WEEKLY BROADCAST FEATURED NEWS All Are Welcome
During our first faculty meeting of the year at St. Pius X, I asked our teachers and staff to visualize their first day of school with our students back in the building. I then asked them to choose a word that they hope their students will use to describe how they feel after that first day. Here are some of the responses: "Joyful" "Safe" "Eager" "Belonging" "Happy" Please know that your children are in the very best of hands here at St. Pius X, where we are joyfully preparing for their arrival. We look forward to the day when friends can sit on the bench without masks on and share smiles with laughter that is unencumbered by cloth!
Blessings Dave Jenson Principal
SCHOOL NEWS Information at the Return of School Update to our Return to the School Building Procedures After fully analyzing our plan, we have made revisions in some aspects to better care for our students and their safe return to the St. Pius X school building. Please familiarize yourself with the Arrival and Departure plans, noting that for pick up, parents should wait in their vehicles in the car line for K-5 school aged students. Please watch for an email from Mr. Jenson with the plan tomorrow Information on Distance Learning Option for Families At St. Pius X this year, families do have the option to participate in Distance Learning (fully at home). This model will be based on recorded lessons from the classroom with the expectation that the student completes the work after school that day or the following day; it will not be live-streamed. Please send an email request to Mr. Jenson at djenson@rcsmn.org by Wednesday, August 26th to verify your child's participation in Distance Learning for Quarter 1 of the 2020-21 school year. Please include the student's name and grade in your request. Extended-Day Care AM/PM With the many changes that have occurred since last spring, please make sure you have filled out the survey regarding extended-day care in the morning and/or afternoon at St. Pius X so that we can be adequately staffed. There is a $10 per session fee that will be tabulated for billing using Procare. If you haven't received the survey about enrolling in extended care this week, please email Mr. Jenson at djenson@rcsmn.org and ask for it to be sent to you. Help-Missing Books from Last Year! During distance learning last spring, St. Pius sent home about 1,000 guided reading books for our kindergarten through third grade students to read at home. The good news is that we received over 90% of these books back. However, this does mean that we are missing about 85 guided reading books. We would love to have any of these books that have turned up over the summer returned to our guided reading collection. All of our guided reading books should have a stamp in the front cover. Depending on when the book was purchased, this stamp may say 'Property of St. Pius School', 'Property of St. John's School', or 'Property of ISD 535, Rochester Area Schools, Loaned to St. Pius School'. Any guided reading books that you find can be returned to your child's classroom teacher. Thank you for your help getting these guided reading books back to St. Pius! Many blessings to you and your families as you prepare for the start of school! Brett Amundson Reading Specialist
Band at St. Pius Students in grades 5-6-7-8 can participate in BAND at St. Pius. Band registration information will be coming out soon! Please check next week's Broadcast for a letter containing information about participating in and registering for BAND at school. 5th grade students will have the opportunity to explore the band instruments before deciding to join band. Questions about participating in band??? Contact Wendy Hanson, RCS 5-8 Band instructor at Whanson@rcsmn.org. UPDATE - Folder Drop Off Please return the folders and completed forms to the marked bin in the entry area of Door #1 between August 24th - 28th. Your cooperation in this helps begin the school year in a positive way. If you are in need of Used Uniforms - they are available on the rack in the first floor hallway. Please click here to view the RCS Dress Code. Please click here for the Donalds Uniform Website. No Student Flu Shots at School This Year At the recommendation of our healthcare partners, influenza vaccinations (flu shots) for students in Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue and Mower County schools this fall have been cancelled. Your child will not receive a flu shot at school this year. Please be aware that the 2020 flu vaccine is not available in Minnesota at this time. Watch for details on flu shot availability in your community in the late September or early October timeframe. We recommend all families receive their flu shots by the end of November 2020. More than ever before, it is important that everyone six months of age or older receives a flu shot. On its own, flu can cause serious problems in young children, older adults and people with medical conditions. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a rough flu season could cause serious issues for our communities, further reduce school attendance and stretch health care availability. Immunizations Be sure that your child's immunizations are up to date before school starts. NO SHOTS-NO SCHOOL Medication Notes and When Your Student is Ill Information Please take some time to review the Medication Notes and When Your Student is Ill information. Click here for Medication Information and for When Your Student is Ill Information. This is for normal illnesses. Separate guidelines for COVID symptoms, exposures and positive tests will be shared once the protocols are in place. Transportation Rochester Public Schools will provide transportation for our students at the same level of service they are providing for their students. That means K-8 will be bused 2 mornings a week. There will be no busing on Wednesdays and no afternoon busing (at least through the end of October). Please contact Rochester Public Schools transportation with questions at 328-4260. Picture Day Rescheduled - 2020-2021 Picture day is rescheduled for Tuesday, October 6th. Retakes are also being rescheduled. We will let you know when that will be. This is a non-uniform day for students. Lunch Information Our lunch program will be different this year. A company called Taher will be serving the lunch. The cost of lunch for the 2020-2021 school year is $3.10 per meal (adults $4.10). A carton of milk is provided with each lunch. Extra carton of milk price is $.50/each. You can pay for this using the portal or just drop a check off in the school office. Please click here for the form for Free and Reduced Lunches.
SYSTEM NEWS Be sure to remind your family, friends, and neighbors how great our devoted RCS community is! We hope you share your experience with others who are seeking the whole child excellence that an RCS education can provide. And don't forget, with the RCS Enrollment Referral Award you can qualify for a $250 payment if your name is listed as the referring party to a new student (award is applicable on a per student basis after 45 days of active enrollment with RCS). Find out more at Ways to Lower Tuition: rcsmn.org/waystolowertuition. At the recommendation of our healthcare partners, influenza vaccinations (flu shots) for students in Olmsted, Dodge, Goodhue, and Mower County schools this fall have been cancelled. Your child will not receive a flu shot at school this year. Please watch for details on flu shot availability in your community. It is recommended that families receive their flu shots by the end of November 2020. The Spirit Shop is now open Wednesday evenings from 5:30-7:00 p.m. and Friday mornings from 8:30-10:00 a.m. during August. The Spirit Shop will also be open August 25 and 26 from 9:00-11:30 a.m. PE uniforms and RCS sweatshirts are available. For more information, visit rcsmn.org/spiritshop In light of the current health concerns, the VIRTUS® Protecting God's Children training has been made available online. Click here for information on how to register for the online training. It is the same process as signing up for a live training. The difference is once all the personal information is entered and the background check is completed (volunteers ONLY) the online training is available to launch. The training takes 60 to 75 minutes to complete. Please note that this is NOT the recertification training. SYSTEM ACTIVITIES Fall Sports registration will close Wednesday, August 26. Click here to begin registration. If you are have not used our registration in the past, you will need to create an account using your student's ID (found on Infinite Campus) and Date of Birth. A valid sports physical must be on file in the Activities Office prior to registration. The Eagle Booster Club supports the general growth and development of athletics for students within RCS. Membership is comprised of RCS parents, alumni, community members, and businesses working together with goals to heighten, enhance, and enrich the athletics programs. Members promote and provide a high quality experience for students, coaches, directors, and fans through sponsorship opportunities, fundraising, and volunteer efforts. Eagle Boosters are passionate and committed to supporting the overall mission of RCS through support of athletics. Please consider joining the Eagle Booster Club by clicking here and becoming a member today! We are looking for coaches to work with our high school athletes. Positions open are C-Squad and JV Boys Basketball and JV Boys Hockey. To apply, click here. UPCOMING EVENTS
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