Good Afternoon, Students, Parents, and Guardians,

As we promised a few weeks back, we are beginning our transition from Constant Contact, where we have housed our communications over the last few years, to a new program, called Emma. This is our first Patriot Post to come through the new system, so please pardon our appearance as our new design is under construction!

Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to travel with Mr. Cavara and some of our students to various Catholic Grade Schools to share what Archbishop Carroll has to offer to the next class of potential Patriots. And while it is great to go back into schools that I have connections with, such as St. Den...I mean, Cardinal Foley (old habits die hard), or Notre Dame de Lourdes where our Father Joe is, I always come away so, so impressed with our students who share and present. I shouldn't be at this point, with how many visits I have gone on, but they are all so well-spoken, and can really relate to these kids and what they want to hear about.

And I hope at home they take the time to share the good with you as well. So often, we can get bogged down in what work we have to do, or making sure after 10 different activities everyone eats dinner, or, like in our house this week, why Caroline can't erase her spelling mistake in crayon (that was a new meltdown for us). We're only a few weeks in to the school year, but the students are doing a lot of great things. I hope they take the time to share it with you.

And as we get used to our new template here, we hope to share some of it with the broader community as well! For this week, please take a few moments to review updates from our various offices...

Drop-Off / Pick-Up Reminders:

In the morning, if you are dropping your children off, all drop-offs must take place at the Cafeteria doors. Please do not drop your children off behind the school or at the Main Office. Traffic is constant around our campus in the morning, and we work to keep drop-offs to one specific area to allow for as continuous and as safe a flow of traffic as possible.

If a student needs to remain after school, After-School supervision is available most days until 5PM. After-School Supervision is a place for students to hang our quietly to get work done while they wait for rides or practices to begin. Students are not to be wandering the halls after school, and should remain wherever supervision is located (Library or Cafeteria). Being able to remain after school is a privilege for students, and one that may be revoked if a student's behavior warrants it.

Parents/Guardians, there is not supervision after 5PM, so please ensure that you are on time to pick up your child. Thank you!

Attendance:

If you know your child is going to be absent from school, a Parent or Guardian must complete the Google Form found HERE, and on the school website under "Resources".

Early Dismissals must be called into the Main Office by a Parent or Guardian. A student will not be dismissed without a prior Parent/Guardian phone call.

For Early Dismissals, as much advanced notice as possible is required (24 hours is preferred).

If a student is not present for at least 4 periods, then the student is considered as "absent" for the school day and the child will not be permitted to participate in any after school activities or sports.

For any questions on attendance, please email Mrs. Gallagher - Erin.Gallagher@jcarroll.org.

Thank you to all those who completed the required emergency forms on PowerSchool, and/or sent in the one printed emergency contact form for the Nurse's Office. At this time, there are around 150 families who have not completed their forms. Notifications will be sent to those families this weekend. 

In addition, the Nurse's office has sent electronic notifications to parents of students whose physical forms are not on file with the Nurse yet. 

Both of these sets of items is a requirement to be completed/submitted. If they are not, your child may be removed from Archbishop Carroll. 

The initial set of directions for completing the forms can be found HERE. Physical forms can be sent in with your child to the Nurse's Office, or can be emailed to Nurse@jcarroll.org.

Please Note: When completing the forms, there is one verification form that will list as "pending" once completed. That is because our staff must review all of the information before approving it. 

Thank you for your cooperation!

For our College Rep visit this week, we have another round of really great schools, including: Pitt, Neumann, William College of the Trades, High Point, Gettysburg, Catholic, Duquesne, Univ. of Delaware, Dickinson, Towson, Quinnipiac. A full list of every school visiting with us this year can be found in Naviance where students can go to register. There are also Sign-up sheets in Guidance.

Thank you to everyone who attended our informative Financial Aid Night! If you were unable to attend, or attended and would like to review the information, our presenter from PHEAA, Fran Mckeown, has shared her slides with you. If you have any questions, please reach out to her - she is an excellent resource.

PACAC (Pennsylvania Association for College Admissions Counseling) is hosting a series of college fairs. You can go to their website for more information: pacac.org/college-fairs. The one being held at Neumann University has an extensive list of colleges attending.

HBCU News: Bucks County Community College is hosting an HBCU event on Saturday, Sept. 28. Please use this link for more information: https://akaozo.org/event/hbcu-fair/.

The Alfred Street baptist Church in VA is also hosting an HBCU event in November. They have a virtual session and an in-person session. For registration and more information, click HERE.

Seniors are reminded to complete their Senior Profile (google form) and turn in their signed Parent Permission Form. We ask that this be completed before we process any college transcript request.

At Back-to-School Night, Dr. Scott spoke to parents about Archbishop Carroll partnering with RedefinED. As we navigate the path of providing quality education, we recognize the significance of partnerships that propel us forward.

One such crucial alliance is with RedefinED, an organization committed to harnessing
the power of EITC funding. EITC, or Educational Improvement Tax Credit, stands as
one of the most vital sources of funding for our school. It serves as a lifeline, bridging
the gap between the true cost of education and our current tuition rates.

RedefinED is not just an organization; it is a catalyst for community empowerment. It
operates on the belief that the tax dollars we all contribute should directly benefit our
schools- and the schools that have worked with them have seen great results in helping
schools fund the gap, which will help us keep tuition affordable for families.

As a school, we are asking that every family that can participate in the EITC program-
does. It is crucial that our community comes together on this initiative- so that we can
help keep the rising cost of education from being passed on to our families.

RedefinED is hosting a Virtual Town Hall event on Tuesday, October 2nd, that we hope you will consider attending. You can find the information below, and more details and reminders will be sent out next week.

Fall Sports and Sague Bussing have been billed to your FACTS account.  Please check your FACTS account for payment due dates.

The tuition and fees schedule for the 2024-2025 school year can be found here. 

Please ensure that your account is current by logging in to your FACTS account. Our tuition policy can be found here: 2024-2025 Parent Student Handbook.

 If you have any questions regarding your tuition account (charges, credits, etc.), please log into your FACTS Account or call FACTS at 1-866-441-4637 . You are able to make a payment, view your balance, payment schedule, payments made and charges/credits to your account.  Any other questions or concerns please contact Trish Dudas at tdudas@jcarroll.org or 267-667-4874.

The Archbishop Carroll Bowling team competes during the winter sports season, which is quickly approaching! Please complete the Google form below for anyone interested in joining the JV or Varsity Team for BOWLING. No experience needed!! An interest meeting will be held on OCTOBER 8TH, 2024 in Room 200 after school. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Bowling team (boys/girls), please complete the form found HERE.

***Students are sent the activities schedule for the week via email every Monday Morning and are announced throughout the week in morning announcements.***

...Today, we hosted the Freshman Retreat for the Class of 2028. At the start, I asked them to place their phones in their bags, and then I challenged them to not take them out at lunch and to take time to get to know their classmates a bit more. I shared that this weekend is my 20th high school reunion, and around 35% of my class is attending. These are people that 20 years ago, I would have met and started to get to know during my Freshman year, and still keep in touch with today. We never know what we might be missing when our head is buried in our devices...

On Thursday, October 10th, we are hosting the PSAT testing for grades 9-11 and SAT for students who registered. More information on this testing will be sent out in a separate communication next week.

We hope that you all have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Mr. William D. Gennaro, Jr.

Principal