ST. PETER CATHOLIC SCHOOL Principal s Weekly Newsletter

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1 March 14, 2018 Dear Parents, ST. PETER CATHOLIC SCHOOL Principal s Weekly Newsletter Our philosophy of education is that each child is unique in their learning. They each have individual learning styles, readiness, and needs. Our teachers, assistants and faculty members all work collaboratively to meet each student where they are and help them to grow in all of the ways God has planned for each child. I am thankful that our teachers believe in this philosophy and strive to help each child. One of the reasons we value the MAP assessment is because it measures the growth of each individual student over time. Recently, our 1 st - 7 th grade students received their MAP reports for the Midyear Assessment that was taken in math, reading and language usage. Our students set individual goals for each of the subject areas, with the help of their teachers, to increase their RIT points from the previous assessment. I am so proud of the growth of all of our students!!! After analyzing the MAP assessment results school-wide, we were blown away by the growth made throughout the school. Every grade level in every subject area MET and in many cases GREATLY EXCEEDED the normreferenced projected growth stated by NWEA, who produces the MAP assessment!!!! Our students will take the MAP assessment again at the end of the school year. We know that they will continue to amaze us and we can t wait to see how much growth will have happened in the second half of the school year. We know that standardized assessments are just a small snapshot of a child s learning and do not fully show what they are capable of; however, it is a beneficial standardized piece of information which our school uses to identify our students needs and guide of lesson design and instruction. Parents often ask me what they can do to help their child to improve standardized test scores, and my answer is to improve fluency both in literacy and numeracy. Read, read, read to improve reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and creativity and be fluent in all basic math facts. (Now if I could only do a better job of both of these strategies as a mom. ) If you would like more information on how to interpret your child s MAP report, NWEA has this: uploads/2016/06/parent-guide-to-map.pdf I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and pray that each of your children finishes strong for the remainder of the school year! Blessings, Suzanne Roth, Dean of Academics March 16 (Fri) March 21 (Wed) March 22 (Thurs) March 23 (Fri) March 26 (Mon) March 27 (Tues) March 28 ( Wed) March 29 (Thurs) March 2018 End of the 3 rd Quarter, Professional Development, 11:30 am dismissal (No afternoon bus service or aftercare) Rescheduled Pep Rally & Volleyball Game (Mock sleepover performance) Romaguera Class Picture Day Faculty Meeting, 3:00 pm Romaguera Picture Day for Key Cottage, 2 day class Dads Club Meeting, 7:00 pm S.O.O.L Day Check Presentations Grandparents Club Bake Sale Report cards go home 4th Grade Honor Roll Breakfast 4 th Grade Living Stations of the Cross, 8:30 am 5th Grade Honor Roll Breakfast Holy Week Mass, 9:30 am 6th Grade Honor Roll Breakfast 6 th Grade Seder Meal, 11:00 am

2 Academic Accolades Suzanne Roth, Dean of Academics Book Character Day Remaining Exam Schedule Thursday, March 15 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade Math ELA Math Come and join us at For St. Peter School students who are currently enrolled in Key Cottage, Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd grades. We re packing a ton of FUN into one week with endless amounts of activities while creating an opportunity for your child to explore new interests in a positive, caring environment. They ll engage in outdoor play, which will promote health and fitness, but most of all they ll be having FUN! Each day is a new and exciting theme as they dabble in the arts, sing songs, create their own snacks along with other fun treats! They will make new friends, have a blast on water day, and overall be just plain silly! Cost: $ This includes a $20 supply fee. Please register soon, as camp fills quickly! If you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Roth, Dean of Academics, at sroth@stpetercov.org.

3 Faith Happenings Clint Goss, Coordinator of Religious Education This month we are reflecting on the virtue of COMPASSION. Call me weird, but I have always enjoyed learning what words mean and how they are pieced together. When you see an existing word broken down into its particular parts, you sometimes see a word and its meaning in a whole new way. For example, the word sincere means to be honest and true, no falsehood. The word sincere literally means without wax. Huh? How is that? The Latin prefix sin- means without. The Latin word cera means wax. Many centuries ago, sculptors would smear wax over the cracks that were found in old, crumbling statues. The wax would cover up the flaws, and the statue would look new again. But it was fake. A wax covered statue is not sincere. Human behavior can be compared to this. If we act fake and try to cover up our flaws with wax, then we are not being true to ourselves, others, or God. So now, let s look at COMPASSION. The prefix com- means with. The Latin word passion means suffer. So COMPASSION actually means to suffer with. Wow! Usually when we think of the word COMPASSION, we think of having a heart for someone who is having a tough time. But being willing to suffer with someone takes it to a deeper level! Jesus showed all of humanity COMPASSION when he came to earth and became one of us. He literally suffered as we suffer. He experienced sadness, righteous anger, frustration, betrayal, physical and emotional pain, tears, heartache, and so much more. We can show COMPASSION to God and others. First, we can show COMPASSION to God by actually suffering along with him. How do we do this? Scripture says that we can make up with this lacking in the sufferings of Christ. This may sound strange. How is Jesus suffering lacking? Objectively, his suffering lacks nothing. Subjectively, it lacks our participation. He wants his sufferings to bear fruit in each of our lives. It lacks only in that he longs for us to join him. He never intended to suffer it alone. He loves us so much that he invites us to unite our suffering with his on the Cross (and therefore, the Mass). This means our suffering is never wasted as long as it is united to the Lord s suffering! We are the Body of Christ. It only makes sense that as Christians we are called to embrace our suffering. If Jesus endured it, how could we expect anything less? Second, we can show COMPASSION to others. We do this when we are willing to put aside our own plans and comforts, and we decide that we are actually going to enter into a suffering situation with another person, whether this person is a family member, friend, or perfect stranger. I think of the Good Samaritan. He could have offered a prayer for the poor guy (just as the Jewish priests probably did) as he passed along on the road to Jericho, but instead he decided to get involved and get his hands dirty. He jumped into the misery of this poor guy s life. He took time to care for the man. He literally carried him on his animal to the closest inn and then gave the innkeeper money to help take care of the man. The Samaritan made a huge investment. The Samaritan went the extra mile. The Samaritan shows what COMPASSION is all about. Thank you to everyone for showing COMPASSION recently to the Ourso Family. This is virtue in action. This is what Christ alive in our hearts looks like. COMPASSION has been made visible here at St. Peter Catholic School. Let s continue to look for ways to show COMPASSION to those in need. Holy Week is not far away. We will enter soon into the depths of the Lord s PASSION... the suffering he endured for our salvation. May we never forget... and may we be willing to suffer with him. Peace to you and your families, Clint Goss, Coordinator of Religious Education Families in Virtue The DePino Family We are the DePino family - Jared, Nicole, Bryce (13), Brianna (10), Benjamin (9), and Bella (4). The virtue of the month is compassion. It also happens to be what my children chose as their Epiphany gift this year. All of my kids do so many things to show compassion daily. I see them practicing compassion when they hug Bella after she falls and gets hurt. I see them practicing compassion when they do acts of kindness for me, such as doing the dishes or taking out the trash without being asked. They show compassion when they pray for the person who is sick or hurt when an ambulance goes by. These are just a few examples of the many ways we try and show compassion towards others. It is something we, as a family, are continually working on. "The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love. The Lord is good to all, compassionate to every creature." - Psalm 145:8-9

4 Faith Happenings Clint Goss, Coordinator of Religious Education Liturgy of the Word for Children for 3-6 year olds During the 9:30 a.m. Mass The Children s Liturgy provides children with a time and place to soak in the gospel message on a level that they can understand. Children will be led to St. Mary s Hall for catechesis after the Opening Greeting and will return to church immediately following the Prayers of the Faithful. No registration is required. Upcoming dates: March 11 and 18 April 8 and 22 May 13, 20, and 27 Wood-Working Class Builds A Swing for Party at the Pavilion Auction Our 7th grade wood-working enrichment class has been hard at working building a swing for the Party at the Pavilion auction and making a sign for Mrs. Urrata s prayer garden. Mr. Chip Marchard teaches this class as a middle school elective. Mission speaker, Tonya Cenac, came to visit our middle school students. Pictured left is 7th grade trying to undo the Human Knot. For Lent, they are attempting to offer our sacrifices for those who live in the mission areas of the world. St. Peter Parish Weekend Mass Schedule Saturday Vigil: 4:00 pm Sunday: 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 11:30 am & 5:00 pm We hope to see you there!

5 Our 1st SOUL Saturday Was A Success! Students and their families joined the residents of Forest Manor for an afternoon of bingo and friendship. Fr. Colm and Mr. Kraus - Taped and Water Ballooned - All for a Good Cause! Last Friday, the Student Council held a fundraiser where students could purchase a piece of duct tape and/or a water balloon for Fr. Colm and Mr. Kraus! Over $2,700 was raised from this event. T H A N K Y O U

6 Student Life Dr. Kathleen Crouchet, Dean of Students and Student Life St. Peter Cheerleaders Isabella Brack Loxley Cook Brianna DePino Riley Dragon - Captain Alayna Durey - Co-Captain Hannah Fowler Ava LaBorde Katherine Luscy Isabelle Marinello Layla Massey Grace Mauterer Anna McHugh Ava Nazario Katie Nolan Ally Palmer Olivia Palmer Victoria Palmer Meghan Picou Emma Rabalais Sofia Scala Emma Thibodeaux Sienna Thibodeaux Ella Wandstrat St. Peter Rock n ettes Alexandra Ackel Peyton Baker Bella Bennett Avery Bowers Josephine Ciuffi Madeline Clabert Captain Emily Cothran Juliana Fisher Anabella Galiano Cate Ganucheau Sophia Gernon Ava Kemp - Captain Josie Pearce - Co-Captain Hailey Peperone Faith Sakowski Jules Salsman Dakota Salter - Co-Captain Ryleigh Schwing Alex Smith London Thompson St. Peter Catholic School Jacket Order Form for Athletics - Student Council - Band & Choir Available for 5th - 7th Grade Students Only! Click here for the order form. All orders are due TOMORROW, March 15th.

7 Development Activities Nicole Siverd, Development Director April 27, 28 & 29 Come on down to the St. Peter Zoo! SPONSORSHIP DEADLINES! YOUR LOGO HERE Want to get your name or logo on the Party at the Pavilion t-shirt? Make certain you don t miss the deadline to turn in sponsorship forms. Final date for inclusion on the event shirt is Friday, March 16th! CLICK HERE for the Sponsor form! Thank you for your consideration! Class Gift Baskets Each year, homerooms donate a gift basket or large item to the PATP Silent Auction! We are asking each child to donate $5 or more towards his/her class auction item. Please label your donation envelope Class Baskets. PATP t-shirts for sale! Get your order in by March 19th! Click Here for the form! Save the Date Mother - Daughter Tea April 15th Benedict s Plantation 1:00pm

8 Thank You To Our Sponsors! St. Peter Sponsors St. Mary Sponsors Pavilion Sponsors