Mr. Kelly’s Summer Letter to Parents

Dear St. James/Seton Catholic School Parents,

I hope your summer has been a time of renewal with friends and family. The 2019-2020 school year is rapidly approaching. I am excited for the school year and hope you are too! I want to thank you for the tremendous responsibility that you have given the teachers and staff at SJS, educating your children. We will strive to provide a superior Catholic education. We will be committed to providing your children with a safe, disciplined environment, full of high expectations, where they can grow in knowledge and love of our God. It is an honor to work in partnership with our parents as we continue the tradition of excellence at SJS. At SJS we continue to be– faith, family, and future.

This is my fourth year at SJS, and my career has been spent entirely in Catholic education. I remain a firm believer in Catholic schools. I have seen the many ways that what we do in Catholic education is different, special, and powerful. We are crafting the future of our Church and community. But, I am very much aware of the fact that for SJS to be successful we need the support of the parents. So please accept this invitation to be part of your child’s education. Schools simply work best when parents are included. You are indeed welcome to be a part of SJS. And, please know we appreciate all the sacrifices and efforts of our parents.

The summer has been a busy time at SJS as we worked on several school improvement projects. A special thanks to our maintenance and office staffs for all the hard work this summer. I am writing to let you know some of the important information for the start of the school year:

I’m excited to welcome new members to the teaching staff of SJS this year. Ms. Lexi Hatt will be our new Third Grade teacher. Mrs. Liz Sheets will be joining us in Fourth Grade. Ms. Morgan Burke will be our new Junior High Science teacher. Mrs. Jennifer List will be joining us in Sixth Grade. Ms. Brianna Pohlmann will be our new Music teacher. And, Mrs. Emma Teel will be our new Art teacher. I am excited about the addition of these fine teachers and am already impressed by their positive energy and enthusiasm. Please take a moment to welcome them to SJS.
We also want to welcome Fr. Ryan Lewis the new pastor of St. Elizabeth Anne Seton Church. Fr. Lewis is a true supporter of Catholic education. His dedication to Catholic schools is well known throughout the diocese. We look forward to the ideas and enthusiasm he will be sharing with SJS.
We will be continuing with the guided reading approach to Reading in the younger grades as we have seen great results. We also have added again to our leveled literacy book room, which now has over 2,000 leveled readers for the students and teachers to use! We also will be continuing the STAR Reading/Math program which will give our teachers a greater ability to benchmark and monitor the progress of our students. The Genius Hour will also continue this year in grades 1-6. This will surely be another year of great progress.
On August 1st a used uniform exchange will take place in the school library. It will not be the same as previous used uniform sales. No one was able to run the used uniform sale as it was done in previous years. So we will simply have used uniforms that have been given to the school available for exchange with another piece of uniform. If you have nothing to exchange, a small donation can be made. Also present at the exchange will be Digiorgio’s Uniform. They will have new uniform pieces for sale and for order. The event runs from 5:00-7:00.
If you are purchasing the heather gray uniform shirts please make sure they are the appropriate shade of gray. We made great strides in this area last year, thank you. Also, if your yellow uniform shirts have lost their yellow please address this prior to the start of the year. If needed, there also is a sample of the heather gray color for shirts in the office.
Mark your calendar for Welcome Night on August 16^th, 4:30-6:30. This is an opportunity to visit with others, meet the teachers, and see the classrooms. The event starts in the gym for packet pick up, and then off to the classrooms. You can also drop off supplies in the classroom if you like.
School begins on August 19th for grades K-8. The 19^th is a half day with 11:45 dismissal, lunch will not be served. PreK begins the 20^th. Full days also begin the 20^th. Lunch will be served starting the 20^th. Uniforms are expected the first day of school in K-8.
Mark your calendars for Curriculum Night on August 29th, this evening will provide you with the opportunity to learn about the rules and expectations in the classrooms, and attendance is mandatory for parents. Be on the lookout soon for a revamped SJS website full of new pictures and features.
There will be a variety of important forms and emails coming home in the first few weeks of school. Some will require your signature, please be aware and prompt in your responses. Thank you.
When you receive the student handbook please go over it thoroughly with your student. There have been changes made, so it will be important for you and the students to become familiar with the expectations laid out in the handbook. For example, one change is that the only shorts allowed on out-of-uniform days will be uniform shorts.
We are also this year going to be sending any student not picked up in a timely manner after school to Kidscare, and the parents will be charged.
Attached you will find the supply lists, calendar, and uniform code. Please make sure all uniform and hair requirements are met on the first day of school. Please look this information over closely. A lunch menu will be made available before school begins.
Parent Participation hours can be turned in as soon as you reach your required hours. You can email parentparticipation@sjsomaha.org
And, the SOAR Dinner will be held this year on November 23rd. Last year was outstanding, and this year is sure to be a fun event!

I look forward to the start of another school year. Our academics are excellent, our expectations are high, and our faith is strong. We are about faith, family, and future. If you have any questions please feel free to contact the office. Thank you for all you do.

Peace,

William Kelly

Principal