Our Lady of Charity Newsletter

March 5, 2024

Dear Parents,

Report cards go home tomorrow. Be sure to ask for them.

The Father-Daughter Dance that we had for Valentine’s Day was a hit, and many of you have asked me about a mother-son event. I polled students in grades 2, 5, 7, and 8, and given the choice between a dance and a bowling night, all the boys said they want bowling. Stay tuned for a date for the OLC Mother-Son Bowling Night – we’ll have pizza, dessert, etc. etc. etc.

It’s not too late to pay for skating. The fee is $18 for the eleven days of roller skating, which begins on Friday. Please send your child with the fee and include a note from you giving your permission for him or her to skate. It’s fun and students make rapid progress. If you would like to help the kindergarteners, 1st, or 2nd graders with their skates, contact Pedro in the office.

Book Fair takes place every day after school next week. If you would like to help out, please email Mrs. Johnson: ljohnson@olc-school.org

Our girls’ volleyball season has begun. Contact Mr. Infante for a game schedule. Any OLC student who attends a volleyball game will earn one dress down pass for the next day. Support your Panthers!

Movie Night: See Shrek on the field at 6:30 PM on Friday, March 22. Bring the whole family.

This week we received a delivery of brand new tables and chairs for our preschool and kindergarten classrooms. Thanks to special pandemic related funding from Springfield, we are blessed to have new, state of the art student furniture in all classrooms, preschool to 8th grade.

Thank you to those who attended our flea market school fundraiser at St. Mary of Czestochowa the weekend of February 24 and 25. We raised a profit of over $2000 for our school.

At 6:30 PM on Thursday, April 11, Mr. Ferney Ramirez will speak to OLC parents on the importance you have in your child’s success, how to build your children’s self-esteem, motivation, and values. You will like Ferney! Please join us and invite your friends. The presentation will be in Spanish, with English translation. Any parent who comes to this workshop will receive two hours of volunteer service credit.

All school Mass this Sunday, March 10, at noon. The 2nd grade class will serve refreshments after Mass in Halpin Hall. All OLC families are encouraged to join us for this liturgy. Schoolbelles gift certificates will be

presented to any parent at the Mass.

Our church organ is broken, and it is going to cost $2500 to fix it. That’s a lot less than the $90,000 it would cost to replace it! There will be a box in the rear of the church after all Sunday Masses in which you can place a donation to repair the organ. Please consider making a contribution; we use the organ at all school Masses.

Yours in Christ,

Frank S. Zarate, Jr., Ed.D. Principal

(708) 652-0262

fzarate@olc-school.org

OLC Music NEWSLETTER

January/February 2024

General Info

This newsletter is meant to keep you up to date on our progress in music class. Aer a successful Christmas concert and what I hope was a restful holiday season for all of you, we are back!

Class Activities

Kindergarten & First Grade have been continuing to establish a firm foundation in understanding steady beat (tempo) and have been delving more into rhythm. We practice rhythm through establishing patterns using syllables that go on top of the beat. Mostly focusing on Ta (quarter notes, one syllable) or ti-ti (eighth notes, two syllables). We practice using a variety of different percussion methods. In addition, students are continuing to learn about pitch through singing songs and boomwhacker activities. Students were also recently introduced to the music staff!

Second through Fourth Grade students have learned about ostinatos, steady beat, tempo, simple meters, identifying pitch and improvisation in the first trimester. This trimester we have been focusing on learning the music staff, treble clef, major vs minor sound, and the beginnings of music history. As we progress in learning the treble clef, I plan on teaching the students mallet instruments. Hoping that we can perform some beginner ensemble music together by spring break. Lastly, we have been digging into the periods of music history. Thus far digging into Baroque music and learning about Bach, Vivaldi and Handel.

Fih through Eighth Grade this trimester the students have been working on creating their own podcast on a music topic of their choice. The students have been allowed to work in groups of up to three while some have chosen to work independently. We began this journey doing a couple of podcast listening assignments. This allowed for the students to hear a couple different styles of podcasting to model their approach aer. At this point they have picked and refined their topics of interest and will begin compiling research. Over the next few weeks we will be creating outlines, scripts and then finally recording our episodes. We hope to create either a landing page or at least a google drive that will allow for you to listen to your students work!

Sincerely,

Chris Misch-Bloxdorf

misch@strivingupmusic.com

OLC Newsletter

January 30, 2024

Dear Parents,

OLC is having a Father Daughter Dance for Valentine’s Day this Friday night, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM in Halpin Hall. All OLC girls and their dads/uncles/big brothers/family friends are invited.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are on Thursday, February 8, from 12:30 - 6:00. Students will be dismissed at 11:30, and no lunches will be served. Mid-year conferences are optional and are virtual or in-person, whichever you prefer. Sign up information was emailed to you last Monday.

Don’t forget that there is no school on Friday, February 9.

All school Mass on Sunday, February 11, at noon. The 3rd grade class will serve refreshments after Mass in Halpin Hall. All OLC families are encouraged to join us for this liturgy. Schoolbelles gift certificates will be presented to any parent at the Mass.

Several parents have asked me about Covid protocols, as the virus appears to be going around again. Please bear in mind that there are no longer any reporting requirements, so we in the school office are not always aware that a child has the virus. As a reminder, here is the policy: The Archdiocese of Chicago lifted all COVID-related restrictions and protocols following the May 2023 expiration of the public health emergency. For the 2023-2024 school year, schools should treat COVID like other similar viruses. If a student or staff member experiences symptoms of any virus, they should stay home until symptoms have resolved for 24 hours. There are no minimum exclusion lengths, masking requirements, or reporting protocols.

Did you know?

• Students who attend Catholic schools are more likely to attend church and remain Catholic as adults.

• Latino students who attend Catholic schools are 42% more likely to graduate from high school and 2.5 times more likely to graduate college.

• Over 80% percent of students who graduate from Catholic schools attend college, compared to 44% of students in public schools.

• In Catholic high schools, 98% of minority children graduate. 

• Catholic school students are exposed to a wide variety of views, more likely to vote, more likely to be civically engaged and more likely to earn high wages than their public school peers.

Yours in Christ,

Frank S. Zarate, Jr., Ed.D.

Principal

(708) 652-0262

fzarate@olc-school.org

*Source: Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso