Thank you for your presence and support at the Back-to-School Mass last Sunday. A special thank you to the eighth graders and their teacher Mrs. Girlich for putting together such a beautiful and reverent service. It was wonderful to see the many students who have decided to serve the church through various ministries. Thank you also to Monsignor Labib for involving so many of our students in such a creative way during his homily. It was nice to see so many of you there. Thank you for your support of the second collection of $375.25, which goes to support the school and its programs.
HOT DOG SALE: Today the students enjoyed the first Hot Dog Sale of the year. Thank you to Maria and Jeffrey Spiegel (parents of Timothy, 2nd grade) who have volunteered to prepare the hot dogs on sale days and to Jason Malig (dad of Nyree, Kindergarten, Siah, 1st grade, and Zhari, 5th grade) for helping with the distribution.
IOWA TESTING: Last week we told you that the dates for the IOWA testing were different to that on the monthly calendar. This information is again incorrect and several schools actually began testing this past Monday, the original date. In light of this, we will begin the IOWA Test of Basic Skills for students in 2nd grade and above tomorrow. The amount of homework will be greatly reduced during this time to facilitate testing. We ask that students arrive at school on time, well rested, and properly fed. All this will contribute to students’ well-above-average test scores. You’ll receive the results of these tests at the November parent conferences.
PIRATE DAY: Tomorrow is Talk-Like-a-Pirate Day. Students must wear their full uniform, however, they may accessorize it with a pirate hat/bandana/eye patch (no weapons please). The student council will be selling tattoos, pins, and stickers for 50¢ each. Proceeds will benefit the student council activities. Arrgg Mateys!
MINIMUM DAY: This coming Monday, September 23rd, is the first fourth-Monday-of-the–month for this school year. When school is in session, the Archdiocese declares minimum days for all Catholic schools in San Francisco on fourth Mondays. Please plan ahead for the day’s dismissal at 12:15(K-3) and 12:30(4-8). However, if you forget, don’t worry, your child will be placed in extended care until you arrive. As a treat, all students signed in to Extended Care on Monday will be able to purchase a hot dog lunch for $4.00.
HIGH SCHOOL VISITS: Starting next week, and continuing into next month, the seventh and eighth graders will have visits from representatives from several of the local Catholic high schools. The following chart shows the dates of their visits.
|
School |
Visiting Date |
|
Mercy SF & Riordan |
Tuesday, September 24th |
|
St. Ignatius |
Thursday, September 26th |
|
Sacred Heart Cathedral |
Monday, September 30th |
|
Mercy Burlingame & Serra High School |
Tuesday, October 8th |
CATALOG FUNDRAISER: How is the catalog fundraiser coming? Please remember that all families who did not buy out by the June deadline are required to sell a minimum of $100 worth of product per child enrolled in the school. Remember, students selling 15 or more items will receive a raffle ticket for some great prizes! The deadline for returning your orders is Tuesday, September 24th.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL: St. Thomas More Church is holding it's 7th Annual International Food Festival on Saturday and Sunday, September 28th and 29th in the schoolyard. Your support of this event is very much appreciated. The variety of foods offered is always delicious. Please check out the enclosed flyer.
SANDWICHES-FOR-THE-NEEDY: Please don’t forget that next Friday, September 27th, is our next collection of sandwiches-for-the-needy. All are encouraged to participate and the kindergarten and first graders are charged with taking the lead that day. Last week, we had one of the biggest collections ever with almost 400 sandwiches being collected! Let’s try again next week for the same great collection. What a wonderful example of working together for a good cause.
NEW PARENTS: Now that school has started, we are sure you have some questions. Come and meet the other new families and join us for a social get together on Friday, September 20, 2013 from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. in the Foyer outside the STM Library (second floor). Use this opportunity to meet some of the families that you and your child will be spending time with over the next nine years!! Representatives from the Parents' Club will be hosting this event and look forward to your attendance. Please RSVP to parentsclub@
YARD DUTY: Thank you to all who have volunteered for yard duty. To sign up for October, November or December, please click here. Arrive at least 5 minutes before your scheduled time and sign in at the office. Next to the sign in sheet you will find yellow tags that say Parent Yard Supervisor. Please use these tags while on duty to identify you as one of the official yard supervisors. Return tags to the front office before you leave. If you are doing yard duty before school, please remember that we need one volunteer supervisor to stay close to the gate to ensure that any of the younger students do not leave the yard and if we have a second volunteer, we ask that you stand in the general area by the fountain.
TRAFFIC PATROL: In order to make after school pick up easier for everyone, we have moved the traffic crossing down to the school gates. This will allow for several more parking spots directly in front of the school. It will also assist cars that cannot find a parking space, as they will be able to turn left from Alma Via without having to wait for the traffic patrol. We hope that this will ease some of the congestion.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS: Please be aware of your surroundings when picking up and dropping off your students. We have had some issues recently with attempted break-ins to vehicles parked nearby as well as reports of strangers in the vicinity of STM. The police have been alerted and we remind you not to leave personal belongings in plain sight in your vehicle. A second concern is the danger to students of wayward golf balls, especially around dismissal time. Two teachers had car windows broken in the last several months. We have notified our neighbors at the golf course and they are working on solutions to help with this issue. Please report any problems in this area.
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
