Principal – Mr. Tush

ISTEP is here! Please make sure students get adequate rest this week.

Our mystmarys.com website is a great place to find out information about St. Mary’s. With all of our snow days it is hard to keep track of what is going on with school events. Take a look at the Event Calendar found under the General Info. tab to keep up with everything. Please join me in thanking “Miss Mollie” for keeping our website calendar updated.

We have another great fish fry this Friday. Thank you to everyone who helped out or just came to eat. We still need to fill some worker spaces. Please read the fish fry article in this Bulldog to find out where we could use some help. The success of our St. Mary's fish fry has made it a huge part of our fundraising budget. Thank you for your support, and I’ll see you on Friday!

I am very excited about Reds Night, and I hope you are too. What a great opportunity for our entire parish to have a fun night out while celebrating the talents of our students. Please spread the word. Let’s make this a night to remember. Please join me in thanking Mrs. Rectin for making this possible.

Our Celebrate St. Mary’s raffle ticket sales begin today. Please take a look at the packet your student brought home. Keep selling those dinner tickets!

Have a great week!

Kindergarten – Mrs. Denning

In phonics we are focusing on letter Xx(ks sound)- keyword- fox (ending sound). We will be doing a lot of sentence reading and writing.

We are also listening for beginning, ending, and vowel sounds to spell our caterpillar words. You could practice at home by using the word lists that have been sent home.

Just to let you know, we have over 500 words on our caterpillar now! The children are doing a great job reading their color words. Thank you for your help.

In math this week we will be identifying spheres, working with tangram designs, and using our new pattern, ABC, to make sound and movement patterns.

Thank you to Mr. John Strautman for donating the copier for the teachers' room. It is wonderful. No more black smudges on the copies!

Don't forget to come enjoy the fabulous food at the Fish Fry this Friday.

Grade 1 – Mrs. Hurst

Permission slips for our upcoming field trip to the Symphony were sent home last week. Please have them signed and returned by March 12th.

In phonics this week we will be learning the three sounds of Digraph ea (as in leaf, thread, break). Our new sight words this week are: once; when. A list of sight words for our next test will be sent home on Wednesday. Our test will be next Friday.

In Math the students have been practicing how to tell time by the half hour. Extra help at home would be greatly appreciated!

New book orders go home this week. They are due back to school by March 12th.

Grade 2 – Mrs. Grove

We have started subtracting two-digit numbers with regrouping (borrowing). Some of us are still forgetting to carry when adding two-digit numbers!

I am so proud of how many second grade students wrote and illustrated books for the Young Authors Contest! They worked so hard.

We are thankful to Mrs. Hetzer, Mrs. Beinkemper and Mrs. Hutchinson for helping us make a beautiful quilt to auction at Celebrate St. Mary’s.

Grade 3 – Mrs. Rector

Third graders completed the Faith 2000 Religion test last week. This test is given to all third graders in the Archdiocese. We also spent time getting ready for the ISTEP tests this week. Students should get plenty of rest to perform their best. Please make sure your child has at least two number 2 pencils.

We will not have spelling words or much other homework this week because of testing. This is a good time to catch up on their reading.

Grade 4 – Mrs. Meyer

I think the fourth graders are ready for ISTEP! We have been doing some practice tests, and they did great. We will be taking ISTEP Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Be sure students get to bed early and eat breakfast. These will both help their performance. Because of ISTEP week, we will not have spelling this week. Students will not be expected to do homework each night besides reading their 20 minutes. This would be a great week for students to get caught up on their book report projects. We will begin our next science chapter called Organisms and Environments. I think students will enjoy this chapter.

Grade 5 – Mrs. Baker

The 5^th graders have been working very hard on reviewing for the ISTEP tests. We will begin our testing Tuesday morning. Students should get plenty of rest and eat breakfast. We will not have spelling or vocabulary because of ISTEP.

We will continue our social studies chapter on the settlement of North America this week. Instead of a test for this chapter we will be doing a project. More information about the project will come home later this week. In science we will continue our chapter on exploring the night sky. We have learned a lot about stars so far! Have a great week!

Grade 6 – Mrs. Rice

The 6^th graders will have ISTEP testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. Monday and Friday will be regular schedules and specials will meet throughout the week. Get plenty of rest and stay nourished throughout the week. You may bring in a snack for our break or buy a snack from the 8^th grade each day.

The 6^th grade parents are to provide desserts for the March 12^th fish fry. CYO camp is May 10 & 11. Information will be sent home soon. Information about St. Mary’s Night at the Reds was passed out at the parent meeting. If a 5^th-8^th grade parent could not attend the info was sent home on Friday. The date is May 24. Ticket orders are due by April 16.

Grade 7 – Mrs. Powell

It is great to finally be moving toward spring! Hopefully the weather does the same. We are testing this week for ISTEP. The 7^th grade will be testing on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Please make sure your child is well rested so that they are ready to come in and do their best.

Due to the testing we will have limited homework this week. There will be no vocabulary for any grade, the 6^th will do review. The 7^th and 8^th will continue reading in their novels.

I will be sending home CYO Camp information packets this week. There are some papers that need to be signed and returned ASAP. If you have any other questions feel free to contact me at any time.

Grade 8 – Mrs. Birkholtz

Our ISTEP testing begins this week. Students need to get plenty of rest and eat a good breakfast! We will begin our tests tomorrow and have one test on each of the next three days. Eighth graders are working on Civil Rights projects and wrapping up genetics. Seventh graders are presenting their Civil Rights projects this week. Sixth grade is finishing their projects to be ready to present next week. Sixth grade has worked on writing exercises and reading Rascal in language arts.

Good luck to the 7^th and 8^th grade academic teams as they participate in the meet at LaSalle High School on Tuesday and Thursday!

The 8^th grade rummage sale is this weekend in the Activity Center. Thanks to Mrs. Fairfield for chairing this fundraiser. Also, students need to start making payments toward their trip now. I am sending home a current credit list this week. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call.

8^th Grade Rummage Sale

The 8^th 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 1^st.

Thanks for your support.

Cafeteria Volunteers:

3/1 – Chris Kent, 3/2 – Cathy Hill, 3/3 – Marge Waldon, 3/4- Laurie Gray, 3/5 – Beth Fairfield, 3/8 – Carolyn Robers, 3/9 – Jenn Ruter, 3/10 – Marge Waldon, 3/11 – Pat Titkemeyer, 3/12 – Jennifer Taylor, 3/15 – Chris Kent, 3/16 – Tina Weber, 3/17 – Marge Waldon, 3/18 – Laurie Gray, 3/19 – Debbie Harrell, 3/29 – Cathy Hill, 3/30 – Tina Weber, 3/31 – Marge Waldon

Playground Volunteers:

3/1 – Lisa Folop, 3/2 – John Hill, 3/3 – Meghan Oatman, 3/4- Ann Hutchinson, 3/5 – Beth Daugherty, 3/8 – Pat Titkemeyer, 3/9 – Susan Leder, 3/10 – Mo Roessler, 3/11 – Help Needed, 3/12 – Chris Simon, 3/15 – Help Needed, 3/16 – Marianne Weir, 3/17 – Kristy Murray, 3/18 – Ann Hutchinson, 3/19 – Deb Lischkge, 3/29 – John Hill, 3/30 – Marianne Weir, 3/31 – Moe Roessler

BoxTops Cathy Hill

Kudos to Mrs. Rector and her 3rd graders for being the February winners. They turned in 9 baggies = $45.00. Please continue to send coupons in. Please note that coupons dated prior to March 1st 2010, cannot be accepted. Thank you.

Fish fries

Enclosed, please find the worker schedule for March 5th, 2010. Please peruse the schedule, as positions were allocated on a first come first served basis. The remaining 3 fish fries still have positions open. Needed on March 12th: 1 greeter, 1 dining room, 1 split-the-pot. Needed on March 19th: 1 greeter; 1 split-the-pot. Needed on April 2nd: 1 cashier; 3 dining room, 1 carry-out, 1 split-the-pot

If you are available to work one of these positions, please call me at 926-9692 or email me at johnhill@embarqmail.com

Uncomfortable with going to Confession?

That’s natural. None of us like to admit our faults. It is much easier to make excuses for our failings or simply deny them. God understands our natural human tendencies and never wants to be

separated from us. That is why he has given his people specific ways to repent from sin.

Join us for “Forgiven: Understanding the Healing Power of Confession” on Tuesday, March 9 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the parish office.

You’ll learn:

· How sin entered the world through Adam and Eve

· That God has always wanted us to accept responsibility for our mistakes

· How in the Old and New Testament shows how God has given his people specific rituals to confess and repent from sin,

· Why Jesus gave Peter the power to bind and loose sin on earth,

· The power of confessing our sins, and

· How to prepare for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

Please RSVP to Mrs. Meyer at 926-0060

St. Mary’s Night at the Reds – May 24^th

St. Mary’s is excited to announce this very special night at Great American Ballpark. Come see a great game and watch our very own students grades 5 through 8 perform The National Anthem. We are reserving a group of 1000 seats for all of St. Mary’s Family and friends. These are field level seats we are getting for ½ price - $18.00 each. Order forms are in the school office. So call everyone you know, put a group together and come down and have a great night of fun. Support our kids at St. Mary’s Night at the Reds.