Monday Morning Memo

It’s here – our annual Book Fair! It opened yesterday with family time and extends through Tuesday of this week. Your children will have an opportunity to explore the collection and we sincerely hope that you’ll come, too. Wish Books and Birthday Book Club selections are available in support of our library. We’ve almost met our 50,000 page goal for the student read-a-thon and tonight’s the last night to make those pages count. The Book Fair will be open during school hours on Monday and Tuesday. Let your imagination soar – READ!

The Parents’ Guild meeting for this month will be held on Wednesday 11/9, 8:30 am in the Garden Room . All families are part of the Parents’ Guild so we hope you’ll come join us to see what’s happening and learn ways in which you can support the school with your time.

“Camelot”, formerly known as the “King Arthur Feast”, will take place from 12:15 – 1:15 on Friday in the MS Commons. This culminating activity for the sixth graders is an integrated thematic unit that is both informative and fun for the students. Parents are welcome to join us!

Our annual Food Drive to benefit the church pantry begins this Wednesday and goes through Nov. 18. There is a greater need than ever for our assistance in stocking the pantry as Harvesters has had to withdraw much of its support, due to reduced funding, and the number of people served continues to grow. Attached at the end of this blog are the guidelines/requests from the pantry. Thank you so much for your support of this important effort.

Our girls’ volleyball and boys’ soccer seasons have now ended but the spirit, determination, athletic prowess, and sportsmanship demonstrated by our students will live on! There were exciting wins, tough losses, and formidable opponents throughout the season and consistent effort, even in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, was evident at each game. These athletes are a great source of pride for our school and we know that they, and their parents, will welcome the brief respite before basketball season arrives!

The school is interested in having a wheelchair at the school to be available for use for the occasional minor medical emergency. We would be delighted to have one donated to the school to become part of our medical inventory. If you happen to have a wheelchair unit in good working order that is no longer needed, please let us know! We can provide a gift-in-kind tax donation letter if you want one.

Did you know? Café Sebastian, The Farmhouse, Eden Alley, Café Europa, Blue Bird Bistro, Westside Local, Succotash, Julian, Unforked …..these are just a few of the restaurants that are locally owned in Kansas City that use fresh, local and seasonal food! You have a chance to win a gift certificate to these wonderful restaurants by coming to see FOOD, INC on Thursday, November 10^th at 6:30 p.m. followed by a panel discussion with our community experts! Don’t forget to RSVP through Evite! We hope to see you there! Look at Tuesday’s newspaper for news on this presentation.

Needed: Pre-Season Walk-Ons! Drafting Host Couples for the Auction Kick-Off Party! GAME ON! We need Walk-On couples to sign on to be hosts for the evening! The event will be held January 28th at Krista & Dave Peterson's home! Walk-on couples are asked to provide appetizers for 50 people and a $100 cash donation in January to get the season going!
Hurry, there is only room for 24 walk-on couples! (Individual hosts welcome, too!)
Please contact Mandy Burditt if you can play! 816-333-2243 or mmburditt@gmail.com

Faith and the Biosciences: One Scientists Perspective: St. Paul's Episcopal Church Women invite you to a meeting on Tuesday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m. where Dr. Vikki Weake, a member of St. Paul's and a Senior Research Associate at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, will be speaking about her life as a Christian and a scientist. RSVP to stpauls@stpaulskcmo.org.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School’s Annual Food Drive

to support the Church food pantry

November 9-November 18

• Each day, Student Council representatives will receive donations in the front hallway of the school. Each student’s class will earn points for their offerings.
• The class that collects the most will win a prize.
• In addition to non-perishable food, students are encouraged to bring personal hygiene items. Especially needed items are bar soap, feminine hygiene products, and disposable diapers in sizes 3, 4, 5, and 6.
• While all items will be received each day, BONUS POINTS will be given for selected items on selected days.

Paper and plastic sacks are appreciated and needed!

Double points will be given for BULK ITEMS EVERYDAY except Wednesday, Nov. 9

Wednesday, Nov. 9: Triple points for bulk items (except diapers)

Thursday, Nov. 10: Double points for peanut butter or canned fish or meats

Friday, Nov. 11: Double points for toilet paper

Monday, Nov. 14: Double points for personal hygiene items

Tuesday, Nov. 15: Double points for dry beans, rice, crackers, and Mac & Cheese

Wednesday, Nov. 16: 20 points for each multi-load bottle or box of laundry detergent

Thursday, Nov. 17: Double points for disposable diapers sizes 3, 4, 5, and 6, and adult Depends (we will count each diaper in the package)

Friday, Nov. 18: To be announced.

Monday Morning Memo

Our Pet Blessing on Friday turned out to be the happy chaos and special event we’ve come to know and love! The weather cooperated, as did most of the animals, to make the event successful. Thank you for your help in making it so.

Parents’ Guild meets this Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. All families are part of the Parents’ Guild so we encourage you to come see what’s happening in this important volunteer organization, if you’re interested.

The Buddy Run is this Friday, Oct. 14! There are a few more days to register for is special event – https://stpeds.ejoinme.org/buddyrun2011. With registration, your child will receive a SPEDS water bottle and be entered to win a SPEDS Prize Pack. And, don't forget to have your child get sponsors for The Buddy Run! You can print a Sponsor Form on The Buddy Run webpage and learn more about the prizes. Sponsor forms can be turned in Tuesday-Thursday of this week!

We have had great success with our Sponsor Days. Both STUFF and Yogurtini held special shopping days for St. Paul’s. California Pizza Kitchen is hosting our final Sponsor Day tomorrow! So, let them do the cooking for you on Tuesday, October 11^th. CPK is donating 20% of food and beverage purchases to St. Paul’s in honor of The Buddy Run. Just print the flyer from The Buddy Run webpage or show an electronic image of the flyer using your phone when paying. Schedule to dine-in, take-out or cater dinner at CPK on October 11^th. Participating locations include:

Country Club Plaza                                Park Place

4743 Pennsylvania Ave                         11655 Ash St.

Kansa City, MO                                     Leawood, KS

816-561-2420                                        913-327-5290

Encourage friends and family to cater a workplace lunch or dinner on October 11^th from either location. Just log-on and order at www.cpk.com. CPK will deliver or you can pick-up curbside. There is no need to enter a promotion code when ordering online. Just print the flyer from The Buddy Run webpage or show an electronic image of the flyer using your phone when paying. Anyone can participate so please help spread the word. Thank you for helping to make The Buddy Run a huge success!

 
Please note that, in case of rain, we will have a modified Buddy Run in the gym on this Friday, but we’re really hoping for outstanding weather!

 
Retake/make-up picture day is October 25^th in the morning. If you want your child’s picture re-taken, you must email Shirley Laird at slaird@speds.org and return the original packet on or before the make-up day.

It is with kudos for him but disappointment for us that we will be losing Richard Held, our 3 – 8 music teacher, to Seattle after the Christmas break. Richard has been offered a church music directorship and has been invited into discussion regarding a post as principal pianist for one of Seattle's major choral ensembles. Mr. Held has brought a special music opportunity for students in this age group as he has allowed them to express their creativity through classes and performances. We will miss him. A search for his replacement will begin immediately.

Thank you for your participation in the Brown Bag Lunches last week. Each was unique in its own way but questions were answered, concerns heard, and kudos offered. We appreciate your perspective and value your input.

The ABC Sale will be held on October 20-22, and donations will be accepted October 17-19 during the school day. “ABC” stands for Attic, Basement and Closets – a reminder that this is an opportunity to offer for re-use items that you are no longer using. Please bring your gently used clothing items, toys, housewares, bedding, linens, sporting goods, antiques, books, and collectibles to the Parish Hall of the church building (located on the north end of the parking lot). We are also looking for volunteers to help set up, sort the merchandise, work during the sale, and then clean up after the sale. If you are interested in volunteering for a shift, please contact Jessica Kerrigan, Kelly Groebl, or Jen Martin; you may also volunteer online by following this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/abcvolunteer. Thank you!

 
October is National Farm to School Month -- October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections that are happening all over the country between schools and local food! What is Farm to School Month? In November 2010, Congress approved a resolution introduced by Representative Rush Holt (NJ) to officially designate October as National Farm to School Month. The passage of House Resolution 1655 demonstrates the growing importance and role of Farm to School programs as a means to improve child nutrition, support local economies and educate children about the origins of food. Gina from Chartwell’s, our lunch provider, has recently added local “Farm to Market” bread for our school lunches! She is also incorporating fresh and local produce through Good Natured Family Farms, which is an alliance of more than 100 family farms in the Kansas City area. Please join us for a viewing of “Food, Inc.” on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. Afterwards, an on-line survey will go out to parents, staff and students.

 
Gillian R., Ella G., and Carol-Ann G. performed in the children’s choir of “Turandot” at the Kauffman Center this weekend! The performances were all sold out (much to my chagrin but much to the credit of the program!) and received excellent reviews. We’re proud of our young stars.

 
Claire M. will perform with the Kansas City Ballet in “Tom Sawyer” this weekend! Another of our young stars moves to the big stage. Congratulations to Francie, too!

 
The implications of all the media devices (computers, iPads, cell phones, electronic games, etc.) on our brains and lifestyles are being studied more and deserve our attention. The Shallows is one book that addresses this issue and an article in the Kansas City Star magazine yesterday highlights concerns. These implications have greater ramifications with our children as their brains are developing and changing at a more rapid rate than ours. Reduced time on media and more personal interaction and play are considered necessary antidotes for all of us!