St. Maria Goretti Catholic Parish School Statement of Philosophy

The faculty and staff of St. Maria Goretti Catholic School share in the teaching ministry of our parish, to bring Christ's message to our students. We believe that every child is a unique creation of God, worthy of the opportunity to develop to his/her fullest potential in a safe and caring environment. We will provide our students with prayer and worship experiences, high academic standards, service opportunities and guidance and support toward healthy personal growth. We recognize and value the partnership that parents and teachers have in the successful education of all students. As members of the St. Maria Goretti Catholic School Community, we embrace these responsibilities of our teaching ministry.

Top

Bus Information The Madison Public School District provides bus service for the children in grades kindergarten through five, who live at least one and one-half miles from the school and are in the St. Maria Goretti School attendance area; middle school families may contract with the bus company to arrange bus service for their children. The bus company is First Student, Inc., 845-8516. The general regulations of the Madison Public School District governing students riding the bus are as follows: Parents and pupils must assume that school bus transportation is a privilege to the student, not a right. Pupils who misbehave may be denied the privilege of riding the bus. Drivers are responsible for the maintenance of order among children being transported. I tis the duty of the driver to immediately report disruptive behavior to the principal of the school that the student attends. No passengers are allowed except those authorized to ride. Exceptions to this rule may be made for students going home with a regular bus rider. In this case, the student must have a note from his/her parent giving permission to ride the bus to the other student's home. This note must be signed by school office personnel. Requests for variations in routes or stops CANNOT be granted.

Top

Uniform Policy New to our school for the 2006-2007 is a uniform for the children. Parents are responsible for making sure the children are dressed in the modified dress code. Two places were given as options as to where you can purchase the uniforms and they are Land's End and JcPenny. In addition to the following clothing choices, please remember that there are no "Flip-Flops" allowed. We recommend a strap on the heel of any shoe for safety purposes. *Uniform clothing should be purchased from either JC Penney or Lands' End. Please look at information from each vendor to select from the styles approved for our dress code. *We encourage families to plan ahead and use scrip to purchase uniforms. This helps in two ways: the school will receive a percentage of each purchase (11% - Lands End; 5% - JC Penney) and each family can receive a tuition credit based on the amount of scrip that is purchased. *If you have questions or if purchasing uniforms will be cost prohibitive for your family, please feel free to contact the school office (608-271-7551) *This is a general list; approved styles for SMG are indicated on vendor information available from the school office. Boys Cotton/twill pants or corduroy; colors: khaki, black, navy blue Cotton/twill short; colors: khaki, black, navy blue Polo shirt (long/short sleeve); colors: white, red, light blue, navy blue Button-down Oxford (long/short sleeve); colors: white, light blue Sweater or sweater vest; color: red Turtleneck; colors: white, red, navy blue Polar fleece: Lands End or SMGwear; vest or long sleeve; color: red SMG shirts/sweatshirts/fleece Girls Cotton/twill pants or corduroy; colors: khaki, black, navy blue Cotton/twill short; colors: khaki, black, navy blue Polo shirt (long/short sleeve); colors: white, red, light blue, navy blue Button-down Oxford (long/short sleeve); colors: white, light blue Sweater or sweater vest; color: red Jumper; colors: khaki, navy blue, plaid - from Lands End only Skirt; colors: khaki, navy blue, black, plaid from Lands End only Scooter skirt/skort (attached shorts) K-4 only; colors: khaki, navy blue, black Turtleneck; colord: white, red, navy blue Polar fleece (vest or long sleeve): Lands End or SMG wear; color: red SMG shirts/sweatshirts/fleece School Uniforms - JC Penney All of the approved items from JC Penney may be found in catalogs available in school office; items may be viewed and ordered online at www.jcpenney.com Some of the items may be found in the JC Penney Kids catalog, which come out seasonally. These catalogs can be found at the JC Penney store or call 800-222-6161 School Uniforms - Lands' End SMG's preferred school number for Lands' End is 9001-0852-3. Please give this number to Lands' End when you purchase from the school Catalog. Lands' End will return 3% of purchases made with our preferred school number to SMG. The 3% rebate to our school is good only on purchases from the Lands' End School Catalog. Items from Lands' End may be purchased online or by calling 800-469-2222. **Remember to use scrip for your purchases! **NOTES** NO FLIP-FLOPS for shoes. For safety purposes, we recommend no opend-toed shoes and straps around the ankle if children are on the playground. Adjustable waist pants are acceptable from Lands' End. They are not in the current uniform catalog, but can be found in the Lands' End Kids Catalog. They must be black, navy or khaki like the rest of the options.

Click here to order Goretti Wear directly from Badger Graphic Systems

Top

Home and School Association Bylaws December 2007 meeting minutes The Home and School Association is our school's parent organization and is represented by the volunteer Board. By enrolling your child/children at SMG, you are automatically a member of the Home and School Association. All members of the Board are parents of SMG students and are elected to serve for two years. The Board meets monthly with the principal and plans many activities throughout the year: for example, a parent mixer and Catholic School Week activities. Through this organization, parents and teachers work together to provide optimal conditions for true growth in Christian education. All parents are urged to become active members of the Home and School Association and to participate in its activities. The Home and School Association Executive Board represents the Association to all school and parish constituents. Home and School Association Executive Board President Colleen McAllister Vice President Lori Barker Secretary Nancy Carney Treasurer Jane Webner Public Relations Chair Dawn Grelle Middle School Theresa Gray Athletic Board Mike Roche Scrip Julie Schmitt Co-Social Chairs Brenda Nierman Heather Ledin Beth Wilson

Top

Fund Raisers Campbell Soup Labels General Mills box tops Pick 'n' Save We Care Program -- add St. Maria Goretti to your Advantage card and a portion of what you spend will be donated to the school - use your card every time you shop! Greatergood.com - every time you shop on the internet, go in through www.greatergood.com, indicate SMG as your charity of choice and up 15% of what you spend will go to the school (at no extra cost to you). Market Day (SMG account #8543) Scrap and Stamp day Scrip Program Annual Rummage and Consignment Sale Parish Trivia Night Target VSA card - name SMG to receive a percentage each time you use your Target VISA

Top

Illness Guidelines If a student is sick in the morning, the school expects the student to remain home for the day. If a student becomes sick in school or suffers an injury, parents will be contacted. No student is allowed to leave the school building because of illness without first reporting to the school office. The following are the minimum required immunizations for each grade level. Even though your child meets these minimum requirements, he or she may be in need of booster doses. 2006-2007 School Year Grade Number of doses Pre K 4 DTP/DTaP/DT 3 Polio 1 MMR 3 Hep B 1 Var K-8 4 DTP/DTaP/DT 4 Polio 2MMR 3 Hep B 1 Var Please note: - Student immunization record forms must be turned into the school office by the first day of school - MMR vaccines must have been received on or after the first birthday - If your child received the third dose of DTP/DT/Td and polio after the fourth birthday, further doses of these vaccines may be recommended, but are not required VAR means Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. Chickenpox disease history is also acceptable MEDICATION POLICY No prescription or non-prescription medications shall be administered by school personnel or their agents to a student until a Medication Consent Form has been completed by the student's parent or guardian and returned to the school office. Please keep your child at home and seek the advice of your medical provider for: Fever and sore throat, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, earache, irritability or confusion. Fever is defined as a temperature of 100°F or higher taken under the arm, 101°F taken orally or 102°F taken rectally. Diarrhea - runny, watery or bloody stools Body rash with a fever Sore throat with a fever and swollen glands Eye discharge - thick mucus or pus draining from the eye, or pink eye Yellowish skin or eyes Chickenpox until the lesions are all scabbed over (seven days after onset of rash) Cold symptoms that cause sinus pain, chest pain, or the coughing up of gray or green sputum with or without a fever Head lice until after the treatment has been completed. This includes removing the nits (eggs) with the special comb or your fingernails and having clean clothes to put on SEE YOUR DOCTOR: If you notice a skin rash that appeared mysteriously or a skin lesion that looks like ringworm or scabies. These are communicable and a prescription from your health care provider is needed to treat them If your child complains frequently of headache and has other symptoms such as a fever, nausea, vomiting, complaints about vision, or had a recent head injury or complains of a headache that has continued for two weeks or longer. City of Madison Health Dept.: 266-4821; Dane County Public Health Dept.: 242-6520

Lunchtime Playground
This year we will have paid regular paid supervisors on our playground during the lunchtime recess. Each family will be asked to pay $50.00 to help defray the cost of the supervisors. It is important to have consistent supervision for the safety of the children. Each supervisor will have Virtus training and a thorough Background Check.

Top

Room Parents At the end of each school year, parents are asked to volunteer to be a room parent for their child's grade the following year. Room parents assist teachers throughout the year by organizing classroom parties, recruiting parent volunteers for classroom activities, and assisting parents with questions they might have about school issues. Each class is assigned two room parents to aid in implementing class, school, or Home & School Association projects. These parents assist at class parties, field trips, emergency phone calling and other activities. 2007-2008 Room Parents Grade Teacher Room Parents K Curley Bridget McGuire, Gretchen Karnosky K Bjork Kelly Hughes Lopykinski, Robin Duvall K Schroedel Denise Kerkhoff, Nora Statsick 1 Gebhart Carla Kinney, Sarah Reid 1 Hicks Sheila Rusch-Egwuonwu, Patricia Livelli 2 Rutherford Lisa Wolters, Molly Wowk 2 Silverwood Julie Last, Diane Myers 3 Brown Jenny Ybanez, Jennifer Vosberg 3 Cleary Kristin Sleeth, Mary Blum 4 Colas Ruth Becker, Jenny Stein 4 Dove/Dankert Pam Vesely, Amy Hartlieb 5 Jones Gina McClure, Tanya Tuszynski 5 Mortensen Carrie Bellissimo, Terri Kysely 6 Palzkill Sara Kratz Easland, Diane Sullivan 6 Hovland Julie Schmitt, Colleen McAllister 7 Day Lori Molitor, Lisa Fahrney 7 Hoefert Debbie Keller, Robin Chryst 8 Fallon Dawn Grelle, Jo Dupler 8 Riese Chris Cleary, Anne Dorn

Top

Weather Information Following are some guidelines SMG uses to ensure the safety of our students. Dress - In the morning, please prepare your child for cold weather. Areas of the body vulnerable to exposure to the cold should be covered (i.e. head, neck, hands, feet, etc.). In order to play on the snow at morning drop-off and/or recess, children in grades K-5 must have snowpants and boots. Middle School students must have boots. Without this clothing, children must stay on the blacktop only. Morning Drop-off - Please remember that SMG staff are not available for daily supervision at drop-off time prior to 7:30 a.m. For your child's safety, please do not drop off any earlier than 7:30 a.m. After School - There is no school supervision on the playground after school. If you allow your children to play on the playground during that time, please be there to supervise them.   EMERGENCY CLOSING - School Closing Information for Weather If the Madison Public Schools close due to weather, SMG will automatically be closed. However, there may be a time when SMG will make our own decision to close due to weather. If we close, that information can be found on the following stations by 6:00-6:15 a.m.: Radio 102.5 FM WNWC Z104 WIBA WMAD WTSO WMGN - Magic 98 TV CBS -WISC-3 (Cable 9) ABC -WKOW- 27(Cable 7) NBC 15 - WMTV (Cable 5)