St. Catherine of Siena Parish

THE FALCON

March is probably one of the longest months of uninterrupted learning in our year. We have no true days off and one 1/2 day which was added late in the year. You would think a month like this would drag on and on, but it really seems to be going pretty fast. That sense is helped along by the dose of sunshine and warm weather, coupled with the fact that next Friday will mark the three quarters point of the year. This wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that our musical is coming up so quickly. I'm certain that the students will be ready for it, but there's other work and planning that needs to get done. Somehow we'll manage.

THE LATEST

• The April lunch order is now open (see the quick links to order). It will remain open until 4/29.

• Please continue to note some coming opportunities to complete service hours:

-Spring Musical, 4/15 &16. The help will be needed in March as we prepare sets and costumes. Ticket order forms are now available for families who need comp. and/or reduced price tickets. We will not be giving these out at the door (you will have to pay full price), so please get your order in now. Feel free also to download our poster and share it with interested persons.

-Race for Education, 5/28. Donna is requesting help preparing kick-off packets on Monday at 1:30 PM. Please contact her at 291-4051 or just show up if you would like to assist. More help will be needed for all stages of this project. We'll keep you posted.

-Coffee & Donuts. Do you only have time to help on Sunday mornings? This is the perfect opportunity. Call Mary for details: 291-8021.

• A little more about Race for Education...I want to emphasize that, yes, it will function as yet another fundraising event, but the thing that surprised me the most about the Race last year was how much fun it was for our students and faculty. One of the things that new and prospective families alike say attracts them to our Cathlic Schools is the sense of family and community. Nowhere was that more apparent than during last year's Race. This year that will be magnified even more by the hopeful inclusion of other alumni, friends, and even parents. We want this to become an annual rallying event for our school.

We hoped to send out the kick-off packets this week, but we decided to take a little more time and make sure it gets done right. The most important thing to remember is to think broadly, beyond our local parish and school community. We don't just mean that you should invite distant relatives and grandparents to support us either. Think of professional, political, or other noteworthy people in the South Bend area with whom you are acquainted. You never know who would be willing to pledge to our school until you ask. The immense strength of an activity such as this is that it taps the wonderfully diverse networks that all of our families have, and helps make all those persons aware of what we are doing here for our children.

We tried to come up with a fun and motivating set of incentives for students this year, again--because we want it to be primarily a student-centered activity. We thank you for the time and support you put into working on the label sheets at home.

• This next announcement is actually not directly school related, but I am helping spread the word about a very exciting opportunity that could come to the South Bend area. I will let the email speak for itself:

Google recently issued a call for cities and towns across the country to apply to be considered for a planned test of one-gigabit fiber optic broadband service to between 50,000 and 500,000 homes. South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County are answering the call, coordinating a regional response through Project Future, the local economic development organization.

Google is looking for local governments willing to facilitate installation of a broadband network with speeds averaging 100 times faster than those commonly available to residential customers. This will be a highly competitive process with hundreds of communities trying to win Google's attention. Local officials believe factors already in place here can move South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County to the head of the list.

A portion of the RFI focuses upon a community's Internet needs and interests. Project Future has developed a survey to gauge these interests. The results will then be included in the response to Google.

We encourage you to help in this community effort by participating in the brief survey anytime between now and Friday, March 19. It should take you less than 10 minutes to complete it. To find the survey, just click on this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ProjectFutureGoogle.

• We are nearly ready to begin sending home returning student registration packets for next year. I'm hoping we can get them out to you next week. The deadline to register will be May 1 (just like financial aid) if you wish to pay the $100 per child fee. You will be welcome to enroll after May 1, but for $150 at that time. By moving the early registration deadline back to May 1, we are hoping that will allow families more leeway when it comes to finishing out their 2009-10 FACTS payments and possibly receiving any tax refunds.

• REMINDER. Financial aid applications for 2010-2011 are now available at www.factstuitionaid.com. If you do not have good internet access, we can provide access to a confidential computer here at school, even before or after school hours. Here is what we will be expecting of families who request (and would eventually receive) aid for next year:

1. You must be an active, registered, and participating member of the parish or a non-parish family in good standing (parish families always receive first priority; we do our best to support all).

2. You must be paid up to date with this year's tuition (or have a catch-up plan in place with the business office). You will need to be paid in full by June 30 to receive final approval.

3. You must be willing to apply for free/reduced lunch in the fall (it used to be encouraged; it will now be required). (We use free/reduced lunch data to apply for additional assistance from government, diocesan, and private grants.)

4. Families with 3 or more children total spread among any of the Catholic schools in our diocese must apply and verify your tax data by May 1 in order to receive consideration by the Large Family Fund (download to see official rules). If you do not apply to LFF, you will not receive additional consideration from the parish.

• Christmas DVD orders have been received. The last few are being sent home today. Contact the school office if you think you ordered one but did not receive it. Special thanks to Jeff W. for offering to take on this project and putting together such a poished final product.