Monday Morning Memo

We took second place at Science Olympiad and are headed to the state tournament!  Congratulations to all of the competitors, the sponsors (Mrs. Gruss and Mr. Stewart), the students who helped their classmates prepare for the competition, and the parents who supported and helped, too.  For pictures and more specific details, see Mrs. Gruss’ blog at http://spedsgruss.blogspot.com/.

Our Shrove (“Fat”) Tuesday Pancake Breakfast is tomorrow, Tuesday beginning at 7:00 a.m.  Come join us for pancakes, sausage, egg casserole, orange juice, coffee and milk for $5.00.  This event is a community builder and also a fundraiser for the eighth graders who donate the proceeds to a gift they establish for the school.  Please note that the later you come, the longer the lines will be, so come early and enjoy the visit!

Parents of third grade students who purchased tickets for “Wine in the Vine” will be greeted tomorrow evening at 6:00 in the Rainforest!  The Lower School faculty look forward to welcoming you with refreshments and a casual evening of conversation.

Ash Wednesday services will be held at the church at 7:00, 12:05 and 6:30 on Wednesday, Mar. 5^th.  Please know that, as always, members of the school community are welcome.

The Third Grade Rainforest Open House will be on Thursday, Mar. 6 from 11:30 – 1:00.  Come enjoy a guided tour of this special event, conducted by one of our knowledgeable third graders, and enjoy all the things the children have learned about this unique ecosystem.  It’s a popular event that is always well-attended!

We help our children celebrate their dads this Friday at 12:15 p.m. at the Kindergarten Dads’ lunch.  Dads and/or their special designees will dine on pizza, tour the classrooms, and play a game with their child.  This is a much-anticipated event for our kindergarten children.

Spring Break begins at the end of the school day on Friday, March 14.  We will offer care on March 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 24 from 7:15-6pm. Register by Wednesday, March 12^th.  The cost is $60 for full day and $35 for part day (4 hours).  Details about daily activities will be coming soon! We will need a minimum number of students in order to offer care so please register early! 

Parent Ambassadors are needed to welcome and support new families during their first year at St. Paul's. If you offer to help, you will be matched with a family joining one of your children's grades, so it will be easy to assist him/her assimilate into our community.  Please consider volunteering to help a new family at St. Paul's.  If you are interested, contact Jill McGee in the Admissions Office at Jmcgee@speds.org or 815-268-6542.

Planning for Great Expectations, an auction to benefit the St. Paul's Episcopal Day School, is well underway!  The annual auction will be held on Saturday, April 12 at Starlight Theater.  Your invitation will arrive after March 24 with all of the details.  Raffle items this year include an opportunity to win a diamond necklace, Chiefs' tickets, hotel stays and tuition for one year.  An annual part of the auction, Fund-A-Need, is exciting this year.  The goal is to raise $30,000 to provide an i-Pad - with training and professional development - for every teacher.  Please see the website here for details and to participate in Fund-A-Need now.  If you have any questions, please contact Mary Wetzel or Mary Morris, 2014 Auction Co-chairs.

One event is cancelled but our next Community Learning Center event is coming!

Due to low enrollment and the weather, our Lunch and Learn event for today is cancelled.

Sun Safety and Healthy Nutrition – Thursday, March 6^th, 4:00 PM

St. Paul’s ECC parent and pediatric dermatologist, Amy Nopper, will provide helpful information about how we can protect our children from the damaging effects of the sun and still be able to enjoy outdoor activities. Protective and attractive hats and swim shirts with the St. Paul’s logo will be on display for purchase. Margo Humenczuk, a pediatric nutritionist, from Children’s Mercy Hospital will also be here to share nutrition information and resources to help our students develop lifelong healthy eating habits. Prepare for Spring Break with information and solutions for keeping ourselves and our children healthy and safe.

More basketball tournament games occurred this weekend and, once again, our coaches and students did SO well!  In at least two of the games, we were very disappointed by the parents and coaches of the other teams who were yelling at the students and at the referees – and we could see the reaction that these behaviors were having on their children.  Our families and coaches continued to be positive and supportive, and our children played hard and well.  We lost a couple of the battles by very close margins, but we won in every other category – sportsmanship, heart, and commitment to the really important things:  the best for our children!

Many thanks to Ann Fasel and Amanda Durkin for dinner on Thursday night and breakfast, with the coffee girl, on Friday morning.  Several parents assisted them with these special treats and we’d like to acknowledge and thank them, too.

Polly Breitenkamp

Suzanne Raney

Mimi Langley

Lesley Friskel

Karen Seitter

Colette Fry- Williams

Courtney Fadler

Katy Platt

Jennifer Jones

Kathleen Dorris

Cameron Rostron

Katherine McLiney

Noelle Manica

You spoil us with the attention and special treats for Teacher Appreciation – and we want you to know how much we appreciate that!

Monday Morning Memo

This Friday, February 10, we will dismiss all students at 12:00 noon for professional development time for the faculty and staff. Child care is available for the remainder of the day through our extended day program, if you contact Christina Lenon, our Enrichment Director, to reserve a spot. She can be reached at clenon@speds.org. The faculty will be observing at other public and private schools in our areas that afternoon to share ideas.

Please note: this carpool takes longer because ALL students (except those in after-care) will be dismissed. Please be patient with us and do not walk across carpool lines as this slows the carpool and increases the safety concerns. Your cooperation is appreciated. If you do not want to wait, coming around 12:20 is a good idea!

St. Paul’s math team placed third in the Missouri Western Chapter Mathcounts contest on Saturday. Team members include Clayton F., Max S., Jacob K., and Philip W. Clayton placed tenth overall and participated in the Countdown Round. Max, Caroline M., and Jacob also finished in the top twenty as individuals. Later this week we will know if our team will advance to state competition. Congratulations to these participants and their sponsor, Mrs. McMullen!

Our Fifth Grade Music Program, under the direction of our new music teacher, Mrs. Fatu, will be this Thursday evening at 7:00 in the north MPR. Mrs. Fatu and the children have worked hard in the six weeks that she has been here to pull together a program that they are enjoying and proud to present. Come watch!

We are hosting a blood drive for the Community Blood Center this Wednesday, Feb. 8, from 3:00 – 7:00. Your participation is encouraged as this life-saving gift is so needed in our community. If, like me, you have a conflict with that evening, donate at the Blood Center across the street on Tuesday or Thursday evening and let the center know that you’re doing it in conjunction with our drive. We’re not making any money on it, of course – we just want our neighbors to know that we’re supporting them in this important endeavor.

Parents’ Guild meets this Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in the Garden Room of the church. Please know that you are welcome to join these meetings to see what these great volunteers do for our school and, if you’d like, to sign up to help!

Thank you again to Krista and Dave Peterson, who opened their home for the Kick-off Party on January 28^th, and to Scott and Mandy Burditt and Peter and Ann Long for their tireless efforts in planning a wonderful party that was a financial success for the auction. We also thank their “team” of hosts for providing delicious appetizers and desserts, as well as providing underwriting for the auction. And of course, thanks to the judges of the various games and tournaments – Catherine and Eric Shurtleff, James Richman and Missy Haskamp. If you did not get a chance to donate at the party, and wish to do so, click here https://stpeds.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/GameOn2012Auction/AuctionUnderwriting/tabid/337898/Default.aspx to donate online. You may also send checks to Katie Gregg at school.

Family, Student and Faculty Catalog Advertising The auction committee is offering special rates to families and groups that would like to advertise in the auction catalog. These ads are especially nice for sports teams, scout troops and the like that would like to thank a special coach or leader. Click here

http://www.speds.org/current-parents-and-students/parents_guild/auction/catalog-advertising/

or contact Gina Penner, at ginaandcharlie@aol.com for more details. The deadline for reserving an ad, with your payment, is March 2, 2012.

Benefit Games Get your team together and sign up for Randy Kurt’s 2^nd Annual Benefit Games today! The Games will be held on Friday night, March 2nd and Saturday, March 3rd in the St. Paul’s gym. Don’t have a team? No sweat! Sign up as an individual, and you’ll be placed on a team for the sport you choose.

New this year: 4 on 4 dodgeball! Recruit your teammates for this fun, fast-paced Friday night showdown. Teams can have from 4 to 6 members and are either all men or all women. The cost per player is $50. Basketball returns this year with 5 on 5 full court games. The cost per player is $100. The registration deadline is February 24th. Click here to register. https://stpeds.ejoinme.org/?tabid=337672

And speaking of the auction, thanks to Campbell R. for leading the school so well last Wednesday! His parents purchased this opportunity at last year’s auction, along with treats for all of the faculty and staff. Campbell and his sister, Tatum, passed out the treats on Tuesday and Campbell led the dress code (pajamas), a tornado drill, carpools, class observations, reading to students, conducting the calendar meeting, and other activities on Wednesday. I took his math class responsibilities that day and thoroughly enjoyed being a student again!

Yoga in PJ's - Hatha for Haiti!

Zen Moms invite you to the first "Yoga in PJ's" event on Saturday, February 18th from 4:30-5:30pm benefitting our sister school in Haiti. All middle school students are welcome, along with a parent/guardian, to do a little good for Haiti while balancing your boogie in a partner yoga class led by Mrs. Z. Wear PJ's or comfortable stretching clothes to Yoga Fix Studio (2000 Shawnee Mission Parkway #100). Class Size is limited to 20 partner pairs. Sign up and send a check to SPEDS att: Chaplain Nolan.

Mark your calendars now for the Pancake Breakfast on Feb. 21st, from 7-8:30 a.m. This is our Shrove Tuesday tradition where eighth graders and their families serve breakfast at five dollars a person. The breakfast includes pancakes, sausage, and egg casserole, juice, coffee, and milk. Proceeds from the breakfast are used by the eighth graders in a gift to the school upon their graduation. Come join us for a feast before Lent begins!