Monday Morning Memo

MONDAY MORNING MEMO
January 28, 2013

What a glorious celebration of our first fifty years we enjoyed on Friday!  It was cheerful, colorful, full of surprises, and well-attended by friends and family.  There were so many people who made it this special that I am sure to overlook someone in this list but I have to be sure to thank: 

1.  Jill Watt, Chair of the Fiftieth Anniversary Celebrations for – 

• All the sporting mascots and Chiefs cheerleaders 
• The mounted patrol
•  The noisemakers for each child 
• The Mardi Gras beads for everyone 
• The volunteer pool of parents, students and graduates 
• And a hundred different ideas to make it such fun! 

2.  Jane Pennington, Development Director and another member of the Steering Committee for –

• Designing and creating the large puppets of the five Heads and five Rectors who have led our school and church in the last 50 years 
• The press releases that brought our media friends 
• And work on all of the details of the event 

3.      Pam Bauer Nolan for a fitting chapel service that featured –

• Kindergarten singers 
• Second grade singers 
• Former teachers, Mrs. Hendricks and Mrs. Linn and current teacher, Mr. Kurt, to share their histories at the school 
• And, of course, our chapel leadership team

4.      Mrs. Haskamp for writing lyrics to “Hey Look Me Over” for our 50th anniversary and teaching kindergarten through second graders to sing it

5.      Mrs. Graham for providing the birthday cake that each student, faculty, and staff member enjoyed at lunch

6.      The Tomasics for additional security in such a majestic fashion – horse patrols!

7.      The many middle school students who truly led our parade with the grade level banners and large-scale puppets

8.      Mr. Raney, our bagpiper, and Mr. Ronan, our drum teacher who provided the instruments, and taught and assisted student drummers Reece J, Gibbs M, Luke W, and Andrew B

9.      Our hardworking maintenance crew of Larry Maddox and Terry Hayes, plus Carlos Pantoja who helps with special events

10.  All of the parents who volunteered in so many ways, who came and cheered, and ensured a lively fun experience for all of us.

If you had to miss it, you can see 185 pictures at https://mingle.kansascity.com under “community faces” taken by a professional photographer who joined us for the event.  Thank you, thank you, ALL for a great start to our birthday!

We will dismiss at noon today for professional development.  To continue the excitement we started generating last week, Pat Bassett, Executive Director of the National Association of Independent Schools, will be here to address faculty, trustees and heads of area independent schools and we’re hosting this event!  Extended day is available for families who would like to take advantage of this service by contacting Karen McDonald, Director of Enrichment Programs, at kmcdonald@speds.org or calling 268-6536.

Our sixth grade students will be presenting their showcase to parents and friends this Thursday evening in the south wing multipurpose room at 7:00 p.m.  Mrs. Everly and the students have been and will be working overtime to perform for you so we hope you’ll come enjoy the fruits of their labor!

Forty-two seventh and eighth grade students met this weekend at Kearney for our third preliminary Science Olympiad tournament.  They all worked together as an outstanding team to take second place overall in the tournament.

Seventh graders Ben S., Ella L., Jonah W., Jensen P., Daisy B., Layne S., Roy W., Anna Louise S., Oliver C., Max M., Adam K., Natalie K., Catherine H., Caroline S., Zach T., Grace C., John R., Will P., Caroline R., Sydney H. , Carol Ann G., Faith O., Zach J., Sean W., and Connor T.  along with the leadership of our eighth graders, Lilly L., Monty L., Claire M., Meg B., Ashley B., A’starr M., Elyse C., Meghan L., Cora M., Drake R., Lilly H., Clayton F., Taylor N., Annie S., William L., Sydney W.  and Danny T. were fun and fabulous to spend the day with.

The students' behavior, willingness to work hard, individual responsibility and determination were all outstanding.

Individual winners were:
Drake R. and Roy W. 4th in Road Scholar, Drake R. and Lily L. 5th in Shock Value, Zach J. and Roy W.  2nd in  Dynamic  Planet,  Caroline R. 2nd in Heredity, Carol Ann Gibbs and Caroline Rooney 3rd in Sound of Music , Caroline R. and Natalie K. 4th in Write it Do it, Natalie K. and Caroline S. 2nd in metric Mastery, A’Starr M. and Sydney W. 1st in Anatomy, Meghan Long 2nd in Crime Busters, 3rd in Water Quality ,  and 2rd in Disease Detectives, Claire M. 5th  in Meteorology and 5th in Keep the Heat,  Ella L. and Catherine H. 2nd in Reach for the Stars, Connor T. and Zach T. 2nd  in Experimental Design, Elyse C. 1st in Food Science, Layne S.  and Sydney H. 3rd in Mission Possible.

Congratulations to all of these students and to the St. Paul’s community for their excellent representation! As always, thanks to our Science Olympiad sponsors, Lee Gruss and Ken Stewart, for all the work they do getting the students prepared and cheering them on.

Coffees will be held next week, beginning with the ECC Coffee on Monday, Feb. 4.  Each will be held in the Garden Room of the church, beginning at 8:30 a.m.  Please remember that the coffees are not the place to discuss personnel concerns and that, because there are many grade levels represented, issues that pertain to one class or grade should, as always, be taken to the teachers at that grade level and then the Division Head.  Teachers, Division Heads, and I are always willing to meet with you about your concerns and we sincerely appreciate those of you who come in to share with us your insight in this way.  I cannot overemphasize how much our teachers and we want you to talk first to the teachers about your specific views on their class or grade level.
           Lower School Coffee – Tuesday, Feb. 5
           Middle School Coffee – Wednesday, Feb. 6.

February Service Club Activities:  Calling ALL interested k-8th grade students/parents for two Service Club Opportunities that are in honor of St. Paul’s 50th Birthday!  The purpose of these activities is to distribute St. Paul’s cups loaded with 50 kisses to 50 area businesses.
Activity one:  Cup Assembly:  3:30 – 4:30 pm, Tuesday, February 5:  Kindergarten through 8th grade students will gather in the  North MPR, aka: the lunchroom.  There we will put the kisses into the 50 ST. Paul’s cups and attach a note to each one. Kindergarten through 5th graders are required to have a parent or adult with them.  Middle Schoolers may enroll without an adult.
Activity two: Cup Delivery: We need ten drivers at 3:30 pm  on Tuesday, February 12 to deliver five cups each.  Volunteer drivers will  go to five area business to deliver a cup of kisses. This would be a great (and fun) activity for a parent and children.

To enroll, please e-mail Pam at pbauer@speds.org.  Indicate whether you are enrolling for “cup assembly” or “cup delivery” or BOTH!  Thanks so much.

Monday Morning Memo -- Tuesday edition

This Friday we will celebrate with our students and families the fiftieth anniversary of our school!  After our all-school chapel service, we will have a joyful parade out the front (north) doors of the church, down Walnut Street, through the south playground and school garden on the west side of the building, onto the northwest playground.  Here we will launch fifty balloons, sing, and raise the fiftieth anniversary flag.  It will be a celebration that we hope you’ll join if you can.  [Seating in the church is very limited because the entire school will be in there and we must give the students and teachers their regular seats, but we hope you’ll join us after the service for the parade.]  Walk with us, line the route to cheer, make noise, sing with us, and join us on the northwest playground or in the parking lot by the flag pole at the end of the parade.  We expect the parade to begin around 8:50 a.m., depending on the length of the chapel service.

            Please make sure that you and your children are warmly dressed, wearing coats, hats, gloves and scarves.  Toddler and preschool students will walk out of the south doors of the church and go directly to the glass corridor that faces the playground.  This will protect them from the cold and acknowledge that their little legs will not allow them to keep up with the older students on the longer parade route.

            Come share our excitement in recognition of our school’s first fifty years!

            One special request:  please allow your children to stay with their class and grade level so the teachers will know where everyone is.  You are welcome to join the class, but, if you have more than one child in the school, we ask that you join one of them and not bring them together, away from their classes.  Thank you.

            It is a Spirit Day, so let’s also show our spirit with our spirit wear, noise, laughter, and cheering!  And if you can make it any warmer, we’d appreciate that too!  J

Re-enrollment contracts will be mailed today.  Please watch your mail boxes, as the contracts and other pertinent information will be in a large St. Paul’s envelope, and should arrive within a few days.  Signed contracts for the 2013-14 school year are due back in the Admissions Office by Friday, February 8^th.  If you have applied for financial assistance, your contract will be mailed at a later date, and will include your financial assistance amount for the 2013-14 school year.  If you have questions about re-enrollment, please contact Jill McGee in Admissions at jmcgee@speds.org or 816.268.6542.

We will dismiss at noon next Monday, January 28, for professional development.  Pat Bassett, Executive Director of the National Association of Independent Schools, will be hosted by St. Paul’s to speak to Teachers, Heads, and Trustees of other area independent schools.  The teachers will meet after their session with Mr. Bassett to discuss common issues, share ideas, and make connections for further conversations.  Trustees and Heads will also have informal time for discussion.  Mrs. McDonald, Director of our Extended Day Programs, will be offering a special program for students that afternoon.

Early Dismissal

January 28, 2013

Join us for a day full of Winter Excitement!

We will have a “Find Cupid” Scavenger Hunt

We will also make a Valentine’s Day gift (shhh~ it’s a surprise!)

Bring a sack lunch/drink and we will provide snacks

Cost is $33 per child

Hours are 12noon-6:00pm

Registration is required by Friday January 25

kmcdonald@speds.org

or

Karen McDonald at 816.268.6536

Don’t miss out on the fun!

Our Science Olympiad students will travel to Kearney for a competition this Saturday.  We wish them great success and want them to know how proud we are of them for representing us with their skills, talents, and camaraderie with each other and with other competitors.  We also appreciate Mrs. Gruss and Mr. Stewart, their sponsors, and the parents who assist and support them.  All the best is wished for you!