Newsletter 9/22/26
September 22, 2026
š Principalās Newsletter
š Happy First Day of Fall!
Today is officially the first day of fall!Ā It is hard to believe how quickly the school year is moving. Our students have settled into their routines, and we have a busy and exciting October ahead at Our Lady of Charity School.
š ECLIP: Building Literacy Through Two Languages
I would like to give families a little more information about our newĀ Early Childhood Language Intensive Program (ECLIP), developed through the University of Notre Dame.
ECLIP is designed for our youngest students, in Preschool and Kindergarten, when children are especially receptive to learning language. Students develop foundational literacy skills in Spanish while continuing to build their English skills.
There is an important idea behind the program: the literacy skills children develop in one language can support literacy development in another.Ā Learning letter sounds, phonics, vocabulary, and other foundational reading skills in Spanish can provide a bridge to English literacy. Research supports this cross-language transfer, and early results from ECLIP have reinforced these findings.
Our kindergartners are doing a great job learning their vowels in Spanish!Ā Parents, please test them at home: A, E, I, O, U.Ā Our preschoolers and kindergartners are also learning the days of the week in Spanish, so please practice those with your children at home.
ECLIP is taught by the regular classroom teachers: Ms. Grimaldo and Ms. Lopez. We are excited to partner with Notre Dame in providing this innovative opportunity for our youngest students.
š¶ Walkathon This Thursday!
Our school Walkathon is this Thursday morning!Ā We are looking forward to a fun morning with our students. Thank you to all of our families who are volunteering and supporting this important school fundraiser.
There is no school on Friday.Ā Our teachers will be participating in a professional development day.
š Catholic High School Visits
Next week will be an exciting week for our eighth graders. We will welcome representatives from four Catholic high schools:
IC Catholic Prep
Our Lady of Tepeyac High SchoolĀ ā girls
St. Rita of Cascia High SchoolĀ ā boys
De La Salle Institute
These visits give our eighth graders an opportunity to learn more about Catholic high schools and begin thinking about their next step in education.
Later this fall, our eighth graders will participate in a Shadow Day at Fenwick High School.
š Important October Dates
š Parent-Teacher Conferences
Thursday, October 8 ā 1:00ā7:00 p.m.Friday, October 9 ā 12:30ā3:00 p.m.
Parents should have received a ClassDojo sign-up sheetĀ from their child's teacher. If you have not received one, please contact your child's teacher.
ā° Early Dismissal ā Wednesday, October 7
Students will be dismissed 30 minutes earlier than the regular dismissal timeĀ on Wednesday, October 7.
š No School ā Monday, October 12
There will be no school on Monday, October 12.
š Bus Evacuation Drill ā Thursday, October 15
On October 15, we will conduct our annual bus evacuation drill. This is one of several safety drills we conduct throughout the school year to help keep students safe. Other drills include fire drills, tornado drills, and lockdown drills.
These drills are an important part of preparing our students and staff to respond appropriately in an emergency.
š Immunization Reminder ā Thursday, October 15
Students who have not received their required immunizations by Thursday, October 15Ā will be excluded from school.
If your child has an upcoming physician appointment to receive the required immunizations, please provide the school with a note or email from the physician's office confirming the date of the appointment. This documentation will be accepted.
š Kids' Night Out ā Friday, October 16
Come join us for Kids' Night OutĀ on Friday, October 16, from 5:00ā8:00 p.m.Ā here at Our Lady of Charity!
There will be games, sports, food, and plenty of funĀ for our students. We hope to see many of our students there!
āŖ All-School Mass ā Sunday, October 18
Our next All-School MassĀ will be held on Sunday, October 18, at noon.
All students are expected to attend.Ā We look forward to celebrating Mass together as a school community.
šŗšø Veterans Day ā November 11
We are preparing a special Veterans Day slideshowĀ to honor the veterans who are part of our OLC families.
We are asking students in Kindergarten through 8th gradeĀ to submit photographs of family members who are veterans. Please include:
šŗšø Name of the veteran
šļø Branch of service
ā¤ļø Relationship to the student
Photographs may be submitted to your child's regular classroom teacher. You may send either a hard copy or an electronic copy. Hard-copy photographs will be returned promptly.
The slideshow will be shown on Wednesday, November 11, Veterans Day, before our 9:00 a.m. Mass. Parents are invited.
Thank you to all of our OLC families who have veterans in their families, and thank you to those veterans for their service to our country.
As always, thank you for your continued support of our school. We have a lot happening this fall, and we are grateful to have youĀ in our school community. We look forward to a wonderful October filled with learning, faith, and fun!
Yours truly,
Frank S. Zarate, Jr., Ed.D.
Principal
(708) 652-0262Ā
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