Everything You Want to Know
Week of December 12, 2021
FROM THE PRINCIPAL:
The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have released updated guidance for their Ready Schools Safe Learners Resiliency Framework and the Planning for COVID-19 Scenarios in Schools. For the complete announcement from ODE, click here. ODE has updated these documents to reflect these recent changes:
COVID-19 vaccinations are now available to students age 5 or older. Vaccination for those eligible is the best tool that we have to support in person learning and protect the health of students, staff, families and our communities.
OHA’s adoption of updated temporary rules OARs 333-019-1015 and 333-019-
Prioritization of a shortened seven day quarantine option. This means that when a close contact remains symptom free and tests negative at 5-7 days after exposure, they may return to school and other activities on day 8.
Test to stay protocol allowing unvaccinated individuals who were exposed to a COVID-19 positive case in a K-12 school setting to remain learning in-person when certain criteria are met.
Our school has been participating in the Abbott BinaxNOW diagnostic testing program since last spring and Mrs. Wasman and I are well versed in how to properly oversee COVID testing should your child be exposed at school and/or have primary COVID-19 symptoms.
Therefore, following the ODE and OHA guidance for the low-risk nature of unmasked outdoor recess exposures, starting TOMORROW, 12/14/21, students will be able to lower their mask while outside. Masks continue to be required while inside so students may lower masks when outside, but will need to wear them properly (covering nose and mouth) while inside the building.
In closing, Santa brought SJF an early present this year…a new website! You're welcome to check it out at sjfschool.org. Special thanks to our marketing coordinator, Kathleen Birrell, photographer, Hilary Foreman with The Lightheart Society, and Dan Roche with Dan Roche Design for their creativity and drive on this project.
***CALENDAR UPDATE:*** Last Friday the Department of Catholic Schools announced that schools in the Archdiocese have been granted an extra day of Christmas Break on Monday, January 3. This means school will resume after Christmas Break on Tuesday, January 4.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
Tuesday 12/14: 3-3:45pm Gr 6-8 study hall, SJF Parish Reconciliation service at 7pm
Wednesday 12/15: Happy Birthday to Mr. Campagna! 1pm School Mass (2nd Gr), 2pm Dismissal, 2pm Chess Wizards (last day of the fall session), 5:00pm Christmas Pageant w/ K/2nd/4th/Glee Club, 6:15pm Christmas Pageant w/ 1st/3rd/4th/Band
Thursday 12/16: 3-3:45pm Gr 6-8 study hall, Men’s Club prime rib dinner at 7pm in the Corrado Family Center
Friday 12/17: Christmas Themed Free Dress - (Santa hats, ugly Christmas sweaters, red & green, etc.) 2pm Classroom Christmas parties, 6:30pm SVDP Christmas food box packaging in old cafe
Saturday 12/18: SVDP food box blessing and delivery at 9:45am
Monday 01/03/: NO SCHOOL-Extra Day of Christmas Break from the Dept. of Catholic Schools!
Tuesday 01/04: School Resumes, 3-3:45pm Gr 6-8 Study Hall
Wednesday 01/05: 1:00pm School Mass (8th Gr), 2:00pm Dismissal, 2:30pm Faculty Meeting
Thursday 01/06: 3-3:45pm Gr 6-8 Study Hall
PLAYGROUND DUTY SCHEDULE
Tuesday 12/14: McClenathan
Wednesday 12/15: Ortiz
Thursday 12/16: Richmond
Friday 12/17: Hager
Monday 01/03: NO SCHOOL
Tuesday 01/04: Adatto
Wednesday 01/05: Carlsson
Thursday 01/06: Barthold
Friday 01/07: Forbess
Playground duty is from 11:25-1:00. Check in at the school office and then head to the Corrado Family Center! If you have a conflict with your scheduled duty date, or you are able to help out on a date that needs coverage, please contact our playground duty coordinator, Holly Hunt, at mailto:[email protected]. Thank you for helping our students in the lunchroom and on the playground.
DECEMBER FAMILY FAITH EXERCISES
The third week of Advent is about joy. Read Psalm 5:11. Pray for joy.
The fourth week of Advent is about love. Read Matthew 22:36-40. Pray for love.
SVDP CHRISTMAS FOOD DRIVE
This is the last week of the parish and school holiday food drive for St. Vincent de Paul! Take a look at the attached flyer to see what your student’s grade is asked to bring. This flyer is also posted on the Resource Documents tab of your Family Portal on FACTS.
MEN’S CLUB CHRISTMAS DINNER
The SJF Men’s Club hosts its annual prime rib dinner this Thursday, 12/16 at 7:00pm in the Corrado Family Center. Dads, grandads and uncles are all welcome to attend. Bring your appetite and your mask.
CHESS WIZARDS
Signups are open for the next session of Chess Wizards. The winter session will run from Jan. 12 - March 16. Classes will be from 2-3pm on Wednesdays in the old school cafeteria. Registration information is on the attached flyer.
EXTENDED CARE - JANUARY 2022
Parents, don’t forget to sign up for your January extended care dates. You can submit your dates to Susan Robinson or turn your calendar in at the school office. The January calendar is attached, and also available on your Family Portal under Resource Documents.
SCHOOL CLOSURE POLICIES
This morning’s icy weather reminds us that winter has arrived. Here is a review of SJF’s inclement weather policies. You can also locate this information on page 15 of your Parent/Student Handbook (the little red handbook):
Announcements concerning school closure and late starts are shared with parents via parent email, posting on the SJF Facebook & Instagram pages, posting on the Announcements banner of your Family Portal on FACTS, and via the FACTS Parent Alert text feature.
During inclement weather, keep the following points in mind:
If the Portland Public School District (PPS) is closed, SJF is closed.
If PPS has a late opening, SJF has a late start at 10:00am. Morning Extended Care and Hot Lunch are not available on late start days.
SJF does reserve the right to make an independent decision regarding school closure or late opening.
If you haven’t yet enrolled in the Parent Alert feature, please text the keyword “START” to 22-383 from your mobile device. Any text alerts from our school will begin with “SJF-ALERT” and calls will show “503-246-3234” (school phone number).
YEAR-END GIVING - AN INVESTMENT IN SJF!
Considering a year end charitable gift? Consider making a pre-commitment for our paddle raise at our action in February! Or a sponsorship! Contribute in this calendar year and you will be recognized at the auction February 26th.
Please reach out to Maddie Andrews if you are interested. Maddie.o.andrews@
UPDATE TO STUDENT/PARENT HANDBOOK 2021-22
ORS 339.366 and 339.368: Teen Dating Violence and Domestic Violence Policy
St. John Fisher School will comply with all current requirements (including those in Oregon law) for educating its students, personnel, and others on the prevention, recognition of, and reporting requirements for teen dating violence and domestic violence. This policy applies to behavior on school grounds, at school-sponsored activities, on school-provided transportation.
You can find our complete policy in the updated Student/Parent Handbook on pages 23-25 (attached).
AUCTION NEWS-CHOMPING AT THE BID
We have successfully concluded the travel raffle. Thank you to everyone who sold and bought tickets! You are an integral part of the auction's success to support our school, and I appreciate you.
These families qualified for Golden Ticket entries by selling 10 or more raffle tickets:
Monnig Kopetz
Gentile O’Neil
Corrado Greenberg
Hamilton Kirker
If you have any questions about this list, please contact either Alison Ortiz, auction chair, or Marie-Eve Gagnon, travel raffle coordinator.
The school auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and the proceeds all go to support our school. It takes everyone's help to be successful. This February 26th, we will have our first in-person live auction in two years! It will also be our first big event as a school in the Corrado Center. With current restrictions, we will be limited to 150 people, but that may change as the year progresses.
Currently, we need to start assembling our silent auction items! To allow more people to participate, the silent auction will remain online this year. Procurement is already in full swing, but we want to have some amazing packages available for everyone to bid on. To help with this, I have created a signup genius of themed packages. When you click the link, you can view the packages, and sign up for however many items in however many packages you want to purchase items for! Remember, all items donated to the auction are tax deductible! Here is the link for the sign up genius: https://www.
If you have any questions on signing up, or have any issues with the sign up genius, please contact me at [email protected].
Alison Ortiz
Auction Chair
[email protected]
Please click below to download attached flyers for this week:
2021-22 Student Parent Handbook - Update
Chess Wizards - Winer 2022
January 2022 Extended Care Signup
SVDP Food Drive