MMM 8/22/11

MORNING MEMO
August 22, 2011
ebarnes@speds.org

What a great start to the new year – the energy has returned! First the teachers returned for a week of preparations and they livened up the week. But the piece de resistance was the return of you and your children and the new families who are joining us for two exciting hours on Friday and then more reunions and introductions this morning! It’s going to be another great year at St. Paul’s!

Traffic and carpool: Traffic was a real challenge this morning, due to the construction issues and the numbers of parents who wanted to come in with their children this morning – the latter of which is a good thing! Please remember that the police are always out in force as school begins – not because we call them, I promise, but to remind folks to slow down, so please be aware of the school zone speed limit. Also, our carpool runs late during the first couple of weeks of school, as children get used to where they should be, what their carpool number is, listening for their number, and, when needed, fastening seatbelts. So please be patient with us or come later (like 3:45) so you’ll have less waiting and hassle.

Middle School Curriculum Night with an earlier meeting for parents of 8th graders is this Thursday evening. Parents of 8th graders are asked to meet at 6:30 p.m. in room 303 to hear the details about the trip on Sept. 20 – 23 to the YMCA Camp of the Ozarks. At 7:00 p.m., parents of 7th grade students are invited to room 302 and parents of 6th grade students to room 305 for a brief overview of the year before going to other rooms for more information. We hope all parents can attend to hear about their child’s new year at St. Paul’s!
ECC Curriculum Night is Thursday, Sept. 1 at 6:30 p.m.
Lower School Curriculum Night is Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m.

This Monday Morning Memo is going to be sent the traditional way – via email – this week and next but there will also be a blog format called “Notes from the Head” that will begin this week and, after a couple of weeks will be the only format through which it will be sent. We have had a number of problems with mass email distributions and, following the success of the ECC and Primary teachers last year, we’re all moving to blogs and further utilizing our new website. Blogs will also take the place of Class Notes in Lower School and Middle School. Please give us feedback on the website and these blogs as we transition to this format. The idea is to improve communications with you so please let us know if we are successful in doing so.

Our new website has officially launched: www.speds.org! “Inside St. Paul’s” (in the Current Parents and Students menu) is a password-protected section that houses things like the school calendar, classroom blogs, lunch menus, athletic schedules and more. Most of the content in this section is only available to current parents, students, faculty and staff. We will start using only first names and last initials in the information that goes on the website, in order to further ensure the privacy of our families.

We’re sponsoring another community blood drive this Wednesday! Community Blood Center, our neighbor across the street, is the primary supplier of blood for local hospitals and has been serving Missouri and Kansas hospitals for almost 50 years. Community Blood Center needs to collect 580 pints of blood every day and over 140,000 pints annually to meet the needs of our local hospitals. An individual within the area that Community Blood Center serves needs a blood transfusion every four minutes. You have the opportunity to do your part for local hospital patients at the new Community Blood Center blood drive in OUR GYM on Wednesday, August 24th between 12:00pm-3:00pm. To make an appointment online, go to www.esavealifenow.org and use sponsor code: stpauls. You can also let Miriam Zavagnin, our Admissions Director, know when you would like to make an appointment and she will make it for you as site administrator. Thanks to all of you, our St. Paul’s blood drive continues to grow.

Class and individual pictures will be ordered online this year! This will give you more options for the background of the picture and lower prices for pre-ordered picture packets. There will be a backpack flyer coming home this month – one per child – that will give ordering instructions and the school code, so please watch for it!

Starting this year, St. Paul’s is using Land’s End as a vendor for our PE uniforms (grades 5 – 8). All PE clothes will be purchased through the Land’s End website online. Look at Mr. Kurt’s blog for an easy to use link to the PE clothes. All 5th grade students will need to purchase their PE clothes for the first time and any 6th-8th graders who need to replace old PE clothes can go online now to do so. Feel free to contact Mr. Kurt with any questions that you might have.

One of our fifth graders is making a name for himself in the track world. This summer in the 3000m event, Reece J. won all of his regional meets, earning five gold medals. At the USATF Youth National Outdoor Championships in Myrtle Beach, S.C., he placed 6th in the nation with his best time of 10:50 (earning him a spot on the National Elite Youth Honor Roll for 2011). At the USATF National Jr. Olympics in 100+ degree temps, he placed 16th in the nation with a time of 11:28. In the 1500m event, Reece earned two gold medals and two silver medals in regional competition. In Myrtle Beach, he placed 9th in the nation with his personal best time of 5:09. At the Jr. Olympics, he finished 20th in nation with a time of 5:10. Wow, what a record! Congratulations, Reece!

We're launching the first Notes from the Head blog! I hope you receive it and other such messages from your teachers, at least by the end of the week.