I can hardly believe we are entering the last few of days of September! We are blessed to be “together in learning, together in Christ” and I thank each and every one of you for doing your part to make this possible. Our entire school community has settled in nicely to our new procedures and protocols with the only intention of keeping EVERYONE safe. Thank you!

We had a successful Back to School Night for Grades K-3 on Thursday. Thank you to all who participated and thank you to all our teachers for their extraordinary efforts to communicate with our families this year.

Please keep our 3^rd graders in your prayers as they receive the sacrament of First Holy Communion this weekend. They have patiently waited for this day and let us send our blessings to each and every one of them and their families.

I think I can be a little shorter this week. Let’s get right to it:

A few general reminders/information:

PickUp Patrol is proving to be a great assistance for us to streamline ABSENCES, DISMISSAL CHANGES AND DAILY HEALTH SCREEN. Thank you for your patience as we were able to get all parts fully functioning. You may have noticed that your default plan was changed this week. We changed them to reflect specific buses and walker/car dismissal options. A special thank you to Mrs. Radonic for all her hard work with this endeavor. Here are a few IMPORTANT reminders:

• PLEASE mark your child ABSENT (and include the reason) in PickUp Patrol if they will not be in school. This is in addition to them possibly answering YES on the health screen. Marking a student ABSENT will not place them on a walker/car or bus list and will assist with our record keeping.
• DO NOT CHANGE YOUR DEFAULT PLAN unless it will be a change to how your child is TYPICALLY being dismissed. The DEFAULT plan should reflect TYPICAL dismissal. IF you need to change a given day to be DIFFERENT from the DEFAULT plan, you would go into the App and click TODAY and make a change for ONLY that given day. This is very important. The DEFAULT plan helps you to not have to enter the dismissal procedure each day but rather ONLY when there is a change to your DEFAULT plan. I hope this helps to clarify. It is important that you make any changes before 1:45 PM. The homeroom teachers receive an email at 1:50 PM every day with all the dismissal procedures for their class. If it is not correct, we run the risk of a student being dismissed incorrectly. If the change is made AFTER 1:45 PM, please call the school office so the teacher can be notified.
• The HEALTH SCREEN questions must be filled out DAILY before 7:15 AM. Please remember to fill it out before 7:15 AM so our report reflects the completion. These questions are important to keep everyone safe and follow the safe guidelines for reopening. Again, this must be completed DAILY. Car riders and walkers are asked to show the ALL CLEAR! screen to the one of our temperature takers. If someone other than the person filling out the health screen drives or walks your child to school, please send them a SCREENSHOT of the ALL CLEAR! screen. Older students with phones may show it on their phone to the temperature taker as well. Bus students must have the screening filled out before boarding the bus to risk being held after arriving on the bus.

Thank you for keeping your children home when they are not feeling well. We appreciate our families being abundantly cautious during these uncertain times. A special thank you to our School Nurse, Mrs. Pisciotto, for organizing and assisting our efforts to keep EVERYONE safe. We recognize that the procedure to return to school after a student is absent or sent home has changed and can be confusing. In an effort to assist, the attached form is sufficient for your child’s doctor to complete. You can email this form to Mrs. Pisciotto at cpisciotto5547@staidanschool.org or fax it to 516-746-3086. As always, reach out with any questions.

Return to School Medical Form 

Please label all clothing, especially gym sweatshirts with your child’s name! As a reminder, the only sweatshirts worn inside the school building are the St. Aidan School gym sweatshirt and the new half zip navy sweatshirt that can be ordered through the Baxter’s Spirit Wear Sale. Thank you! 

All students should be well groomed including hair length for boys. Hair should be neat, not in their eyes and not longer than where a dress shirt collar would fall. We recognize it was difficult to get a haircut during the quarantine, however going forward all personal grooming rules will be enforced.

PLEASE be sure your child’s mask fits correctly! Many students are wearing masks that are too big for their faces. Please purchase child-sized mask to ensure the safety of all.

A reminder for our 8^th Grade parents/guardians to register for the TACHS exam, if you haven’t already, if your child plans on applying to one of the many Catholic High Schools. You may do that at www.tachsinfo.com. The deadline to register is October 23.

You will begin to see GRADE Masses added to the calendar. We will bring certain grades (K-8) over to St. Aidan Church on specific days. These days and times will not be when the Church is used for a regularly scheduled Mass and the Church will be sanitized before the classes arrive. All students will be distanced in the Church and will wear masks. In an effort to keep everyone safe, we are not allowing parents, grandparents or parishioners to attend. All of these Masses will be livestreamed on the St. Aidan Parish website and school Facebook page. We thank you for your understanding as we bring our students back to Church. Thank you to Fr. Adrian and the Associate Pastors for celebrating these additional Masses for our students.

Please find the St. Aidan Parish Bulletin for this week attached below.
St. Aidan Parish Bulletin- Sunday, September 27, 2020 

SAS Booster Club
Each year, the Booster Club raises thousands of dollars for St. Aidan School. For a $30 annual membership fee, you will be eligible for all drawings from September 2020 through August 2021. Winning checks are mailed directly to you, and the winners’ names are listed in the bulletin every month.  If you have any questions, please contact staidanbooster@gmail.com. For more information and to register online click on our new website at https://staidanschool.org/st-aidan-booster-club. Thank you for your support!

St. Aidan Booster Club 2020-2021 

PACE THIS WEEK
We still have a very limited number of SAS MASKS available in size small.  Place your order here: https://staidanschool.org/st-aidan-mask-sale. All masks will be sent home through school with your oldest child!  Any questions, let us know at staidanpace@gmail.com. 

Our Baxter’s Sport Shop SPIRIT WEAR STORE closes tonight at midnight! Get your orders in.  Shop directly at: staidanpace3.itemorder.com. All orders will be shipped direct to you.  Check out the ¼ zip sweatshirt that can be worn to school in place of the gym sweatshirt.  Masks are also available through the store.  We have something for everyone!  Happy shopping!

Our PURA VIDA BRACELET SALE is open!  Visit https://staidanschool.org/pace-pura-vida-fundraiser to place your orders for these custom SAS bracelets.  Bracelets are $12 each and will be sent home through school with your oldest child.  We have a limited number available so place your orders soon!

Any questions, let us know at staidanpace@gmail.com

Here’s a look at the week ahead:

Wednesday, September 30: SCHOOL PICTURE DAY! Each class/cohort will be assigned a time to have their picture taken. Lifetouch has safety protocols in place and all pictures will be taken according to social distancing guidelines. All students must have their picture taken. Please wear FULL DRESS UNIFORM. Sneakers are permitted! You may purchase your picture package at www.mylifetouch.com and the Picture Day ID: EVTNP2GSS (Upper School Grades 3-8) and EVT84B98Q (Lower School Grades Nursery-2). All Tuesday/Thursday N-6 Students may come to the Lower School to have their picture taken at 2:40 PM. All REMOTE students may come to the Upper School to have their picture taken at 2:40 PM.

Communion Practice for the 2019-2020 Class 2-1 and all those designated for the 10/3- 11:30 AM Communion will be from 6:00-7:00 PM in St. Aidan Church. Please wear a mask and practice proper social distancing.

Thursday, October 1: Communion Practice for the 2019-2020 Class 2-2 and all those designated for the 10/3- 2:00 PM Communion will be from 6:00-7:00 PM in St. Aidan Church. Please wear a mask and practice proper social distancing.

Saturday, October 3: First Holy Communion at 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM for our current 3^rd grade students. May God Bless them ALWAYS!

A Look Ahead:

-Grade 3 and 4 Mass- October 8 at 1:30 PM

-Columbus Day-NO SCHOOL- October 12

-Grade 7 and 8 Mass- October 15 at 1:30 PM 

-Grade 5 and 6 Mass- October 22 at 1:30 PM

-Grade K,1, 2 Mass- October 29 at 1:30 PM

-Students/Teachers may wear orange/black/Halloween shirts. Students should wear them with gym uniform pants- October 30.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Mrs. O’Connell