This week...

Greetings St. Ignatius Families, 

​We have successfully wrapped up another week of school. Our  seventh and eighth grade students heard from five local Catholic high schools on Tuesday. Our local high schools host Open House  events during the month of October. We celebrated Mass and  commissioned our 8th grade class as leaders of our school on Wednesday. Thursday we dressed in our Sunday Best for Picture Day. And we wrapped up the week with a ‘class color’ themed free dress day.  

Unfortunately, we did not have nearly enough interest in ordering from the Fresh n’ Local menu to meet the company’s minimum order of 50 lunches per day. Therefore, we will not be using Fresh n’ Local as a lunch option for this school year. My apologies to those families that did place orders for the month of October. Since we were not able to meet close to the minimum order, all students will need to continue to bring their own cold lunches through the end of the first trimester. We are actively investigating other possible options for the second and third trimesters of this school year.  

We are blessed to have a supportive community during this challenging time. As we close this third week of school, I am pleased to share we have had no students or staff cases of COVID-19. When families notify us regarding a possible or known exposure their student may have had to COVID-19, we take all of the information the families provide us and speak directly with our LPHA (Local Public Health Authority) to receive guidance on how to proceed and guide those families, so we can keep our school community as safe as possible. Each scenario is unique, and we err on the side of caution by asking families to keep their student out of school until we can confirm the correct course of action for each individual student from our LPHA. Should we have a student or staff member test positive for COVID-19, our LPHA will be notified and guide us through the notification process along with contract tracing. We keep up-to-date contract tracing logs for all grade levels by day and week. We appreciate the patience and understanding our families have demonstrated with all of the protocols we follow working to keep our students safe.  

One of our strongest mitigation measures is wearing masks inside and outside of school. Masks need to be worn properly to ensure the safety of all of our students. We encourage families to try different types of masks to find the best fitting mask for your student’s face. Proper fitting masks and the types of masks worn will result in the most effective mitigation effort. It’s a good idea to try out a few types of masks to find the best fitting masks for your students. If you have any questions about masks, feel free to reach out to your classroom or homeroom teacher or the school office. We may reach out to you if we see your student needs some mask adjustments. 
Thank you for working with us on proper fitting masks.  

Please know we are working hard at school to maintain mitigation measures such as wearing masks, sanitizing, outdoor eating, and social distancing. Each week, we re-view our COVID protocols as a staff to make adjustments as needed. As we roll through the fall and families participate in activities outside of school such as play-dates, birthday parties, and other gatherings, please wear masks at those events too. We appreciate all of the precautions each family is taking at home to keep the whole community safe.  

Our St. Ignatius School Foundation golf tournament is swiftly approaching. We still need at least one foursome for each grade level. Our 8th grade leaders nearly have  a team ready! There’s still time to ‘sponsor a hole’ as well. And if you’re not a golfer, you can volunteer for fair-share hours at the event. You can also register to attend the outdoor banquet after the event. Let’s come together to support our school’s foundation!  We are looking forward to another week full of learning, stretching, and growing! 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 

​Peace be with you, 
Carol Pausz 
Principal