Parent Newsletter

This is our first full week of school in a month. I know that all of you are excited to return to the regular routine. I’ve even heard some of the teachers talking about how happy they are to have their students for a full week. That is definitely an indication of the commitment our staff has towards the formation of our children. This attitude permeates the St. Gregory’s community. People are genuinely concerned and committed to their responsibilities.

One of our responsibilities as parents is to be involved in our students Faith Formation. This means attending Mass on Sundays, talking with our children about the issues they face in today’s world, how Jesus would have addressed those issues, and modeling the Life of Christ. This job of raising children is not an easy one.

One way we accomplish these tasks is to attend Sunday Mass with our families. As parents and educators, we know that practice is needed to achieve success in the things we do in our lives. Children need to practice the traditions of our celebrations by attending Mass. As Catholics we want to pass on our traditions. To keep our Catholic celebrations and traditions alive, children need to learn and understand why we do certain things at certain times during the celebration of the Eucharist.

We are well aware that as we become comfortable in a setting, our actions begin to show respect for what we are doing. Give your children the chance to understand what happens when the priest celebrates mass. Bring them to church frequently. Keep them from being "clueless" about prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist.

May God’s Peace be with you,

Maureen Fyan

Please read the attached information about CTODP. This is a program that allows you to reduce your tax liability.

Progress Reports: Each student will receive their progress report on November 19^th. Please remember to ask your child for the report. You can reach your child’s teacher by calling the school number and asking for the teacher’s voice mail. Teachers check their voice mail during the day and will certainly return your call. Please call to schedule a conference, rather than trying to "catch" the teacher before or after school.

Lunch News: Lunch menus are going home today. Please get your orders into the school office by Wednesday, November 24^th, 3:00 p.m. After the Thanksgiving break will be too late.

Please watch for the January lunch order. It will go home Wednesday, December 8^th.

Tuition: Just a few reminders in regards to tuition payments:

1. If for whatever reason you have a check written to St. Gregory School returned for insufficient funds please call Dana immediately to make payment arrangements. The School does not send returned checks back through a second time.
2. If you have several checks returned, you may be put on a cash basis only.

Project BRAVE: Seventh and Eighth grade students will begin participation in this program, offered by the City of Phoenix. This program covers a variety of issues pertaining to Violence Prevention and Domestic Violence awareness. The topic for the first class on December 3 is Choices and Consequences.

School Board: The advisory board will meet this Wednesday evening to activate a phone-a-thon. We will be telephoning all parents to explain the CTODP program and to ask for your participation. It is extremely necessary for all of us to contribute in some way to the CTODP. This program is what makes tuition affordable for families in need. This is one way to model stewardship. Please support us in our efforts to make this successful.

Uniforms: If you have an opinion about the uniforms at St. Gregory’s, please join the Uniform Committee. We will begin meeting in January on the 2^nd Wednesday of the month, at 6:00pm, in the Teacher’s Lunchroom. Please call the office to offer to be a part of this committee. 602-266-9527.

Volunteer Hours: Each family is required to donate 30 hours of volunteer work to the school, or pay $150.00. If you have not started donating your time, please become an active part of our school community. If you don’t know what you can do, call the office and we will direct you to the various committees and to our volunteer coordinator.

Don’t forget to look at the school webpage. We are diligently trying to update the information with the latest news. Especially check out the 5^th grade webpage. It has articles hot off the press, written by your very own 5^th grade students.

Did you ask your children what they are doing in their classrooms that shows they are learning "Sharing" and "Leadership"? These are the two skills we are working on this month. Here’s an opportunity for you to discover the many strategies teachers use to help children understand a concept. It’s also a chance to show your children that you are interested in what they are learning. If they cannot think of anything, then look at it as an opening question for the child’s teacher. It’s a great conversation piece and I have seen some fantastic lesson plans from the teachers on these topics.

Discipline with Purpose Skills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Dismissal: November 24th students are released at 1:00pm for the Thanksgiving Holiday. There will be no extended day after school, on the 24^th.

School Closed for Thanksgiving on November 25^th & 26^th.

Morning Assembly: Please work with us as we teach our children politeness and social skills. When children are tardy for assembly, they should show respect for the speakers by patiently waiting outside the front corridor. In an extreme situation, if it is necessary to leave your preschool student, please leave him/her in the school office. The office personnel will be sure that they get to class.

Christmas Play:

On December 15^th, the entire school will participate in a non-traditional Christmas play. Please mark your calendar and allow your child(ren) to be a part of this experience. We will begin at 6:00pm in the Church and meet in Gordon Hall after the performance for coffee and cookies.

Attention parents: There are still several drivers who are making U-turns to either drop off or pick up children. PLEASE do not make a U-turn on 18^th Avenue or on Whitton. This causes a back up in the flow of traffic and is very unsafe with the number of children and vehicles we have before and after school. Also, do not go against the flow of traffic by driving over to the other side of the street. If necessary, please go around the block to turn around.

A NOTE FROM THE NURSE: Hearing, vision, height and weight screenings are coming along smoothly this week. Look for

a note from the nurse on the outcomes of your child’s results.

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents who have volunteered to do all the vision, hearing, height and weight screenings this week. St. Gregory School and I could not function without the help of such wonderful volunteers! Thank you and God bless you!!!! Dennise Reyes RN

Also, as a reminder everyone needs to do at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity and eat a well balanced diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Tamales!!! Tamales are here! They are $18 for a dozen. Orders must be prepaid by Dec. 15, 2004. Please look at attached flyer to order your tamales today.

 

Scrip: What is scrip, you ask? Scrip is an excellent way to donate money to the school through things that you already do. Scrip is a program that you can buy cards for places that you already shop at. A percentage of the sales come directly back to St. Gregory’s. How great is that! You spend what you normally do on groceries and St. Gregory’s will get a percentage of your purchases. The list of stores and restaurants involved will be sent out shortly – so be on the look out!

DANCE

K – 2^nd 3:00 – 3:50

3^rd – 5^th 4:00 – 4:50

When: October 28 – December 16

Every Thursday (Holidays Observed)

Cost: $70.00 for seven classes.

You can pick up permission forms in the front office. If you have any questions, please call Ms. Nicole: 602.770.8023

 

Winter Sports: 5/6 grade teams practice until 4:30 Mon thru Thurs. 7/8 grade teams practice until 4:45 Mon thru Thurs. Parents are

to pick up students before 5:00pm.

All student athletes must receive a C- or higher grade, to be able to play. If they do not, they are put on academic probation. This means the student may not practice or play until the probation is completed. Schedules, maps to games, and sports packets will be sent home – make sure they are signed and returned to the coach.

BIG THANKS: Thank you to Sarah Mosher, who substituted for Ms. Leach this week. Ms. Leach has been on the NCEA Accreditation Visiting Team at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Tempe. We hear it has been a lot of fun meeting the teachers and students at OLMC, but rumor has it that Ms. Leach will be very happy to be back ‘home’ at St. Gregory’s on Thursday!

REMINDERS FROM STUDENT COUNCIL: Don’t forget to purchase your ThankfulGram by this coming Monday, November 22. You can drop off your Gram in the School office. While you’re there, leave a new Christmas ornament (or two) in our "gift box" so we can send them off to Florida, with a smile! Thank you for your support.

Ornament Drive:

The St. Gregory Student Council, together with our faculty has chosen to donate Christmas ornaments to victims of the hurricanes in Florida as a school wide service project. Please consider purchasing new Christmas ornaments and/or decorations for this undertaking. Students in all grades will be making ornaments as well. If you are ‘gifted’ at making ornaments or doing crafts, please contact your child’s teacher to see if you can assist during this worthwhile endeavor. Ornaments will be sent to a contact person in Florida the third week of November. Donated items may be left in the school office in the Big Wrapped Box! Thank you all for your generosity.

 



Brophy College Preparatory, a Jesuit Catholic high school for boys with traditions in academic excellence, spirituality, co-curricular activities, and athletics, invites you and your son to visit.

Open House

Saturday

November 20, 2004

12:30-4:00pm

401 North Central Avenue

Phoenix, Arizona 85012

 

We will offer campus tours beginning every fifteen minutes; information about academic programs, co-curricular activities, transportation, financial aid, and the admissions process; and an opportunity to meet students, faculty, administrators, coaches, and parents. If you need further information, you may call the Brophy Admissions Office at (602)264-5291, extension 6233. Our entrance examination will be given at Brophy on January 8 and 22, 2005 ($40.00 application/test fee due at least three days prior to exam.

Bourgade Catholic high School

Open House

November 20, 2004

1:00pm-4:00pm

Scholarship/Entrance Exam

January 8, 2005

8:00am-12:00pm

Exam Fee $35.00

 

 

Xavier College Preparatory

Eighth grade day

November 5, 2004, Friday,

Students Only

9:30-12:30pm

Open House

November 21, 2004

12:00-2:30pm

Scheduled activities include a welcome assembly, student-led tours, classroom visits, an all school pep rally and lunch is provided. Interested students are to R.S.V.P. before Wednesday, November 3, 2004 by calling 602-277-3772.

We encourage everyone to visit our web site at www.xcp.org for information regarding 8^th Grade Day, Shadowing, Open House and the complete admissions process.

 

St. Mary’s High School  will hold our Open House for prospective students and their parents on Sunday, November 21, 2004, from Noon to 3:00 p.m. We have planned what we believe will be an enjoyable and informative day for interested day for interested families. In addition to a formal presentation offered continuously throughout the afternoon, visitors will be taken on a tour of our campus and be given the opportunity to meet with our faculty, our counselors, our coaches, our current, our current parents, and most importantly, our students.

 

 

                                                                                   

 

 

 

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