Saint Mary School: What to Expect as a Parent

Thank you for your interest in Saint Mary School in Palmdale, California. At Saint Mary's, we understand the difficulty of selecting a school for your child, and we know you have lots of options. Choosing the right school for your child is important! We truly feel that a Catholic education is an investment in your child's academic, spiritual, social, and emotional development. We hope this page will help you better understand the expected commitments for families who choose to enroll their child at our school. Our staff is happy to meet with potential families to discuss any of these responsibilities and expectations. As a school, we are committed to providing the best possible education to our students, and we hope that you can see firsthand the difference a Catholic education makes in the lives of the students we serve.

Time Commitments

parents

Service Hours*

Service hours completed by parents/guardians help build community and help the school save money. For decades, research from around the world has shown that parents’ involvement in and engagement with their child’s education; including through parent-teacher conferences, parent-teacher organizations, school events, and at-home discussions about school, can lead to higher student achievement and better social-emotional outcomes. For these reasons, we value parental involvement at St. Mary School and have made it a requirement for all families. Parents can help during the school day, during events such as the Autumn Festival, 4th of July fireworks booth, or Book Fair, help teachers with special projects, and much more. Attending general PTO meetings also counts!

Requirements: 40 hours per year (approximately 4 hours a month). Parents must submit service hours completed via Gradelink. Any service hours not completed will be charged at the rate of $25.00 per service hour. Read the full policy here.

lunch

Cafeteria Hours*

It is a special treat to see such emotion when students pass by the lunch line to receive their food. Not only are they excited for a break and good food, but they also enjoy seeing which parents are helping during lunch (it could be theirs!). St. Mary School runs an in-house lunch program, and to help lower costs, parents are asked to complete cafeteria hours during the school year. Parents normally help with set-up, lunch distribution, and clean-up.

Requirements: 5 of the 40 hours per year must be served in the cafeteria. Parents must submit service hours completed via Gradelink. Any service hours not completed will be charged at the rate of $25.00 per service hour. Read the full policy here.

festival

Major Annual Fundraiser*

Each year, the school organizes a major annual fundraiser. This fundraiser allows us to gather as a community while helping raise funds for our school. This event is made possible by our parent and staff volunteers. Parents volunteer during set-up, clean-up, or throughout the day. Parents must also make a $50 donation, or its equivalent in items. In the past, we have held an autumn festival, a wine and beer festival, and a World's Finest chocolate sale.

Requirements: 5 of the 40 hours per year must be completed during the annual fundraiser. Parents must also make a $50 donation, or its equivalent in donated items. Parents must submit completed service hours via Gradelink. Any service hours not completed will be charged at the rate of $25.00 per service hour. Read the full policy here.

*Please note that parents/volunteers must be fingerprinted and must attend a VIRTUS training (protecting God's children) in order to complete service hours.

Financial Commitments

tuition