Dear St. Charles Parents,

We are nearing the end of a fantastic first week of school. Amidst all the tragedy that took place last week, the Lord has provided peace, focus, and courage to begin our year with strength. I have some important news to take note of, so please read to the end. 

Tomorrow is our first school Mass of the year. Protocols for the school Mass to begin the year have been released. Our diocese is asking schools, and everyone really, to come together tomorrow at 10:00 AM to say the rosary for the Annunciation community and all Catholic schools. We’ve decided to have our students say the rosary immediately following morning Mass. This will be earlier than 10:00 AM, but we will already be together in the house of God. Fr. Przybilla and I met, and we determined that this would be the best opportunity. The Mass protocols will remain in place during the rosary. Our preschool will also participate in their classrooms at a level appropriate for their age. 

As we began our first week of school, we met as a faculty about uniforms. We agreed that during this first week, we would not send violations or warnings home. Next week, we will begin to send warnings home. Please see this Uniform Reminder (sent out twice over the summer) reminding parents of common violations. Please take care of any uniform issues this weekend so that our teachers don’t have to spend their time on it next week.

One significant change to next week is that we are taking “Parent Information Night” off the calendar for Thursday evening. The reasons for taking this event off the calendar include the following:

• The tragic events of last week and the numerous summer projects added quite a bit to our staff’s plates. It would be a significant added pressure for us to host this event one week from today.
• We got together as a community last week, and parents and teachers had the opportunity to meet. 
• We have another community event coming up on October 2nd (Marathon!)
• We will be able to communicate electronically all of the information that we need to share with parents. 

Trust me, parents, I believe in the value of gathering in person as a community. I think we do a great job of that here at St. Charles. I do think this is an event that we will consider carefully when we are putting together the calendar for next year. This year, we will be sending out beginning-of-the-school-year information for parents from teachers by September 18th. Look for more information in next week’s Weekly Update.

Speaking of gathering in person! This Sunday at the 10:00 AM Mass, our staff will be making the Profession of Faith and taking the Oath of Fidelity. This is a tradition at St. Charles that has been going on for years now. I hear from many parents how much they appreciate our teachers and staff taking a solemn oath to live their lives and teach our children in line with Christ’s teachings and the teachings of the Catholic Church. After Mass, please join the new school year celebration on the front lawn. Beautiful weather is promised along with food, beverages, and, I believe, there will be ice cream! Our parish owns a large tent that will be set up on the front lawn, so if you like shade, that will be available as well.

God bless you,

Danny Kieffer

St. Charles School Principal