OUR LADY OF CHARITY SCHOOL WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

August 5, 2022

Dear Parents, Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year: a fresh beginning and a chance to start anew. I hope you and your children are enjoying a good summer.

The first day of school is Monday, August 15, at 8am sharp. We are dismissing all students at 1:00 that day, and we will serve hot lunch. Don’t forget you need to apply for the lunch program this year (I sent you an email about that). Unfortunately Congress did not renew the free meals program.

This year we have acquired a new K - 8 math program called iReady Classroom. It is a combination of digital and print materials. Math continues to be our “School Improvement Plan” academic focus this year. Studies show that success in high level math leads to success in college.

We also have a new program for grades K - 8 to address the children’s social and emotional needs called Caring School Community. We believe this program will increase academic success and have a positive impact on social behaviors and relationships (see attached letter).

OLC needs parent support to enforce the school uniform policy. Gym shoes must be ALL WHITE or ALL BLACK — no contrasting logos! A red sweater, red vest or OLC sweatshirt must be worn by boys in grades K-8 and by girls in grades 5-8. Thank you! This year students will enter the school from the parking lot at the staggered times noted below: 7:50 AM grades PK, K, 1, 2, 3, 4 7:55 AM 5, 6, 7, 8 Students will be dismissed at the staggered times noted below (notice the longer day for some grades): 2:40 PM PK & K 2:50 PM 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The tardy bell rings at 8:00 am, and students must be at their desks, ready to begin the day at 8:00. Tardiness has a negative impact on the entire school community. It not only affects the child who is tardy, but disrupts the learning environment of every student in that classroom.

• Each student is permitted to be tardy three times a trimester.

• Should the child be tardy a fourth time, he/she will receive a warning note and counseling by the teacher.

• The fifth tardy will result in the child being sent to the office for a conference with the principal.

• The sixth tardy will result in a mandatory parent conference.

• Subsequent tardies may result in a morning or afternoon detention with a supervision fee of $5 added to FACTS.

• Please get your child to school on time.

I am delighted to welcome our new 6th grade religion and social studies teacher, Ms. Phoebe Unzueta. Phoebe is a graduate of St. Leonard School, St. Joseph High School, and DePaul University. She completed her student teaching in history last spring in Morton High School District 201. As some of you know, our Spanish teacher Ms. Alvarez, our operations director Ms. Cornacchia, our P.E. teacher Mr. Lopez, and our marketing director Ms. Rosales have moved on from OLC (Ms. Rosales will be here through next week). We wish them success in their future endeavors.

I wanted to follow up with you on a couple of student service projects from last spring. Our dress down held on May 11 to benefit a Catholic parish in Ukraine earned $235! These funds are wired directly to the church there. Also, we collected a total of $521 with our Lenten rice bowls. These funds provide food for the hungry in the U.S. and abroad. Are you interested in our extended care program before or after school? You may qualify for the program free of charge. See Mr. Infante in the school office for details.

Once again this year we are asking each family to help supervise our lunchroom. If you have a child in one of the following grades, this guideline will assist you in fulfilling your required three hours of lunchroom supervision. As a reminder, all parents must volunteer for a total of fifteen hours over the course of the year: August: office September: 5th grade October: 8th grade November: 3rd grade December: 4th grade January: 6th grade February: 1st grade March: 2nd grade April: 7th grade May: kdg/8th grade You will be contacted by either your child’s teacher or the room parent coordinator to schedule two days for your assigned month, for a total of 1.5 hours each day. If you cannot volunteer, please find a family member 18 years or older to fill in for you.

Important dates: Monday, August 22: Extended care (before and after school) begins. Remember there is no breakfast served this year, but children may bring a morning snack. Thursday, September 1: Back to school open house, 6:30 - 8:00 pm (plan to attend!) Monday, September 5: Labor Day (no school) Wednesday, September 7: Early Release day for students (30 minutes before the regular time)

Yours in Christ,

Frank S. Zarate, Jr.,

Ed.D. Principal (708) 652-0262

fzarate@olc-school.org

Boletin Semanal de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad

24 de junio de 2022

Estimados padres,

Gracias a los muchos padres de OLC (47% de ustedes) que completaron la encuesta 5Essentials para nuestra escuela en marzo pasado. Esta encuesta fue realizada por usted, por los maestros y por los estudiantes en los grados 4 - 8.

Según la encuesta, los estudiantes informaron que sus compañeros de clase creen que el trabajo que hacen en la escuela es importante y que sus compañeros de clase se esfuerzan por hacerlo lo mejor posible. Creen que los maestros “esperan que los estudiantes hagan lo mejor que puedan y cumplan con las demandas académicas”. Los maestros creen que el equipo de liderazgo escolar es un grupo activo y capacitado que establece altos estándares para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Informaron que la participación de los padres en la escuela es buena y ha mejorado. A los maestros les gustaría poder colaborar más entre sí observando cómo enseñan otros maestros y tener más oportunidades de trabajar juntos para revisar los datos de las pruebas y desarrollar estrategias de instrucción.

Los padres informaron que están satisfechos en general con la escuela, y el 81 % afirmó que es "extremadamente probable" que recomienden OLC a un padre que busca una escuela para su hijo; ningún padre informó que "no es probable" que recomiende la escuela. Los padres también declararon que les gustaría una mayor voz en los asuntos escolares, una comunicación más frecuente con el maestro y un énfasis continuo en la seguridad escolar, incluido el acoso escolar. Toda esta información nos proporciona una excelente base para la mejora escolar en el próximo año.

Debería haber recibido una copia de los resultados de la prueba de diagnóstico iReady de fin de año de su hijo con su boleta de calificaciones. Como escuela, nuestros estudiantes lograron un gran progreso este año, especialmente en el área de lectura, y a pesar del impacto negativo de la pandemia de COVID-19 en la educación en general: En lectura, el porcentaje medio de progreso hacia el crecimiento típico para OLC fue del 125 %. El “crecimiento típico” es el crecimiento anual promedio de un estudiante en su grado y nivel de colocación de referencia; muchos de nuestros estudiantes superaron el crecimiento de un año en lectura este año.

En matemáticas, el porcentaje medio de progreso hacia el crecimiento típico de nuestra escuela fue del 81 %. Una vez más, el "crecimiento típico" es el crecimiento anual promedio de un estudiante en su nivel de grado.

Las matemáticas seguirán siendo nuestro enfoque académico del “Plan de Mejoramiento Escolar” este próximo año escolar. ¡Los estudios muestran que el éxito en matemáticas de alto nivel conduce al éxito en la universidad!

Maura Mullins y Marisa Villaseñor dejarán sus puestos docentes en OLC este verano. Ambos dejaron su huella en los estudiantes y el personal de OLC. Estaban dedicadas a la escuela y trabajaban duro todos los días.

La Srta. Mullins se unió a nuestro personal docente en 2016. Como maestra de religión de la escuela intermedia, compartió historias de su fe con sus alumnos, los guió a través del sacramento de la confirmación y ayudó a aumentar significativamente la participación de nuestros alumnos en la misa (tal vez la haya notado). Maura pasará a ocupar un puesto en la escuela secundaria en el otoño.

La Srta. Villaseñor llegó a OLC en diciembre de 2018 para llenar una vacante de maestra con licencia. Ella ha hecho un trabajo maravilloso con nuestros alumnos de primer grado, ayudándolos a aprender a leer, orar y trabajar juntos. Su salón de clases siempre fue un centro de aprendizaje organizado y atractivo. Marisa ha asegurado un puesto en un distrito escolar público en los suburbios del noroeste.

Los extrañaremos a ambos, pero les deseamos la mejor de las suertes en sus nuevos emprendimientos.

Suyo en Cristo, Frank S. Zarate, Jr.,

Ed.D. Director

Our Lady of Charity Newsletter

June 24, 2022

Dear Parents, Thank you to the many OLC parents (47% of you) who completed the 5Essentials survey for our school last March. This survey was taken by you, by the teachers, and by students in grades 4 - 8. According to the survey, students reported that their classmates believe the work they do in school is important, and that their classmates try hard to do their best. They believe that teachers “expect students to do their best and to meet academic demands.”

Teachers believe that the school leadership team is an active and skilled group that sets high standards for teaching and student learning. They reported that parent involvement in the school is good and has improved. Teachers would like to be able to collaborate with each other more by observing other teachers teach, and have more opportunities to work together to review test data and develop instructional strategies.

Parents reported that they are satisfied overall with the school, with 81% stating that they are “extremely likely” to recommend OLC to a parent looking for a school for their child; no parents reported that they are “not at all likely” to recommend the school. Parents also stated that they would like a greater voice in school affairs, more frequent communication from the teacher, and a continued emphasis on school safety, including bullying. All of this information provides us with an excellent foundation for school improvement in the coming year.

You should have received a copy of your child’s end-of-the-year iReady Diagnostic test results with his or her report card. As a school, our students made great progress this year, especially in the area of reading, and despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schooling overall: In reading, the median percent progress towards Typical Growth for OLC was 125%. “Typical growth” is the average annual growth for a student at their grade and baseline placement level; many of our students exceeded one year’s growth in reading this year. In math, the median percent progress towards Typical Growth for our school was 81%. Again, “typical growth” is the average annual growth for a student at their grade level. Math will continue to be our “School Improvement Plan” academic focus this coming school year. Studies show that success in high level math leads to success in college!

Maura Mullins and Marisa Villaseñor are moving on from their teaching posts at OLC this summer. Both of them made their mark on OLC students and staff. They were dedicated to the school and they worked hard every day.

Ms. Mullins joined our teaching staff in 2016. As the middle school religion teacher, she shared stories of her faith with her students, guided them through the sacrament of confirmation, and helped significantly increase our students’ participation at Mass (maybe you have noticed that!). Maura will be moving on to a high school position in the fall. Ms. Villaseñor came to OLC in December of 2018 to fill a vacancy of a teacher on a leave of absence. She has done a wonderful job with our first graders, helping them learn to read, to pray, and to work together. Her classroom was always an organized and engaging center of learning. Marisa has secured a position in a public school district in the northwest suburbs. We will miss them both, but we wish them the best of luck in their new endeavors.

Yours in Christ, Frank S. Zarate, Jr.,

Ed.D. Principal (708) 652-0262

fzarate@olc-school.org