Saint Ambrose August News

“Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.” — St. Francis de Sales

Dear Saint Ambrose Parents,

On Wednesday, we welcomed our new staff members to Saint Ambrose! We spent the day getting to know one another and sharing more about our school, our Catholic identity, the Saint Ambrose Way, and what makes our school community so special. It was a wonderful day of connection, learning, and preparing for the year ahead. Next week, we will gather together as a full staff and look forward to getting everything ready for a wonderful year filled with learning, growth, and opportunities to build on our faith.

Please Welcome Our New 6th Grade Math Teacher!
We are excited to welcome Matt O’Keefe to the Saint Ambrose community as our new 6th Grade Math Teacher! Matt brings more than ten years of experience in education, including roles as a paraprofessional, fifth-grade teacher, and most recently, a principal at Presentation School. After working in administration, Matt is excited to return to the classroom and reconnect with students through teaching and learning. He is passionate about building strong relationships with students, creating an engaging and structured classroom environment, and helping each student grow academically, socially, and emotionally. We are thrilled to have Matt joining our Saint Ambrose family and know he will be a wonderful addition to our staff and community. Please join us in giving Matt a warm Saint Ambrose welcome!

Save the Date: Thursday, August 27 is Back to School Day. Here is a sign-up genius for families to register for a visit between 3 and 6 pm. Meet your teacher, drop off school supplies, connect with Home & School Board members, look at spirit wear and socialize with families. Reminder, Lifetouch will be on campus to take student school pictures on this day. Be sure to head to fellowship hall for your student pictures. You will order photos on-line if you want to purchase them. If you are not able to come to Back to School Day, there is a retake day on October 27th during the school day.

Help Us Celebrate Our Teachers! Back-to-School Teacher Luncheon

As we kick off another exciting school year, we'd like to show our appreciation for our wonderful teachers and staff by hosting a Back-to-School Teacher Luncheon.

If you would like to bring a dish or donate to this meal please sign up here. Your generosity is a wonderful way to welcome and thank our teachers for all they do for our students.

SWARM SPORTS FALL REGISTRATION

Grades 5th-8th, Soccer/Volleyball/Cross Country

Registration Deadline: August 28th

Woodbury Days Parade:

We are excited to share that Saint Ambrose will be walking in the Woodbury Days Parade on August 30th! We would love to have you join us as we represent our school community and share our Saint Ambrose spirit with the community. If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please reach out to Melissa Schisler - mschisler@saintambroseschool.org. We hope to see many of you there!

Class List: Class lists will be sent out electronically on Tuesday, August 25th in advance of the Back to School event. In the meantime, Sycamore will not be accessible to families.

Spirit Wear: All spirit wear orders placed in July should arrive by Aug 27th. We have opened a special spirit wear site that will be open from now until August 28th - These orders will arrive mid to late September - https://saintambrose2026summer-2.itemorder.com/shop/sale/

Extended Day 2026-2027 School Year: If you are interested in the Extended Day Program and have not already signed up, please complete this form.

Volunteer Requirements

We look forward to welcoming volunteers to our campus this year. If you are new to Saint Ambrose and want to serve as a volunteer, please complete the Essential 3 Requirements outlined on the parish website. Volunteers are required to re-credential every 3 years. You will be alerted by the Archdiocese if you need to re-credential. Thank you for your compliance.

Food Service Update
This year we will participate in the free breakfast and lunch program. Breakfast will be served when children arrive at school. Menus for breakfast and lunch will be available at Back to School Day. Students in grades 3-8 will have "salad bar" as an option for lunch.

Mark Your Calendars: Parent Information Night is Wednesday, September 9th at 6:30. We hope to have 100% attendance from our families as we kick off a great school year. Need childcare? We will

have a sign up coming soon!

Busing Reminder: Please remember that we will not have bus service on September 1, 2, or 3rd. Bus services will begin on Tuesday, September 8th. More details on the arrival and dismissal plan will be forthcoming.

We ask for your patience and cooperation for the first 3 days of school as we re-learn the drop off and pickup process. Please follow these directions for non-bus school days -Sept 1, 2, 3rd. Our primary goal is student safety. All pick up will require parents to park and walk into the building to meet your child(ren) inside. Please read the information below:

Drop off - If you plan to regularly drive your child(ren) to school, you will keep your regular routine for morning drop off. Drop off on the north side (from Bailey road) or on the south side (from Woodbury Drive). We will guide you to a drop off line.

If your child(ren) will typically ride the bus, please drop off by car at the doors by the playground.

Pick-up-Everyone must park and come inside to collect your child(ren)

If your child does not regularly take the bus:

Pick up time is early- 3:30. You must park your car and enter the building.

Regular North Side families: pick up in the gym

Regular South Side families: pick up in the cafeteria

If your child(ren) do typically ride the bus:

Students will be dismissed from classrooms at 3:45.

WE WILL NOT HAVE BUS RIDERS TO THESE LOCATIONS EARLY

Please pick up based on last name:

Last names

A-N North Side- park your car, enter the building through door #3 and pick up in the gym

Last names

O-Z South Side-park your car, enter through the church doors and pick up in the cafeteria

Both north and south pick up will be park and walk in for your child.

We access funding from Title Grants from the state each year. Completing these forms allows us access to access funds. Please mark the "I do request...." choice for each of these three title grants.

Substitute Teachers

If you are interested in being a substitute teacher at Saint Ambrose or know someone that is, please contact Dianna Helmberger at dhelmberger@saintambroseschool.org or 651-768-3078.

Please view the following presentation for more details and information - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AWeJsxdO371fNvSmQ9Q2W9CHmPaCI0ZQl4SHMeyFkFY/edit?usp=sharing. We also have a wonderful training that we can send new people to that is through CSCOE.

Volunteer helpers to walk students.

We have several students that receive speech services through the district. These services take place virtually at our school. We have found that when we have consistent help walking students from classrooms to the speech station, everything runs very smoothly. This is a volunteer position and it could be one day or multiple days. For more details contact Beth Salmon at bsalmon@saintambroseschool.org. or 651-768-3087.

Lunchroom and Recess Help

If you are interested in helping with recess or lunchroom supervision please contact Shelby Miller in our school office. 651-768-3000.

Copy Help

Support our teachers by volunteering to make classroom copies! Parent copy volunteers help prepare materials, worksheets, and classroom resources, allowing teachers to spend more time focusing on instruction and students. This flexible volunteer opportunity can be done during the school day and is a wonderful way to make a meaningful impact behind the scenes while supporting the Saint Ambrose community.

Procedure for Bus Rider IDs

Video

FAQ

Sycamore will be accessible to families on August 25, 2026.

Sycamore Communication Portal/App - click below to go to Sycamore Website

https://app.sycamoreschool.com/index.php

Sycamore Help Guide

Sycamore Parent Checklist

Please login to Sycamore to access the school calendar, lunch menu, and schedules/grades (JH only)