Wednesday, April 24, 2013

STM Newsletter for April 24, 2013


Dear Parents:

This past Saturday, the 2nd grade class was part of a beautiful ceremony marking their First Holy Communion. A big thank you to their teacher, Claudia Heikel for preparing such a prayerful and respectful ceremony. All 2nd grade students will get to wear their beautiful first communion outfits again when we celebrate the May crowning at the 10:00am Mass on Sunday, May 5th.

When children receive confirmation, the third sacrament of initiation, they are showing that they areresponsible, prepared individuals who are ready to become full-fledged members of the Catholic faith. They renew the vows their sponsors made for them when they were baptized. The bishop anoints the confirmandi with chrism accompanied by the words "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit". This reaffirms the graces of the Holy Spirit conferred on the child at baptism. We offer our congratulations to the following candidates who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation Friday evening at 5:00pm: Natasha Alvarado, Lorenzo Bello, Mark Bickle, Nicole Binza, Nathan Candler, Carlos Colom, Andre Corrales, Peter Cuddihy, Collin Cuff, Anthony D’Aura, Jerrimay De Leon, Melina Diaz, Ricardo Duarte, Matthew Embry, Joshua Esteron, Christian Gabon, Riley Mihelich, Chloe Novillos, Gian Karla Ocampo, Janelle Paredes, Tianna Ramos, Nicole Rubino, Brandon Santos, Kaiulani Schelstrate, Chloe Sullivan, Krystelle Chloe Sunga, Sean Taylor, Andrew Triunfo, Ricardo Vila. Giselle Bacigalupi, Gina Iampietro, Agnes Li, Evan Prasadi, and Austin Segarra will be receiving a special blessing.

Congratulations also to students from the RCIC program and the Brazillian community of STM church will be joining our school candidates for a total of 47 Confirmation candidates.

Thank you to all who attended the parent mandatory meeting last Thursday night. Congratulations to the Custodio Family, the winners of the brick raffle. It was a very productive evening and we have received a lot of positive feedback about the four topics we covered. The Powerpoint presentations are available on our website if you wish to review them once more.

STEM: Beginning in the fall, we will be offering elective courses to our middle school students (Grades 6-8).  These elective classes will enhance STM's academic program by focusing on the STEM program (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). To learn more about STEM at STM, click here.
At this time, we are asking all parents (PK-8) to please take a few minutes to complete a STEM electives survey. Your feedback is valuable to us and will help our middle school teachers narrow down the courses that will be offered at STM. Please click here to complete the short survey. Students in 5th through 7th grade will also have the opportunity to take a survey to show their interest.

YOLO, A 6th grade opera: This coming Monday, April 29th, at 1:15pm in Carroll Hall, 6th grade are ready to present the opera they have written – YOLO. Please consider joining us for this wonderful musical extravaganza on which the students have worked so hard.

Parent Agreement and Participation Requirements: Please remember that the deadline for returning the “lavender” Parent Agreement-Parent Participation forms is this Friday, April 26th. By returning that form, we will know how you plan to pay your tuition and that you acknowledge your Parent Participation Requirements for the coming year. As a reminder, tuition payments may be mailed or given to your child to deliver to the school office via their Wednesday Envelope. Also, please consider mailing all tuition payments during the summer months as our office hours vary and we can’t guarantee that the office will be open during regular business hours.

Hoop-a-thon: Thank you for your support at the hoop-a-thon for the 4th through 8th graders last weekThis Friday, April 26th the kindergarten through third graders will have their turn. We will begin the hoop-a-thon at 12:45pm sharp. We’d love to see you there to cheer on your children!

From the Parents’ Club: Family Bingo ‘Cinco de Mayo’ Night is set for Saturday, May 4th. Reservation forms were sent home in your envelope last week. We hope to see you there. The Father-Daughter Dance is scheduled for Saturday, May 11th. This is always a well-attended event for dad’s and their daughters. Reservations are still being accepted. Check out the flyer you are receiving today.

Dance Festival: Save the date! This year, our Dance Festival will be held on Thursday night, May 23rd. This is the most popular event of the year and is always very well attended. All students, preschool through 8th grade, will have a part in this performance.

Asian Week Raffle: The Asian Heritage Street Celebration School Raffle Program is a community based project which provides a no-risk fundraiser opportunity for schools, enhances our children’s learning and extracurricular activities, and familiarizes students at an early age with the concepts of giving and raising funds for community purposes. Raffle tickets are only $3 each with $2 from every ticket being donated directly back to STM. Last year we made $256 from this raffle! Let’s double, or triple that this year! Fill in the raffle tickets you are receiving today and send in your money and the tickets to the STM school office in an envelope marked Asian Week Raffle by Wednesday, May 8thPlease let us know if you would like more tickets and they will be sent home with your oldest child. Good Luck!

PM Extended Care: Please note that beginning Monday, May 20th, parents who use the after schoolExtended Care program will need to either pre-pay or pay-by-the-day. Prepayments may be made in the office or when you pick up your child from extended care. The cost is $4.00 per hour or fraction-thereof. Any unused balance from a pre-payment will be applied to next years’ billing.

And finally, just a small word of caution: one of our maintenance personnel recently spotted a small snake in the bushes by the front of the school. For the safety of your children, we ask that they do not play or linger by these areas. In order to give our flowers and plants an opportunity to grow and thrive, children are not permitted to play in the planted area at any time. We are also aware that we have some raccoons who are calling the wooded areas around STM home. We remind you that these are wild animals and children should let an adult know immediately if they see one.

Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

STM Newsletter for April 17, 2013


Dear Parents,

The First Communicants and their families invite you to join them this Saturday, April 20th at 10:00am for their very special First Communion liturgy in the Church. Congratulations to the following First Communicants: Christian Grace Aguinaldo, Isabella Alarcon, Abram Ali, Bradley Campos, Jacob David, Jadine DelosSantos, Eric Duarte, Michaela Echon, Gabriela Freedland, Malachi Gastrock, Joshua Go, Gabriel Lozano, Reana Macatangay, Mia-Gabrielle Madamba, Kiely Madrid, Lindsey Magno, Louie Mogannam, Dominic Orlando, Nathan Quesada, Ava Riego, Dominic Rojo-Cagadoc, Isabel Sanchez, Alexandra Santos, Matt Santos, Noah Singayan, Malia Sladewski, Ethan-Michael Taylor, Salma van Mechelen and Gabriel Wico. Franco Moran will receive a blessing. Please keep them in your prayers as they grow in faith.

Mandatory Parent Meeting: We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow night at 6:30pm for a mandatory parent meeting for all families of Kindergarten through 7th grade. Students will not be allowed to attend this meeting. Babysitting is only available to those who have already signed up. Please do not send your children to babysitting as we only have enough staff for those previously registered. At this meeting we will cover the new Common Core Math and the STEM initiative for the 2013-2014 school year. As an added bonus all attending parents will be entered into a raffle for a free small brick in our buy-a-brick fundraiser. Check in with your child’s teacher to get your raffle ticket!

Financial Policies: Grades kindergarten through seventh are receiving the Financial Policies for the 2013-2014 school year today. Tuition has increased approximately 7.5% but most other fees have remained the same. This raise in tuition is necessary to cover the 2.5% salary increase for all faculty and staff members, the 9-12% projected increase in the cost of employee benefits for the coming school year, as well as the increased cost of textbooks, school supplies and activities. Those of you who pay by credit card will also notice a convenience/transaction fee which will help us cover the fees (approximately $19,000 a year) charged by our bank for this service. If you have any questions please contact the school office.

Parent Agreement and Participation Requirements: Returning kindergarten through seventh graders are receiving the Parent Agreement/Parent Participation Requirements today. Please read them over and then complete both sides of the “lavender” form and return it to us by the deadline, next Friday, April 26th. By returning that form, we will know how you plan to pay your tuition and that you acknowledge and understand the Parent Participation Requirements for the coming school year. Please keep in mind that if you are choosing to make monthly payments they will begin May 1st. 

Final numbers are in from this year’s Cioppino! Over $30,000 was raised. A big thank you again to all who worked so tirelessly to make this event such a success. Thank you also to Sue Sullivan, who once again coordinated the See’s Candies fundraiser. The almost $900 raised from the See’s Candies sale was the most successful to date.

Family Bingo ‘Cinco de Mayo’ Night is set for Saturday, May 4th. Reservation forms are included in your envelope today. We hope to see you there.
Father-Daughter Dance: This fun and special event for dad’s and their daughters has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 11th. This is always a well-attended event. Reservations are still being accepted. Check out the flyer on our website if you are interested.

Hoop-a-thon: The Athletic Board will conduct their annual Hoop-a-thon for 4th through 8th graders this Friday, April 19th and for the kindergarten through third graders on the following Friday, April 26th. Sign-ups are still being accepted. Encourage your child to participate in this fun event! We’d love to see you there to cheer on your children!

From the Athletic Board: Thank you to the parents who have completed the online application to show their interest in becoming a part of the Athletic Board. If you did not have the chance to complete the application, but are still interested, please contact Theresa Halloran, our Gym Director directly at thalloran@stmsf.org.

Extended Care: Don't forget that next Monday, April 22nd is a minimum day with a 12:15 dismissal for K-3 and a 12:30 dismissal for 4-8. Afternoon Extended Care is having a special lunch with Mr. K grilling hot dogs and hamburgers on the barbecue. A hot dog lunch is $4 and a hamburger lunch is $5. Lunches included chips and a drink. Students not attending extended care are also welcome to purchase a hot lunch to go at dismissal time.

Free Chairs: We have 100 dark brown wooden chairs with a cushioned seat to give away. They were donated to us from the San Francisco Golf Club, but since they do not stack, we are having difficulty in storing them. Please drop by the school to check them out if you are interested.

Again, we remind you to be considerate when parking your car for school or church events. Last year, during First Communion Mass two cars were towed. One was blocking the entrance to the golf club and another blocked the entrance/exit to the freeway. The situation could prove to be very serious if emergency vehicles can’t get through. With this Saturday being First Communion we anticipate that parking will be limited. The schoolyard will be available for parking. Please follow the directions of those helping with the parking process. We appreciate your cooperation as we consider the safety of all.

Sincerely,

Marie Fitzpatrick                                            
Principal

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

STM Newsletter for April 10, 2013

Dear Parents,

The three sacraments of initiation in the Catholic Church are Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation. Each sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace. When we receive them, each provides us with graces—with the life of God in our soul.
The sacrament of Baptism, the first of the sacraments of initiation, welcomes us into the Catholic Church. This sacrament is usually given to infants. The sacramental grace of Baptism helps us to live as children of God and makes it easier for us to believe in God and act accordingly. Baptism takes away original sin and prepares us to participate fully in the life of the church.

First Holy Communion, the second sacrament of initiation, is usually received at about age seven or eight, about the time when the children are in second grade. Because receiving the Eucharist for the first time is such a special sacrament, assisting your child in preparing to receive First Holy Communion, both by instruction and example, is important. By attending Mass frequently, participating in reconciliation on a regular basis and abiding by Catholic values, we can show children how their relationship with God can become stronger. Eucharist is a celebration of what Jesus did at the Last Supper. The word Eucharist means “to give thanks”. When we celebrate this sacrament, we thank God for His many gifts and blessings. Our second graders will receive their First Holy Communion on Saturday, April 20th at 10:00am in the church. All are welcome to join us. Please keep the second graders in your prayers as they prepare for this special day.

When children receive Confirmation, the third sacrament of initiation, they are showing that they are responsible, prepared individuals who are ready to become full-fledged members of the Catholic faith. They renew the vows their sponsors made for them when they were Baptized. The bishop anoints the confirmandi with chrism accompanied by the words "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit". This reaffirms the graces of the Holy Spirit conferred on the child at baptism. Again this year, Bishop McElroy will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with our seventh grade students on Friday, April 26th at 5:00pm. To prepare for this important time in their lives, the seventh grade students will attend an all day Confirmation retreat this coming Friday. Please keep them in your prayers. A mandatory Confirmation rehearsal for all seventh grade students and their sponsors will be on Tuesday, April 23rd at 6:30pm in STM Church. 

Please consider joining us for our next Family Mass, this Sunday, April 14th at 10:00am. The 3rd and 5th graders are taking the lead in preparing this mass, which will carry a spring theme. We hope to see you all there.

Earth Day Prayer service: We would like to invite everyone to join us for a prayer service presented by the Kindergarteners and 6th graders on Monday, April 15th, at 1:10pm in the gym. See you there!

Now that Lent is over, we are asking that the individual collection boxes to benefit the Missionary Childhood Association be returned to school. Please send in those donations by this Friday, April 12th. As a reminder, this year, the MCA is raising funds for children’s needs in Zambia, Bangladesh, India and Sudan. Thank you to everyone who has made a special effort to show their love for others, to THINK like Jesus, and to continue to make a difference in the world by donating to this organization that directly impacts the lives of children in many parts of the world.

Tomorrow evening, in Carroll Hall at 7:00pm, the Parents’ Club will have their first-Thursday-of-the-month meeting. Come with your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. See you there!

Front Door: Some of you may have noticed a change to the school’s front door. Over the Easter break we had a buzzer system and intercom installed. For the safety and security of our students and staff, the front door will remain locked at all times. To enter the school building, all parents/guardians and visitors need to buzz through to the office. 

Peopleologie: For many years we have been lucky to have the folks from The Museum of Craft and Folk Art (MOCFA) visit with our students. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, they closed recently. Lucky for us, Linda Janklow, who used to work there has now gone out on her own and has formed an organization called Peopleologie.com. Peopleologie is a program promoting cultural literacy, celebrating community, and building connections to the world through history, humanities, anthropology, language arts, science, and hand making traditions. Linda is offering the same classes that she previously did as part of the museum and we are very happy to still be able to offer this experience to the students. Today the 4th and 5th graders enjoyed learning about Rice: Food and Folk Art. Over the next few weeks, all students will participate in different Peopleologie classes.

Sandwiches-for-the-needy: Thank you in advance to the kindergarten and 6th grade students who will take the lead in providing sandwiches for the needy this Friday, April 12th. We ask students in all grades to consider making at least one sandwich. Our next collection is scheduled for April 26th when our 1st and 4th graders take the lead. Please remember the following guidelines to help with the distribution of sandwiches - Individually wrap the sandwiches (ziplock sandwich bags) and label what is included. This helps people with allergies and dietary restrictions.

Mandatory Parent Meeting: We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, April 18th at 6:30pm for a mandatory parent meeting for all families of Kindergarten through 7th grade. Students will not be allowed to attend this meeting. We will offer free babysitting by reservation only for those unable to make other arrangements. Please click here to make a reservation. At this meeting we will cover the new Common Core Math and the STEM initiative for the 2013-2014 school year. As an added bonus all attending parents will be entered into a raffle for a free small brick in our buy-a-brick fundraiser.
Shoparoo: Unfortunately we were knocked out of the March Madness contest after the first round, which only earned us $50. However, Shoparoo has a new contest for April. This month 10 Shoparoo users are each going to be awarded a $100 gift card to help pay for groceries, as well as an additional $100 to be awarded to their cause. To be entered in the April Sweepstakes, submit 4 qualifying receipts between April 8th and April 30th. More details are available here.

Hoop-a-thon: The Athletic Board will conduct their Hoop-a-thon for 4th through 8th graders next Friday, April 19th and for the kindergarten through third graders on the following Friday, April 26th. Sign-up forms for your child to participate are being sent home today. Encourage your child to participate in this fun event! All participating students will receive free dress on Monday, April 29th. Funds raised will support our ever growing athletic programs.

Coaches Appreciation Dinner: This Friday night we are holding our Coaches Appreciation Dinner to honor more than seventy people who help coach our sport teams. Some have coached our teams for more than eight years. What a great way to get involved in your child’s school. Thanks to their dedication over this past year, our sports program continues to thrive. We thank them for giving countless hours to help with practices and games both on weekdays and the weekends.

Dance Festival!: Save the date! This year, our Dance Festival will be held on Thursday night, May 23rd. This is the most popular event of the year and is always very well attended. Our dance teacher, Sue Rissotto, has been working very hard all year long to ensure that each student has a role in this spectacular production. All students, Preschool through eighth grade, are expected to participate in this event.

May 24th: As a reminder, in celebration of Pope Francis, Friday, May 24th will be a holiday, making Memorial Day weekend a four-day weekend. Please continue to keep Pope Francis in your prayers.

At this time of the year, teachers of all classes will begin working on the Family Life portion of the Religious Education curriculum. Grades two through five will be using the Benziger Family Life series and older grades will use a video series: In God’s Image: A Catholic Vision of Human Sexuality. We strongly encourage you to use this time to talk with your child about your family’s individual views and expectations. Please contact your child's teacher directly if you have any questions about these programs.
 
Sincerely,  
Marie Fitzpatrick  
Principal