
Notes from Orientation		Student of the Month		Welcome New Student		September Calendar

From the Desk of Sr. Judith ………………

September 13, 2007

Let the Light of Christ Shine Through You!

This is going to be a l-o-n-g newsletter but please take time to read it so you are not left out!

Who’s Who at SHPS:
Some of you may know that Mrs. Jeanette LaSalvia, our Kindergarten teacher for the last 13 years has been commuting to her “2^nd home” at SHPS from Wappingers Falls – an almost 2 hour commute. Last month she was offered a teaching position 4 minutes from her home. All of us who have experienced Mrs. LaSalvia’s care, concern, dedication and superb teaching are deeply grateful for her years of service here and will certainly miss her. However, I am most confident that our new Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ravinder Sandhu, will do an outstanding job in Kindergarten and continue the tradition of excellence.

Mrs. Sandhu has had two children who have experienced Mrs. LaSalvia’s program and she has also been a substitute teacher at SHPS. She certainly knows our school well.

Other new staff positions at SHPS:

Physical Education: Mr. Darryl Maye
Grade 3 – 8 Art: Mrs. Carol Frank
Grade PreK – 2 Art: Mrs. Sandra Ardon
Music: Ms. Jessie Moskovitz

School Forms:
We sent a number of school forms to you during the summer and asked that you fill them out and return them on Orientation Day. We had extra forms available on Orientation Day if you misplaced yours. Mrs. Ricciardi will be sending a reminder and another copy of the missing forms to those who have not returned them yet. It is essential that we have these forms on file. Therefore, if all of your forms are not returned completed by Monday, September 17^th, your child will not be admitted to class on Tuesday, September 18^th. Please don’t do this to your child – it only takes a moment to complete the forms. We all send heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all families who have sent the forms in!!!

Some Reminders As We Begin

Dismissal: Students in Grades PreK – 4 are dismissed at approximately 2:50 p.m. Students in Grades 5 – 8 leave at 3:00 p.m. Students in Grades PreK – 3 go through the Zerega Avenue gate. Students in Grades 4 – 8 are dismissed through the Parker Street gate. If your only pick-up is a student in Grades 4 –
8, we ask you to please go to the Parker Street gate to avoid the great congestion in the Zerega Avenue courtyard. If you have children in BOTH pick-up spots, your Gr. 4 – 8 children may meet you on Zerega Avenue. Thanks for helping out.
Whenever payments are due at school for anything, please be sure to send the payment in an envelope labeled with the following: the student’s name, student’s grade, what the money is for and the amount enclosed. This will help us in recording the payments properly to help avoid frustration on your end when we call and say we never received your payment. Also, would you please send in separate checks or cash in separate envelopes for each payment that is due? The payments go to different people in the school and it becomes a challenge for us and a frustration for you if multiple payments are made in the same envelope! This is especially true if this involves a Lunch payments!!. So, if you include in the envelope lunch payment, tuition raffle, field trip payment, etc. we may never receive anything in a timely manner. This helps you in the long run.
Please be sure that your child has a healthy, nourishing breakfast to start the day each morning. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and children have a difficult time functioning in school when they are not properly nourished – include some form of protein in the meal. Thanks for your attention to this matter

Volunteers Needed

We have some parents who have volunteered to help out in the office on Thursday morning by running off and collating the Thursday packet. If anyone else would like to assist we will try to schedule you in. Call to let Mrs. Ricciardi know your availability. Thank you!
We also need some volunteers to help serve the hot dog & pizza lunches. If you can’t do it every week, perhaps we can put together a schedule for the month. The days would be Tuesday and/or Friday. Thanks!

Lunch Time Pointers ……..

Please make your child’s Frank & Joe selections with your child! Choose something they will eat. We’ve had little ones saying this week, “I don’t like it!” and refusing to eat.
Student Council will still be sponsoring Pizza and Hot Dog lunches each month. You will know these dates before you order from Frank & Joe. It is extremely important that you do not send payment for both in the same envelope – your child will not get one or the other since orders and payment go to separate places. I suggest you make a copy of your Frank & Joe order and place it on your refrigerator so you can tell you child what to expect for lunch each day.
There is a reason why we need to stick to deadlines when payments are due (especially for Hot Dog, Pizza.) Many of these activities are directed by our teachers. Our teachers need to do the counting of money, recording of payments, ordering of items & banking of money during their Prep Periods which are often at the beginning of the day. We don’t have extra clerical staff to do this. Once this task is done, they do not have the opportunity to go back and re-do this work if additional payments come in; it’s not that we are not flexible – it’s just that we need to work within the time parameters we have. So please, stick to the deadlines given. Thank you.
Nacho Day is Thursday this year. Please put the payment in an envelope and place the envelope in your child’s lunch box so that they have it with them in the APH. Prices are:

$1.25 for plain chips;
$1.50 for chips with cheese;
$1.50 for chips with salsa;
$1.75 for chips with both cheese & salsa

Unfortunately, we cannot accept I.O.U.’s and children will not be able to return to the classroom for forgotten money. If Nachos are to be the only lunch your child will have, please be sure you have the correct amount.

Extended Day: If your youngster does not regularly stay in our Extended Day Program after school and there comes a time when you need this service, you are asked to send a note in the morning to your child’s homeroom teacher so that she knows to send your child to the program. This helps provide a sense of security for your child.

Dress Code Reminder #1:

Girls’ Optional Summer Uniform

White Ankle Socks (these ankle socks must come at least 2 inches above the top of the shoe at the heel.)

Grooming

Girls: no large bows, barrettes; hair bands must be a one-inch solid color or the same material as the uniform.
Girls: earrings are to be post style only – no hoops or dangling items.

Backpacks

Solid color or two-tone. No cartoon characters or logos permitted.

Included in this Packet:

Yearly Calendar Planner – an overview of the school year (may change during the course of the year – always refer to the monthly calendar.) SHPS Yearly Calendar
September Calendar – the most up-to-date info Monthly Calendar
Orientation Reminders – it was a lot to remember!
STUCO Bake Sale forms
Tuition Raffle
Library Aide permission form
Spanish Club form