Monday Morning Memo

The Search Committee invites all parents to meet the remaining finalist, Gray Smith, on October 28^th. You will be able to meet him informally between 2:25 and 3:15 in the South Multipurpose Room. The session will allow an opportunity for open discussion with him, and parents should feel free to come and go as their schedules allow.  We are still on target to announce the next Head of School by late November, though our commitment to finding the right candidate might alter that date to some degree. After Gray's visit, the feedback from the advisory groups, along with the information gleaned in the reference checking and the finalists’ formal interviews with the Search Committee, will be used by the committee in determining which candidate to present to the Board of Trustees as the proposed new Head of School. 

About those phone calls . . .  2013-2014 Five Week Annual Fund Pledge Drive.  Please see our message in this video.

A reminder about Halloween costumes:  We ask that students not wear costumes that are gory and frightening for our young students, especially since students will be going with their buddies to all-school chapel that morning.  No weapons, including plastic ones, are allowed.  Costumes should allow students to play at recess and PE and conduct regular classroom activities and, if that won’t work with their costumes, they should bring a change of clothes.  Please do not send your child in an expensive costume that, if damaged, would prevent him/her from wearing it at Halloween.  We want our active students to be able to continue to do so without fear of damaging clothes or hurting themselves.

All school chapel will occur on Halloween Day, rather than on Friday this week.  Regular divisional chapels will take place on Friday.

We had a great turnout for parent-teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday!  Thank you so much for coming in person to talk with your child’s teacher.  The exchange is very helpful to the teachers and we sincerely hope it meets your needs as a parent, too.

Many thanks to Ann Fasel, Amanda Durkin and volunteers for the delicious supper Thursday night and April Bier and Costco for breakfast Friday morning.  A delicious dinner of pasta, salad, bread and dessert were served to the faculty by the following volunteers and we consumed it with much gusto!  Breakfast and the coffee lady on Friday morning were another very special treat for us.  Thank you to:

DINNER:

Jessica Hagg

Noelle Manica

Polly Breitenkamp

Suzanne Raney

Cameron Rostron

Kay Gaffney

Katy Platt

Courtney Fadler

Connie Mendolia

Colette Fry-Williams

Jessica Marien

Shawna Williamson

Kathleen Dorris

Angela Fitle

Mia Madison

Andrea Wilson

Katherine McLiney

BREAKFAST:

April Bier and Costco

Today we welcome back our fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Cowan, who has been on maternity leave.  Mrs. Cowan joined Mrs. Field for the conferences on Thursday and Friday, and resumes her duties as teacher today.  We sincerely appreciate Mrs. Field for her collaborative teaching and skills with our fourth graders during this quarter.

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 the link below to sign up:  www.SignUpGenius.com/go/20F044DAEAD283-book

Professional Development Days on November 7 and 8.  Please note that there will be no classes for toddler through kindergarten students on BOTH Thursday and Friday, Nov. 7 and 8.  The ECC faculty will be going as a group to the ISACS Conference in St. Louis for those two days.  Students in grades 1 – 8 will have classes on Thursday, Nov. 7, but they will have no school on Friday, Nov. 8, as these teachers will be having professional development on Friday.  On both days child care is available through Karen McDonald with prior arrangement at kmcdonald@speds.org.

Due to low numbers for our next Community Learning Event we have decided to offer a short presentation and book discussion over The Genius in Every Child: Encouraging Character, Curiosity, and Creativity in Children by Rick Ackerly.  Though it is a quick read, we’ve also decided to postpone this event until Tuesday, February 4^th in order to allow those who wish to read it ample time.  We realize October has been a very busy month and now with the holidays approaching, schedules will become even more hectic.  If you are interested in previewing the book, you can access several chapters and the introduction and epilogue at http://tinyurl.com/m4356yr.  Copies of the book will soon be available for checkout from Linda Van Thullenar. 

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.

The November 2013 issue of Arts & Activities features yet another article by our art teacher, Shirley Laird!  Her article on “Seeing the Negative Can be Positive” features work of our students and showcases our special art department.  Congratulations, Mrs. Laird!   

Monday Morning Memo

Important Message from the Search Committee:  We want to thank you for your involvement in this important process for our school!  Please know that we have heard your comments and questions and we are very pleased that our community is excited to learn more about each of the finalists.

We appreciate your input and enthusiasm and we want everyone in our community to learn more firsthand about each finalist.  We sincerely hope that you are able to take the time to meet all four of our finalists during their upcoming visits.

Click here to read about the four finalists. And mark your calendars to meet Lori Preston on October 9^th, Andrew Myler on October 15^th, Byron Lawson on October 21^st and Gray Smith on October 28^th. You will be able to meet the finalists informally between 2:25 and 3:15 in the South Multipurpose Room on each day. Each finalist will give some brief remarks at the end of the reception, but parents should feel free to come and go as their schedules allow. 

We want to assure you about our dedication to the thoroughness of the search process, as the committee is thick in the middle of checking references and learning as much as possible about our finalists. 

Sincerely,

Laurie Robinson and Amy Holewinski,

Search Committee Co-Chairs

There will be no classes on Monday, October 14, as teachers participate in professional development work.  Faculty and staff will be re-certified in CPR, work on curriculum, and receive more training in technology.  Child care will be provided for a fee with prior notice to Karen McDonald, our Enrichment Director, at kmcdonald@speds.org. 

Many thanks to Janet Greaves and Joanna Posten for a great Buddy Run last Friday!  There were many more parents who volunteered to make this a very special event, along with teachers and students who wholeheartedly joined in the fun.  Thanks to all of the folks who supported this special event financially and with their time.

Parents are asked NOT to park in the Walnut Street carpool line in the morning.  This causes other parents to have to wait in line and then drive around them.  Please note that, in the morning and afternoon carpools, this is meant to be a moving line, once the action begins and, in the morning, that action begins as early as 7:15.  Please help us and your fellow carpoolers by continuing to move in the carpool line or by parking in the parking lot.  Thanks!

ANNUAL FUND PLEDGE DRIVE KICKS OFF NEXT WEEK -- We are very excited about the kick-off of the 2013-2014 Annual Fund Pledge Drive.  Please take a look at this short video.

From Michelle T. Johnson, the school’s Diversity Coordinator: Among the many activities taking place in September and October is the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 - October 15. It was exciting to give the Chapel lesson for third-fifth graders in celebration of the month, read the book Mi Carrito to first and second graders as part of their chapel lesson, and recommend the purchase of specific books to our library that feature Latino characters. Also, October is National Bully Prevention Month, so I look forward to promoting among the students awareness of and responses to bullying, including cyberbullying.

Upcoming Events for our Community Learning Center:

October 10^th 4:00-5:30PM - Love and Logic Module #1 Four Steps to Responsibility and preparing children for the real world. It’s not too late to sign up! Contact Lvan@speds.org today.

October 12^th – Pumpkin Patch Community Builder at Carolyn’s Country Cousins Pumpkin Patch in Liberty. Join us any time from 10:00-2:00. Wear your St. Paul’s shirts and let’s have some fun!  See www.carolynscountrycousins.com for more information.  This is offered as just a fun, all-community event for those who would like to participate.

Recent Event Update from our Community Learning Center:

Bill Severns’ presentation to parents on October 1st was a huge success with an impressive turnout. Bill shared valuable stories that remind us all to enjoy each and every day with our children and to remember what they love most about playing sports. Teach them to play fearlessly, to work hard, and most of all, to have fun! We are planning to have Bill return again in the spring so stay tuned for more information and make plans to join us!  Some comments shared by our community, following this event:

“Bill was great, full of easy to relate to stories and very engaging. I felt like I was right there next to him for all of those years of coaching. There’s a lot of valuable material to pass along to our coaches at St. Paul's.”  Randy Kurt – Middle School PE Teacher

“Thank you very much for bringing in such a wonderful speaker last night with such a fantastic message. I thought many of his stories were touching and insightful. It says a lot about our school and our values when a speaker of this quality is brought in for our benefit. His message was powerful.  Thank you again!”– Middle School Parent