Friday, May 23, 2014

STM Newsletter for May 21, 2014

Newsletter for Wednesday, May 21, 2014


As the year draws to a close, we reflect back on the school year and our theme,‘Show a Little Kindness’. Students in all grades participated in many fundraisers and community awareness programs and learned more about how they can make a difference in the lives of others by showing a little kindness. Our students showed their charity throughout the year in many ways. They collected toiletries andproviding sandwiches for the needy for the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality. Together, as a school, we raised over $250 during Lent for the Holy Childhood Association and did many activities with and for our neighbors at Alma Via. As part of their Confirmation preparation, earlier this year, our 7th graders spent some of their service hours helping at the SF Food Bank and our 8th graders will help serve lunches at Glide Memorial on June 4th.
Students realized that while many people donate to the food bank and other centers that feed the needy, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas time, food supplies are often at their lowest during the summer months. With that in mind, and at the suggestion of our students, we would like to have one last collection for our local food bank. Tomorrow night we will kick off this collection and are asking everyone to bring a non-perishable item or canned food as cost of admission for the Dance Festival. We will have barrels to collect your donations and will continue the collection through June 6th. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity!

Calendar Items

Friday, May 23
6th grade class written Opera,9:30am, Carroll Hall
Friday, May 23
Free dress and free hot dog lunch prepared by 8th grade
Monday, May 26
Memorial Day Holiday
Tuesday, May 27
Student Council speeches and Elections, 9:00am, Carroll Hall
Wednesday, May 28
PE field day, students wear assigned colors
Wednesday, May 28
Year Book distributed
Friday, May 30
Sandwiches-for-the-needy - ALL GRADES provide a sandwich
Friday, May 30
Extended Care bill for May 1-16 due
Thank you to all who supported Churro Day. The Ecology Club is happy to announce that they raised $348 for the San Francisco SPCA from this sale.
Dance Festival: Tomorrow evening we will celebrate our own Dancing with the Stars. Your children will be the stars of our annual Dance Festival. The front doors of the school will open at 6:15pm to allow students to enter their classrooms. Students arriving early should line up on the sidewalk (NOT on the school front steps) and wait in an orderly manner until the school doors open at6:15pm. Students should arrive no later than 6:30pm. Parking will be available in the schoolyard beginning at 5:45pm. The doors of the gym will open at6:15pm. As you know, our dance program, under the direction of Sue Rissotto, is an enriching and enjoyable experience for all students. We look forward to seeing you all at this most popular event of the year.
Attention all Cross Country runners: Please note that the CYO Track & Field Meet for this year has been cancelled. In light of this unfortunate news, all practices for the remainder of this school year have been cancelled as well. Stay active this summer and be ready for a strong season next year. We look forward to seeing all runners in the fall of 2014!
Need Parent Hours?: We are in need of a volunteer to take all our bottles and cans to the recycling center. Please let the office know if you have a truck and are available.
Congratulations go out to 3rd grader, Eric Duarte. This past weekend, Eric was honored as one of the brightest young students in the nation at a regional awards ceremony for academically advanced children sponsored by The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY). The Center honored Eric, a participant in the CTY Talent Search, for his exceptional performance on a rigorous, above-grade-level test given to academically talented second-through-eighth-grade students.
As some of you know, Mrs. Kapovich, the 1st grade teacher, had a procedure a few weeks ago and had anticipated on returning to work next Tuesday. She has now been advised by her doctor to postpone her return. We wish Mrs. Kapovich all the best during her recovery and look forward to her return for the next school year.
Finally, we would like to announce that we have several changes in staff for the new school year. Kelly Stamatis, our current 5th grade teacher, is leaving us to take a position with IXL Learning, a comprehensive K-12 practice site. We also wish Kelly, and her fiancĂ© John, well as they prepare to be married in June. Also leaving us and moving closer to her family in Nashville, Tennessee is Jennifer Conley, our current 4th grade teacher. We wish both teachers well as they pursue new challenges in their careers and take advantage of new opportunities.

Some wonderful new additions to our staff include Gym Director, A.J. Tanedo (STM class of 2002) who begins work with us next week and Gym Assistant, Andrew Lobre (STM class of 2007) who joined our staff recently.

At this time, we would also like to congratulate our Assistant Preschool Director, Rachelle Frantz and her husband Matt, who are expecting their first child in September!
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal         

Thursday, May 15, 2014

STM Newsletter for May 14, 2014

Dear Parents,


As we continue through the Easter season, we look forward to the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost on June 8th. Pentecost is when we celebrate the birthday of the Church and the gift of the Holy Spirit – the sending of the Holy Spirit by our Lord Jesus Christ. Having been with his disciples for forty days after the resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Pentecost closes the Easter Season and from then until the beginning of the Advent Season we will celebrate the church season known as Ordinary Time. 
Opera Performance: Today the students enjoyed a production of H.M.S. Pinafore by the 7th grade and the San Francisco Opera Guild. 

Calendar Items

Friday, May 16
Sandwiches for the Needy led by K and 8.
Friday, May 16
Yearbook orders due
Friday, May 16 
Sports Award 1 pm
STM Gym
Monday, May 19
PM Extended Care
Pay by the day begins
Monday, May 19 
Prayer Service 1 pm led by Gr 6
STM Gym
Friday, May 23
Gr 6 Opera 9:30 a.m.
Carroll Hall
Dance Festival: Next Thursday, May 22nd, we will celebrate an evening of our own Dancing with the Stars. Your children will be the stars of our annual Dance Festival. The front doors of the school will open at 6:15 pm to allow students to enter their classrooms. Students arriving early should line up on the street (NOT on the school front steps) and wait in an orderly manner until the school doors open at 6:15. Students should arrive no later than 6:30pm. Parking will be available in the schoolyard beginning at 5:45pm. The doors of the gym will open at 6:15pm. As you know, our dance program, under the direction of Sue Rissotto, is an enriching and enjoyable experience for all students. We look forward to seeing you all at this most popular event of the year.
Parents' Club: Consider volunteering your time by becoming a part of the STM Parents' Club. We are still looking to fill a few positions of this dynamic club for the 2014-2015 school year. If you are interested, please let the school office know.
Emergency Messaging System: We will be implementing a new emergency messaging system, Remind 101, beginning this summer. STM will be using this service to inform you of traffic alerts and school emergencies.  Our regular school news and non-emergency items will still be sent to you as usual via email.

Sign up by clicking here and selecting the links for your child/ren’s current grade level(s). If you have more than one child at STM, please sign up for ALL of your children's classes, as there may be occasions where we may send messages to individual classes.

Sign up will only take a minute! Don't have text messaging service on your phone? Sign up with just your email address.

Remember keep your STM contact information up-to-date. 
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

STM Newsletter for May 7, 2014

Dear Parents,

Last Friday evening, Bishop Justice administered the sacrament of confirmation to our seventh grade students. We congratulate them on their further initiation into the Catholic Church. May the gifts of the Holy Spirit continue to work in their lives. Thank you to seventh grade teacher, John Kavanagh for preparing such a prayerful and meaningful ceremony. A special thank you also to the sixth grade families for their help setting and cleaning up at the confirmation reception.

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. A special thank you also to the first grade families for helping with the First Communion reception.

Thank you also to our fabulous student choir at both events, led by Shelley White.

It is a little less noisy in the homes of fifth and sixth graders as well as here at school. The fifth and sixth graders’ are away on their Outdoor Education Program. They will be back on Friday, near dismissal time, tired, dirty but full of stories of the fun and education they experienced.

Progress Reports: Progress Reports are going home today. All students, fourth grade and up, are receiving such a report. These progress reports show a snapshot of the student’s current academic standing with optional comments from their teachers. The grading scale is available here. As a system default, art, PE, music and tech will show P/100% for students who fully participate. Students in the lower grades with behavior and/or academic concerns have already been contacted by their child’s teacher. Please sign and return the progress report by Wednesday, May 14th, so that we know you have received the notice. If you wish to keep a copy of the report, you may make a copy of it before you return it or contact your child’s teacher directly.

Scrip Requirement: Funds from our Scrip requirement are used to directly fund our PE and Dance programs. We budget this income to cover most of the costs of these valuable programs. We are grateful to all of the families who have completed this requirement for the 2013-2014 school year. As of May 1st, any scrip purchases will be credited to the next school year, 2014-2015. All families are being notified today as to whether or not they have fulfilled this requirement. All balances will need to be in order by the end of this month.

Churro Sale: Help support the Ecology Club’s fundraiser by buying a churro! Order forms are in your envelope today. All proceeds will be donated to the SFPCA.

Coaches Appreciation Dinner: This Friday night we are holding our Coaches Appreciation Dinner to honor the 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.

2014-2015 Student Council: Interested 5th, 6th and 7th grade students will have a meeting in the library on Monday, May 12th from 12:20-1:00pm for a Student Council informational meeting. Please encourage your child to come and find out how they can become more involved in their school.

SF Opera and 7th grade: Next Wednesday at 10:45am, our 7th graders will join with the San Francisco Opera Guild to present H.M.S. Pinafore. Please consider joining us for this fun production in Carroll Hall.

Extended Care: Beginning Monday, May 19th, parents who use the after school Extended 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.

Dance Festival: The date is drawing near for our annual Dance Festival. It will be held on Thursday evening, May 22nd. As you know many of our dances are partner dances and Mrs. Rissotto spends a lot of effort preparing the children for this. If your child is unable to attend, please let the office know immediately in writing. It is very upsetting if on the night of the festival a child is not able to perform a dance because his or her partner does not show up. If we do not hear from you, we expect your child will be participating. Mrs. Rissotto has also included a list of suggested clothing for the night in today’s envelope.

Finally, thank you to all the students, staff and parents who made Principal Appreciation Day so special last week. I loved all the cards and well-wishes and feel privileged to be a part of such a caring community.

Sincerely,

Marie Fitzpatrick                               
Principal