Monday Morning Memo -- Afternoon Version!

We hope that all of our families enjoyed a very special Mother’s Day yesterday.  We, too, sincerely appreciate our moms – and dads!

Middle school students will be taking finals during this week – from Monday through Thursday.  We support them as they work to show what they have learned!

Third through fifth graders have a Writing Fair in progress this week.  Parents are encouraged to come before chapel or after school to view the writing the students have done and want to share with you.

We have hired three lead teachers for the coming year:

            Jennifer Fisher, who has a Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a Master’s degree in teaching plus ten years of teaching experience at this level, will lead one of our preschool classes.

            Jenny Wyllie, who has a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and six years of first and second grade teaching experience, including a year as an associate in our first grade, will lead a second grade class.

            Mindy Stephenson, who has a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a Master’s degree in curriculum and instruction plus nine years of teaching and administrative experience, will lead a fourth grade class.

            We are very pleased with these new hires and are excited about the experience they will bring to their positions.  We are now working on filling the first grade associate position that Mrs. Wyllie holds and adding a part-time associate to kindergarten, due to the increased enrollment for next year in that class.

Recognition of Ms. Farkas, Ms. Stark, and Mrs. Cowan will be at the final chapel service on May 22^nd.  We hope their decisions to follow new opportunities will be wonderful experiences for them, but we hope they’ll return to St. Paul’s in the future!

Friday, May 16 is our last Spirit Day and Feed-the-Need Friday – and Spirit Day.  The pantry is still in need of canned meals and meats.  We can also add peanut butter and jelly to the list.  The contributions of our families to the pantry are extremely helpful and will be missed during the summer.

Remember the Blood Drive we are sponsoring this Friday from noon to 4:00 p.m.  Come help save lives by offering the gift of your healthy blood to someone who needs that help!  Here’s the link so you can make an appointment:  https://www.esavealifenow.org/index.cfm?group=op&hlc=stpauls&hostlookupcode=stpauls

If you wish to have a different carpool number in the fall, or if your carpool arrangements will be different, please email Maria Meli at mmeli@speds.org. Requests will be honored in the order they are received and depending on availability. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Meli.

If you wish to sign your child(ren) up for Lunch Bunch or Extended Day next year: the sign-up forms for both are now online.

Extended Day: http://www.speds.org/Page/Programs/Extended-Day

Lunch Bunch: http://www.speds.org/Page/Student-Forms

Should you find that you need to make a change to your child’s enrollment in either program after you’ve registered, please DO NOT fill out another form. Instead send the changes for Extended Day to Karen McDonald (kmcdonald@speds.org), and send the changes for Lunch Bunch to Linda van Thullenar (Lvan@speds.org).

Many thanks to all of our families who will be supporting or have supported one of the student fundraisers for Haiti.  One of our students asked that the following announcement be shared in this week’s MMM:  On Wednesday May 14, 2014 the sixth grade will be running around Mill Creek Park to raise money for Haiti. The money will be donated to the school-wide effort to buy water filters for our sister school, Holy Cross. For the past week the sixth graders have been getting sponsors for this run. 

Middle School students attend the annual Barstow Track Meet and represent us well!

The following 6th-8th graders participated in a track meet sponsored by The Barstow School on Wednesday, May 7:

6th Grade: Mark H, Spencer S, Peter B, Ryan B, Mollie D, James S, John W and Josh T.

7th Grade: Brady W, Phillip C, Henry M, Reece J and Olivia S.

8th Grade: Jordaan A, Matthew A, Sean M and Ella L.

The following students placed in these events:

1600 meters: Ella L (2nd)

1600 meters: Reece J (1st)

                      Henry M (3rd)

100 meters:  Jordaan A (5th)

200 meters:  Spencer S (4th)

400 meters:  Mark H (3rd)

800 meters:  Mark H (1st)

Long Jump:  Spencer S (4th)

4X100 Relay:  7th/8th Grade (3rd)

Congratulations to all of the participants!

From the Parents’ Guild Staff Appreciation leaders:

St. Paul’s Staff Appreciation Week

May 12th - May 16^th

It takes a big heart to shape little minds

A time to show our appreciation for all that our St. Paul’s 

teachers and staff do for our children

A time to say thank you for all the small but important extras they do

A time to not forget the endless communications so we could all know what was happening in our children’s time at school

A time to say thank you for the dedication of our teachers and staff 

to our students, families and community

A time to say thank you before we say good-bye to the 2013-2014 school year.

THE TOKEN OF YOUR APPRECIATION MAY BE OF YOUR CHOOSING, CREATIVITY AND TALENTS. PLEASE BRING THEM TO SCHOOL DURING THE WEEK OF MAY 12 - MAY 16. 

Monday Morning Memo

Thank you so much to Tracy Gordon, Ann Fasel, and our Development Coordinator, Katie Gregg and the team of volunteers they enlisted for the sumptuous meal for dinner on Thursday night and the great coffee and breakfast on Friday!  We feel very special and the good will and great food carried us through our conferences happily.  We sincerely appreciate your care and support!

Thanks, too, to all of you who came to conference with your teachers on Thursday and Friday!  We are always proud of the turnout for these conference days and sincerely appreciate your commitment to talking face-to-face with your child’s teachers to share notes on his/her progress.

Get Hooked on a Good Book! - The St. Paul's Book Fair is this week!  We kick the week off with Buddy D.E.A.R. time (Drop Everything and Read) on Monday and an All-School read on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning local authors will be visiting the lower and middle school divisions.  The 1st and 2nd grades will hear from "Maybelle" series author Katie Speck.  The 3rd-5th grades will hear from Lisa Harkrader and her book, The Adventures of Bean Boy.  Author Dorinda Nicholson will be sharing her book, Pearl Harbor Child, with the 6th-8th grades.  Wednesday after school (3:30-5:30pm) is Family Night at the Book Fair.  Come peruse the fabulous selection of books, read a few with your child or set some books aside for the class visits on Thursday and Friday. Remember, books make great gifts!  If you would like to help with the book fair, please sign up at www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0B48A9AA292-book  If you would like to help by bringing treats for the kids as they visit with their classes, please visit www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F0B48A9AA292-book1  We look forward to seeing you at the Book Fair!

If you are planning on applying for tuition assistance for the 2013-2014 school year:

·        Applications will be accepted November 1 – January 15. Priority will be given to applications that are completed (including supporting documentation) by January 15.

·        The application process begins online, at www.factstuitionaid.com.

·        After completing the online portion of the application, you will need to mail or fax in all required supporting documentation.

If you need assistance with the online application, help is available from FACTS via telephone (866-315-9262) or email (info@factstuitionaid.com) Monday – Thursday, 10:00 – 7:00; and Friday, 10:00 – 5:00. We apologize that we are not able to help you with the online application process, but please ask us, if you have difficulty or need clarification.

The Annual Food Drive begins Wednesday, November 7 and runs through Friday, November 16.  Annually, this is our biggest ingathering of food for the St. Paul’s pantry, hoping to supply a winter-stockpile of well over 12,000 items.  Competition between grades and divisions is quite fun – so bring it on!   While all pantry offerings earn points, attached is the list of daily featured items that will earn double and triple points for our classes.   St. Paul’s School is blessed to have this opportunity.  Thanks to all who help feed the need!

St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School’s

Annual Food Drive

To support St. Paul’s Church’s food pantry

When:  November 7-16

Where:  Main entrance/hallway of both buildings

Double points will be given for BULK ITEMS every day except Wednesday, November 7

Wednesday, November 7:  Triple points for bulk items (except           

                                                 diapers)

Thursday, November 8:     Double points for peanut butter or

                                                canned fish or meats

Friday, November 9:          Double points for toilet paper

Monday, November 12:     Double points for personal hygiene

                                                 items

Tuesday, November 13:      Double points for dry beans, rice,

                                                crackers and Mac and Cheese

Wednesday, November 14:  Laundry detergent (20 points for     

                                                multiple-load bottle or box     

                                                detergent)

Thursday, November 15:    Double points for disposable diapers

                                                sizes 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as Adult

                                                Depends. (We will count each

                                                diaper in the package)

Friday, November 16:         To be announced

The seventh grade Wax Museum culminating activity will be held this Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 8:50 for Mr. Stewart’s class and 1:50 for Mr. Reschke’s class.  Come learn some history from students who have chosen famous people to represent in character and spirit.

In Harmony Choir is getting set for another season! Starting on Wednesday, November 7, and continuing on Wednesdays, students in grades three through eight are invited to join Mr. Ah’Lee Robinson in the north MPR (stage) at 7:15am. He will lead the choir as they prepare for Christmas and beyond. Choir performances will generally be at All School Chapels and occasional community events. All interested students may join – from novice to professional, shower singer to stage singer. Please contact Colette Rousey crousey@speds.org if your child would like to sign up.

This Friday, November 9 we will be celebrating the Communion of Saints in All School Chapel.  We invite anyone to bring a flower in honor of any loved ones who are now safely with God.  These will be received by the Chapel Leadership Team and placed on the altar.  Sometimes children want to write a note or card and may place that on the altar as well.  Additionally, if your family has experienced the loss of a loved one in the past twelve months, we would be honored to light a votive candle in his/her honor on Friday.  Those names need to be e-mailed to Pam by Wednesday, November 7:  pbauer@speds.org.

Attention Pre-Kindergarten Families:  We would like to invite you to come preview Kindergarten on *Tuesday, November 13^th from 8:30-9:30am.  We will meet in the North MPR for a short presentation by Mrs. Abio and then visit the kindergarten classrooms.  Please RSVP to the admissions office by Thursday, November 8^th in order to reserve a spot. 
*The master school calendar indicated that this event would take place on Nov. 6^th. 

DID YOU KNOW? 

When you make your tax deductible donation to the St. Paul’s Annual Fund, you are contributing to minimize tuition increases for next year?  Every donation counts!  Thank you for your support!

Donate Now (http://www.diamondmindinc.com/spedsog.html)

Pledge Now (http://go.speds.org/pledgenow)

St. Paul’s is hosting a blood drive for the entire month of December across the street at Community Blood Center.  During this holiday season, please consider donating blood and use the code CBUE when you donate.  There are critical shortages that occur during the holidays so let’s help stock this vital commodity to save lives! 

MONDAY MORNING MEMO

Thanks so much to Dave and Krista Peterson for opening their home Saturday night for the Game On Gift Gathering Party! What a unique way to gather and prepare for our auction this April – with games, gifts, Karaoke, school spirit, and auction support. Thanks also to all the volunteers who helped make it happen and to all who came, participated, and donated!

Unfortunately, a few hours after the party, a fire occurred in the Petersons’ home! The family got out safely but their lovely home sustained serious damage. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they rebuild from this tragedy. Krista tells us that it is a good reminder to practice a fire plan with your family and make sure your smoke alarms are working. How thoughtful of the Petersons to think of us as they work through this!

Service Club Reminder for Parents and Students: On Tuesday, January 31 the Service Club will be making cookies for our local firefighters. Please meet in the main hallway of the south building after school. We will provide a snack and then we’ll head over to the church to start baking. This is open to kindergarten through 8^th grade. Students through 5^th grade need to have a parent (or adult friend) along! To RSVP, please e-mail pbauer@speds.org

Prayer Vigil for Laurie Robinson:On Tuesday, January 31 we will again be inviting St. Paul’s families and friends to the church for a brief time of prayer. As with last week’s, there are “group” and individual options:

• You may join us at 7:30 am in the church for a ten minute collective intercessory prayer.

• Or you may stop by the chapel in the church at anytime during the day. The chapel altar will be set up, a prayer will be provided and you may pray privately for as long as you’d like to stay.

Additionally, the usual Tuesday noon-time Eucharist will be offered in the church. As a routine piece of that liturgy, intercessory prayers will be spoken on behalf of Laurie and other people within the school and church community who need our prayers. As we are increasingly understanding, intercessory prayer can make a tremendous difference in one’s recovery. Please join us.

Wednesday is PAJAMA DAY! Campbell R., Head of School for the Day, has declared it, so dust off your flannels and wear them to school! Remember to bring shoes for playing outside, too.

Re-enrollment agreements and deposits are due to the Admissions Office THIS Friday, February 3^rd in order to secure your child’s space in his/her class for the 2012-13 school year. Thank you to all of the families that have already turned theirs in so promptly! Financial aid applicants should expect to receive their re-enrollment materials this week by mail.

Upcoming Blood Drive! We will be hosting a blood drive for The Community Blood Center on Wednesday, February 8^th from 3pm-6pm in the North MPR, and for your convenience we are offering the ability to schedule your appointment online by clicking the link below. Did you know that 60% of the U.S. population is eligible to donate, however only 5% do on a yearly basis?
Schedule your donation today and Save a Life. Please contact Miriam Zavagnin with any questions. https://www.esavealifenow.org/index.cfm?group=op&expand=35930&zc=64111

Now is the time to help us select the leaders of your Parents’ Guild for 2012-2013! We all know amazing, fantastic, dedicated people who would love to be involved in the Parents’ Guild. Send in their names! Or better yet send the Parents’ Guild YOUR name ~ self-nominations are welcome! Nominations are due February 8th. Please visit the following site for more information, or send your nominations to Blythe Robertson, Nominating Chairman at scott.blythe@att.net

http://www.speds.org/current-parents-and-students/parents_guild/parents-guild-nominations/

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.