Mid-Week Update
February 24, 2021
Diversity and Inclusion
I wanted to take this opportunity to share some work that has been happening this winter as we work to enhance a culture of diversity and inclusion at St. Matthew. The St. Matthew staff has been engaging in conversations through the Mt Mercy Faith Formation program, thus far the topics of our work have included:
- January - What is Racism?
- February - Do Justice
These conversations will be continuing in this format for the remainder of the school year with additional supplementation for the upcoming school year. We are in the early planning stages of some great things ahead for the 2021-2022 school year to continue the awareness and teachings of this very important teaching to the St. Matthew community.
I am including the introductory video and the document we are using to guide our conversations. You are welcome to join us for any and all of these conversations and stay tuned for the important work that lies ahead. Enjoy the materials.
ACTIVITIES EACH DAY
Monday:
- Kindness activity: Kind note about their teacher
- Illustrate/write a page in our book, Why We Love St. Matthew
Tuesday:
- Kindness activity: Kind note about a staff member
- Read and Feed
Wednesday:
- Kindness activity: Kind note about a classmate
- Class snowball fight
Thursday:
- Kindness activity: Kind note about a parent/guardian
- Kindness cards for residents of Manor Care
Friday:
- Kindness activity: Kind note about Father/Church/Jesus
- Party with a treat
FAST Results
The St. Matthew Winter 2021 FAST results are in. I am including them in two different formats for your review:
- Narrated presentation that I walk you through the FAST results (approximately 18 minutes in length)
- PDF of the presentation for you to view at your leisure
It is important for you to know that the results of these assessments are amazing. This is a result of many facets, but notably your children's hard work, your partnership with the school and the never-ending work of the St. Matthew staff to prepare and deliver quality lessons. We are getting closer to our 80% threshold and maintaining that for years to come.
Your child's FAST results will be coming home in the coming week, please be on the lookout for this mailing.
Thank you for your work at home, it does not go unnoticed.
Vaccine
We are next, the St. Matthew Early Childhood Center (ECC), Preschool, and School staff will all be receiving their first dose of the vaccine tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday (this week.) We are so excited and thankful for this opportunity.
What this means for you?
As you can imagine, we are unsure of the side affects that the staff here may experience; however, we have multiple contingency plans that can be of assistance should the need arise. While we are hopeful this will not affect staffing over the next two days, we will be sure to communicate with you, should any changes need to be made.
Thankfully, the second dose of the vaccine will be over the spring break holiday and should not have any implications in regards to a return to school on Monday March 22nd.
Hy-Vee Receipts
Get those Hy-Vee receipts ready, next week (March 1-5) is our collection contest. A great prize lies ahead. Receipts can be turned into each student's homeroom. This is a great way to earn money for our school.
Mardi Gras
Thank you for the continued support of Mardi Gras 2021. We are excited to present you with the experiences and items that are still available.
Please click on the link and browse away. Items will be available until next Wednesday, March 3rd until 3pm. You will them receive an email and a link to pay via PayPal. Payments can be made via check, but they must be turned in to the church or school office by 3 pm on Friday, March 5th.
Thank you again for your support!
