Disney Character Day at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy

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Students Disney

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As you know, this week is Spirit Week.  Every day the children have come to school in different attire that is usually worn here at school.  Instead of uniforms, if they wished, the children  dressed as Super Heroes, Twins, Sports Characters, Disney Characters, etc.  What a wonderful way, in the midst of the Pandemic, to come to school, learn and still have safe fun.  W hat a joy in the midst of what is happening in the world to be able to still be a child.

What a great joy it is for the children and all of us here to be part of this great school, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy!  Here we can dress as Super Heroes and also speak about how the real Super Heroes of our lives are with us everyday – God, our parents, guardians, teachers, friends, service workers,  etc.

As I walked among your beautiful children and took pictures, prayed for them and you, I needed to share with you my special moments that I have with your dear children.

God bless you and continue to watch over you,

Mrs. Frances DeLuca

Principal

 

Re-registration and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Academy OPEN HOUSE via Zoom

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  OLPHCA brochure with zoom times

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Happy New Year!  I pray that this year will be the end of this pandemic and that it will be a blessed New Year.

Already, re-registration papers have been sent to you, and I am grateful to all of you who have already returned your child/children’s registration for next year.  We want to make sure that we have seats for all of our current students before we admit students coming from other schools to join our academy family.

Thank you for your kind words and letters of thanks for our effort since September 9 in keeping our academy open and our students safe .  It is my honor to serve you and your dear children, and I continue all my efforts on making sure they are well and receiving the best education possible.

Above if you click on the OLPHCA brochure, you can view our zoom times for open houses which this year must still be virtual.  Pass this brochure on to all your family and friends that may wish to attend our outstanding academy.

Please remember that if you refer someone to our academy and they remain for one year, your child’s tuition will be reduced by $750  for the next year.  

May our Lord continue to bless you and your loved ones,

Mrs. DeLuca

Principal

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

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Dear Parents/Guardians,

On behalf of Fr. Tom, Jonathan and the Board, myself, and our faculty and staff, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, blessed New Year full of the joy and love of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

May the world be blessed with the healing and peace of God, and may every home receive the individual blessings they personally need!

I, personally, thank you for your kind words throughout the past year.  It is my blessing and pleasure to serve such an amazing community of parents and children.  Thank you for truly being partner with me in the education and well being of our dear children.  God bless you!

If tonight we get the predicted snow, all students will go onto remote learning tomorrow.  If the weather is so cold that everything will freeze Friday, I will let the teachers through Google Classroom/DoJo  inform you/your child whether Friday remains remote.

The students have done a wonderful job at the Christmas Nativity and eighth, sixth, fourth, and kindergarten grades have videotaped their Christmas presentation.  I have informed all teachers to download this video to each of their classes through your child’s google account.  Therefore, by tomorrow you will be able to see, what has been a yearly tradition, our Christmas show.

I pray for your dear children and you daily.  I continue to ask our Lord for your safety, good health, peace, joy, and prosperity.

May Jesus watch over you and your dear loved ones,

Mrs. Frances DeLuca

Principal

 

We are OPEN tomorrow

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Dear Parents/Guardians,

Although the New York City Public Schools are closed, our Superintendent’s Diocesan Office has informed all Catholic Elementary Academies that we will be open till further notice.

We were informed that we would close only if the governor declares the complete city an orange zone or if he closes the schools.   We will be OPEN and in the next two days, we will be sending home books in case they will close us for Thanksgiving and thereafter.

We will be sending books and devices everyday till next Tuesday before Thanksgiving, allowing the children to keep certain books at home and bringing their devices back and forth.

I wish to inform you that  our nurse will be here from the city, but we have not yet been informed as to whether there will be yellow bus service or lunch. Therefore, please send, as always, a snack with your child/children and know that they may be sent home without lunch tomorrow if the city does not deliver lunches to us for the children.

Also,  we were not told whether yellow buses will be available for our children; therefore. you should make plans in the event that the yellow bus does not show up to pick up your child to come to school.

Please keep checking your teacher’s homework page, dojo, and this website in order to keep updated on all information.

May our Lord watch over you and your dear children,

Mrs. DeLuca

Ozone Park Block Association Food Pantry

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Dear Parents/Guardians,

It has come to my attention that the Ozone Park Block Association has a food pantry here at the DESHI CENTER on 83-10 Rockaway Blvd and 83rd Street.  If you or any one you know is in need of food, please pass this information on to them.

Every Saturday morning, beginning at 6 a. m. at the DESHI CENTER, 83-10 Rockaway Blvd, food is being given out to assist all people during this difficult time of the Pandemic.  Please feel free to go and get help for you, or some one you know, and your dear children.

God bless and watch over you,

Mrs. Frances DeLuca

 

 

St. Thomas Aquinas Virtual Learning Program Information Letter from our superintendent

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Dear Parents,

The following information has been sent today to us regarding the Diocese’s virtual learning program.

September 2, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Congratulations, your child has been accepted into the Saint Thomas Aquinas Distance
Learning Program. We are excited about the incredible response received to this new
initiative and are looking forward to the beginning of the new school year. As servants of the
Lord, we are called to answer the needs of his people in 2020, that means virtual learning.
Information pertaining to the pick-up of student devices and other materials will be
forthcoming. We are currently arranging the logistics and locations aligned with safety
precautions regarding the distribution of materials. We are also in the process of finalizing
faculty and student schedules for the instructional program – families can look forward to
hearing from your child’s teachers soon.

In the days ahead, we will be sending out more information regarding your child’s online
learning accounts and your parent portal information; please keep checking your email.
Additionally, you may visit the website: https://stthomasaquinasbq.org/ and the FAQ page
regarding details on some of the many questions that have been received. Please check the
site regularly, as important updates and new information will be shared, as we approach the
first day of school.

The distance learning program orientation schedule will begin on September 16th, and
continue through September 18th, with the first full day of instruction to take place on
September 21st
.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for us and bless our new instructional program.
Sincerely,
Thomas Chadzutko
Thomas Chadzutko, Ed.D.
Superintendent ~ Catholic School Support Services

 

 

Superintendent’s Message to Begin School As Planned September 9,2020

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Dear Parents,

Below please find the superintendents’s letter to the chancellor’s office informing them that all Catholic schools will re-open as scheduled and requesting the services our children will need beginning September 9, 2020

Thank you,

Mrs. DeLuca

September 1, 2020

Dear Chancellor Carranza,
Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn have worked tirelessly
throughout the summer months (July and August) to ensure a safe, healthy and efficient reopening of all
Catholic schools and the programs provided to our students and families. We have absolute confidence in our
principals and teachers to do so; therefore, we are officially informing the New York City Department of
Education and the City of New York that our academic year will commence as scheduled and on time
(September 9, 2020).
Further, it is our expectation that New York City will fulfill its obligations in providing the following services
to all the Catholic in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn:
● Nurses to the schools where they have been assigned;
● Transportation for our students to and from our schools;
● Meals through the various New York City Department of Education nutrition programs.
It is also our expectation that the UPK programs housed in our schools for which we have been contracted will
not be impacted by the change of the New York City Public Schools start date.
We welcome hearing back from you within the next 24 hours that you will be guaranteeing the provision of
these services to all of the Catholic Schools within the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Regards,
Mr. Michael J. Deegan, Archdiocese of New York

Thomas Chadzutko, Ed.D
Superintendent of Schools Superintendent – Catholic Schools Support Services
 R.C. Diocese of Brooklyn

 

 

Clarifications for Beginning of the Year for Students and Dismissal Times

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Dear Parents/Guardians:
 
 During several meetings we have had this Monday and Tuesday with the Diocesan Office and our EPAC cluster/Deanery, we, as principals have been given specific information that we did not have before. All schools in our cluster will be following a 1:30 dismissal schedule to further ensure the safety and comfort of our children.
 
 To ensure that disinfection of our building is done in a timely manner, as well as to ensure that all the children dismiss only one class at a time, 6 ft. apart on the steps, ten to fifteen minutes apart, the following schedule for dismissal has to be implemented by all schools in our Deanery. 
 
 Dismissal of Grades:
 
 Pre-k3/4 – 1:30 pm                                                   Grade 5 – A – 2:20 pm
 Pre-4 – 1:40 pm                                                        Grade 5 – B – 2:30 pm
 Kindergarten 1:50 pm                                              Grade 6 – A – 1:30 pm
 Graded 1 1:30 pm                                                    Grade 6 – B – 1:40 pm
 Grade 2 – A 1:45 pm                                                Grade 7 – A – 1:45 pm
 Grade 2 – B 2:00 pm                                                Grade 7 – B – 2:00 pm
 Grade 3 1:30 pm                                                      Grade 8 – A – 2:10 pm
 Grade 4 – A 2:00 pm                                                Grade 8 – B – 2:20 pm
 Grade 4 – B 2:15 pm
 
Entrances to and exists from the building remain the same as those provided in the Logistics Plan.
 
 Being in class from 8 to 1:30 allows us the 5 and 1/2 hours students need to be in class daily mandated by the State.
 
 At dismissal, as the students leave, they will be provided with a cold lunch they can eat at home, allowing us to remove some of the issues that deal with eating without a mask in the classroom.
 
 For the younger students, who this may be a long time to go without food, a snack is permitted at about 11 a.m.. All grades will be permitted to eat a snack, one row at a time, while others keep their masks on.
 
 Teachers and school staff will remain in the school till 3 pm to confer with fellow teachers, meet parents for appointments, receive professional development or prepare for next morning.
 
 At 3 p.m. sanitizing of the building begins. After-school begins at 3 pm till 6 pm in the academy auditorium.  The auditorium will be sanitized after 6 p.m.
 
 On September 9 only grades 6, 7, and 8 will be in school. On September 10 only grades 3, 4, and 5 will be in school. On September 11 only grades K, 1, and 2 will be in school. This allows the children to become acquainted with new procedures in the building.
 
 Teachers must be in school on all days. Dismissal for students on the first week of school will be at 12:30 pm five to 10 minutes apart. Faculty meetings will follow each day. Pre-3/4 begin September 14 as well as all other students return.
 
 We were also informed that Remote Learning can be done for Art/Spanish and Gym. Therefore, these teachers will be providing Health and Art remotely to your children. 
 
 After school will be conducted in the academy auditorium. All students in a grade must remain together and therefore, the auditorium is divided into sections, 6 ft. apart per grade.
 
 Masks must be worn all day but with the early dismissal, masks will be better tolerated. Also, mask breaks will be given with only one row at a time being without a mask. This same procedure would be used when eating a snack – one row at a time.
 
The State mandates that parents must confirm daily that they are taking their child’s temperature at home, that the child is not sick or exhibits symptoms of Covid 19, or that the child has not been exposed to anyone with Covid 19 symptoms or been out of the country or state. A form questionnaire will be sent to you this week by your child’s homeroom teacher. You must confirm this Daily Health Screening questionnaire every morning and submit it on your child’s teacher via class Dojo.   
 
 Faculty must confirm to me the same information every morning.
 
  Everyone’s temperature will still be taken every morning before entering the building. For further safety to our children, visitors are asked not to enter the school building while the children are in school.
 
 Everything this year is a work in progress. Everything is new. We are all trying our best. Thank you for your cooperation as we continue to work together to ensure our children’s safety and partner in their educational journey.
 
God bless you, protect you and your dear families. 
 
 Mrs. Frances DeLuca

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM – PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

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Dear Parents,

I have received the information below to provide parents who are choosing to have their child/children receive virtual learning for September 2020.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM – PARENT INFORMATION SESSIONS

As we begin the 2020-2021 academic year, we know that it will be an incredibly unique year, and students and families will have diverse needs and preferences.

To provide the best Catholic education possible, and to give options for those who cannot, or prefer not, to return to the classroom at all this fall, a 100% distance learning opportunity and option for students of the Catholic Academies and Parish Schools of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens will be provided.

The St Thomas Aquinas Distance Learning Program will be the distance education provider for students of our Catholic Academies and Parish Schools, who will not be returning to the classroom.

Information sessions to review program details and answer questions about this online choice, will be held via live ZOOM webinars. The recording of these sessions will be made available online after the meetings.

These sessions will cover the rationale, scope, learning expectations and next steps to enroll your child in the 100% distance learning option. (Separate meetings have been, or will be held by your principal to discuss the in-person, and hybrid class planning at your academy.)

You will meet the Principal of the program, Manuela Adsuar-Pizzi, and learn how it will work and how your child will remain enrolled at the home academy, while receiving virtual classes and distance learning through the St Thomas Aquinas Distance Learning Program

Please register to attend either session:

We look forward to partnering with you, your child, and our network of Catholic educators to provide each child the education they deserve.