Living, Loving, and Learning Our Faith

March 21 FORWARD Testing Begins (State Required Assessment)
March 24: 3rd Quarter Ends
March 24: Winners of the School Spelling Bee attend the final round at St. Catherine's
March 25: No school for students/Teacher Professional Learning
March 28: 4th Quarter Begins
March 29: Report Card Review
March 30: Report Cards SENT HOME
April 14: Grade 4 Lenten Play for students and staff
April 15: Good Friday-April 22 EASTER BREAK
April 25: Classes Resume
April 27: Siena Grades 6-8 Math Competition (more details forthcoming)
April 29: Forward Testing Window Closes
May 16: STAR Assessment begins

May 22: Feast Day of St. Rita
May 26: Spring Musical/Talent Show (details forthcoming) 6:30PM
May 27: STAR Assessment ends
May 30: Memorial Day-No School
May 31: F&P Running Records Due

From the Desk of Dr. Sue!

Greetings,

As we complete our first week of Lent, it is a great reminder to be grateful for all that we have and to pray and remember all those suffering from many afflictions whether at home or aboard. Please keep our St. Rita's community and our country in your thoughts and prayers.

We had a wonderful Communion Prayer service this past week with Deacon Greg. The students were able to understand the difference between a priest and deacon. He gave us much to reflect on in terms of loving ourselves and how we love others-treating each one with kindness.

We are moving into our State wide testing window known as the Forward Exam. Previous information was shared in our last newsletter. However, if you are interested in donating water, string cheese, pretzels, granola bars and/or any other type of low sugar snack, please feel free to send in with your child. We are happy to take donations from any family even though this test is for grades 3-8. Class sizes range from 13-25 students.

We are seeing more and more students arriving late to school. We certainly understand things happen. We would like to remind everyone that the first bell rings at 8am. We expect students in their seats at 8:10AM. We will be monitoring attendance closely these last two quarter and 10 truancies will result in a parent meeting to discuss a plan of support. In addition, once the doors are closed at 8:10, we will require you to bring your child into the foyer area and sign in your child to school before they are allowed to enter. Please be aware of this adjustment and know that we are here to help in any manner.

Quick reminder, no school Monday, March 14. All instructional teaching staff will be working on the ARCH standards, alignment, scope and sequence for validity and consistency across Siena. In the afternoon, they have classroom prep time.

Enjoy this week's newsletter and the many smiles and activities we are sharing with you. Please remember to check out St. Rita's Elementary School FB page. The videos of your children are priceless! Dr. Seuss Day was a hit. Check out FB.

Blessings,

Dr. Sue

St. Rita's Mission

Living Loving and Learning Our Faith: Living as members of our Catholic Faith Community; Loving God and all of His creation; Learning for our future on Earth and Heaven.

STATE REQUIRED

FORWARD EXAM

MARCH 22, 2022

We are seeking 100 percent attendance on the dates noted below for the WI State required Forward Exam.

We are looking to have some fun class rewards, if your child's class all participate everyday in these exams.

Please no scheduled appointments during the testing windows.

These exams are for grades 3-8 respectively.

Below you will find the schedule for the Forward Exam beginning March 22.

Please check out the links below. These are Important for your child to practice. We highly recommend practice time. Consider spending 20 minutes a night on these practice tool/sites.

https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/assessment/pdf/Forward_Brochure_for_Families.pdf

https://dpi.wi.gov/assessment/forward/sample-items

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was born in a village in Roman Britain. Saint Patrick came from a Christian family. He was the son of Calpurnius, who was a deacon in the church. At about sixteen years old, he was captured by Irish pirates. While in captivity, Patrick worked as a shepherd and strengthened his relationship with God through prayer.

After many years in captivity he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home and that his ship was ready. After sailing for three days they landed in what they thought was Britain and everyone left the ship. They walked for 28 days in a "wilderness" and became faint from hunger. Patrick prayed for food and a herd of wild boar appeared. Patrick had urged his companions to put their faith in God, his reputation in the group was greatly increased. After various adventures, he returned home to his family when he was in his early twenties.

After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland as a missionary. He brought Christianity to Ireland and converted many pagans to Christianity. St.Patrick eventually led Chief Aodhan to Christ and they worked together to convert many other pagans.

FUN FACTS

Patrick means "nobleman."
Patrick introduced the Celtic cross, which included the sun. This helped the Irish adopt it as a national symbol of Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Day did not become a major celebration until the 1970s. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17 in his honor.
St. Patrick is credited with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. He used a three-leafed shamrock as an illustration of the "three-in-one" God. For this reason, shamrocks are a central symbol for St. Patrick’s Day.

Leprechaun Drawings

In preparing for celebrating Saint Pats day, our seventh grade had art class with kindergarten. Step-by-step each student drew a leprechaun. It was a fantastic collaboration Between grades.

OUU Thursday, March 17

WEAR GREEN!

Please remember Thursday we celebrate Mass and therefore, for bottoms/tops, Mass expectations are that they wear jeans, sport pants, khaki’s, skirts/skorts; however no midriffs, tights, leggings or jeggings out of respect for the celebration of Mass.

Spelling Bee Thursday, March 24

Congratulations to our finalist for the Siena Catholic Schools Spelling Bee at St. Catherine High School!

The following students will be competing with other students in Siena in their grade level band.

Grades 1 and 2 finalists :

1st: Alejandro R. 2nd: Abigail E. 3rd: Olivia L. Alternate: Gracie D.

Grades 3-5 finalists

1st: Carmine C. 2nd: Liliana G. 3rd: Yaneisy V. Alternate: Giana G.

Grades 6-8 Finalists

1st: Tressa W. 2nd:Amanda D. 3rd: Stephen S. Alternate: Arlette B.F.

Families are welcome to bring family and friends to this event. The Spelling Bee will take place on Thursday, March 24, at 3:00 p.m.

*Finalists will receive a letter on Tuesday, March 15th.

Science is picking up speed!

Virtual Welding! Catapults! LABS!

Welcome to FAB LAB Fridays! John Ziernen from Gateway is bringing more technology to our school such as virtual welding, laser printing, and 3D design and printing. We will be working with him until May to develop some fun projects that test our students’ minds in problem solving.

Earth Science is studying plate tectonics and discovering the movement of convection currents in the mantle. Through their interactive notebooks, our Earth Science students are delving into the depths of the earth and the theories of science.

Physical Science is moving into Chemistry. They used Lucky Charms cereal and pasta to determine average atomic mass and analyze results from their LABS. Chemistry lends to many fun lab activities such as exothermic reactions and freezing temperatures. Keep an ear out for those fun labs coming up.

Guess who this is??

4k Loves Books

Our families are reading books to our 4K students and sharing them via video!

During Snack time, Ms. Terrie found a video of an astronaut reading a book in space.

Thursday Service

Grade 4 led this week's Communion Service. Thank you to Deacon Greg for holding the Communion service for us while Father Michael was on vacation.

Spirit Wear Orders Due Friday, March 18.

Seroogy's Chocolate Bar Orders Due Wednesday, March 23.

BASKETBALL-Sunday, March 20th

The 8th Grade boys will be playing on Sunday, March 20th at 1:00pm at St Thomas More High School.

If you are able to, please go support and cheer them on

St. Thomas More High School

2601 E Morgan Ave

Milwaukee, WI 53207

Library- Quarter Sale

The Quarter Sale will be open during St. Rita Parish Fish Fry on March 11 & 18 from 5:00 P.M-close.

It will also be open during Lunch hours on Friday, March 18 from 10:30 A.M. - 12:00 P.M.

If you wish to volunteer to run the quarter sale during any other lunch periods, please contact Mrs. Schotz at fschotz@sienacatholicschools.org

Descubre

My name is Geraldine Bodi and I am the new counselor for St. Rita's and St. Lucy's. You can reach me by email or calling St. Rita's on Wednesday or Thursday. You can also reach me at St. Lucy's on Monday and Tuesday.

There is a fabulous opportunity for your middle school student explained below. The experience also will inform you of financial opportunities for college as well. If you do register and want to use the shuttle the Racine pick up locations will be 21st Century Preparatory School and Starbuck IB Middle School.

UW-Parkside is hosting a DESCUBRE Parkside Spanish visit day on Saturday March 12 from 9 AM-1 PM. The program is geared for middle school students to explore careers via hands on workshops while Parents learn more about how to support their students through HS on a path to higher education.

The entire family is invited! UW-Parkside will provide child care, lunch and transportation will be available from area schools.
Transportation will be available from 2 area schools in Kenosha and Racine, make sure to indicate if you would like to receive information about the nearest shuttle pick up and drop off.

o Shuttles will depart from area schools by 8:30am

Shuttles will depart from Parkside at 1:00pm

If families are interested interested in attending on Saturday March 12, please register at WWW.UWP.EDU/DESCUBRE

Questions? Contact Gia Gutierrez at gutierrg@uwp.edu or (262)595-3001

Our Descubre Parkside program seeks to partner with heavily populated dual-language schools to foster the idea that college is an achievable option for any student. Descubre Parkside offers useful information for the entire family about our programs of study, tools to prepare students on a path to college and engaging workshops that introduce both students and parents to higher education. WWW.UWP.EDU/DESCUBRE

Nuestro programa Descubre Parkside colabora con escuelas secundarias que ofrecen clases bilingües a sus estudiantes para promover estudios superiores como una meta que es posible de alcanzar por cualquier estudiante. Descubre Parkside ofrece información para toda la familia sobre programas de estudio, herramientas para preparar a estudiantes en camino a la universidad, y talleres dinámicos que introducen al estudiante y familia a estudios superiores. WWW.UWP.EDU/DESCUBRE

COVID-19 Testing at St. Catherine's High School

Siena Catholic Schools has maintained a focus on safety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As an organization, Siena continues to find ways to support our students, staff, and family as the pandemic progresses. Testing has become a key resource to monitoring the spread of COVID and identifying proper quarantine timelines for students, staff, and family members.

Siena is happy to announce that we will be providing onsite testing for our students, staff, and family members. This service will be available from 7:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. We have designated a testing location at St. Catherine's High School (1200 Park Ave., Racine, WI 53403, Door 9) which is located on the west side of the building with parking on Villa Street.

Here is what you need to know:

Testing is free: you will not be asked to provide any insurance or payment information.
Testing is walk-in, but it is recommended that you pre-register for your appointment. The attached document is the same process for registering, just select the school where you work.
Paper registration forms will also be available for walk-ins.
Parents should complete registration forms prior to their students arriving for a test and accompany their students for testing.
Antigen tests will be used when available, but PCR tests may also be used with results arriving in 24-48 hours of testing.

Below you will find a link for Instruction on how to pre-register. By pre-registering prior to testing the process will run more smoothly, will cover consent for testing, and the patient will receive an email notification once the result is available in their patient profile.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aNYoowlYuPb8opDnckQXII3ZToRA9TKd/view?usp=sharing

We are excited to continue to support our system through this next stage of the pandemic.

St. Rita School

If you missed our Open House, you can view our video using the link https://youtu.be/_Ao8KjNlknQ.

Royal Parent School Association

Welcome to St. Rita

BOX TOPS APP

Help us earn money for our school by using the Box Tops app. It’s an easy way to make a difference. Plus, use my referral code JENN7A81 when you sign up and you’ll get 40 Bonus Box Tops when you scan your first receipt now through 02/14/2022, while supplies last. Use the link below to download the Box Tops app:

https://btfe.smart.link/c2jjdifkw?referral_code=JENN7A81

SCRIP

While we cannot have SCRIP in person like we used to, we CAN participate in SCRIP online with E-gift card delivery, which is instant and completely contact-free.

You can ONLY purchase E-gift cards (there are over 750 vendors to choose from, including Amazon, Target, Kohls, Home Depot, Walmart, Starbucks, etc.!)
A percentage of that purchase (2-17%) "gives back" as a rebate:
- 50% of the rebate goes toward your family's tuition bill, student activity fees, spirit wear or a check at the end of the school year
- 50% of the rebate directly supports St. Rita’s.

Click on the link to Learn more : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UAVWKOFQDJwnlFhUO_3CJ3Z7OUaaGPS8/view?usp=sharing

Siena is looking for Substitutes

If you or you know someone interested in becoming a substitute, please contact bschurman@sienacatholicschools.org for more information.

Facebook

Be sure to check out our Facebook page and all the great videos we post! We need you to "LIKE" us!

https://www.facebook.com/stritaschoolracine

Catholic Social Responsibility Guidebook

Please see the newly released Catholic Social Responsibility Guidebook from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee under the direction of Dr. Kathleen Cepelka. It is available at https://www.archmil.org/Education/Catholic-Social-Responsibility.htm.

Parish Lenten Prayer

Heavenly Father

As I look to you for ways to become closer to you, give me a special grace to open my heart during this time. Help me to assure your faith and pray for your guidance and forgiveness as I leave the darkness of sin and become the light in the Lord, like his children of light, those who shine with love and truth.

Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving help me to discipline my body and be renewed in spirit. May my acts of penance bring me your forgiveness, open my heart to your love and prepare me for the coming feast of the Resurrection of Christ.

Give me the strength to reach out beyond my own life and to give just a little more to those who may be struggling. May I journey toward the cross prayerfully and purposefully, even through the pain, doubt, questions, and searching. May my praise never cease in this season. May my worship be unending. May my love for you find new depths.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit.

Amen

Humans Concern Committee

Catholic Social Justice Principles:

The St. Rita Human Concerns Committee is continuing it's a series on the Social Justice Teachings of the Catholic Church. Each month the focus will be on a new social justice principle with examples of how we can live out the teaching in our community.

Call to Family, Community, and Participation

God, in the form of the Trinity, is relational. We, who are created in the image and likeness of God, are called into relationships within our families and our communities. We are social beings and through our participation in our families and communities, God acts in the world.

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” John 15:12

For Further Information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giQgWakrgQs&t=208s

Living It Out:

*Write a letter to someone working to build community in our town, thanking them for their efforts.

*Apologize to someone in your family.

*Prepare a meal or baked goods for a family who is experiencing a difficult time.

*Share the title of your favorite inspirational book with someone in your family or community. Discuss it with them. Consider donating a copy to the school or parish library.

*Offer to pick up groceries for a neighbor.

*Start a kindness challenge within your family. See how many people you can impact.

*Babysit so a married couple may have time together to focus on their relationship.

*Leave a thank you note for your trash collector or mail carrier.

At St. Rita:

-Human Concerns Committee: https://www.st-ritas.org/human-concerns

-Ministry to the Homebound

-St. Vincent de Paul

-Prison Ministry

In our Community:

-Catholic Charities: https://www.ccmke.org/Catholic-Charities.htm

-Big Brothers Big Sisters: https://www.beabignow.org