September 2024
Tomorrow is, of course, the first day of school for the 2024-2025 school year here at Immaculate Heart of Mary. So, welcome back! And, in case you didn’t know, this year marks the 70th Anniversary of Immaculate Heart of Mary School!
Some of us have been here all summer working to make this year as great as it can be. I especially want to thank Gene Martino and Sonny Passalacqua for their hard work over the summer stripping and waxing floors, painting radiator covers and working to maintain and repair whatever they could while they had the chance. The weather didn’t cooperate too well, but they did excellent work despite the extreme heat. (This was all while they also cared for the rectory, chapel and church).
Once again, this summer, IHM hosted Catapult’s Summer Journey and a good number of our students, and other area students, benefitted from some great teachers and the chance to get extra practice and reinforcement over the summer. I’ve heard nothing but good things, and I expect to see them return next summer.
I also want to thank Miss Alexandra Isett for taking over our Summer Camp, late in the day, and doing such a fantastic job. She saved the day, and the kids had a great time. Miss Isett will also be working with Miss DeSimone on our CARES program this year, so I’m looking forward to another great and well-run year for CARES. The kids are, as always, in good hands.
The parish also hired a new cleaning service late in the summer, so it will take a bit for them to get up to speed, but I’m happy with what I’m seeing so far. (As you probably know, everyone who works or volunteers in the school must have all of the necessary clearances/background checks before they start, so once everyone from the cleaning company is given the go-ahead by the rectory, we will be fully up-and-running.)
We are also, as you know, making a transition in the Main Office. Mrs. Mary Clare Ramuno started as our new School Secretary on August 26. There’s a lot to learn, but I’m confident that we’ll be in great shape soon.
And, we have some wonderful new teachers who just met everyone last week and are getting used to new roles and new coworkers and a whole new school.
We spent two of our three in-service days last week moving forward with our Middle States reaccreditation work, and I cannot thank Mrs. Traci Kovach enough for spearheading our effort. In case you didn’t already know, she is awesome. There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I am confident we will come out on the far side an even better and stronger school. These days also gave us the chance to get to know each other (better) and learn to work (better) together as a team. All in all, a good experience for new and veteran IHM teachers.
Part of our work towards Middle States reaccreditation will involve our revamping/revisiting of current school polices. While we do this, I do want to remind everyone of some policies already in place. Cellphones and Smartwatches are not to be used or worn at any time while students are in the school or on school grounds. This is not a new policy. Our Uniform Policy has not changed. Teachers will be expected to enforce the policy.
We should have a working draft of our 2024-2025 Family Handbook by next week. All upcoming changes will be made from this draft. One change that will be there will address water bottles. We will require water bottles to be plastic and watertight and sealable.
One other change we are looking to make is to create a weekly bulletin with announcements. This will hopefully cut down on the flurries of Option C alerts that sometimes come your way. Give us a little time to work on this.
For those who are new to it, car riders and walkers will enter through what we call the Fourth Grade Doors, the doors across from the church. We’ll be there to assist. Allow some extra time as there will be First Day photos and new folks and all that. Carline runs from 7:35 to 7:50. Again, give it some extra time tomorrow.
Dismissal for car riders and walkers will be from the front of the building at approximately 2:35. This dismissal starts once buses are boarded. This will take extra time tomorrow. There are new bus routes and new drivers, etc. Please give it some extra time and please be patient with us and with each other.
It’s going to be a great school year. Keep us in your prayers and know that you are all always in mine. We ask Mary, our Mother, to continue to protect Her school and Her children. I also pray for the continued intercession of Saint John Baptist De La Salle and Saint John Neumann. All shall be well.
Patrick Foley
Principal, Immaculate Heart of Mary School