Greetings St. Ignatius Families,

Thank you to Mr. O’Brien and his crew for Shrove Tuesday complete with pancakes before school!  Thank you to the amazing 8th graders and Mr. Beseau and Ms. Olson for the wonderful Ash Wednesday prayer service.  We are so blessed to have Fr. Mike Moynahan and Fr. Pat Couture guiding us on this special day as we begin the season of Lent.  What an incredible gift to be able to have our 8th graders carry on the tradition of dispensing the ashes to our students with a sprinkling on the top of heads this year. 

In the ever changing landscape of COVID, Oregon will now drop the state mask mandates on March 11th., returning mask protocol decisions to the local level.  Our school’s COVID team will meet on March 9th to discuss current recommendations from the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) and our Local Public Health Authority (LPHA) in regards to masking to determine the safest way for our school to proceed forward.  The Oregon Department of Education has released updated guidance for schools this week.  With our current vaccination rate of 93% and Omicron receding, we implemented the following updates to our COVID protocols on Tuesday, March 1st: 
Optional outdoor masking 

• Many students and staff chose to continue to wear masks outdoors. 
  
• Please speak with your student about what you would like them to do for masking. 
  
• Teachers will not be monitoring who should and shouldn’t have a mask on. 

Allowing for mixing of student cohorts in the outdoor setting only, as this will allow for outdoor family group activities 

• Next week, we will have our first outdoor family group activity. 

Vaccinated parent volunteers in the school for specific projects.  Must be up-to-date on C.A.S.E. training and submit proof of vaccination. 

• Art Literacy volunteers are currently needed. 

Returning to church for school prayer services and Masses, limiting the number of grades alternating weekly 

• March 16th, we will return to Mass in the church limiting the number of classes attending in person with the remaining watching on live stream. 

We will still eat outside as the weather allows.  All indoor protocols will remain in place for now.  Our COVID team will meet again on March 9th to sift through the latest recommendations from our LPHA and ODE in determining when and if indoor protocols may be adjusted.  We can see our many layers of mitigation have kept our school community safe throughout this school year so far.

Our school is participating in the Novena of Grace by grade level in the classroom with each class watching one assigned, recorded service. We encourage families to attend the Novena of Grace Masses in person as a family. Students will not be counted as tardy to school if they are coming from the Novena of Grace Mass with their family. We will return to school Masses in the church weekly, beginning on March 16th, with three classes attending in person and the remaining students watching from their classrooms via live stream giving nearly all of the classes an opportunity to attend an in person Mass once during Lent.  
Please spread the word about our wonderful school. We will host an in-person Open House with tours after the 10:30 AM Mass this Sunday, March 6th. Registration packets for next year will be sent out next Wednesday, March 9th. Please be sure you have completed your FACTS tuition assistance application.  

May we take time this Lenten season to trust in the slow work of God. “ Make known to me your ways, Lord. Teach me your paths.” Psalm 25:4.