1 October Letter from Mr. Kelly

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Dear SJS Catholic School Community,

We continue to make our way through this COVID year.  We have been making the best of the challenges presented and have really made good progress.  So, just as a reminder, should there be a positive case in the classroom (or contact group) you will be notified.  Your student will then have to mask for up to 2 weeks and monitor for symptoms.  This will be non-negotiable.  But, one of the keys for success is for our parents to remain healthy.  So please do whatever you can to keep yourself healthy and protected.  And if your student displays any symptoms, please keep them home.  We all look forward to the day when I can stop talking about this.

The local Catholic high schools come in every year to recruit our junior high.  We are blessed in Omaha with so many outstanding Catholic high schools.  I was visiting with a principal of one of those schools who shared that our students are doing well in their studies and he enjoys having SJS grads.  That made me feel good and is a testament to the hard work of our parents, staff, and students.  We want to continue to challenge our students and have placed this expectation upon them: addition and subtraction facts mastered (able to recall the answer quickly) by the end of 2nd grade, and multiplication and division facts mastered by the end of 4th.  Thank you for your help.

We are striving to maintain high academic standards at SJS.  So as the year advances you may notice an increase in the homework, projects, testing, or complexity of assignments.  Thank you for helping us to challenge and reach our students.

Last week SJS had a table at the Archbishop’s Dinner for Education.  It is a yearly event designed to celebrate Catholic schools and recognize outstanding educators.  I always return renewed by the idea that we are a part of a great tradition of excellence and that there are many others committed to Catholic school success.  I also return grateful for the dedicated teaching staff we have here at SJS.  Their commitment to the students and willingness to go above and beyond is clear to see.  The teachers truly care for our students and want them to be a success.  We truly have much to be thankful for here SJS.

Be on the lookout next for an email about Parent/Teacher Conferences signups.  Conferences are October 28th and will be in person.  Essentially, once the email is sent it is a “first come first served” sort of sign up.  So, your prompt attention will be helpful for your securing a time that works.  We are looking to keep the halls relatively clear this year so ask that you only sign up for the teachers that you feel a conference would be beneficial.  Working together, home and school make a powerful team.  Thanks for all you do.

Peace,

William Kelly
Principal