St. Anthony School Families, It is amazing to see that the end of the school year has come so quickly. I want to personally thank you all for your continued support over the past year. This was a year of the unexpected. We definitely had successes and challenges, but in true “Bear Nation” fashion we came together to ensure the safety and educational needs of our students were met. As a community, you were all patient and supportive and that truly made things much easier. I can’t express how much I appreciate each and everyone of you. I would like to thank our hard working faculty and staff what a difference they have made this year. Their dedication and commitment is amazing. Thank you for pushing through a tough year, being flexible, and learning a new type of education. I am truly grateful for each and everyone of you. As we come to the end of the year, we also say goodbye to some members of our faculty and staff. I want to thank each of them for their hard work and dedication to St. Anthony School. I want to wish the best to Mrs. Denise Kempf, Ms. Jessica Pinnick and Ms. Rachel Lamb who will be departing at the end of this year. We all wish you the very best in your new endeavors.

We had an amazing Walk-A-Thon! We could not have asked for a more beautiful day. The kids enjoyed the walk and loved coming back to the KONA Ice Truck and dance party. Not only did we have a wonderful day, we also far exceeded our goal. I can’t believe we raised over $10,000. Thanks to all families who donated. And a huge thanks for sharing with family and friends so they could donate and support St. Anthony’s. We are so excited to renovate our bathrooms and start purchasing cubbies for K-2 classrooms.

Our last day of school is May 25. We will dismiss at 1:00 on this day. There is NO After School Care.

We will be having Field Day this year. Field Day will be on Tuesday, May 25. Students will be kept with their homeroom classrooms throughout the day. There will be lots of fun, lots of water, and we hope lots of sunshine. This will be a great celebration to end the year. Students will be allowed to be out of uniform on this day. Students can bring a towel, water bottle, and maybe a dry change of clothes.

The new income guidelines for the Choice Scholarship and SGO Program will take effect on July 1st. With the new Choice guidelines, all families that meet a pathway requirement and meet the income requirements will be eligible to receive 90% Choice Scholarship. Because the new guidelines do not effect until July 1, some applications may be delayed so that we can ensure that you receive the correct amount. If you believe your family qualifies for Choice, then you will need to bring your 2020 tax return to the office as soon as possible. We would like to have taxes turned in by Friday, May 21. We only need the first 2 pages of the tax return for income purposes. Mrs. Rapier will get any other information that we will need to apply for the scholarship. Please remember that to qualify for Choice a family must be on a “track” in order to qualify. The following are the “tracks” in order to qualify for the program. Previous/Continuing Choice Special Education Student Previous SGO Award 2 Semesters in a Public School Sibling track (sibling on current Choice Scholarship) The income guidelines are now 300% of the amount to qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch. Below is the approximate amount that may qualify a family for the Choice Scholarship Program. This may give you guidance on if you think your family will qualify for Choice. Household size of 2 : $95,682 Household size of 3 : $120,546 Household size of 4 : $145,410 Household size of 5 : $170,274 Household size of 6 : $195,138

The SGO income guidelines are the same as the Choice Guidelines. SGO’s are available for those families that are wanting to be on “track” to receive a Choice Scholarship the following year. If you believe you would be eligible for an SGO, then we will need the first 2 pages of your 2020 tax return. Again, these new guidelines do not go into effect until July 1, we will not process SGO’s until after July 1.

It is time to fill out registration paperwork for the 21-22 school year. The registration forms can be filled out electronically and emailed to the school office (k.rapier@stanthonyschool.us) or you can print and fill them out. If you need paper copies of the registration paperwork, please call the office and we will get you a copy. Our goal is to get majority of registration paperwork back before the end of the year. As an extra incentive, students will receive an out of uniform day on Monday, May 24 if registration paperwork is turned in by Friday, May 21. If you have any questions regarding the paperwork, please contact the office.

WOW! We are doing an amazing job with our Walk-A-Thon donations! We have raised over $6,000 so far. We have 47% of our students are registered and 34% have received a pledge. We have donations from 12 states. Our goal is to raise over $6,500. It is time to make one last push for donations. If you have not registered yet, the directions are below. Make sure to share the information with family and friends.

Our SAS students will receive a special treat after the Walk-A-Thon. The KONA Ice Truck will be at the school to provide the students with a special treat. This treat is to celebrate our school year. Our students did a great job with learning and following new protocols and guidelines this year. They worked hard and did their best on ILEARN and IREAD. Our community came together and helped us reach our goal for the Walk-A-Thon. I am so proud of our students and thankful to be a part of “Bear Nation.”

The 3rd graders need your help!! They have come to realize that their pen pals who live in Westminster DO NOT have pizza as a lunch or dinner option. This seemed unacceptable as every one in every stage of life loves pizza! An idea sparked to raise money to buy pizza for all the residents to enjoy! Papa Johns in Clarksville has generously reduced the price of their pizzas, but in order for 190 residents to enjoy 2 slices of pizza each, a total of $320 is needed. If they raise more money, we can add sides like breadsticks and drinks. If you love pizza as much as the 3rd graders and their pen pals do, please consider donating!! Any amount big or small would be very much appreciated. You can send donations to the office marked Pizza Fundraiser.

Our annual Walk-A-Thon will be held on Friday, May 14. This event gives families and friends the chance to sponsor a student as they participate in the Walk A Thon by placing a donation online with Boosterthon at Funrun.com. Don’t forget to register your child at Funrun.com. Our program just kicked off on Monday and we already have 44 students registered and we have received $1,700 in donations. Our goal is to raise at least $6,500. If you are not able to make a donation online, you may send your donation to the school office. If you have not registered yet, here is how you can: Go to funrun.com to begin: 1. Click ‘login' (if account is already made) or 'Sign Up' (if the parent has never used the site.) 2. Click 'Register a Student' 3. Type in the school name OR 4. Click 'Enter Your Registration Code' and Enter Code: 248844 5. Enter Student First and Last Name and Select Class They Belong In 6. Agree to Terms and Continue 7. Register Another Student or Select No 8. Click 'View Participant Dashboard' and Begin Pledging! Once registered as a student, you can check out the student dashboard and use the share link to see what sponsors see! Now you can reach out to family and friends by SHARING your student's pledge page. The easiest way to get donations is to simply click the Facebook share button on your student's pledge page. Plus, with a few clicks you can create a custom Student Star Video to share on social media. You can also use the Easy Emailer to connect with friend and family.

Students in Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade will be receiving vision screenings on Tuesday, May 18. We are very fortunate to have Dr. Black’s Eye Associates volunteer to come and help with this screening. Your child will be provided with a form that details the results of the vision screening. If you would like for your child to be screened and they are not in one of the listed grades, please call the office and we will have them screened on this day. We are very grateful to Dr. Black’s office for helping us with this screening.

I would like to congratulate those students who made their First Holy Communion this past Sunday. God’s blessing, love and grace was showered upon each of them on this very special day. A big thank you to everyone who helped in making this day special for our 1st communicants. A special thank you to Father Joe, Ms. Hellinger, and Mrs. Nokes for preparing the students for this occasion.

All of students were still able to enjoy and contribute to Alex’s Lemonade Stand. As a school we raised $624.44 for childhood cancer research!. Thank you to everyone for their donations. Thank you to Ally and Jamie Huber for providing this wonderful opportunity and for helping with Stewardship Friday this year.