On Wednesday, Fr. Brendan McGuire, Vicar General for Special Projects; Mrs. Jennifer Beltramo, Catholic Schools Superintendent; and Ms. Anne Shea Davison, from the Shea Family Foundation came to visit St. Clare School. The Shea Family generously donated the cost to replace the School's original 90+ year-old windows with with dual-paned custom-crafted wood windows.
More importantly, the J.F. Shea, Inc. and Shea Homes are committed to supporting Catholic schools throughout the western United States. Recently, they have donated towards technology infrastructure upgrades and facilities upgrades in a number of our Drexel schools. We are so grateful that they chose to support St. Clare School.
We presented Ms. Davison with thank you cards from classes, showed her a video created by Student Council with testimonials on how much the new windows have helped, and a poster-sized photo of the students in front of the school to show off our new windows. The Student Council also shared their thoughts on why Shea's support of St. Clare School is so important: that their Catholic education is what has made them the upstanding citizens that they are.
Partnerships with private corporations like J.F. Shea, Inc. and Shea Homes, along with your sacrifice, support and commitment is what sustains our mission. Most of all, we are so very proud of our students who continue to step up to the plate when asked to serve: to create the video, the banner and to represent their school well. We are indeed blessed and grateful.
SUFFERING LOSS AND THE NEED FOR PRIVACY
Some of you may have heard that I lost my mother to cancer when I was ten years old. It's an experience that changes a young person. I remember my father taking me to a park, one we frequented as a family, after my mom's burial pouring his heart out to me, the youngest of their six children. That experience matured me. My mom's passing was followed with a big move from Manila to Angeles City: a new town, a new school, new friends and teachers...a lot for anyone to take on. Fortunately, we had the love and support of our very large family and the kind and generous love of our Catholic school communities.
We pray for those families who have recently suffered a loss and we ask that you give these families the privacy they need to grieve.
Because we have provided an environment for students to feel safe to ask for prayers for loved ones in the context of our religion program (spontaneous prayer, prayer of petition), your student may come home asking about what was shared in class. When this situation surfaces in the classroom, our teachers know to keep me informed; and with the permission of the family, we share the news of the loss to the class. We do not disclose information we deem to be private. We arrange for support from our Bill Wilson counselors for the student and the family.
We ask that you contact me or Sr. Ann Marie directly if you have any questions about how to address questions your child might have about grief, the loss of a loved one. More importantly, if you experience loss, please know that we are here to support you. This is what makes us a Catholic community.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED NEWS FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE
A number of very important deadlines and due dates are coming up.
- OPEN HOUSE: January 27 from 9:30 A.M. to 1 P.M.
- SCHOOL TOURS: January 29 from 9 A.M. to 11:30 P.M.
- INTENT TO RETURN NOTICE for 2019-2020: February 1
- TUITION ASSISTANCE APPLICATIONS for 2019-2020: February 5
- SCREENING OF PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS TK-K, 1-8: February 9 from 9 A.M. to Noon
AMBASSADOR INCENTIVES
You are the best ambassadors for St. Clare School. Increasing our enrollment allows us to maintain student-centered programs as well make tuition accessible for those who desire a Catholic education at St. Clare. With that in mind, we would like to offer some incentives for families who refer new families. Here are a couple:
- Bring a new family to Open House to complete an Interest Form (the family indicates your family as the referring family) and your child(ren) will receive a Free Dress Pass.
- If a family completes an Application for Enrollment and indicates your family as the referring family, your child(ren) will receive a Free Dress Pass and your family will receive 2 hours of credit towards service hours.
Further incentives may become available for your family if the family you referred is admitted and enrolls for 2019-2020. Stay tuned!
Stay tuned for a post regarding registration information for School Year 2019-2020!
TUITION ASSISTANCE
The FACTS Tuition Assistance Portal is now open for those who desire financial assistance with tuition. Please be sure to complete an application for School Year 2019-2020. Enter as much information as you know and update it with information as it becomes available until the deadline of February 5, 2019. This early deadline date allows the diocese to seek out grants for reported need by our families. The more need we surface, the better the chances of increasing our funding. TK families and new families may also apply for Basic Fund grants for 2019-2020. Please contact the School Office for more information on the latter (the application is a separate form from the FACTS portal).
INTENT TO RETURN
Your prompt response regarding your intent to return is a valuable component of our budgeting process. Because we rely on tuition income to operate our school, an accurate projection of our enrollment for 2019-2020 allows us to make important decisions regarding our programs (textbook adoptions, staffing, programming expenses). In the next week or so, look out for a post asking you to return information regarding your intent to re-enroll. We ask for your cooperation in completing and returning the form promptly. Thank you!
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
Stay tuned for information regarding activities during Catholic Schools Week. It's an opportunity for us to celebrate who we are as a community.
Please join the school, led by the 7th Grade Class for a Prayer Service this Friday at 9 A.M. We hope to see many of you there!
May we recognize the grace poured out on us to be worthy to become heirs in hope of eternal life!
God be with you,
Mrs. Cecile Mantecón, Principal
