2/5/21 - Friday Forget-Me-Nots by Jim Silcott

Photo Caption: Catholic Schools Week Pajama Day in Kindergarten!

Dear Our Lady of Peace Family:

Within the week we will be sending home to all parents of students in grades K-7 re-enrollment information. We deeply appreciate you letting us know whether or not you intend to return for the 2021-2022 school year by March 9. This is very important for planning and staff purposes. There is a $100 non-refundable check that should accompany your return form. $75 of that goes towards tuition and $25 pays for Home and School dues for the year.

Tuition is being raised 3% to keep pace with negotiated salary increases for our wonderful teachers who have done such a fantastic job this year.

Please do not let finances dictate your decision not to send your child. If you desire to keep your children here but are finding it too expensive consider these tree options:

-Apply for Diocesan tuition assistance due on March 15 (apply through FACTS Tuition).

-Consider applying for EdChoice Expansion scholarship which pays 100% of your tuition if you qualify.

-Make an appointment to speak to Father Dooley.

If you want to be here, we want you to be here!

We are anticipating somewhat of a return to normal next year. Although I have no inside information on this it is hoped that we can put our middle school grades back together in one room again and have them change classes instead of the teachers. We also hope that we will be using lockers again and that the music and art rooms will go back to that purpose. We also hope that students will be able to visit our wonderful library again!

Thank you so much for your support through this most difficult of years. I know that it has been frustrating at times, especially the quarantines that many of our students have had to do. The wearing of masks, the colder classrooms, the lack of birthday treats and assemblies, not being together for morning prayer or Mass. Let us pray that next year these will return!

As I make plans for the next school year, I will communicate them to you through this newsletter. I can tell you right now that we do plan, if we can put the middle school back together to put classrooms back under the old scheme. We also plan to have one Kindergarten class next year with an aide and they will be back in the basement room, close to the bathrooms! 

If you have concerns about our school that weigh upon your decision as to whether to return or not, please feel free to contact me so that I can hear your concerns and offer my perspective. We are not a perfect school but we feel good about what we accomplish with your children both in non-pandemic and pandemic times.

Finally, thank you for your understanding about not having school Friday, particularly with the snow day on Tuesday. I looked hard at trying to have students here in the morning but the logistics did not favor us. The second vaccination dose for our teachers will be three weeks from now. At this point, no decision has been made about taking off that Friday, which would be February 26. I will see how quickly our teachers get through this Friday and what appointments they can make for their second dose. I am always in favor of staying open when we can!

During this Catholic Schools Week I applaud you for your support of our school, our teachers and most important your unconditional love of your children and grandchildren. We could not educate them to the degree that we do without your support at home. Please know that it is noticed and appreciated by our faculty and staff and certainly your principal!

Jim Silcott