Those still looking to send the perfect Christmas card to their loved ones can look no further. Spread Christmas joy to friends and family near and far, and help your local community at the same time.
This week, the Catholic Church in the United States spends time promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Every person has a vocation; a calling in life to be the person God has intended you to be. Our callings are as unique as our fingerprints. Discovering your vocation, a process called discernment, takes careful consideration, quiet contemplation, prayer and dedication. It also takes courage to say “yes” to God’s call.
Welcome back, Saint Laurence students and families! We know this school year is unlike any school year we experienced in the past, but no obstacle is too hard for us to overcome together! We want this year to feel as normal as possible, while also ensuring the safety and healthy wellbeing of each student and school staff member.
Here are a few reminders to keep in mind as we return to the classroom each day:
Daily temperature checks: Please take your child’s temperature each morning and keep them home if they have an elevated temperature (100.4 and over).
Hand washing and sanitizing: We ask each student to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer as often as possible upon entering the building.
Social distancing and mask wearing: We will practice social distancing by keeping apart 6 feet, and ask students wear their mask on the bus or when they get up and leave their classrooms. Please send your child with a bag to keep their mask in when not wearing.
Cohorts: Students will be placed in “cohorts.” These are small groups they will spend their entire day with, from class to lunch to other activities.
We ask that if your child shows any possible symptoms, to please keep them home for 14 days and turn to virtual learning for that time frame. If you don’t feel comfortable sending your child back just yet, again, you may choose the virtual option. However, we expect everyone dressed in uniform and ready to go at the same time each day whether they are in the building or at home.
Families at 23 suburban elementary Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have received
unexpected tuition assistance thanks to a grant awarded by the
Ambassador’s Fund for Catholic Education. As schools begin to reopen amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we know these families are beyond grateful to know their children continue to receive the best quality education.
As we approach the new school year, it’s clear this year will be quite different from years past. As neighboring public school districts make virtual starts, schools within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia face losing transportation to and from nonpublic schools, and need your help to ensure students attending Catholic schools who rely on busing have adequate transportation. School districts are required to provide transportation to public school students and nonpublic school students, pandemic or not.
As you may be well aware, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will be open in a few weeks for full-time, in-person learning. While elementary schools will be open, parents also have the option to continue distance education virtually. Those staying home and learning virtually, however, must be dressed in their uniform and ready to go at the same time as their classmates are at school.
The Office For Catholic Education has worked tirelessly this summer designing and implementing this plan to safely reopen schools, and prepare for any situation that could arise...
Catholic Schools have been particularly hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Families who choose Catholic education face (like so many of us) financial hardships due to layoffs and reduced work hours. In turn, Catholic schools face reduced enrollment. However, in the last few months Catholic schools proved their ability to continue to make good on their promise of educating each student. As our current reality under COVID-19 continues, there lies a strong need to save Catholic schools from the havoc COVID-19 created....
The School District of Philadelphia
released the results of a survey that was open for responses from June 15, 2020 through June 22, 2020 on Tuesday. Superintendent Dr. William Hite stated more than 36,000 people responded.
Among the 15,000 parents/guardians who responded, 47 percent said they would send their children back to school under the current circumstances. When asked if safety measures were put in place, this number rose to 62 percent.
Many of us find ourselves wondering what schooling will look like come fall. Come Fall, we may not be in a position to open schools and continue with remote, distance learning. However, while this is doable, and Catholic schools have successfully moved to a digital platform to finish out the school year, a difficult road lies ahead. As it stands now, the school year will likely look and operate differently than what we were previously accustomed to...
Governor Tom Wolf announced on April 9, 2020 that schools would remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Staff of schools within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, like St. Laurence School, were well underway in planning how to teach remotely, and have consistently tapped into their creativity to adapt to the changes...
Another week at home comes and goes, but our students and schools show they continue to find new ways to adapt and stay connected. Social media and video calling technologies continue to allow us to keep face to face contact, and allow teachers and students to engage on an ongoing basis...
COVID-19 changed our normal routines quite drastically over the last two months. Catholic schools within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, like St. Laurence School, have ensured that students continue through the curriculum and stay on task while at home.
St. Laurence School knows keeping your children occupied with engaging, educational, and fun activities once they finish their school work proves to be harder the longer we remain at home to do our part fighting COVID-19. We invite you to check out this list of
live streams that will give you some time to yourself and provide an activity for your kids.
While St. Laurence School is an elementary school educating students from Pre-K to Eighth grade, our hope is that our students continue their high school education at a Catholic High School within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, like St. Hubert’s Catholic School for Girls.
