Dear Parents,
This week marks the official last week of the 2019-2020 school year. We could never have conceived back in August that we would be dealing with a world-wide pandemic and finishing the school year virtually. While it may not have been entirely seamless, I am so proud of the perseverance and commitment our students and educators demonstrated throughout the past eight weeks of virtual learning.
As we wrap up this school year, I want to thank you, parents, for your patience and continued support of Cathedral High School. I also thank each of our educators as we expeditiously transitioned from face-to-face instruction to a virtual world of providing their curriculum. Our educators worked tirelessly to improve each day to give our students the best possible education in these unforeseen circumstances. We made it through the fourth quarter together, as a family!
We are happy to announce that we plan to be back at school (on campus) on August 13 for our first day of school! Throughout the summer, we will continue to rigorously plan for Cathedral’s coming year and keep you informed through bi-weekly summer newsletters. To become the safest school in Indiana, we have formed three task forces to guide our school’s decisions.
Task Force One will focus on how we make our school as safe as it can be regarding Covid-19. The following people will lead this team:
Rolly Landeros, COO
Julie Barthel, Principal
Kathy Saum, Vice Principal
Dr. Lyndsay Weaver, Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine
Dr. Chris Weaver – Senior Vice-President Clinical Effectiveness at IU Health.
Bridget Melloh, Nurse Manager, Community Health.
Tabby Emenaker, Student Resource Officer
Tyler McClure, Webmaster
Brian Haselby, Director of Technology
Ken Barlow, Vice President for Community Relations and Diversity
Gretchen Watko, Director of Counseling
Rick Streiff, Athletic Director
Maribeth Cloud, Enrollment Coordinator
Sara Greene, Fine Arts Teacher
Task Force Two will focus on new educational models, including scheduling, as a result of the pandemic. The following educators will lead this team:
Julie Barthel, Principal
Mark Matthews, Vice Principal
Gretchen Watko, Director of Counseling
Katie Klee, Co-Freshman Experience Director
Howard Fogel, Co-Freshman Experience Director
Ashley Hill, Holy Cross Integration Director
Liz Bradshaw, Arts and Humanities Director
Brian Gross, Director of LRC
Task Force Three will focus on keeping Cathedral financially stable during the pandemic. President Rob Bridges, CFO Colleen O’Brien-Teasley, and the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors will lead this team.
The guiding principle for all three of these teams will be that we take care of our students, our staff, and our families. They will be making data-driven decisions that will exemplify Cathedral High School’s excellence. As we remain focused on our mission and vision, we are taking this time as an opportunity to become stronger, more nimble, more collaborative, and more fully-functioning as a true model for other schools to follow. I assure you that providing a safe environment for our students while also educating their hearts and minds will remain forefront as we make decisions for the fall semester.
PARENT NEWS
Friday, May 22 – Complete required work -all required work must be complete – End of Q4/S2 grading period
Tuesday, June 2 – Summer classes begin
ENJOY YOUR SUMMER BREAK… STAY HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND SAFE!
Class of 2021 – Free College Essay Workshop (Virtual)
This summer, we’re excited to offer students the chance to join a one-week college essay boot camp delivered by Ethan Sawyer, AKA the College Essay Guy. We highly encourage ALL members of the Class of 2021 to register for this workshop! Read More
The Class of 2021 can join this summer essay boot camp from June 1 – 5 at no cost. Can’t make the boot camp? Session recordings will be available to all who sign up. However, following the timeline for the live workshops is advised.
It’s easy to register!
- A) Go to this registration page- https://www.collegeessayguy.com/sub-ceg-for-schools-students
- B) Enter your name and email.
- C) You’re done! Put the date and time in your calendar, and keep an eye on your email with the next steps and instructions for accessing the live webinar.
The live boot camp sessions will be held on June 1, 3, and 5. You can join either the 10:00-11:30 a.m. Pacific Time session OR 4:00-5:30 p.m. Pacific Time session (whichever fits your schedule). Please note that all times are PACIFIC time zone, therefore are three hours behind Indiana. (10 a.m. Pacific time is 1 p.m. in Indiana.)
It is best to attend the sessions live if you are able. If you can’t make the live sessions, don’t worry. The recordings will be emailed to all registered participants.
For more information, contact Kathy Pivonka at Kpivonka@gocathedral.com
Testimonials
We are so proud of how Cathedral teachers were able to pivot from face-to-face learning to e-Learning in just a few days! Read More
Let them (and the rest of the community) know how they did and how your student adapted to e-Learning. Submit a video to be featured on our website and social media accounts. Testimonials can be about a specific class/teacher or more general thoughts on how Cathedral used e-Learning to help students.
Click here for more details on how to submit a video. Thank you for your support!
We are excited to share that demo work has begun as the first step in the construction process for Cathedral’s Innovation Center! Below is a construction calendar that we will keep updated to ensure that you are aware of how this will impact our campus in the coming year. Read More
Construction Calendar
2020
– May 11: Demolition of B-Basement begins
– May 26: Exterior work on front facade of Kelly Hall
*** Door 4 will no longer be accessible. The main entrance will be moved to door 2.
– June 8: Excavation begins in courtyard
– August 12: New Spirit Shop-Delivery entrance opens
– September 10: Blessing of the Beams
– January 8: New cafeteria complete
2021
– April 1: Exterior building structure and elevators complete
– June 16: Main floor complete
– July 7: Top floor complete
– July 17: Ground floor complete
– August 5: Main staircase complete
– August 12: Construction complete – Innovation Center opens!
The Maintenance Department is looking to fill two (2) general maintenance positions. Please visit our Careers link on our website for more information.
Thank you in advance for any referrals you send our way!
FACTS Account
Attention all 2020-2021 families. Invitations to set up your payment plan for the 2020-2021 school year will be sent out via email on June 1, 2020 from FACTS.
Read More
It is mandatory for every family with a student enrolled at Cathedral High School to have a FACTS account, regardless of payment method. Please read the information carefully and set up your account promptly. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jean Harris at
jharris@gocathedral.com or 317-968-7312 with questions.
Summer School
All those signed up for summer school should have received an email confirming your child’s enrollment as well as an email from technology with directions to activate student email accounts. Read More
If you have any questions regarding your child’s enrollment, please contact
Bill Peebles.
Cathedral High School is excited to get this year’s summer classes up and going. We have designed our courses to be very interactive and engaging. For many of our families, the most important part of the summer school experience is social interaction. We are very intentional when designing the curriculum to include many social and interactive opportunities through Zoom breakout rooms and Google Hangouts. We are confident that it will be a wonderful experience that will help students get better acquainted with classmates and teachers.
All students will need their iPad for summer school classes starting on June 2. If you do not have an iPad yet, it must be ordered as soon as possible. The technology team recommends that iPads are 7th Generation 10.2″ WiFi IPad with 128G storage. You can get the 6th generation iPad. Just make sure you get the 128G version to ensure that your freshman has enough space.
Incoming freshmen and new students to Cathedral High School enrolled in Summer School must have their iPad “onboarded” before classes start on June 2. Onboarding is the process where our technology department connects your device with all the applications that will be needed for your classes. On May 26, all new families will receive information from our technology team on how to onboard their iPad.
Summer Reading
Cathedral’s English Department promotes reading year-round, and all grade levels are responsible for choosing one book from the Summer Reading List to buy, read, and annotate by the first day of school. Read More
Cathedral educators nominated and selected books that exemplify the 2020-2021 Holy Cross Core Value of “Excellence,” and students can choose a fiction or non-fiction book from the list.
Important Information for Student Athletes
Cathedral Athletics is using an on-line system for parents and students to electronically complete, sign and submit documents required to participate in athletics at Cathedral. This system is called Final Forms. Read More
To begin, parents must create an account with Final Forms. Click on the link below to find instructions on how to register, as well as how to complete all required forms. IN Cathedral Parent Playbook .pdf.
Parents and students of all grade levels must register and complete all forms before being allowed to participate in any pre-season conditioning, workout, or practice.
Parents of incoming freshmen and out of state transfer students will have to print and take the IHSAA PPE physical page to an appointment with a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. This form must be returned directly to Cathedral Athletic Trainer Mike Hunker once it is completed. Current freshmen, sophomores and juniors will not need to get an updated physical this year, but still must have all forms completed/signed/submitted through Final Forms.
Please contact Mike Hunker if you have any questions. Mike’s email is: mhunker@gocathedral.com.
Powerschool Tutorial
We want our parents to stay informed of their child’s performance. Read More
Please consider using Powerschool as a tool to monitor your child’s progress. View the link below for a helpful tutorial that can enable you to view your child’s grade, missing assignments, and set up weekly progress reports to be sent.
PS Parent Tutorial
If you have any questions regarding Powerschool, please contact Jim Wilkinson at jwilkinson@gocathedral.com. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s academics, please contact their counselor.
Update on Used Uniform Sale
The Mothers’ Club regrets that we were unable to hold our Used Uniform Sale this month. We’re planning to reschedule the sale for sometime this summer before school starts. Read More
We’ll be sure to communicate the details here and on our
Facebook page. We’ve had several inquiries about holding an online sale. As much as we really like this idea, we can’t get to our inventory which is stored at school. Also, we are not equipped with the staff/resources to support development of an online retail shop. We hope you understand. In the meantime, while you’re home now is the perfect time to gather up any gently used uniforms and spirit wear – including college apparel – that you no longer need. We’re currently exploring drop off locations or we’ll collect if we’re able to return to campus early in the summer. Please make sure items are clean and free of holes or tears. As a reminder, proceeds from our sale help fund our Annual Teachers’ Grants so your support is appreciated.
2020 Yearbook Distribution Information
Based on when the yearbook plant in Kansas City resumes production, the 2020 Cathedran yearbook is scheduled for distribution in August. Read More
All current seniors will have their yearbooks shipped to their home address from the yearbook plant. Current freshmen, sophomores and juniors will receive their yearbooks at school when classes resume on campus, with a specific distribution schedule to be determined. All Cathedral students receive a yearbook as part of their tuition and fees. It is not necessary for students to order a yearbook. For more information, contact Tony Willis, the yearbook faculty moderator, at
twillis@gocathedral.com.
Service Hours
Service hours are suspended for the rest of the school year. Students are not to leave their homes to do any sort of service in an effort to fulfill their service requirements. Read More
If students would like to do some sort of service from their homes as part of our Holy Cross mission, they can do that, but it is not expected. Any students who have not completed their service hours will be exempt from having to complete them this school year.
News From the Spirit Shop
Congratulations to Rhonda Hardin ’99 and mom Kaye, lucky winners of the Spirit Shop Mother’s Day social media raffle! Thanks to all who posted great photos of their awesome Cathedral Moms! Read More
Shop from the comfort of home! Spring Shopping is underway online anytime at www.cathedralspiritshop.com. Get Your IRISH On this Spring! Shop Cathedral, GO IRISH!
Trending Topics in the Counseling Department
The Counseling Department has created a new link on the Cathedral website called “Trending Topics.” In order to keep our Cathedral family up-to-date on the most current changes and trends in college admission, financial aid, testing, and summer programs, the counselors have created this page to keep you informed. Read More
There are also links to upcoming programming for all grades, as well as tips from the counselors on topics that might be helpful during our time at home.
All students, regardless of grade, are encouraged to use the page linked below as a resource and to explore available opportunities.
https://www.gocathedral.com/academics/counseling/trendingtopics
If you have any questions, contact Kathy Pivonka or Duane Emery.
Prom at the Palladium
While we were sad to have to cancel prom this year, there are some opportunities for our students to attend Prom at the Palladium. Read More
It is limited to 400 kids per night and only costs $10. Please note that this is not a Cathedral sponsored event, however we want to share opportunities for our students to be able to use that prom dress after all!
E-Cigarette Resources
E-Cigarette use has increased in high school students at an unprecedented rate. Read More
As of 2018, approximately 24% of Indiana high school students have used or are using JUUL vape products (source, Marion County Public Health). The Cathedral Counseling Department would like to share information and resources with all parents and guardians. To learn more about vaping, smoking cessation and a new counseling initiative please click
HERE
2019/2020 Important Dates
View the Academic Schedule for 2019 – 2020 for more dates.
2020/2021 Calendar
We have finalized the 2020/2021 calendar. Click this link to view important dates in our academic schedule. Read More
Junior parents, please note that we will be holding our Baccalaureate Mass on Friday evening, opposed to the Saturday morning before Graduation. We made this change to serve the many students who have other important end-of-year commitments that often conflict with Baccalaureate when it is on a Saturday.
Happenings in Our Schools, Parishes, and Community Organizations
Cathedral loves to support our schools, parishes, and community organizations. See what’s happening in our area below.
