Dear Parents:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. strived to teach valuable lessons of
equality, compassion, and understanding to people everywhere. King is perhaps
best remembered for delivering his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a quarter
of a million people in the Mall in Washington, DC. His famous line, "I
have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character," still resonates today. Dr. King continually encouraged
everyone to make a difference. Let us all continue to THINK like Jesus as we become
more active, concerned citizens who care for others and become involved in acts
of charity and work towards a more just society for all. We can enjoy a three-day weekend this
weekend thanks to the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday.
A compulsory meeting for parents of all students who are receiving
First
Reconciliation this year will be held in the 2nd grade
classroom tomorrow night, January 17th beginning at 6:30pm. At least one parent from each
family is required to attend.
This Friday marks the end of the second quarter. Report cards will
be sent home with your child next Friday, January 25th. If you do
not receive a report card next week, please check with the office to ensure
your accounts are up to date.
CIOPPINO
2012: Work continues in preparation for our BIG fundraiser on Saturday,
February 23rd. Thank you for the many donations that have
come through the school office for our Cioppino baskets and auction items –
keep them coming! Consider getting together with other parents from your
child’s class to purchase a table. This event is a lot of fun. Remember,
childcare is available for a nominal fee. Please respond as soon as possible as
we believe this will be a sell out event again this year. To purchase tickets,
please use the flyer you are receiving today and return it to the school
office. The next Cioppino meeting has been scheduled for this coming Tuesday,
January 22nd at 7:00pm in Carroll Hall.
NATIONAL
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK: This runs from January 27th through
February 3rd. Please mark your calendars for our Family
Mass, Open House, Book Faire, and other exciting events on Sunday,
February 3rd. The schedule of activities for National Catholic
Schools Week is included in your envelope today and will be available on our
website shortly. Again this year we will be having a special day where we
invite grandparents and other special friends to spend some of the day with the
children. Pencil in Thursday, January 31st for this special day.
Invitations for this Grandparents lunch are included in your envelope today. To
help celebrate our grandparents and other special adults in the lives of our
children, all students and their adult guests will receive a free pasta lunch
that day! All pasta lunches will include garlic bread and juice/milk.
LOCKDOWN
DRILL: A lockdown of a building or group of buildings is an emergency
procedure intended to secure and protect occupants who are in the proximity of
an immediate threat. This procedure is used when it may be more dangerous to
evacuate a building than stay inside. By controlling entry/exit and movement
within a facility, school and emergency personnel are better able to contain
and handle any threats. As we continue to plan for the safety of our students
and staff here at St. Thomas More School we are planning to have a lockdown
drill on next Tuesday, January 22nd at 10:00am. Teachers will
prepare the students in advance in this “Be Safe” drill and we will continue to
practice these regularly. Please discuss the need for lockdown drills with your
child at home in an age appropriate manner. We don’t want this to be a scary
experience but we will need full cooperation from everyone to ensure our drills
are successful. Just like the monthly fire drills conducted by the SFFD they
will become a regular part of our safety routine.
USF
DIGITAL MEDIA AND LEARNING: We are very excited to be asked once again to participate in a unique
partnership with the University of San Francisco. Our students
will work in collaboration with USF graduate students in an exciting course
entitled, Digital Media and Learning. This is our sixth year
participating in this program and is open to all 7th and 8th
grade students. Because of class size restrictions there are only eight
spots open to STM students. The sessions will take place on Thursday afternoons
between 4:30 and 6:00pm at the School of Education at USF, 2350 Turk Boulevard.
The first session will begin on Thursday, February 14th and will
continue for seven weeks. If you are interested in having your child
participate, please review the flyer in today’s envelope.
PM
EXTENDED CARE: Do you need a 2012 payment summary from
Afternoon Extended Care for your flexible spending account or your 2012 tax
return? Please contact John Kavanagh at JKav@stmsf.org and he will provide it.
WARRIORS
TICKETS: Thank you to all who sent in reservations for Warrior tickets.
Unfortunately we received many more requests for tickets than we could fill.
Those whose orders we were not able to fill are having their checks returned to
them.
SHOPAROO:
Have you registered for this simple fundraiser yet? STM has over
200,000 points, which translates into $450! Download the Shoparoo app to get
started and begin taking photos of your grocery receipts in order to earn
points. It’s really that easy!
UNIFORM
SURVEY: Thank you to the 103 families who shared their thoughts on suggested
uniform changes via the online uniform survey. We will take some time to read
all your comments and analyze the results. Be a part of the final decision
making process by attending the next Parents’ Club meeting on Thursday,
February 7th.
PIZZA/HOT DOG
SALES: Today you are receiving pizza and hot dog order forms for the
next quarter. Please remember that order forms will only be sent home at the
beginning of each quarter. This will be your only opportunity to order. You
must order for all four sales if you wish to participate in these special
lunches. Please clearly mark the name, grade and the word PIZZA or HOTDOG on
the envelope if you wish to order.
KINDERGARTEN
APPLICATIONS: We continue to receive applications for next year’s kindergarten
class. Have all preschool families and younger siblings of current students
turned in their applications? Beginning next week, we will start the screening
process. Preschool students will be tested during their school day. Siblings
and other students new to our school will be contacted to schedule an
appointment. Just a reminder that kindergarten applicants must be 5 years old
by October 1st, 2013 in order to apply. Application forms are available from
the school office or can be downloaded from our website.
STM
TAP: We are happy to announce that we have
again this year received a $20,000 grant from the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta
Gellert Foundation to be used for tuition assistance. Funds will be distributed
on the basis of those families who need the most help. To qualify for temporary
tuition assistance, families will need to show proof of financial hardship and
funds will be distributed on a discretionary basis by the school
administration. Please let Mrs. Fitzpatrick know in writing
if you are interested in receiving an application form. Applications will be
sent home in next week’s envelope. Thank you once again to the Carl Gellert and
Celia Berta Gellert Foundation!
SUMMER
SCHOOL: We have
already begun receiving information on various summer school activities. In the
event that we receive enough flyers to send home for each family, these will be
included in your envelope as we receive them. All other summer school flyers
will be available for download from our website as we receive them.
GRADUATION
PICTURES: 8th
grade graduation pictures are this Friday. Please follow the appropriate dress
guidelines given by Mrs. Spiegel.
COLDS
AND FLUS: For the
second day in a row, more than 10% of our student body are absent due to
illness (14 students are absent in 3rd grade today). If your child
is showing ANY symptoms of illness such as headaches, cough, dizziness, fever,
or stomach aches please keep them at home. This will avoid spreading these
symptoms to others. While we keep our school building nice and warm, the
students are often cold at recess time. Please send them to school in warm
jackets. Let’s all work together to keep our school campus as healthy as
possible.
LET'S GO NINERS...LET'S GO! This
Friday, January 18th, in support of the SF 49ers making it
into their division championship, we are allowing students to wear 49ers (red
and gold) accessories. The school uniform must be worn, however, hats,
earrings, headbands, socks, etc may also be worn (no jerseys). Let's hope they
make it into the Super Bowl...and maybe we'll have a 49ers free dress day!
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
