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Dear Catholic Academy and Parish School Families,

Since September, our Catholic Academies and Parish Schools have been open and operating safely and efficiently. Thank you for your support in ensuring our guidelines for health and safety have been followed. Every person in our extended Catholic Academy and Parish Schools’ community has the responsibility to observe social distancing and wear a mask. This is what will keep the doors to our Catholic Academies and Parish Schools open; this is what will continue to keep everyone at our Catholic Academies and Parish Schools safe and healthy. Our principals, teachers and health aides have rigorously enforced health and safety protocols in our Catholic Academy and Parish Schools. For all this is being done on a daily basis, we are most grateful.

However, as students’ participation in outside extracurricular activities increases, the possibility of exposure to individuals who are positive for COVID may increase for both the students and their families. The same outcome can be true for attending any event with large numbers of people. This past week we have seen a very slight uptick in positive cases, and every positive case has been traced back to exposures at gatherings, parties, and events outside of the Catholic Academy/Parish School. We are sending this letter as a stark reminder COVID protocols do not end at the end of the school day and/or take the weekends off!

With that being said, it is crucial that every family completes the daily self-screening checklist, prior to sending their children to the Catholic Academy/Parish School.

If you can answer YES to any of the questions, your child may NOT enter the Catholic Academy/Parish School building. You MUST contact a health professional for guidance and notify the Catholic Academy/Parish School principal.

As a reminder, the questions are:

1.If your child has any of the following symptoms, that indicates a possible illness, which may decrease the student’s ability to learn and put them at risk for spreading illness to others. Does your child have any of these symptoms?

• Temperature 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit
• Sore Throat
• New uncontrolled cough that causes difficulty breathing (for students with chronic allergic/asthmatic cough, a change in their cough from baseline)
• Diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal pain
• New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• New loss of taste or smell
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting

2.     To the best of your knowledge, in the past 14 days, has your child been in close contact (within 6 feet for at least 10 minutes) with anyone who has tested positive through a diagnostic test for COVID-19 or who has or had symptoms of COVID-19?

3.     Has your child or a member of your household traveled internationally or from a state with widespread community transmission of COVID-19 per the New York State Travel Advisory in the past 14 days.

According to the New York State Department of Health, your child will need to receive a note of medical clearance and a negative PCR COVID test to return to school, should they develop any symptoms or be sent home from school.

What else can we all be doing to maintain a safe environment for all? We can limit our exposure to large groups of people, continue to practice good hand hygiene, have a supply of masks on hand so that the fabric masks can be washed daily, and ensure everyone in your family receives a flu shot and all immunizations are kept up-to-date.

We truly appreciate everyone’s honesty, cooperation and dedication, to keeping our schools safe and healthy places of learning. During the month of the Most Holy Rosary, we continue to entrust our students, teachers, principals and staff to our Lady; the cause of our hope and joy.

Sincerely,

Thomas Chadzutko
Superintendent ~ Catholic School Support Services

St. Kevin Catholic Academy WALK-A-THON will be held on Friday, Oct. 30!

The Walk-A-Thon is one of SKCA’s biggest fundraising effort each year. And now more than ever, we need your support! Due to current conditions, the Walk-A-Thon is going to be a little different this year, but still just as fun, and as important for our school!

Walk Details

Similar to last year, each class will walk around the school block.

PK & K will walk once around the block. Grades 1-8 will walk around the block twice. Students will exit & re-enter through the gym doors. One classroom will walk at a time. Walk timeslots will be communicated as the event gets closer.

Donations

Donations of $100 per child are requested (cap of $200 for families with 3+ children in school). This year the school is not able to take Walk-A-Thon donations online. Please send a check payable to St. Kevin Catholic Academy to the school labeled “Walk-A-Thon”. Please also include each child’s name and class when sending payment.

All donations DUE Friday, October 23rd, 2020.

Permission Slips

Each Child needs a signed permission slip to participate in the Walk-a-Thon.

Permission slips DUE Friday, October 23rd, 2020.

Snack

A snack will be provided to each student.

Parent Volunteers

Parent volunteers are not needed like in years past.

Parents are welcome on the day of the Walk-a-Thon. We are asking that you stand socially distancted, with a mask on, and cheer your child on from a safe distance.

Parent are not permitted to walk with their child’s class.

Stay tuned for more updates as the Walk-a-Thon gets closer!

 

 

No more clipping. All you need is your smartphone.

The new-and-improved Box Tops app uses state-of-the-art technology to scan your store receipt, find participating products and instantly add Box Tops to our school’s earnings online. 

Learn more on boxtops4education.com.

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Dear Catholic Schools Families,

Over the past month, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn have been open and successfully conducting in-person Catholic education for our students. Our meticulously planned
protocols, designed to keep students and teachers safe, and developed in conformity with city, state, and federal health guidelines, are working. Having heard from so many of you, we know you are grateful for all the hard work, time, and, yes, money – some $18 million dollars — that went into making sure our Catholic schools could open and operate safely, as they have been doing.

As you are likely aware, a number of areas in New York City and the surrounding counties are seeing an uptick in positive test results for COVID-19. Health experts have told us all along to anticipate such statistical trends
as we entered autumn. In reaction to these expected numbers, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio are instituting drastic measures by shutting down all public and private schools within certain ZIP codes. Rather than judging each school on their individual merits and their fidelity to the protocols set forth by their own administrations, the governor and mayor are painting all institutions with a draconian broad brush.

The safety of our Catholic school communities is paramount. It was that very guiding principle that saw us close our Catholic schools well before the public schools felt it necessary to do so in the Spring of 2020. Should there be a situation that required a Catholic school to close, we would not need to wait for elected officials to tell us to do so.

Our Catholic schools are faithfully adhering to the guidelines we have established. Isolated cases of COVID-19 in our Catholic schools have triggered these protocols, and in person learning has safely continued. The New York City Department of Health has been inspecting our Catholic schools. All have passed.

If other schools cannot meet the standards needed to operate safely, they should indeed be closed until they demonstrate their ability to do so. In the meantime, it is absolutely unfair to be associated with the noncompliant schools merely because we share a ZIP code.

Our principals, teachers and staff have worked too hard, and you, our families have provided too much support, that we cannot allow government officials to derail the education of your children. If you agree, please let your elected officials know how you feel, by taking a moment to call and email Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, your city council member, state assembly member, and state senator and tell them to support schools that are working and not to institute these draconian measures.

This message is being delivered to all corners of both our diocese as we are brothers and sisters; part of the greater New York Catholic school community who may very well see these issues arise in your region. As such, we ask you utilize the links provided to reach as many elected officials as possible.

Please call Governor Cuomo directly 1-518-474-8390 and Mayor de Blasio at 212-788-3000.

In order to contact your state and local representatives, please utilize the following links:

All our families should visit Find My Senator as well as Find My NY Assembly Member while those who live within the five boroughs of New York City should also utilize Find My City Council Member.

Regards,

If you need gym uniforms, please visit Mrs. Lisa Della Croce’s Facebook page. She is an SKCA mom and does an incredible job on the uniforms for a great price!

God Bless all of our students who received their first holy communion! We are so proud!