / 11-week session

Unleash your creativity while customizing your beloved game, Minecraft! In this course, students will learn fundamental coding concepts like Sequence and Loops. They'll apply these skills to create exciting projects, such as building their own zoo, aquarium, dazzling diamond house, and even code a magic wand. Get ready to embark on a journey to code your very own Minecraft mods!

REGISTRATIONS: www.codingwithkids.com/session/71385

QUESTIONS? Email Coding with Kids at info@codingwithkids.com

The Saint Vincent de Paul Conference at St Catherine’s has committed to help 33 neighborhood families during the Christmas season. Our goal is to raise $4,000 to fund this effort.

Approximately half of these families are headed by mothers who are deaf and have suffered abuse. We plan to provide each family with a voucher to purchase food for a meal that they plan, shop for and prepare. The voucher is to a local grocery store in the amount of $30 per person in the family. At Christmas we will provide the families gift cards of $30 for each child under 18 so the moms can shop for a gift the child needs or wants plus another $30 food voucher.

Please help us if you can, by:

1. Writing a check making sure it is clearly marked for the SVDP Holiday Program and placing it in the collection basket or mailing it to the parish office.

2. Or, going to the parish website and clicking the button marked SVDP Holiday Program, following the directions to make a donation online.

You have been very generous supporting us throughout the year and we cannot thank you enough. If you are able, we will really appreciate your help with the Christmas Program. Thank you!

Mission & Philosophy

St. Catherine of Siena Parish School is a welcoming, Christ-centered community, rooted in the Catholic faith and inspired by Gospel values. As an extension of the parish and with Jesus as our model, we are dedicated to lifelong growth in faith, love, and learning.

We recognize that the care and education of the child begins with the family and that parents are the primary educators of their children. In partnership with parents, we work to promote our students’ achievement and spiritual growth. Together we are committed to developing responsible, ethical leaders who think critically, act justly, communicate effectively, and serve willingly.

Vision

We are committed to providing a faith-filled, inclusive, and welcoming learning environment for all our students. Through our rigorous academic programs, our students will gain the cognitive, technological, and social skills necessary to become ethical, innovative leaders who successfully navigate the complex challenges of today’s world.