Lancaster Catholic High School Crusader Connection December 9, 2020
Christmas Trees for Sale This Friday, December 11th, Lancaster Catholic High School’s parking lot will be filled with Christmas trees for a great cause! All of these beautiful Christmas trees will be priced at $40! The trees are on a first come first served basis and tree pick up will be Friday, from 3:30 to 5:00 PM. Any remaining trees will be available for purchase on Saturday between 8:00 - 10:00 AM. Please bring your own bungie cords or twine to secure your tree on your vehicle. Why will Christmas trees be in our parking lot? Who is selling them? Catholic High’s very own Mr. Blaszczyk and his wife, Maria, have established a mission in Sabandia, Arequipa, Peru. This mission will bring high school mission trips to one of the poorest areas in Peru. Over the last few weeks, Mr. Blaszczyk has been visiting theology classes presenting the mission of Sembradores De Semillas to students. Mission trips will begin in June of 2022. For more information about the organization and its mission visit sembradoressemillas.org.
Upcoming Events at Lancaster Catholic High School Dec. 11th Dec. 23rd Dec. 24th - Jan. 6th Jan. 18th Early Dismissal Epiphany Mass ML King Day Jan. 4th No School Christmas Break
Spanish Club Service Project Lancaster Catholic’s Spanish Club made Christmas and Welcome cards in Spanish for children at Bethany Children’s Home in Berks County. They also have been collecting socks, gloves, pajamas, art supplies and games to donate to Bethany Children’s Home for the kids to experience some Christmas joy. The children at Bethany Children’s Home have made an incredible journey to reunite with their families. The children are coming from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Ecuador, and other Central American Countries. The reasons why these children have come to the United States, include, but not limited to the following: • • • •
To locate family members already residing in the United States To escape the violence, abuse or persecution in other countries They were brought into the US through Human Trafficking Rings To seek work to support themselves or families
To date, most of the children in their care have been between 4 and14 years of age. Their average length of stay has been 10 to 30 days before being reunited with their families. While at Bethany the children receive the following: • • • • •
Shelter, Food, Clothing Medical Evaluations Classroom Education Socialization and Recreation Family reunification services that facilitate a safe and timely release to family members. If you would like to donate any of the above items, the last day to bring in items is Monday, December 14.
Weather Related Flexible Instruction Days (asynchronous) When the Flexible Instruction Day is announced “A” or “B” day will be designated. • If snow is predicted for the next day, teachers will have an assignment posted by 3:30PM before leaving the building. If an unexpected weather event causes the cancellation of school, all assignments will be posted by 10:00AM. • When a weather-related Flexible Instruction Day is called, an alert will be posted on the school website and included in the recorded phone message informing families of the cancellation. Guidelines on weather related Flexible Instruction Days will be included in the weekly Crusader Connection periodically beginning mid-November to parents and students so they are informed prior to the 1st “snow” day. • Lessons and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom. • Expectations are to be provided as to how the students are to complete and turnin the assignment(s). • Assignment(s) are to be turned in electronically by the students no later than 8:00PM that day. Turn-in options include electronically on Google Classroom, Google Docs, Rediker or Turn-it In. • The entire lesson and accompanying assignments should take a minimum of 35 minutes and a maximum of 45 minutes. • Teachers will notify students of their availability to answer questions via email. Teacher availability will not exceed a 2-hour block. Teachers will take class “attendance” based on submission of work. This attendance will be forwarded to the Attendance Officer. • If a student is legitimately sick on a Flexible Learning Day, parents will be expected to follow normal procedures for reporting illness; an excuse card for the Flexible Learning Day must be submitted by the student upon returning to school. Students will be expected to make-up the assignment per the teacher’s make-up policy. • Students who have reported no home Internet connection may opt to use a smart phone to complete assignments. If this alternative is not an option, all assignments are to be submitted by 3:00PM the 2nd school day after the return to school. • If there is a loss of power due to the weather, this will be taken into consideration for both students and teachers. This will be monitored and adjusted upon return to school.
Toys for Tots Varsity Club’s annual Toys for Tots campaign will kick off on Friday, December 4th and continue to Thursday, December 17th. Toys must be $5.00 in value minimum, must be new and unwrapped. If you can not make it to the store, monetary donations can be accepted and will be towards buying more gifts. The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The top homeroom with the most donations of toys will earn a pizza lunch. Second and third place homerooms will receive cookies for breakfast.
AmazonSmile You can now shop with AmazonSmile through the Amazon Shopping App! • • • •
Open the Amazon Shopping App on your smart phone Go to Settings Select AmazonSmile Turn AmazonSmile on! It is that easy to support Lancaster Catholic while Christmas or everyday shopping!
New Face Covering Guidelines As of December 1, 2020 the following face coverings will no longer be accepted at Lancaster Catholic: • Neck Gaiters • Face Shields (that have gaps on the side and do not go below the chin) • Half-shields that sit on the chin (these are open from the nose to the forehead) Click here to view our COVID-19 HQ
School Counseling Corner Attention all Juniors & Sophomores The application for the Lancaster County Career and Technical Center (CTC) continues to be open for the 2021 - 2022 school year. Please contact Mrs. Maria Taormina, LCHS School Counselor, if you have any questions or you would like to start the application please email Mrs. Taormina (mtaormina@lchsyes.org). Seniors If you are planning to apply to college by January 1, 2021, please request transcripts and other documents to be sent No Later than December 21, 2020. Your School Counselors will not be sending out college related materials during Christmas Break. We appreciate your compliance! PSAT Score Reports Any student who took the PSAT in October, should have been emailed from the College Board which included a code to access your scores as well as information regarding the next steps to take. This link will assist you in recovering this information as well as making sure your student has a current College Board Account: https://youtu.be/1I6f51n3-dc Any parent who is interested may contact Jill Grosh (jgrosh@lchsyes.org) for a detailed download of understanding their child’s PSAT score. Young Adult & Virtual Caring Place Flyers are included in this publication. If you have a child who has lost a parent or other significant person in their life, please reach out for support. In addition to Highmark’s Caring Place, Hospice provides Coping with the Holidays (via Zoom). Please contact them at (717) 391-2413 or (800) 924-7610. A Few Thoughts on Remote Learning There are so many reasons why students are choosing to learn remotely: illness, vulnerability in the household, exposure to COVID, etc. That being said, we are finding that many students struggle when they are not in front of a teacher. Accountability also becomes an issue. The best way to navigate these uncertain times is log in to Rediker on a daily basis and continue to communicate with your child as well as their teachers and/or school counselor if you have any questions.