…from the corner office
Published by Sister Carolyn (Principal) October 1st, 2009 in Announcements.
Can you believe it’s October already? Where does the time go? This school year is going extremely well and the new floors and painted classrooms give the building a cheery feeling. Thanks again to our wonderful maintenance staff for all their hard work and to Father Gabriel who facilitated the renovations. It’s like an all new building.
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As many of you may know Mrs. Haeger is out recovering from several broken ribs and pneumonia. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery. During her absence we are lucky to have Megan Doyle, a 1994 St. Joan of Arc Graduate as her replacement. Miss Doyle attended Benet Academy and graduated from the University of Dayton in 2002 where she later returned for graduate school. She holds a BS in mid-level education with endorsements in social studies and reading. Upon her return to the University she acted as graduate assistant to the Dean of the College of Education and earned another reading endorsement. Miss Doyle has three years experience teaching in local schools. She studied in Ireland at Trinity college and volunteers at Sacred Heart Monastery and Morton Arboretum. We are most fortunate to have such a wonderful substitute who is also an alumni.
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In accordance with the state of Illinois and the Illinois State Board of Education regulations on fire safety we have performed our two preliminary fire evacuation drills. Both went flawlessly. They children understand the seriousness immediately and file out silently with their hands at their sides. They wait patiently for the “all clear” and reenter the building perfectly. The remaining drill will be conducted with the local fire officials present most likely during Fire Prevention Week. As soon as the fire drills are out of the way we’ll move to Lockdown drills and Tornado drills.
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Testing is going well. The buildings are quiet and even those not testing are taking special care to provide an atmosphere conducive to testing.
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We’re into our last month of wearing the uniform shorts and knit shirts. Come Nov. 1st full uniforms are requited.
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Please be mindful of parking around the school. The west end of the south (Division St.) lot is used for recess and lunch as a play lot. It’s very hard to play around parked cars. The area on the street just outside the preschool on Division is reserved, in the morning, for preschool drop off. We have a volunteer out there to help preschoolers out of the cars and into the classroom. If your children are capable of exiting your car unaided (as most of them are by Kindergarten) please use the drop off procedure in either the north or the south lot.
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The dismissal car lot procedure is going well. We do not have a provision for parents parking in the lot and walking through the car pool line. We ask that you do not circumvent our safety procedures by doing so. Crossing a moving car pool line is dangerous and something our students are never allowed to do.
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Please be sure your child is in school on time. Our first bell rings at 7:45. This is the bell to get books & jackets put away, lunches where they belong and get settled. At 7:50 the second bell rings and Sister begins the morning prayer and messages. Immediately following the school day begins. At any point after 7:45 it becomes harder and harder for a tardy student to insert himself/herself into the schedule. It is also a disruption for those children in and down and ready to work. Everyone is late once in a while, heavy traffic - an alarm that didn’t go off - and these are understandable, but please don’t make a pattern of coming in late. The flip side of that is dropping children off too early. Our Extended Day begins at 7:00 a.m. It is located in the classroom between the tech center and the main office and costs $1.00 a day. Prior to 7:00 a.m. we do not offer supervision for children and they cannot be in the building unattended.
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Please remember to give us your child’s symptoms when you call to report an absence on the attendance line at 630-969-1452.
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Last, but certainly not least, have a wonderful long Columbus Day weekend.
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and go out there and make a memory.
Sister Carolyn
