September 9, 2003

Congratulations to all on a great beginning to the school year. With three weeks of school under our belts, we can begin to judge how things are going. We are off to a great start, and there are already many good things under way. The students are doing a terrific job of focusing on our fundamental purpose–learning. The faculty has been very complimentary of the effort and capabilities of the student body. Several students are already working on material slightly above grade level. I have remarked to many that we seem to have gotten off to the smoothest start in recent memory. Of course, the smoothness of our opening days is due to the hard work and preparation of our staff and families. I encourage everyone to keep up the good work!

We have had the pleasure of many visits from family during the school day. Lunch is a particularly popular time to visit. The cafeteria staff is having some fun while providing tasty, wholesome lunches. If you want to join the children for lunch, please call ahead to make sure we have a meal for you. If you can’t make lunch, we are glad to have family members visit any time.

Have you noticed how good our cafeteria looks? While I can’t say often enough how much the PTO did to beautify the interior, everyone has been doing a great job of KEEPING it looking nice (by now it is common to start seeing some "grunge"). The students are keeping trash and mess off the floor and out of the halls, the staff is looking out for and reporting needed repairs, and the maintenance staff is clearing up things quickly. All of this helps provide an atmosphere that promotes learning. Thanks!

I enjoyed meeting everyone at Back to School Night on August 27^th. Back to School Night was a wonderful chance to get to know everyone new and renew old acquaintances. The PTO is off to a great start, and I hope everyone will participate. Our school is stronger when we have parents and families involved. I hope all our families will join us for our first PTO meeting and potluck dinner, on September 18^th. The program prepared by the PTO should be very interesting, and–as always–the potluck dinner should be delicious.

Please look for the "Eye Opener Breakfast" for your class. We start at 7:30 with donuts and coffee. It is a chance to simply meet and chat about what is going on. We have no formal agenda, so just stop by after dropping off your children. Of course, if the 7:30 time is inconvenient, then please feel free to stop by or call the office. An appointment will make sure we have time to chat uninterrupted, but you are always welcome.

See you around campus!

Arrival and Dismissal

The morning routines are smoothing out. But, we still have a few reminders. First, ALL vehicles dropping off children before 8:50 should enter the parking lot and go to the cafeteria door. No children should be dropped off along Burnett or Hoertz. Next, the parking lot is "one way" during drop off and pick up. Enter through the Burnett gate and exit to the alley. Next, all of the children know where to go and how to find classrooms by now. Younger children have a teacher or buddy to escort them to class in the morning and down to the door after dismissal. Drivers should park to drop off or pick up children only under unusual circumstances. If you MUST park, remember to park along the Hoertz street fence as close as possible to the corner with Burnett. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should anyone ever park in the driveway between the school and rectory–the driveway is heavily used and is the only entrance/exit to the back parking lot.

The preschoolers are very busy this week. We started on the letter "Bb". One of our learning centers for this week will be to give a baby a bubble bath. The children are very excited about this center. In math we are sorting baby booties and baby bottles. Every night work with your child on writing his/her name.

The kindergartners are working on the letter "Bb". We are building a classroom word wall with our sight words, "the" and "red".Practice these words nightly. We will be adding 2 new words this week. We are looking forward to collecting fall leaves and going to a farm in October. Check homework folders nightly.

The first graders are learning how to add two numbers together to get a bigger number. We can put two groups together to make a group of ten. In phonics, we have met all of the short vowels and we know what they say. Short "o" is an opera singer. Short "u" got caught in the rain and had to put his umbrella up. Short "I" got into some ivy and started to itch. Short "e" has an egg in his ear. Learning is fun!

Second Grade

Second graders joined fourth and fifth grade for a fun-filled day at Slugger Stadium on Monday. Our River Bats delighted us with a 7-4 victory. We returned home sunburned but ecstatic after a winning day from start to finish. In Science, we have finished amphibians, reptiles, and primates of the South American Rainforest, and desert biomes. We begin our Weather Unit with a study of clouds, storms, wind, and climates of the world. We wish you a glorious month of May!

The third grade has gotten off to a very good start this year. The students did a wonderful job at Mass last week. The reading and singing was excellent. We are reviewing addition and subtraction in math and had our first chapter test last week. There are many creative writers in this group and we will be honing their skills in grammar and punctuation. Reading and phonics are important skills, which we practice daily. In social studies we are studying communities. Many fun activities are planned for this unit. There is also a weekly newspaper for social studies. Look for it to come home and discuss it with your child. Thanks to all of the parents who came to Back to School Night. We enjoyed meeting you.

Even though we have so many new things to get used to, our school year has gotten off to a good start. Many days we wonder if we have the strength to walk up all those flights of stairs. Our teacher tells us that we do. Many days we wonder if we have the organizational skills to keep our desks organized so that we can find the books, papers, supplies, notebooks, and folders that we need. Our teacher tells us that we do. We sometimes wonder if we will ever get our schedule straight. Our teacher promises us that we will. So many things are new for us. We even change classes this year. We go to Mrs. Wallace's class for science and religion. That is a huge step for us, and we look forward to those classes everyday. We have been adding and subtracting, finding perimeters, learning the elements of fiction, playing "around the world", reading stories about unexpected winners, trying to color a picture just as Vincent Van Gogh did, learning about the four kinds of sentences, practing our spelling skills, and learning the continents and oceans of the world. That should give you a little idea of what we've been doing. We're also doing our best to make Mr. Cook feel welcome and appreciated. He loves being here at St. Rose, and he loves having us as his first class here. He thinks we're smart and we have lots and lots of personality. Yes, we're off to a good start!

The fifth graders are learning how to recognize the elements of fiction in a story. We will be writing personal narratives very soon. In religion we have been reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes to help in our discussion of PeaceBuilding. Our science class has taken us outside to study the clouds and learn more about the Globe program. Mr. Cook teaches fifth grade math and religion, so we are learning how to be organized each day as we switch classes. We are very happy to welcome all of our new students to St. Rose.

The seventh graders are working very hard trying to get used to changing classes and being prepared for their classes. We are reading "The House with a Clock in it's Walls"-ask them about the book. We are finishing our 1^st chapter in religion, The Psalms. The next middle school mass is September 26^th-Join us if you can!

The eighth grade has 19 students this year. We are certainly glad to have the new students from Community Catholic. We would like to welcome Kody Daub, Travis Hughes, Sean Miller, Allen Schagene and Michael Bernat to eighth grade. We are looking forward to a great year.

Please make sure you have turned in a copy of your child's current birth certificate, immunization, school physical (if applicable), and emergency card to the office. Also, please make sure you have notified the office if there is someone who is NOT supposed to pick up your child. According to Federal regulations, non-custodial parents have the right to receive information regarding their children and to see their children's records. We MUST have a court ordered document stating specific circumstances if you are divorced or separated. This is a very important issue and we are very dedicated to providing a safe and caring environment for your child.

Everyone should check this out. This page features math and science online lessons and activities. What a great way to use the net to help students!

This is another great math resource for teachers, parents, and students. There is a lot of fun here.

Why not visit the zoo right now? View different animal cams. Check out the Amazonia cam. There is always something moving in there.