Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Parents,

It is the end of another school year... and that sounds so normal doesn’t it.  Well, we did make it to the end of an amazing year at Our Lady of Lourdes.  The children worked hard, learned many new skills and strengthened their faith, and interacted with teachers and friends.  We found a way to make an extraordinarily difficult year into a very successful year, much like many that have come before.  The fact that we were able to do this during a pandemic is due to the support of our families, the strength and dedication of our teachers, and the resilience of our students.  Every one of us should be very proud of what we have accomplished this year and we should remember to thank God for being with us every step of the way, guiding us, giving us strength and hope.

This summer I pray that each of the outstanding students and their families, as well as the exceptional  teachers and staff, will spend many days enjoying family and friends, praying and going to Mass, and most of all remembering to be grateful for the many blessings that God fills our lives with every day.  We are coming out of difficult times, and there may be difficult times to come, but we can handle all things when we put our faith in God and we use our talents and gifts to support and encourage one another.

Some things to reflect on as we close this year.  There have been so many positive moments at OLOL and so many things that have made this year successful. This year we: 

• maintained in person education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• supported families who wanted a virtual option with a partnership with St. Bartholomew’s School.
• raised over $70,000 in Annual Fund through donations and the Annual Read-a-thon
• maintained academic excellence, covered all yearly curriculum goals,  achieved record growth scores across all grades in reading and math, and we are well above the National Blue Ribbon Standard.
• managed to work within our budget successfully.

As we look to next year:

• We celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the opening of our school.
• We have new uniforms and a new school logo.
• We have some teachers who will be moving on and we want to thank them and wish them well.  Just like some of our families who are moving out of the area for new opportunities, we have two teachers who will be leaving us at the end of this year.
  • Mrs. Maricar Parcon, who has been at OLOL for 4 years teaching and nurturing our students in music class and in the academic classroom, will be leaving us in order to work closer to her home.  We thank Mrs. Parcon for her commitment to our students and sharing her musical talents with us all.  Mrs. Parcon has brought such kindness and joy into our school and we are sad to see her go, but we are so thankful for everything she has done for us over the past 4 years.  We will miss Jian and Caroline as well and know that we will keep in touch and that they will visit us next year.
  • Mrs. Mary Campbell, who has been our third grade teacher for just one year, will be leaving us to accompany her husband on his new military posting in Cherry Point, North Carolina.  We are so lucky that Mrs. Campbell found our school on the internet and sent her resume to Our Lady of Lourdes last summer.  Imagine this...Mrs. Campbell started a new job, working in a school, during the COVID pandemic, and did an outstanding job!  Her dedication to excellence and high academic standards was obvious in every lesson, interaction, and conversation.  Mrs. Campbell was an instant fit here at OLOL and we wish we had more time with her as our teacher, but we are excited for her as she starts another placement with her husband.  
• We are excited to welcome an OLOL alumni to our middle school teaching staff, Ms. Margaret Capizzi.  Ms. Capizzi has spent the last two years teaching at Little Flower Catholic School, in Mobile, Alabama.  Ms. Capizzi was working and learning through the ACE program at the University of Notre Dame. She completes the program with a Masters in Education.  We can’t wait to welcome her home!
• We are so happy that Ms. Maher joined us last December, and now we will be able to put her in the classroom full time.  Ms. Maher will be teaching the 4th grade next year.  
• Don’t worry, Mrs. Caceres is staying with us, but she will be moving to the 3rd grade!

This week:

• Report cards and end of year Standardized Test Score Reports will go home with students in an envelope on Friday.  Both of these reports will also be available in your parent portal under the e-portfolio.
• Tomorrow is a 12:20 dismissal (there is ASC) and a Tag Day!
• Friday is our last day of school, a 12:20 dismissal and there is NO ASC
• Thank you for contributing to the HSA Faculty & Staff Gift Fund.  Our community was very generous in their support and I thank you on behalf of all our exceptional faculty and staff.   If you didn't contribute and you would like to, there is still time...you can still give this evening if you have not had a chance.  CLICK HERE
• We still have some yearbooks available to purchase: CLICK HERE

This summer:

• Kids have some reading, writing and math to keep up on.
• Summer Reading lists and more information about summer reading activities are all on our website: https://bit.ly/OLOLSummerReading2021 or use the Quick Links on our home page.  Students in grades 4-8 have one assigned title, there are new book log forms for older grades, bingo boards are back, and lower grades will share reading experiences over SeeSaw.  Enjoy lots of summer reading!!
• Parents will need to make sure to save time to review the new uniform policies, look over the online links for shopping at our school site and the School Uniform by Tommy Hilfiger online store.  Remember to save time for shipping and to read all the sizing information resources available on their website.  Find all the information you need on our website:

​              https://www.bethesda-lourdes.org/uniform-specifics.html
      

• Supply lists are available for next school year at the following link: https://bit.ly/OLOLSupplies2021 or use the Quick Links on our home page.
• ENJOY, RELAX, & REFRESH!  

May God go with you this summer!
Yours in Christ
Ms. Moore