You give us prophets and teachers, who travel all over the world,
inspired by your Holy Spirit, teaching about your Son.
Guide and protect them.
Amen.
Dear Parents,
Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Washington, D.C. today and will be celebrating his 81st birthday tomorrow. In honor of his birthday, Incarnation School (along with many other Catholic organizations across the nation) is pledging service hours as a gift. This Friday will be a Free Dress Day with a $1 donation. Money collected from the Free Dress Day will be donated to the Holy Childhood Association in the Pope’s name. Last week Fr. Ken Deasy, a consultant for the Holy Childhood Association, stopped by to personally thank Incarnation School for the collections sent during Advent. I let Fr. Ken know that we would be having an additional collection for HCA, and he was very excited! The money collected from the Free Dress Day will be sent to HCA along with the money collected during Lent.
Last Saturday the second graders and religious education students participated in the First Communion Retreat with their families. Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare for First Communion in May.
Have a wonderful week!
Ms. Olivia Carrillo
Principal
Coffee With the Principal Notes (4/9/08):
• Sweets: Parents again voiced their concerns about the amount of candy given out, particularly the goodie bags and soda, during birthday celebrations. We encourage simple birthday celebrations, so please limit the amount of sweets brought in for birthdays.
• PTO Board Vacated Spaces: This year we anticipate 5 available spaces for the 2008-2009 PTO Board. Parents commented that requiring potential members to speak at the General Meeting in May might be intimidating. Others liked listening to the parents speak so as to become familiarized with new faces. In reviewing the PTO by-laws, the members anticipated to leave this year still have the option of serving another 2-year term.
• Advisory/Consultative Board: By the year 2010, all Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will be required to have a Consultative Board in place separate from the PTO Board. Members of the Consultative Board will be mostly people from the community, parishioners, and former school parents. One third of the Consultative Board can be current school parents.
• Business Sponsors for Auction: A question arose about soliciting business sponsors for the auction. A form letter was not included in the packet this year, but it is being taken into consideration for next year’s auction.
Study Island
Two weeks ago, a representative from Study Island came to give a demo to the teachers. All teachers preferred the Study Island program over First in Math and Accelerated Math. One concern about Study Island is that it is web-based and some prefer having paper tests. Study Island has the option to print, so those who prefer pencil-paper or who do not have Internet access can still take a paper test home. Study Island will be mandatory for our students. The program is currently available for grades 2-8, but they plan to have a program for K & 1 beginning in September or October of 2008. Study Island provides immediate feedback to students. Teachers have greater control of what the students are working on and can change target proficiency levels for acceleration or remediation to meet individual students’ needs. Students will not be “stuck” as many have experienced now with First in Math. Visit www.studyisland.com for more information and to test drive the program.
Proposed Faculty Meeting Change Update
Thank you for participating in the survey sent home last week. While many of you were open to the change or had no preference, the majority preferred to keep faculty meetings and early dismissal on Fridays. Therefore, the meeting day will not be changed for 2008-2009 unless it becomes a mandate from the Department of Catholic Schools. As of now changing days is strongly recommended but is not mandatory.
Looking Ahead
• Friday, April 18– Lunch at 11:00 a.m.
Variety Show at 11:45 – Parents welcome!
Progress Reports go home
• Tuesday, April 22 – Earth Day
• April 21 – 22 – Science Fair (all grades)
• Wednesday, April 23 – Science Fair exhibit open for parents 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
4th Grade field trip
• Monday, April 28 – Stranger Safety Presentations (all grades)
• Tuesday, April 29 – All School Mass 8:30 a.m.
