Portae (newsletter) for July 2013

Click to download a one-page newsletter for the month of July 2013.

Santo Subito!: Blessed John Paul II to be a Saint! Friday, 5 July 2013 was a great day for our school. We mailed out new school year packets to 170 students from 145 families, enrolled two new students, began reading a new papal encyclical Lumen Fidei, and most significantly, learned that Pope Francis will be canonizing John Paul II before the end of the year. What a year this will be!

Expect our school to celebrate that day, and lead the Archdiocesan efforts to observe this very sacred and special occasion. I have no doubt that Blessed John Paul II has been praying with our Mother in Heaven for our school and our students, and so we will have the opportunity to share him with more families, and to lead prayers for him. The expected date is Sunday, 8 December 2013, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Both John Paul and Pope John the 23rd will become saints on that day of canonization.

2013-2014 is here: Calendars are posted for the 2013-2014 school year. The calendars – both a simple one-page and a detailed twelve-page calendar – were mailed home last week and posted on-line. Start saving dates and making plans!

Forms for new school year: Sent home and posted on-line are the forms needed for 2013-2014. Here is a quick checklist.

• ALL STUDENTS -- 2013-2014 Emergency contact form: This form needs to be re-submitted each year. It contains all of the contact information for parents and emergency designees, and states the family’s intentions for how the school should act in an emergency situation. The forms travel with coaches, trainers, and moderators to off-campus events and is in file in the office. We need these forms on campus for a student’s first day of activity – whether that is for athletics practices on 5 August or school on 16 August.

• ALL STUDENTS -- Heath Questionnaire: Again, the form is re-submitted each year and is placed in the school’s files, and is reviewed by the school’s health coordinator. It helps us to better understand how to care for students during the school day.

• ONLY AS NEEDED -- Medication Permission Form: This form is only submitted when it is necessary for a student to be given medication on campus (whether prescription or non-prescription). The form must be signed by a doctor, and the form and the medication must be submitted to the office. The only medications that students can carry and self-administer are asthma inhalers and epi-pens; those two must also have this form on file. The forms must be submitted annually at the start of the new school year. This is the only way that medicine can be administered on campus by a student or staff member.

• FOR ALL ATHLETES, PRIOR TO THE START OF A SPORT -- TAPPS forms: These forms are needed on file for all athletes prior to the start of a sport and are re-submitted each year. They fulfill the requirements for our league for athletics, the Texas Association of Private & Parochial Schools. They include: 1) TAPPS Physical Form; 2) TAPPS Medical History; and 3) TAPPS Acknowledgement of Rules. For those who attended the Physicals Night in late May, all these files would have been completed then.

• ALL FAMILIES – 2013-2014 All-Student Activities Program Ad Sales: As a part of funding and growing student activities at the school – all athletics, clubs, and activities, we ask all families to help by selling and/or buying an ad. The form was sent home and is posted on-line and can be submitted to businesses, families, and friends. We have a desired deadline for 2 August, but have built some timeline cushion to received ads into the first week of school. Thanks for your support!