God has blessed us with a wonderful first week of school! Let us continue to pray that God will bless us abundantly in this pivotal year! I am exceedingly grateful and privileged to be your child’s 8^th grade homeroom teacher and the middle school Religion and Language Arts teacher! What a great group of students I have!

Our new morning carpool drop-off system, which enables grade 5-8 to enter the building at 7:40 am has been a great success! This extra time gives my students the opportunity to get organized for the day and to get a head start on morning "Warm-Up" school work. I assure you, their time is well spent when they arrive early! I have been asked to remind you that in the afternoon, no student is to be picked up on the "Parish Side." Students are to follow normal afternoon carpool procedures.

As many of you know, my daughter, Alyssa, was a member of the first graduating class at St. Veronica Catholic School. This 8^th grade journey is very familiar to me. I pray my experience may help you and your children to tackle the challenges that lie ahead. From completing high school applications, taking midterms and finals, and participating in the Shakespeare Festival at Paul VI Catholic High School, to receiving diplomas on Graduation Day, my goal is to provide as much support as possible.

I am excited to introduce you to some of the new resources available this year.

The 8^th grade students are the first to place their books into the new lockers! Your children have mastered their combination locks and greatly enjoyed the privilege of setting up their lockers. We are so grateful for this recent purchase!

The 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders will be learning in a compartmentalized middle school: Mr. David (Math); Mrs. Rouck (Literature and Social Studies); Mrs. Syska (Science); Mrs. Gurley (Religion and Language Arts). This system will provide consistency as well as instructional variety within the middle school. Of course, the students will also enjoy all of their wonderful Encore classes.