News - April 2021 RSS Feed

We will honor Mary, the mother of Jesus, with the crowning of Mary during Mass on Wednesday, May 5th. As part of the ceremony, each 8th Grader will carry a bouquet of flowers in the procession and place them before the statue of Mary in the sanctuary of the church. Songs and prayers will follow, and an eighth grade student will culminate the ceremony by placing a crown of flowers on the statue of the Blessed Mother. If you have any flowers in your yard or you can purchase them, please send them to school before the service on Monday, May 3rd or Tuesday, May 4th. Parents are welcome to attend the Mass and May Crowning. In addition to the Marian Service on Wednesday, there will be a Mary altar in the first floor hallway through the month of May. In order to keep the altar adorned with fresh flowers, we ask that you send flowers in throughout the month.

Last week the School Choice Program had a huge win in the state budget. While the budget is still awaiting the signature of Governor Holcomb, we are very excited about this new development. There are three major positive changes to the School Choice Program that will significantly impact our school. First, the voucher awards will be streamlined at the 90% level. There will no longer be 3 tier levels. Second, the income requirements are increasing to 300% of the current Free and Reduced lunch levels. Last, the SGO program will increase financial eligibility to 300% of Free and Reduced lunch levels. This is a wonderful opportunity for our Catholic Schools and it will impact many of our school families. There are still many more details to come, please be patient as we learn more about this wonderful new development. The IDOE has renewed our application to participate in the Choice Scholarship Program for the 21-22 school year. We will be sending home information on how to apply for the Choice Scholarship Program and/or the SGO Program very soon.

We do not have school on Friday, April 30th. We hope that you enjoy the long Derby weekend.

Our annual Walk-A-Thon will be held on Friday, May 14. We are very excited to be able to participate in this wonderful activity and also take this opportunity to raise money for our school. Due to Covid, we were not able to have our Reverse Raffle. The Raffle is normally our biggest fundraiser for the school. I hope that we can make this fundraiser a huge success and the students can have a sense of normalcy to end the year. This event gives families and friends the chance to sponsor a student as they participate in the Walk A Thon by placing a donation online with Boosterthon at Funrun.com. Our goal is to raise at least $6,500. As a family, you can give, share your student’s fundraising link with others, or both! If this is not the right time to financially give, we fully understand. Simply sharing about our fundraiser online IS supporting our fundraiser. You’ll learn more about how to easily do that on funrun.com at the beginning of next week.

The Kindergarten Class is hosting a Lemonade Stand at the Kinder Derby on Thursday. Send some change with your children so they can donate and enjoy a glass of lemonade during the Kinder Derby. The money will go to support Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. They can donate as much as they want for a glass of lemonade. The proceeds will go to help in the cure of childhood cancer. This will be our 9th year raising money for childhood cancer (would be 10th if not for the pandemic). To date, our annual lemonade stand has raised over $4,200! In the Bible it says: How can I repay the LORD for all the good done for me? Psalm 116:12 The Kinder Derby will take place at 9:45 on Thursday, April 29 in the school parking lot. In the case of inclement weather, the event will be moved into the school gym and only Kindergarten parents and grandparents will be allowed to attend. We will move the lemonade stand into the school lobby and grade levels will be called down individually to enjoy a glass of lemonade and donate to this wonderful cause.

Our annual Walk-A-Thon will be held on Friday, May 14. We are very excited to be able to participate in this wonderful activity and also take this opportunity to raise money for our school. I am pleased to announce that we have partnered with Boosterthon to help us with this fundraising event. Boosterthon will make it more profitable, fun, and easy for everyone. Boosterthon provides the opportunity to collect donations online and to share this fundraising opportunity with all of your family and friends. I will be sending more information home next week about Boosterthon and how everyone can get involved. I hope that everyone will help make this a wonderful fundraising event and help St. Anthony School.

It is important that we continue to follow the guidelines and protocols set forth in our Student Handbook. Here are a few items that we are noticing here at school. Smart Watches are not allowed. Smart Watches must be kept in the student’s backpack. Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more Smart Watches and they become a distraction during the school day and in the classroom. Boys’ hair must be above the eyebrows, ears, and off the collar. Hair for girls or boys cannot be extreme in nature or have any extreme color. Students are not allowed to wear jackets and non-school sweatshirts throughout the day. School sweatshirts may be purchased and worn during the day.

There is a 2% increase in tuition for the following year. Now that we have tuition rates set, we will be applying to be a Choice Scholarship school and will be getting that information out as soon as we are approved as a school.

Paragon order will be available for pick up Monday, April 12 in the lobby at 2:00PM. If items are not picked up by a parent, then the order will be sent home with students. Don’t forget to collect money and return to the office by Tuesday, April 19.

ILEARN Testing will begin on Monday, April 19th for students in grades 3rd - 8th. The testing window will last approximately 2 weeks. ILEARN is Indiana’s online computer-adaptive assessment designed to measure your child’s proficiency of the Indiana Academic Standards. Today in the Bear Facts you will find information on the ILEARN Assessment. Here are a few tips to ensure your child is successful and prepared for testing. Students need to be present and on time each day. Avoid scheduling appointments during this time. Students should get a good night sleep and eat a good breakfast. Encourage students to do their best.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. Easter is a time to remember that hope is not lost. We know it has been a long, challenging year, but like the resurrection, we know there is light and hope still to come. As we continue to celebrate the Easter season, let us remember that hope is not lost. Let’s remember all those who are working hard to keep us safe and well, and pray for them daily. We should also take this time to remember the vulnerable in our society and pray that together, we can provide them with the help and support they need. We pray that everyone in our community keeps calm, stays safe and has faith that we can deal with any challenges that come our way.