Joyfully Embracing Our Mission

St. Clare School Family News | 17 January 2022

Journeying in Hope and Love: Building a Culture of Accompaniment

The Road to Emmaus

As they approached the village to which they were going,

he gave the impression that he was going on farther.

But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”

So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,

he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,

but he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us]

while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”

Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way

and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

~ Luke 24:28-32, 35

Dear St. Clare School Families,

Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s actual date of birth is January 15, we remember him today as one of the courageous few who rose up against injustices caused by institutional racism and who continue to inspire transformational work in our communities and in our world. Dr. King, we are grateful for your sacrifice and pray that we live what you dreamed.

To learn more about what our Church teaches about Racism, read Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - A Pastoral Letter Against Racism (USCCB, 2018).

CHANGES TO COVID-19 ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE GUIDELINES

Last week, we published the changes effective January 18. See the original POST for details. If your child has been in quarantine due to being a close-contact to a positive COVID-19 case, he or she may be eligible for a shortened quarantine, a modified quarantine or no quarantine.

Please read through the details and reach out to Mrs. Rizzo if you have any questions. If you have completed the protocol the new guidelines require, she may have already reached out to you to let you know your child is cleared to return.

Please pay close attention to the definitions for the various stages of vaccination and the variety of ways to define quarantine. These are contained in the Slide Deck attached to the original post.

I am grateful to you for reading through the protocols to get a better understanding. As you can imagine, keeping track of these options and definitions can be a challenge. Sometimes, talking through it with one another helps. Sometimes, focusing on only what applies to your situation also helps. We will do our best to clarify them for you. Attend the Q&A Session on Wednesday, January 19 at 6:30-7 P.M.

Complete the Q&A Session Form to register your questions ahead of time.

Thank you for presuming that all intentions surrounding these guidelines are positive, because they are, for the good of our community.

SOME GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE: ST. CLARE SCHOOL RECEIVES GRANT FROM SILICON VALLEY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

We are thrilled to announce that St. Clare School became the recipient of a grant from an advised fund from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Thanks to a recommendation from Rob Bettencourt, the CleanAir4StClare Campaign gets a much needed boost of $250,000, getting us a third of the way to our goal of $1.5M, counting donations that we have already received and funds from last year’s Jog-a-Thon and this year’s Golf Tournament.

Thanks to this SVCF grant, we are able to commit to upgrades beginning with the middle school building. Your continued support will allow us to schedule upgrades to both buildings as soon as summer break begins. Only about 20 of our families have made a donation. We are counting on 100% participation as this benefits all of our students.

BR. TOM REDMOND, SM, CLASS of ‘66 HONORED AS FIRST DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS

In this week’s Parish Bulletin, we honored Br. Tom Redmond, ‘66. Please see the article below:

https://www.stclareparish.org/bulletins/january-16th-second-sunday-in-ordinary-time/

Brother Tom has remained engaged in his relationship with our school. We are so grateful that our alumni continue to support our school!

PLANNING FORWARD: IMPORTANT INFORMATION COMING YOUR WAY

In the next few weeks, you can expect information regarding registering for the school year 2022-2023, including the Tuition and Fees, Tuition Agreement and Tuition Assistance information. At the next “A Cup with the Principal” on Thursday, January 27, starting at 6:30 P.M., we will share highlights of each, including requirements to qualify for Tuition Assistance and the Catholic discount.

On Friday, January 28, you will receive an electronic copy of the Rates and Fees Sheets along with the Tuition Agreement. Paper copies will be sent home with your youngest child (or only child). Please be on the lookout for these and please attend the Information Session on January 27.

RECRUITING FUTURE WILDCATS

You are the best ambassador for St. Clare School. We would appreciate you sharing your positive experience as a community member with prospective families. Encourage them to check out our website and schedule a tour after school hours with Mrs. Rizzo. https://www.stclare.school/schedule-a-tour.

SUMMER PROGRAM | Summer@CKZ

COMING SOON: Stay tuned for information regarding our Summer Program.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK | January 30-February 4

On Sunday, January 30, we will celebrate the start of Catholic Schools Week at the 10:30 A.M. Family Mass. Traditionally, we offer a Pancake Breakfast after masses on this day, followed by an Open House and School Tours. Because of the COVID case surges, we will postpone the Pancake Breakfast until we are able to gather safely. The Open House and Tours will also be scheduled at a later date yet to be determined.

Students who attend mass will receive a Free Dress Pass from the Student Council. More information on this later.

In addition, the Student Council, under the direction of Mrs. Martinez, are planning meaningful activities and outreach for the week to celebrate how much we value the opportunity to attend Catholic schools. With your support, our students benefit from the Catholic school advantage, not just by being known and seen, but by being formed and valued by caring and compassionate educators.

Continuing the work began by servant leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we stand by our Schoolwide Learning Expectation that :

A ST. CLARE SCHOOL GRADUATE…

is FORMED IN FAITH, reasons with intellect and seeks personal growth,
LIVES A LIFE IN COMMUNION with compassion and empathy through inclusion and intentional encounters, and
ACTS WITH JUSTICE to become responsible STEWARDS of the resources entrusted to us by God.

At our Faculty In-Service, we focused on our role as educators to maintain a climate in our classrooms where relationships are formed and when fractured or in jeopardy, are restored.

We thank you for your continued partnership through the understanding that we are in this together, accompanying one another to provide a safe learning environment where your children are safe, loved and valued.

Peace and all good things,

Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time | 16th January 2022

Thanks to Izabela Godzina for her design of our campaign logo. We thank those families who have made direct donations towards our $1.5M goal. We need everyone's help to realize this necessity for our students and teachers.

Donations are tax deductible and eligible for matching. Please send a check in any amount to the School ℅ CleanAir4StClare or visit https://www.stclare.school/cleanair4stclare to make a donation.

2021-22 School Calendar

Below, you will find the Calendar Grid for the school year. Some find this difficult to navigate, so I’ve created the Calendar Highlights document which I hope will make it a bit easier for you to consume.

Some changes since the end of the school year: we added September 20th as a NO SCHOOL DAY and our School Year will end a day earlier. The original calendar had us attending 183 days of school, knowing that we had three days over the required 180 days. We are keeping the 181 days in the event we have to close for an emergency due to poor air quality.

Other options to view the calendar include a Google calendar synched to ParentSquare, or subscribing to the St. Clare School Public Calendar below:

Google Public Calendar

You are invited to subscribe to the St. Clare School *PUBLIC* Google Calendar which is also synched to ParentSquare.

PUBLIC URL TO ACCESS FROM A WEB BROWSER

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=drexelschools.org_u0vj6uj1r91qlk8hu9uk1t7qro%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FLos_Angeles

PUBLIC ADDRESS IN iCAL TO ACCESS FROM OTHER APPS

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/drexelschools.org_u0vj6uj1r91qlk8hu9uk1t7qro%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics