From the Desk of Sr. Judith

	Bicentennial Mass
	Barnes & Noble gift Wrapping
	Barnes & Noble Bookfair
	Winter Wonder Land

November 15, 2007

• Next Monday, November 19^th there is 11:15 Dismissal with Parent/Teacher Conferences from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m.
   

• On Tuesday, November 20, 2007 our Middle School Students do not have class.  These students are to attend Parent/Teacher Conferences with their parents.   Students in Grades PreK – 5 have a full day of school with their Thanksgiving Feast.  There will be Extended Day Program on Tuesday, November 20^th.  
   

• There will be NO Choir practice next Tuesday, November 20^th, 2007.
   

• Next Wednesday, November 21^st there is NO SCHOOL!  I informed you of this change a few weeks ago & I hope you marked your calendar then.   There will be no packet next week. 

Report Card Comments:

• I stated the following in previous packets:  Tuition payments are to be made to SMART or to SHPS (if you have made special arrangements) by the 10^th of every month.  Although it is true that late charges are not assessed until the 20^th of the month, those 10 days are for SMART to process and record payments – not a time for you to send in payments.  Therefore, please understand that if you send your payment in after the 10^th, you may receive a Late Notice from SHPS on occasion.   Report Cards will not be given to families who do not have their tuition up-do-date as of November 17^th.   In addition Tuition Raffle Payments & Extended Day payments must be current.  Tuition Raffle was due yesterday.
   

• This First Quarter, Report Card grades will not be given in Physical Education and Music.  Mr. D. did was not on staff for the entire quarter and the music classes are very large and we want to give Miss M. time to get to know the students as individuals before grading them.

A Celebration - St. Nicholas Day
December 6^th, St. Nicholas Day, has been a wonderful, exciting feast for children throughout Europe for hundreds of years.  Although today there are St. Nicholas celebrations all over the world, many countries have some traditions in common.  On December 5^th, St. Nicholas Eve, children everywhere leave a stocking or a shoe out for St. Nicholas to fill with treats & gifts.   This feast is based on the story of Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra 17 centuries ago.   He heard about a family who had 3 daughters but not much money.  In those days, when a woman got married she had to bring money – so these 3 daughters didn’t have the money to get married.  One night, under the cover of darkness, Nicholas went to the man’s house and tossed one bag of gold in the window enough for one daughter to marry.  Soon after, another bag of gold was tossed in the window.  Finally, he climbed on the roof and dropped the final bag of gold right down the chimney!   Here at Sacred Heart Private School we will celebrate St. Nicholas Day this year.

 On Wednesday, December 5^th each child is asked to bring a slipper or an extra shoe to school and leave it in their classroom.  St. Nicholas promised to come and visit and leave something in each shoe!  The children will find the treat on Thursday morning.   Please mark this event on your calendar so your child isn’t left out!

Congratulations ………to all of our students who earned a place on the Honor Roll for the first quarter of the year.  An honor roll for Grades 4-8 serves to motivate and acknowledge students who put forth exceptional effort in all subject areas.  The guidelines established by the Archdiocese of NY and SHPS are:

A “C” or lower in the Character Development portion of the Report Card eliminates honors.  A “D” or an “F” in any subject (including Specials) eliminates honors.  Five Tardies in a Marking Period also eliminates honors.

The official First Quarter Honor Roll for 2007 – 2008 will be published in the November 29^th packet.

A Reminder
As is stated in the Family Handbook:  Students are not permitted in the building after dismissal unless they are involved in after school meetings, practices or have the permission of a teacher.  Students are never to be in the building at any time without the knowledge of and supervision of an adult.  Ordinarily, students who have forgotten books or materials in their classroom may not retrieve them once their class is dismissed for the day.  This includes children in the Extended Day Program as well.  Parents/guardians may not come into the building to retrieve books or other forgotten items for their child (ren).   Believe me, the world won’t end if something is forgotten.  Also, teachers do a great job in helping students “pack up” at the end of the day – so nothing should be forgotten. 

A Word of Thanks
Thank you to all you brought in Operation Africa Boxes and donations of Food Items for the Santa Maria Food Pantry.   Your generous hearts will make some people very, very happy!  This was a great way to thank God for YOUR many blessings!

Classroom Highlights

 Last month, the 5th grade students voted realistic fiction as the genre for the month.    Last Friday, they participated in “Project Speed Read.” Project speed read received its name from the concept of speed dating.  The students were given 4 minutes to “sell” their book to their classmate. They set up different objects on the desk and placed the book on display to help explain their book. The classmate would listen to the presentation, and at the sound of the gong, would move on to the next classmate.  The students had a wonderful time, and gave superb performances!  Don’t forget to view our pictures on the website!   

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GRADES 7 & 8 SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSES?

Grade 7 just debated who had the most legitimate cause in exploring the New World and claiming the land for themselves from the viewpoints of the Portuguese and the Spanish – two groups presented these sides very well.  A third group represented the Native Americans and they did an excellent job in expressing their views towards the Spanish and Portuguese and what they did to their lands and people.  All did a great job, and it could tell each group did extensive research and knew their material well.

Students in Grade 8 know everything about the Civil War.  They just presented 1^st hand accounts as famous generals – they expressed who they were and their importance in the War.  They also did first hand accounts from the battlefields.  They had to report as journalists covering the War.

Pre-Kindergarten shines

Pre-K learns the letter “P”
Pre-K students learned the letter “P.”  Students participated in a party for Mrs. Beleno’s birthday.  Mrs. Pechin prepared cupcakes with pink and purple sprinkles.  Students created make-believe pumpkin pies made out of paper plates and decorated the top of the pie with pink cotton balls in the shape of a “P.”  A “Pre-K Pumpkin Pie” display was made in the shape of a circle with all the pies!

Pre-K Makes a Difference…………
Students in Pre-K enthusiastically participated in a classroom discussion regarding "Making a Difference in Our School."  We talked about different ways in which Pre-K helps in school.  Students then drew pictures of themselves helping at Sacred Heart Private School.  Some of the pictures included drawings of students: 
 

1) Helping other students choose Library books;
2) Helping to keep our lunch room clean by throwing trash in a trash can and not on the floors;
3) Helping other students to clean up and put away toys at the end of the day;
4) Helping others by being a good friend;
5) Helping others open their snacks and drinks; etc.