NEW PARENT PACKET
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021
This will be a full day for ALL students
SCHOOL HOURS
8 am - 3 pm – full day
8 am - 11:20 am – Half Day Pre-K
WEDNESDAY EARLY RELEASE
On Wednesdays school is over at 2 pm for Teacher Professional Development/Staff Meetings. EDP is available at $6/hour/child.
IMPORTANT SCHOOL CONTACT INFORMATION
School Office – 773-736-8806
EDP – 773-736-3819
Eli Argamaso, Principal – eargamaso@pfgacademy.org
Sharon Kells, Assistant Principal – skells@pfgacademy.org
Tina Menendez, Office Manager – tmenendez@pfgacademy.org
Kristen Yedlinski, School Secretary – kyedlinski@pfgacademy.org
Jodi Thyen, Director of Admissions and Advancement – jthyen@pfgacademy.org
COMMUNICATIONS/THE HOWLER
Each week you will receive an e-blast on Thursday early evening called The Howler. This is our primary means of communicating to parents in a broad way, across all grade levels. Each teacher will also communicate to parents (generally by email) the things that impact their individual classroom. Each student will also use a folder which will go back and forth each night in the backpacks. That folder will include any work the students need to complete and return, printed communications from the teacher, and any student work that is complete and is just being sent home. On Thursdays, that same folder will also include any flyers about topics that apply school wide. We try to limit the amount of paper sent home, so if we have put something in The Howler, it may or may not have a corresponding piece of paper in the Thursday folder.
REQUIRED PAPERWORK - DUE PRIOR TO SCHOOL OPENING
Other than the Birth Certificate, everything can be emailed to info@pfgacademy.org.
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
If you have not already brought in an original or a certified copy of your student's birth certificate, please plan to coordinate with the front office to come by the school at a specific time to bring your student's birth certificate, to be copied and returned immediately. Some people did email a copy, but we will eventually need to make a photocopy of the original, as per the state law.
SACRAMENTAL RECORDS
If your student has received any sacraments at this point, we will need photocopies of these records. They may be emailed to info@pfgacademy.org or a copy may be brought in for the student’s files.
REQUIRED SCHOOL FORMS FOR ALL FAMILIES (BOTH RETURNING AND NEW FAMILIES) COMPLETE ONE PER FAMILY
REQUIRED STATE MEDICAL FORMS - ONE PER STUDENT FOR EACH NEW STUDENT
Child State of Illinois Health Exam Form (All students new to PFGA at all grade levels, plus all returning rising Kindergartners and rising 6th graders)
Child State of Illinois Dental Exam Form (All students new to PFGA at Kindergarten and above, plus all returning rising Kindergartners, rising 2nd graders, and rising 6th graders)
Child State of Illinois Eye Exam Form All students new to PFGA at Kindergarten and above, plus all returning rising Kindergartners)
School Medication Procedures Explanation (read but do not return)
Medication Authorization Form and Physicians Order (read and return if medicine is required to be administered at school)
STUDENTS WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS WHICH REQUIRE ATTENTION WHILE AT SCHOOL - ONE PER STUDENT ONLY WHERE NECESSARY
If your child has an ALLERGY, ASTHMA, DIABETES, OR ANY OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION REQUIRING ONGOING MEDICATION OR MEDICAL TREATMENT, in addition to indicating the condition/s on their Medical and Emergency Notification and Authorization for Medical Treatment Form, please complete and return the Medication Authorization Form and Physicians Order form. Also, read and retain a copy of our School Medication Procedures.
TRANSFER AND ACQUISITION OF TRANSCRIPTS (for new grade-level students)
For any students transferring in from any other school, please complete this Pope Francis Global Academy Request for Records Form and submit it to the school your child attended in 2020-21. They will send copies of the complete applicable transcripts directly to us. You may, at the same time, request a copy from the transcripts for yourself to keep on file. A new student will not be allowed to start the school year until transcripts have been received.
EXTENDED DAY PROGRAM
Our Extended Day Program will once again be available beginning on the first day of school from 6:30 am – 8 am and again from 3 pm – 6 pm. The cost is $6/hour/child and billing will be added to your FACTS monthly invoice. All families are encouraged to register ahead of time for EDP using THIS FORM. You will not be billed the registration fee ($20 per student) until you actually use EDP for the first time.
Each Friday during the school year an EDP RSVP form will be sent out to all parents by email and those planning to use EDP the following week should complete the form.
If you are late to pick up your child, they will be taken down to EDP and you will be charged the appropriate fee (based on how late you are).
UNIFORMS
Students in Kindergarten through 8th grade are required to wear official PFGA school uniforms. Uniforms can be ordered through Dennisuniform.com. Information on our Uniform Code is HERE. Also, when you log onto the Dennis site, you will plug in our school name. You will then be taken to our specific uniform portal, which will show you only our approved items. The list they show will indicate whether an item is required or is optional.
Each class from K-8 will have gym twice per week this year, so having two sets of regular and two sets of gym uniforms may be best to avoid doing laundry every night. We will announce the gym days as soon as the master schedule is complete.
UNIFORM EXCHANGE/UNIFORM CLOSET
In an effort to “pay it forward” our Parents’ Club manages a uniform reuse program throughout the year. Parents donate uniforms to the school once their children have outgrown them and several times per year the Parents’ Club hosts a Uniform “Exchange.” These uniforms are FREE and all parents are encouraged to participate.
Two Uniform Exchange dates are planned for the coming weeks. The first is on Monday, August 9 from 1-7 in the lunchroom. The second is on Monday, August 16, also from 1-7 pm in the lunchroom. They will run 2-3 more uniform exchanges throughout the year.
Uniforms at the exchange vary in degrees of “gently-used” and, again, they are FREE to our families. We do limit the number of items one family can take, but it’s a generous program that our Parents’ Club does which encourages paying-it-forward!
LUNCH ORDERS
Our lunch partner, FSP, through funding from the USDA, will be providing lunch again this year for any of our students who wish to order. Lunches normally cost $3.65, however, if your students wish to eat School Lunch this year, it will be provided FREE. More information will come out soon on this program.
SNACKS AND DRINKS
Pre-K and Kindergarten students have a designated snack time and parents are responsible for sending in a snack that is easily managed by the student for each day.
Snacking isn't allowed in the other classrooms unless there is a special exemption/accommodation made.
Every student should plan to bring a LABELED reusable water bottle in which they can refill at the water filling station at specified times during the day. The fountain portion of the water fillers will be turned off again this year as a COVID-19 safety measure. Please label your student's water bottle with a permanent marker and be sure to wash the bottle daily with soap and hot water.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
HERE are the links to the school supply lists from the school website. You can shop for all of these items on your own or you can choose to order a "School Tool Box" and have it delivered to your home by the time school begins. ORDER SCHOOL TOOLBOX HERE.
There will be an opportunity to drop off your students’ supplies prior to the first day of school.
PICK UP AND DROP OFF INSTRUCTIONS
(SEE THE SPECIAL SECTION UNDER 2021-22 BACK TO SCHOOL INFO)
RAFFLE TICKETS
As part of your Family Fundraising Fees billed in July, you will receive 40 raffle tickets (if you have only one half-day student, you will only receive 20 tickets, as your fee was $200 rather than $400.) Most families will receive their tickets the first week of school. If you have only recently completed your enrollment on FACTS your tickets will be sent to you once your fee payment has been made in full. Sell these tickets to earn your money back or sell a few and then put your own name on the rest. Return all ticket stubs (the part with the buyer’s name on it) to the office prior to the first Monthly Money Raffle Drawing on the 3rd Wednesday of September! $750, $200 and $100 are the three prizes given out each month to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners between September and April!
VOLUNTEER HOURS
Each year our families are required to do 20 hours of volunteer work on behalf of the school. Please look out in The Howler, on our Parents’ Club Facebook page, and on our school’s website for more details and opportunities to volunteer this year. Hours not completed by March 31, 2022 will be billed at $15/hour on a June 2022 FACTS bill. Please be sure to read any information sent home about this.
Parents will receive an email at the beginning of the year with instructions to set up a TRACK IT FORWARD account, which is where you will be responsible for logging your own hours worked.
VIRTUS TRAINING
Many of the volunteer opportunities available require parents/grandparents to be certified with VIRTUS Training, which helps parents spot any potential risks while they are working with the kids on field trips, in the school, etc. If you have already completed this training through another parish or school, you may add PFGA as one of your locations. If not, you will need to set up a new account for yourself and register for an upcoming training session. These are offered throughout the Archdiocese at various locations on different days and times. Hopefully, you can get your training in soon so when an opportunity to help comes up, you will be ready. ORDER SCHOOL TOOLBOX HERE
OTHER COMPLIANCE WITHIN THE PROTECTING GOD’S CHILDREN PROGRAM
In addition to taking the Virtus training, there are other compliance forms and requirements due back each year. To become “compliant” which is how you can volunteer in the school, you must complete all elements, not only just the Virtus training. MORE INFO IS HERE.
PARENTS’ CLUB
Our Parents’ Club is very active throughout the school year providing enriching opportunities for our students, staff and parents. Their primary mission is to help build community within our school family. We encourage you to get involved with Parents’ Club either a little or a lot. Their information is HERE. We will be updating their meeting and event schedules soon.
If you are on Facebook, our Parents’ Club has a private Facebook Group that you can join. Please submit a request to join and answer the specific questions they ask in order to gain membership on the page.