Monday Morning Memo

Thank you so much to April Bier, Tracey Weisenfels, and Kelly Groebl for their great work on the ABC Sale!  They garnered help from many volunteers, including Melissa Skeens and others from the church, but these ladies dedicated themselves to this project for a several weeks.  We sincerely appreciate your management of this community outreach project.

The Search Committee invites all parents to meet the remaining two finalists, Byron Lawson on October 21^st and Gray Smith on October 28^th. You will be able to meet them informally between 2:25 and 3:15 in the South Multipurpose Room. The sessions will allow an opportunity for open discussion with the finalists, and parents should feel free to come and go as their schedules allow.  We welcome Byron Lawson on campus today and tomorrow.

Tuesday is Picture Make-up and Retake day -- between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.  To have a retake, parents need to contact Ms. Shirley Laird and the first photo must be returned.  The retake or make-up picture will be the one used in the yearbook.

The First Grade Music Program will be this Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 9:00 a.m. in the north wing multipurpose room.  Come enjoy these darling performers, under the direction of Mrs. Haskamp, as they will bring a smile to your face and a song to your heart!

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held this week on Thursday and Friday.  Conferences are scheduled from 12:00 noon on Thursday, Oct. 24 until 8:00 p.m. and on Friday, Oct. 25 from 7:30 a.m. until noon.  Parents of middle school students are encouraged to bring their children with them to the conference.  Child care is available at no charge for St. Paul’s students during the parents’ conference time.  There will be a charge for those needing full day care, so please make arrangements in advance with Mrs. McDonald at kmcdonald@speds.org. 

We have had a few random cases of head lice in school and want to offer some advice in dealing with these pesky creatures from our nurse, Catherine Kuhls.  Please see the message here.

St. Paul's Book Fair is November 4-6.  On Monday, November 4, from 3:30-6:00, families can shop at the book fair.   On November 5 and 6, each student will visit the book fair with his or her class and have the opportunity to shop from a vast assortment of books supplied by The Reading Reptile.  Opportunities to help are available and much appreciated.  Please open this link to sign up:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F044DAEAD283-book

Applications are now being accepted for the 2014-15 school year.  Siblings and Church Member applicants will receive priority consideration if their applications are received by Friday, November 8^th.  Current students do NOT need to re-apply for the 2014-15 school year.  Re-enrollment agreements will be mailed for our current students in January.  If you have any questions about sibling application, please contact Jill McGee in the Admissions Office at 816-268-6542 or Jmcgee@speds.org. 

St. Paul’s is hosting “Exploring Kindergarten” on Thursday, November 14^th.   Teachers, Students, Administrators and two of our “new” Kindergarten parents will be on hand to discuss our kindergarten program and how it fits into the “big picture” of a St. Paul’s (and beyond) education.  If you know of families with Pre-school and/or Pre-K students who have not yet discovered St. Paul’s, please invite them to contact Jill McGee in the Admissions Office for an invitation to this event.  Current St. Paul’s Pre-K parents are also invited to this event.

Exploring Kindergarten

Thursday, November 14^th

8:45 (if interested in joining ECC Chapel)

Presentation will begin at 9:30am

Tours will be available following the presentation.

RSVP:  Jmcgee@speds.org   or 816-258-6542

Updates from the Community Learning Center!

     Just Finished

Love and Logic Module #1 was well attended and brought together parents interested in learning more about the four steps to responsibility and preparing children for the real world. A combination of video presentations, group discussions and anecdotal stories created an energized environment for learning.

The Community Builder at Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch in Liberty could not have been on a prettier day. The sunshine and gentle breeze made it a great setting for our St. Paul’s families to spend time with each other and their families gathering pumpkins, playing, riding the train, watching pig races, and much, much more. Thank you to all of the families who were able to attend! Come take a look at our bulletin boards in the ECC and main hallways for photos of this event.

     Coming Up

6PM Tuesday, November 12^th – Bully Nation Book Club

With the rise in bullying and the zero tolerance policies so many schools and districts are establishing, you may be asking yourself is there another option… Come and talk with other St. Paul’s parents, teachers, and administrators about the book Bully Nation by Dr. Susan Eva Porter. Copies of Bully Nation are available for check out through the front desk.

4PM Thursday, November 14^th – Love and Logic Module #2

Focus: Sharing control, opportunities for thinking and decision-making; empathy and consequences. $25 Come join us! Child care will be available through Karen McDonald.

11-1 Saturday, November 16^th – Unconventional Lunch and Learn – Communicating with your Child   The focus this year for our Lunch and Learn classes is Communicating with your Child(ren). This unconventional Lunch and Learn is actually designed for parents and children both. We will be offering parents time to ‘hang out’ one-on-one with your child before things get too crazy with the approaching holidays. We’re providing the turkey; work together with your child to make one of your family’s traditional side dishes to share with others while building memories.  Fun, hands-on projects and craft stations will be offered for quality child/parent interactions. This event is ideal for children ages 3-10.

Please register for any or all of these events with Mrs. van at Lvan@speds.org so we can provide adequate seating, materials, and/or food.

     Plan Ahead

4PM Thursday, January 9^th – Love and Logic  #3

6PM Thursday, January 16^th – Technology and your child seminar

12-1 Tuesday, January 28^th – Lunch and Learn – Communicating with your Child (Love Languages)

Recently some of our teachers and administrators participated in a webinar titled "Will Power: Grit, Self-Control, and Achievement." This webinar was hosted by Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS) and was purchased for teachers, administrators, and parents in our community who might be interested in this topic. If you would like to view this webinar please visit http://www.isacs.org/page/472128_Learning_Bridge_Webinar_Login.asp. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, select “10/9/13 Will Power: Grit, Self-Control & Achievement” and use the password humid. The webinar is one hour long, will be available until November 7, and provides information on what grit and self-control are and how these two variables affect achievement even more than intelligence or academic ability. Helping our students to develop grit and self control are two of the most important things we can do as their role models, educators, and parents. If you're interested in learning more about Mrs. Duckworth's research you can visit her website at https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth/pages/educators and even take a survey to see your personal grit score.

Congratulations to Becky Nash, fifth grade teacher, for completing the Kansas City Marathon this weekend in the time of four hours and 29 minutes!  Great job, Mrs. Nash!

Monday Morning Memo

I hope the students got their fill of snow experiences, as I know that we adults are ready for the melt to increase!  With luck, the warm-up scheduled for the latter part of this week will bring some great spring weather.  Now for all of the catching up we need to do…

The Rain Forest Open House is this Tuesday from 11:30 – 1:00.  Parents and guests of our third grade students will be treated to guided tours of the rain forest and a demonstration of all of the knowledge the students have acquired as they have studied this unique environment.

Parent teacher conferences are this Thursday (12:00 – 8:00) and Friday (7:30 – 12:00) and there will be no classes for students.  Middle school parents are reminded that teachers would like students to attend the conferences with their parents.  Our extended day program will be available from 7:15 – 6:00 for those who contact Mrs. McDonald and make arrangements for their child to attend.  Temporary care for students while parents attend their conference is available at no charge for the period of the conference time.

We practiced our lockdown procedure on Tuesday, Feb. 19^th, with two police officers observing our procedure.  They offered a few suggestions and we noticed a couple of ways in which we could improve our system.  Then Karen McDonald, Gingie Watt, and I attended an all-day session with about 50 school administrators and 20 law enforcement officers on Saturday on school safety issues.  The workshop included statistics and lessons learned from school shootings, ways to react in case of an intruder, and practical applications in various areas of the school.  We plan to sit down with the officers who assisted us in our lockdown to review the findings from the workshop and what we might apply to our school.  We are looking for a balance between keeping our students and faculty safe while not changing the whole culture of our school and accessibility for our parents and guests.

Read any good books lately?  Please take a moment to collect any great books you may have on hand and donate them to the Annual Teachers' Book Drive.  Books may be placed in boxes by the ECC entrance and near Mr. Darnell's desk between Mon. 2/25-Fri 3/8.  The books will then be available to the teachers for their reading pleasure over spring break. If you have any questions, please contact Tracy Gordon at trcgordon@gmail.com

“Like” St. Paul’s on Facebook: www.facebook.com/stpaulskc

The police have apparently set up a speed trap this morning because I have heard the brief siren alert many times this morning.  It’s a good reminder to us that this is a school zone with the posted speed of 15 mph around our property.  I wanted to alert you to this fact, in case you have forgotten, so you won’t get caught!

Monday Morning Memo

It looks like all of the digging out we have done from our recent snow event may get covered by even more snow.  We will do our best to let you know as soon as possible about any decision regarding school closing.  According to the weather report I heard this morning, we should make it through the day without an early closing.

Head of School Search Committee

The search for our next Head of School is underway.  One of the first steps in this process is forming the Head of School Search Committee that will play an important role in assisting the Board of Trustees in this decision for the future of our school. Amy Holewinski and Laurie Robinson, co-chairs for the Search Committee, are pleased to announce their committee members:

o   Dave Hall (Board President/parent)

o   Stan Runnels (Rector)

o   Amy Holewinksi (Trustee/parent)

o   Laurie Robinson (Trustee/parent)

o   Gordon Gee (church member/former parent/current grandparent/former Board president)

o   Dr. Ann Kennedy (former Intermediate Division Head)

o   Vernie Nerstheimer (faculty)

o   Weston Heide (alumnus/parent)

o   Ashley Pindell (alumna/parent)

o   Britton Norden (former PG President/alumna/parent)

o   Sarah Telford (Finance Committee/parent)

Please look for more information on the work of the Search Committee in the near future including focus groups that will be scheduled in April with all constituents of our community (trustees, administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students, church members and alumni).  Please try to attend one of these focus groups, as participation from all of our community will be very important.  Laurie Robinson and Amy Holewinski

Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on Mar. 7 and 8.  The scheduled times will be from 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 7, and from 7:30 – 12:00 noon on Friday, Mar. 8.  Extended day will be available from 7:15 – 6:00 on both days for those who need child care.  Please contact Karen McDonald at kmcdonald@speds.org to arrange for this care.  Also, drop-in care at no charge for the duration of your conference is also available.

Science Olympiad was postponed from this weekend to March 9, due to the snow.  We know this was a disappointment to our students, who were ready to demonstrate their talents, but they’ll now have a little more time to prepare.

Due to other conflicts in the school calendar, the Fifth Grade Showcase has had to be postponed until Mar. 28.  We have Spring Break with which to contend, the Middle School Musical competing for space and rehearsal time, and other conflicts on the calendar that make it necessary to push it out to this later date.  Please mark your calendars now, because you won’t want to miss it!

The sixth grade students will share their African presentation this Thursday, Feb. 28 at 9:00 a.m. in the third floor commons.  Parents and guests are welcome to come enjoy this integrated thematic presentation which ties together the strands students have learned about Africa. 

Wine in the Vine, the 2012 auction item hosted by the Lower School Faculty, will be held in the Rain Forest and surrounding commons area on the second floor this Thursday evening from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.  With snow all around us, the warmth of the Rain Forest should provide a welcome contrast!

Our kindergarten dads or special friends will be the featured guests at 12:15 on Friday, Mar. 1, for the Dads’/Special Friends’ Luncheon.  Students eagerly await the arrival of their special guests in order to share a meal, show off their classrooms, and play games with them.

One parent just noticed that we do not have Monday, Mar. 25 as a Professional Development day this year – classes will resume that day after the Spring Break holiday.  This is because the Friday of that first week back is Good Friday, and we will not be in session on that day.  In case you, too, missed that, we wanted to point it out again.  This has been on the calendar since last January when contracts were issued, so I promise we’re not springing it on you! 

Read any good books lately?  Please take a moment to collect any great books you may have on hand and donate them to the Annual Teachers' Book Drive.  Books may be placed in boxes by the ECC entrance and near Mr. Darnell's desk between Mon. 2/25-Fri 3/8.  The books will then be available to the teachers for their reading pleasure over spring break. If you have any questions, please contact Tracy Gordon at trcgordon@gmail.com

Remember to “like” us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/stpaulskc

Monday Morning Memo

Halloween is Wednesday (as I’m sure you know!) and the excitement will be palpable!  Please be sure that children’s costumes are appropriate – ones they can safely wear all day or out of which they can change early in the day, not so expensive that school activities can ruin them and cause disaster, no frightfully scary masks or even plastic weapons – just good, clean, creative fun!

Parent Teacher Conferences are this Thursday and Friday!  I hope you’ve made an appointment to visit with your child’s teacher as there is much to be gained by these face-to-face meetings.  Remember there will be no classes for students on these days but our extended day program will be available for all day care or for drop-ins during conferences. 

Speaking of extended day, we are making a change in the coverage of our Early Room program

based on the increased growth of participation during the morning.  For many years we have offered all early room care in the south MPR.  As our numbers have increased this year, we feel it is in the best interest of all participants to split the groups by age.  Beginning Monday, October 29^th,  we will have the following age groups report to the identified locations:

Toddler/Preschool/PreK/Kindergarten will be reporting to the ECC Commons

First through eighth graders will be remain in the south MPR

This will allow us to offer developmentally appropriate choices to everyone.  It will also allow us to provide the adequate supervision and interactions important for a positive start to the school day.

As a reminder, all Toddler/Preschool/PreK/Kindergarten children must be signed into Early Room by their parent while the first through eighth graders may sign for themselves.

We are confident that this will be a successful adjustment for all and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me directly.  Please remember that this change begins today – Monday, October 29^th.

Admissions season for the 2013-14 school year is in full swing!  Siblings of current St. Paul’s students and St. Paul’s church members receive admissions priority until Friday, December 7^th.  Please submit your applications to the admissions office as soon as possible.

Get Hooked on a Good Book! - Please mark your calendar for family night at the book fair on Wednesday, November 7th from 3:30 - 5:30 pm in the gymnasium.  Come peruse our fabulous selection of books, read a few with your child or set books aside for class visits on Thursday and Friday.  We will celebrate and encourage reading with buddy D.E.A.R. times (drop everything and read) and an all-school reading time during the week, as well as author visits during each divisional chapel on Thursday.  If you would like to help with the book fair, please see the schedule at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B48A9AA292-book  If you would like to bring treats for class visits during the book fair, please sign up at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0B48A9AA292-book1

All School Pencil Collection Project from October 25^th – November 7^th, 2012 -- Atem Akuei is a current second grade student at St. Paul’s whose father is originally from Sudan, Africa. Since Atem was six years old, he has been collecting pencils and school supplies for the children of South Sudan when he learned that children there do not have any support for their education. In fact, they sit under any big tree and write in the dirt with their fingers. Atem has voluntarily given up a lot of things to make sure he can make a difference in the lives of the Sudanese children.  Last year Atem worked hard to meet his goal of collecting and sending 10,000 pencils.  Atem’s previous school and channel 41 honored him last school year for collecting 12,334 pencils!  This year his goal is 20,000 pencils!    Students in St. Paul’s School and St. Paul’s Church members are invited to donate to this worthy project in the next two weeks.

We invite each St. Paul’s student and family to help Atem reach his goal by bringing in new, unopened boxes or bags of pencils anytime between

Wednesday, October 25^th and Wednesday, November 7^th . Pencils can be placed in the large boxes found on each floor of the Lower School, in the blue tub at the greeting spot in ECC, and in the receptacle organized by MS on the third floor. We thank you for supporting the children of South Sudan and Atem Akuei’s honorable mission!  Atem and his mother will be delivering the pencils to the children of South Sudan in December of this year. To learn more about this heartfelt story, go to:  http://tinyurl.com/atem-news   

Several parents and faculty have reported cars coming through the carpool lines with children unbelted and hanging out windows, a very unsafe practice that makes us all nervous.  Please encourage your children to buckle up as soon as they get in the car and stay buckled until leaving the car.  We would hate to see a child get hurt by not adhering to this expectation.