Academy Newsletter 10/26/07

I hope everyone enjoyed a day off today and, like me, is heading to the football game in a little while.  A few reminders and notes for you.  First, report cards will be mailed home by Tuesday.  As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.  Next Friday, my newsletter will have information about student-lead conferences that will be held in November.    Students are allowed to wear “appropriate” Halloween costumes on Wednesday.  In the absence of a costume, a student may wear a SJJ shirt and jeans.  On Thursday, November 1 we will celebrate the feast of All Saints with a mass at 8:30 a.m.  You are welcome to join us. Next Friday, November 2 there will be no school due to conferences for the high school students, but, don’t forget, Friday evening is our “Academy Father/Son Game Night.”   If a father is not able to come, please send you son with a relative or friend—we want everyone to enjoy this evening.  We will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the commons and enjoy snacks, games—no video games!—and conclude with adults versus boys battleball.  I hope you can make it to this fun night and take advantage of a great opportunity to spend time with your son. Thanks to Kim Scott, mother of 7^th grader Jimmy, we have our first class trip fundraising event scheduled—November 8 at City BBQ on Central Avenue.  Attached is two copies of a flyer for you to copy and distribute to anyone you can asking them to patronize City BBQ on November 8 and present the flyer when ordering so the Academy will receive 25% of their food bill.  We will mail a copy of the flyer home along with the report cards so you will have a couple more to hand out. Thanks, also, to the many parents who have presented fundraising ideas.  I’ll be scheduling a meeting soon and will also ask Mr. Todd Ahrens, SJJ Advancement Director, to attend to give us some direction and explain fundraising at SJJ.  I’ll send a note out Monday hoping to schedule a meeting for Thursday.   Tuesday we will show our next after school movie beginning at 3:15 p.m. in the Academy wing.  As always, pizza and pop will be provided to the “audience.”  The title has not been revealed to the students yet—we’ll surprise them on Tuesday. Enjoy your weekend!

Academy Newsletter 10/21/07

Hi again everyone:  I have a few notes for you about the upcoming week before I start preparing for the big dance/fun night tomorrow.  Next week is “Spirit Week” and the students are allowed to dress down each day.  Jeans and SJJ shirts are allowed each day or students can dress according the theme for the day.  On Monday students are allowed to wear hats-funny or otherwise- along with their SJJ shirt. Tuesday is “pajama day,” Wednesday is “country day” (wear country –style clothing, i.e. overalls, farmer clothing), and Thursday is “SJJ” day when students should be decked out in school colors from head to toe. Wednesday is a late start—students do not need to report until 9:15 a.m.   There is no school on Friday as the entire building is being used for the Freshman retreat. Attached to this note is a flyer from Mr. Szynkowski about the Math Counts program.  All students are welcome to participate and the first meeting will be after school on Wednesday. The 7^th grade has started an online enrichment program from Renzulli Learning.  Twice a week groups go to the computer lab and work with Mr. Bumpus on activities tailored to their interests.  Ask your son about the program and visit www.renzullilearning.com for a tour of the site. Mark your calendar–“Father(or uncle/brother/grandfather/family friend)/Son Game Night” will be held on Friday, November 2 from 7:00-9:30 p.m.   More details next week. Today marked the end of the first quarter.  Grades will be finalized Wednesday morning and report cards will mailed home next Monday.   Next week student mission representatives and I will be meeting to discuss our next mission collection.  We’ll give you the details next Friday. Thanks to those who volunteered to help chaperone the dance/fun night.  Your help is greatly appreciated. It’s time to start thinking about fundraisers for the class trips.  Trips will take place in April and May, but we need your ideas now so we can get started to help defray the costs.  Let me know if you have any ideas and we’ll plan a meeting. 

Academy Newsletter 10/14/07

Thanks to everyone who hosted members from the NET team in their home.  I hope you enjoyed the time with these outstanding young people who devote a year of their life to this retreat ministry.  Last Tuesday we all were fortunate to experience a retreat with them and it was an uplifting day for us all.  Please ask your son about the day and ask him about the skits, both silly and serious, and the members of the team. On Tuesday afternoon the 8^th grade will travel to St. Patrick’s school on Heatherdowns to hear a speaker being sponsored by the Andersons.  D.D. Lewis is a former pro football player for the Dallas Cowboys and he will share a message of faith and the importance of making positive choices throughout your life.  Thanks to Carol Anderson for inviting us. Wednesday the Academy will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. for the day.  The high school is also on a half day schedule for PSAT and PLAN testing.  The first quarter ends on Friday, October 19.  Students may have tests or projects to complete this week.  We do not give quarter exams, but you can count on comprehensive semester exams at the end of the second quarter just before the Christmas break. Next Saturday, October we will host a 7^th/8^th grade dance here at school.  Academy students are admitted for free.  If you indicated that you could help at the dance I will be sending you a follow-up e-mail with information on how you can help. If you have not returned the green family data sheet please do so as soon as possible.  We are compiling a directory to give to everyone, but we need to confirm that the information we have for you is correct. Cross country and golf seasons have now come to an end.  Thanks to coaches George Mullan (cross country) and Andy Tracy (golf) for their outstanding work with our students.  In a couple of weeks you’ll be receiving information about basketball and wrestling. We will have a prayer service at the beginning of school on Monday.  October is a month when the Catholic Church especially remembers Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus, and the students will also be learning about the rosary and the many feast days which we devote to Mary. Enjoy the rest of the weekend