Congratulations to our 7th grade Student Leadership Award winners. Last Thursday, at our May Crowning Mass, five 7th graders were presented with Leadership Awards for exemplifying our Student Learning Expectations. The 7th graders had a class retreat on May 3rd where they reflected on the work our school does to help students achieve the SLEs. They also privately identified students in their class who embody our SLEs. Gabby Gleason was named an Active Person of Faith, Kira Smith was identified as a Lifelong Learner, Jane Hurley and Ryan Dempsey as Globally Aware Persons and Ava Berard, a Well-Balanced person. Congratulations to all of them!
Teacher Appreciation Thank You
Thank you to all for such a fabulous Teacher Appreciation Week. Day after day last week, I heard comments from teachers about how lucky they feel to be part of such a caring community. They received flowers, notes and other signs of appreciation, but the best was the chance to sit together for one whole hour and have a gourmet lunch provided by our parents. Grabbing a sandwich and having twenty or so minutes each day for lunch is the norm for them. Sixty minutes was a delight! A special thank you to Kathleen Gallagher and her crew for organizing and hosting the event on behalf of all parents. Loads of appreciation also to all those who handled classroom, office or recess duty, keeping a watchful eye on our students. It was all quite a treat.
Fund It projects
I want to update you on the progress we are making on the initiatives from this year’s auction Fund It. The three components of Fund It were Safety Enhancements, the Gym floor and support for on-going Academic Coaching for students, staff and parents.
Last week, Ron Ryan, Rich Santi and I attended an Archdiocesan training on Emergency Actions and Active Shooter Preparedness. Scenarios, staff training, building security, access control, relocation and reunification procedures were all addressed. The good news is that the safety enhancements that we are exploring are right in-line with what was recommended at the training. We have good response procedures in place but we need to upgrade security, specifically, locks on all classroom and office doors so that all can be locked from the inside. Replacement of our front door (the main access point) including bullet resistant glass in the doors and surrounds were identified as effective deterrents too. We have bids from door companies and are near to determining the final vendor for installation. Though we will lose the “old school” look of the wood doors, we will try to replicate the look as close as possible but with the additional security to meet industry standards.
Work begins this Wednesday on the core sampling of the gym floor to determine solutions to the moisture problem causing bubbling of the floor surface. They will drill down to the soil below the floor, taking both concrete and soil samples to analyze whether the concrete is the issue or an outside water problem. Once determined, we will address and repair the problem with an ultimate plan to completely replace the floor in the summer of 2019.
Hanna Bogen-Novak, our Academic coach, is returning this week for her final visit of this school year. She will focus on transition strategies as classes move to the next level in the fall. She will also be sharing video links to assist parents in the social-emotional development of their children. We will post these educational videos on our web-site. We have contracted with Hanna for additional coaching during the 2018-19 school year.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is Learning Celebration Day. There will be no classes, as students will be sharing their portfolios of learning and growth with their parents at scheduled times throughout the day. Don’t forget to stop by Banchero Hall for the fiesta being planned and prepared by Señora McNamara and the middle school students.
Kudos to our marvelous Scrip team and their efforts to increase involvement in this beneficial funding program through a school-wide contest. The class with the greatest increase in on-going orders receives a free dress and popsicles. The contest runs through May 18th. Click here for information on signing up.
Finally, our Hope and Healing project benefiting Martha’s Workers and The Cancer Care Alliance is ending this coming Sunday. If you have not gotten a chance to support the project, please stop by the school office and pick up a donation envelope and butterfly. Notes of support can be written on the butterfly and hung on the tree in the church and donations can be placed in the envelopes You can also go to the parish website and donate online.
Have a great week!
