End of the Year

Hello Strangers...I am sorry that you have not heard from me in a while.  Things are full steam ahead at both Seton and Garrigan.
Seton Happenings:  The top floor of Seton is now empty.  The items that were once located on that floor have been relocated to the storage space above the stage, Moving day for grades 4-6 will be May 18 and moving day for grades K-3 will be May 19.  (Thanks to everyone who had a hand in the moving process.) There are some items that came from storage will be for sale. We will have a garage sale for the community in the RC on May 22.  Soon after May 22 the asbestos will be removed, electricity will be turned off, and the academy will be torn down.  Seton will not have electricity for most of the summer, so please contact Garrigan if you have questions.  Funerals will be held at the KC Hall or at Garrigan.

Garrigan Happenings:  The new addition is almost done!  The latest update indicates the gym should be open around June 8.  I know that everyone is SO excited for that day! We continue to prepare classrooms for next year.  The final classrooms are being moved before May 15.  Mr. Wieland will continue throughout the summer to lower whiteboards and convert chalkboards to whiteboards.

Questions left over from tours:
Can students in grades 4-6 wear white dry-fit shirts?  Yes.  I spoke with Diamonds and they can get them in smaller sizes.

Can students in grades 4-6 wear shorts all year?  No, please continue to follow the Seton handbook.  We may revisit how to combine the handbooks, but for now we will stick with the policies that are in place.

Busing - I know that there are still so many questions and concerns about this topic.  Kristie and I will make more information about transportation just as soon as it is available.

I probably end every post with this statement but here it is again:  PLEASE contact me if you have questions or concerns.  It is so important for me to have an opportunity to clarify questions so that the accurate information is shared with others. I hope that everyone has a great summer.  Stop by Garrigan for a visit during the summer.

Technology, Music, and PE

Happy Friday!

Will students in grades 4 - 6 have PE and music?

Students will have PE and music just as they do now.  Mr. Schurr and Mrs. Black will be the teachers.  Music will take place in the newly renovated music room and PE will take place in Friedman Auditorium.  In the event that Friedman is closed, students will use the new gym.

Is there enough technology?

We have made a great deal of progress through purchases of technology, professional development focused on technology integration, and increasing our infrastructure.  We continue to use donations,funds from within the budget and Cash for Classrooms (Gala) to help purchase new Chromebooks and Ipads.  Teachers will continue to attend professional development opportunities provided by our AEA integrationist.  

Will we continue the traditions that were in place at Seton?

This is a very hard question to answer, because we will have to look at each tradition as it occurs.  I don't want to make a blanket statement of "yes" and then have something changed.  I do believe for that most traditions will continue.  We are able and willing to bus students to St. Cecelia's as needed to participate in faith celebrations.  We intend, as of now, to continue events such as Grandparent's Day.  What will this look like?  I am not sure of that answer, because we have quite some time to plan for it.  If you have concern regarding specific events, please email me and I will make sure that they are on our "watch" list.

Have a great weekend!

February 25 - Playground, Transportation, and Lockers

Happy Snow Day!  Today I will answer a couple of questions that I have been asked.

Orientation - 

March 12 - Students will tour the building with their classmates.  

• 8:45 – 9:15 Tour for students entering grade 4

• 9:15 – 9:45 Tour for students entering grade 5

• 1:00 – 1:30 Tour for students entering grade 6

• 1:30 – 2:00 Tour for students entering grade 7

Opportunities for parents to tour the building and ask questions:

• Wednesday, March 11 from 6:00-6:30 pm in the BG main lobby. 

• Thursday, March 12 from 11:00 - 11:30 am in the BG main lobby. 

• Thursday, March 12 from 2:15 - 2:45 pm in the BG main lobby.

Transportation

      Will there be buses that run between the buildings?

Students will have the opportunity to ride a bus from Seton to Garrigan in the morning or Garrigan to Seton after school.  We will have detailed information regarding the busing choices in August when we know bus numbers.

     Where will students in grade 4 - 8 be dropped off in the morning or picked up after school? 

Students in grades 4 - 8 will enter and leave the building through the north doors. (These are the doors that face the apartments.)  The buses will park on the short drive north of the building.  We will ask that parents park along the west side of the building (McCoy Street). There is a sidewalk that leads to the school.

     Where do I pick up my child if their are leaving for an appointment or if they are ill?

Students in grades 4 - 6 will need to be picked up in the main office by an adult.  

Playground/Recess/Lockers

We will be adding a cement area near the north end of the Garrigan campus.  This area will provide space for basketball and four square.  There will also be a grassy area for kickball or soccer.  Most of the year one gym will be available in case of rain or extreme cold.

There are enough lockers at Garrigan to accommodate grades 4 - 12.  Younger students may share lockers as they currently do at Seton.

Check back for more Q&A!   

Open House and Space

Open House -
We will have an open house in August before school begins.  This will be similar to Open House in the past.  Students will have the opportunity to bring their supplies, meet their teachers, and tour the building.  We will also have an informational meeting at that time to discuss specifics such as drop-off, lunch, etc.

We are also planning an "orientation" day in March for students entering grades 4 - 6.  Students and parents will have the opportunity to tour the building and ask questions.

Space - We have been renovating various spaces at Garrigan to accommodate for the additional students.  Students in grades 4 - 8 will be housed in the north end of the building.  There are doors that will provide a natural divide between these students and the high school students.  We are moving six classrooms to Garrigan.
1 - The board room will be located in the addition, so Mr. Wieland will move to the current board room.
2- We no longer use a wired lab because we have laptops/Chromebooks, so Mrs. Even will be moving into the computer lab. (Lab has been renovated.)
3 - Mrs. Vaske will be moving to the ICN room.  (Currently being renovated.)
4 - Linda Peterson will be moving to Jeannie Farrell's room.
5 - Colleen Schiltz's room will be used as a classroom.
6 - The Development office will be located in the addition, so the current Development office can be used as a classroom.


We also have some additional spaces:

• Colleen Schiltz will move to John Byrkeland's office area.
• John Byrkeland will move to Sister Janet's office.
• Speech (Diane Capesius) will be located in the Scrip office.  
• Scrip Office will be located in the new addition.
• Middle School Special Education (Julie Illg) will be located in an empty room in the science wing.
• Middle School Music will be located in the previous high school choir room. 
• High School Choir is now located in a new room at the east end of the hall.

Catholic Schools Week

What a week! This is one of my favorite times of the year because we celebrate who we are during this week. We started our week with the celebration of Mass.  It's a wonderful time to come together to celebrate our Catholic identity with Mass. We had lots of things going on throughout the week--we collected items for Mary's Place, our high school friends came to read in our classrooms, we met with our  partners and made "Prayers from Bears", watched a movie, played on the inflatables, and had root beer floats! We also had lots of learning too.  I want to thank all of you for choosing Bishop Garrigan Schools.  It's awesome because of our parents, students, teachers, and staff!

What' Changing?

Happy 2015!
This year will bring more changes to the Bishop Garrigan system.  The new addition is coming along nicely.  Rumor has it we may be ahead of schedule.  Can you imagine that?  Plans are also moving forward to bring students in grades 4 - 6 to the Garrigan campus this fall.  Over the next weeks I will try to update you on some of the details of the move.  This week I will begin by mentioning some of the topics that I will address and some of the questions that you are asking.  Please remember to comment on this post or to email me if you have other questions.

What do we need to consider before we start moving?

• How will we feed all those students at Garrigan?
• Will the kitchen be ready at Seton?
• When will the Academy be torn down?
• Will there be enough room in both buildings?
• Will there be a playground or play area at Garrigan?
• Where will students be dropped off and picked up at Garrigan?
• Will there be a bus from Seton to Garrigan before and after school?
• Are there enough lockers at Garrigan?
• Will there be books in the library for all ages in both buildings?
• Will we continue some of the traditions?
• Will there be mass on Wednesdays?  Where?
• When will the move occur?
• Is there enough technology?
• Will students still have PE and music?  Who will teach it?

Renovation Update:
We already have the new rooms for high school choir, Mr.Wieland and Mrs. Even almost ready.  We have begun remodeling the ICN room for Mrs. Vaske and the old choir room for Mrs. Black.

As you can see, there is a lot to consider but we are well on our way.

December 12

Strong Catholic Families - 

I hope that you enjoyed our first Family Night.  I loved blessing our Christmas tree. We hope to have another night before or at the beginning of lent. The Diocese of Sioux City has created a website with resources for teachers and families to use.  Please check out this website.  http://www.scdiocese.org/resources 

Merry Christmas!!!