Dear Families,

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discussed possible options for what could happen if there is local person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus in the United States, including recommendations for school systems to consider.

At this time, it is important to listen to facts and not respond to fear. Currently there are no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in New York City and the risk to New Yorkers remains low.

However, transmission of the virus in other countries has raised our level of concern, and we are preparing for the possibility of person-to-person transmission in New York City. The measures that are put in place should local person-to-person transmissions begin will depend on the number of individuals affected and the general severity of illness we experience in our city. The NYC Health Department is vigilantly preparing for all possible scenarios, and we will continue to monitor and communicate about any possible impact to our school communities.

There are no plans to close schools at this time. This is an extreme measure that can be disruptive to day-to-day life, and the decision to implement will be at the direction of public health experts.

All New Yorkers should continue to practice general flu prevention measures including:

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue or sleeve
• Wash your hands regularly
• Avoid touching your face
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Get your flu shot – it’s never too late
• Stay home if you’re feeling sick. Call your doctor and let them know your symptoms and travel history.

Please read the Frequently Asked Questions sheet attached to this letter for more information, or visit nyc.gov/health at any time for important updates.

We will continue to clearly communicate with our school communities about our ongoing efforts regarding the coronavirus.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy Presents

A Dancing Classrooms Performance

Ms. Russo’s Fabulous Fifth Grade and Ms. Leone’s Excellent Eighth Grade have been practicing all trimester long! Come join us for spectacular performances of some popular dances including the Swing, Waltz, Salsa, Tango and Foxtrot!

Please join us on Monday, March 16 at 1:30PM in the Parish Hall for their culminating performance!

Here is our March calendar:

March 2020

Stages on the Sound

Culminating Performance

Presented by:

Fourth Grade, Sixth Grade, and Eighth Grade

Tuesday, March 3

Location: OLM Parish Hall at 10AM

Join us for a morning filled with the Fine Arts such as stop-motion animation films, student-created plays, and the reimagining of William Shakespeare

Sports Night for Grades K-8

Friday, February 7^th at 6PM in the Parish Hall

Come cheer on our students as ALL students grades K – 8  are invited to compete in relay races that test the physical fitness and cognitive strengths they learn throughout the year in gym and recess with E3 Sports and OLMCA’s teachers! * All funds go towards supporting our school’s $40,000 “tuition gap” fund.

*Race challenges include hula hooping, dribbling, cup stacking, jump roping, kicks and  more. Teams assigned upon arrival.  Healthy snacks will be sold!  Free water refills if you bring your water bottle

SPONSOR A STUDENT! Unable to attend? Want to know how else you can help? This year each student can sign up for one individual sports challenge and compete for the most reps in one category…jump roping, soccer goals, basketball dribbles, hula hoops, jumping jacks and more. Participants need a minimum of one sponsor to compete; sponsors can pledge as little as $.25 per rep. 

SPONSOR A STUDENT! https://tinyurl.com/sportsnight2020

VOLUNTEER: (Asst. Coach, competitor, etc.) https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040E4FABAB2BAAF58-sports

OLMCA’s Math Bee

Last week, Ms. Feeley conducted our annual Math Bee. I am pleased to tell you that after many grueling rounds, Shane Mochwart (Grade 6) and Danny Nan (Grade 5) will be representing our school at the Diocesan Math Bee. We are excited to announce that Shane has advanced to the Diocesan Bee! Best of luck to both students! Congratulations to Julian Montes (Grade 6) and Samara Carletto (Grade 5) for coming in as our runner-up and alternate. Congratulations to all students that participated. All the students worked so hard preparing for the Math Bee!

Sports Night

Sports Night is this Friday from 6-9PM. Here is what you should know!

• All grades will compete in relay races beginning with grade K at 6:15 and working our way to 8th grade by 9pm! 
• The DIY Challenges are being tracked on the GivingZone website. So far sponsors have pledged more than $2,000! If you still want to sign up please email haa@olmercyca.comand you will get added to the website and can start recruiting sponsors! The DIY Challenges will be conducted between each relay race. Find out more here: https://www.givingzone.com/project/PXcCiSyAqg/sports-night-diy-challenges
• Everyone should wear comfortable fitness sportsgear or school colors (blue or yellow!) Gym uniforms are also acceptable!
• We are looking for assistant coaches to help with our HEALTHY concession stand; please volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040e4fabab2baaf58-sports

Re-registration for 2020-2021 and Financial Aid

Priority registration for current students and their relatives began on Tuesday, January 14. Families must be current on this year’s tuition to register for next year. It is imperative that you return the form as soon as possible to ensure that your child has a seat for the 2020-2021 school year. 

Financial aid applications for students in Grades K-8, who attend a Brooklyn or Queens School or Academy opened on Monday, January 13. Once you have registered for next year, you can apply online for a Diocesan scholarship. Families who apply during the first round are the only ones eligible for the maximum scholarship. For more information, please visit: www.futuresineducation.org.

Scholarship Deadlines:

• Families who received an award last academic year: March 31, 2020
• New families: April 30, 2020

Progress Reports

Progress Reports will be distributed to students in Grades 1-8 on Thursday, February 7. We ask that you sign and return the reports by the following Monday. The teachers will keep these reports on file until the second report card conference. I would like to remind you that all grades are regularly posted on Option C!

Catholic Schools Week

The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2020 was “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.” It was an incredible week and our students and faculty truly lived the theme in all their activities! Many of our students joined us on Sunday, January 26 for Mass celebrated by Monsignor McGuirl. Afterwards, many of our current and prospective families took a tour of OLMCA with the Seventh and Eighth Grade student ambassadors at our Open House. They were also treated to the Sixth Grade Choir performing songs from their upcoming Little Mermaid Musical!

 For Service Day, our older students partnered with our younger students to create fun Valentine’s Day art projects. We also made a large contribution to Our Lady of Mercy’s Food Pantry. Thank you so much to all of the families that donated money or brought in a can of food. Every little bit makes a difference! For Student Appreciation Day, E3 Sports organized fun and cooperative games for our K-8 students. Career Day was a tremendous success thanks to all of our parent speakers. Their passion for their professions was evident during their presentations.

On behalf of the entire faculty, I would also like to thank all the parents for their generosity in making Teacher Appreciation Day such a success. We were able to provide each teacher and teacher aide with a $50.00 gift card and a delicious catered luncheon. Another thank you to the parents that were able to volunteer for lunch duty so that our staff could enjoy a meal together. You made the day extra special. We are truly blessed to have such an amazing community here at OLMCA.

Important Dates

Friday, February 7^th is Sports Night

Thursday, February 13^th is Home Academy Meeting at 8:15AM in the Parish Hall

Monday, February 17^th – Friday, February 21^st School Closed for Mid-Winter Recess

Thursday, February 27^th is a Professional Day for Pre-K (Regular Day for Nursery, K-8)

Friday, March 6^th is a Professional Day for Nursery, K-8 (Regular Day for Pre-K)

Here is our updated February calendar:

February 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It has been amazing start to Catholic Schools Week. Thank you to all the families that attended our Catholic Schools Week Mass and Open House on Sunday. Our Scholastic Book Fair and fun events were a tremendous success thanks to the leadership of Mrs. Orlov and her volunteer team of parents, students, and teachers. This year, we had two new events during the Book Fair including a “Grand Event” for the grandparents and special friends of our Nursery, Pre-K, and Kindergarten students. We also had a Tie-Dye workshop for our students in Grades 3-8. The students can’t wait to show off their shirts on Mission Day!

We look forward to a successful rest of the week filled with fun events for our students and teachers. Please remember to also “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram to see photos from each event.

Please read on for pertinent information about the upcoming weeks.

Sports Night for Grades K-8

Friday, February 7^th at 6PM in the Parish Hall

Come cheer on our students as ALL students grades K – 8  are invited to compete in relay races that test the physical fitness and cognitive strengths they learn throughout the year in gym and recess with E3 Sports and OLMCA’s teachers! * All funds go towards supporting our school’s $40,000 “tuition gap” fund.

*Race challenges include hula hooping, dribbling, cup stacking, jump roping, kicks and  more. Teams assigned upon arrival.  Healthy snacks will be sold!  Free water refills if you bring your water bottle

SPONSOR A STUDENT! Unable to attend? Want to know how else you can help? This year each student can sign up for one individual sports challenge and compete for the most reps in one category…jump roping, soccer goals, basketball dribbles, hula hoops, jumping jacks and more. Participants need a minimum of one sponsor to compete; sponsors can pledge as little as $.25 per rep. 

SPONSOR A STUDENT! https://tinyurl.com/sportsnight2020

VOLUNTEER: (Asst. Coach, competitor, etc.) https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040E4FABAB2BAAF58-sports

Safety Procedures

This is a friendly reminder that all visitors to the building must check into the main office before going to their destination. All visitors must sign into the Visitor’s Log and take a “Visitor” sticker. As part of our Crisis Management plan, all staff is expected to question any visitor to the building without a pass. Any visitor without a pass can cause the school to go into a soft lockdown. We thank you for your part in making our school a safe learning environment.

Progress Reports

Progress Reports will be distributed to students in Grades 1-8 on Thursday, February 6. We ask that you sign and return the reports by the following Monday. The teachers will keep these reports on file until the second report card conference. I would like to remind you that all grades are regularly posted on Option C!

Re-registration for 2020-2021

Priority registration for current students and their relatives began on Tuesday, January 14. Families must be current on this year’s tuition to register for next year. It is imperative that you return the form as soon as possible to ensure that your child has a seat for the 2020-2021 school year. 

Financial Aid

Financial aid applications for students in Grades K-8, who attend a Brooklyn or Queens School or Academy opened on Monday, January 13. Once you have registered for next year, you can apply online for a Diocesan scholarship. Families who apply during the first round are the only ones eligible for the maximum scholarship. For more information, please visit: www.futuresineducation.org.

Scholarship Deadlines:

• Families who received an award last academic year: March 31, 2020
• New families: April 30, 2020

World’s Finest Chocolate Sale (Nursery, K-8)

Our World’s Finest Chocolate Sale is underway! There are still plenty of boxes left for you to sell and plenty of time for you to earn the top prizes! One taste will tell you where they got their name and you are sure to find people in your neighborhood who have been World’s Finest fans for years. If you would like an additional box, please contact Mrs. Alleva at dalleva@olmercyca.com.

Congratulations to Zoe Hawkins (Grade 2) for winning our very first prize! A $25.00 for our early bird prize! Keep up the great work!

Come cheer on our students as ALL students grades K – 8  are invited to compete in relay races that test the physical fitness and cognitive strengths they learn throughout the year in gym and recess with by E3 Sports and OLMCA’s teachers! * All funds go towards supporting our school’s $40,000 “tuition gap” fund.

*Race challenges include hula hooping, dribbling, cup stacking, jump roping, kicks and  more. Teams assigned upon arrival.

Friday February 7th, 2019

OLM Parish Hall, 6:00 – 9:00 pm

Cost: $5 per person or $20 per family

  Healthy snacks will be sold! 

  Free water refills if you bring your water bottle

SPONSOR A STUDENT! Unable to attend? Want to know how else you can help? This year each student can sign up for one individual sports challenge and compete for the most reps in one category…jump roping, soccer goals, basketball dribbles, hula hoops, jumping jacks and more. Participants need a minimum of one sponsor to compete; sponsors can pledge as little as $.25 per rep. 

SPONSOR A STUDENT! https://tinyurl.com/sportsnight2020

VOLUNTEER: (Asst. Coach, competitor, etc.) https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040E4FABAB2BAAF58-sports