Dear Parents,

I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer break. I am excited to have the students return to campus and look forward to the start of another school year. We have spent the summer months preparing for the new school year so that the transition back to school for students, staff, and parents is as smooth as possible. You can help us set your child(ren) up for success this year by implementing the suggestions below at home over the next few days.

• Slowly adjust wake up times and routines
• Review foundational math skills and read your summer reading book
• Read the handbook that can be found on the school website
• Check uniform sizes and lengths
• Schedule a haircut
• Practice driving the carpool line and getting in and out of the car independently

We hope you will also join us at the Back to School bash on August 3rd. This event is designed to provide all parents and students in Pre-K through 8th grade with an opportunity to learn about different school and parish organizations while enjoying food and fellowship with our St. George school community. Please see the flyer below for more details. We hope to see you there!

Mrs. Fontenot

Student reports from the TerraNova NEXT tests that were administered in Spring 2023 were mailed home to parents today. Assessing student academic strengths and areas of need informs parents and educators so that support can be given as students work toward educational and career goals. Schools in the Diocese of Baton Rouge are committed to college and career readiness for all students. To assess such readiness, principals in the diocese chose to adopt the TeraNova NEXT assessment beginning with the 2021-22 school year.

The TerraNova NEXT achievement tests, provided by Data Recognition Corporation (DRC), measure student performance and provide comparison data of your child’s performance with the national norm group of same grade-level students who took the same test within the same testing window of dates. A booklet titled Beyond the Numbers is posted on our website for your convenience.

Thank you for your continued support of Catholic education in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. We look forward to working with school communities to realize the vision of Evangelizing Hearts, Educating Minds, Encouraging Talent, and Embracing the Future!

Please join us in welcoming our new faculty and staff members:

Disciplinarian - Marianne Faucheaux

I am excited to be back as part of the SGS faculty as the new disciplinarian. I previously taught 8th grade science at St. George from 2013-2020. After staying home for a couple years with my youngest 2 daughters, I went back to work part-time as a tutor in an area school. My husband, Richard, and I have been married for 13 years and have 3 daughters (all of whom attend SGS or the nursery school). My family has been active members of St. George Parish for 14 years. I am an avid runner and have helped coach the cross-country team the past 3 years. I am looking forward to stepping into this role and encouraging the students of SGS to be true disciples of Christ.  

PreK1 Assistant - Anna Rose

As a Baton Rouge native, I am excited to have recently returned to Baton Rouge and start a new journey at St. George. As a young adult I worked with children as a dance teacher and camp counselor, but my formal education is in Medical Assisting. Now that my children are in college, I am looking forward to entering the field of education to fulfill my desire to make the world a better place through the Catholic faith and working with children. 

PreK2 Assistant - Jamie Fink

My name is Jamie Fink and I was born and raised in the New Orleans area and graduated from Tulane University - Roll Wave! I have been involved in the St. George Community since my husband and I moved to Baton Rouge in 2015. You may have seen me around with the Called To Be A Mom Ministry, Vacation Bible School and teaching at St. George Nursery School. My husband and I have 3 fantastic boys (Gavin-5th,Owen-2nd and Aidan-1st grade.) I have a passion for working with young learners and I am excited to start the school year.

PreK5 Teacher - Caitlin Nunez

Hi! I’m Caitlin Nunez, the new Pre-K teacher this year! I taught Pre-K for the last 10 years (one year in kindergarten) and am very excited to be joining St. George.  I grew up in the small town of Morgan City and graduated college from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I attended the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators to receive my teaching certification. I live in Baton Rouge with my husband, Jared, our five-year-old daughter, Murphy Kate, and our 21-month-old son, Baylor. We have three pets – our dog, Penny, and our cats, Scout and Jess. We love spending time together watching movies and playing outside. I look forward to a wonderful year!

PreK Enrichment - Judice Clark

My name is Judice Clark and I will be the Enrichment teacher for Pre-K. I am a graduate of St. George and St. Michael. I am so thrilled to be teaching at St. George! My husband Jonathan and I have 2 sons that attend SGS, John Thomas and Pearce. I graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. I have previous experience in the elementary school setting and most recently have taught PreK-3 for 5 years. In my free time, I enjoy baking and spending time with my family. I am looking forward to a fantastic school year!

K1 Teacher - Christina Chustz

My name is Christina Chustz. I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, and come from a large

Catholic family. My husband and I have an 18-month-old son and are expecting a daughter this

November. We enjoy being outdoors and often go camping, fishing, or hiking on the weekends.

Growing up, I used to love helping my six younger siblings out with their schooling and knew

from an early age that I wanted to become a teacher. I received my bachelor’s degree in

Elementary Education from LSU and taught Kindergarten at a local public school for 7 years.

I love teaching Kindergarten because I get to be involved in my students’ educational journey

from the very start. I am so grateful for the opportunity to watch my students grow-- not only

while they’re in my classroom, but also as they move on to higher grades. I am so excited to be part of the SGS Kindergarten team this year and can’t wait to meet my students. I know that we will have many wonderful experiences together throughout the year!

K2 Assistant - Erizama Loera

My name is Erizama Loera and I am so proud to be part of Saint George Catholic School! Although I have received a JD in Law, my true call has been assisting in the education of the youngest learners, a passion that allows me to help children in all areas of their development. I like to keep in my mind the acknowledgment that each child is unique in his or her own way and might learn in different ways than others. Being fluent in Spanish has given me the opportunity to teach it as a second language for preschoolers and help others with their communication and interactions. I have a wonderful small family consisting of my husband and my fantastic daughter who has attended St. George Catholic School since Kindergarten and now is a middle school student. I love to nurture my faith and family each day especially spending time together outdoors!

K5 Assistant - Amy Ward

I am Amy Ward, and I am excited to be a Kindergarten Assistant.  My husband and I have been blessed with three amazing daughters.  Our oldest will be a junior at Parkview and our other 2 will be in 7th and 8th grade here at St. George.  We have been a part of the St. George community for over 11 years.  I am originally from Lake Charles, then moved to Memphis, Tn.  I obtained my bachelor’s in special education at the University of Memphis and received my master’s in education at Union University.  I taught Special Ed for four years (Pre-K-8th) before I became a stay-at-home Mom.  After having our first daughter, we then moved to Baton Rouge.  While staying at home with our children I was involved at school and church.  These last couple of years I have been substituting at St. George as well.  My favorite things I love to do are spending time with my family, taking care of our two cool dogs, walking and being outside.  I am looking forward to getting back into the school setting and assisting the teachers, while helping and watching the students grow.  It will be a great year!

1D Teacher - Ruth Pickle

This will be my 24th year of teaching. I taught Kindergarten for 8 years and first grade for 16 years. God has blessed me with one daughter named Jessica, one son-in-law named Chris, and one Granddaughter named Vanessa Ann. She will be in first grade this year. One of my favorite subjects to teach is Reading. It is exciting to continue my passion for reading with the first graders at St. George. I look forward to working with students, parents, and teachers as we journey together through this first grade year!

8^th grade Literature - Meighan Maille

I am very excited to return to St. George after 5 years away and am grateful to serve as the 8th grade Literature teacher. Literature has always been my favorite subject and I love reading in my free time. Currently I am devouring psychological thrillers but am dabbling in Adolescent Literature to be able to recommend novels to my incoming students. All recs welcome!

Reading aside, my time is devoted to my husband and sweet, sweet babies. My husband, Thomas, and I have four children: Eli, Clara, and twins, Henry, and George. Being on campus with Eli and Clara and eventually my other children, is such a blessing and I truly cannot wait to get started! Go Dragons! 

8^th grade English - Emily Mueller

I am a graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy and earned my B.A. with honors in English and Creative Writing from Tulane University in 2021. Since then, I have been writing fiction and assistant teaching English at St. Luke’s Episcopal School. While at Tulane, I published an honors thesis, and won the prestigious Studio in the Woods residency, awarded to the Outstanding Senior in Creative Writing. I also earned a TESOL endorsement which prepares educators to teach English to non-native English speakers both abroad and in English-speaking countries. I am married to Nicholas Mueller, and we are St. George parishioners. 

Please sign up to volunteer for the below listed school-wide activities by clicking HERE. Sign-up link will be closed Friday, August 4, 2023.

• Room Parent - Please note if you are interested in being a Room Parent, you must complete the online form at the link provided in this email. 
• Auction 
• Bakers
• Cafeteria Angels
• Carpool
• Community Partners
• Fair Baskets
• Fair Committee
• Library Committee
• Lost & Found
• Office Copy Corp
• Performing Arts
• Reception Committee 
• Room Parent
• Spirit Day 
• Used Uniform Sale
• Vision & Hearing 

All volunteers are required to successfully complete the volunteer certification as mandated by the Diocese of Baton Rouge. Find volunteer certification details HERE. The summer is a great time to complete the volunteer certification, including your background check. Lines for fingerprinting at the State Police Office are shorter during the summer. Contact Susan Giles (susan.giles@sgschoolbr.org) if you have any questions regarding volunteer certification.

Upon completion of the online volunteer sign up form you will receive a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please check your spam or junk email or complete the form again.

Thank you for sharing the gift of your time and talents! We wholeheartedly appreciate our volunteers!

Carpool volunteers are needed to help our families know where to go and keep the lines moving during the first few days of school. We are looking for volunteers to help us cover both morning and afternoon carpool from Wednesday, August 9th - Friday, August 11th. Please visit here for more information and to sign up. Thank you for your consideration.

NOTE TO PARENTS OF KINDERGARTNERS, 6th GRADERS, AND NEW STUDENTS: Please have your child's required vaccinations completed and return the updated immunization record to the school office by Thursday, August 3, 2023. For your convenience, you may upload student's updated certified records of immunization HERE.

MEDICATION DROP OFF - Monday, August 7 from 9:00 am - 10:00 am, Nurse's Office

A medication authorization form must accompany all medications. Find specific medication forms (food allergy, Epi Pen, asthma, and diabetes) here. Medications will not be accepted without the applicable forms signed by the parents and physician. Students needing medication to be administered at school will not be allow to attend school until the medication and proper forms are received by the nurse. Contact Nurse Michelle or Nurse Meg by calling the school office (225-293-1298) for assistance.

EMERGENCY CONTACT & HEALTH INFORMATION 

Parents, please be sure to review and update your student(s) emergency contact and health information in RenWeb by logging on to your Family Portal account. (District Code: SGCS-LA)

(School Information / Web Forms / Student Demographic Forms).

Parents' names and contact information must be included in the Emergency Contact section along with other listed contacts. 

2023-2024 Back To School Parent Letter

WHAT’S NEW THIS SCHOOL YEAR?

• New lunch menu items: Power Cups, Garden Variety, Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl, Totachos,

Chicken Parmesan, BBQ Fries, Chicken Potato Bowl, and BBQ Pulled Pork. These are just a few

new items added to our tried-and-true menus.

• Meal Payments: NO cash will be accepted beginning this school year. However, checks and

money orders will be accepted. Parents are encouraged to create an online meal account at

www.myschoolbucks.com. Click here for a quick guide on how to use the My School Apps website.

• Meal Status Changes: We are happy to report Gov. Edwards signed HB 282, which provides

free meals to students meeting federal eligibility guidelines for reduced price meals. This bill and

program will become effective August 1, 2023, just in time for the 2023-24 school year. What

does this mean for you? If your child qualifies for Reduced Priced meals, then your child will

receive free meals during the school year. No more Reduced Priced meals! Meal applications

must be submitted to see if your child qualifies. To see if your child/children qualify for free or reduced price meals, please refer to the Income Eligibility Guidelines Chart for the 2023-2024 school year..

• Student Meal Prices for Paying Students:

Breakfast $2.75 (Elem)

Lunch $3.55 (Elem)

Please note that according to the LA. School Food Service Policy Guidance Manual, outside restaurant food and soft drinks are not allowed in the school cafeteria. Your compliance is appreciated and necessary.

*SAVE THE DATE*

Cantor Auditions for 2023 - 2024 School Year

All students in grades 7 and 8 are eligible to audition for SGS Cantor for the upcoming school year. Cantor Auditions (closed auditions) will be held on Wednesday, August 9, after school, from 3:10 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the St. George Church.

Sign up information and audition material will be available on Wednesday, August 2 on the SGS Website/Student Life/Clubs and Activities, and in Dragontales that same week. For additional information at this time, email Mrs. Jan Dupre, jan.dupre@sgschoolbr.org.

If you are interested in another position in the After Care department, pelase contact Susan Giles (susan.giles@sgschoolbr.org).