Back to School Guide

Dear St. Thomas Aquinas Families,

Welcome back to a new school year at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School. We are excited to see our students
return and to welcome new families to our community. As we embark on the 2024-25 academic year, we remain committed to providing a faith-filled education rooted in Catholic values. Our wonderful STA staff has been working diligently to prepare for the year ahead, ensuring a safe and nurturing environment where each child can thrive academically, spiritually, and socially. Please spend some time reviewing this Back-to-School guide as it contains important information on everything you need to know to make the beginning of this school year seamless. Your partnership is invaluable in making this year a success. Thank you for entrusting us with your child’s education.
Together, we will make this year an outstanding experience. We can’t wait to see you!

God Bless, Dr. Patrick Magee, President

2024-2025 School Year

New This Year

The Lower School main entrance has changed!

Starting this year, all visitors coming onto the Lower School campus will enter through the new front entrance. Morning and afternoon carpool will remain the same as last year but you will use the new entrance when picking up early or dropping off after 7:55 AM, or anytime you come to campus to meet with faculty/staff or to volunteer. The Lower School main entrance has changed!

Come to the LS Main Entrance when you need to:

• Volunteer
• Meet with a teacher or administration
• Drop off your child late
• Pick up your child early

New School Hours

First Day of School

The first day of school for PK, 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders is Monday, August 12th.

K, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th graders will start on Tuesday, August 13th.

Parents may walk their child to their classroom at both the Upper School and the Lower School on their first day only. If your child attends school on Monday, they will not return until Wednesday, August 14th.

Don't forget

NEW School Hours

Lower School: 7:55 AM - 3:10 PM

Upper School: 7:50 AM - 3:20 PM

Download your First Day photo placard and share your picture.

#staschooldallas

Download Your Placard

Lower School Carpool

RULES:

During carpool, the safety of our students and teachers is our highest priority. Please follow the rules below at all times.

Do Not Speed Keep our neighborhood and families safe and drive slowly during carpool. No
Left Turns No left turns into or out of school property during carpool times. No exceptions.
Stay in the Carpool Queue. Do not drop off your child at any other place on campus.
Do not Attempt to Pass other Vehicles.
Carpool Tags Tags must always be displayed in order to pick up children from school carpool. If you need extra tags, contact the receptionist.
Stay in your Car Do not get out of your car during carpool. Teachers at the Lower School will help your child in and out of the car.
Lower School Walk-Ups Kindergarten - 2nd grade families walking their children to the school door must park in the Birdies Eastside parking lot adjacent to campus. Do not park on the street, at Tom Thumb, or in the Lower School parking lot. PK families must use the carline for morning and afternoon carpool.
Communicate any changes in afternoon carpool arrangements to your child and the school through Pikmykid. Please do not request that students be released after 2:30 PM.

K – 2nd grade carpool begins at the west entrance of the school parking lot on St. Moritz. PK families drop off and pick up at the circle drive on Alderson. Assisted morning carpool begins at 7:30 AM. Children may not be dropped off before 7:30 AM. Due to limited parking on campus, K-2 parents who wish to walk their child to the drop-off area (parents do not walk to the door) are asked to only park in the Birdie’s Eastside parking lot adjacent to campus. PK families must use the PK carline for morning and afternoon carpool.

Upper School Carpool

RULES:

During carpool, the safety of our students and teachers is our highest priority. Please follow the rules below at all times.

Do Not Speed Keep our neighborhood and families safe and drive slowly during carpool. No
Left Turns No left turns into or out of school property during carpool times. No exceptions.
Stay in the Carpool Queue. Do not drop off your child at any other place on campus.
Do not Attempt to Pass other Vehicles.
Carpool Tags Tags must always be displayed in order to pick up children from school carpool. If you need extra tags, contact the receptionist.
Stay in your Car Do not get out of your car during carpool. Teachers at the Lower School will help your child in and out of the car.
Lower School Walk-Ups Kindergarten - 2nd grade families walking their children to the school door must park in the Birdies Eastside parking lot adjacent to campus. Do not park on the street, at Tom Thumb, or in the Lower School parking lot. PK families must use the carline for morning and afternoon carpool.
Communicate any changes in afternoon carpool arrangements to your child and the school through Pikmykid. Please do not request that students be released after 2:30 PM.

Third – 8th grade morning carpool begins at 7:30 AM. Families can drop off in the north or south lots in the morning. Children may not be dropped off before 7:30 AM. NEW THIS YEAR: During afternoon carpool, 3rd and 4th grade students, along with their siblings, will use the NORTH parking lot. Students in 5th - 8th should use the SOUTH parking lot (no 3rd & 4th grade siblings).

Walkers (Upper School Only)

Every Upper School family completed a Release to Walk Form with enrollment/ re-enrollment indicating if their child may leave the campus unsupervised. If you wish to change your child’s walker status, fill out a new form located on the Parents page of the website and email Amanda Neinast at USfrontdesk@staschool.org. Just a reminder, walkers will not be released until carpool has begun. In the case of severe weather, parents will be advised through a ParentAlert that walkers will be held on campus for pickup through the carpool line. Always have an updated phone number on record and a good back up plan with your child.

If your child walks to school or walks off campus at the end of the day, we ask that you:

Be considerate of our neighbors on both the east and west sides of campus.
Follow all traffic laws as you drive and park throughout the neighborhoods.
Do not block driveways or alleys while you wait for your child.
Give other cars and emergency vehicles room to get down the street.
Talk with your child about being respectful to our neighbors’ yards and property.
Do NOT park on Alderson or Kenwood to pick up your child or designate pick-up spots at the corners of Hillside/ Kenwood and Alderson/Malcolm.
The carpool lane is the safest and easiest way to pick up your child at school and is almost always finished about 10-15 minutes after school is dismissed.

Pikmykid

Take a moment to download the Pikmykid app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Your youngest child’s carpool tags will be made available at the meet the teacher opportunity on Friday, August 9th. You will use the tags to register on the app. More information on how to use Pikmykid is in the Parent Portal on the website. All STA parents are required to use the Pikmykid app at dismissal time each day.

More Info on Pikmykid

Attendance

Attendance is of vital importance at every grade level - PK through 8th.

Please refrain from scheduling vacations when school is in session as it creates an unnecessary burden on the student and the teachers. Emergencies are unavoidable, but vacations are not. The SCHOOL CALENDAR provides many opportunities for travel over long weekends and extended time over holidays. Teachers will not give assignments in anticipation of a vacation. Thank you for your cooperation!

Front Desk Rules

With 875 students, their parents, our volunteers, and our teachers, the front desk can seem like Grand Central Station. Help us stay focused on your child’s education and safety by following the Front Desk Rules!

At the Beginning of the School Day

Report an absence if your child will be out for the day.
No items or messages will be delivered after the 7:55 AM bell, unless it is an emergency. In the event of an emergency please call the receptionist.
Students will need to bring a lunch with them each morning or buy lunch from the cafeteria. See page 9 for more details regarding lunch.

During the School Day

Students are expected to be present in school for the entire day and attend every period.
If a student will be leaving for an appointment, parents will need to email the homeroom teacher and the receptionist to let them know what time the child will be picked up. Come inside to sign your child out.
A doctor’s note IS REQUIRED for return to school from dental or medical appointments.
Students may not be pulled from class for a sibling event (except for Kindergarten Graduation and 8th Grade Graduation/Tribute).

At the End of the School Day

To avoid classroom and dismissal disruptions, no student may be picked up after 2:30 PM for an appointment.
Students may not be pulled early from school for extra-curricular activities.
Follow the carpool rules.
Students not picked up on time will be escorted to Extended Day, and an additional fee will be charged to your FACTS account.

Contact Us

Lunch Accounts

All students may bring their lunch or purchase from options provided by our food service vendor, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner Caterers. All families should set up a lunch account before school starts. Instructions on how to set up and monitor your child’s account, along with monthly menus, are located on the Parents page of the school website.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Caterers (GWCTD) has an online lunch account system, LINQ Connect.

Students have a limited lunch/recess period and are not allowed to have visitors at lunch. Upper School students bringing lunch to school must bring it with them. No dropping off lunches after 8:30 AM at the Upper School.

LUNCH INFORMATION

Parent/Teacher Night

Parents are invited to join us (no children) to learn more about the upcoming school year and discover what will be going on in the classroom.

PK - 2nd Grade: Wednesday, August 14th
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM or 7:35 PM - 8:05 PM

Parents with children in PK through 2nd grade may choose from two Meet the Teacher sessions. Class starts promptly and is for parents only!

6th - 8th Grades: Monday, August 19th
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Experience a day in the life of our middle school students in 6th–8th grade. Parents will meet in their child’s homeroom and follow an abbreviated bell schedule to learn more about each class their child attends.

3rd - 5th grade: Wednesday, August 21st
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM

Parents with children in 3rd–5th grade will meet their child’s teachers and get information for the year.

The IT team will be available during all three Parent nights to answer any questions about STA technology, internet safety, and software.

Extended Day

STA is committed to providing a fun and safe place for your child to spend time after school. Extended Day hours are from school dismissal until 6:00 PM, and 4:00 PM on half days. An additional fee will be assessed for any child picked up after 6:00 PM. There is still room in the program if you would like to enroll your child. You can find more information about the program and fees on the Extended Day page on the STA website.

Extended Day is closed on:
Monday, August 12, 2024
Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Friday, November 22, 2024
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Friday, December 20, 2024
Friday, January 31, 2025
Friday, May 23, 2025

Contact Us

Extended Day Information

Safety and Security

As we begin the 2024-2025 school year, school safety remains our priority, and we are dedicated to the security of our entire school community. Over the summer, the school continued to work on school safety initiatives which impact our security infrastructure, and we will continually review safety procedures and protocols through training, emergency preparation, and safety drills throughout the school year. We realize that despite all the steps taken, we are not immune to unforeseen incidents, and we must all remain vigilant to keep our school community safe. We all play a critical role in the safety and security of STA.

Here's How You Can Help:

Be familiar with the SRP on the parent page of the website.
Always check in and check out at the front desk. It’s important to always know who is on campus.
Talk to your children about the importance of reporting any threats of violence to a trusted adult, school administrators, or the Dallas Police Department.
Be vigilant when in carpool or on campus and report any suspicious activity to the Dallas Police Department and school principals.
Talk to your children about the importance of not participating in or promoting any threats of violence. Making a threat against a school is a punishable offense that could lead to being charged with a misdemeanor or felony. Posting threatening language on social media violates the Student Code of Conduct which could lead to expulsion from school.

Raul Galvan, Jr.
Security Director

We are excited to introduce Mr. Raul Galvan Jr., our new STA Director of Security. Mr. Galvan, a retired Sergeant from the Dallas Police Department, brings an extensive background and expertise to strengthen the safety of STA. Uniformed Dallas Police officers will continue to maintain a visual presence on both campuses. STA upholds a strong, communicative relationship with these officers and the Northeast Dispatch Station to ensure ongoing safety and security.

Volunteering and Safe Environment

Volunteering

All parent volunteers must be Safe Environment cleared and wear their badge at all times when on campus!

Opportunities will be posted in the WAAG and on the My STA app at the end of August.

Safe Environment Badges

In compliance with the Diocese of Dallas, STA has a comprehensive Safe Environment Program in place for all of our volunteers. In order to volunteer at the school, church, or any affiliated event, you are required to be Safe Environment cleared. This is an easy process that is outlined on the school website. Once you receive your Safe Environment badge, it must be updated annually on the anniversary date and worn on school premises any time you are on campus. Please know that for the safety of our students and teachers, this policy is strictly enforced. All visitors who do not have a Safe Environment badge must sign in at the front desk, receive a yellow visitor sticker, and be accompanied by a cleared person at all times.

Get Cleared

Smart Families

We are excited for the start of the new school year and are equally excited to bring Smart Families to our school. We know the negative impact that smart phones and social media can have on the wellbeing of our students and family life. Smart Families will be hosting a number of educational events for families and the children in our community during the school year. This is a priority for our school, and we strongly encourage all of our families to participate.

Technology

STA Technology & Internet Safety Plan

St. Thomas Aquinas believes that technology is imperative in developing 21st century learners in a collaborative learning environment. Students have access to devices each day as an instructional tool for learning. 6th – 8th grade students are issued a Windows laptop as a part of STA’s middle school 1:1 device program while PK-5th grade classes each have carts with devices available to students to use on campus. The internet is a powerful tool for learning, communication, and collaboration. It also poses some risks and challenges for the safety, privacy, and well-being of students, staff, and parents. STA follows the Diocese of Dallas Internet Safety Policy, which aims to meet the regulatory requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

If you have any questions about regarding our Technology Plan or Internet Safety Plan, Mr. Price will be available at the Parent/Teacher Night nights to answer any questions you have.

Academic Services and Student Counseling

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School has full time guidance counselors at both campuses. Any student, parent, or faculty member may consult with the counselor to address individual needs of students. The counselor, in collaboration with our on-staff learning specialists, teachers, administrators, and, when needed, outside professionals, will make recommendations to help students meet the academic, behavioral, and/or emotional challenges affecting student success. If your child has a diagnosed learning difference, parents are required to provide the Upper School Learning Specialist, Cynthia Redden, or Lower School Counselor and Learning Specialist, Padmini Dayal, with a copy of the diagnostic report. Parents are responsible for providing updated testing or changes in their child’s diagnosis.

Meet Our Specialists

Health Services

The Health Clinic

The Health Clinics are open at both the Lower School and Upper School campuses during school hours. Services provided by the clinics include basic first aid, managing medical emergencies, administering prescribed medications, and monitoring ill students until a parent arrives to pick them up. The clinic does not supply medication for students. Parents must supply all medications in original pharmacy bottles. All prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications must be kept in the clinic. Students are not allowed to hold medicine or self-medicate. If your child has prescription medicine, please use the Diocesan Medication Form located on the Parents page of the website when bringing the medication to the school. Parents are expected to communicate and plan with the nurse. In consideration of your child, classmates, and our staff, keep your child home from school if he/she is ill or not feeling well.

Sick and Absence Procedures

If your child is sick or not attending school, please do ONE of the following:

OPTION 1:

Notify the school of absences as soon as possible by emailing your child’s homeroom teacher and the school receptionist:

Upper School: Amanda Neinast USfrontdesk@staschool.org

Lower School: Cheryl Neeley cneeley@staschool.org

OPTION 2: Fill out the absence form on the school website or MySTA App.

OPTION 3:

Call the Upper School or the Lower School and press 1 to leave a voicemail. Upper School: 214-826-0566 Lower School: 469-341-0911

OPTION 4:

Click below.

Report An Absence

Contact Us

Doctors’ Notes

Per Diocesan policy, notes from the doctor/dentist office are required to return to school from an appointment. Submit this written doctor’s note to the front desk upon the your child’s return to school.

Parent/Student Handbook

The St. Thomas Aquinas Parent/Student Handbook is located on the Parents page of the website. This is a live document that changes as the Diocese and school administration implement and modify policy. All families electronically signed the acknowledgment of handbook policies when enrolling/re-enrolling their children in the spring. Please feel free to refer to these policies and procedures at any time, especially those which pertain to uniform dress code and free dress policies.

Handbook

Uniform Guidelines - What to Wear

STA recognizes the effect students’ dress and grooming have upon student behavior and commitment to learning. Parents play a big role in assisting their children in making the best choices regarding the official school uniform, healthy grooming, and dres s down day wear and accesso ries. STA expects all students to follow the school dress code, exercise modesty, dress for the weather, and look their best on all school days.

The school uniform is designed to identify STA students for safety reasons on campus and at off-campus events when required to be worn such as on field trips . The teachers and administration ask for parent partnership and student compliance with the STA Wildcat Dress Code. Uniform violations will be addressed with a written warning or parents may be called to bring an alternative outfit to school.

More About Uniforms

Sacramental Prep and Service Learning

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and Church are dedicated to the Catholic formation of our students.

SERVICE PROJECTS

Throughout the school year, students will participate in community service events both on campus and in the local community/ neighborhood that correlate directly to the seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching:

• Life and Dignity of the Human Person

• Call to Family, Community, and Participation

• Rights and Responsibilities

• Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

• The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

• Solidarity

• Care for God’s Creation

Both campuses participate in special Masses, Sacraments, and celebrations including:

• Praise and Worship

• Living Rosary

• May Crowning

• All Saints Day

• Blessing of the Animals

• Living Stations of the Cross

• Spiritual retreats

• Christian Witness Awards

• First Holy Communion

• Reconciliation

• Confirmation

• Angels in Action

Need More Information on service learning or your child’s Sacramental Preparation?

Catholic Schools Week and Grandparents Day

Communications

Website

The Parents page can be found at the top right of the menu page on the website. This is a great resource for information parents need including lunch menus, forms, and more.

School Calendar

A detailed school calendar is located on the website and on the My STA App. You can subscribe to any and all of the school calendars on any device; if an event changes, it will automatically change on your calendar. Directions to filter and subscribe to the calendar are at the top of the page.

Week at a Glance (WAAG)

Every Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM you will receive the school’s weekly e-newsletter in your inbox. The Week at a Glance (WAAG) is your primary source of information for the upcoming weekend and the week ahead. Please add communications@ staschool.org to your address book to ensure delivery. We ask that you take a moment over the weekend to read the WAAG and mark your calendar accordingly.

Homeroom Parent and Teacher Emails

You may receive email reminders from your child’s teachers and homeroom parents of upcoming events or changes in already scheduled events. Please check your email regularly.

ParentAlert

Our ParentAlert system sends text messages directly to your phone. ParentAlert is for urgent matters only, including severe weather and emergency information.

My STA App

Download the My STA App for easy access to FACTS information. You can find it in the App Store for iPhones and Google Play for android phones. Report your child’s absence, access Upper School schedules and homework assignments, read the WAAG, and more.

School Directory

The School Directory is online through the My STA App and FACTS Family Portal. The school directory contains all the contact information for parents and families. Please keep all contact information current with the school by emailing any changes to rrussell@staschool.org.

* The St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School directory information includes parent and student names and addresses, parent e-mail addresses, and home, mobile, and work numbers. This directory is online and password protected. The directory is for the personal use of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School families only. It may not be sold or used for mailing lists or solicitation purposes of advertising personal businesses or promoting outside businesses.