Ready to Graduate!
June 6, 2023
Dear Families,
As you enter our school building, notice the new, spectacular chandelier installation created by students working together in their school families. Under the leadership and guidance of PreK teacher Ms. McDougall, students painted individual egg carton cups and wrote individual goals of what they would do to maintain a healthy planet (the white paper slips inside each “flower cup”). Ms. McDougall strung all of these together to create a masterpiece to inspire us in what we can do when we work together. This supports all of us to grow in our SLE “show respect and stewardship for the environment”.
At their last prayer assembly yesterday, the eighth graders were presented by their first grade buddies with portraits and advice for succeeding in high school. First graders provided sound advice about making new friends, always doing their homework and eating their vegetables. The first graders reminded them that they are loved and really made a difference as their buddies. It was a beautiful way to launch graduation week.
Thank you to our 2022-23 Room Parents!
We also took time to thank this year’s room parents. This hardworking group supports our school in such a profound way. They are most often in the background arranging volunteers for classroom activities and school events, supporting the classroom teachers and communicating all that is happening in the school. This vital group promotes the wonderful sense of community at St. Anne School. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts:
- Pre-K: Heather Oliphant, Genevieve Kitsch
- Kindergarten: Susie Fritzky, Kara Herche
- 1st: Christina McDonald,Minou Reisinger
- 2nd: Erica Korst, Kris Lund
- 3rd: Stephanie Wenglikowski, Angi Liddell, Jade Kelly
- 4th: Tanya Frost, Carlee Thorrington
- 5th: Shelly Carroll, Stephanie Leyson
- 6th: Heather Eacker, Manda Lowney
- 7th: Lynsey Seel. Gina McMann, Karly Skillestad, Candice Chevaillier, Andrea Wingert
- 8th: Annette Bayha, Angela Hession
Thank you to our Parent Association Chairs!
We also took time to thank Minou Reisinger and Kris Lund for their work as our Parent Association Chairs. This year they have helped organize the Trunk or Treat, our Father/ Daughter Dance, our Mother/Son Putt Putt and last week’s popsicle treat for the students. They also coordinated our delicious teacher appreciation luncheon. They have worked tirelessly to build connections in our community in so many ways! We are grateful they will continue in this role next year as we celebrate our 100th Anniversary.
Congratulations to our Track and Field Team!
St Anne Track and Field brought home the Boys AA Championship and the Boys/Girls Overall Championship! In addition, the 4th grade boys and 8th grade girls won Overall! Coach Anna Gillette presented our students with the trophies from this weekend’s meet at the assembly.
We are so proud of their success! And a huge thank you to Coach Gillette for managing the team!
Thank you for the Music!
We also want to thank our middle school music club and teacher Ms. Faltinson for starting our prayer assembly every week with the St. Anne Hymn on the marimba. And thank you to the third graders who step us each week to lead us in song. You are appreciated.
Thank you for Learning Celebrations!
Thank you to all for a huge success with Learning Celebrations this year. Thank you to the teachers for collecting and managing student work. Thank you to all the students for thoughtfully presenting their growth and learning throughout the year to their families. And thank you to parents for listening and valuing all the hard work your students do day in and day out through the year.
Thank you for Field Day!
A huge thank you to Mrs. Scheller for helping all our students have a field day to remember! And thank you to the parents who volunteered to manage all the different games spread around the campus. It was a beautiful day of family skits and cheers, fun games, friendly competition, pizza lunch, chalk art and lots of tired students!
A Blessing!
At the end of prayer assembly we prayed our traditional end of day blessing for our 8th graders as they get ready to graduate:
- May the road rise up to meet you.
- May the wind always be at your back.
- May the sun shine warm upon your face,
- And rains fall soft upon your fields.
- And until we meet again,
- May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Parish News!
Don’t forget to send in your Annual Catholic Appeal! It supports critical service programs throughout the diocese. Let’s do our part. Please consider giving online through our webpage. Thank you!
5th-8th Grade Launch of 1:1 Laptop Program in Fall of 2023!
In the 2020-2025 school strategic plan, one of the technology goals was to “establish a School Commission sub-committee comprised of parents, teachers and advisors to make recommendations and advise on technology goals and implementation plans”. This committee was formed, then met regularly throughout the 2021-2022 school year. They created a robust and comprehensive report of the school’s technology infrastructure and needs, and out of these findings, they wrote recommendations for our school’s technology program. A primary recommendation was to implement a one-to-one device program to ensure more reliability and better access to technology tools. A staff and parent committee has been working throughout this 2022-23 school year to determine which devices to use, to create a competitive purchase plan with Apple, to create a usage plan and determine details of how those devices will be funded in an equitable way by families. They were exhaustive in their work to create an affordable and robust plan to meet our school’s technology needs. In addition, the committee recommended that the school hire a full time technology education specialist to manage our program. We have hired Ms. Claire Marr for this position. She is in the process of completing her Masters in Educational Technology. She has served on both the technology subcommittee and this year’s implementation committee. Not only will she provide us with the implementation capability for a one-to-one program, she has background and expertise in K-8 technology standards that will support our staff in the classrooms. As we face the ever developing changes in community usage of technology, she will support us in our work to create students with the tools for good digital stewardship. Here is a Tech Link to more details about the plan.
Upcoming Dates:
- Wednesday, June 7: 8th Graduation Dinner hosted by 7th grade families
- Thursday, June 8, 10:15am: 8th Grade Affirmations (in the church)
- Thursday, June 8, 5pm: 8th Grade Graduation (Mass at the church)–followed by reception in Banchero hall hosted by 6th grade families
- Thursday, June 15, 10:30am: Kindergarten Graduation (Banchero Hall)
- Thursday, June 15: Noon Dismissal
- Friday, June 16, 8:45am: Closing School Mass (students dismiss from their classroom after Mass)
Stay Well,
Heidi
