Week of Caring

Thank you to Student Council for a very Spirited week and to everyone for making Grandparent's Day a success.  Everyone certainly looked like they were having a great time and how awesome was Mass with everyone in our new church!

Monday begins our Week of Caring.  Be sure you have read Tidbits and know what is happening.  You should be encouraging your students to participate in the food and school supply drives happening this week.  The week ends with Marvelous Mustang and Jean Day.  Please be sure to go over the Jean Day rules with your students.  Sunday is our parish picnic.  I am asking that everyone try their best to come to the 11:30 a.m. Sunday Mass Oct. 1.  Bishop Parks will be there to help celebrate the church's 30th Anniversary.  Our Parish Picnic is right after that on the Parish property.  Bouncy Houses and Burgers for all!!  Remember to wear a St. Stephen t-shirt - school or parish.

October 7 we will start a new tradition.  Any student attending Mass on the second Sunday of the month (or the Saturday vigil Mass the day before) in their school uniform, will receive a holy card from the presiding priest.  It will be up to the child to get it directly from the priest after Mass.  If the child comes to school the next school day (in this case, Monday, Oct. 9) and shows their holy card to their teacher, they may have free dress that day.  One hour in uniform for a full day of free dress sounds like a good deal.  I will talk on the morning show and in the classrooms next week about this.  Also, there is no Mass the week of Oct. 2.

Have a great week!

Get your Spirit on!

Welcome to Spirit Week! ..... and hopefully the Book Fair.  We are expecting it to arrive on Tuesday and will have Donuts with Dad on Wednesday and Thursday if all goes according to plan.  Irma is the Hurricane that just keeps on giving.  During Spirit Week, everyone is welcome to join in with dressing up and showing their spirit.  I will not be participating in Wacky Wednesday as I am hosting a Hillsborough County Principal's meeting in the FLC that morning.  Somehow it just doesn't seem appropriate for me to show up in my PJs and fuzzy slippers.  Remember to check Tidbits to see what is happening this week.  I've been getting some of your plans for Grandparents' Day and it looks like it will be a good day for all.  Be sure to send you plans to me by tomorrow.  Grandparents will be able to sign out their grandchildren starting at 11:30 to take them to the Kona Ice Truck.  We will have a sign-out roster in your rooms.  This will only be necessary until 12 noon.  Be sure that the person taking the child has a "Grandparent" sticker on.  

Students should be back on track with turning in work this week and by Friday everyone should be up-to-date.  We are almost half-way through the Trimester and you should be contacting parents if a child has a D or F in your class.  Also contact them if ATL or Conduct is falling below a 3.  Do not let there be any surprises on the report card.  At our next faculty meeting we will go over RenWeb and where and how to put things there.  As in the past, parents should have access to major assignments, rubrics, due dates, test dates, etc. beyond the Student Planner.  The more information you can provide, the fewer emails you will get. 

Marvelous Mustang is next week.  Christine is in charge and you will need to be ready to get names to her this week.  Remember that this year we are focusing on students who are "Making It Happen!"  Also, once you have chosen a student, it is your responsibility (not the homeroom teacher) to invite parents to school that day for the Mustang Breakfast.  

Final reminder - no Mass on Wednesday.  Mass on Friday.  For everyone's sanity and safety, students will sit with their class and will return to their class with the teacher.  Grandparents can sit near by and walk back with you or drive over after Mass.  Grandparents will need to sign in at the front entrance or in the Breezeway.  Homeroom parents are responsible for arranging breakfast treats.  Like last year, I am asking that everyone park in the FLC parking lot on Wednesday to leave more room for Grandparents in the school parking lot.  Thank you!!  

Does anybody really know what code it is?

I was thinking what to say about the gate code and I recalled a song from 1969 by Chicago.  Replace code with the word time and you have the song.  Here is my advice for tomorrow since I really don't know.  Follow these steps:

1.  Enter the code you always used
2.  Try 5013 (if you have trouble remembering that code - it's 50 states and 13 colonies)
3.  Try 5050 (I discovered that the issue on Friday was that only the center column was working - the code had not been changed.)
4.  Go home....  Just kidding - enter by a different door.

Band classes begin on Thursday.  I will get a schedule to you as soon as I have one.  Have a great week!

Who knows what song this comes from.... Does anybody remember laughter?

Amazing Things are Happening

Only a few weeks into school and amazing things are happening.  Parents are giving of their time, talents, and treasures.  The pre-school playground has a new sandbox.  The makerspace is alive with robots thanks to a generous donation from a parent.  Our first field trip is this week with 5th grade going to visit Art of the Brick, art created with lego.  Julianne has planned some awesome service projects.  Most importantly, I see a caring faculty seeking only the best for all our students.

Here is what to expect this week:

Monday - Faculty Meeting in the Media Center.  Gina will talk about how to take advantage of the MakerSpace and I will be reviewing rubrics with the help of Heather.  Please bring with you a rubric you have used this year or one you may be planning to use (if you have one) to share.  We will review what good rubrics should look like and how to translate into grades.

Monday-Thursday - Student Council Bake Sale in the FLC during lunch.

Friday - half day with professional development.  We will break into two groups.  Math in Focus group (everyone from the last webinar with the exception of Sue and Maria).  PLC for aligning Lang. Art curriculum (to include Gina, Melissa, and Jamie S.).  Everyone else should see me for instructions.

Have an amazing week and a relaxing three-day weekend!!

Picture Day is Coming!

Picture Day is Tuesday.  Be sure to remind students to wear the red polo (or red dress) for grades K-5.  Grades 6-8 should wear the Navy Polo.  If they show up in red I'm not going to stress it - it's their yearbook.  When you bring them down for pictures, line the students up in alphabetical order.  A volunteer will come to get you when it's your class's time for pictures.  You will take your picture at that time too.  If you do not come with a class, be sure to find time before 11 to get yours done.  No one wears PE clothes until after they take pictures.  They can change after that. 

Other reminders for the week:

• Band forms are due on Thursday.  
• Movie night is Friday
• Jean day is Friday (see handbook for rules - everyone may wear the make it happen shirts) 

Solar Eclipse:  This weekend a parent of an 8th grader posted on Facebook that we were renting goggles for $2.00 for students to view the eclipse.  I checked around an no one seems to know what this is all about.  If anyone knows where this comes from, please see me.  If you are going out after 1:00 p.m. with students, be sure you have a signed paper from parents.  

Change in Mass procedures... Maybe

Fr. Dermot would like to change the way Grade PK3-2 receive a blessing at Communion.  He would like them to remain in their seats.  After everyone has received communion, he will ask all those students to stand and we will all reach out our hands to bless them.  After 2nd grade receives first communion, they will then join us.  If there is a student in grades 3-8 that does not receive communion, they should still come up with their class for a blessing.  I did ask that if we changed procedures, that we do the same thing regardless of what priest is saying Mass.  He has not finalized this change but I want you all to be prepared.  I will be sure to let teachers of PK4-2 know what we are doing.  

HAVE A VERY BLESSED WEEK!

And now the work begins

Now that we have had three days to get to know our students and review procedures, the real work begins.  This week we celebrate the Assumption of Mary.  Take time to remember Mary with your students knowing that she is the Mother of all and holds us in her embrace.

Charles will be a little late Monday morning and I will be behind closed and locked doors most of the day as I prepare your club and elective lists.  Not everyone signed up and it will be a process.  Thank you for understanding.

Here are some reminders for this week:

• Unit plans should be in Atlas by 8:00 a.m. Monday morning.  If you are new this year, do not panic.  It's a learning curve and you'll get there.
• Faculty Meeting in Krista's room at 3:30 Monday afternoon.  Expect to stay until 4:30.
• Mass Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.  
• PTCO General meeting in the FLC at 5:30 p.m.  Everyone should attend.  You will be excused at 6:10 if it is still going on so you can get over to your classrooms.  Back to School night starts at 6:30.  There are two sessions.  One at 6:30 and one at 7:20.  I will announce when it's time to switch.  This allows parents to visit two classrooms if they have more than one child.
• Clubs begin Wednesday and Electives begin on Thursday.  We will talk more about location and student lists at the faculty meeting.
• Band Demo at 8:30 on Friday in the FLC for grades 3-8.  After the presentation, they will visit grades 1 and 2 in their classrooms.  

Father in heaven, all creation rightly gives you praise, 

for all life and all holiness comes from you.

In the plan of your wisdom she who bore the Christ in her womb

was raised body and soul in glory to with him in heaven.

May we follow her example in reflecting your holiness

and join in her hymn of endless love and praise.

Open House Success!!

Today was a success!!  I could feel the energy as I walked through the halls and the classroom.  Students are ready - and parents are even more ready - for school to begin.  They are ready for us to Make It Happen!  I want to thank everyone for working so hard to make your classrooms look so inviting and welcoming.. especially Julie and Maria who I am convinced slept at school a few nights.



I was thinking about our theme and how many of the teachers use call and response to get students attention.  Things like Marco - Polo, Shark bait - Oooh ha ha, hocus pocus - time to focus.  This year I think the call/response should be ....  Make it - Happen!  Be alert, I may use it on all of you.

We have two more days of inservice.  Teachers need to attend the session that pertains to them.  See the list on the agenda.  Teachers should start each day at 8:00 a.m. in the media center with me for about an hour each day of continued policies and procedures discussion and then we will break up into groups. I am sure there is work for the assistants in the morning but feel free to leave after lunch.  I need an assistant to volunteer to change out all the posters in one of the classrooms from tape to magic mounts (See Karen B. in the office for the mounting tabs) and pull the tapes with numbers off desks, etc.  See me me if you are available.

Thank you to everyone who has played a part in the inservice trainings.  Get ready, cause Wednesday is almost here!

On another note....  Friday was interesting.  I've never been to a courthouse wedding.  But the bride and groom were filled with love and joy and spent the weekend in Clearwater.  Now back to the real world and everything that comes with growing up.