Dear Parents,
We extend a special welcome to our M/W/F and Tu/Th preschool students and their parents as they began their school year this week. Our kindergarten and M-F preschool students began full days this week, so we’re pleased to have our entire student body in attendance.
This evening you are invited to join us at our Back-to-School Night. This year we invite both parents and students to attend together. In addition to children introducing their parents to their teachers and visiting their classrooms, children and parents will also be able to visit many stations set up in the gym to help parents and children learn about ways to have a successful school year. As students enter the gym, each family will receive a “Passport to Success”, and as they visit the different tables, they will receive a punch on their “passport”. (Parents and children must be together to have their passports punched.) At the end of the evening they should return their passports for a chance to win a Barnes and Noble gift certificate.
We hope you will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to meet the teachers, learn more about our character education program and our new Steps to Respect anti-bullying program, sample some of the new offerings for the Tuesday/Thursday hot lunches, and much more! Be sure and check out the new locations for our school library, the music room, one kindergarten class, and the M-F preschool class. We are off to a great start for this school year, and, as always, we value the support that you give us as parents. We hope to see you with your children this evening!
Just a reminder that during the week of September
14 – 18, the students in grades 2 – 8 will be completing standardized testing. Plenty of rest and a good breakfast should help the students feel their best for the tests. If you can avoid appointments on those days, especially in the morning, we would appreciate it. (Make-up testing will be completed the week of Sept. 21-25.)
Don’t forget that tomorrow is our first Spirit Day of the school year. (See the related article for more details.) We are not in attendance on Monday in observation of Labor Day. Enjoy the long weekend!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kathy Wear
Wrapping Paper Order Forms Due!
Don’t forget Parent/School Association’s largest fundraiser! Wrapping paper sales vouchers are due back to school by Tuesday, Sept. 15, with payment. Please remember that you need to place your order online before returning payment with the sales voucher. You should keep your copy of the order form to use for delivery time.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Tynan Madonia on the birth of her baby brother, Luca Jasper. He was born on August 13th. He weighed 9 lbs., 2 oz. and was 20 ½ inches long. Congratulations to their parents, Nick and Christine, too!
If you have baby news to share, please call the school office with the details, and we will be happy to share your good news with our families!
The fifth graders are sponsoring a sale of mums as their mission project to benefit the Holy Childhood
Association. The mums are always large and beautiful plants, so don’t miss your chance to purchase some for your home or as gifts. Order forms will be sent home next Tuesday, Sept. 8, and orders with payment are due by Friday, Sept. 11. The pick-up date is Friday, Sept. 18, from 3:10 to 6:00 p.m. at the art room door. Thanks for supporting the missions!
Mark your calendar! Our 40th Annual Auction will be held Saturday, Sept. 26, in the school gym. Check the flyer being sent home today for a preview of the evening.
Mr. Moore will be at our Back-to-School Night this evening to answer any questions you may have about the band program that the Springfield Catholic elementary schools join together in providing for our students. This year the band program will be open to students in grades 5 – 8. Tomorrow morning Mr. Moore will be at our school to demonstrate instruments for any interested students. (If your child participated in band last year, Mr. Moore would like their help in demonstrating instruments so please send your child’s instrument to school tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 4, if possible.) A flyer is being sent home today about the organizational meeting to be held next Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at St. Agnes School.
We continue to promote handwashing and the use of hand sanitizers at school, and we encourage you to do the same at home. Also, several pharmacies are advertising the availability of flu shots, which were suggested by the State Board of Education. We continue to monitor illnesses at school and ask that you please do not send a sick child, especially with a fever, to school. Not only do we want to protect the health of that child and his/her classmates, but we also want to make every effort not to unnecessarily expose family members or relatives who may be older or may have more serious medical issues. Again, thanks for help in keeping our students safe and healthy!
Gospel of Life Essay Contest
The Gospel of Life Committee of Blessed Sacrament Parish is sponsoring its annual essay contest this fall. The 2009 Marita Child Gospel of Life Essay Contest is open to students in grades 6-8. Essays are due by the end of the school day on Nov. 6, and more details about the contest are in a flyer that your children have received or will be receiving in religion class. Calvin Bell from the Gospel of Life Committee will be speaking to those classes next week, and the religion teachers will provide some guidance for the students in their writing, but your discussion and support at home will be helpful.
PSA will continue to sponsor Spirit Days. This year the monthly Spirit Day will be the first Friday of each month. For a $1 donation the students will be allowed to wear BSS shirts with jeans. PSA is in the process of offering new Spirit Day shirts for this year, so look for an order form to be sent home in the next weeks. (The t-shirts will feature the Bruin bear that was used on the hooded sweatshirts sold by the 8th graders last year.)
For tomorrow’s Spirit Day, Friday, Sept. 4, students may wear any BSS or any sports team t-shirt/shirt/jersey. (If sleeveless jerseys are worn, please have your child wear a plain short-sleeve shirt under the jersey.) Pants are limited to jeans, capris, or uniform shorts. (No other types of shorts are acceptable.) Another option for the $1 donation is to wear the uniform polo shirt untucked along with uniform shorts, capris, or jeans. All other non-uniform guidelines apply.
For any parents or students (12 years and older), the Fall 2009 School of Art at the Art Association is about to begin! Registration closes Sept. 23, and classes being Sept. 28. Information is available outside the school office.
Flyers are available outside the office that include a registration form for the SHG Jr. Cheer Camp to be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at SHG East Campus. The fee is $25, and payment and registration must be returned by Sept. 19 to guarantee your child receives a t-shirt on camp day.
Flyers are also available outside the office for the SHG Jr. Poms Camp to be held on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the SHG West Campus. Fee is $25, and registration forms are due by Sept. 20.
You may have noticed that we have moved our faculty meetings to Thursdays this year. (Fridays will not be our usual dismissal day for faculty meetings this year.) We usually meet once a month, and we try to meet on the second Thursday of each month. Our first meeting is next Thursday, Sept. 10, so students will be dismissed at 1:30 p.m. that day. During the faculty meeting teachers will be receive curriculum training for the Steps to Respect anti-bullying program that we are implementing this year.
Flyers are being sent home today with girls in kindergarten through fifth grade if they are interested in joining Girl Scouts this year. Please return the flyer to school by Sept. 18 if you are interested in the scouting program this year.
Looking Ahead
Thursday, Sept. 3 –
Parent Back-to-School Night for parents and students at 7:00 p.m. in the gym
Friday, Sept. 4 –
PSA Spirit Day - $1 donation (see related article)
2:00 p.m. – First Friday adoration for grades 2 - 8
Monday, Sept. 7 –
No school in observance of Labor Day
Tuesday, Sept. 8 –
8:20 a.m. all-school Mass – Feast of the Birth of Mary
Organizational band meeting for parents and students at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Agnes cafeteria
Wednesday, Sept. 9 –
PSA Board meeting at 4:30 p.m. in the rectory basement
Thursday, Sept. 10 –
1:30 p.m. dismissal for faculty meeting; B.A.S.E. provided
Friday, Sept. 11 –
Memorial observance for Sept. 11th at 8:15 a.m.
Monday, Sept. 14 – Friday, Sept. 18 –
Terra Nova/InView testing for grades 2 – 8
Tuesday, Sept. 15 –
PSA wrapping paper sales vouchers & payment due!
Monday, Sept. 21 – Friday, Sept. 25 –
Make-up dates for standardized testing
Before School Patrols for the Week of Sept. 8 - 11:
Reed Roesch Madeline Smith
Brendan Stannard Clare Stannard
Tyler Vogel
After School Patrols for the Week of Sept. 8 -11:
Alex Mandeville Tessie McDermott
Tim Oh Albert Perlman
Mass Servers for Sept. 5 & 6:
(only BSS students listed)
4:30 p.m. Saturday Charlie Delano
Mary Delano
7:00 a.m. Sunday Alex DeLeon
8:30 a.m. Sunday Erick Hernandez
Karla Hernandez
Kaysay Johnson
10:30 a.m. Sunday Sydney Compton
Eric Ketchum
Noah Kren
Daily Servers for Sept. 7 – 11:
8:00 a.m. M & W Sam Bonansinga &
& 8:20 a.m. Tu Jack Broeker
8:20 a.m. Th, & Reanna Ward &
8:00 a.m. Fri. Ryleigh Taylor
