April 26, 2012

“It is easy to love people far away. It is not always easy to love those people who live beside us…Let us be very sincere in our dealings with each other, and have the courage to accept each other as we are.

See and find in each other the good, for each one of us is created in the image of God.’”

-Mother Teresa’s The Joy in Living

Dear Families,

Happy Easter! I hope you were all able to enjoy the time away from school with your families and that at least some of it was spent resting and re-charging! We are now entering the “home stretch” – it is hard to believe there are only 7 weeks of school remaining in this year! However, they are seven very busy and jam-packed weeks. There are all kinds of wonderful things going on, so please make an effort to put the calendar on your refrigerator and participate in as many events as possible! Please read on:

FACTS: Some of you started to complete the FACTS application online but either didn’t finish or didn’t send in your W-2 and 1040 tax documents. Your application is not complete until they have those. You can bring them to the office and we can fax them for you if that is easier. Just a reminder that you will not be able to receive any scholarships or aid next year (including Hanson) without completing FACTS. Thank you.

Culture Dinner Celebration: Please come to this first ever St. Rose event! We are inviting all current families as well as new families who will be joining us in the fall. Our hope is that this will be a celebration of the great diversity that makes up our school community. We represent 30 different countries! We will share food and fellowship, and hopefully some entertainment. Please see attached paper to send in if your child would like to participate in a fashion show, sing a song, do a dance, or read a poem from your country.

Tuition Payments: You should have made all of your tuition payments to TMS. Any late payments should be made directly to St. Rose School, as TMS is closing our account since we are switching to FACTS for next year. Please do not make any more payments to TMS. See Mrs. Wright or Ms. Keeton if you have any questions.

Science Fair: Congratulations to all of our students in Grades 4-8 who did a wonderful job presenting their projects at the science fair this week! We are proud of your hard work.

Missions: I am very pleased to share that our students recently sent a total of $1,060 to the Holy Childhood Association and $506 to Catholic Relief Services’ Operation Rice Bowl. Thanks to their generosity (and your encouragement at home!), many children around the world will have a better life.

Miracle Worker: Students in Grades 4-8 attended Wheelock Family Theatre’s play, “The Miracle Worker” this morning. It is an inspiring story about Helen Keller, who lost her sight and her hearing very early in life. Thanks to the help of a great teacher and her own determination, she not only learned to read, but graduated from college and wrote 12 books! It is great to hear stories about the challenges that others overcome and helps us to realize that anything is possible when people care.

FTO: Next Thursday, May 3 at 6 pm will be our last FTO meeting of the year. Please come to share your ideas; we want to hear your voice! Also, don’t forget tomorrow’s Spring Fling dance, sponsored by FTO. See you there!

Uniforms for Next Year: Please note that next year all students are expected to wear the maroon uniform shirts. Our uniform company, Collegiate House, has a new and improved website where you can order online! Visit and enter SRS2012 for our code. This could save you a trip to Medford!

Pick-Up Procedure: Please remember that school dismisses at 2:15 pm. Students should be picked up at this time. Clubs are over for the year, so unless a child is staying after for tutoring or a special event, there should be no reason for them to be hanging out after school when no one is here to supervise them. Thank you for understanding that this is for the children’s safety.

140 Years of St. Rose School: 2012 marks the 140th Anniversary of St. Rose School educating children in faith. We are so proud of the history and tradition that makes us who we are. We are hoping to have a big celebration in the fall, and are looking for help. Please let Ms. Keeton know if you are interested in helping with the planning – particularly if you have any experience with event planning! We are hoping to involve alumni, members of the surrounding community, and everyone who is or has been part of this special place. If you can’t serve on a planning committee, but have some ideas you’d like to share, please let Ms. Keeton know.

Re-registration: Classes are filling up quickly for next year! If you have not yet re-registered your child(ren), please do so as soon as possible. At this point, we cannot guarantee seats in every classroom, and we have already had a number of new students registering. Send in your re-registration early to save your child’s seat for next year and save $50 off book/gym/computer fees! In order to re-register, you must be up-to-date on your tuition payments for this year.

Know someone who is interested in St. Rose?: Megan Adzima, who works with the Catholic School Admissions Collaborative, is trying to spread the good news about ours and other local Catholic schools. Feel free to refer interested families to her (Ella habla espanol!) or directly to the office.

Lunches: Please see attached letter to order the school lunch for your child for April 30-May 4. You need to send this form back in each week, even if you receive free lunch, or if you are choosing not to get lunch this week for our records. Thank you.

Ways to Help: Need to know more about something? Instead of using Google, try using You can put in St. Rose School (Chelsea, MA) as the charity you want to benefit each time you use this search engine. Also, don’t forget to save your box tops! Use BrainPop at home! . Our username is: strosechelsea and our password is: 580broadway.

St. Rose online: Check us out onFacebook at: If you would like to receive the newsletter and other information via email, please go to and enter your information.

Blessings,

Caitlin Keeton, Principal

580 Broadway.Chelsea.MA.02150. 617.884.2626 (phone) 617.889.2345 (fax)