Saint Ann School News

Saint Ann First Grade Newsletter

January 17, 2012
Dear Families,

This week in math, we will be counting pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Please have your child practice counting change at home.

This week we will continue to blend, spell, and read words that contain the long /o/ sound spelled oa and ow, and the long /u/ sound spelled ew and ue. You will notice that the number of small reading booklets is decreasing. We are reading from the First Reader more often. I will send the First Reader home next month.

Our next field trip will be to the Ridgecrest Public Library on Tuesday, January 31. Please note that all the students will be in a booster seat. We will also be having lunch afterwards at the park. I will need parent drivers and chaperones. The Sign-up Sheet will be posted on the door.

Thank you parents for all the baked goods, and help at the Hot Lunch and Bake Sale!

Lastly, First Graders did a great job at Mass last week. I’m so proud of them!

Math: count pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters
Phonics: oa, ow, ew, ue
Science: What do animals do during the winter?
Social Studies: north, south, east, west, Martin Luther King Jr.
Religion: identify Saints as holy people
Activities: “What do animals do during the winter?” drawing

God Bless You,
Mrs. Nguyen

Saint Ann First Grade Newsletter
January 9, 2012
Dear Families,

This week in math, we will be counting pennies, nickels, and dimes. Please use every opportunity to have your child participate in identifying the amount of money on price tags, numbers on signs, or how much change you have in your wallet. Also, dictate numbers to your child between 1-100 to see if he/she can write all of them. Each child must know those numbers in order to continue to do well in math for the rest of the school year. In addition, have your child practice counting by twos and fives.

This week we will continue to blend, spell, and read words that contain the long /a/ sound spelled ai_ and ay, and review words that contain the long /i/ sound spelled _igh, _y, and _ie.

The students are having a fun time with the Smart Board. We have been doing interactive math lessons where the students are able to drag the correct amount of coins to the price tags. We did a slideshow of the symbols on each of the coins. They were also able to write words directly on the board. We did calendar, greater than less than, count by tens, and more. The Smart Board is wonderful; however, we still need a better stepping stool. I was wondering if anyone could saw up a log into a rectangular shape to be used as a stepping stool, so that the students could reach the board better. If you would like to see an example, the Second Grade Class has one. Please let me know. This would be very helpful.

Our macaroni and cheese hot lunch and Bake Sale is this week on Friday, January 13. Thank you to the Meylemans’s family for making and donating the macaroni and cheese for our fundraiser! Thank you parents for buying the supplies and organizing this event. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Mandy Patin for more information (760-382-2149 or mandy_patin@yahoo.com).

First Graders are in charge of Mass Friday, January 13. Come celebrate it with us!

Also, remember to bring in your Box Tops. This is a great and easy fundraiser to benefit our school. If you simply bring it in, I will glue it onto the paper.

Thank you parents for all the delicious baked goods for our Epiphany Day Celebration last week!

Math: count pennies, nickels, and dimes
Phonics: ai_, ay, _igh, _y, and _ie
Science: How hurricanes are formed?
Social Studies: Martin Lurther King Jr.
Religion: Vocations Week (call to be a priest, deacon, brother, or sister)
Activities: Draw different types of weather, Martin Lurther King Jr. booklet, and related activities
God Bless You,
Mrs. Nguyen

Saint Ann First Grade Newsletter

January 3, 2012
Dear Families,

Greetings as we begin our first week of 2012! I hope you had a healthy and safe vacation.

This week we will continue to blend, spell, and read words that contain the long /e/ sound spelled _y and _ie_, and the /s/ sound spelled s, ce, ci_, and cy. Please feel free to return any decodable booklets sent home from the start of the year if he/she is no longer interested in keeping them because they are now “too easy.” It would save the school money to reuse those booklets.

As the children are reading at higher levels, their listening and comprehension level is also developing. I would encourage you to check out books from the library that YOU read aloud to your child…perhaps a chapter a day. You can then write that chapter down on a line of the January Reading Log. The librarian would be able to give you suggestions for good chapter books.

This week in math, we will learn the values of a penny, nickel, and dime. Keep a handful of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters on your “family gathering table” at home so that you can ask you child frequently to tell you the name of the coins and how much it is worth. When that is mastered, combine coins of the same value and ask their total worth. Make sure that your child lays them in order from the greatest value to the least value before they count. Have fun with it!

We will also be celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany. It is a nice way to reenter school knowing that we start with a celebration. If any parents would like to bring any snacks for the celebration, feel free to drop it off in the morning or at the front desk on Friday.

I begin this New Year feeling very blessed that God has allowed me to teach in this school and to work with you and these children. It is a great feeling to love one’s job and to look forward to each day spent with the children. Thank you.

Math: Learn how to count pennies, nickels, and dimes
Phonics: long /e/ sound spelled _y and _ie_,
and the /s/ sound spelled s, ce, ci_, and cy,
Science: continue to learn the four seasons
Social Studies: learning about geography
Religion: Feast of the Epiphany, Pentecost, & Saint Peter the Apostle
Activities: making a Geography Booklet

God Bless You,
Mrs. Nguyen

Kindergarten News
January 9-13, 2012

Dear Parents/ Guardians,

We are keeping ourselves busy in Kindergarten!!! This Thursday, January 12 is our Kindergarten Hot Lunch. We are still looking for one more person to come and help. Sign up is on whiteboard, on the class door.

I am including a Scholastic book order in the Monday Envelope. You can send in your order or order online. If you send in an order please have your child give it to me in a labeled envelope ! Orders are due January 20.

Catholic Schools Week is right around the corner. Please read below. More information will be sent home soon!

I will begin testing this week. Please make sure students are reviewing high frequency words, letter names and sounds, and numbers (in and out of order) regularly. In addition, have students practice reading all predecodeables and decodeables sent home. Remember, “Practice makes permanent”!!!

There is no school on Monday, January 16, due to the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Have a wonderful week and God Bless!
Belia Chávez

Catholic Schools Week
January 30 through February 3 is Catholic Schools Week. To start off the week we share our talents at Mass on Saturday, Jan. 29 and Sunday, Jan. 30. We are in need of readers, banner carriers, and people to bring up the gifts. Please talk to your child and let me know if they would be willing and able to do one of these tasks at the mass you attend.

Detach and return bottom portion
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Yes my child, _________________, can help read_______, carry a banner_______, or bring up the gifts_________(please mark the one they want). We plan to attend the ____________ Mass on that weekend. (8:00a.m. or 10:30a.m. mass)

This is what we’re working on this week:

Language Arts: We will work on Open Court activities, which include phonemic awareness activities such as word blending and rhyming. Students will also learn letter names and sounds for Oo, Rr, and Gg. They will identify the beginning, middle and ending sounds of words. Our focus for Oo is the short sound, like in fox or octopus. Students will also write in their writing journals. Our new High Frequency Words this week are him and on.

Math: Students will continue to learn about the concept of time. They will identify activities that take longer and shorter. They will sequence activities in order from beginning to end. They will learn the difference between minutes versus hours. This will all prepare them for learning time on the clock! Please discuss these concepts with your child by talking about things they do at home. For example, what are the steps to brushing their teeth? Or what takes longer, reading a book or putting on their shoes?

Religion: Noah saw a rainbow in the sky. God said, “I will always take care of you.” (Based on Genesis 6-9). We will read the story about Noah and God’s promise to him. God gave us the rainbow as a reminder of His love for us. We will have school Mass on Friday beginning at 8:15 a.m. You are always welcome to join us.

Science: Students will continue learning about the sun, what it is made of, and the importance of the sun to the Earth and us!

Social Studies: Students will learn about Martin Luther King Jr. They will learn about his dreams and will complete activities related to this topic.

PE: This week we will have relay races as we dribble a soccer ball around cones. We will also run and do some much-needed Yoga !!!

MISC: We will complete activities that involve snowmen and snowflakes. We will also make mini pita pizzas on Friday! Yummy!!

Our student of the week is: B W!
B is 5 years old.
His favorite color is black.
His favorite animal is a tiger and he likes apples.
Some super cool facts about B include: his brother is his prayer pal, he likes to play with his Hero Factory figures and he has 4 brothers and 2 sisters!
B would like to be a ninja when he grows up!

Tuesday: Hi-Frequency Spelling Test #77
Wednesday: Incorrect Words from Pre-Test 18 written 3 times, see hand-out;
Library Book Due
Thursday: Recorder; Spelling Connect Unit 18 Workbook
Friday: Test Spelling Connection Unit 18; Religion Ch.12 Assessment
Next Monday: Spelling Pre-Test 19
Next Tuesday: Social Studies Unit 2 Test

Social Studies
The focus for this week is on CA’s early economy and the affect of the Mexican War for Independence and the affect of Mexican rule on CA. The test on unit 2 will be on Tuesday of next week.

Religion
This week we will be finishing our discovery of what we celebrate in the three Sacraments of Initiation.

Field Trips
In next week’s newsletter, you will find a list of field trips that we will be taking. We will need chaperones and in some cases parent drivers.

Science Fair Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 6:30 in the Parish Hall
The judges will be previewing your child’s project tonight and interviewing him/her tomorrow.

Math
Group T: The students are struggling with multiplying 2 and 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers. The mistakes are occurring in regrouping, what to multiply, where to put the zero, and basic multiplication errors. We will continue to work with this concept in class. Please check your child’s homework to catch errors at home as well. This group will also have nightly, timed, multiplication tests. Ch. 4 test will be announced in your child’s planner once the group has the concept of multiplying by 2-digits down.
Group M: The students will learn how to interpret remainders, divide multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000, and learn about 3-digit quotients.

Language Arts
Writing/Grammar: Students will be working on their final drafts for their stories starting Wednesday.
Spelling/Vocabulary: Students will be focusing on Unit 18 in their Spelling Connections workbook, the high frequency words from list 77, and the vocabulary terms from their social studies and science lessons

Science
The students will be starting Ch. A3 in their Science books.

Reminder
No school next Monday! If your child wears their full uniform twice to Mass during the month of January they will receive a free dress day. Their uniform cannot be covered up by a non-uniform jacket/coat/sweater while in Church.

January 28 through February 3 is Catholic Schools Week. To start off the week we share our talents at Mass on Saturday, Jan. 28 and Sunday, Jan. 29. We are in need of readers, banner carriers, and people to bring up the gifts. Please talk to your child and let me know if they would be willing and able to do one of these tasks at the mass you attend.

Yes my child, _________________, can help read_______, carry a banner_______, or bring up the gifts_________ (please mark the one they want). We plan to attend the ____________ Mass on that weekend at _____ St. Ann _____ All Faith Chapel.

Thank you,
Mrs. Lloyd

January 9, 2012 Middle School Newsletter

Dear Middle School Parents and Guardians,

• The end of the second quarter of school is this Friday, January 13. Report cards will come out two weeks from today in the Monday Envelope.
• Please join us tomorrow starting at 6:30 PM in the Parish Center for the viewing of Science Fair projects. Awards will be announced at 7:00 PM.
• Due to Science Fair, there will be NO basketball practice for either team today or tomorrow; practices will resume on Wednesday.
• Mark your calendars! Saint Ann School is going to host a McDonald’s fundraiser on Wednesday, March 7. McDonalds will give us a percent of all profit earned on this night. Proceeds will go towards the Middle School Science Camp Retreat.
• We have scheduled a Middle School Science Camp parent meeting this Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. in the 6th grade room. We will be discussing upcoming fundraisers for camp!

Basketball News:
- Directions for Thursday: South Fork Middle School, 5225 Kelso Valley Rd, Weldon Ca 93283. Going west on Hwy 178, go past Onyx. Just past South Fork Elementary in Weldon, turn left (south’ish) onto Kelso Valley Rd (do not turn onto Kelso Creek Rd). Drive one mile on Kelso Valley Rd. You “can’t miss” the Middle School. Drive time is 1 hour 5 minutes.
- South Fork usually charges admission fees (players are free) and they usually have a snack bar.
- For our game at South Fork this Thursday –
o Girls will be excused from PE and dismissed at 1:45PM. We are trying to come up with a new plan for excusing players early since the school is no longer in charge of assigning rides. Worst case, each parent (or someone on your blue Emergency Contact list) will have to go to the School Office to sign out their own child. Best case, we will have a clipboard at the Middle School gate so an adult can sign out a player. More details will follow in an e-mail as soon as plans are finalized. In the meantime, please make sure the person who will be driving your child is on your child’s blue Emergency Contact list.
o Boys will be dismissed at the regular time (2:40 PM). As of right now, our scheduled boys’ games do not require early dismissal. If parents choose to pick up their child prior to regular dismissal on game days, the player will need to be signed out at the School Office (and will be counted as a partial “Absence”).
o Note – Any siblings who will be leaving prior to regular dismissal on game days will need to be signed out at the School Office (and will be counted as a partial “Absence”).

Have a great week!

Mrs. Sherrick, Mrs. Wadley and Mrs. Duck

6th Grade
Language Arts: Students will take the Chapters 17-19 quiz over Hatchet tomorrow. Spelling workbooks are due on Thursday, and the Spelling Unit 18 test is Friday. AR Quiz #3 needs to be taken by the end of school today. Students will read President Cleveland, Where Are You? in the literature textbooks this week. From this story we will cover the plot of a story, including conflict, rising action, climax and falling action. Students will take a quiz over this literature selection on Friday.

Social Studies: Students will contrast upper and lower Egypt concerning geography. They will describe three seasons created by the Nile’s flood cycle, compare and contrast the flooding in Sumer and Egypt, explain the meaning of different colored crowns as well as evaluate the 1,000 years before the old kingdom while naming important advances.

Religion: The Christmas Box AR quiz needs to be taken by Friday, January 13, to count as extra credit for Religion only. We will finish Chapter 8 (The People of God), and the students will take the Chapter 8 test on Thursday.

Earth Science: Students will continue to demonstrate how the rate of cooling affects the size of crystals in igneous rocks by cooling crystals of magnesium sulfate at two different rates. They review the two types of sedimentary rock forms, two ways a rock can undergo metamorphism and the difference between foliated and non foliated metamorphic rock. Students will complete presentations for Science Fair. Please email me with any questions regarding the Science Fair at eighthgrade@parishofsaintann.org.

Math: Concepts & Applications: Students will compare and order fractions, decimals and percents. On Tuesday, students will begin their pointillism projects. The pointillism project will replace the test for Chapter 5. Please encourage your child to do his/her best on this project. Projects will be due on Friday. Reminder: POW is due Friday (remember the Problem of the Week will be available on Gradelink).

7th Grade
Language Arts: Students will take the Chapters 13-15 quiz over Shadow of a Bull (SOAB) tomorrow. Students will read A Crush in the literature textbook; in grammar students will work on dynamic and static characters as well as connotation and denotation of words. Spelling workbooks are due on Thursday, and the Spelling Unit 18 test is Friday. AR Quiz #3 needs to be taken by the end of school today.

Social Studies: Students will review test corrections and continue studying the rise of Islam.

Religion: Students will continue to learn about the Gospel of John by studying the Book of Glory. Students will also discover how the Church is a Sign and a Sacrament. In addition, students will study the process of discernment and how it helps us discover what God is calling us to do. On Thursday, students will take the Chapter 6 test. Reminder: Blessing Books will be collected Friday for the dates of 1/6 through 1/12.

Life Science: Students will continue cellular reflections and discuss heredity. Students will complete Science Fair presentations to prepare for Tuesday. Please email me with any questions regarding the Science Fair or any other questions and concerns at eighthgrade@parishofsaintann.org.

Pre-Algebra: Students will learn how to express numbers in standard and scientific notation and explain why scientific notation is useful. On Wednesday, students will take the Chapter 4 test (Sections 1-8). On Thursday, students will begin Chapter 5 (Rational Numbers). Students will review how to write a fraction as a decimal and learn how to identify and classify rational numbers. Reminder: POW is due Friday (remember the Problem of the Week will be available on Gradelink).

8th Grade
Language Arts: Students will take the Chapters 11-12 quiz over Johnny Tremain (JT) tomorrow. In the literature textbook, students will read and discuss The Lie. In grammar, students will work on punctuating dialogue. Spelling workbooks are due on Thursday, and the Spelling Unit 18 test is Friday. AR Quiz #3 needs to be taken by the end of school today.

Social Studies: Students will finish their political cartoons from Chapter 6, and they will take the Chapter 6 quiz on Wednesday. We will then begin Chapter 7 (People of a New Nation), which will show the importance of ordinary people in the development of the frontier and the already established cities of the United States.

Religion: Students will begin Chapter 6 (Mystics, Mendicants and Scholastics). Students will learn how the Catholic Church continued to grow during the Dark Ages. In addition, students will learn about various individuals whom the Holy Spirit called to renew the Church in the thirteenth century. Reminder: Blessing Books will be collected Friday for the dates of 1/6 through 1/12.

Physical Science: Students will continue studying the solar system. All unit reviews will be turned in on Friday. Students will complete class presentations to prepare for Science Fair that will take place Tuesday. Please email me with any questions regarding the Science Fair at eighthgrade@parishofsaintann.org.

Algebra: Students will continue to solve linear inequalities using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and graph the solutions on a number line. They will also solve multi-step inequalities and compound inequalities. There will be a quiz on Chapter 6 (Sections 1-3) on Wednesday. Reminder: POW is due Friday (remember the Problem of the Week will be available on Gradelink).

PE – We will continue our volleyball unit focusing on the rules of the game, controlling the ball and playing games.

January 9, 2012

Dear Families,

Regarding our IXL and Mathletics accounts: The IXL account subscription expired in Dec. and was to be replaced with Mathletics. The students and I really liked the Mathletics program and I gave each student a password to log in, both at school and home. After a few weeks of checking it out, we discovered that most of our computers at school could not access the program because they could not support the necessary Flash Player upgrade. Mrs. Little is working with the company to try to resolve the problem. Hopefully, we will be back on line with either Mathletics or IXL as soon as possible.

Notes and Reminders:
Monday, 1-9 PTG Mtg, 7p.m. School Library
Tuesday, 1-10 Science Fair, 6:30 p.m. Parish Hall
Wed., 1-11 Library …. Please return or renew (bring to school for renewal) library books.
Monday, 1-16 NO SCHOOL – Martin Luther King Day

Week Agenda:

Religion: We will discuss what Jesus teaches us about the Great Commandment and the connection between the Great Commandment and living our Baptism.

Language Arts: We will read “Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun” (Genre: Folktale)…practicing to improve phonics, fluency and accuracy. We will learn and use new vocabulary words and use our knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and verb tenses to say and define words. Our spelling words will focus on suffixes –ful, -able and review ending -ing
Spelling Words: Notice in their homework folder activity sheet pg. 35. The words are:

ringed painful fixable scared helpful filling pleasing
wishful notable stunning wearable dressing clogged harmful
likable Challenge Words: wonderful injured

We will take a spelling pretest on Monday … 100% on the pretest = NO TEST ON Friday!! They can show you their test. It should be in their take home folder on Monday.

Math: We are working on multiplication and learning the relationship to division … working on factors of 2 and 3 and 4. We will also start a unit on measuring with a standard ruler to the half inch. We will continue adding and subtracting larger numbers, up to the thousands place; continue to drill on telling time to the hour, ½ hour, quarter hour and down to the minute, using expressions like quarter after, quarter til and half past; continue to review values of coins and bills (adding up and subtracting coins/bills) and review place value and rounding/estimating.

Science: Learning about Space: What are some ways that people can study objects in space.

• We invite you to attend the Saint Ann School Science Fair tomorrow night (Tuesday) in the Parish Center. Viewing of the projects starts at 6:30 PM and the Awards Ceremony will begin at 7:00 PM.

• No school next Monday, Jan. 16, because it is the holiday remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

• As I mentioned last week, this month we will have an enrollment drive for Saint Ann School. Our goal is to make Saint Ann School very visible to our parishioners as they are considering where their children will go to school next year. Highlights of the enrollment drive are:

 We are asking students to wear their uniforms to the Sunday Masses at Saint Ann Church* all month. Students who come in uniform to at least two weekend Masses in January will be granted a “free dress day” in February. Students must check in with the teacher on duty in the side foyer by the Blessed Sacrament Chapel after Mass to receive credit. The teacher will come out to the foyer as soon as Mass is over. If she is not there, please be patient until she gets there. Do not call the office or send in notes saying your child was at Mass in uniform. Since the point is promotion of the school, we ask students not to cover up their uniforms with non-uniform sweaters and coats while they are inside the church.

* If a parent wants to check off students wearing uniforms at the 4:00 PM Masses at All Faith Chapel, please contact Mrs. Little. Mrs. Blubaugh will cover the 9:00 AM Masses.

 At the Masses opening Catholic Schools Week (Jan. 28-Feb. 3), greeters will pass out ribbon pins to all adults who have had children attend Saint Ann School. Please take a pin to wear during Mass. We hope that it will be an impressive display to see how many parishioners have belonged to the Saint Ann School family over the years.

 On January 29 (Sunday), we will have an information booth set up outside of church. We want to encourage parish families to learn what Saint Ann School has to offer their children.

 As usual, Masses on the 29th will be mostly staffed by Saint Ann students at both Saint Ann and All Faith Chapel.
 A preliminary schedule for Catholic Schools Week is on the back of this letter.

 Open House will be on Thursday of Catholic Schools Week (Feb. 2) at 6:30 pm in the Parish Center.

Please support this enrollment drive by speaking with family, friends, co-workers and fellow parishioners about the benefits of a Saint Ann School education. Invite them to Open House. Also mention that cost should not prevent any parish family from choosing this option because tuition assistance is available. Don’t forget the $100 Heart Card you will earn for every new family that you refer who enrolls their child and pays tuition. Filling more of the seats will provide financial stability for the school and will benefit everyone by reducing cost per student and making fundraising much easier.

• The PTG meeting is tonight, Monday, at 7:00 PM in the school library. Because of schedule conflicts, meeting dates had to be changed to Monday instead of Tuesday. Please join us!
• For our two hot lunches this week, please put the orders in separate envelopes & mark the envelope on the outside as to which hot lunch order is in the envelope.
• The Middle School will be hosting a Pot Roast Dinner fundraiser on Saturday, January 21. There will be door prizes and music/dancing. Funds raised will help pay for the Science Camp/Retreat in April. Please purchase your dinner tickets from a Middle School student or at the school office.
• As you will remember from the Registration Information obligations, each Saint Ann School family is responsible for selling or buying one Car Raffle ticket. The Car Raffle is February 4, so it is definitely time to think about buying or selling your ticket. Tickets are now available for you to purchase in the School Office. If you are not planning to buy your own ticket, you may sign up to sell raffle tickets after a weekend Mass (sign-up sheets are posted in the School Office). The first ticket you sell will count towards your obligation. You may also go in with other non-school families to buy your ticket (of course, you must then split your winnings!).
Upcoming Events:

Monday, Jan. 9
PTG Meeting, 7:00 PM, School Library

Tuesday, Jan. 10
Science Fair, Viewing projects 6:30 PM, Awards 7:00 PM

Thursday, Jan. 12
Middle School basketball games at South Fork (3:30PM girls, 4:30PM boys)

Saturday, Jan. 14
Middle School basketball tournament at El Tejon (boys only)

Sat. & Sun., Jan 14/15
wear your school uniforms to Masses

Mon., Jan. 16
NO SCHOOL, Martin Luther King Holiday

Have a wonderful week!

Jan. 9, 2012

“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him take up his cross and follow Me.”
Matthew 16:24

Spelling List
cue value uniform elect
hue mew confuse cashier
few cute view council
music human skew mayor
pure rescue argue transportation
*Please work with your child to learn the spellings and meanings of these words this week. J

Calendar of Events
First Reconciliation - Feb. 10, 2012 – 9:15am
Church Search – Feb. 21, 2012 – 5:30pm
First Holy Communion Retreat – Apr. 28, 2012 – 9am-11:30am
FHC Practices- May 8, and May 11 – 5:30pm
First Holy Communion Mass – May 12 – 10am
*These are events that you and your child will need to attend in the coming months. Please put these dates on your home calendar. More information for each event will be available as the event gets closer.

Volunteer Help
I have some days that are available for parents to work in our classroom this month. They are Jan. 18 and Jan. 31. Both days are from 10:20 to 11:20am. You must have completed the Safe Environment training and have fingerprints on file in order to work in the classroom. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know.

Field Trip to Liberty Ambulance
We are still in need of drivers for our field trip this week. We are leaving school at about 9:45am on Thursday. If you have all the necessary paperwork on file in the office and are able to drive, please let me know immediately. If you have already signed up please double check with the office to make sure all of your paperwork is up to date and everything is turned in. Thank you.
Also, remember that if your child is not 8 years of age by this Thursday he or she will need to be in a booster seat in the car. Please bring your child’s booster seat to school and leave it on the bench outside the classroom clearly marked with your child’s name.

Here’s What We Are Learning This Week
Every week I highlight what I am covering in class. This will give you an opportunity to talk with your child about specific subjects that we are covering. Not all topics are covered every day. Be sure to always check to see what we are doing in 2nd Grade!
Reading –We are reading the story Out and About at City Hall.
Phonics – Introducing long /u/ sounds.
Writing – We are working on writing our description of an event.
Grammar – Subject verb agreement
Health - Discussing mixed foods.
Math –We are working on regrouping in subtraction.
Spelling – Words with long /u/.
Religion – This week we are learning about the Ten Commandments.
Social Studies - We are working on map skills.

• Welcome back – and Happy New Year! I hope your Christmas break was a time for family, friends and relaxation.

• Please keep our 5th Grade teacher, Mrs. McMahon, in your prayers. She has suffered a bad break in her foot, and she’ll be off her feet for at least two weeks.

• I’m delighted to inform you that the Holiday Bazaar earned over $10,000 for the school!

• We are still looking for a couple of Science Fair judges who are available for judging on the morning of January 10 (and optional pre-view on the evening of January 9). If you are or know a scientific person, let us know!

• This month we will have an enrollment drive for Saint Ann School. Our goal is to make Saint Ann School very visible to our parishioners as they are considering where their children will go to school next year. We are asking students to wear their uniforms to the Sunday Masses all month. (Students who come in uniform to at least two weekend Masses in January will be granted a “free dress day” in February. Students must check in with the teacher on duty in the side foyer after Mass to receive credit.) On the weekend beginning Catholic Schools Week (Jan28-Feb 3), we will have an information booth set up outside of church. We will have students passing out ribbons at Masses that weekend to families who have ever had a child attend our school. As usual, Catholic School Week Sunday Masses will be mostly staffed by Saint Ann students. Please support this enrollment drive by speaking with family, friends, co-workers and fellow parishioners about the benefits of a Saint Ann School education. Also mention that cost should not prevent any family from choosing this option because tuition assistance is available for parishioners. Our policy is that you will earn a $100.00 HEART card for every new family that you refer who enrolls and pays registration for their child. Filling more of the seats will provide financial stability for the school and will benefit everyone by reducing our cost per student and making fundraising much lighter. We remain committed to the goal of capping class sizes at 25 students, which is still considerably smaller than public school class sizes.

• Some exciting school improvements happened over the Christmas break. Thanks to a generous donor, a permanent wall was constructed between Rooms 6 and 8 to take the place of the accordion wall. This should definitely enhance the learning environment by improving acoustics. SMARTBoards and projectors were installed in the kindergarten and first grade rooms – also thanks to donations to the technology fund. All classrooms will now make use of this innovative technology. We are very close to finishing the hook-up for free internet access for the elementary classrooms. The cable has been laid to the school and pulled to the new access point in the computer room. All that remains is the purchase and installation of the new modem.

• As you will remember from the Registration Information obligations, each Saint Ann School family is responsible for selling or buying one Car Raffle ticket. The Car Raffle is February 4, so it is not too early to think about buying or selling your ticket. Tickets are now available for you to purchase in the School Office. If you are not planning to buy your own ticket, you may sign up to sell raffle tickets after a weekend Mass (sign up sheets will be posted in the School Office this week). The first ticket you sell will count towards your obligation. You may also go in with other non-school families to buy your ticket (of course, you must then split your winnings!).

• For our two hot lunches this week, please put the orders in separate envelopes & mark the envelope on the outside as to which hot lunch order is in the envelope.

• Reminder that we set up Chess sets at lunchtime on Fridays. No membership needed; no experience needed; Kindergarten thru 8th Grade.

• Do you have the heart to share your faith with other families? The parish is forming a team of a few individuals and couples who are willing to do just that at family catechesis workshops held three or four times a year. The commitment involves about six hours the day of the workshop and three to four meetings to get organized. This is a great way to earn parent hours and to fulfill the mission each of us is called to share Christ’s message with all the world. Please call the Church office at 375-2110 if you are interested.

• We still have See’s Candy for sale: 6 Dark; 12 Milk; 5 Peanut Brittle; 12 Soft Centers; and 8 Assorted Chocolates. You may purchase these for $16.50/box in the School Office. Checks should be made out to Saint Ann School.

• Dennis Uniforms is offering a 10% discount for orders placed during the month of January.

• Please cheer on our Middle School basketball teams at their game this week (see green calendar).

• The PTG Meeting will be next Monday, January 9, in the school library (meeting days have been permanently changed to the second Monday of the month). The School Advisory Council Meeting will meet in January on the 23rd rather than at the end of the month. Please join us for these meetings which both start at 7:00 PM in the school library.

Upcoming Events:

Friday, Jan. 6
School Mass (2nd Grade), 8:15 AM

Monday, Jan. 9
PTG Meeting, School Library, 7:00 PM

Tues., Jan. 10
Science Fair, 6:30 PM, Parish Center

Have a wonderful week!