A Message from Ms. Mullin

Dear St. Raymond Parents,

Congratulations to the success of our Track Team this weekend at their championship competition.  We are very proud of each member's dedication and perseverance this season!  It certainly is difficult to imagine that we only have nine days of the school year left.  I would like to express my gratitude to our wonderful teachers and parents who have worked together to plan an action-filled final two weeks of school.  It is only with your support that we can provide such special moments for our children.  As promised, I am following up our last Muffins with Mullin meeting in this note.  Please see below for important updates.

Lunch Service Provider Change for 2017-2018: Choicelunch

We are grateful to C4H for its service to St. Raymond School.  Over the course of this school year, I have worked closely with students and parents to identify areas of concern.  In an effort to address identified opportunities for growth in our lunch offerings, the school had decided to partner with Choicelunch for the 2017-2018 school year.  We understand change can be difficult, and we assure you that we plan to support families during this time of transition.   Please remember that the last day of lunch service for the 2016-2017 school year is Tuesday, 6/6.  C4H will reimburse families with any credits directly.  Please contact the company directly if you have any questions about billing.

I know many of you have lots of questions about this new lunch service.  Please check out their website HERE to explore more.  More information about FAQ and how to set-up accounts over the summer will be made available before the end of the school year.  Please see below for some important information about Choicelunch.  We will still need parent volunteers for lunch service, but this volunteer duty will no longer include cleaning trays in the kitchen!  In fact, Choicelunch will not utilize the St. Raymond kitchen at all!

• Who is Choicelunch?  Choicelunch is an online lunch service that delivers directly to school.  Choicelunch works simply: fresh food is delivered daily to your kids! Order using a simple online ordering system and mobile app designed for schools and parents who care deeply about food and nutrition, but don't have a lot of time to spend figuring out how to order lunch.  Parents order entrees online (you can order a month in advance).  There are 14 entrees to order from daily and include 8 cold and 6 hot entree options.  These entrees are delivered in small heating ovens and refrigeration units to the school daily.  Parent volunteers help students by setting up fruits/vegetables, snacks, drinks, and pass out the entrees.  Students are empowered to make healthy choices by selecting their fresh fruit or vegetable (5 daily options), healthy snack, and drink on site.  Only the entree is ordered online.  Students select their fruit/vegetable, snack, and drink on site.  There are always emergency lunches available for families who forgot to order, however, there is an additional fee for emergency lunches.
• What makes Choicelunch different? What makes Choicelunch different than other school lunch programs? They  empower kids to make healthy choices. That's why their model lets kids pick their own sides and drinks with every meal. Choicelunch's entire staff is devoted to listening to kids' input and refining our menus accordingly.  Choicelunch has worked to reduce its environmental footprint.  They have designed their own lunch containers, sporks, and fruit bags.  There are also a Bay Area Certified Green Business.
• Why is Choicelunch a great option for St. Raymond? Choicelunch services the lunch needs of close to 300 school, 75% of which are private schools including 110 Catholic schools.  Their recipes include locally-sourced, all-natural and organic ingredients such as seasonal fruits and veggies, antibiotic and hormone-free meats, and 100% whole-grain breads baked daily.  Any fruits or vegetables on the "Dirty Dozen list" are either organic or confirmed pesticide-free from the source.  Parents have access to the nutritional analysis and allergen information online. They even make their our own dough with pureed veggies for our nitrate-free Coleman natural bagel dogs!  Using Choicelunch will give our students more healthy lunch choices and will no longer necessitate the use of our kitchen facilities.
• What is Choicelunch's technology?  Ordering can occur on your computer or through the iPhone and Android App.  Choicelunch is constantly innovating.  In fact,  they were the first company to develop an app for parents to order, cancel, and filter allergens for their children's lunches!  Rest assured that the food arriving on campus is SAFE!  From their satellite-tracked delivery trucks to their integrated temperature monitoring system for food safety, Choicelunch promises to take care of your children's lunch needs.
• Anything else I should know about Choicelunch?  Choicelunch ordering is fast and easy and even includes an allergy filter.  The menu you see will be free of any allergen that is checked off in your child's profile online.  Choicelunch is also working hard to support busy parents.  In addition to being able to order one month in advance, families have the luxury of being able to order lunch as late as 6 am the school day of service, change lunch selections until 9 am the day before, and cancel for credit by 9am that day.

An Important Note from Heather Frauenhofer Regarding Expense Reimbursements:

As we approach the end of the year, we need to ensure that we receive all expense reimbursement request for Mother's Club and Father's Club.  Expense reimbursement forms related to the 2016/2017 school year need to be submitted by Thursday, June 8th so that we can approve and pay the reimbursement before our school and fiscal year end.  Reimbursement request related to the 2016/2017 school year will not be reimbursed after June 30th without prior approval from Ms. Mullin.  If for some reason you can not submit your expense reimbursement before June 8th please email Ms. Mullin directly.

13th Annual Preparedness Day

The 13th Annual Disaster Preparedness Day is June 10, 2017, the first day of the San Mateo County Fair!  This is a day to learn how to make your family more prepared for a disaster.  There will be over thirty exhibitors including Fire, Police, Emergency Medical Services and a station where children can make a 911 call.  To learn more about this event, click HERE.

"13 Reasons Why" Parent Support and Resources

Many of you may be aware of the Netflix series "13 Reasons Why."  This fictional series, based on a young adult novel of the same name, is targeted to pre-teen and teen audiences.  I would like to share the resources and suggestions made by our Superintendent, Pamela Lyons with you. "The show tells the story of a 17-year-old girl, Hannah, who tragically kills herself and leaves behind 13 audio tapes explaining why she took her own life. This popular series presents an opportunity for parents to engage in conversations with their children about suicide, mental health and ways to get help. Many teens have watched, or intend to watch this series - often without the guidance of an adult. Parents do not need to encourage their children to watch the series, yet they should be aware of how to talk with their children in a proactive way."  JED, an organization focused on protecting emotional health and preventing teen and young adult suicide has a selection of wonderful resources (CLICK HERE) to guide conversations on this topic.

Special Notes and Reminders

School Calendar 2017-2018 - Click here to download.

Reminder to Sign-in Upon Arrival on Campus: Words cannot express our gratitude for all that you do to support the students of St. Raymond School. Safety for your children is my number one concern. Please remember to always sign-in when arriving on campus even if it is for a quick trip. We greatly appreciate your support of this school policy.

Have a submission for the Wednesday Bulletin?

Each Wednesday the bulletin is distributed via email and posted on the St. Raymond website. Announcements to the Wednesday bulletin MUST be forwarded to Mrs. Fraino at afraino@straymond.org by Monday 12:00PM of the week the announcement is to be included. All announcements must be approved by administration before appearing in the website.

MEMORIES...
Pre-Sale Ends this FRIDAY!

A picture is worth a thousand words! Pre-sale of this year's St. Raymond Memory Book will take place on May 22-26. The cost is $25. After that, the cost will be $30 and memory books will be sold before and after school outside the office starting June 1st.

Please use the envelopes sent home with your child/children for pre-sale. Please use one envelope per child receiving a memory book. You may write one check per family. ENVELOPES WERE SENT HOME TODAY.

Thank you and Go Cardinals!

Ms. Marasco 

Mothers' Club

Auction Tiles Update

If you purchased a tile at the auction and your child painted it shortly after the auction, the tiles have been mounted on the tile wall opposite the gym.

Thank you to Dave Anstead for donating his time. He has been mounting and grouting these tiles since the beginning! Go look at your children's works of art!

St. Raymond Catholic JK-8 School

1211 Arbor Road • Menlo Park, CA  94025 • (650) 322-2312

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