This Lent, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis will join together to reflect on the Scriptural Stations of the Cross that were celebrated by St. John Paul II. Through 14 Podcasts, the listener will have an opportunity to practice the three pillars of Lent – Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Each reflection will be led by priests from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. The Walking with Christ Podcasts will air in English, Spanish, as well as in American Sign Language on YouTube. New “Walking With Christ” podcasts will be uploaded every Tuesday and Thursday of Lent, and can be found by searching for “Walking With Christ” on the Apple Podcast app and Spotify app, or by following the link to SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/walkingwithchrist. Additional Lenten resources, as well as recordings of the podcasts, can be found at https://www.archindy.org/lent/podcast.html.

I know that we have many more vehicles on our 3-8 side during our dismissal process. When getting in line for dismissal, the back of the line should not extend past the school building. If the first line backs up to far, then vehicles are not able to pass through to get access to other dismissal lines. Please continue to a different line, if the first couple of lines are full. Please do your part in helping our dismissal procedure run smoothly.

This is a friendly reminder for morning drop off. If your child needs help getting out of the car, please park your car in the middle parking spaces, help them out, and walk your child to the door. You should not exit the vehicle while in the car line, this can disrupt the flow of the line. We appreciate your help in this matter.

We hope that the winter weather is behind us and we can get back to some sense of normalcy. As always, we appreciate your support and patience during these winter weather events. We want to give a huge shout out to our maintenance crew for clearing the pathways and entrances to the building. This has been on ongoing job and one that is not easy. We know they will be glad that the snow is gone.

The Lenten Season is here and the Men’s Club will be hosting their Fish Fry during Lent. The Fish Fry will be take out only and a limited menu. Please show your support for our Men’s Club and enjoy some delicious food! The Fish Fry will be five Fridays during Lent: February 19, February 26, March 5, March 12, and March 19.

Decisions are never easy to make, especially when dealing with winter weather. Please know that safety is always the top priority in making decisions regarding closings and delays. Many factors are taken into consideration when making the decision to delay or close school. I am very thankful that we have the opportunity to virtual learn when school is closed and students are able to continue the learning process. We have been able to prepare by sending home necessary materials and Chromebooks. Please make sure your child(ren) access Google Classroom during virtual learning and complete all assignments including Special Area Classes. I appreciate all of your support during this wintery time.

We were not able to celebrate our out of uniform day for Pre-Registration forms that were turned in. We will now have our out of uniform day on Tuesday, February 23. If you have not turned in your Pre-Registration, please do so as soon as possible. We are now enrolling new students for next year, and it is important to save your child(ren) spot for the school year.

I know many of you have seen that the Indiana State Health Department has put out new guidelines for schools regarding quarantine guidelines. The CDC and ISDH recommend the 14-day quarantine as the safest option for a close contact. But they are now giving the option of the 10-day quarantine and a 7-day quarantine. At this time, we will continue to follow at least a 10-day quarantine for students and teachers who have been considered close contacts. If a student or teacher is considered a close contact and they do not develop symptoms they may use the 10-day quarantine. When they return to school they must continue to follow social distancing guidelines and wear a mask at all times. In these cases, they may not participate in athletics or extra-curricular activities if these activities require them to remove their mask. They may resume athletics or extra-curricular activities after the 14-day quarantine. As a school we do not plan to use the 7-day quarantine at this time. We strongly believe that the 10-day to 14-day quarantine is the safest option for our school community. I know the quarantine guidelines can be very confusing. Please contact me if your child or someone in your household has been considered a close contact, so that we can discuss the best options for your family. The Health Department has also changed the definition of a close contact in the classroom setting only. They have reduced the distance to 3 ft instead of 6 ft, if ALL students are wearing masks at ALL times in the classroom setting. Each classroom setting is unique and if contact tracing is necessary, we take many variables into consideration when identifying close contacts.

National Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic Education in the United States. Now entering the 47th anniversary year, Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated January 31 - February 6. The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” We have planned many events and activities for Catholic Schools Week. Through these events, our school will focus on the value Catholic education, through the teachings of Jesus Christ, provides to young people and its contributions to our church, our communities and our nation. See the flyer on out of uniform days under Upcoming Events.

Please remember that if someone in your household has been tested or is going to be tested for COVID, students should not come to school until a negative test result is received. It is also important to notify the school if anyone in your household has been considered a close contact. Please see the information included in this weeks Bear Facts for more details on COVID.

It’s that time of year again. It is time to begin preparations for next year. This year you may complete the Pre-Registration by completing the online form and send in your fee to the office or you can fill out a paper copy and return it to the office with your fee. The Pre-Registration fee is $50 for each student. It is very important that you return your Pre-Registration as soon as possible. This helps us to plan for next year and it also saves a spot for your child. Registration Form: https://forms.gle/3UndrxfbNCCKjkeN9 (English) https://forms.gle/57wGRcZdcAYxSRgr6 (Spanish)

Class Composites are now available to order! Get yours today at inter-state.com/order. Use Order Code 56358DQ. These are available until 2/17/2021 at 11:59 pm.

We still have St. Anthony Mask available if you would like to purchase. The mask are $5. Please send in your money in a envelope marked with the number of mask you would like and your name.

Please make sure your child is dressed accordingly for the colder weather. We will try to go outside for recess if at all possible, even if it is colder outside. It is very difficult to have indoor recess and be able to social distance. Please make sure your child wears a coat each day.

2nd Quarter report cards are posted in Jupiter today. Please access Jupiter and review the report card. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s teacher. Principal’s List and Honor Roll Certificates will be sent home with students on Friday.

There is an isolation and quarantine calculator on the Indiana State Health Department that may be beneficial to use to help with finding the length of an isolation or quarantine period. Here is a link to the website: https://www.coronavirus.in.gov/2400.htm.

If a member of the household has tested positive then the quarantine guidelines may change. If the positive case is not able to isolate from members of the household, then the quarantine period may not begin until the positive case has completed the 10 days of isolation. This could mean a child would quarantine for at least 20 days. Isolation means that the positive case stays separated from household members, does not share items with household members, and uses a different bathroom.

I wanted to give families clarification on the new shortened quarantine guidelines that the CDC has issued. The quarantine guidelines are for those individuals who have been considered close contacts. The CDC continues to recommend the 14-day quarantine, but they do offer a 10 day option that may be used in schools. Certain criteria must be met if individuals would like to use this option. The individual has shown no symptoms of COVID-19 at any point during the 10 day period; AND Daily symptom monitoring continues though quarantine day 14; AND All recommended preventive measures continue through Day 14: Practice good hygiene Stay at least 6 feet from other people Wear a mask at all times Athletes cannot go back to full participation until 14 days after exposure if they cannot meet the social distancing and face covering requirements. An athlete may participate in practice as long as they wear their face covering and remain at least 6 feet away from others until the 14 days is up. I understand that a shortened quarantine sounds wonderful, but if the criteria cannot be met then the CDC recommends the 14-day quarantine. As a school, I will work with families on an individual basis to see if the 10-day quarantine is an option. I want to ensure that all criteria is met and that we do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus. The Indiana State Health Department does not allow schools to utilize the 7-day quarantine for students or staff.

I hope that everyone had a restful and enjoyable Holiday Break. I was so excited to welcome the students back into the building today and see their beautiful, smiling faces. As we return to school, it is so important that we don’t let our guard down and become lazy with our safety and health protocols. We need everyone to continue to do their part in stopping the spread of COVID and other illnesses. We will continue to follow our COVID-19 re-entry plan and continue to educate our students on the importance of following the protocol. Facial coverings will be required. Social distancing guidelines will be in place. Students will continue to wash hands and use hand sanitizer on a regular basis. Temp check will be done before lunch for every student. Don’t forget to health check your student(s) each morning before coming to school. Please keep students home if they have a temperature, are not feeling well or show any symptoms of illness. Also remember if anyone in the household is awaiting test results, do not send children in the family to school until a negative test result has been received.

I want to give a shout out to the Clark County Health Department. They have done a wonderful job of keeping the school informed about what is happening in the local community, answering the many questions that we have regarding COVID, and collaborating with us on making decisions. I wanted to share information that Dr. Eric Yazel shared regarding the decision to return to in-person instruction. “Why are we going back to school? The simple answer is because it’s the best thing for our kids. This is from so many different aspects. Education, social development, and for some it’s as simple as it being the only place some children can get a solid meal or escape from a bad home environment. Our local schools did an amazing job first semester with their policies and procedures to prevent in-school spread. The rates were actually significantly less than community spread.”