1/31/12

HAPPY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK!

Yesterday was a great start to CSW, with Mass and a visit from the Bishop Kenny High School Band and Chorus. We have wonderful things planned all week, so please check your agenda of activities and join us when you can!

Thank you to everyone who so generously contributed to our Boosterthon Fun Run! The students had a great time, and we raised approximately $17,000 for the school! your support is truly appreciated. If you have not yet turned in your pledges, the final day to do so is this Friday. Again, thank you!

Use the school’s World Book Online resource at home!

Parents, your student has access to World Book Online at school and at home. We are fortunate to have four different World Book Web resources for the students to choose from to help them with their research or to just have fun! World Book for Kids offers many great resources such as Science projects, a dictionary, maps, games, activities and more!  For the upper elementary students we have World Book Student.  On this site students can access resources such as research tools, projects, quizzes, and activities.  The Junior High Students can use World Book Advanced.  E-Books, research tools, headline news, and more are available for the older students.  In addition there is a Spanish World Book offering the same tools and activities written in Spanish.  To access this great resource go to the St. Joseph School website and click on the library link.  The link to the World Book website, the username and password are all available on the library page.  Happy researching!

For planning purposes: The 2012-13 school year will start on August 15. Christmas break will be from Dec. 20 through January 3. Easter Break will be from March 28 through April 5. The last day of school will be June 4.

MORNING DROP-OFF RECOMMENDATION: I would like to recommend that more parents consider using Pt. B in the mornings. At no time is there ever a line in the street waiting to turn in. In fact, the longest line of cars is never more than 5-8 cars. It is literally “No line, No waiting” at Pt. B in the mornings. If you are worried about your little ones making it to class, I can assure you that the patrol members still walk EVERY pre-K, K, and 1^st grade student all the way to his or her homeroom door from that side of the campus just like they do at Pt. A. The approximate time in the parking lot for Pt. B drop off families (from start to finish) is LESS than 5 minutes and usually only 2-3 minutes, tops!

Up-coming dates to note:

1/26: Class photos (in uniform)

1/29: Catholic Schools Week Kick Off (see agenda in the paper packet for daily activities and guests)

1/31: Bishop Kenny Night Vision Team to visit our 5^th and 6^th graders (speak about dangers of alcohol and tobacco)

2/1: OPEN HOUSE; Early Release @ noon

2/3: Progress Reports go home; FAMILY BINGO NIGHT

FINGERPRINTING POLICY: Asof July 1, 2011, all new fingerprints AND all renewals must be completed on the BLUE fingerprint cards (national-level screening with results back in 4-6 weeks) or by Livescan (computer-generated prints which also go through a national-level screening with results back in 24-48 hours). The in-state green cards will no longer be accepted. Furthermore, ALL volunteers and visitors must have taken the Virtus Protecting God’s Children class before they will be approved to come on campus. This class is a one-time only event, and you must bring a copy of your certificate of completion to the office.

Here are a few traffic notes to keep in mind (all year!):

· Please do not arrive for dismissal so early that you block necessary traffic on and off the campus (that is not related to dismissal!) Also, when the line forms too early, we end up with parents sitting in their cars in the street—which is VERY DANGEROUS!

· Please respect the right-turn only policy when leaving Pt. B in the morning and the afternoon. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT PARENTS BREAKING THIS RULE SO FAR THIS YEAR!

· If you park in any of the spaces alongside the flow of morning or afternoon moving traffic, you may NOT back out into the moving carpool line until the traffic has cleared out of the parking lot.

· Please refrain from making phone calls or texting during morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal times. I don’t want any students or faculty members put in danger due to someone’s lack of attention.

· Please do not block the office complex (insurance office & dentist office) next to our Pt. B entrance when you are waiting in line during dismissal. Their visitors are frequently trapped in the parking lot by our parents.

· Patrol parents may NOT park in the 4 spaces along the east side of the circle at Pt. A in the afternoons. If you are on campus before the patrol members are finished with their duty, you must park in the spaces around the gym. The spaces located along the circle driveway are for parents who are asked to pull over by faculty members.

· Please be polite and respectful to all faculty members and patrol students. They are doing their best to make sure drop off and dismissal run safely and smoothly, and they understand that there are sometimes frustrations for parents who have to wait in line. They do not, however, deserve to be treated rudely. Thank you for exercising your patience in our parking lot!

As always, please remember that you can contact me at any time if you have any questions or concerns. The office number is 268-6688 and my e-mail address is rrose@stjosephcs.org .

God bless you all,

Mrs. Rhonda Rose

Principal