St. John’s School Newsletter – December 3, 2008
Phone: 256-722-0772
From the
Principal’s desk:
Greetings and may the blessing of the Advent season fill your family with joy
and peace. Our prayer for you during this holiday season is that you will find
joy and love in all the “things” you must do. Please take time to pray as a
family each day during this holy season.
Please note in the upcoming church bulletin that we are advertising for one aftercare worker and one part time clinic position.
Emergency Notification: I have signed a contract with Schoolcast, an emergency notification company. We will notify you when it is up and running. There will be at least 2 tests, I believe. You should also have the opportunity to add additional phone numbers once we are on line. If school closes early or there is some type of immediate communication needed, you will receive a phone call. That will eliminate the unknown and help you to plan as soon as possible when situations change unexpectedly. On my side, I expect to have the phone lines clear in an emergency as you will receive a call and not need to call us for verification. This is a popular service already in use by several schools. We are using some of last year’s GALA funds to purchase this service.
Advent Program: Grades Kindergarten through 5th grade will participate in the Advent Program next Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm. The program will be in the church. Please have your students arrive at the school between 6:00 and 6:10 pm. You may send them in the front door of the school, without a coat, and then proceed over to the church to find a place to sit. We will instruct the students that while portions of this event are fun, we are still having the program in God’s house and therefore behavior reflects that reverence, start to finish. Students should wear church clothes or their school uniform. Thanks for your help in supporting this effort.
Re-Registration: Please note that the first Wednesday after Christmas break, you will receive re-registration information. Just so you know: registration opens up to the parish on Jan. 18th and to the General Public on Jan. 25, 2009. The time table is very short so we want you to be apprised of the dates before the holidays.
School Board News: Included in today’s Wednesday folder is a copy of the St. John’s School Board newsletter. This newsletter will come out approximately every 2 months with highlights of some of the School Board’s activities. If you would like to learn more about the School Board, summarized versions of the School Board meeting minutes are listed on the school website under the “School Board” link. A School Board report is also given at all PTO meetings by our PTO representative.
Advent Program: Please join the PTO in the parish hall immediately following the Advent Program next Tuesday (December 9th). We would like to treat the kids to holiday punch and cookies (homemade cookies from our fabulous Teacher Appreciation/Hospitality Committee). Your Parent Teacher Organization wishes you a blessed Advent Season.
Advent Rosary: If you would like to join other St. John’s parents and pray the rosary this advent, we meet on Tuesday’s at 2pm in the church. We will meet on the 2nd, the 9th and the 16th. Please join us. Teachers are always welcome to bring their students at this time as well.
BOXTOPS NEWS: The second BoxTops Classroom Collection Competition has come to an end and Mrs. Zoeller’s 4th grade finished in first, Mrs. Lampton’s 5th grade finished in second and Ms. Jones’ 5th grade finished in 3rd. CONGRATULATIONS!!! A new BoxTops Classroom Collection Competition is beginning. Which classes will bring in the most BoxTops during this new competition?
Attention all St. John's Parents: The St. John's track team will be in need of a head track coach the year after next, that is, for 2010. If you are interested in the position and would like to join the team as an assistant coach this coming season (2009), or if you would just like to serve as an assistant coach, please contact Joe Leahy at 830-5112 or leahyj@uah.edu. You need not be a parent of a track team member.
SCRIP: The LAST DAY TO PLACE AN ORDER IS THIS FRIDAY DECEMBER 5th! Orders are useful if you are purchasing a LARGE AMOUNT (> $100) of Scrip or if you would like to order something we do not have on demand. ON DEMAND SCRIP WILL BE AVAILABLE UNTIL DECEMBER 19th on a first come, first serve basis! SCRIP gift cards will be available in carline on FRIDAY’S at 2 different times: 7:30am to 8:15am and 2:30pm to 3:15pm. Some great gift giving ideas: Barnes & Noble- $10, Bath & Body- $10, iTunes- $15, Best Buy-$25, Amazon.com-$25 and Starbuck’s $10 card!! Order forms need to be to the school office on Friday morning. The LAST ORDER OF THE YEAR IS FRIDAY DECEMBER 5th. Go to www.stjohnclubs.org/pto for more info, order forms and links.
SCRIP VOUCHERS: Scrip vouchers are gift certificates that can be used to order or purchase scrip on demand. They make great teacher and/or coach’s gifts. Voucher orders are simple…go to the PTO website and click on scrip…all the information you need is under the FAQ: “How do I order a scrip voucher”. The deadline to order a voucher is December 17th. Vouchers will be delivered on the 19th, unless otherwise requested.
Newbery Reading Program: All students in the third grade and above who read 15 Newbery Award books or Newbery Honor books gold and silver medals, during the school year will receive a certificate on honors day in May. The books may be checked out from the Saint John the Baptist Catholic School Library or any other library. Books can be counted only once toward this award. Each student must keep a record of the books read, turn in the list to his or her homeroom teacher, and the list is to be forwarded to the librarian.
Caldecott Reading Program: All students in the second grade who read 15 Caldecott Award or Caldecott Honor books, gold and silver medals, during the school year will receive a certificate on honors day in May. The books may be checked out from the Saint John the Baptist Catholic School Library or any other library. Books can be counted only once toward this award. Each student must keep a written record of the books read, turn in the list to his or her homeroom teacher, and the list is to be forwarded to the librarian.
Gala
All Hands
Meeting – December 10, 2008
Thank you to everyone who has already signed up to help with the Gala! We will
have an all hands meeting with team leaders & volunteers to discuss plans,
budgets, tasks, ideas, etc. before the Christmas break. If you have not signed
up to help yet and want to find out where your skills are best suited, please
join us to learn more. Below is a list of the Team Areas we've defined in our
preliminary planning with Team Leaders. We still need many more volunteers in
all areas, especially the donations & ticket sales teams. Please encourage your
friends to sign up ASAP at benefitgala@stjohnb.com so we know
where we stand on our volunteer teams for this fantastic event.
Our Gala All Hands meeting will be December 10th at 6:00 in the Conference room. If you can't attend, but want to participate, please let us know your thoughts and suggestions.