Dear Families and Friends of DeSales, I would like to share a few bits of information that might be helpful to you. 1. Many of you might be wondering about the field trip for grades 5-6-7-8 to Harbor Center that was cancelled due to the Snow day on Friday. Unfortunately, we will not be able to reschedule this field trip. This was a special "Kids Day" event offered by Canisius College. Canisius did beat Holy Cross in overtime. The $7.00 fee will be credited to your tuition account. 2. NJHS applications that were due last Friday will have an extension if needed. 3. Catholic Schools week is January 26th through the 30th. We are in the process of finalizing events for that week. Details will be sent via the Parent Connection asap. 4. Second and third graders will again be able to participate in Basketball Intramural Program this year. Information will also be coming home soon. 5. Tomorrow Jan. 13th the Buffalo Bandits Lacrosse team representatives will be giving a presentation at 9:30-11am. They will discuss Bullying, Healthy Living and Lacrosse with our students. 6. Friday Jan. 16th we will be entertained by the Mount St. Mary Jazz Band at 10:30am. Our lunch schedule will be adjusted. Talk to you soon. Regina Granchelli

Dear DeSales Families and FriendS, I am hoping the school year has been off to a great start for you. I can't believe that it is already the 2nd week in October. Time is flying as usual.. A reminder that there will be a meeting tonight before the Home School Meeting at 6:30pm in the cafeteria for all of the recess monitors. We will be going over some important information and helpful hints for a very difficult job. This meeting is a requirement from the DeSales Board of Trustees to inusure that all has been done to improve safety and well being of our students. On Tuesday October 14th the Wrights Corners Volunteer firemen will be here to discuss and present information about fire safety to our children. Please discuss this with your children at home in case of a fire in your own home. October 17th is this year's date for Parent Teacher Conferences. Teachers will be contacting you by email to set up a time to meet if your child is in Kindergarten to 5th grade. Middle school teachers will be available in the gym from 12-5. No appointment necessary. Please be sure to keep the conferences brief. If you require more time, An appointment can be made for a later date. Basketball season is starting. We need a boys Varsity coach. If someone is interested, please contact me. Information for girls varsity has already gone home with girls in grades 4-5-6-7-8 from Coach Vona. Coach Shipley will be returning for jv boys and Coach Sheldon will be returning for jv girls. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you. Talk to you soon Regina Granchelli

Good Morning DeSales Families and Friends. I am hoping to provide you with the information you need in order to start the year off with great success. Please read the following information carefully so that you will be aware of details regarding the 2014-2015 school year. More details will be sent home in the first "Blue Envelope" 1. Our School Calendar will be available on our website and will be updated regularly. Updates will be in red. Monthly calendars will be posted in the Parent Connection email sent via email. 2. Summer uniforms may be worn from September 3rd until September 30.Regular uniforms are worn beginning October 1st. The uniform exchange is open Monday through Friday 9am until 12pm during the summer. and during the school day beginning September 3rd. Uniform exchange request forms are available on the website. Please refer to our Parent Student Handbook on our website for information regarding the uniform policy. I would like to clarify some of the Uniform Policy questions. a. Students are required to wear gym uniforms with the DeSales logo. No other logos or designs are permitted. Plain navy blue athletic shorts or sweats are permitted. b. Girls uniform shorts, skirts and jumpers must be no shorter than 3 inches above the knee. This includes dress down attire. c. Summer uniform socks must be plain navy blue or white. Regular uniform socks for boys are plain navy blue black, for girls plain navy blue or white. Gym uniform socks are plain navy blue or white. No other color or design are permitted. d. Plain navy blue or white sweaters only. e. Plain headbands navy blue, white, black only. f. Students are permitted to wear sneakers with the summer uniform. Dress shoes are required for the regular uniform. Boat shoes, topsiders, docksiders, moccasins, Toms or any other canvas shoe are not considered dress shoes. Flip flops of any form are not permitted for safety reasons. In the event that a child is not in compliance with the uniform policy we will try to provide the items from the uniform exchange. If it is not available a warning will be given, a parent may be notified and for repeated violations, a detention may be given. 3. Information regarding bus transportation should arrive in your mailbox soon from the bus company. A written note is required to notify the school of a change in your child's dismissal plans. Without a written note, it is required that we send your child home as normal even if they insist there is a change. You may fax a note with your signature to 434-4004 should plans change during the day. It is best to do this by 2pm. 4. School hours begin at 8am and end at 2:50 pm. Students arriving before 8am must participate in the Before School Breakfast Program which begins at 7:30 am, have a scheduled meeting with a teacher or ride a bus that arrives early. Students arriving before 7:30am must be registered with the YMCA Before School Care Program. They can be reached at 434-8887 to register your child with that program. 5. School buses drop off and pick up students in front of the school on Ambleside dr. Please do not park in that area from 7:30am until 8:30am or 2:30 pm until 3pm. 6. A Medical Release form is required for students to participate in any DeSales Catholic School sponsored athletic activities. This form is current for one year and must be updated before a child may practice with the team. Athletes and their parents must also complete a Concussion Management Training form signed by student and parent.A copy of these forms are available on our website. 7. A copy of the Parent Student Handbook will be sent home the first week of school. Please make sure that you have read that information and return the signature page by September 12th. 8. All school volunteers must attend and complete the diocesan Virtus Training/ Protecting God's Children. A Virtus training will be held at DeSales on Thursday September 11th at 6:30pm in the DeSales Cafeteria. Please see the Parent Connection for information to register for the training. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 433-6422 or at granchellir@desalescatholicschool.org. I am happy to help you and your child and wish you the best school year ever! See you soon, Regina Granchelli Assistant Principal Athletic Director

Good Morning to all of our DeSales families and friends! Tomorrow, May 21 is our May Crowning Mass. This is a very special Mass in which we honor all of our First Communicants. They will be sharing the Eucharist for the first time as a group and with all of our other Communicants. Very special time. Congratulations to our Valedictorian and Salutatorian who were announced yesterday. Riley Adams and John Killion are extremely hard working students who deserve this honor. I went to the annual YMCA awards dinner last night and there were several DeSales families there who were being recognized for their accomplishments and volunteerism with the YMCA Aquatics Program. Congratulations to the NYS record breakers Elizabeth Schwartz, Aidan Morgan, Madison Fragale, Grace Buzak and Gracie Cordle. Best wishes to Mrs. Russell and her students for their Spring Concert performance tomorrow night at 6:30 here at DeSales. Remember there is no school this Friday or Monday May 23 and 26, for the Memorial Holiday weekend. Enjoy.

Good Morning DeSales Families, I hope all is well for you and your families during the blessed month of May in which we honor the Blessed Mother. I want to congratulate those of you who are celebrating a First Holy Communion. That is a very special time in your life and a chance to really feel close to Jesus when you receive the Eucharist. I want all of our volunteer coaches and assistant coaches for the many spots we have to know how much you are appreciated. It is a great commitment of time and dedication that you bring to our sports programs. We could not do it without you. This week our 5th grade will be meeting with Mrs. Metz and Mr. Wilson to talk about body changes in their lives. Parents are welcome to join us on Thursday at 1:30pm. The Catholic High Schools will be presenting on Friday 5/17 at 1?30pm to our 5-6-7th graders. God Bless the 8th grade and their chaperones as they travel to Boston for the annual Whale Watch trip. Safe travels. The 6th and 7th grade will be enjoying a trip to the Lockport caves on Wed. Hope everyone has a wonderful week. Mrs. G

Good Morning DeSales Families and Friends, Just an FYI that Hibernian Scholarship applications are avialble from John Sullivan at Sullivans Barber Shop on Walnut Street this year. If you are a Hibernian or related to one you would be eligible. The scholarships are for college, Catholic high school and for DeSales tuition. Hope to see you tonight at the Challenge for Charity event tonight here at DeSales. The faculty and staff takes on our 8th graders in Volleyball and Basketball games as a fundraiser for Catholic Charities. NYS Math Assessments are scheduled for Wed. Thurs and Friday this week. If your child misses a test they will be given makeup test on Mon. Tues. Wed. next week. Stay calm and good luck. Our 5-6-7-th graders will be selecting the Catholic High School presentation that they would like to attend during the school day on May 16th. Track registrations are due on Thursday May 1. All participants must be registered and a fee paid by that date. Students may begin wearing their summer uniforms on May 1. Hope you have a great week. Mrs. Granchelli

From the Assistant Principal

Welcome Spring and welcome back to school. Another busy time of the year is upon us. Our Middle School will finally be able to celebrate their Generation Celebration that was postponed earlier this school year on Wed. April 23rd at 9:40 am. Be sure to sign in at the Main Office entrance. On Friday 4/25, students will be permitted to dress down for the March of Dimes, for a $1 donation. Report cards will be coming home on the 25th and the 6th grade will be going on a retreat to St. Joseph's Lockport. Please remember to join us for the Challenge for Charity Volleyball and basketball games on Monday 4/28. For a $.25 donation, you can take a chance on winning VIP seating. Tickets are being sold at lunchtime. Soccer and softball teams have begun practicing. Look for the Track team registration in you Parent Connection this week. NYS Math assessments will begin on April 30th. If your child is absent for any of the 3 days that the test is being given, they will be given a makup test on May 5th 6th or 7th. Have an excellent week.