February 13, 2012

Dear Parent,

The Early childhood students celebrated the 100^th day of school this past week. They were very excited to celebrate by counting a 100 items of a wide variety of things. They wore crowns and masks which they created and had parties to mark this momentous day.

On February 23^rd we will be having Optional Parent teacher conferences. If you would like to speak to your child’s teacher, please schedule an appointment directly with the teacher by February 21^st. If the teacher would like to meet with you, he or she will contact you by February 16^th. The time set aside for these conferences is Noon-5:00 on the 23^rd. We will dismiss at 11:30 on that day and there will be no EDP.

We continue to emphasize our pledge “EVERYONE deserves the right to SHINE, don’t be mean, be really KIND”. We are teaching the children to recognize each other’s gifts and talents. God calls us to respect each other and above all to be kind to one another. This is an important message for all of us to share.

Every morning we begin our day by saying the Pledge of Allegiance together, praying together, learning a word for the day and saying our student pledge. The student pledge is, “We the students of St. Josaphat School, see our school as a place where we love to learn. We work hard with our teachers, classmates and on our own to achieve academically. At our school we are responsible for our selves and one another. We show good character. We make good decisions, and we are responsible for our decisions”. Please talk with your child about this pledge and reinforce these tenets.

I am sure that everyone has heard the statement, “Timing is everything.” Well, in our chute this is particularly true. We are still having some difficulty, which sometimes is affecting the timing of the chute. One issue that can be taken care of very easily is that parents need to stay in their cars. The teacher or teacher aide will bring the students to your cars. While it may seem minor when parents get out of their cars, it slows the chute down considerably. The teachers are working on their timing as well and making every effort to get their classes outside at their designated time. Teachers are putting the younger students into the cars as fast as they can and we ask that the older students get in the car and buckled quickly. We appreciate your cooperation and patience in the chute!

With the scare that we had last week with an intruder in the building we are increasing our security efforts. The staff is being vigilant to make sure doors are locked and all visitors including parents are wearing nametags. Parents keep in mind that not all staff members may know who you are so we very much appreciate that you sign in and wear the nametag in a visible place.

We are installing additional cameras around the outside of the school to serve as a deterrent to criminal activity. We would ask that students and parents help us keep the school secure. One important way to do that is to never use a cone to prop open a door. On numerous occasions there have been cones in the Southport door. This is inviting strangers to enter our building. If you are involved in any event in the gym, please use the doorbell, which is just to the right of the stairs. Having all of us look out for the safety of our buildings and everyone inside them is much more helpful than just having some of us. Thank you for your help in ensuring the safety of all.

Please note the school calendar indicates that we will get out of school on June 8^th. The archdiocese required us to include in our calendar three emergency days. If we do not take any emergency days the last day of school will be Tuesday, June 5^th. If we happen to have a snow day (winter has arrived) or any emergency day we will add those days on. For instance, if we have one emergency day the last day of school will be June 6^th.

LESS THAN 3 WEEKS UNTIL UNITY BALL!  Last Call for family/business ads and auction donations - our program book is being finalized this week so if you have something to include, we need to know about it by 2/17 (photos for ads can still be submitted until 2/24).  Can you donate a wine storage unit or a Kindle Fire for our auction?  Did you buy your tickets yet?  You won't want to miss international expressionist speed painter Elliott From of Artbeat Live!  Using both hands and multiple brushes, Elliott begins an explosive performance throwing paint and entertaining with his unique painting style choreographed to music.  Elliott just performed at the Superbowl and his work includes famous rock icons, public figures, celebrities and commissioned portraits - enjoy watching Elliott create a masterpiece for our live auction during dinner at Unity Ball!

Important Dates

Have a great week!

Miss Cannon