Newsletter - February 6, 2017

Dear St. Francis School Families,

Accept the strength
that comes from
the grace of Christ Jesus.
- 2 Timothy 2:1

Thanks to our families who helped their children get into the spirit of Catholic Schools Week last week!  We had wonderful participation in the dress themes and activities all throughout the week! Their creativity only added to the fun, and made some happy memories for all involved. 

Thank you to everyone who attended our Books for Breakfast and Mass last Wednesday, it was so nice to see such a great turnout!   Our book fair was a huge success; we earned over $1200.00 in free books!

VIRTUE AWARDS FOR BEING OBEDIENT: Obedient – Whatever you say, I will obey, right away.
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow his commands given today, The Lord your God will set you high above the nations on Earth.  Deuteronomy 28:1

4YK:                               3rd Grade: 
June Feuerhelm           Ian Nelson                
Lane Rohl                     Carter Plummer
                        
Kindergarten:              4th Grade:  
Eian Murphy                Wyatt McGrath
                                       Gavin Puhrmann
1st Grade:                                                                  
Ava Acker                      5th Grade:
Shawn Huppert            Logan Brand
                                        Joey Jean
2nd Grade: 
Jack McMahon
Rowan Nelson

D.A.R.E.:  Police Officer Allen Wojcik, Pierce County D.A.R.E. School Resource Officer, will begin
teaching the D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) curriculum at St. Francis on February 9.  All D.A.R.E. classes at St. Francis will be taught on Thursdays.  

The primary goal of D.A.R.E. is to teach effective peer resistance and refusal skills, so that adolescents can say “no” to drugs and to their friends who may want them to use drugs.  The secondary goals of the program are to build students’ social skills and enhance their self-esteem, as these are believed to be linked to adolescent drug use.

The curriculum is concentrated in the fifth grade with a 45 minute class once a week for 13 weeks.  Grades K-4 will each meet with Officer Allen for 30 minutes once a week, for three weeks, and our 4YK class will have one 20 minute class.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ASSEMBLY FOR GRADE 5 – FEB 13:  Our fifth grade students have been invited to an assembly at the Middle School being put on by the Jacob Wetterling Foundation on Monday, February 13.  The assembly will focus on bullying and empathy. 

GR. 5 PARENT & STUDENT MTG - “GROWING IN LOVE” - FEB. 13:  Do you wonder how you’ll talk with your child about his/her body changes as he/she approaches puberty?  Alice Heinzen and Jeff Arrowood, of our diocesan Office of Family Life, have a presentation, entitled “Growing in Love”, for fifth grade parents and their child that conveys the information children need to know, integrated with appropriate humor and a deep respect for God’s gift of sexuality.  Fifth grade students and their parents will meet for this presentation on Mon., February 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall.  Because of the sensitive nature of the puberty topics that will be covered, no child may attend without his/her parent present.

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES – FEB 16:  Conferences will be held Thurs., February 16. Conferences for this quarter are optional unless requested by your child’s teacher, or requested by you as a parent.  Please go follow the link at signup.com and find your grade level if you would like to request a conference with your child’s teacher, or if the box is checked by the teacher indicating that they would like to meet with you.  You do not need to go to this site if the box below is not checked by the teacher and you do not want to request a meeting.

GR. 5 - MUSIC CLASS - FOLKTALE – FEB. 16: As part of our music curriculum, our fifth grade students study a folk tale, and incorporate a variety of musical instruments into the telling of the tale.  Fifth grade parents are invited to attend one or both of the presentations of the folk tale in the lunchroom: February 16 at 8:15 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  The presentations will last approximately 15 minutes.

GR. K-5 ROLLER SKATING TRIP – FEB 17:  Our skating party has been set for Friday, February 17 for Kindergarten–Fifth Grade at Wooddale Recreation Center in Woodbury!  As always, we need the help of many parents to make this activity possible!  A packet of information was included in your weekly envelope last week.

CARNIVAL NEWS
CARNIVAL GAME TICKETS:  Order your game tickets in advance. See order form enclosed in weekly envelope. 

CARNIVAL WORKER SIGNUP:  All families are required to help with a shift on the day of the Carnival. Please select your job of choice here. 

PRIZES:  We need additional kid themed prizes to use as giveaways during our Carnival Bingo game.  If you have any new toys, games or kids items to share, please send them into the school office.  This is completely optional, but works well if you have something extra from Christmas or tucked away in the closet.  The value should be $5-$15.

POP DONATIONS FOR CARNIVAL:  The kitchen committee is asking each family to donate pop for the carnival.  If you have more than one student, please choose a grade level, you do not need to buy more than one 2 liter bottle of pop.
4YK....................Root beer
Kindergarten......Coke
1 grade.............Orange
2nd grade..........Sprite
3rd grade...........Diet Coke
4th grade...........Mountain Dew
5th grade...........Coke Diet
 
CARNIVAL T-SHIRTS:  Join in the fun of Minion Madness with a t-shirt! Order before Feb. 13th and it will arrive in time to wear at the Carnival!  Order online here. Or submit an order to the office, which includes payment of $10 each and your size choice, name & phone number. Available in Youth S, M, L, XL and Adult Sizes. Make checks payable to Imaging World. 
 


NO SCHOOL - FEB. 20:  Students do not have classes the day after the Carnival, Monday, February 20.

SNOW DAY MAKE-UP: We will have school on Thursday, April 13 because of the snow day on Tuesday, January 17.  

TELEPHONES: As a result of updating our phone system, we have several phones from our previous system that are available to anyone who could use them.  Please contact the office if you are interested.

Have an awesome week! Please call or e-mail if you have questions: 715-273-4391.
    
Mary Gardas                    
Head Teacher

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