St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School
July 2023
Dear Parents and Students - We Welcome You Back!
Summer Greetings Everyone! On behalf of our Pastor, Fr. Tom, our Associate Pastors, Fr. James and Fr. Bobby, and our entire Faculty and Staff, I hope that this letter finds you and your family well. School will begin in a few weeks and I want to welcome all of our returning and new students to a new school year! We miss you and we want you here with us! We look forward to having you as part of our school family, and we thank you for choosing to share your gifts and talents with us.
Our teachers are eager to see you! We have a great group of teachers and staff, and just like you, they are refreshed from some time away, and a bit nervous, but also excited about coming back for a new school year and seeing old and new faces alike. Finally, the building is ready for students! Thank you to Mr. Springer and our entire maintenance team for another summer of hard work!
On Sunday, June 8, 2023, the Church celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi, also known as the Feast of the Body of Christ. This day, for Dioceses across our country, marked the second year of a three-year Eucharistic Revival in the United States. To support this revival, we will continue to focus on Eucharist with our students, faculty, and staff over the course of the school year. Here is a bit of an explanation from our Ft. Wayne-South Bend Diocesan website. - Our world is hurting; yet, amid our fallen world, Christ is present. Jesus radically tells us in John 6:41 that “the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Revival is a grassroots effort to bring this radical, life-giving promise to the world, inspiring a “movement of Catholics across the United States who are healed, converted, formed, and unified by an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.”
We are now in the Year of Parish Revival, fostering “Eucharistic devotion at the parish level, strengthening our liturgical life through faithful celebration of the Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, missions, resources, preaching, and organic movements of the Holy Spirit.” This will lead into the first National Eucharistic Congress in the United States in almost fifty years from July 17-21, 2024 in Indianapolis, which will be followed by a year of going out on mission “for the life of the world.”
“For the life of the world!” Indeed! As a Catholic school, we are dedicated to forming students in mind, body, and spiritual faith. The Eucharist - the Bread of Life as presented to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - is the foundation of our faith. We are looking forward to drawing our students closer to Christ throughout this Eucharistic Revival, and we are looking forward to seeing your smiling faces soon. The school year 2023-2024 is going to be a great year! Sincerely - Rob S.
The First Day of School – A Full Day of School: Saint Charles Borromeo School begins on Wednesday, August 9th at 7:50 a.m. for all students in grades PreK-8. Ideally, students will be in their classrooms by 7:45 each morning so that they have enough time to unpack and be ready for prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and announcements at 7:50 a.m. Dismissal is at 3:00 p.m. Lunch will be served as this is a full day of school. Students arriving by car will enter through Cafeteria Door #9 and proceed to their classrooms. Door#9 will be unlocked by 7:18 a.m. each morning.
Parents may walk students to class on 1st Day: Traditionally, on the 1st day of school, we allow any parent who wishes to walk students into their classrooms, to park in the big Church lot and do so. Thank you.
Wednesday 1-Hour Delays: New this year, we will delay one (1) hour every Wednesday morning (the exception being the first day of school). Beginning Wednesday, August 16th, classes will start at 8:50 a.m. every Wednesday. This one hour of time will allow for consistent Teacher professional development and collaboration, with the purpose of building a professional community, strengthening instruction, and ultimately promoting student success. Our Before-Care Program is available (for a fee) if needed. Cafeteria Door # 9 will open for student arrivals at 8:18 a.m. on these days. Please plan accordingly. Thank you.
Weekday Mass at 8:15 a.m. – Our first student Mass will take place on Friday, August 11th! We will then begin our new regular schedule of Masses the following week. Monday Mass with grades 1 & 2. Tuesday Mass with grades 3, 4, & 5. Thursday Mass with grades 6,7, & 8. All-school Mass every Friday. All are welcome!
Childcare is looking for part-time workers before and/or after school. Adults/college and High School Teens are welcome to apply. Great part-time work with great kids. If interested contact our Director, Ms. Diana at (260) 494-7310 or at before.aftercare@stcharlesschoolfw.org.
Welcome New Teachers! I know that you will join me in welcoming and praying for our new Teachers for this 2023-2024 school year!
NEW TEACHERS/STAFF POSITION
Mr. Chris Jenkins Music/Piano/Chorus/HandChimes
Our Spirit Shop will be open, 8:00am-3:30pm, Monday, August 7th, in the main hallway right outside the cafeteria. Please enter through door #9. Girls' uniform jumpers, skirts, fleeces, and other ordering. Online ordering codes for St. Charles uniforms: Schoolbelles S2353; Lands End 900030453; French Toast QS5VZTE.
We are working to go paperless! Below you will find a combination of forms. Most may be completed online, and others need to be printed out, completed, and returned to school. Please complete all forms by Tuesday, August 8th. Any forms you are filling out by hand may be returned to the school office on the first day of school, mailed or dropped off prior to the first day of school.
•Application for free/reduced lunch and textbook assistance. Please fill out a free/reduced lunch form if you are receiving financial assistance, are a single parent, or are unemployed, even if you choose not to use our hot lunch service. You will find the form on the school website at Summer Mailing Items and look for Free/Reduced Lunch. You will need to print and fill out this form, sign in two places - lunch and textbook, and then once completed, the form can be scanned and emailed to schooloffice@stcharlesschoolfw.org, dropped off at school, or sent with your child on the first day of school. Paper copies are available at the school office.
•Hot Lunch: As Wednesday, August 9th is a full day of school, hot lunches will be available. Hot lunches, which include milk, cost $3.20 per meal. Aside from being provided with hot lunch, milk is available every day for purchase separately if bringing lunch from home. The cost of milk when purchased separately is 50¢ a carton. All families will be assigned a MealPay Plus online lunch account. In the first weeks of school, we will assist new families in setting up an account. Families may place money into their children’s lunch accounts for extra entree or milk either through online payment or by using the lunch order form, accompanied by payment.
•The School Supply List is available online at Student Supply List
•School Calendar: We have created a Google Calendar which can be found on the Calendar tab on the school website and this can be synced to your Google Calendar and your phone.
2023-2024 Volunteer Online Sign-Up: We employ an online sign-up format for volunteering for events throughout the school year. Volunteer opportunities are open to parents and parishioners over the course of the school year. We seek and appreciate any volunteering you may be able to do. Please take a look! Go to the volunteer sign-up link at St. Charles Volunteer Packet 2023-24. Once you have accessed the page, complete each area in which you would like to volunteer and hit the “submit” button. Thank you.
•Dismissal parking information is found on the school website- Summer Mailing Items. If you have questions, or if you were not assigned a parking spot, please email the parking coordinator at parkinglot@stcharlesschoolfw.org
•Athletic Forms (Physicals, CYO Consent Forms, etc.) – Students planning to participate in sports in grades 5-8 must have a physical before participation is allowed. As fall sports begin in a week or so, make sure to have your physicals completed. Physical forms and additional athletic consent forms can be found on our school website here- Athletics Forms. Team coaches will hand out consent forms as your child joins a team, but you can always access copies on the website.
•Emergency Cards - Please complete the online form for our records- SCBS Emergency Procedure Form 2023-24
•The Handbook & Picture Authorization Acknowledgement. Please read the Parent Handbook online at www.stcharlesschoolfw.org, and then complete Handbook and Picture Authorization Acknowledgment. Please note, the St. Charles Athletic and Child Care Handbooks have been incorporated into the Parent Handbook.
Additionally, the Picture Authorization (On the same page as the handbook form) is an authorization for the use of student and parent pictures on websites, in yearbooks, and in all other school-related promotional materials.
•School Parent Agreement: School/Parent Agreement Form
Reminders – Grades PreK-8: Students, if you have dyed or bleached your hair over the summer, remember to have your hair back to its natural shade before returning to school. Gentlemen if needed, shave and get a haircut. No mullets. Thank you.
Finally, the faculty, staff, and administration are excited about your return to school. I sincerely hope that your summer has been safe and enjoyable. Please keep all of our teachers, staff, families, and students in your daily prayers throughout the year. Thank you for taking the time to read this, but more importantly, thank you for sending your children to our St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Sincerely - Rob Sordelet, Principal
