Admissions

Partnership of School and Family

St. Anthony Catholic Parish School works with the parents in the faith formation of their children and continues the value development begun in the home. The school, however, has a mission to be a Catholic school and to form students in the Catholic faith. All students must participate fully in Religion class and other faith-formation activities subject to the restrictions by the Church upon full participation in the Eucharist by non-Catholics.

Admission Priorities

The order of priority for acceptance to St. Anthony Catholic Parish School follows:

Continuing students in good standing at St. Anthony Catholic Parish School who meet registration deadlines (students who do not meet registration deadlines may lose their priority standing).
Siblings of Catholic families attending St. Anthony Catholic Parish School
Siblings of non-Catholic families attending St. Anthony Catholic Parish School
New Catholic Families
New non-Catholic families

Age for Admission

A child may be admitted to Transitional Kindergarten who is 4 years of age on or before September 1st of the current year; these children do not yet meet the age requirement or the social and/or academic requirements for the school's Kindergarten program.
A child may be admitted to Kindergarten who is 5 years of age on or before September 1st of the current year; applicants must be developmentally ready, which shall be determined through appropriate screening.
A child may be admitted into the first grade who is 6 years of age on or before September 1st of the current school year.

Documentation Requirements

At the time of initial registration, the school will require parent(s) to provide the school with records that establish and verify the student's age, gender at birth, and vaccination history, and whether the student is Catholic and has received his or her Sacraments. As part of the registration, therefore, each school shall require the parent(s) to provide copies of the student's birth certificate, health records including an up-to-date immunization record, and Baptismal certificate (and Reconciliation, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation certificates, if applicable).

Physical Examination

Every new student must have a physical examination report on file in the school office by the first day of attendance. The report must be dated within 18 months of entrance. Students may not attend class until this information is on file.

The school will require all children to submit proof of having received a health assessment during the 18 months prior to entrance into first grade. The principal may grant permission to extend this to 90 days after entrance.

Immunizations

Immunizations can be a complicated topic which may be explained more fully by the child's physician. Every child must show up-to-date proof of required immunizations by the submission of a current California School Immunization Record (this can be provided by the physician).

The California Health and Safety Code sections 120325-120380 set forth current California law on this topic; a summary follows:

Required immunizations for grades TK - 12 currently include the following: polio (OPV or IPV); diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTP, DTaP, or DT); measles, mumps, rubella (MMR or MMR-V); hepatitis B (HepB or HBV); and varicella (chickenpox, VAR, MMR-V, or VZV).
Students entering 7th grade are required to have Tdap (or DTP/DTaP given on or after the 7th birthday).
The California Dept. of Public Health may require vaccination for "any other disease deemed appropriate."
Public or private elementary schools are prohibited from admitting any child without documentation that the child has been immunized for the specified diseases, unless there is a documented medical exemption, based on attestation from the child's licensed physician that immunization is not safe, due to medical circumstance, such as family medical history.
Regarding former exemptions for personal reasons, any student who, prior to January 1, 2016, had submitted a letter/affidavit of exemption on grounds of personal belief will be allowed to continue enrollment or be enrolled, without proof of immunization, but only until the child reaches the next "grade span." The statute specifies three grade spans: (1) birth to preschool; (2) kindergarten (including transitional kindergarten) through 6th grade; and (3) Jth through 12th grade.
The school will be permitted to temporarily exclude a student who has not been immunized, if there is good cause to believe the child has been exposed to one of the itemized diseases, until the county or city health department is satisfied that the child is no longer at risk of developing or transmitting the disease.

Questions regarding immunizations should be directed to the principal. The following website provides thorough information: www.shotsforschool.org

Application Process

New student applications are accepted online on the school website beginning in January and require a $160.00 non-refundable application/registration fee. Applications are considered incomplete until the application fee and all required documentation (see DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS above) have been received. Applications remain on the waiting list throughout the school year for which the application is completed. Parents will be notified by mail regarding acceptance or non-acceptance.

Application Interviews, Testing, or Screening

There is a Kindergarten Screening that costs $25. For the other grades, we interview the students and parents, then they will take the STAR test once school begins.