Paw Prints

A Message from Ms. B:

What a whirlwind of a week! Parent-Teacher Conferences were a success even if it made for longer days. It was a great opportunity to discuss the progress our students are making as well as some of the areas on which we should work.

Our 4th grade is still hard at work advertising, announcing, and collecting baby food and wipes for Pregnancy Center West and they have been telling me it is quite the undertaking but it has proven successful. I am eagerly awaiting the results to be announced!

Thursday morning was fun…our very own Mr. Lones was awarded the Warm 98 (cumulus radio station) Teacher of the Week! Amanda from the DJ duo ‘Amanda and Jim’ came to announce this amazing award and present Mr. Lones with flowers and Dewey’s pizza. Mrs. Reid was there to film Facebook Live, Mrs. King took pictures, and Mrs. Routt was our diversion (so we could pull off the surprise). Friday morning at 6:40 am, clips of the interview will be aired. Make sure to tune in and hear what our favorite Gym Teacher had to say (yes, Mr. Lones was my Gym Teacher too!).

Saturday night is Chili cook-off and Trunk or Treat after Mass. Come and eat some spicy cookin’ and cool off with a mouth full of candy! We can’t wait to see you there.

We want to continue to invite you to Mass on Sunday (or Saturday before the cookout) and celebrate with the community our faith. Have a great weekend.

Ms. B

A Message from Ms. B:

I want to take a moment and thank you for your contributions. Whether it is time or money, we are eternally thankful. When you donate to the parish, the money helps to fund the many projects OLL sponsors. The money also helps the school with upkeep of the facilities (yeah, for air conditioning) and teacher and staff salaries (which is expensive!). This allows the administration to continue to recruit the best faculty and staff.

If you have time to donate, we appreciate that too! Recess duty, cutting out and laminating things for the primary grades, and even grading spelling tests provides the staff an opportunity to take a small break or work with another teacher on lesson plans. We welcome help in the cafeteria, on the playground, around the school, and even field trips. In this Paw Prints, you should find some valuable information about SafeParish. Thank you so much for your time and donations. I know the faculty and staff appreciate everything you do to help our students prosper. We want to continue to invite you to Mass on Sunday and celebrate with the community our faith.

Ms. B

A Message from Ms. B:

One of my second graders asked the other day: “How come when Scout comes to school everyone is so happy? Why is Scout so good at making us smile?” I answered, “Because Scout has only known love and kindness from everybody she’s encountered her entire life. And we hope she stays that way.” “Is that why you bring her here, Ms. B? Because we’re good and she loves us?” Of course, all of our students are “good”. I like to think that our students are the best. The best they can be each day. It can be challenging to follow the rules, interact with friends and peers, participate in instruction, and smile (like you mean it!) all in one day, every day, five days a week. Our students aren’t “perfect” but the inner fortitude they have to get back up and try again, makes them the best. Their wellmeaning intentions to do the right thing (even if it turns out a bit ‘wrong’) makes them the best. And their willingness to learn makes them the best. It would be great to keep our students surrounded only by love and kindness, like Scout. But the reality is as our students get older, they are bombarded by social media posts on Instagram, Snapchat, and influences from other outlets. Some might think the task too daunting. We can only keep loving our kiddos and demonstrating kindness, every day. “Tucker, I bring Scout because she makes you as happy as she makes me. And I think you make her happy, too.” Have a great weekend, Tigers!

Ms. B

Join Us for Sunday Mass

In June the bishops of Ohio lifted the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation that they granted in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. So we invite your families to resume the practice of regularly participating in the celebration of the Eucharist in-person with the parish community. Hearing the Word of God and receiving the Body of Christ in Holy Communion can strengthen you and your children to cope with the stresses of these difficult times. We welcome you to pray & worship God with us on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.

A Message from Ms. B:

Fall is getting closer and that means crazy weather! The last two days we have experienced chilly weather, which means… pants. We do allow our young men to wear shorts throughout the year (due to a very convincing essay written by a former student). On students’ “gym days”, students are encouraged to dress appropriately for the weather (not just their shorts). If your student would like to wear sweatpants during the school day on their gym day, they must be the Lourdes sweatpants that can be purchased through our spiritwear coordinator, Lindsey Jones. (More info will be coming!) Otherwise, sweatpants can be worn outside only (removing them once they enter the building). Tights and leggings (navy blue, black, or white) can be worn under uniform skirts or shorts.

A gentle reminder that we do not allow “hoodies” to be worn in the building. If a student has one on, they will be asked to remove it. Students can wear the quarter-zip Lourdes pullovers or solid navy blue, black, or white sweaters.

Next week, we will be sending home interims with students with grades below a ‘C’ average. There is plenty of time for a student to improve and that is the purpose in sending home a formal interim. We like to see and help all of our students succeed. Please reach out to your students’ teachers if you have questions or concerns. 

We hope you have a restful and enjoyable weekend, Ms. B

A Message from Ms. B:
It’s nice to see all the learning happening in the hallways and classrooms. The teacher voices coming from classrooms and hardworking student groups are music to my ears. And the fist bumps and high fives are a warm salute as I walk down the halls. It’s good to be back in the halls of OLL. Thank you for the emails, prayers, and cards; they were a welcomed panacea! This Tiger cannot be kept down for too long, much to my husband’s chagrin. Just a few thoughts for the week: If you are concerned about your students’ academic or behavioral progress, please reach out to their teachers. Interims come out October 1 but we would like to correct things as soon as we can. We always prefer to be proactive not reactive. A gentle reminder to all regarding the masks: if your student wears a mask, they will not have to quarantine unless they are showing symptoms should someone around them be a probable or positive case. We want all of our students here, everyday (unless they are ill!). Regardless if you signed the exemption or not:

• Masks must be worn by all students in the hallways
• Masks must be worn in some areas of the building where safe distance cannot be achieved or guaranteed (such as the library)
• Parents and volunteers must mask in the building If you are planning to volunteer or attend a student field trip as a chaperone, you must complete SafeParish training. If you were up to date on your Virtus bulletins this summer, your account should have transitioned to Safe Parish. Please make sure to update your account and complete the new bulletins. We have attached the directions to assist you. For additional assistance, please reach out to Ed Bayliss at ebayliss@lourdes.org or 513.922.0715, ext. 3324. We hope you have a restful and enjoyable weekend! Ms. B

Our Lady of Lourdes has a few reminders for the week of September 13th:

Masking Policy Highlights
• Masks must be worn by students in the hallways
• Masks must be worn in some areas of the building where safe distance cannot be achieved or guaranteed
• Parents and volunteers must mask in the building

We are committed to keeping your student safe while in our care and to providing rigorous academics in a Christ-centered community. We appreciate your willingness to work with us as we educate your student. Have a restful weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather!

A Message From the Office

Thank you for your patience as we have developed our policies and procedure for when the mask exemption policy goes into effect.  Our goal throughout all of this is to give your student the best in-person education we can and to make sure our students and staff remain safe and healthy.

A Message from the Office: In his famous novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles writes, "Everything has to evolve, or else it perishes." This sentiment certainly rings true, as evidenced over the last year and a half. Changes have come - small and large - not only in our greater communities, but within our school and parish. Although many of these changes have been challenging, we need to remember that transitions present us with an opportunity to learn and to grow. OLL has seen its fair share of changes recently, but I am certain that our Tigers will work together to make this a great year!

What are some of the changes you may notice? We are so excited to see Mr. Stegman in his new role as a Junior High Language Arts teacher. Mrs. Huwel cannot wait for all of those perfect writers he will be sending her way next year! After four years in the middle grades, it is refreshing to see Mrs. Holscher settled in with the "Littles" again as a 2nd grade teacher. Mrs. Laker was welcomed back (with much excitement from the students!) to the Junior High to teach Earth, Life, and Physical Science. This year we not only welcomed 23 students to our kindergarten class, but 29 new students spread out in all our other grades! Lastly, a big Tiger Welcome to Ms. Isabella Olthaus, who will be stepping into the role of Intervention Specialist here at Lourdes. Ms. Olthaus is new to us and new to the education world; she graduated from Mount Saint Joseph this past spring, and she is excited to start working with students.

Mrs. King

Tiger Families,

Attached you will find your student's grade class lists. We have also attached some reminders about the first week and how to transition your Virtus account to SafeParish if you have not done so yet. If you are planning on becoming a volunteer, there are also directions on how to sign up for the first time. 

We cannot wait to meet, share, learn, love, and grow with your student.

Ms. B and Mrs. King

A Message from Ms. B:

Vacation is the opportunity to forget everything, wind down, and leave it all behind. And while on vacation we tend to forget everything, bills to be paid, appointments to be kept, and even passwords. Even students with their young minds tend to forget a lot. Many times, we hear, “we never learned that” or “we weren’t taught that last year”. The staff and students were very successful in making great strides in reversing the “Covid slide” last school year. We know you don’t want your students to forget everything they learned. Try reading as a family or cooking and doubling recipes or halving them. And let’s not forget that the 7th and 8th grade have summer work. There are quite a few 7th graders that have not even started the summer work or who started it but didn't finish the assignment that was due in June. Please make sure your student is looking at emails and Google classroom. Incoming 7th and 8th graders have work to be completed in both Math and English. We expect this work to be completed by the time school begins as everyone has had ample time to complete it over the summer.

As after school care continues to decline, Our Lady of Lourdes has decided to terminate the After Care Program for the 2021-2022 school year. This will allow us to allocate funds to other areas of need. We wanted to make sure our families had enough time to plan for their student’s after school care for the upcoming school year.

We hope you cicada free summer is going well! Ms. B

Tiger Families:  A Message from Ms. B:

Summer greetings! We made it through one of the most challenging and certainly the most “different” school years I have ever experienced. Our students did very well: They wore their masks, socially distance themselves, and stayed in class with the same people daily. I believe if our students can do this, they can do anything… including surviving the cicada onslaught! Some of our families have moved on “to high school” with their last Lourdes’ student and some families watched their first child graduate from Lourdes. Our 8th graders have closed a chapter in their lives and will be starting a new one this fall at their perspective high schools. 50% of our students have received a scholarship, totaling $268,750. This is an incredible testament to the parents’ support and students’ hard work. We are all so proud of your efforts and wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Our newly graduated 8th graders will be working on their summer reading assignments from the various area high schools (“Freshmen”, be sure to check with your high school that you are completing necessary work!) Our students (incoming 7th and 8th graders) also need to complete Math and English summer work. Each student has received an email regarding the work listed on Google classroom. For questions regarding work, contact either Amy Huwel at ahuwel@lourdes.org for English and Kate Eichhold at keichhold@lourdes.org for Math. Any other grades should take the time to read a book and study Math facts (addition, multiplication, etc.) Studies show that students who continue to read do better on standardized tests!

I certainly hope you enjoy your time this summer, relaxing. I know the school office will! During July the office will be closed and Mrs. DiTullio, Mrs. King, and I will have limited capacity. Right now, we are inthe office 7-12 (sometimes with Scout).