Academy Newsletter 11/16/07

Hi everyone:  This Sunday the whole school will hold an open house from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.  The Academy staff will be on hand and we invite you to encourage your family, friends, and neighbors who might have an interest in the Academy and/or high school programs to come and visit. Last Monday we commemorated Veterans’ Day with a visit from three gentlemen who are members of the Reynolds Corners Rotary Club who spoke about their experiences during World War II and the Korean War. The students were good hosts and asked good questions of our guests.  It was a positive experience for three generations—the students, the staff, and the presenters. 7^th grade students enjoyed a pizza lunch with their high school “Big Brother” last week.  They also had to work together on solving some brain teaser questions.  Ask your son how he and his Big Brother fared with their challenge. Basketball season is getting underway with two 8^th grade teams and four 7^th grade teams.  If your son is playing please send in the contract and $25.00 fee as soon as possible.  Checks should be made out to “St. John’s Jesuit.”  We are also encouraging the students to consider participating in another sport—wrestling.  We are starting a junior high program and inviting 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade boys from throughout the area along with our students to participate.  There is no requirement or previous experience necessary.  Practices are held Monday through Thursday from 6:20-8:30 p.m.  The students are welcome to come whenever they can and try their hand at wrestling…the right way! The “Brownie Sale” was a big success—$243.89!  The money is going to help reduce the cost of the class trips that will take place in the spring.  Thanks to Bob Scarlett for securing the donated boxes of brownie and cake mixes and to all the bakers who turned the mixes into delicious treats that were bought up by the school community. Speaking of the class trips…the cost before we deduct any money raised is @ $500.00 for the 7^th grade and $700.00 for the 8^th grade.  So the more we can raise through various activities, the less it will cost you.  We have four-five months to earn as much as possible.  I don’t have a report from the CityQ fundraiser yet, but I do have information on our next fundraising opportunity.  The school received a 2008 Dodge Caliber from Charlie’s Dodge and is only selling 2000 raffle tickets.  The cost of a ticket is $25.00, but the student who sells the ticket earns $10.00 for his organization—in our case that is the trip fund.  To get us started the school is sending five tickets home with each Academy student.  If the student sells all five tickets he will earn $50.00 towards his trip.  We have been asked to return all tickets—sold and unsold—by December 4. Mark your calendar for Friday, December 7.  The Academy will be traveling to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio as the culminating activity for the “Pigskin Geography” program that the students have participated in through Social Studies class.  We will go on two buses and the cost is $25.00 per student.  Parent are welcome to join us, too.  We will leave here at 8:00 a.m. and return to school @ 6:00 p.m.  More information will come home next week. We will begin the long Thanksgiving weekend on Wednesday next week, so school will only be held on Monday and Tuesday.  Student-led conferences will resume on Monday , November 26.  Please contact me if you still need to schedule a time. Finally, next week we will be mailing home a survey for all parents of Academy students.  As we continue into our fourth year of operation we are always evaluating the program and reflecting on our experiences and looking for ways to improve the program.  Your thoughts and feedback are important to us and we would appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to complete the survey and return it us at school. Enjoy your weekend!    

A few notes of importance

Don’t forget—tomorrow is our CityQ Barbecue fundraiser.  Take your fundraising flyer (we have more if you can’t find yours) and present it when you order and the Academy will earn 25% of your total bill to help reduce the cost of the spring class trips. Speaking of fundraisers, here’s an easy and fun one.  Bob Scarlett, father of 7^th grader Dominic, is donating 50 boxes of brownie mix from his employer for us to take home and bake, then bring back to school for a “brownie sale”–$.50 each.  There is no cost to us—it’s all profit, all we need is bakers.  Would you take a box home, bake the brownies and send them back into school for the sale?  Let me know if you can help. Attached is a flyer about the new TRIP program here at school.  Kelly Coleman, mother of 7^th grader Simon Lavas, is coordinating the program and she would be happy to answer any questions you may have.  With the holiday shopping season coming up now is a great time to join the program and start saving on your tuition. If you haven’t signed up for a student-lead conference yet you can do so by e-mailing or calling me.  Conferences will be held on Nov. 12, 13, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29 beginning at 4:00 p.m. and end at 8:00 p.m. 

Academy newsletter 11/3/07

Hi everyone:  We had a great turnout for our Game Night last evening and, happily, everyone survived adults vs. boys battle ball without injury!   We have a few notes for the coming week.  Remember, Thursday, November 8 is Academy Fundraiser Night at CityQ Barbecue on West Central just past Meijers.  Bring in the flyer—we mailed some home last week and will give the boys extras—and the Academy will receive 25% of your bill to be used to help cover the cost of the class trips.  Monday night, November 5 we will have an open gym from 8:00-9:00 p.m. for those who are interested in playing CYO basketball this year.  Wednesday night at the same time the coaches will do player evaluations and work on forming the teams.  Everyone will be placed on a team and coaches will schedule team meetings after the teams are assembled.  Any questions-contact Nick Butler at ext. 342 or by e-mail at nbutler@sjjtitans.org.  I apologize for the late times on Monday and Wednesday, but those were are only chances to use the gyms this week.  I have asked the Academy teachers to go light on the homework those two evenings. Last Thursday some of our students were interviewed by a reporter from Channel 11 for a story on our Chinese and Arabic programs.  The boys and teachers did a great job!  Click on the following link to read the story and see the video:http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=7280382&Call=Email&Format=HTMLThis week we will be working with the students on preparing for “student lead conferences.”  These are conferences where the student reviews a portfolio of his work with his parents/guardians and reflects and discusses his work and performance to date.  A staff member is on hand as a “guide on the side” to help keep things moving forward.  We will hold these conferences from 4:00-7:30 p.m. on the following days:  November 12, 13, 14, 15, 26, 27, 28, 29.  Send me an e-mail or call Nick Butler at ext. 342 or call me at ext. 341 and let us know what time you would like to come and we’ll plan on it.Next Monday, November 12 at 1:00 p.m. we will commemorate Veterans’ Day with a visit from four veterans who will share their experiences with us.  We feel it is important for the boys to hear these experiences first hand from those who made great sacrifices so we can all enjoy the freedoms we have today.Are you aware the SJJ has started a SCRIP-TRIP program?   There is information about the program on the front page of the school website, www.sjjtitans.org.  In the program you can purchase gift cards/certificates from a large number of stores and reduce your tuition with each purchase.  Kelly Coleman, mother of 7^th grader Simon Lavas, is coordinating the program for the school and we will e-mail you an informational flyer about the program in a few days. Wednesday after school we will be starting our annual “Madden 2008” video football game tournament.  We’ll continue on Monday, November 12 and hope to finish by Thanksgiving. Next week we will be collecting canned goods as we participate with the high school in a collection for area soup kitchens.  Your participation is greatly appreciated!Finally, we are starting an area junior high wrestling program this year.  Brochures are being sent home with the boys and we encourage them to try it if they have any interest or curiosity at all.  It’s a great individual sport and an excellent workout.  This is a time when we encourage the boys to try new things—positive ones—and learn more about themselves.  The coaches will be happy to answer any questions you may have about the program.Enjoy the rest of  your weekend!