The Bulldog Barks
February 22, 2010
Principal – Mr. Tush
Thank you for all of your hard work at our fish fry. What a great turn out!
We have a lot of school days to make up. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis does have a policy stating that Catholic schools should follow the calendar of their local school district. There are several reasons for this policy, and St. Mary’s School will be abiding by the policy. Calendar adjustments for our “Colts” day will be discussed at our next school commission meeting. We have been given flexibility in making this day up.
ISTEP begins next week. Our written assessments will begin the week of March 1st, and our multiple choice assessments will begin the week of April 26th. Please start good sleep habits now by making sure children are in bed by 9:00 p.m., at the latest, so they will be well rested.
Have a great week!
Kindergarten – Mrs. Denning
We will continue working with letter Vv, and then begin our new letter Jj- keyword- jet. The children will bring home reader # 9, Jim & Puff. We will be reading and writing sentences using the 8 basic color words. Please make sure your child is reviewing them at home with the flashcards.
In math we will start focusing on numbers 21- 30. We will be identifying, printing, and counting sets.
Midterm letters were sent home last Thursday. If you still haven't received yours, please let me know.
Hopefully the snow is behind us and we can get in a full week of school!
Grade 1 – Mrs. Hurst
In Phonics this week the students will learn syllable division v/cv with a, i, and e. Our sight words this week are: early; bush; push.
Parents, on snow days please continue to read with your child at home and study sight words and spelling words.
Grade 2 – Mrs. Grove
We are working on the start of a book for the Young Authors contest. Students can complete them at home if they like. Some students are typing their books at home already. They do not need to be typed.
Holy Childhood boxes were sent home last Thursday. Please save your pennies during Lent. This is a worthwhile mission!
Grade 3 – Mrs. Rector
I hope you enjoyed the unexpected time off the past few weeks. If your child gets tired of the snow, reading, writing a story or practicing math facts are always good activities to help pass the time. Each student did receive flashcards with multiplication facts to practice. The sooner they learn the basic facts, the easier it will be when we get to more complicated problems.
Remember that the Young Author stories are due this Friday, February 26. We only had a limited time to work on stories at school because of the snow days, so most of the work needs to be done at home. They are excited to share their stories.
Grade 4 – Mrs. Meyer
I could tell students were working hard on their book report projects on our snow days because many were ready to turn in when we came back last week! Don’t forget students need three projects due by the end of the quarter. The projects are part of their reading grade. Also, this Friday, February 26, the Young Author’s books are due. Students need to turn those in to me. Each student is required to submit a book.
ISTEP will begin the first week of March. This week we will be doing sample problems to help students prepare.
Grade 5 – Mrs. Baker
Welcome back! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks! We are working on trying to get back in the routine of school!
We will be reviewing for ISTEP this week. Testing begins on March 1st. We are working on explaining our answers after we have solved math problems. We are also working on writing responses to a prompt. Please remind students to try their best.
We have been reading our novel The Indian in the Cupboard. We will be finishing the book this week. Our longhouse projects will be on display in the hallway upstairs if you would like to stop and look at them. The students did a great job on these projects! Have a great week!
Grade 6 – Mrs. Rice
The students did a great job participating in the St. Mary’s Olympics! The opening ceremony was colorful and energetic. Participation medals were given to all students, and winning medals were awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for Kindergarten - 3rd grade; and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for 4th – 8th grade. Congratulations to all.
Good luck to the 5th and 6th graders participating in the Academic Meet on Saturday. Thanks to all of the parents and Mrs. Baker for their time and effort.
Grade 7 – Mrs. Powell
We have a lot of catching up to do after missing so many days. The first round of ISTEP testing will begin next week. We hopefully will be able to use this week as a way to get back on track before testing. This week all grades will have vocabulary. The 7th and 8th grades have started new novels this week. We will also continue with adverbs and verbs in English.
The meeting for the Reds game will be Wednesday at 6:30 in the activity center. We finalized our candy gram sales last week; overall we did well. I will be sending home information soon with payment information included.
Have a great week!
Grade 8 – Mrs. Birkholtz
Wow, this weather is making it tough right now! We continue to work on academics when we are in school, and we will make it through this snowy winter. The 8th graders are beginning to work with labs in genetics, and they are beginning the Civil Rights project in social studies. 6th and 7th grade social studies classes are continuing their Civil Rights projects and are doing a good job in researching and learning about the inequalities that have existed for a long time. 6th grade language arts is working on writing skills for the upcoming ISTEP and testing over adjectives. In reading the 6th grade is continuing to read Rascal.
The 8th grade will be traveling to Rising Sun on Thursday, the 25th, to work on their art project with Mrs. Beinkemper. Please return permission slips no later than Wednesday.
Parent Meeting – Grades 5-8 – Reds Game
Mrs. Rechtin will be here for a very important parent meeting for grades 5 – 8 on Wednesday, the 24th, in the Activity Center at 6:30.
First Reconciliation
Our parish reconciliation service is Thursday, February 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the church. Several priests will be available to hear confessions. This is a good opportunity to take your child for First Reconciliation.
8th Grade Rummage Sale
The 8th grade will be having a rummage sale to raise money for their class trip. We are asking for gently used items such as clothes, toys, or other items in reusable condition.
Please contact Beth Fairfield (926-3879) to arrange a time to drop items off before March 1st.
Thanks for your support.
Cafeteria Volunteers:
2/22 – Chris Kent, 2/23 – Tina Weber, 2/24 – Marge Waldon, 2/25 – Pat Titkemeyer, 2/26 – Katie Lynch Lewis
Playground Volunteers:
2/22 – Bruce Beckman, 2/23 – Marianne Weir, 2/24 – Moe Roessler, 2/25 – Bruce Beckman, 2/26 – Beth Daugherty
BoxTops Cathy Hill
The 2nd BoxTop submission deadline for this school year is February 28. I will be meeting my BoxTop buddies on Wednesday, Feb 24, to collect ALL BoxTop coupons. Please turn in any coupons you may have. All coupons turned in after this date, will count towards the 10/11 school year, so please continue collecting. Let's reach that $1000.00 goal, set for this year, so that the school can start the chalkboard replacement project.
Thank you!
Fish Fry Desserts
Please note your assigned day to bring in dessert.
Feb. 19 - 1st, 4th and 6th grade parents
March 5 - Kindergarten, 2nd, 5th and 7th grade parents
March 12 - 1st, 3rd, 6th and 8th grade parents
March 19 - Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th, and 7th grade parents
April 2 - 3rd, 5th and 8th grade parents
Please write your name on masking tape and tape it to your dish. Due to a lack of storage space at school, please pick up your dishes promptly after each fish fry. If you would like to donate your dish to the school, we like Mikasa very much ... it's never too late to update the school kitchen :-).
Thank you! Cathy Hill
High School Religious Education
The second session on “The Social Justice Teachings of the Church” is Sunday, February 28 from noon-2:00 p.m. in the parish office. Please call Mrs. Meyer or Mrs. Martini if you have any questions.
Market Day
Market Day pick up will be Tuesday, February 23 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm.
Young Authors
Hopefully, the snow days provided plenty of opportunities to write! There is one week left to finish writing and illustrating your books. They must be handed in by Friday, February 26th, or the first day back if that is a snow day. Parents are welcome to assist with grammar. Kindergarten students will continue to write their book together. Anyone who submits a book is invited to an ice cream party!
Academic Teams
5th/6th Grade: Please note that the Language Arts team will now meet on Thursdays and the General Knowledge team will now meet on Wednesdays. We anticipate one week left to practice as the Oldenburg Academic Competition is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 27th. Should there be a postponement due to weather, practices will continue as noted above. Students need to be at Oldenburg at 8:45 a.m. on the 27th. Look for an information notice accompanying this week's Bulldog. Academic Team is as follows: (6th grade) Tanner Alley, Jacob Fairfield, Meghan Gray, Adam Rector, Kirsten Stenger, and Bridget Wildridge; (5th grade) Nick Beinkemper, Nate Hollingsworth, Matt Murray, Catie Roessler, Luke Ruter, Michael Wandstrat, and Ashley Yauch. Good luck, Team!
7th/8th Grade: Students recently competed against St. Lawrence in a mock academic competition and performed very well. Please note that the 7th grade will compete in their preliminary match at 4:15 p.m. on Tues., March 2nd. The 8th grade is scheduled to compete in their preliminary match at 4:50 p.m. on Thurs., March 4th. Both of these meets will be held in the cafeteria this year at LaSalle High School. Further details to follow. Parents will also be contacted regarding times for any remaining practices.