St. Cecilia School News
October 2007
School Liturgies
Each month our school community celebrates a school
Liturgy. You will notice these
dates and times on the monthly school calendar. Parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends are invited to
join us and to serve as Eucharistic ministers. If you would like to be trained as a Eucharistic minister
for our school Liturgies, please contact the school office.
Blessing of the
Animals
On Thursday, October 4 at 3:15, in the schoolyard, we
will have the blessing of the animals in honor of the feast of St. Francis of
Assisi. Animals (including stuffed
ones!) should be brought to school at dismissal time. Please gather in front of the Green Room for this
celebration!
Sandwiches
This year we are again providing the opportunity of
making a sandwich for the poor and homeless. Each Thursday, families can send an extra sandwich to school
and put it on the bench outside the office. Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society pick up the
sandwiches by 9:00 and deliver
them to the Multi-Service Center at 5th and Bryant where 400 people are fed
each day. Kindergarten PM parents,
please note the early pick-up time!
A ³Sandwich² reminder is on the calendar for each Thursday. Some parents/students have included a
note with the sandwich that was greatly appreciated! Thursday, October 4, is the first collection day!
Family Mass
The school will continue to sponsor a monthly 9:30
Family Mass. Teachers will ask
families to participate by reading, bringing up the gifts, and greeting
parishioners. The Childrenıs
Choir, conducted by Sister Margaret, will sing at each of these Masses and
following Mass there are refreshments in the auditorium hosted by the mothers
of the sponsoring class.
Please remind your younger children about behavior in
the auditorium during the reception. For safety, children should NOT be chasing one another or
running in the auditorium. They
should not be on the stage or in the McKay Center. Thanks for your help in this matter. So
you can plan ahead, here are the dates for the school Family Masses:
October 7 Grade
7
November 4 Grade
3
December 16 Primary
Advent Mass
January 27 Catholic
Schools Week Liturgy
February 24 Grade
6
March 9 Grade
5
May 18 Grade
4
Red Ribbon Week
The week of October 22 is Red Ribbon Week sponsored by Californians for Drug Free Youth,
Inc. To make the students more
aware of the importance of being drug free, the Student Council will give each
student a red ribbon to wear.
Minimum Day
As you know during the spring of 2008, our school will
once again be visited by an accreditation team. This team is composed of educators representing the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the Western Catholic Education
Association (WCEA). In
order to provide some extra work time, the Archdiocesan Office of Catholic
Schools allows extra student holidays/minimum days (teacher work days!). Monday, October 29, will be a
minimum day to allow for some extra WASC work time.
Kindergarten
Open Houses
Enclosed with this packet you will
find a flyer with dates for Open House.
The kindergarten dates in October, November, December, and January are only for parents of prospective
students. If you have neighbors, relatives, or
friends who are interested in our school, please share this information with
them. On January 16 and 17, our
school will be open for both current and prospective parents to visit.
Target
Shoppers
We recently received a check for
$359.39 from Target which represents the support of families, teachers, and
friends who participated in the Target Take Charge of Education School
Fundraising. Target donates 1% of
purchases using the REDcard to eligible schools designated by their customers. Take Charge of Education
donations are made to St. Cecilia School each March and September. Thanks for your support of our
school. This money is added to our
technology fund for the purchase of additional laptop computers.
Counselors
This is the eighteenth year that Miss Mary McManus
(K-4) and Sister Ann Gilchrist (5-8) will be serving as school counselors. The role of both is to work
supportively with children to build self-esteem, to teach coping skills, and to
increase social skills. While the
child is the focus of their work, they are available to talk with a parent to
facilitate the childıs well being and to do crisis intervention as needed. Sister Ann, as a school psychologist,
can also do educational assessments for those children in any grade who may be
experiencing difficulty with their academic work. Sister Ann and Miss McManus may be reached either through
the classroom teacher or the school office.
Halloween
So that you can plan ahead -- all students may wear
costumes to school on Wednesday, October 31.
But, please remember they must be simple so that the
children can sit in their desks and can go to the restrooms. NO VIOLENT
CHARACTERS; NO BLOOD AND GORE; NO CROSS DRESSING! ALL COSTUMES MUST BE MODEST (no bare midriffs) and in good
taste. No costumes are allowed
which:
o
show disfigurement of
the human face or body
o
depict boys dressed
as girls or women
o
imitate ³heavy metal²
music groups
o
advocate violence
All must use sensitivity towards people of other
cultures and those less fortunate.
No students should have weapons as part of their costume. Any
child who comes to school with an inappropriate costume will be sent home to
change. If children choose NOT to
wear costumes, they must wear their school uniform. All parents are welcome to the parade of classes at 11:10 A.M.
in the schoolyard. Dismissal is at
the regular time on Wednesday (2:30).
In the afternoon, the eighth grade will sponsor a mini Halloween
carnival for Grades K-3 in the Pavilion.
No money is necessary for this fun event!
Arrival and
Dismissal
If you are not a regular in the After School
Drive-Through program, but want to use it on a particular day, please send the
classroom teacher a note to that effect and tell your child you will be in the
Dismissal Drive-Through. Drive-Through
students are brought outside five minutes before dismissal so everyone must be
informed if the program is to run smoothly. Only children in the Drive-Through should leave class
early. If you are walking into the
yard to pick up your children, they will be dismissed with the rest of their
class.
For both the morning and afternoon: If the line of waiting cars extends
beyond 18th Ave. & Vicente St., cars should line up on 18th Avenue between
Vicente and Wawona Streets. Do not
block the intersection, Vicente Street, or private driveways.
Children in the morning Drive-Through must be ready to get out of the car when the car stops in the
yard. We donıt want to hold up the
line of cars while children gather book bags, lunches, jackets, etc.
Safety Tips Keep everyone safe!
Those of us who open and close doors for
Drive-Through are aware of a
number of drivers who allow young children to sit in the front seat. Also, everyone in the car should be
wearing a seat belt!
Drivers should not be on cell phones as they drive
into the yard!
No adult or child should jaywalk on Vicente St. or
18th Avenue. This also means
children with adults!
There is NO DRIVE-THROUGH IN THE UPPER LOT! This is
dangerous for the many children and adults who walk through this lot. Also, it is difficult to see
pedestrians and cars as you drive out onto 17th Avenue.
No cars should stop on Vicente St. or 18th Avenue
to drop off children!
Reminder
If you are giving Goody Bags for childrenıs treats,
please NO GUM!
Grants
Are
you aware of the following grants from a parentıs workplace??
o
A Federated
Department Stores (Macys!)--Employees who also volunteer at school are eligible
to apply for ³Employee Volunteer Grants-for-Schools Program²
o
Union
Bank of California Foundation-- a matching contribution fund
o
United
Way of the Bay Area Charitable fund drive
o
Wells
Fargo Educational Matching Gift Program
o
PG&E
Corporation Campaign for the Community
o
Barclays
Global Investor
o
United
Way of the Bay Area Campaign
o
SF
City & County Employees Charities Campaign
o
Community
Health Charities of California
o
SBC
Employee Giving/United Way Campaign
o
Tetra
Tech Em Inc., Community Service and Matching Gifts Program
o
Microsoft
Matching Gifts Program
St. Cecilia School has benefited
by all of these programs. Funds
received have been used to purchase additional laptops for the classrooms! Can you help?
Graduates of St. Cecilia School are active
Christians who:
experience a relationship with God which includes a
personal and communal prayer life
celebrate the weekly Eucharist as the center of
their lives
make moral decisions in the light of Gospel values
possess a knowledge and understanding of Scripture,
tradition, history,
and basic teachings of the Church
participate in service to the Church, to family,
and to local communities
demonstrate tolerance, respect, and compassion for
others
Mark these dates
Monday, October 15 Festival
Clean-Up Day NO
SCHOOL
Second Grade Parents: Reconciliation
Meeting Parents
and Second Graders
Saturday,
November 10 9:15-12:30