ICS Newsletter: Thursday August 20, 2015

Upcoming Events

August
21 - Morning Assembly, 8:30 a.m., St. Michael Hall
24 - 1st Day of School, PreK-4 and PreK-3
26 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., Incarnation Church; Band Assembly, Grades 3 - 8
29 - ICS Family Cookout** (see details below)

September
1 - Picture Day
2 - School Mass; Curriculum Night, Grades PreK – 5, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
4 - First Friday Morning Assembly; Irish Incarnation Day (Any ICS shirt, Jeans or PE shorts, sneakers)
7 - NO SCHOOL – Labor Day
8 – 10 - ICSSC Voter Registration
9 - School Mass; Curriculum Night, Grades 6 – 8, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
10 - ICSSC Campaign Speeches, a.m. activity schedule
11 - Priory Pep Rally, p.m. activity schedule; Patriot Day – Red or White shirts with Blue jeans and sneakers; ICSSC Elections
14 – 18 - ICS Fall Book Fair
16 - School Mass with ICS Households; Mid-point of Quarter 1
18 - Spaghetti Dinner
23 - School Mass
24 - Family Supper with ICS Households
25 - ½ Day of School

October
15 - No School
16 - No School
29 - 1/2 Day of School (Conferences)
30 - 1/2 Day of School

November
7 - ICS Auction

For a comprehensive look at all of the many activities we have planned for this school year, please visit our ICS Calendar Page.



Prayers

We lift up our entire school community in prayer - students, teachers, parents and families - as we begin the 2015 - 16 school year at Incarnation Catholic School. May the Spirit of the Lord be with ICS this year and always!

We pray for all members of our ICS community who have children beginning either high school or college for the first time. May God watch over these former students, lead them, and protect them in these next steps of their lives.

Have a prayer request? Send it to icsmzele@icstampa.org. 





Hope Will Rise

Today's Hope Will Rise quote comes to us from Paul's letter to the Hebrews 6:18-19. Hold fast to HOPE and be mindful of the stories that you listen to and tell yourself! Listening to and/or repeating the wrong stories can steal your hope. Hopelessness leads to destruction. Hope leads to life!

Hope Will Rise!

Personnel Updates
Please join us in welcoming the following member to our ICS faculty:

*Mrs. White, ICS Art Teacher
Please join me in welcoming Mrs. Rese White as our new ICS Art Teacher. Mrs. White holds a Masters in Education from Bellarmine University and in addition to teaching middle school mathematics and social studies, Mrs. White was the Founder of the Louisville Youth Theatre in Louisville, KY that offered music, dance, acting, photography and stage management sessions. This strong artistic background will allow her to add to our strong creative and performing arts program at ICS. Welcome, Mrs. White! We are proud to have you as a part of our dynamic group of ICS faculty and staff!

We are still searching for a dynamic individual to take the position of our After School Care Coordinator. We will keep you up to date regarding this search process.


ICS Family Cookout
On Saturday August 29, ICS is hosting a Family Cookout. Come to the 4:30 Mass and then over to the Pavilion at 5:30 or just join us any time between 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. for a summer cookout to reconnect with your ICS Family and to celebrate the beginning of an AMAZING school year! 

The menu will include hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and drink. Cost is $5.00 per person. We hope to see you there! To help us plan ahead, please consult the flyer in today's packet and return by next Friday August 28! 


ICS Home and School Association

Please prayerfully consider how you can best help our school through our Home and School Association this year. Everyone must play a part! Stay tuned for more details and contact Mr. Zelenka if you have a desire to work in a leadership role in any of the areas of involvement: Home and School. 

Early Childhood at ICS

ICS is still accepting new students into its PreK-3 and PreK-4 (VPK) classes.

Contact the office or Ms. Noto for more details: notor@icstampa.org.

Our first day of classes for our Early Learning Program (PreK-3 and PreK-4) is August 24!





ICS Student-Family Handbook
Please visit this link to access the 2015 - 16 ICS Student-Family Handbook. 

Handbook acknowledge forms are due back to the school office by tomorrow, Friday August 21.

Please take time with your child, if you already haven’t, to review the handbook in its entirety. Points of emphasis are listed below for you and your child to review:

*Appropriate clothing options for uniform, non-uniform and cold weather (p.69)
*Tardies in regards to Honor Roll and Time on Task Free Dress Day eligibility (p. 52 and 57)

*PBIS system-distribution of strikes and their translation into conduct grades (p. 42)

*GRIT/Character Training under Student Conduct as well as in the PBIS Manual in the Appendix (p. 38 and 82)

If you have any questions about policies found in our School Handbook, please do not hesitate to contact any ICS faculty or staff member. 

Sycamore

We will use Sycamore Education as our student management system to begin our school year. To align with the Diocese of St. Petersburg Office of Schools and Centers, we will transition to Rediker at some point throughout the year. 

For returning families, please continue to use Sycamore as you have always done. Please just be sure that your contact information is up to date. If you need help accessing your account please contact the Front Office. 

For new families, you should have received login information earlier this week. If you did not receive  or if you experience problems accessing your account, please contact the Front Office. 

Our ICS School ID Number is: 1480. 

Follow this link to login: Sycamore. 

Chapter Books

If you have any gently used chapter books targeted for Upper Elementary aged students (around grades 3 - 5) and would be willing to donate them to the school, please contact Mrs. Sarah Graves: gravess@icstampa.org. Thank you in advance!

Faith Formation

First Communion and Confirmation Registration

Registration will be held on August 23^rd and August 30^th in St. Michael Hall after all the Masses. At the time of registration, you must provide a copy of your child’s Baptismal Certificate, no form will be accepted without it.

Also, you may stop by the Faith Formation Office during normal business hours (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) to register your child. 

The deadline for First Communion registration is September 26^th.

The deadline for Confirmation registration is October 30^th.

All Sacrament preparation is done through the Faith Formation Office not the School. Please direct any questions you may have to Philomena Johnson either by phone, 813-885-7861, or by email, pjohnson@icctampa.org.

Baptism

If you wish to have your child baptized at Incarnation Catholic Church, please contact Carmen Cayon either by phone, 813-885-7861, or by email, ccayon@icctampa.org.

May God bless our partners in Catholic education on the other side of our Incarnation campus!

Beginning of the Year Reminders

*Handbook Acknowledgement Forms

Please submit your Handbook Acknowledgement forms back to the school office by Friday 8/21/15.

*Media Release Form

Please also submit your Media Release form, and Emergency Card by Friday 8/21/15.

*Medications / Allergies

Please notify the Front Office if your child(ren) has any allergies or if any medications need to be taken throughout the school day. All medication must be kept in the Main Office. 

*Background Screening / Safe Environment Training

In order for you to access our students during the day in the classroom setting (i.e. class parties, class projects, etc.) and/or come to school to eat lunch / go to recess with your son or daughter you must have a Level II background check completed through the Diocese of St. Petersburg. Visit this link for details and more information: Background Check. 

*If you would like to be able to supervise students (be a chaperone for a field trip, volunteer coach, etc.) you will need both a Level II background check and completion of the Safe Environment Training Program. Details about this training can be found here: Safe Environment Training. 

*If you plan to join our school community during events such as Mass and/or Assembly (like tomorrow), you do not need screening or training.

*Drop-Off

Please note that for Drop-Off in the morning, please to use the same traffic route that is used for Afternoon Pick-Up. This includes students dropped off between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. (during Morning Care). We will have ICS staff available in the Pavilion lot to help assist students into St. Michael Hall. 

*For the safety of all drivers please use the full traffic route, especially for turning around. 

*Also, please refrain from using cellphones - keep our children safe! 

*Academic Programs
In case you missed it, please follow this link for information about the new structure being used in 1st through 5th grade this year: ICS Grades 1 - 5. 

-If you have any questions about this academic structure, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for your support with this new initiative!

*Newsletter
Our ICS Newsletter is a way to communicate timely and important information to ICS families. Please be sure that you have your email address up to date in Sycamore as the weekly update will be sent every Thursday via email. You can also bookmark the ICS Newsletter webpage and check every Thursday for updates. Either way, please let us know if you are not receiving this important information and we will help ensure that it gets to you.

Thank You
On behalf of Fr. Michael Suszynski and the rest of the Incarnation Faculty and Staff, I want to thank you for partnering with us at ICS to educate your children. We consider it a great blessing to minister to you and your children at our Catholic school. We look forward to partnering with you this year and beyond. Thanks for being a part of the ICS Family.

Welcome home. 

IN KEEPING WITH OUR TRADITION, WE AT INCARNATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL:

Inspire disciples of Christ,

Challenge each individual to be a life-long learner, and

Strive to live our Catholic faith through service to each other and the community.