Principal's Corner

Principal’s Corner – October 4, 2018

Hello St. Al Families,

Happy October to everyone!  I can’t believe we have been in school for a month already.  I wanted to remind everyone of some great items we have happening this month: Scrip Presto Pay contest, conferences, and Family Fun Night.  Remember to check your email for updates about these events and more.  I would also like to remind everyone that the cold weather is setting in.  Please make sure students come to school with a warm coat so they can continue to enjoy playing outside for as long as the weather holds.

In other news, you may have noticed our very large and very fabulous new planters in the courtyard area where students line up.  These planters will help keep this area clear of cars and provide some color.  This last weekend the planters were placed and this week rocks and soil were added in preparation for plants that will be coming soon.  We are so thankful to not only have something beautiful for our courtyard/outside meeting area but also a safe place for our students to gather before, during, and after school.

I hope everyone has a wonderful end to this first week of October.

Thank you,
Kathleen Cifu
Principal

Coffee and Conversation with Ms. Cifu

Join Ms. Cifu in the Commons every first Thursday of the month at 8:45 am for coffee and treats. The first meeting will be on October 4.

This is an opportunity for school families to connect with the principal, ask general questions, and get updates on all things St. Als. See you there!

Principal's Corner

Principal’s Corner – September 24, 2018

Hello St. Al Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Below you will find this week’s event info and policy/procedure reminders.

Events

Wednesday: Conference Info Sheets 

Info and sign-up sheets for October conferences go out via email to all parents/guardians for K-8 students.  Please read the form carefully and fill out your choices for conference times.

Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday: SCRIP is on sale!

Check the SCRIP page on our website for more details about purchasing SCRIP and look for our new signs on school sale days. You can also purchase at the parish office.

Policy/Procedures 

Uniforms: Our school sets ourselves apart from other institutions in many ways—our knowledge and practice of the Catholic faith, our academic programs, etc.. One important way we stand out is through our uniforms.  Our uniform policy exists to assist students and parents on how to appropriately dress for a day at St. Alphonsus.  It is such a nice sight to see students looking their best in our uniform each morning, ready to start the day together.  I would like to encourage each family to take a moment and review our uniform guidelines as we have been noticing a few issues with socks, skirts, and other clothing items.  Teachers will be assisting me in addressing dress code concerns and we may contact you if a situation arises.   If you have any questions about our uniforms please contact our school office or your student’s teacher.

Remember that navy blue shirts are now allowed for Pre-K through 4th grade, in addition to the white shirts previously worn.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to all of the individuals who helped at Bingo on Friday night and the Welcome Breakfast on Sunday.  Bingo was a wonderful event to behold and I am so thankful for the parent volunteers who help make it possible.  On Sunday, our Student Council members were on hand to welcome parishioners, hand out bulletins, and bring up the gifts at the 10am mass.   Thank you to the volunteers and students who assisted with the Welcome Breakfast after mass.  Parents and volunteers served the parish community as the students represented our school.

Thank you,
Kathleen Cifu
Principal, St. Alphonsus Parish School

Principal's Corner

Principal’s Corner – September 19, 2018

Hello St. Al Families,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week #3 of our school year together.  Below you will find some policy and procedure items as well as event news for the rest of this week.

Events

Pre-K & Elementary Curriculum Night: This event is tonight from 7-8:30pm.  The book fair will be open starting at 6:30pm.

Bingo: Our first Bingo night is this Friday in the lunch room, 7-8pm with kitchen opening at 6:30pm.

Policies and Procedures

Playground After School: Playground time is a favorite for some of our students. For the safety of all our children we need to have non-Extended Care students supervised directly by parents when on the playground after school.  This means that parents need to be on the playground with their students to directly supervise their playground activity.  Our Extended Care staff need to be the support for our Extended Care students.  Tracking who is and is not in Extended Care can be difficult for our staff when children without adult supervision join them on the playground.  Also, families who are not paying for Extended Care supervision are receiving services for free that others have paid for if their students are unsupervised with our Extended Care group.

Please note that when K-8 Extended Care students are on the playground they use both play areas, so smaller children will come in contact with older elementary children on the smaller playground.  My hope is that we can all use the playground area after school.

Extended Care: Once you sign students out from Extended Care we are releasing them to you.  I know that there may be times when you need them to stay longer or you may need to take care of something in the office.  If this is the case, we ask that you sign your student back in or simply wait to sign them out.  This let’s our Extended Care staff know exactly who is still under their supervision and who should be going home with their trusted adult.

Thank you to all of our school volunteers, parents, students, and staff.  It has been a wonderful start to the school year and I can’t wait to see what the rest of September has in store.

Thank you,
Kathleen Cifu
Principal, St. Alphonsus Parish School

Principal's Corner

A Message from the Principal – September 13, 2018

Hello St. Al Families,

Welcome to week two of our school year together. I wanted to provide information about a few upcoming events as well as reminders about some of our safety polices and procedures.

Events
Curriculum Night

  • Pre-K through 4th Grade; September 19, 7-8:30pm

Book Fair

Picture Day

  • September 18; full uniform day for pictures and for mass

Maps Testing

  • Begins September 17

Policies and Procedures

Visitor badges: When visiting the school please sign in and out at the front office. Also, please pick up a visitor badge.  We want to make sure all adults in the building can be easily identified and that the office is aware we have visitors.  This assists us in evacuating the building during emergency situations and allows us to maintain a high level of safety and security for our students through out the day. If you see someone in the building who is not a staff member and is not wearing a visitor badge, please report it to the office immediately.

Doors: All doors to our buildings remain locked during the school day.  This is to make sure that no one is admitted without permission.  Please make sure to close all doors behind you when entering the building and do not admit anyone behind that is not known to you or is not clearly going to the office.

Pets on campus:

* Absolutely no dogs or pets are allowed in the school building
* No dogs or pets are allowed on the outdoor courtyard area (where we line up for morning prayer and flag salute and where we dismiss in the afternoon)
* Please also refrain from bringing dogs or pets into the “yellow cone” area that connects our school to the playground
* No dogs or pets on any part of our designated playground areas including big toys and basketball courts

AHERA:  Attached is a letter that is sent out annually by the Archdiocese of Seattle.  Federal regulations require that all schools send out this letter regarding AHERA information.

Thank you for a wonderful start to our second week and I look forward to our exciting events together in September.

Thank you,
Kathleen Cifu
Principal

Welcome our new Principal, Miss Kathleen Cifu

Dear St. Alphonsus Families and Friends,

I’m so excited to announce our new principal, Miss Kathleen G. Cifu.

Miss Cifu is originally from southern California but has lived in the Seattle area for the last 12 years. She obtained her BA in History at California Baptist University and later studied at Seattle Pacific University where she earned her masters and PHD in Curriculum and instruction. She converted to Catholicism four years ago and is an active member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Seattle where she sings in the choir.

Miss Cifu comes to us with six years of teaching experience at the middle school level from West Seattle Academy and Islander Middle School as well as two years of administrative intern experience at Islander Middle School on Mercer Island. She is also a current adjunct professor at Seattle Pacific University teaching classes to prepare future teachers for the job market.

Miss Cifu is very excited about being the next principal of our school. Please join me in welcoming her.

I also would like to invite you to a Town Hall meeting that the School Commission and I are hosting on Wednesday June 20th at 7pm in the Family Center. During this meeting we plan on presenting our new principal as well as answering some questions.

Please RSVP to let us know if you plan to come. We are organizing child care so please let us know how many children you might bring with you. We will offer a movie and other activities to keep them entertained.

Thank you for all your support during this time.

God bless,
Fr. Richard Klepac, SOLT
Pastor
St. Alphonsus Catholic Church

Principal Search Update

To Our St. Alphonsus Community,

The principal search committee would like to thank you all for the amazing participation in the survey. We were able to gather information and form a solid idea of whom our community is looking for based on the results.

We are now proceeding with candidate interviews.

Thank you for your prayers as we seek to welcome a new head of school.

The School Principal Hiring Committee
Fr. Richard Klepac
Karen Tarabochia
Jim Chamberlin
Mike Corcoro
Mija Hamilton
Anne Loucks
Kim Serwold
Rachael Stover

hiring Committee

A Message from the School Principal Hiring Committee

To Our St. Alphonsus Community,

The search for a new principal has officially begun with the formation of the hiring committee. The members of the committee (listed below) include representation from the parish, school parents, Parents’ Club, the School Commission, and the Archdiocese of Seattle.

We will be updating our school and parish community regularly in order to keep you informed of our steps throughout this process. We will also be asking for your feedback and a survey will be sent next week to gather your input.

Thank you for your prayers as we seek to welcome a new head of school.

Fr. Richard Klepac
Karen Tarabochia
Jim Chamberlin
Mike Corcoro
Mija Hamilton
Anne Loucks
Kim Serwold
Rachael Stover