Dear Parents/Guardians,
As I reflect over the past month, I am amazed with how fast time has gone. More importantly, I am so pleased with how well every thing is going. Our students have been incredible, our teachers have been so productive, and our parents have been so involved. I am so fortunate to be a part of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School.
The month of October is always a very busy month, and this year is no exception. There are several events going on this year that are new to OLPH. One of the most important is the Strategic Planning Input Sessions. They begin this month, and I encourage everyone to participate. These sessions are to help us grow and become the best school we can become. We need your thoughts, ideas, support, and prayers.
As the new quarter begins, there will be new sporting activities among other events and activities that will not be covered in this letter or that may change after the publishing of this letter. I encourage all to read the weekly Fanfare that is published on our website. Speaking of our website, you will notice there are changes being made to keep you updated and aware. I have added a parents’ corner where I will be scanning parent articles periodically. There will be other additions and changes going on throughout the year. Thank you very much to Mr. Richard Smith and others who have helped Teresa Hale with this.
Last year we had to make some changes in our afternoon pickup process to accommodate the building of Holy Family Hall. The feedback from you, as well as from our teachers, was that this was a much safer and efficient process; so, we kept the procedure this year. We are asking for your help. Some parents are in a hurry and park their cars in the school lot, pick up their children from the line or gym, and proceed through the archway. This is causing some safety concerns, especially with our crossing guard. Only the kindergarten parents should be driving through the archway. The other cars should follow the traffic pattern in back of the gym. The crossing guard cannot control two heavy lanes of traffic; she is being put in danger. In addition, I am still witnessing parents letting students walk through the traffic by themselves both in the mornings and afternoons. Please drive or walk them to the ramp in the mornings, and do not expect them to walk to your cars in the lot in the afternoons. Our number one priority is the safety of your children.
The following is what is going on this busy month:
- Saturday, October 4th, is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Therefore, as an opener to our October calendar, we will have the Blessing of the Animals (Oct. 1) at 1:45 on the football field.
- As part of the 40 Days of Life vigil, our students will be participating in the rosary October 2nd in front of church at the statue of Mary.
- Friday, October 3, the students will have a day off as the faculty travels to Knoxville for a Diocesan in-service.
- Booster Club Meeting, October 6, 6:00 in the cafeteria.
- The fire department will be here for the Kg-4th grades on Tuesday, October 7.
- Wednesday, October 8, is our second annual Irish Bowl. This is a football game between OLPH and St. Jude at Notre Dame High School. This year, the Bowl falls during Notre Dame’s homecoming week. Therefore, the seventh and eighth grade students have been invited to join them all morning for their field day before the game. The sixth graders will be going to the game only. We want to thank Notre Dame for inviting us and providing transportation for our students to the high school. Families of the 6th,7th, and 8th graders will be getting more details sent home to them.
- Thursday, October 9, we are hosting our first Book Frenzy. This wonderful idea brought to us by some of the parents is a school wide book exchange. This initiative is not only parent oriented but parent organized as well as parent supervised. Thank you to Mrs. Raabe, Mrs. McGhee, and all the parents involved.
- Friday, October 10, we end our week with the Living Rosary which will be held in the gym at 2:45. We invite all of you to join us.
- October 13th through 17th is Fall Break. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
- The eighth graders come back from Fall Break to go on retreat at Wesley Woods October 20th-22nd. Then on the 23rd they have their visitation day at Notre Dame.
- The Home and School Meeting is on the 22nd. Your Home and School Board is working very hard this year, and the meetings are very productive and informative. I encourage everyone to come and become involved.
- Awards will be given to the 5th through 8th graders in the gym on Friday, Oct. 24th in the gym.
- October 24 is the beginning date of our Spanish Enrichment Program. This is another one of our wonderful parent initiatives. It is open to all students from 4th through 8th grade. Students will be bringing home information on this; it will be posted in the Fanfare; or, you may call the school about it. Thank you to Mrs. Riesco, Mrs. Rivas, and the other parents involved in this.
- Our Oktoberfest Ram Run is October 25. We need your help and support.
- Following the Ram Run the Oktoberfest will be held in the Tennessee Pavilion and will continue through Sunday. OLPH will be manning the food booth.
- Also, on October 25, after the Ram Run, our football team will be playing the Outback Bowl and celebrating its 60th year of football. Go Rams!
- The school committee meeting is Monday, October 27th , in the school library.
- Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for October 31st. Last year we tried something different and received a lot of wonderful feedback. Therefore, we are going to do this again. We will have conferences beginning on Thursday evening and the remainder on Friday morning. This way working parents will be able to meet without taking off from their jobs. We want EVERYONE to attend the conferences. More information will go home about this.
I want to close this newsletter by again thanking you for all of your support. We are having a wonderful year, but we could not be successful in our mission without you. If you have not been on the campus yet this school year, I invite you to come. I think you will walk away saying, “Wow!”
Have a great month.
God Bless,
Jeri McInturff