Monday Morning Memo

OH, WHAT A NIGHT!  The 50 and Fabulous Gala Auction was truly a very special night for all of us who attended.  We were thrilled that:

-          Former faculty

-          Former parents

-          Former students

-          Former trustees

-          Church members

-          Current parents

-          Current faculty

-          Current trustees

-          And other special guests

joined together to celebrate our first fifty years as a school.   The BidPal system was introduced and this fun, easy system allowed us to keep up with our bids, even from the dinner table!   Ethan L. and Maya K., with special permission from our board of trustees, provided lovely music for us!  Items were purchased at prices ranging from $15 to $8500!  Wishes were fulfilled!  The band was excellent and our guests showed their talents in this department, too!  There were so many volunteers who gave so many hours to make this event possible that I hesitate to try to name any, except the ones who led them all – Ann Long and Mandy Burditt.  They were supported by our development staff, Jane Pennington and Katie Gregg, and by our PG President, Luci Powell.  But you must look at the auction catalog to see the extent of the village that brought this evening to all of us.  Carolyn Long, our excellent Master of Ceremonies, worked hard to get our attention and did a wonderful job, in spite of us!  Thank you to everyone for a delightful evening of camaraderie and celebration and fundraising for our school’s future.

Last night also saw the launch of the book written by Trudi Galblum and Marcia McMullen on the first fifty years of our school.  This colorful history of our school, Here on Main Street, is a special treasure that we think you’ll want to own.  The cost is $25.00 and it can be purchased by going to this link:  https://speds2.ejoinme.org/?tabid=452595  Copies are available at school, if you would like to see it before buying a copy, or if you would like to buy it there.  You can also email Jane Pennington at jpennington@speds.org and ask that a copy be charged to your school account, and we can send one home with your child.

Our Fourth Grade Showcase is this Thursday, April 11 at 7:00 in the north wing multipurpose room.  Come see our fourth graders under the direction of Tamara Everly “strut their stuff” as they entertain parents and guests.

The Kindergarten Moms’  and Special Friends’ Lunch is at 12:15 on Friday, April 12.  We hope you’ll join your kindergarten student for a visit to see what’s happening in kindergarten, have lunch, and play a few games with your child or special friend.

Our search for an Admissions Director brought us four very qualified candidates who went through the complete process.  We are pleased to announce that Jill McGee was the successful candidate and will continue to serve as our Admissions Director.

 Standardized testing for grades 3 – 7 will take place the week of April 15 – 18.  Students will spend approximately 2 hours each morning completing different sections of the test.  We are using the newest version of the Stanford Achievement Test, the SAT-10. Parents can be helpful to their child in many ways: 

·        -  Please arrange for doctor appointments or other time away from school during the afternoons of that week, if necessary.  Missing test sessions puts a strain on your child when alternative class time is used for make-ups.

·         - Provide your child with a balanced breakfast each morning, including protein.  Send an extra healthy snack for the afternoon.

·         - See that your child gets a full night’s sleep. 

·         - Encourage your child to do his/her best, just like every day!  But also remind him/her that there are questions that are meant to be easy and some meant to be very difficult, so perfection is not expected.

If you have any questions regarding the test or schedule, please contact Gingie Watt or Ted van Thullenar.

The MCTM math contest was held Saturday, April 6 at Barstow and St. Paul's was represented well!  Fourth through sixth graders competed in a concepts contest and a problem solving contest.  Three of our students will be competing at the state level on Saturday, April 27 in Warrensburg:  Julia K, Gage K, and Colin McC.  In 4th grade,  Charlie D and Grant B received Honorable Mentions and Jack M came in 5th!   In 5th grade, Mark H and Pacey S received Honorable Mentions.   In 6th grade, Ethan L received  two Honorable Mentions. Gage K and Colin McC both placed 3rd, and Julia K placed 2nd!  What wonderful mathematical minds we have at St. Paul's!  Congratulations to these students and to their teachers, Ms. Glass, Mrs. Van Maren and Mrs. Cowan.

Our Science Olympiad Team had a wonderful time and competed well at the state level competition this weekend!  As a team, they placed ninth among 32 teams – a remarkable achievement when you consider the size and scope of our competitors.  Individual students placed in their competitions and were proud to participate as representatives of St. Paul’s.  Thanks to Mrs. Gruss and Mr. Stewart for shepherding our students through local, regional, and state events and to the many parents who supported them in so many ways.

Please join the Parents' Guild Book Club on Tuesday, April 30th at 8:30 am in the Garden Room of the church for discussion of the novel The Cutting Season by award-winning author Attica Locke.  Michelle Johnson, our Diversity Coordinator at St. Paul's, has agreed to lead the discussion of this book.  The Cutting Season is a page-turning mystery that involves intriguing issues of race in Louisiana in both modern times and during the slavery era.  It should provide a fun, interesting and thoughtful discussion.  We hope you will join us!  Questions?  Please contact Joanne Reardon at 816-532-6181.

Congratulations to Miss Sambursky, one of our MS French teachers, who has been selected to teach in Paris next year!  Olivia will be teaching middle and high school students and this was her first choice out of the possible opportunities.  While we hate to lose her, we’re delighted that she will get to work more on her French in such a delightful way!

Monday Morning Memo

Our fourth grade showcase is this Thursday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m. in the north wing multipurpose room. Fourth graders, under the leadership of Mrs. Fatu, have worked hard on this program, while also working on their very successful State Fair. Come enjoy the fruits of their labor!

First through sixth graders will enjoy the experience of hearing children’s authors at the Literature Festival, sponsored by Rockhurst University, this Friday. More information on the authors, their books, and an opportunity to purchase any of them for your children, please see Mr. Nerstheimer’s library blog. Order forms should be returned to Mr. N.

Our school is looking for a replacement piano for the first floor commons area and Enrichment program. The need is for a newer (not older than 1980) console type piano in very good condition, because it is used for chapel services, piano lessons, and programs. For these reasons, the school will need to evaluate the functionality of a potential donation. If you have a piano that you are interested in donating, we would appreciate you sending a photo of the instrument to dpennington@speds.org. A letter for tax deduction purposes will be provided, if accepted. Your assistance in this would be very much appreciated.

Extended Day TGIF Fun! We will have a special guest in extended day this Friday, 3/30 from 4:15-5:00. Edward Fujiki, who has recently started a juggling club at the Kansas City Art Institute, will come to do a demonstration class in the gym during extended day for K to 5th grades. There is no charge for this special activity, and you can just drop in to extended day to join the fun. Please contact Christina Lenon at 816-268-6536 if you have any questions.

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on April 4 and 5 this spring and we need your help: We have scheduled them to back up to our Good Friday break but we really hope you will schedule and attend your conference at this time, rather than taking a long weekend break. This time is allocated so our teachers have time to talk to you without other teaching responsibilities and making up these conferences before or after school or at their breaks during the day adds a big load to their schedule. Let’s have our usual high attendance at these important meetings, please.

Stay up to date on the latest happenings with our school calendar. Bookmark the calendar page on our website and check back often to see what is going on at St. Paul's.

Make your Reservations Now for GAME ON! Send in your reservation cards, or make your reservations online – it’s easy! Reservations are $75 per person. As in the past, you can find a seat at the grade-level tables, which will be marked as you walk in the gym.

Limited Club-Level seating is available! Want to make sure you get to sit with your friends and are in on the action? Reserve a table for eight for $100 - for front-row viewing of the live auction and special service. These tables can be reserved online, too, but remember, the cost of the table is a donation, and is in addition to your reservation.

Click here to make your reservation and to reserve club-level seating online: https://stpeds.ejoinme.org/?tabid=337897

Here is a taste of one of the sign-up parties (available now!) and one of the live auction offerings:

Rock’n Skate Party Sign up with your friends to skate the night away, eat and play! They will have pizza, hot cocoa, party favors and more! Skates will be provided, or bring your own. A fun night for all is guaranteed . . . a little on-ice surprise will help your children get their groove on! Mark your calendars now for Saturday, January 19 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Only 30 spots are available at $30 per child, for incoming 3^rd to 5^th graders. Thanks to the Albracht, Aliber, Holewinski and Wolfe families, as well as Carriage Club, for hosting this rock’n good time. Click here to register online: https://stpeds.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/GameOn2012Auction/SignupParties/tabid/336181/Default.aspx

European Extravaganza Kings and Queens, this is Europe at its finest! Two people will have a top-notch experience throughout this ten-day trip. Thanks to Jim and Melissa Carnes, you’ll take Virgin Atlantic for your hop across the pond, joining the upper class on board, with a 6’6” flat bed. Then you’ll hit London in style with three nights at the swanky Metropolitan Hotel on Park Lane, just steps away from Hyde Park. After living it up in London, you’ll head to Paris via the chunnel to live like a Parisian with a six-night stay in the heart of the 9^th arrondissement, donated by Donn Hess and Robin Henshaw. The one bedroom apartment offers a convertible living room sofa, to sleep a total of four. Check out these websites for more details:

Metropolitan Hotel: http://www.metropolitan.london.combo.bz/

Paris Apartment: http://www.frenchyrentals.com/fontaine

Raffle Tickets The raffle items are amazing this year – a trip for two to Chicago (Cubs and Bears and Bulls, Oh My!), a catered party by Connie Mendolia (Tailgating in your Own Home), a David Yurman Pave Diamond Infinity Necklace (Sport the Bling), and a fee-free year at St. Paul’s (Score!). Tickets are $25 each, or five for $100, and can be purchased online here, or at either front desk. https://stpeds.ejoinme.org/?tabid=336042

We will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our school beginning in January of 2013 and going through May of 2014. In preparation of that very special event, we are going to have an aerial photograph of all of our students, standing in the shape of 50, taken from a helicopter next month! In order for the numbers to show well from the air, we are asking that each student and member of the faculty wear a white t-shirt (as free from logos as possible) or other white shirt on April 10 (with a back-up, rain date of April 12). One way to make sure that each child has a white shirt for the event, you might want to send one to school to be in your child’s cubby until the event. As we get closer to the time of the photo, teachers will take inventory and let you know if there is no shirt in your child’s cubby. If you don’t have a white shirt and need help procuring one, we’ll send out the word and ask for volunteers as we do not want anyone to have to buy a shirt for just the picture. The excitement is about to begin for this special event and, of course, more details will be forthcoming!

Congratulations to Ms. Laird who has, once again, had an article about a project she did with our children, published in Arts and Activities. Our students’ work is well-represented and we sincerely appreciate the press – and their good work – provided by Ms. Laird and Mrs. Crumpecker!

Stay up to date on the latest happenings with our school calendar. Bookmark the calendar page on our website and check back often to see what is going on at St. Paul's