New Parent Tips

Things to know from the start:

• Drop your child off at the bus lobby doors on the north end of the building. As your child enters the bus lobby doors, lockers for grades 9-10 are to the left in B-wing, and lockers for grades 11-12 are to the right in A-wing.
• School doors open at 7:00 a.m. Students can arrive any time after 7:00 a.m. 
• The school day ends at 2:45 p.m. After school, the cafeteria is supervised until 5 p.m., but students are welcome to stay until their rides arrive.
• Help your child find something to get involved in the first few days and weeks of school. Students engaged in extracurricular activities typically adjust to a new school more favorably. 
• If your child ever gets sick at school and texts you, please send them to the nurse. Her office is in the main hallway of the school office. Do not head to the school to pick them up without contacting the school first. 
• Even if you forgot to put lunch money in his/her account, we will still let your child eat. You will receive a low-balance email when it is time to add funds to the family account. Prompt attention helps avoid an awkward situation.
• Students are not allowed to use their cell phones during class. Phone use is permitted at lunch and in the hallways.
• Encourage your child to look for announcements and event information on the display screens in the cafeteria and school office, as well as listen for announcements at Convocation.
• Holy Family Honor Society is something all students can be a part of if they achieve the required GPA, complete 20 hours of community service each semester, and uphold school policies. Students in HF Honor Society are recognized in a special way each year. 

Holy Family is proud to offer an in-house lunch program directed by Chef Al Carlson. Students have access to full-service morning, lunch, and after-school offerings. 

Lunch Menu and Funds 

Once you are registered in Wordware, you can make lunch payments, check balances, see payment history, and view the details of your child's purchases. You can also add money to your lunch account or by dropping a clearly marked check or cash in the school office. If you have not yet set up your lunch account in Wordware, please contact accountant Jodi Smith.

Families should sign up for low-balance reminders and can do so under User Management within Wordware. Holy Family will provide a reminder email of negative balances. Negative balances will be evaluated by the 20th of each month. After your lunch account reaches -$100, the balance will be cleared and added to your next month's TADS invoice for payment. There will be a fee of $25 for each lunch balance added to TADS. 

Our lunch program is very reasonable as long as students are responsible with their purchases. The daily chef special includes a main dish and side dish for $4.50-$6.50. Students can quickly go through their lunch funds when they start buying many of the a la carte items. 

Students at Holy Family frequently eat hot lunch, supplement their cold lunch with items from the cafe or Nook, or use their funds for breakfast and after school snacks. Your family may want to create a plan for how frequently and when your child should be eating at school vs. packing food items. We recommend discussing expectations with your child in advance. 

Four water bottle filling stations are located throughout the building. We encourage students to bring a refillable water bottle.

Daily Schedule 

Classes start at 8:00 a.m. each day, except for Flex-time Wednesdays when classes begin at 8:45 a.m. Watch the weekly email for notifications and reminders for the following Wednesday. The school office will also update the school online calendar with Wednesday schedules.

Flex-Time Wednesdays

Classes will begin at 8:45 a.m. on Flex-time Wednesdays. Students are not required to be at school before then unless they are planning to meet with a teacher. Bus schedules are not altered on these days and will pick up at the same time as any other weekday. Flex-time teacher availability is shared in the weekly email one week before the available Wednesday. 

First Wednesday of the Month

On the first Wednesday of each month, classes will begin at 8:00 a.m.

Cell Phone Policy:

We value students building relationships with each other, their teachers, and other adults in the building. The use of cell phones gets in the way of building relationships, increases opportunities for cheating and plagiarism, and contributes to the loss of focus in the classroom. Therefore, during the school day, cell phones are only allowed in hallways between classes, in cafeteria study halls, and during OneLunch. Earbuds, headphones, and other listening devices are only allowed in the cafeteria study hall or during OneLunch. 

Confiscation of any of these devices will result in a $5 fine for first time offenders. The fine doubles for each additional violation. Students who consistently abuse this policy may be referred to the AP for Student Life for additional consequences. 

How Blackbaud (the Student Information System) is used:

• Scheduling of classes
• Managing family contact information (email, address, phone numbers, etc.)
• Updating and completing annual back-to-school forms by parents
• Checking final grades, report cards, progress reports, and attendance
• Accessing the Parent/Student Directory and Resource Board
• Weekly communications and periodical newsletters

• The Blackbaud Resource Board contains many quick links to important parent resources.

Blackbaud Login

How Schoology (the Learning Management System) is used:

• This is an interactive faculty/student-focused program.
• Faculty manage their classes through this system.
• Students use this system to access assignments, quizzes, projects, upcoming work, rubrics, and more.
• Parents use Schoology for progress grades and upcoming work. 

Schoology Parent Login

How Google Workspace for Education is used:

• All work will be completed using the Google Suite (docs, sheets, slides, forms, school email, etc.).

Game-One.com is Holy Family's official uniform and spiritwear provider. The online uniform store is open multiple times throughout the year. The online spiritwear shop is available all year.

Uniform/Spirit Shop

A frequent question pertains to uniform bottoms. You do not need to purchase your uniform pants from Game One. Also, "joggers" are allowed, as long as they are the stretch woven material similar to golf pant/travel pants, not the cotton sweatpant material. Skirts and shorts are not allowed. Please refer to the Parent/Student Handbook in your Blackbaud resource board for Holy Family's current uniform policy.

We end the week with "spirit wear" days. Students may wear HF t-shirts, sweatshirts, and "Fire Attire" with uniform bottoms. There will be other dress down days throughout the year for special events. Those who participate in co-op sports may wear that spirit wear on spirit wear days.

S.A.D. (Student Assistance Day)

This is a day for students who are struggling or missing work to come in for extra help or to catch up. Some students will be required to come into school; some will want to come in for extra help. All are welcome, and their presence is encouraged. A light lunch is available in the cafeteria. Students are required to come to school in uniform. 

2023-24 S.A.D. dates can be found on the school calendar.

I.S. (Integrated Studies for 9th-grade students)

Integrated Studies is a combination of World History, Sacred Scripture, and World Literature classes. The class meets together on Fridays, giving 9th-grade students a study hall to end the week. Integrated Studies has its own curriculum and grade. I.S. helps students understand the intersection of multiple disciplines which build on and support the other classes they take every day. 

B.T.C. (Beyond the Classroom)

All students eat lunch and enjoy flexible BTC time during the same 55-minute period, OneLunch. During OneLunch, students have an opportunity to make daily decisions between three lunch-serving locations along with several BTC options.

The following BTC (Beyond the Classroom) options are available:

• Intramural Sports: Students may choose to participate in the intramural program in the gym. Sports will be rotated at the supervisor’s discretion. 

• Academic Support: Students may choose to do homework, study for a test, complete group work, or meet with a teacher for extra help in a particular subject area. 

• Counselors: Students may request appointments with their counselors through email for a period they do not have scheduled classes.

• Peer Tutoring: Tutoring areas will be assigned as needed.

• Clubs and Activities: Various clubs and organizations will also meet on assigned days. 

Students falling behind academically may be assigned a specific classroom during BTC time.