Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we begin Catholic Schools Week on Sunday, I would like to share a great story on the beauty of sending children to Catholic schools, especially this school. During Advent, students in grades 3-8 attended the Sacrament of Reconciliation. At one of the sessions, a third grader lined up to go and have Father hear her confession. She walked over to the priest, confessed her sins, and received absolution. When she walked back to her seat, she had a smile on her face and an upbeat step in her walk. When I walked over to her, she stated, “WOW, I feel so much better.” This young child reminded me of one of the most significant reasons for children to attend St. Ignatius!

This week we take time to celebrate the reason for our school and parish, Jesus Christ! He is the ever-present teacher and comforter in our school, parish, and homes. On behalf of the staff, we are honored that you have chosen St. Ignatius to partner with you in providing a remarkable spiritual and academic education.

We look forward to meeting you and also helping us to share our sense of welcome to all the prospective parents and students during our Open House on Sunday from 1:00-2:30pm.

St. Ignatius – Experiencing the JOY of Faith and Learning!

In Christ's Peace,

Mr. Vance

Just a reminder that re-enrollment is underway for the 2020-2021 school year. Remember, there is no registration fee this year because registration and cafeteria fees are now included in the tuition. Just go online, complete the Alma registration, and then complete the re-enrollment forms. If you need assistance, please let us know.  When you have completed the form, you will see a status of PROVISION or RE-REGISTER. This means everything is right on your side, and we have work to finish on the office side.  If we see an issue with your re-enrollment, we will contact you.

This week I have had a few questions about the EdChoice Scholarship Program, so I would like to share this information with all families.

Why are we entering the State of Ohio EdChoice Scholarship Program?

At St. Ignatius, the significant reasons for accepting the EdChoice Scholarship are as follows:

1. We already participate in two other State-sponsored scholarship programs, the Autism Scholarship and The Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship, and it would not add any new processes to anything we are currently doing for these State scholarships. 

2. We would like all St. Ignatius parish families to have the opportunity to attend our school. Some families do not apply because they cannot afford tuition, even if they received financial aid. 

3. We currently have about 40 students who could qualify for the EdChoice Expansion Program to receive financial assistance. If we can free up that money, tuition assistance could be given to the next level of families or applied to everyone to keep tuition as low as possible.

Will class sizes change?

No. 

If someone receives the scholarship, does that mean that they can come to St. Ignatius automatically? 

No. We will continue to screen any transfer students by reviewing their grades and behavior to make sure they are a good fit for St. Ignatius, as we always have done. Also, we will continue to use the categories for admissions, as listed below. All students who enter St. Ignatius are on probation, should anything occur or we deem that the child is not ready for our school, they can be asked to leave. Over 98% of the students in our school are either from our parish or another Catholic church. Over the last few years, we have had very few openings for children who do not attend our parish or another Catholic parish. The numbers we see for the next three years for preschool and kindergarten aged children are even higher than the past two years. We know that the overwhelming majority of incoming students are members of St. Ignatius parish.

Category 1: All children currently enrolled at St. Ignatius School (and their siblings) who are current on tuition and whose participation in the life of the parish can be documented. 

Category 2: All children of St. Ignatius parishioners NOT currently enrolled at St. Ignatius School, whose participation in the life of the parish can be documented.
Category 3: Children of St. Ignatius parishioners who do not participate in the life of the parish. Full Cost (non-subsidized) tuition will be charged.
Category 4: Non-parishioners. Children in these families will be admitted if class size is under 22 in grades K-3 and under 28 in grades 4-8. Full Cost (non-subsidized) tuition will be charged.

I hope you enjoyed the Facebook posts this past week by our talented 8th grade students. They took the time to write, videotape, and share their passions about attending school here!

Attached to this Wire is a long list of honors that our eighth graders have received in the admission process to area high schools. To date, our eighth graders have received over a million dollars in scholarships! Congrats to all! 

We have included everything we know to date, and we ask anyone else to please inform the school office, because the high schools do not always let us know. By the way, receiving an award from a school does not necessarily mean that a student will be attending that school.

Several parents have reported an interruption in the delivery of the daily Google Classroom summaries. If you have experienced this, please send an email to Mrs. Mears at mmears@saintischool.org. In your message, include the student's name and grade level, as well as the parent email address that is experiencing trouble. Your patience is greatly appreciated!

The Catholic Education Foundation for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati is currently accepting applications for the 2020-2021 elementary school (K-8) tuition assistance grants. All grants are needs-based, and can be used at any Catholic elementary school within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Typically, awards have ranged from $250 to $1,200 per qualified student.