Academy Newsletter 12/17/08

:  Exams are now underway and once we get through Friday we all look forward to the Christmas break.  School resumes on Monday, January 5, which is the last day of the second quarter.  Report cards will be mailed home on Friday, January 9.  When we come back we will have a special visitor with us.  Following is information I shared with the students and the whole school community this week:

 

When we come back from the Christmas break the Academy will have an artist in residence working with us for the month of January.  Filmmaker Ed Radtke (www.transparentfilms.com) will be working with Academy students from January 5-30 teaching them about the art of film and guiding them in creating their own films.  Our culminating event will be a premier of the students’ films on Thursday, January 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Maumee Indoor Theater.

 

While Ed is with us we will opportunities for students and staff from the entire SJJ community to meet him and work with him.  One of our events will be a screening of one of his award winning films, “The Dream Catcher” or “The Speed of Life” followed by a discussion with Ed.

 

If any group would like to meet with him or work with him during his time here please let me know and we’ll set something up.

 

Ed’s residency is made possible by a grant we received from the Ohio Arts Council.  Last spring Dave Hartwig (who now teaches English in the high school) did a great deal of work putting the application together for us and we won on our first try—a rare accomplishment.

 

Please join us in welcoming Ed when he arrives on January 5.

 

We recently out together a list of activities that took place during the first semester and we were all surprised at how long it is.  The second semester will be just as buys.  Along with the residency students will be preparing for MathCounts, Science Olympiad, and Power of the Pen and we’ll be offering an opportunity to learn to swim at the nearby Wolf Creek YMCA and 8^th graders will have the opportunity to learn to scuba dive at Aqua Hut on Reynolds Road. 

 

A major initiative we will be involving all the students in is our “Go Green” initiative.  Some of the students have been working with Mrs. Chambers laying the foundation for some big events in March and April around this theme.  A major piece of this program is creating awareness of the need to literally bring light to those who live in darkness. Over 1 billion people in the world do not have access to electricity and as a result, have no reliable source of light in the night.  Mr. Nichols directed us to “BOGO” lights, solar cell lights that  bring people out of the dark.  Mrs. Chambers and the BOGO people have put together a program that will go national, “Schools Lighting the Way.”  Here is a link to the site,  http://www.schoolslightingtheway.com/    you will notice that the Academy is highlighted as the first program to join the program.  It is our hope to contact other schools and invite them to join us and build this into a “Light the World” event on Earth Day in the spring.  There will be much more to come.

 

Thank you for your generous response to our Christmas collection.  We ended up with over $640.00 to purchase gifts for the two families we assisted.  While we are on the topic of generosity, the school recently received a tremendous gift from Mrs. Mary Lou Fox in honor of her son, Carty Fox ’86.  Catry passed away a few years ago after a battle with cancer and in his memory the commons has been renamed the “Carty Fox Commons.”  You will notice a sign representing this memorial on your next visit to the school. 

 

We also want to extend out thanks to senior Zach Francis who volunteers his time three mornings a week to come in early and give guitar lessons to Academy students.  Zach is our “Guitar Hero.”

 

Sadly, we offer our condolences to the families of 8^th grade student Austin Gardner and 7^th grade student Hunter Clay.  Austin’s grandfather, Dallas Gardner passed away last Friday and Hunter’s great-grandfather, Daniel Kajfasz, passed away on December 6.  This is an especially difficult time of year to lose a loved one and our sympathy goes out to all who will miss these good men.

 

Last Friday the Academy students had the chance to meet an Olympic Gold Medalist, wrestler Brandon Slay, who won gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia.    

Brandon had a great message for the boys and you might have seen a clip from his appearance on the Friday night 11:00 p.m. newscast on WTVG-13.    

 

Even though school will be out I know many of the boys will be here at different times for basketball or wrestling practice and on Saturday, January 3 we will host Deveaux Junior High in a 7^th and 8^th grade basketball double header starting at 1:00 p.m.  It would be great to have a big crowd for the games as there is a good chance that BCSN will be here to broadcast the 8^th grade game. 

 

I will be in the office quite a bit during the break—believe it or not, when it’s quiet I get a lot of work done!  Fell free to contact me during the break if I can be of assistance with anything.

 

Thank you for your support and encouragement during the first semester and enjoy a safe, happy, and blessed Christmas.

 

Academy Newsletter 12/9/08

As we move closer to the Christmas break we also move closer to the end of our mission collection.  Each grade has been assigned a family to collect money and purchase gifts for.  The 8^th grade has a family with four boys ages 12, 9, 8, 5 and two girls, ages 14 and 9.  The 7^th grade has a family with three boys, ages 6, 2, and 18 months.  Thursday is the last day to bring in money for each grade.  Currently the 8^th grade has $106.75 and the 7^th grade has $175.35.  Please contribute whatever you can to help us make Christmas a little merrier for these families.  On Thursday after school students will go to the K Mart on Reynolds Road to shop for these families with the money that has been collected.  Any parents who would like to “assist and guide” the student shoppers are welcome to join them this Thursday after school at K Mart.

 

Congratulations to our Lego Robotics team—they repeated as district champions on Saturday and are headed to the state finals!  Team members Harry Thaman, Amir Horani, Sean Wheelock, Dominic Zirbel, Andrew Kurtz, Nick Carroll, Isaac Lepow, Raymond Antypas, Russell Zieroff, Nick Brodie and Stephen Beyer did an outstanding job.  We are also very grateful to coaches Vicki Kurtz, Carol Wedding, and faculty member Joni Trempe.  As always, the boys  

 

A reminder—there is a meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. in the commons for any student and parents interested in joining a Boy Scout troop that is forming here at the Academy.

 

We had three teams compete in the Knowledge Master Open last week.  This is a national quiz in which 639 middle school teams competed.  Our tope team posted a score of 1388 which placed them 99^th in the country and 3^rd in the state of Ohio.  Congratulations to leading team members Harry Thaman, Dominic Zirbel, Dominic Scarlett, Connor Bopp, and Sean Wheelock. 

 

Academy newsletter 12/1/08

I hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving break.  As we begin the week and the month of December we have 12 days of school before semester exams begin on December 17.  Our focus will be preparing the students for exams while also remembering the needs of others at this time of the year.  The season of Advent, a season waiting and anticipating the birth of Jesus, began yesterday and we will observe the season in a variety of ways including a reconciliation service this morning.  Also, the Academy, along with the rest of the school, will be collecting money to provide Christmas gifts for families in need.  We are asking each Academy student to bring in $3 to be used to purchase gifts for a family.  Each grade is being assigned one family and on Thursday, December 11 Academy students will join high school students in shopping for gifts at the K Mart on Reynolds Road.  Please encourage your son to participate in our collection.

 

The exam schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, December 17          8:25-9:55 a.m. Math

                                                10:05-11:35 a.m.  Theology

 

Thursday, December 18              8:25-9:55 a.m.   Science

                                                10:105-11:35 a.m.   Social Studies

 

Friday, December 19                  8:25-9:55 a.m.   English

                                                10:05-11:35        Foreign Language

 

Students are free to leave each day as soon as their last exam is completed.

 

A special note for 8^th grader students and their parents:  we will administer the high school placement test to all 8^th grade students on Friday, December 5.  This will substitute for the Saturday morning administration test of the test.  There is a $20 fee to score the test.  Please send the money in with your son on Friday.  We will make sure that the administration of the test will not conflict with any high school classes your son may be in.

 

Basketball season is getting underway and one of our 7^th grade teams has already won a tournament.  Congratulations to the members of Coach Periatt’s team who won the St. Pius Invitational.  We are fortunate to have many SJJ alumni coaching our teams this season.  We have three teams in each grade and we are thankful for the coaches who volunteer their time and for Athletic Director Nick Butler who coordinates all our athletic programs and attends many of the games each weekend.

 

Thanks to the efforts of Maria Zirbel, mother of Dominic, we have opportunities for our students to compete against other schools in chess matches.  Today the boys will play against Perrysburg Junior High after school.

 

Our Lego Robotics team will be defending their district championship next Saturday, December 6 at the Toledo Technology Academy.  Thanks to coaches Joni Trempe, school Tech Coordinator, and Vicki Kurtz and Carol Wedding, engineers and generous volunteers, for all their time and effort working with the team.  The theme for the competition focuses on alternative energy and in that spirit the students have a unique opportunity tomorrow after school as they will tour the facilities of Xunlight, an emerging producer of solar panels.    

 

This week we will be registering for the “Power of the Pen” writing competition.  Several of the students have expressed an interest in participating, but, unfortunately we usually have conflicts with basketball games. I’ll be asking all interested students to bring a note from their parents indicating that they can, indeed, participate in the competition on Saturday morning, January 31.  We should have basketball schedules for all the teams by tomorrow so you can make an informed decision.

 

Have a great week and encourage your son to use the Learning Center for any assistance he may need as exams draw closer.

Academy Newsletter 11/5/08

There are a number of items to fill you in on so I’ll just list them this time in an easy to read format:

 

–I will be out of the office on Monday and Tuesday spending that time at Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic High School as part of a team reviewing their accreditation plan.  It’s a good chance to see what other schools are doing and meet with other school administrators.  I will be checking e-mail in the evenings if you need to contact me.

 

–We are having a “Brownie Sale” in the Academy on Monday and Tuesday.  Thanks to Bob Scarlett we have 24 boxes of brownie mix that were donated by his employer and many of you kindly volunteered to make a batch of brownies this weekend.  We will sell them for $.50 each and, hopefully, add a little money to the class trip fund.

 

–Speaking of the class trips, a fundraising opportunity is coming up–the SJJ Car Raffle.  Information will be sent home next week, but I can tell you now students will earn a portion of the cost of each ticket they sell.

 

–A school wide mission collection of canned goods begins on Monday.  Please help us collect canned food products—especially canned meats—to distribute to agencies that help those in need.  In these difficult times the number of people looking for assistance is escalating and anything we can do to help those in need is greatly appreciated.

 

–On Wednesday the 8^th grade students will “shadow” their Senior Big Brothers for the day.  This will give them an opportunity to experience high school life as they contemplate the next step n their educational journey.  Students who take a class in the high school can attend that class and re-connect with their Big Brother after the class.

 

–On Thursday and Friday 8^th grade students have the opportunity to challenge themselves on the high ropes course at Camp Miakonda.  Students have enjoyed and benefited from the experience over the last few years and we encourage the 8^th graders to challenge themselves to discover and achieve their personal best on the course.

 

–A reminder that the Academy Wrestling Club gets underway with a parent information meeting on Monday evening at 6:15 p.m. in the commons.  Several Academy students have indicated an interest in wrestling and we look forward to a great season.

 

–Thanks to the efforts of the Zirbel family we also have several opportunities for Academy students to compete in chess matches and tournaments.  If you haven’t already contacted us and your son in interested in playing please let me know as soon as possible.  Maria Zirbel is coordinating the matches and even the transportation, all your son has to do is show up and play!

 

–Basketball season is underway and we thank all the coaches who are volunteering their time to work with our students throughout the season.  As soon as schedules are ready we will post them online.  One of our 8^th grade teams is playing in a tournament in Cincinnati and started the season off with a 55-14 win last night!  

 

–Thanks to senior Zach Francis, several Academy students are learning to play the guitar.  Zach meets with groups of students at 7:30 a.m. three mornings a week—another example of what it means to be a “Man for Others!”

 

A final note as we head to the halfway point of the second quarter:  one of the goals of the Academy program is to prepare the students to do well in the high school program.  Each quarter I check on the grades of all of our Academy graduates who are in the high school and I can proudly say that they are doing great!  The average Academy freshman grade point average is 3.54, for sophomores it is 3.38, for juniors it is 3.27, and for seniors it is 3.63.  Additionally, of the six seniors who earned “National Merit Semi-finalist” status on the PSAT test, four are Academy graduates!  Congratulations to Ian Keigley, Curtis Clemens, Kevin Litzenberg, and Josh Davies.

 

Enjoy the weekend—let’s hope it stops raining..at least for a little while.

Academy newsletter 10/22/08

:  This is a two-for-one newsletter covering last weekend and next weekend.  This has been a busy time and we’ll all look forward dot a three day weekend starting next Friday, October 31 when there is no school due to the freshman retreat which will take place throughout the entire school building.  Until then though, we continue to be pretty busy.  The second quarter started on Monday and we will be mailing home first quarter report cards early next week.

 

Monday almost all of the students joined us for an afternoon movie, with the majority seeing “The Express” and the remainder seeing “City of Ember.”   Both movies were at the Maumee Showcase Cinemas and I received a compliment from the theater manager on how well behaved the students were.  Yesterday the 7^th grade learned about car design and engineering while building Lego motorized race cars with their junior Big Brothers.  Today all of our Arabic students are spending the day with their instructor, Dr. El-Gharbawy, visiting the Arab-American Center in the Detroit area.  Tomorrow we will look into the election with State Rep. Randy Gardner, father of 8^th grade student Austin, providing some insight into this historical moment in our country’s history.  Finally, on Friday we will have three different groups going out on service projects to Camp Miakonda to clean cabins, to the Seagate Food Bank to help sort and box food donations, and to the Wood County Historical Society to do some yard work. 

 

Thanks to all the parents who helped out at the 7^th and 8^th grade Fun Night—we couldn’t have done it without you.  We had over 1200 7^th and 8^th graders in the building and all had a good time with very few problems—a big success!

 

Congratulations to our soccer team on the completion of a successful season.  The team was eliminated in the semi-finals of their tournament and laid the groundwork for the spring season when we hope to have individual 7^th and 8^th grade seasons.  Thanks to head coach Tim Coleman and assistants Dee Tilley and Kym Sloan for all their time and work with the boys.

 

Our mission collection is underway and we need your support.  We are collecting men’s shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, and blankets for the Homeless Awareness Project as they sponsor the Tent City event that will be held in downtown Toledo at the end of October.  Ken Leslie, founder on 1matters.org, www.1matters.org, spoke to the students last Thursday about his work and how they can support the program.

 

Student-led conferences will be held in the commons this Monday and Tuesday from 5:00-7:30 p.m.  Stop by anytime that is convenient for you either evening.  Your son will have a portfolio of work he and the teachers have compiled.  He will review it with you along with his self-evaluation and comments from the teachers.  The teachers will be available to participate, but the idea is for your son to take ownership of his work and his efforts to date. 

 

Finally, we have been having some cell phone issues with students—inappropriate use, texting during school, etc.—that have caused to question why students need their cell phones during the day and we cannot find a reason to justify it.  I certainly understand that some students may need them after school, but during school students have access to the phones in the Academy whenever they need them.  So, starting Monday, October 27 we will collect cell phones from students in home room each morning and return them at the end of the day—3:06 p.m.  Cell phones will be kept in containers behind Mrs. Fritsch’s desk in the work room.  If you need to contact your son during the day please call the work room-ext. 342—or my office –ext. 341- or e-mail us.  Conversely, if your son needs to call you he can use one of our phones whenever he needs to.  This should result in fewer distractions for students, no inappropriate cell phone usage, and no phones being lost during the school day (a student brought me one he found this morning).  If you feel that this will cause a problem for your family please contact me directly.  We will take responsibility for keeping the phones safe and protected during the day.

 

Thanks

 

Academy Newsletter 10/11/08

:  I write this having just returned from out of town.  The week ahead is the last week of the first quarter.  Now is the time to encourage your son to make his best effort this week, make sure he has turned in all of his assignments, and finish up any projects that need to be completed.  We will mail report cards home as soon as they are completed.

 

Next week also promises to be a busy one.  On Tuesday the students will learn about the art of “improvisation” as members of Children’s Stage Adventures, a traveling company based in Vermont, will be here to present workshops to both the 7^th and 8^th grades.  The group is working with the Ohio Theater this week and we are excited to have them return to the Academy.  Also, on Tuesday and Wednesday we will have our final two presentations from “The Victims’ Forum,” an outreach program for junior high students created and sponsored by the Lucas County Prosecutor’s office.  These presentations will be held from 12:30 -1:30 p.m. in the theater each day and parents are welcome to attend.  The program seeks to educated students about the consequences of negative and harmful choices others make and the impact those choice have on many other lives. 

 

On Thursday morning Ken Leslie from the Greater Toledo Homeless Awareness Project will speak to the students about the project and help them understand how a person/family can find himself without a home.  Our next mission collection will begin with Ken’s presentation and will consist of a collection for men’s sweaters, sweatshirts, shirts, socks, hygiene products and blankets.  We will continue the collection until October 29.

 

For most of next Thursday and all of next Friday I will be at a diocesan principals’ conference in Huron, Ohio.  I’ll try to check my e-mail on Thursday evening so feel free to keep in touch before I return to the office. 

 

Next Monday afternoon we celebrate the end of the quarter when we go on the road for our next after-school movie as we travel to the Maumee Showcase Cinemas for the mid afternoon showing of two different films.  Students will have a choice of either “City of Ember,” produced by Walden Entertainment, the people who did “The Chronicles of Narnia,” or “The Express,” the true story of football player Ernie Davis.  Both of these films are rated PG and contain excellent lessons and messages for young people.  We’ll have more details on the times and transportation in the middle of the week.  We receive a group rate for the movies so a ticket will only cost your son $5.  We hope all the boys can attend and celebrate the end of the quarter.

 

Thanks to the following students who joined me for some service work at Swancreek Metropark on Friday:  Walker Lowell; Ron Birchfield; Malik Carrington; DaJuan Jones; Zach Oberhaus; Tom Schafer; John Booth; Sean Welling; Bailey Crawford; Connor Kelley; Casey Shugarman.  The boys collected thirty bags of garbage on a trail cleanup and collected a large number of seeds for planting in new habitats.  Our next service day is Friday, October 24.

 

Last call for chaperones for Saturday night’s “7^th/8^th Grade Fun Night” from 7:00-9:30 p.m.   We’re expecting @ 1000 area students to attend so we could use a lot of help!  If you haven’t already responded, please e-mail Kris Fritsch at kfritsch@sjjtitans.org to let he know that you can help us out.

 

Finally, Pam Clark, mother of 8^th grade student Stanley, has a unique fundraising opportunity to help you earn money to reduce the cost of your son’s class trip.  On Saturday, November 22 from 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. you can earn money by doing some packing at Consolidated Biscuit Corporation.  Workers will package Nabisco cookies and earn money for every case that is packed.  Contact Pam at 419-277-4835 or by e-mail at pwclark@buckeye-express.com.  Pam said she has done this with other groups and they have made as much as $1200 for five hours.  Think it over and contact her for to sign up if you’re interested.

 

Academy Newsletter 9/27/08

:  I just returned from our first ever Academy Overnight Campout at Beaver Creek Preserve in Otsego.  We had a great time fishing, cooking hotdogs and bratwurst and making s’mores over an open fire, star gazing with one of our telescopes, and sitting around a raging campfire.  Mr. Szynkowski and I spent the night, while Mr. Carroll and Mr. Nichols came out for the evening with their boys.  We had such a good time that we’re going to do it again in the spring.  Look for pictures on the website soon.

 

We enjoyed a presentation by staff members from local cable sports channel BCSN last week as part of our T.E.A.M. time series.  The presenters included part-time SJJ staff member Tom Cole and SJJ alum Zach Silka and they discussed careers in the print and broadcast media industries. 

 

To date we have collected 78 bottles of children’s vitamins to support the mission collection for “Give to Grow.”  Also, several Academy students participated in the food fast last Tuesday as a sign of solidarity and support for those who deal with hunger each day of their lives.  Monday will be the last day we will collect vitamins. 

 

Also on Monday we will show our first after school movie, “Extreme Days,” a little known, but excellent film made in 2001.  Rated PG, “Extreme Days” incorporates extreme sports, commitment, faithfulness, and the power of friendship into a fast paced, funny, meaningful story.  We will begin at 3:15 p.m. in the MacQuade Theater, take a pizza break at 4:30 p.m. and end @ 5:30 p.m.

 

Next Thursday afternoon and all day Friday the 8^th grade students will visit the other Catholic high schools as part of the diocesan high school visitation program.  We are all set for transportation on Friday, but we need more parents to help us out on Thursday.  We will leave here @ 11:45 a.m. and leave the school we are visiting at 2:00 p.m. Please let us know if you can help us out on Thursday.

 

7^th grade students met their high school “Big Brothers” last week.  Ask you son who his Big Brother is—their assignment was to learn as much about their Big Brother as they could.  Their next activity will be in a couple of weeks when they build a motorized Lego race car with their Big Brother.

 

Calendar reminders:  Saturday, October 11—Father/Son Game Night (uncles, grandfathers, cousins, family friends are welcome to attend, too!)  6:30-8:30 p.m. in the commons

Saturday, October 18—7^th/8^th Grade Fun Night—7:00-9:30 p.m.  This is an event that usually brings out 1000+ kids so we need a lot of chaperones.  Please let us know if you can help.

 

Best wishes to all of our sports teams in action this weekend.  We’ll have an updated report on all the teams in next week’s newsletter.  Thanks to all the coaches who make these opportunities possible for the boys.

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

 

Academy Newsletter 9/20/08

It was great to see many of you at Academy Parent Night.  For those of you who were unable to attend we are mailing a packet of information home to you.  Please call if you have any questions regarding any of the forms or notes.

 

The boys have a three-day weekend while we spend Monday participating in the “Ignatian Educators Conference” held right here at SJJ.  We will join with the staffs of the other four Jesuit high schools in the Detroit province.  School attending will be St. Ignatius from Cleveland, Walsh Jesuit from Stow, Ohio, University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy from Detroit, and Loyola High School from Detroit.  I’m sure it will be an interesting and enriching day for us all.

 

On Wednesday and Thursday the 7^th grade students will meet their Junior “Big Brothers” for the first time and enjoy a pizza lunch with them.  I met with the Big Brothers on Friday to go over our expectations and hopes for the program for the year and they are looking forward to meeting the 7^th grade boys.

 

Also on Wednesday, our T.E.A.M. (Titans Exploring and Achieving More) program will continue with a presentation for the staff at BCSN, the local cable station that focuses on covering high school sports.  They will demonstrate how they cover events, discuss all the work and responsibilities, and invite the boys to participate.  SJJ Broadcasting instructor Tom Cole, who also works for BCSN, will be the main presenter.

 

We still have space left for students with or without their dad/grandfather/uncle/cousin/brother, etc. to join us at the Academy Campout on Friday night at the Beaver Creek Preserve.  You’re welcome to spend the night or just come for the evening.  Call Mrs. Fritsch at extension 342 to make a reservation. 

 

By now all students should be checking Powerschool and their individual e-mail accounts on a regular basis.  If you are having trouble accessing Powerschool or e-mail please let us know right away.

  

 

A reminder that our first after school movie will be next Monday from 3:15-5:30 p.m. in the theater.  Pizza and pop will be provided.  I’ll include the title in next weekend’s e-mail in case you have any concerns about the selection.  We try to select movies with a positive message for boys that helps develop and affirm the values and qualities we believe in at SJJA.

 

This week we are joining with the high school and having a mission collection to support “Give to Grow,” an organization started by Beatrice Thaman, younger sister of 8^th grade student Harry, that collects vitamins for the children of Guatemala who battle malnutrition.  Any student who brings in a bottle of vitamins, preferably a large bottle of a multivitamin, who be given a dress down pass for a day the following week.  The work of “Give to Grow” is vital and life changing and I can attest to the power of good nutrition for the children of Guatemala.  For the past four summers I have had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala City with groups of SJJ high school students.  We spend a significant amount of time at a pre-school and an elementary student.  The students as these schools started receiving breakfast and daily vitamins over a year ago and the change in them that I witnessed in June was remarkable.   Please support the collection and help “Give to Grow” continue to make a difference in the lives of the children of Guatemala.

 

A few calendar notes to help you plan ahead:  Thursday, October 2 the 8^th grade will visit St, Francis De Sales High School in the afternoon and on Friday, October 3 the students will visit Cardinal Stritch in the morning and Central Catholic in the afternoon; Saturday, October 11 is Father/Son Game Night (uncles, cousins, grandfathers, etc are welcome to attend); Saturday, October 18 is a 7^th and 8^th grade Fun Night—parent chaperones are needed—call Mrs. Fritsch to volunteer). 

Looking even further ahead:  Lego Robotics          Saturday, December 6

                                          Power of the Pen     Saturday, January 31

                                          MathCounts             Saturday, February 7

 

Enjoy the long weekend—best wishes to all of our teams and students competing this weekend.

 

Academt newsletter 9/7/08

As we move more into the routine of the school year additional activities are beginning.  Next week we will begin our band program with Xavier Smith, Director of Instrumental Music, working with both beginning and advanced groups of students twice a week.  The following week Luke Rosen, Director of Choral Music, will work with groups of 7^th and 8^th grade students who will form the Academy Chorus.  Also, the week of September 15 our 7^th grade exploratory language class will experience their first look at a new language when they learn about the German language and culture for the week.

 

A great resource for the students is the Learning Center and our Academy Learning Specialist, Mrs. Marcia Chambers began working with the boys last week.  Mrs. Chambers will be here from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and will be available to help the boys prepare for tests, improve study skills, review writing assignments, as well as coordinate our enrichment program.  This is her third year with us and she has been an invaluable resource for the Academy students.  Finally, one more new program will begin next week when a guidance counselor joins us for the first semester to work with the boys helping them with transition issues, challenges with socialization and relationships, and other difficulties they may be encountering.  Following is an introductory note from the counselor, Mussa Orra:

 

Dear Parents-

My name is Mussa Orra, and I am currently working at St. John’s as a guidance counselor-intern under the direct supervision of Bob Borman, SJJ guidance counselor.  The reason that I am writing this letter is because I wanted to inform you that I have been given the opportunity to work with the Academy students as a guidance counselor.  My counseling duties include assisting the students with academic issues, behavioral issues, the transition from the SJJ Academy to the SJJ high school, and generally any other concerns that students and parents may have.

            Currently I am a graduate student at the University of Toledo earning my Master’s degree in both School and Community Counseling, and am on track to receive my school counseling license this December 2008.  I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, also at the University of Toledo.  I myself am a graduate of SJJ, class of 2002, and am looking forward to giving back to the community that has given so much to me.

            I look forward to the wonderful opportunity that I have been given and hope to help make SJJ a great experience for your children as well.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or comments.

 

8^th grade students reunited with their high school Big Brothers this week enjoying a lunch and working together to build a device to catch and egg as it was dropped from increasing heights.  Congratulations to 8^th grade students Kevin Eberle, Tom Schafer, and Ron Birchfield along with their high school Big Brothers, Ryan Knight, Ryan Wittman, and Walt Anderson for building devices that successfully caught their eggs that were dropped from the top of the Academy staircase without breaking.  They will receive a dress down day pass and a free lunch voucher. (look for  pictures from the egg drop contest and the canoe trips to be posted on our website, www.sjjatitans.org, in a few days)  Next week we will match the 7^th grade up with juniors who have volunteered to serve as Big Brothers. 

 

Our sympathy goes out to 8^th grade student Benito Perales and his family on the loss of Benito’s great-grandfather for whom Benito was named.  Often losing a grandparent is the first experience with loss and grief that a student experiences and to help students express and deal with their grief Mr. Heintschel, along with a counselor from outside the building, organize a grief support group that will start meeting in the coming days.  Any Academy student is welcome to participate in this group.   Also, if your family experiences a loss during the school year please let Mrs. Fritsch or me know so we can notify the school campus ministry office and have the opportunity to express our sympathy.

 

Friday, September 26, beginning at 6:00 p.m., we will have a campout at the Beaver Creek Preserve, a part of the Wood County system of parks.  We will be there from 6:00 p.m. on Friday until noon on Saturday.  There is room for @ 50 people so we are giving the 8^th grade the first opportunity to sign up.  You are welcome to join us in camping out overnight in tents—you will have to bring your own tent—or just join us for the evening or morning.  Below is a link with more information on Beaver Creek.  

http://www.woodcountyparkdistrict.org/beaver_creek_preserve.htm

We will be sending more information home this week, but if you think you are interested please let me know as soon as possible.

 

A few calendar notes:

Wednesday, September 17  school will start one hour late; students do not need to be here until 9:15 a.m.

Thursday, September 18     Academy Parent Night from 7:00-9:00 p.m.  meet the teachers, learn about class trips, etc.

Monday, September 22              no school—staff will be at a conference held here at SJJ

 

           

Academy reminders 7/10/08

:  I returned on June 29 from a great experience in Guatemala and will be in the office for most of July.  If you would like to see some picture from our Guatemalan experience the group created a photo-sharing website at www.photobucket.com the group name is sjjguatemala and the password is finnaguat.  The sixteen high school students who accompanied high school teachers Jason Huther and Monni Telfer and me did a tremendous job of immersing themselves into the experience.  They were struck by the dire poverty they witnessed, but also by they great spirit of the people, particularly the children, to whom they became very attached.   I can tell that there is hope that things can get better as I have witnessed noticeable improvements in the living conditions and standard for many people in the “dump community” thanks to the efforts of Central American Ministries, the organization we work with that was founded by our past SJJ President, Fr. Don Vettese, SJ.

 

Since I’m happy to share photos of our trip I invite you to share stories and photos of your summer adventures.  E-mail them to me and we’ll post them on our website, www.sjjatitans.org.  We can call it, “I (want to) Know What You Did This Summer.”  I’ll look forward to your e-mails!

 

A few reminders of some upcoming activities.  Next week is football camp here at the school.  The high school football coaches invite all Academy students to participate.  The camp runs from Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and costs $60.  You can sign up on the first day if you haven’t already registered.

 

We will hold a “7^th/8^th Grade Fun Night” on Saturday, July 19 from 7:00-9:30 p.m. here at school.  Academy students attend for free.  We are in need of parents to help chaperone and supervise.  If you can help please let me know as soon as possible.

 

A special note for all incoming 7^th graders—we will hold orientation classes from 9:00 a.m.-noon from Monday through Thursday, July 28-31 in the Academy classroom area.  You do not have to register—just show up if you can make it for any or all of the days.  You may dress comfortably in shorts and t-shirts for these sessions.  We will familiarize with Academy life and expectations and give you a good start to a successful year.    

 

The week of July 21 we will send out an e-mail/mailing with a preliminary calendar for the year, required school supplies, and other pertinent information.

 

Also, don’t forget our “Fall Sports Night” on Tuesday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the Commons.  Coaches will be on hand to provide information about our football, cross country, soccer, and golf programs.

 

Finally, if you have not picked up the summer reading assignment, “The Night of the Howling Dogs,” it is available to you from 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. each day in the main high school office.

 

Hope you are all enjoying the summer!