Registration for the fourth annual OLCA Summer Brainstorm has begun!
You can download the application here:
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have a few more updates to share since the last newsletter.
FINAL EXAMS
Students in Grades K-8 are now preparing for their final exams in all major subject areas. Study guides are being distributed this week. Please pay close attention to the notes sent home and placed on the website by your child’s teacher. Students should be studying now to ensure the highest possible final grades.
With the new Common Core learning standards implemented this year, the curriculum is more challenging than it has ever been. Daily studying must be a part of your child’s routine at home. There is no such thing as “I have no homework!” Even if there is no written work assigned for a class, they should still be reviewing their notes and materials every day.
REGISTRATION UPDATE
Enrollment has continued to grow and we have additional classes that are now closed and that are nearly closed. Please note that the classes listed below are anticipated to be closed by the end of the school year. If you are planning to enroll your child in one of these classes, you must do so as soon as possible to guarantee a seat!
CLOSED:
Rockaway Boulevard: 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 7th Grade
NEARLY CLOSED:
128th Street: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 7th Grade
Rockaway Boulevard: Nursery, Kindergarten, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 8th Grade
TUITION & FEES
Finally, a friendly reminder: all tuition and fees, including fundraising, are now due. Please pay by May 31 to avoid late fees. Please note that students may not participate in graduation activities if all fees are not paid by May 31. Also, students may lose their guaranteed seat for next year if there is an outstanding balance. With long waiting lists for many classes, it is only fair that seats go to families that have kept up with their financial obligations. If you have special circumstances, please notify the school in writing and you will be referred to the Tuition Assistance Committee operated by our Board of Directors.
In closing, we are happy to announce that our Pre-Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Daphne Blain, is now on maternity leave, as she and her husband expect her first child shortly! We are blessed to have Susan Polvorosa, an educator with more than twenty years experience in Catholic schools, working with Mrs. Hardial to complete the year with Mrs. Blain’s class. Please make Mrs. Polvorosa feel welcome as she joins our family for the remainder of the year!
Sincerely in Christ,
Kevin John Coyne, Principal and Marian Hernandez, Assistant Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have a few important updates to share:
SAFETY & SECURITY AT OLCA
Recent events in South Ozone Park are a reminder of how important it is that safety is our first priority. Remember that students can only walk home with your written permission, and should always do so in groups. If you have an individual situation which makes this difficult, please contact us and we will work out a solution with you. Remember that only custodial parents and names listed on emergency cards may pick children up, and new faces should always be ready to present identification to the office. Together, we will continue to make sure that all of our children are always safe and sound.
A NEW FIRST GRADE CLASS AT ROCKAWAY BOULEVARD
Due to heavy demand, we have opened up an additional first grade class at Rockaway Boulevard. We do not have the current capacity to add any more additional classes at either campus, so please understand that once other classes are closed, you must be placed on the waiting list or register for the same grade at the other campus. If you still haven’t re-registered, please do so as soon as possible. We have never had to close classes so early in the history of OLCA, so families used to waiting until the summer may not have seats waiting for them! We want to see all of you in September!
FREE FAMILY FUN NIGHT – TONIGHT! – 128th STREET CAMPUS – 6:30 PM!
We hope all of you will join us tonight at the 128th Street Campus, where family games and activities will bring parents and children from both campuses together! Everything is free, including drinks and snacks!
UNIFORM MEASUREMENTS & NEW OPTIONS
Ideal Uniforms will visit the Rockaway Boulevard campus on May 7 and the 128th Street campus on May 21 to measure for uniforms. Both measurements will be at 9 AM. Next year, we have added new options for students in Grades 5-8, including a new royal blue polo shirt and khaki pants combination, and a track suit-style gym uniform. Uniforms are also available at both Ideal Uniform store locations and at their OLCA online store: http://idealuniform.com/olcaop
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
Many students will be receiving their First Holy Communion this weekend. Please join us at 5 PM on Saturday (Saint Anthony Church) and 10 AM on Sunday (Saint Teresa of Avila Church.)
TUITION & FEES
Finally, a friendly reminder: all tuition and fees, including fundraising, are now due. Please pay by May 31 to avoid late fees.
Sincerely in Christ,
Kevin John Coyne, Principal and Marian Hernandez, Assistant Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
April has been a very busy month, with some of our students taking standardized testing, while others prepare for sacraments and graduations! We want to update you on an important change made to the raffle sale at the request of many parents, along with an update on registration for 2013-2014.
OLCA FIRST ANNUAL CULTUREFEST
& RAFFLE SALE UPDATE
Under the leadership of our parent committee chaired by Karen Allim, our First Annual OLCA CultureFest is shaping up to be a huge event. Taking place on June 1 & June 2, there will be a wide variety of international foods, musical performances, carnival games, and a wide variety of children’s entertainment. Several businesses have already signed up to be at the event, and with free admission, there will be plenty of things to enjoy on a limited budget. Mrs. Allim still needs help from additional parents, so if you would like to volunteer your time, or would like to help OLCA set up a partnership with an outside organization or business, please e-mail her at knca@aol.com, and she will happily work with you!
Due to the large scale of this event, we have decided not to have our International Pot Luck Dinner this year. The raffle drawing will instead be the final event of the CultureFest, closing out the festivities on Sunday afternoon. Many parents have requested more time to sell these raffle tickets. Please note that if you cannot sell the tickets and must have the cost added to your tuition, you should fill out the tickets with your own name. Some of our winners from last year won prizes that way!
***IMPORTANT UPDATE***
REGISTRATION FOR 2013-2014
We now have three closed classes at Rockaway Boulevard, with several more classes at both campuses having only a handful of seats left, meaning they will likely be closed by the end of May. Please register as soon as possible to guarantee your child’s seat for September. We now have more students registered today than we had at the end of August last year! We want to see all of your children back again, but we are running out of seats!
CLOSED
Rockaway Boulevard: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade
NEARLY CLOSED
128th Street: Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 7th Grade
Rockaway Boulevard: 4th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade
Thank you to all of the parents, staff, and students for continuing to make this year a big success. The future looks brighter than ever at OLCA.
Sincerely in Christ,
Kevin John Coyne
Principal
A friendly reminder:
Karate classes will take place at the 128th street campus on Wednesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 4.
All other after-school activities resume Monday, April 8.
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we celebrate Holy Week, the most important week of our faith, we were reminded by the second grades at both campuses of the sacrifice Christ made for us. I want to commend our second grade teachers, Mrs. Law and Ms. Mastrangelo, for their hard work with their students in preparing the Living Stations of the Cross.
I also want to thank Mrs. Benkert and Mrs. Beadle for organizing a very successful Easter Family Fun Day, which had an attendance of over two hundred people! I also thank Mr. Baldassare, Mrs. Zamora, Mrs. Belen-Kelly, and our parent volunteers for helping to make the event a big success.
***IMPORTANT UPDATE***
REGISTRATION FOR 2013-2014
We have several classes that are nearing capacity for next year, along with one class that is already closed! If your child’s class for next year is nearing capacity, I strongly recommend that you re-register as soon as possible, as all seats may be gone as early as mid-April. With First Grade now closed at Rockaway Boulevard, parents have the option of attending the 128th Street campus. Once a class is closed, you may attend the other campus or be placed on a waiting list for the closed class.
CLOSED
First Grade, Rockaway Boulevard
NEARING CAPACITY
Pre-Kindergarten, 128th Street
Kindergarten, 128th Street
Second Grade, 128th Street
Second Grade, Rockaway Boulevard
Third Grade, 128th Street
Third Grade, Rockaway Boulevard
Fourth Grade, 128th Street
Sixth Grade, Rockaway Boulevard
Seventh Grade, 128th Street
Seventh Grade, Rockaway Boulevard
Eighth Grade, Rockaway Boulevard
I hope all of you have a restful Easter recess and come back to OLCA in April with renewed energy and spirit. Our fourth, sixth, and eighth graders will be taking New York State tests, so they should use this time to review and study!
Sincerely in Christ,
Kevin John Coyne
Principal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I want to share with you two crucial updates regarding upcoming events at Our Lady’s Catholic Academy.
REGISTRATION & SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2013-2014
We are hosting a very special workshop on Wednesday, March 20 at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be in the auditorium at the Rockaway Boulevard campus. This meeting will be for parents of both campuses, and refreshments will be served.
At this meeting, there will be people from the Futures in Education scholarship program, and they speak both English and Spanish. They will work with you to complete your scholarship applications! Remember that the fee will be covered by the school.
To be eligible for the maximum scholarship, your application must be in by March 31. You must be registered to apply for the scholarship, which costs $75. That’s a small price to pay now for potentially big savings off of your tuition next year!
Scholarship applications can also be completed online at psas.org
OLCA SUMMER FESTIVAL
This June, we will revive an exciting tradition that began at Saint Teresa of Avila parish school. We’re bringing back the Summer Festival! Our parent coordinator, Karen Allim, is looking for other parents, alumni, and staff to help her with this event. Please see the attached flyer for more information. If you cannot make the sign-up meeting, e-mail her at knca@aol.com.
One special part of this year’s festival will be a ceremony officially renaming Saint Teresa of Avila School, christening it as Our Lady’s Catholic Academy. We hope families past and present will join us this June for this special event!
Sincerely in Christ,
Kevin John Coyne Marian Hernandez
Principal Assistant Principal
OLCA will open at its normal time, including early drop-off, on March 8, 2013.
Please take your time coming to school today. Students will go straight to their classrooms after 7:45 AM at Rockaway Boulevard and 8:00 AM at 128th Street. No students will be given an unexcused lateness until 9 AM.
Students may wear their gym uniform.
