Back to School

Dear Families,

We are so excited to begin another school year. It has been so nice to see students drop by to attend sport practices or say hi and see the great progress on the new building. I know this year will be special and historic in our school’s history. Our dream to expand our facilities is becoming a reality right before our eyes. God is so good and we have so much to be grateful for!

I am honored to welcome Katie Girardot Putnam to our school community. She will be teaching sixth grade and a junior high math class this school year. We are thrilled to have her expertise in academics and passion for educating students and serving the mission. She has written a small introduction to be shared with our school community.

Katie Girardot Putnam is a Spokane native and has recently returned to the Inland Northwest after a 10 year hiatus in the San Francisco Bay Area. Katie is a graduate of Gonzaga Preparatory School, an institution she thanks for her love of learning and insatiable curiosity. She attended the University of San Francisco where she earned her B.S. in Chemistry. After spending three years working with students K-12 in both the public and private school settings, Katie returned to school and completed the Single Subject Credential Program at San Francisco State University. Following a year of student teaching at Berkeley High School, Katie happily accepted an amazing opportunity to begin her teaching career in Catholic Education at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California. She taught chemistry and physics for two years at MCHS before returning to Spokane. Given the opportunity to reignite her passion for Catholic Education, Katie was overjoyed to accept the 6th grade teaching position at Saint Aloysius. When she is not writing and practicing lesson plans, Katie enjoys cooking, traveling with her husband, and exploring new playgrounds with her one year old son. Katie Girardot Putnam is very excited, grateful, and humbled to be joining the dedicated staff and welcoming community of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic School.

Please know that the school will be closed next Monday for an all staff training. You can access the building through the front entrance beginning on Tuesday.

I am including some important dates and information below in case you missed my email from last week. I know the end of summer can be a crazy time.
Kindergarten Orientation is on August 29th, at 6:00 pm.

The first day of school is Thursday, August 31st and we will have a “Meet and Greet” beginning at 8:15 to 9:00 in the classrooms. Parents are encouraged to come in and meet the teacher and see where your child’s classroom will be for the school year. We will also have coffee and refreshments available for parents in our cafeteria. Pat Klumb our kitchen manager will be available to share information about our breakfast and lunch program.
8:15 to 9:00–Meet and Greet K-8 and ELC teachers in classrooms
8:30 to 9:30–K-8 and ELC Parent Social in the cafeteria
9:30–Parents are invited to attend the Welcome Back to School Assembly in the gym

Our Back to School Night is September 11th at 6:30 pm for first grade through 8th grade parents. We will be sharing exciting information regarding our new building and the year ahead. I hope you all can join us and also take a peek at our new multi media lab that you made possible through the Paddle Raise!
Angie Krauss
Principal
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic School