Welcome! We are thrilled that you have an interest in Holy Family Elementary. In order to help you and your family get to know our school better, we have compiled the following frequently asked questions. Our website offers a wealth of information to parents. Classroom assignments, teachers & staff, calendars, menus, committees, and fundraising information is all available with the click of a mouse! Please feel free to contact the school if you have any other questions.

WHAT TIME DOES SCHOOL BEGIN AND END?

School begins at 8:00 a.m. Students who are dropped off between 7:30-7:45 a.m. will report to the Activity Center (entrance by our playground) until the 7:45 bell rings. When the bell rings at 7:45, students will begin walking to class to start their day.

The bus bell rings at 3:10 p.m. If you are interested in bus services then you must arrange this with the bus barn at 785-623-2560 in August. Around 3:15, all other students & teachers will begin heading down to the Activity Center for dismissal. At 3:20, students are dismissed. Parents may come through the North or South doors and head to the Activity Center to pick up their children, or you can drive through the school pick-up line out in the east parking lot near our playground — there are multiple lines and you simply pull up to the next open line and wait until dismissal begins. Please remain off your cell phones while driving through to pick up your children, as our faculty needs to be able to communicate with you on who you are picking up that day! At 3:40, the final bell will ring and dismissal is over. Any children remaining in the Activity Center during this time will be walked down to After School Care and you will receive a bill for those services at the end of the month. Of course, faculty and staff at dismissal will make sure there are no other cars waiting in the drive-thru line before taking the children down to ASC.

Please notify both the office and your children’s teachers in the event of an appointment or a need to pick up your child early. Both the office and teachers also need notified as soon as possible when you know your child will be missing school or coming in late. You may call the office starting at 7:30 a.m. or you are welcome to e-mail the office manager and teachers. If you call before 7:30 a.m. you can leave a voicemail message and we will check them when the office opens. In the event that your child will be picked up by someone out of the ordinary, please let the classroom teacher know.

Preschool is in session Monday through Friday for full-time students. Half-day PK3 students only attend Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:00-11:00 a.m. PK4 is offered for full-time students all day and all week, or in half-day sessions (mornings from 8:00-11:00 a.m. or afternoons from 12:10-3:10 p.m.) Preschool students must be dropped off at the classroom by an authorized adult and signed in on the clipboard by the classroom door! After the first quarter of school, an older sibling is welcome to walk your preschooler to the room and sign them in on the clipboard. Preschool dismisses outside of the Activity Center doors on the south side of the building (between the big blue school sign and the playground). Preschoolers who attend afternoon preschool or full-day preschool in PK3 or PK4 are allowed to attend After School Care as well (which is available until 5:30 p.m.).

Kinderprep is in session on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays each week from 8:00 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. with the same dismissal procedures as the students K-5th. They may also attend After School Care if needed.

DO YOU HAVE AN AFTER SCHOOL CARE PROGRAM?

Yes. HFE offers an After School Care program (ASC), which runs from dismissal until 5:30 p.m. Our directors, along with a group of college student workers, will supervise the children during this time. Students attending ASC will walk directly down to the cafeteria at dismissal where the ASC teachers will greet them and get them signed in. Studnts in Preschool, KP or Kindergarten will remain in their classrooms and an After School Care worker will collect those kiddos and get them started in the classroom before joining the big kids outside for play time. They begin with attendance and prayer, followed by a snack. The students then work on their homework or read until around 4:00 p.m. Depending on the weather, students will then either play outside or split up between the cafeteria and the Activity Center for games, puzzles, coloring, and other activities.

Payment is based on the amount of days that your children attend in one month. Payment costs a flat $6.00 per child per day, no matter when the child is picked up between the 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. time frame. This is recorded for the whole month, and invoices for that month will go home at the beginning of the following month. On Early Release Days, After School Care costs a flat $12 per student since ASC is open 1:30 - 5:30 on those days. Early Release Days are typically one Wednesday per month (there are a couple of months where there are no early release days).

You only pay for the days that your children attend, but you are asked to establish an estimated schedule at the start of the school year. The students can be picked up on the playground or in the Activity Center for ASC. You can park down near the playground if you see the children are outside playing, or you can use your fingerprint on the North main school doors and head down to the cafeteria or Activity Center to pick your child up. If you are sending someone else to pick up your child, they will not be able to enter the building unless they have their fingerprint in the school system. The office closes at 4:00 p.m. so you will not be able to be buzzed in if you send someone else for pick-up to the North doors. Please notify the After School Care workers if you or your pick-up person has trouble getting into the building by calling the ASC phone #: 639-1939.

Occasionally the students get to walk to Massey Park for a special play-day at ASC. Each child is also responsible for bringing snacks a few times throughout the school year. Signups through signup. com are created and emailed out to all parents of ASC where you can open the link and select a day to provide snacks. It's typically snacks to feed 50 children, and snacks must be NUT-FREE due to multiple nut allergies! ASC snacks can be dropped off in the school office behind the doors near/inside the black cube-shelves. At enrollment, you will pay a $25 fee per child to sign your family up for ASC services and fill out a sign-up form. You can sign your child up throughout the year anytime, but will need to complete the ASC form and pay the $25 fee in cash or check made out to HFE. Stop by the office to do this anytime!

DOES HOLY FAMILY OFFER SPECIAL SERVICES AND SCREENINGS LIKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS DO?

Yes. Testing for special education and gifted services is offered through USD 489 to students who have special learning needs. We have a SPED teacher housed in our building every day and all day. Title I, a remedial reading program, is provided for students who qualify under district, state and federal regulations by USD 489. Speech testing, speech therapy and hearing screenings are provided by the FHSU Herndon Hearing and Speech Clinic students under supervision of FHSU professionals. Vision screenings are provided for students by a team of local optometrists and nurses. Counseling services are available for any students in any grade in need.

HOW DOES THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS WORK?

Parents interested in our Precious Creations Early Childhood program should be aware of a few things: 1.) We have both a 3-year-old and 4-year-old preschool program. 2.) Students qualify for our PK3 if they turn 3-years-old by September 1st, and PK4 students must have turned 4-years-old by September 1st as well. This is a state regulation and we cannot make exceptions for students who do not meet this birthdate cutoff. 3.) We have a variety of preschool sessions available: we can provide full-time preschool for both 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds all weekdays (Monday-Friday from 8:00 - 3:10 p.m.). We also have a 3-year-old half-time session where students attend on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. We also have available a half-time session for 4-year-old preschool and parents can choose from a morning session, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m. Monday-Friday, or an afternoon session, 12:10 - 3:10 p.m. Monday-Friday.

In the fall semester, a brief form is sent home to our current families to give us an idea of new siblings who will be joining us the following year. During spring semester, prospective numbers for the next school year are totaled and all families on the waiting list are notified as to whether or not their child(ren) are accepted. All families, whether current or new, will be notified in the Spring regarding placement for their child in Preschool-5th grade. A New Parent Information Meeting will be scheduled typically in March for parents to come and hear some general information, pick up the new student paperwork and pay a registration fee. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the school, take a tour and meet some of the teachers & staff. For students already here in our Preschool, we will simply send a new health packet home with your child in his/her bookbag.

The brunt of the paperwork is given to new families at the information night, though there is still an online enrollment google form sent out to parents in August that is annually required to begin the new school year! In late May, e-mails will be sent out to all current & new families with information regarding the school calendar, student supply lists, uniform sales, enrollment details, and other important school information.

We have a waiting list that we keep active and updated at all times. Placement is determined by the number of open spots per grade — students are accepted based off of the family’s stewardship of time, talent and treasure with their parish, and the date you call to list your child is taken into consideration once priests have cleared the family. If your child(ren) does not make it in one year, we will automatically keep them on the waiting list in case a spot opens up; we will also automatically move the waiting list over for the following year in the event that we have more openings later down the road and you will be contacted immediately. If you ever decide that you are happy with your arrangements elsewhere, please call and let us know that we can remove your family from our list so that you do not receive further mail from us.

If you are interested in signing your child(ren) up for Preschool-5th grade, you may click here. Please complete the form in full, and you are welcome to mail it or bring it by the office.

HOW DO I USE POWERSCHOOL?

Parents can navigate to Powerschool and create their own personal account to monitor their student’s grades and attendance. By clicking on the “e-mail notifications” tab, parents may sign up for e-mail notifications about their student’s grades and attendance automatically without having to log in frequently.

Parents who have multiple students in the school can access all of their information through one account by simply inputting the necessary information, which the parents will all be walked through at the beginning of each school year. During the first week of school, letters will come home with the student’s names and ID’s so that parents can create their accounts. Additionally, parents with students at both HFE and TMP-M can access information for both schools through one account, which is handy. Parents will receive a flyer once their child enters Kindergarten with steps to log in with a generic ID and passcode to get you started. You will not need to use Powerschool for Preschool, but it is helpful to have for K-5th grade. If you have further questions regarding Powerschool, please get in touch with the school principal or office staff.

WHAT DO THE STUDENTS WEAR AT HFE?

The students in grades K-5th are required to wear the HFE uniforms, which are navy bottoms and a white polo top with the HFE logo embroidered on it. For all information regarding school uniforms, please refer to our uniform policy in the school handbook located on the home page of the school website. Current venues used now include Schoolbelles at the link here and Gone Logo, which is a local Hays option. The students can wear any shoes as long as they are close-toed since they will be playing outside during the day. A separate pair of tennis shoes will be left at school for P.E. for students in grades 1st-5th to ensure that the gym stays in good condition.

On Wednesdays, all students PS-5th grade are welcome to wear the grey school spirit shirt with jeans and tennis shoes. The spirit shirt is available to order at enrollment in both long or short-sleeves. Preschool students wear a navy preschool t-shirt on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday each week. Preschoolers can wear bottoms that are simple, mostly solid navy, grey, white, black, or khaki — nothing too flashy or sparkly, please! Glitter, rainbow and busy designs we prefer to avoid. Bottoms do not need to be a certain brand or material; the more comfortable for the student, the better, for the ease of restroom breaks. All shoes must also be close-toed. Accessories and socks also follow our same uniform policy for the other grades and can be found in the handbook. The preschool shirts and spirit shirts will be ordered on enrollment day for the year, so if you are interested in long-sleeves or sweaters, be sure to get your orders in on enrollment, as there most likely will not be a chance to order them again later on.

Each summer typically in July, we have a Uniform Sale and a member of Schoolbelles attends with a huge variety of uniform pieces for trying on and purchasing. We also have a USED uniform collection that is organized and set out for the sale for a highly discounted price. Those uniform pieces are $5 and are sold first-come, first-serve! Gone Logo is a local vendor, so they do not bring apparell to the uniform sale, but parents may stop by their store any weekdays all year long in Hays. They have dressing rooms so that students may try on pieces before purchasing. The used uniforms are donated throughout the school year from other families who have moved on or outgrown them. We happily accept any uniform donations throughout the school year and those pieces can be dropped off at the office!

HOW DO ENROLLMENT PAYMENTS & TITHING WORK AT HFE?

For our current HFE families, flyers are sent out in the Spring with payment information for the upcoming school year, allowing families to get a head start on making payments for enrollment. On enrollment day (early August), all payments are due. This will include each child’s enrollment fee, a Home & School fee per family, and an optional yearbook fee. For families with an incoming preschooler, your first monthly fee is also due at enrollment which will cover the few days of August and also September. For students entering K-5th, lunch money will be due at enrollment; all checks for lunch money must be separate checks from all other school payments, as it goes into a different school account. Parents may decide how much money to apply to each child’s lunch account, whether you choose to pay for a month, a semester, or the whole school year. Lunch money can also now be paid for on the EZ Pay website conveniently online. Spirit Shirts are available at enrollment only and will not likely be available to purchase again throughout the year. The spirit shirts are purchased online through a Gone Logo online store that they put together for us.

Meal prices are set mid-summer each school year and are subject to change year to year based on increased prices in food. Free & Reduced meal prices are set through the Kansas Food & Nutrition Program. If students in 3rd-5th grade would like to take an extra milk at lunch, it is an extra $.50 per milk. Free & Reduced meal applications are posted mid-summer for any families who want to get a headstart on filling those out, and a physical copy is included in every family's enrollment packet. When parents come to the office to finalized enrollment, it will be given to each parent.

Each family is required to be a registered and involved steward at their parish. Stewardship of time, talent and treasure is extremely important to keep our Catholic schools running! Each family must be sure to renew their stewardship forms annually and meet with their priest. The priests ultimately clear each family for enrollment, so if you are not cleared by your priest, you will receive a letter stating that your family must first schedule a meeting with your parish.

Children are not turned away if they are not Catholic, but we do fill in our classroom openings with Catholic families first. Non-Catholic families, as well as Catholic families who are not registered at a Heartland Parish, are the only students who are required to pay a monthly tuition fee. Catholic Non-Registered students and Non-Catholic students will owe $420 per month each. The Heartland Parishes include Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Joseph, St. Nicholas of Myra, Comeau Campus Center, Our Lady Help of Christians (Antonino), St. Anthony (Schoenchen), St. Catherine (Catherine), and St. Francis (Munjor). The tuition can be paid in full at enrollment, or you can stick to monthly payments. We highly encourage our Catholic families to register and stay involved with their parishes – the priests want to see families attending mass regularly, as well as being good stewards of their talents and treasure. The future of our Catholic schools greatly depends on the support of our parishes and Catholic community!

WHEN ARE VARIOUS HFE PAYMENTS DUE?

A Preschool registration fee will be due by May 1st. Students entering all other grades K-5th also require a non-refundable $100 pre-registration fee by May 1st as well, annually. Preschool invoices are e-mailed to parents digitally using the e-mail addresses filled out on your child’s paperwork at enrollment. Invoices are e-mailed in the middle of the previous month and payments are due by the end of that month, so payments are always made about half a month in advance. For example, the bill for November will be sent around October 15th and will be due by the end of October. If you prefer to pay for a full semester or the entire school year at once, you are welcome to do so. If payment is not made in time, a late fee will be tacked on and you will receive a reminder with an updated invoice.

After School Care invoices will be e-mailed out to parents at the beginning of the month reflecting charges for the previous month. So, if your children start attending ASC right away in August, your first bill will come home the beginning of September. Payment for ASC is due by the 15th of the month. Please keep in mind that even when you do not necessarily plan for your child to attend ASC, if your child is not picked up by the dismissal bell, he/she will be taken to ASC and you will be charged for that day. HFE/TMP staff get a half session of ASC for free only on days that there are staff meetings, or in the event that TMP staff are coaching sports. Non-meeting days and full-time status remain the same prices as all other families. ALL families, staff included, will still pay the $25 registration fee at enrollment per child for signing up for ASC services.

For families paying monthly tuition, an invoice will be e-mailed to the parents at the beginning of each month and payment will be due by the 15th of the month based on your agreement made with the principal and your parish at enrollment.

Meal payments depend solely on how much and how often you pay and are all entered on an online program called EZ Pay Meals. Parents can quickly activate their EZ Pay meal account, as the school office links your child to your email account before enrollment. Once parents activate their account, they can load money to their child's lunch account with debit or credit card, and can check meal transactions there anytime. Each meal is logged here on a daily basis. As balances slip below $10, EZ Pay sends automatic email reminders on Monday afternoons to alert you that lunch money is due soon. You may also send a check or cash to school with a note on it for lunch money if you prefer to not pay online with a card. Payment should be made as soon as possible upon receiving a notice. Again, an approximate total for all lunches for the school year will be available at enrollment for families who wish to pay for the meals by semester or in full for the year.

Other various projects and activities might warrant payment and will be arranged well in advance by the classroom teachers and communicated with you if payment is needed.

All payments can be paid in cash or check, and checks must all be written out to HFE or Holy Family Elementary, including payments for HFE Bucks — please always note in the memo your child’s name and what the payment is regarding, i.e. Preschool, ASC, lunch, tuition, registration, etc. Receipts for your payments will be issued and sent home with your child. We do not accept credit/debit cards for any payments.

WHAT IS CAJETAN CASH?

WHAT IS THE CHILI SUPPER?

This is one of HFE’s largest fundraisers each year traditionally held on the Sunday of the start of Catholic Schools Week from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. It takes all families to be involved to make this activity successful. All parents are asked to help by volunteering their time on the Saturday prior to the event or on Sunday. Parents can get involved with helping cook or setting up the game room on Saturday. On the day of the event, Volunteers are needed to serve the meal, clean up, help with games and other activities. Prior to the event, parents will also be asked to send “food type” items to be used for game prizes, and bake desserts.

WHAT IS RACE FOR EDUCATION?

The Race for Education is a fundraiser that culminates with an hour “walk” or “run” in the school parking lot. Prior to the event, parents are asked for names of family members and friends to receive mailers for donations for the event (either a flat rate donation or based on the number of laps the child makes). Volunteer parents are needed to assist students in making their mailing labels. This takes approximately one hour. The day of the event, usually in April, parents often join in with their children by walking a few laps, volunteering to help out with punching “lap cards”, serving water or just to simply sit back and watch the children enjoy the event.

WHAT ARE HFE BUCKS?

HFE Bucks, formerly known as “Scrip”, are gift certificates that can be used like cash at local and national businesses. The program is an ongoing fundraiser that costs you no extra money! The Home & School Association gets the certificates at a discount, and you buy them at face value. HFE Bucks can be given as gifts or you can use them at participating stores and restaurants for all of the places that you already frequent regularly! Grandparents, friends, or anyone can buy HFE Bucks. They are available through the RaiseRight phone app, and orders can be placed and picked up in the school office or loaded right onto your cell phones! Each family will receive a flyer with more information about this program at the beginning of the school year. To place an order, use the RaiseRight app, or email hfebucks@gmail.com and let them know what you'd like to order. Our local vendors (i.e. Taco Shop, Gella's, Thirsty's, etc.) are not loadable on the phone app, but orders can still be placed for these. You can request on the phone app to pick up in the office or have the order sent home with a student at HFE -- it doesn't get any easier!

Parents earn money OFF of their enrollment fees when HFE Bucks are purchased throughout the year! The purchasing time runs from July 1 - June 30th and the purchase made during that time will be reflected on your enrollment fees that following August! Learn more on the HFE Bucks website!

WHAT IS THE BOX TOPS/PULL TABS PROGRAM?

HFE now only participates in the Box Tops for Education program digitally, as they have completely moved the program to and online format only. Once you get through your grocery line, if you simply open the app on your phone and scan the barcode of your receipt, it will input those grocery items that are participating in the program, which automatically loads the money into the school fundraising account! There are random bonus days and weeks where certain items are double or triple-points -- be sure to check the grocery store flyers with more info, or check in on the app to learn more about ways to earn extra points!

Our school also collects pop/can tabs and cell phones. Can tabs are picked up by Hays High DECA students and are sent in to support the Ronald McDonald House Charities across the country. We no longer accept printer cartridges for the Cartridges for Kids program, as they recently made many cuts to their cartridge list, lowered prices, and our school was no longer benefitting. We no longer accept used batteries as we do not benefit!  Thank you for your support in these ways!

CAN I EAT LUNCH WITH MY CHILD?

Yes, however, you must call and notify the office by 9:00 a.m. on the morning you wish to make a reservation (you are also welcome to call a couple days in advance when you know). This helps ensure that the kitchen staff can prepare enough meals for the day and are given ample time to prepare extra food if needed.

Once a month we celebrate the student’s birthdays by doing a special birthday mass & lunch, which will also be posted on the menus and calendars. You are welcome to make reservations for the special birthday meals, as well. Parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends, anyone is welcome to join a student for lunch as long as reservations are made by 9:00 a.m.

After calling to reserve a guest meal, we will mark your name in our meal log and you can stop by the office beforehand to pay. It is $5.00 for an adult guest and $3.00 for a child. You must also stop by the office to sign in to our visitor clipboard. You may then wait outside the classroom and line up with the child as they walk to the lunch line. Classroom lunch schedules are determined in August and will either be included in your enrollment folder or sent in a parent e-mail at the beginning of the school year.

DO I HAVE ANY OTHER MENU CHOICES BESIDES WHAT IS BEING SERVED TO THE CHILDREN?

No, although you are welcome to tell the cooks in the lunch line that you would like to skip the main course and get salad if you prefer.

ARE THERE ANY DAYS WHEN I SHOULD NOT EAT WITH MY CHILD?

Guests are welcome to sign up any time, however, traditionally HFE observes “quiet Fridays” during the season of Lent where the students and staff eat lunch in silence, which is a sacrifice! While you are welcome to eat with your child, you will still be expected to follow the same prayerful silence, even if it is a birthday. We thank you for your cooperation!

IF I DO NOT MEET THE 9:00 A.M. DEADLINE FOR A LUNCH RESERVATION, CAN I BRING A LUNCH AND SIT WITH MY CHILD(REN) ANYWAY?

Of course, you are welcome to still come sit with your child and bring your own lunch, but the lunch you bring cannot be from a restaurant or fast-food chain, and pop is also not allowed. Please remember that we are a NUT-FREE school, so peanut butter sandwiches, cookies and candies should be avoided, especially if they were processed in a factory using nut oils.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED AT HFE?

For more information on our committees, please visit our parent volunteer page.  The page includes a complete list of committees and contact information for the Chair or Co-Chair. You may also contact the office or principal at anytime if you want to get involved! For more detailed information, please visit our Parent Committees tab on the website!