Holy Family School Newsletter

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

The school year is quickly passing us by. As we enter the month of February, we have many events and important updates to share with you. Please be sure to read the entire newsletter for this information. Newsletters can also be found on our school website.

Student-led conferences are coming up on February 11th and 13th. Please be sure to sign up for a time slot. This is a unique opportunity for you to hear directly from your child about their learning, achievements, and goals. This conference empowers students to take ownership of their progress, reflect on their strengths, and identify areas for growth. The conference is an opportunity for continued communication between home and school and plays a crucial role in ensuring your child’s success. We look forward to seeing you at conferences.

Registration for the upcoming school year will open soon. As mentioned previously, a modest tuition adjustment will be necessary. This decision was made after careful consideration of balancing affordability for families with the financial sustainability of our school. Rest assured, we remain committed to transparency and accountability, ensuring every dollar supports our mission to nurture and inspire our students. If you need resources to assist in planning for the year ahead or have questions about the registration process, please contact Carla in the Business Office.

Information regarding tuition rates, the registration process, and available resources will be sent home for your reference soon. A Financial Snapshot of Holy Family School was created to assist with answering questions regarding the necessary increase. By looking to the future and planning ahead, families will know what to expect for future tuition rates.

The following are the new rates beginning with the 2025-26 school year:

• Full Tuition: $7,064.00
• Minimum Tuition:
• $2,970.00/one child,
• $5,060.00/two children, and
• $7,150.00/three children or more.

If you have any questions about the required increase, please contact Ms. Otte or a school board member. As mentioned, we continue to prioritize exceptional education for our students and ensure fiscal stability and responsibility. We are here to support you every step of the way. Thank you for your continued trust in our school community. Together, we are shaping a bright future for our students.

Our annual fundraising event, Springfest, is just around the corner and we need everyone’s support to make it a success! This event plays a vital role in keeping costs down for all families by helping fund essential programs, activities, and improvements that directly benefit our students.

Your participation - whether through donations, volunteering, or attending - makes a real difference. We are currently accepting donations for our live and silent auctions, which can be dropped off at the office. Every contribution, big or small, helps us reach our goal!

Finally, as we move further into the winter months, we recognize that the colder weather and shorter days can sometimes lead to restlessness among our students. This time of year, we often see an increase in energetic behavior, and we appreciate your partnership in helping to reinforce positive attitudes and respect for school expectations. We kindly ask for your support in reminding your child(ren) about the importance of kindness, self-control, and following school rules both in the classroom and during recess. Encouraging a good night’s sleep, active play at home, and open conversations about their school day can go a long way in helping them stay engaged and focused.

We are grateful for your continued support and collaboration in making our school a safe, respectful, and joyful place for all students. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

May God’s peace and many blessings be with you and your families.

Ms. Otte

Parents/Guardians,

Please know that we are seeing a big uptick in illnesses at Holy Family School, the public school and in the community. We have had multiple staff and students out recently and are asking for your help. We are seeing more strep and Influenza A going around on top of other illnesses.

1. Remember if your child has a fever over 100 they need to stay home and be fever free without the use of fever reducing medication for 24 hours prior to returning.

2. If they vomit or have 2 or more loose stools/diarrhea they need to be vomit free and/or diarrhea free for 24 hours prior to returning.

3. Remember to encourage proper hand washing and using kleenex to blow noses and cover coughs and sneezes.

4. Also, make sure they are increasing fluids, eating healthy and getting good sleep to help prevent illness.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to call the school at 320-352-6535

Thank you for your help with this!

Below are some important upcoming dates regarding Springfest for you to be aware of:

• Thursday, February 13 - All Springfest donations are due to the Main Office.
• Saturday, February 15 - Candy-Making in the school cafeteria from 8:00 am - 12:00 PM
• Saturday, February 21 - You may begin pre-ordering soup and breadbowls
• Saturday, February 21 - Bidding for all silent auction items begins at 3:00 PM via our event website below.
• Sunday, March 2 - 30th Annual Springfest takes place at the school from 10:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Below is the link to our Springfest Event Website

Just a reminder that all families are required to help in one way or another toward our Springfest event. Volunteer and sign-up information can be found below.

All families are required to volunteer for at least one shift somewhere to help with the Springfest fundraiser. For most areas, we need adult volunteers. However, there are some areas, in the kids games area that kids are able to help. Kids MUST be 5th grade or older. The link to sign-up is below.

Springfest candy-making will take place on Saturday, February 15 in the school cafeteria from 8:00-Noon. We are still in need of 12 volunteers to help make the candy. Please click the button below if you are willing and/or able to help. NOTE: This counts toward your Springfest volunteer hour requirements for Springfest.

We are still in need of some food donations for the Springfest meal and for candy-making. Below is a list of the items we stilll need. If you are willing and/or able to donate any of these items, please call the school.

• 20 lbs onions
• (4) Lg cans Pam cooking spray
• (4) Bags butterscotch chips
• 3 bags Heath pieces
• 1 large jug vegetable oil
• (18) Bubbl'r 6-count packs
• 24-pack cases of pop
• Coke, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mt Dew, Diet Mt Dew, Dr. Pepper, Diet Dr. Pepper, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Orange, Root Beer and Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi/Coke

Jelly beans are selling quickly! If you would like to place an order for jelly beans, please click the red button below. You may order jelly beans online and send in payment if preferred. You may also send your order with payment in with your child or stop in to the school to place an order.

WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS

Jelly beans will be bagged on Wednesday, February 19 in the school cafeteria from 1:00 - 3:00 and we are still in need of 6 additional volunteers. If you are willing and/or able to help, please click the button below to sign-up.

Every year Holy Family School requires that each family go through our registration process. This multi-step process is necessary for planning for the upcoming school year. Please watch for messages in the near future on the steps you need to take to get your child(ren) registered at Holy Family School for the 2025-2026 school year.

Water bottles are for water only - not juice, Gatorade, Propel Water, flavored water, etc. Please ensure that students do not come with anything other than water in their water bottles. Containers with anything other than water will be dumped out and replaced with water.

On January 29th, we held our monthly all-school assembly to recognize those students who were chosen for being "Responsible" throughout the month of January. The winners were:

Back Row from Left: Elizabeth J (4), Audrey J (5), Luke W (5), Anna H (6), Hank W (6)

Middle Row from Left: Ms. Otte, Vaida L (2), Evie R (2), Ava D (3), Emily D (3), Brynlee P (4)

Front Row from Left: Etta G (K), Ryker B (K), Olivia S (1), Greyson R (1)

Honesty is the Character trait that we will be focusing on in February. Honesty is the ability to tell the truth, even when we are not proud of what we have done. With younger children it is important to remember that they are still learning to differentiate between what is real 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 as a way to try to make them be 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 from the beginning. 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 their own lives and realize how much worse it makes everything.

Those of us who are influencing 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 really matter. Children can’t differentiate between our understanding of “big” lies and “little” lies so we must be consistent and tell the truth at all times if we want them to do so too.

Remind your children daily that you are there for them whether they are doing the right thing or whether they mess up, and that together you will get through the mistakes if they always tell you the truth and let you help. Honesty, both from parent and children, forms the basis of a trusting, caring relationship that will get you and your children through many of the challenges that may lie ahead.

Thank you for your help and support.

We want to say Thank You to all the parents who have been bringing in treats for the staff at HFS. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

Please watch page 3 of the Sauk Centre Herald for weekly happenings at Holy Family School. Thank you to Felling Trailers, Polipnick Insurance, Daniel B. Borgmann Ltd, Dan Welle Chrysler GM, Truckers Inn and Klaphake Farms for sponsoring this weekly section in the newspaper.

We hope you are able to utilize JMC efficiently. Please note that while they DO have a family app, there will be different information available when logging in on a desktop computer (or desktop version on a mobile device).

Below is a video that we invite you to watch to inform you of everything that is available for you on the JMC Family App - there is also a link to a document that outlines the app. (If you need the HFS JMC pin, please use 0739.

https://youtu.be/9cTB1YXquqI?si=a-iGmr2v_d52SM4v

Discovering jmc Family

After watching the video, login to JMC Family (here is a link to a video that will help you if you have problems):

Logging into the jmc Family portal

Just a reminder, your login username is (in most cases) your last name. If you do not remember your password, click "Forgot Password" and you will be redirected to set up a new password.

Once you log in, we highly recommend that you turn on customized alerts so that you can receive notifications for different messages or grade changes. Below is a link to set up these customized alerts:

Set family alert configurations in jmc Family

Please watch future newsletters for more helpful tips on using JMC and the JMC Family app!