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October 3, 2011
Dear Parents:
As some of you may have been aware, the Diocese of Kalamazoo has required St. Rose School to be in session five additional school days for the 2011-2012 school year calendar. This is due to the fact that our accreditation requires us to have 180 days of instructional time. By following the Hastings Public School calendar we only have 165 days of instructional time. As you can see, we are far below the required amount. Father Richard and I have asked for a waiver this year with the stipulation that we would add more days on next year. We did not get a full waiver for the missing days; we are required to add five days on this school year, and have three years to make up the rest of the days to reach 180 days. I know this is a huge inconvenience to everyone and will affect most all families within the St. Rose family, but we have no choice.
The consensus of all parties; Teachers, Education Commission, Father Richard, and myself is to add the following days onto the 2011-2012 school year: September 23rd (Father gave this day to us as an “act of God” day due to the boiler installation in the classrooms); Friday, November 11th ½ day; Monday, January 2nd full day; Friday, February 17th ½ day; and Friday, March 30th ½ day. Taking into consideration numerous existing factors, this is the plan which all parties agreed upon as it showed forward movement, while it also tries to meet the needs of the school and its families within the St. Rose community. I know this is inconvenient to all parties and may cause issues for vacation time. I also realize that I am issuing this rather late, but I needed confirmation from Margaret Erich, Superintendent of the Kalamazoo Diocese, that this plan will work. The confirmation came Friday, September 30th at 2:30, which did not give me time to write this letter sooner. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at school, and I will try to answer all questions the best I can. The calendar on the web site will be updated by tomorrow afternoon to show the addition of days to this school year.
Sincerely,
Kyle Welter Principal, St. Rose of Lima School
August 19, 2011
Dear Families,
August is coming to a close and a new school year is about to begin. I would like to take a few moments to introduce myself to you. My name is Kyle Welter, the new Principal of St. Rose of Lima School. I am originally from Bay City, and attended Catholic school from 1st through 12th grade. I am married to a wonderful woman, Lisa Welter, who graduated from Hastings High School; and we will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary September 4th. I am truly looking forward to this up and coming school year, and can’t wait to meet you and your children.
The purpose of this letter is to remind you of upcoming events, and also to inform you of a few logistical changes happening the first couple months of school.
Dates:
SummerFest Parade Saturday August 27th: We would love to have as many St. Rose students walk in the parade as possible. We don’t know where the Lineup will be happening, but we will post it on the website when we find out. Lineup will happen at 11:50 a.m. I am looking forward to meeting many new faces at this event. If your child will be attending and walking please wear St. Rose spirit gear.
Meet the Principal Ice Cream Float Social Tuesday, August 30th at 7 p.m.: Have the entire family join us at the St. Rose School Playground for an hour of socializing and ice cream! This is a great opportunity to meet the families and staff form the parish and school.
First day of School September 6th: The first bell rings at 7:58 a.m., students then line up with their class. There are 7 lines, one for each grade. When the second bell rings, the students enter the building. I will be outside to monitor arrival at 7:40. Please have your children here promptly ready to start the day. Dismissal is at 3:25. The dismissal bell will ring and teachers will lead their class to their appropriate line in the parking lot, close to the school. Students will stay in this line until the person designated to pick them up arrives. If the student is to ride the bus, they stand in a bus line with me. When all of the students who are going to ride the bus are in line, I will walk them to the bus. Remember, students will not be excused to anyone except their parent and those individuals who have been designated on the student “Authorization for Pick-Up Form”, which is enclosed. Please return this completed form to the school office as soon as possible. Please list all the people you might call upon to pick up your child as a difficult situation arises when an unauthorized person comes to pick up a student. Also as a reminder, shorts are allowed to be worn at school during the months of September and May; socks must be worn with shoes or sandals (no flip-flops).
Due to work on the school boiler, some adjustments may occur relating to drop-off and pick-up. As extra vehicles will be in the area, for safety reasons, it is important that students are ready to quickly exit your car.
St. Rose School Open House Wednesday September 7th at 7:00 p.m.: The Open House for parents and other adults will begin in the church, then move to the classrooms in the school. I would also like to announce we will be having hot lunch provided by the public school starting on Tuesday September 13th. We will still be having Pizza on Mondays, and a parent- cooked hot lunch on Wednesday; but on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, students will have an opportunity to buy hot lunch using a pre-pay system. Monday’s Pizza will still cost $1.00; Wednesday’s cost will be $2.00; and Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday’s will cost $2.30 (milk is included). Student milk which is not part of the Public School hot lunch is still $0.10. I will be giving more details of how the hot lunch program provided by the public school will work at the Open House on September 7th, so please plan on attending.
I would also ask of you to please fill out all the paper work provided in this letter and return them on or before the first day of school. Those forms are:
Authorization for Student Pick-up Free and Reduced Price school Meal Family Application
I hope all of you have a great rest of the summer and I am looking forward to an exciting school year with a lot of new and exciting experiences.
Thank you
Kyle Welter Principal |
