Joyfully Embracing Our Mission

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

It’s hard to believe that it is August! In less than three weeks, we will be back in person, greeting your students to begin another year of growth. I hope that you were able to spend some time this summer to renew and recalibrate. I know many of you have traveled and are traveling and reconnecting with family and friends. I, for one, am grateful that we were able to have this opportunity. The mitigation measures we learned and practiced since March 2020 will keep us safe for a long time to come!

Summer@CKZ, consisted of a morning of academics and an afternoon of fun welcomed over 115 campers this year! Campers remained masked while indoors and even outdoors. Safe practices, just as we have done since October 2020, were maintained. Throughout the seven-week program, campers felt the love and care from their teachers and camp leaders and LITs (Leaders in Training). Congratulations to Ms. Valerye and her crew. There was a lot of joy in the building!

To those of you reading your very first Family News and Blog: Joyfully Embracing Our Mission, welcome! The intent of this newsletter is to keep families informed of school happenings. You might find that there’s too much information for you here. I urge you to consume it at your own pace. You can always return to it. The smore format allows you to scan through for information that might be relevant to you.

Your Room Reps, whom you will “meet” shortly will also be a great resource. If all else fails, please feel free to email me, Mrs. Kogura or the school office. We will do our best to fill you in:

• Mrs. Mantecon: cecile.mantecon@dsj.org

• Mrs. Kogura: catherine.kogura@dsj.org

• Office: stclare-office@dsj.org

THEME FOR THE YEAR

Last year, our school theme, SOLIDARITY: We Stand Together in Faith, Hope and Love, guided many of our intentions and decisions. I am so proud of our teachers, students and families for supporting one another in the most difficult of circumstances. Although we are not completely “out of the woods” yet, we have shown that we are a resilient, caring and compassionate community, willing to give one another grace towards the path to unity. For this, I am forever grateful.

I am thrilled about the new addition to our faculty and staff and I recognize the need to build a culture that melds St. Clare’s Silver Box philosophy with the need to accompany one another in our mission to celebrate who we are as a school community and our vision to form moral and ethical decision-makers and servant leaders. With this in mind, and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I present our theme for the 2021-22 school year: JOURNEYING IN HOPE AND LOVE: Building a Culture of Accompaniment. Inspired by the Emmaus story, my hope is that we will help one another encounter Jesus in one another and through the Eucharist, so that we can be the hope and love our students and families need as we accompany one another on this journey of healing and growth.

Here is the link to Luke 24:13-35, The Appearance on the Road to Emmaus. We will explore this theme throughout the year, especially in the context of really getting to know one another.

CHALLENGE: We will begin the year with a design challenge for all students. Illustrate the theme “Journeying in Hope and Love: Building a Culture of Accompaniment”. The winning image will be featured in publications and on social media. Ask your student to begin conceptualizing the theme today.

WELCOMING NEW TEACHERS, STAFF, AND FAMILIES

As of this week, we have 28 new students, including twelve TK students (the Class of 2031), seven new kindergarteners, two new first graders, one new second grader, two new fourth graders, two new fifth graders, one new sixth grader and one new eighth grader!

I’d like to thank Mrs. Rizzo and the Enrollment and Marketing Team for their hard work in getting the word out. (Mrs. Rizzo has been giving tours all summer!) Thank you, as well to Ms. McKinnon, Miss Jiang and Mrs. Kogura for their support in assessing students and supporting families who expressed interest in joining our wonderful community. We anticipate a few more additions, so we ask for your patience as families make decisions in the next month.

Equally important is the talented addition to our faculty and staff. We welcome Miss Mikaela Cunanan who will be the instructional assistant to Mrs. Guevarra, who transitioned as our TK teacher. Miss Cunanan will also assist Miss St. Julien, our new third grade teacher. Mrs. Aibara will join Mrs. Soares in the first grade as instructional assistant. We welcome Miss Cox in second grade and Mrs. Rogers in fourth grade. Mrs. Rhodora Finnan joins us as our fifth grade teacher. Highly recommended by educators at St. Lawrence, Mrs. Finnan is joining our team with Mrs. Kogura’s blessing and mentorship. Mr. Nguyen joins our middle school team as the seventh grade homeroom, middle school religion and writing teacher. Mr. Namek rounds out the middle school team as our science teacher in seventh and eighth grade.

In addition, we recently hired Mr. Joey Medeiros as our music teacher in grades TK-5. (Watch introductory video.) Mr. Medeiros will enrich the music program with cultural connections and he will offer elective courses for our middle schoolers (think ukeleles!). I’m also happy to announce that Mrs. Martinez has agreed to return to St. Clare in the role of religion coordinator. (She will be on campus twice a week.) She will be a great resource to enrich our already awesome prayer life and she will assist religion teachers in creating a robust and meaningful religion curriculum and increase our capacity in religion instruction. I’m grateful to her for saying yes.

Mrs. Kogura and I, along with Mrs. Martinez will support our teachers in their instructional practice. Mrs. Kogura, in particular, will serve as coach and mentor to our new teachers, particularly in meeting students where they are: building literacy skills, bridging learning gaps and deepening learning for those who are ready for a challenge.

Thank you for your patience with this lengthy post. Anticipate weekly post from this point forward.

With gratitude for your partnership and support,

Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal

We have received guidance from the Department of Catholic Schools, using the CDC and CDPH guidelines, on how to reopen in the fall. For the most part, here are some highlights (we are in the process of revising the Reopening Framework currently published on our website, www.stclare.school):

• Face coverings are required for all. At St Clare School, we will keep face coverings on while indoors and outdoors. Allow students “breaks” from them when they are outdoors and at least 6 feet away from each other.

• Physical distancing indoors is no longer a requirement. Seats can be arranged to benefit learning configurations. Kidney tables and “pods” are now permissible.

• To the greatest extent possible, when not wearing face coverings outdoors (eating, speaking), all persons should be at least 6 feet apart.

• It is permissible for teachers and staff to move around the classroom, and move from one classroom to the next.

• Prioritize ventilation (doors and windows open, air purifiers on, floor fans facing away from people).

• As much as practicable, use outdoor spaces for activities that require eating or working closely with others.

• As much as practicable, we will continue to designate outdoor spaces (for playing and gathering during recess and lunch). Ten feet between cohorts is recommended vs. 25-feet.

• As always, we will continue hand and surface hygiene practices.

Standard operating procedures for drop off/pick up, sanitation, screening and keeping students at home when sick or when there is someone in the household with COVID-19 symptoms will continue to be practiced. (These will be delineated in the revised reopening framework.)

Those of you who navigated the reopening in October 2020, are familiar with our Silver Box Pledge. To our new families, the Silver Box Pledge is a commitment our families made to keep each other safe. In short, our practices at school continue outside of school (keeping masked and physically distanced, especially in public spaces).

If someone in your household is sick, students remain at home. If a student has symptoms of a communicable disease, particularly a fever of 100.4F or higher, he or she stays at home.

These practices have kept our campus safe since October 2020. We plan on keeping it this way, with your commitment and help.

I am also grateful to those in our community who have been vaccinated. Because of you, we are safer. Vaccines are still our best defense against this virus, and we strongly encourage anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to do so immediately.

The following information, shared by Santa Clara County Office of Education (EOC) presents the following information:

Numerous scientific studies have clearly shown that we have multiple tools in our toolbox to help keep children and educators safe.

• We now know that the risk of transmission of COVID-19 among children wearing masks is very low. (At St. Clare, this has prevented any outbreaks.)

• This risk is even lower now that the Bay Area has some of the highest local vaccination rates in the world. Roughly 83% of people 12 and older in our county have gotten at least one dose, and more than 77% are fully vaccinated.

This fall, all students in Santa Clara County should be back in school with their teachers and their friends. Data shows that the benefits of in-person schooling clearly outweigh the risks. Throughout the pandemic, our county has made decisions and recommendations by reviewing the latest available science and adapting it to the needs of our local community. The latest science demonstrates that in-person instruction is not only safe; it’s the right thing to do.

Thankfully, not only do we have more tools than before to reduce transmission, it is clearer than ever that schools are more than just buildings. Schools provide critical interpersonal interactions that shape kids and teens during important developmental years.

You can read the whole Op Ed piece written by Dr. Sarah L. Rudman, Santa Clara County Assistant Health Officer and Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, Santa Clara County Superintendent here: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/07/29/8234852-children-teachers-schools-classrooms-fall.

Drop off and pick up instructions will follow, but I wanted to send this along for your scheduling purposes. CKZ will be available: a survey will be sent separately to find out the needs of our families so that we can staff as appropriate.

August 18 First Day of School | Homeroom Day - 12:30 dismissal

August 19 Second Day of School | Homeroom Day - 12:30 dismissal

August 20 Third Day of School | Homeroom Day - 12:30 dismissal

August 23 First Day of Full Schedule | Co-Curriculars Begin: PE, Art, Music

BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING

As mentioned above, details for you to prepare for the first week of school will be sent as the date gets closer. School supplies will be made available in the classroom, as part of your tuition, but I recommend that you keep a set of crayons, markers, construction paper, binder paper, notebooks and binders at home, as well as glue and scissors at home. Of course, you and your students can decide on backpacks, supply organizers, lunch pails, etc. Upper elementary and middle school teachers may have other specific requests. They will communicate this with you separately.

August 5

• Gently Used Uniform Shopping Day, School Parking Lot, 3-5 P.M. All items are free!
• Fingerprinting for Volunteers. The Verify Group will be onsite from 5-6:30 P.M. for finger-printing. Click here to schedule your appointment.
• New Family Orientation, New Teacher Meet & Greet, 5-6:30 P.M. All families are invited. TK & Kindergarten students will gather with their teachers in the classroom for a fun activity and treat while the adults will walk over to the rectory garden to meet new families and teachers.

August 11 Feast of St. Clare Mass, Bishop Cantú, Celebrant, 7 P.M.

• Join 30-40 priests, religious women and men and youth as part of the Diocese of San Jose’s 40th Anniversary celebration. Invitations open to parishioners on a first come, first served basis until the 450 maximum is reached.
• Register: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ei5y44ri5e356f07&llr=qjzjksbbb.

August 25 Internet Safety Webinar | 6-8 P.M. (Adults Only; not for children)

• All-School Zoom https://dsj.zoom.us/j/753421694

26 de Agosto Taller de educación para padres | Seguridad en Internet en español

• 6-8 P.M. (Adults Only; not for children)
• All-School Zoom https://dsj.zoom.us/j/753421694

Sept. 8 SAVE THE DATE: Back to School Night

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

Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com

Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 750 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797
Facebook: facebook.com/stclareschoolsantaclara