Sacred Heart Catholic School Newsletter September 12, 2016 501 St. Louis Street, Florissant, MO 63031 www.shcs-flo.org T: 314.831.3372 ext. 233 Fax: 314.831.2844 Dear Parents and Guardians, The 150 th birthday celebration this past week was awesome! The day began with a special Mass celebrated with Bishop Leibrecht, Msgr. Mark and Fr. Hamilton. After Mass the Bishop blessed the Good Shepherd statue. During the rest of the day, the students participated in various activities including square dancing, making butter, learning about the history of the school/parish and competing in spelling bees. The Bishop joined the upper grades at lunch and then met with him to hear what it is like to be a bishop. The day concluded with the Spelling Bee championships and a special blessing for all the students by Bishop Leibrecht. Special thanks to the committee of teachers who began planning last spring: Mrs. Lisa Murphy, Mrs. Xuan Robbins, Mrs. Judy Lance, Miss Sarah Bogaski, Miss Josie Zeugin, Mrs. Mary Barnum and Mrs. Kay Wilson. Congratulations to our grade level Spelling Bee champions: 1 st grade Emily Talbott, 2 nd grade John Michael Redmon, 3 rd /4 th grade Max Silver, 5 th /6 th grade winners tied Jack Zeidler and Nicholas Olmstead, and 7 th /8 th grade Josh Heisserer. The winner of the 7 th /8 th grade essay winner was Claire Gettemeier. Calendar Week of Sept. 12-16, 2016 Tuesday, Sept. 12 8:00 a.m. All school Mass planned by 6th grade Room 209 1:30 p.m. OASIS tutor meeting 3:15. p.m. Girls on the Run begins Wednesday, Sept. 14 3:00 p.m. Art Club begins Thursday, Sept. 15 8:00 a.m. All school Mass planned by 6 th grade Room 206 3:00 p.m. Girls on the Run 3:15 4:15 p.m. Abra-Kid-Abra begins Friday, Sept. 16 7:30 a.m. SHAPE Your Faith prayer in the gym 8 th grade will be attending the Confirmation Rally at Trinity
Week of Sept. 19, 2016 Tuesday, Sept. 20 ITBS Testing all week for Grades 2-8 8:00 a.m. All school Mass planned by 5 th grade Room 201 6:00 p.m. 8 th grade parent meeting in Parish Hall 7:00 p.m. Right S.T.A.R. T. meeting for 8 th grade parents in Parish Hall Wednesday, Sept. 21 7:20 a.m. STUCO and Teachers making sandwiches for St. Vincent s 7:00 p.m. Ladies Guild Board meeting Thursday, Sept. 22 8:00 a.m. All school Mass planned by 5 th grade Room 207 3:00 p.m. Girls on the Run 3:15 p.m. Try-outs for the play 3:15 4:15 p.m. Abra-Kid-Abra ITBS TESTING Next week all of the students except first grade will be taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) test from Riverside Publishing/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt all week. These tests are mandated by the archdiocese every year. The students individual test results will be available during Parent/Teacher conferences in November. We use the data from these tests to help direct our curriculum. Please make sure that your child has plenty of rest, eats breakfast, and is here on time so that they are ready each day for the testing. Please find an article written by Sue Brown Director of Marketing and Community Relations, Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of St. Louis, titled De-Mystifying Standardized Tests! A Parent s Guide She offers valuable tips to prepare your child for testing. A FEW REMINDERS Please stay in one line as you drop off your child in the morning. Going around the line of traffic is very dangerous to everyone. Also, please do not get out of your car in the line. If you need to do this, then park along the wall so you don t hold up the line. We cannot give medicine to your child without a doctor s script, this includes over the counter meds. Please, NO dogs while waiting for your child after school. Dogs are not predictable and this is for everyone s safety. Last, please do not post another child s picture on Facebook or other social media without first checking with that child s parent. We do have some families that do not want their child s picture up on social media.
PASTOR S REFLECTION This past week on Wednesday we continued our 150 th Anniversary Celebration with Sacred Heart Catholic School. In fact the whole day was dedicated to the children getting in touch with what it was like to have lived in 1866 and how our parish has grown since then. The day began with Mass for the whole school in church. Our special guest was Bishop John J. Leibrecht, DD, PhD, the retired Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Bishop Leibrecht was in fact, the former pastor of Sacred Heart in Florissant from 1981 to 1984. After 3 years he was then consecrated Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau from 1984 to 2008. After Mass Bishop Leibrecht went out to bless the new Good Shepherd Statue with all the children from the little school. We had the Kindergarten, Pre-School, and Lucky Ducks all gathered to pray with the Bishop in front of the statue. Then all the children got their picture taken with the Bishop alongside the Good Shepherd. It was a great moment At 86 years old Bishop Leibrecht is nowhere close to slowing down as he is very active as a retired Bishop. What he loves most is to travel across southern Missouri filling in for priests who have health problems or in need of time away. He also gives a lot of parish retreats. It was such a gift for our school and the children to have the Bishop with us for the day. And in his words, it is so good to come back and to reconnect with so many memories of Sacred Heart Parish. During the day Bishop Leibrecht met with the 7 th and 8 th graders to talk about religious vocations. He did this by sharing his own call to follow Jesus and serve as a priest. The children then had time to ask him questions about his life and the Church. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the kids. They knew this day was special. To end the day we chose a winning essay from the 7 th and 8 th Graders who each wrote about what the 150 th Parish Anniversary meant to them. The winner received a copy of our new parish history book and a gift certificate. Then the Bishop sent the children home with a few final words and his blessing. It was a great day for the children but I know it was just as special for Bishop John Leibrecht as well. Mary Kay Gladbach, the principal of the Little School enjoyed having lunch with the Bishop and all the kids. It was a day to remember. And it was a way for everyone to realize what a blessing we have at Sacred Heart all this tradition, this learning, this dedication, this faithfulness to God. May God continue to bless Sacred Heart Catholic School for many years to come. And remember all tickets for the Chevy Spark Car Raffle go to our school! Msgr. Mark Ullrich msgrmullrich@gmail.com
G0D-CENTERED Our theme for this year is: Let our light shine by the love that we share with others. Each month we will stress one word or virtue with specific activities to do for each week. How can we follow in Christ s footsteps? Can people tell that we are Christians by our love? Are we truly witnesses to Christ? During the month of September we will focus on being God-centered. This means that your life revolves around God. Matthew 6:33 Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Quote When we put God first all other things fall into their proper place. This week try and join us for Shape Your Faith. Bring a friend! Bring your parents! See flyer for details. Special School District Special School District of St. Louis County offers a wealth of materials to all families in the county. Their Resource Center is located at 12110 Clayton Road. If you are interested in receiving information about any number of child-related topics, you can visit the Center or complete the checklist you ll find on one of the attachments in this newsletter to have the packets mailed to you. Remember these resources are available to all families. Basketball News Is your son or daughter in 1st grade? If so...they now can play basketball at Sacred Heart. Signups for basketball grades 1st and up are now open until October 15th. Lacrosse sign-ups for grades 5th and up are open as well and close on January 1. Go to sacredheartsports.com to find the online registration link. Questions? Email Tom ODonnell Todonnell11@sbcglobal.net
De-Mystifying Standardized Tests! A Parent s Guide Part I By: Sue Brown Director of Marketing and Community Relations, Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of St. Louis. It seems that no sooner are the children back in school, than they (and their parents) are faced with what some believe are the most important tests of the year the standardized tests, or ITBS and CogAT. Those mysterious letters! What do they mean? How can I help my child prepare? How much do they impact his academic future? How do high schools use test scores in the admissions process? As a former elementary school principal, let me try to dispel some myths and misconceptions and, as the kids say, break it down for you. This is the first of three articles in a series that will address these questions and more. My hope is that parents will come away with a better understanding of an often misunderstood topic. If these articles raise further questions, I am sure your principal will be happy to address them with your child s particular needs in mind. Since test week begins September 18, this first article addresses why we test in the fall, (not spring) and how best to prepare your child for test week. May God bless you in your role as your child s primary, or first, educator. The teachers and administrators stand ready to assist you in this important, sometimes challenging job! Why Fall Testing? The achievement test used by every elementary school in the Archdiocese of St. Louis is known as the ITBS, which stands for Iowa Test of Basic Skills. CogAT stands for Cognitive Abilities Test. (More detailed information on this will be included in the next article on Test Interpretation. ) Standardized testing week in the Archdiocese of St. Louis traditionally falls during the last weeks of September. Many parents and students wonder why we test in the fall, at the beginning of a grade, and not in the spring when it would seem to measure how much a student had learned that year. Without getting too technical, students are not at a disadvantage, as some parents fear, because they have just begun the grade in which they are being tested. The scoring process takes the time of year into account to ensure that scores achieved in the fall compare to a group of students who were also tested in the fall of the same grade. (This is known as a norm group.) In order to achieve the exact same score in the spring, students would have to answer more questions correctly. Having test results early in the year provides sufficient time for administrators and teachers to study the results of their students testing, and use that information in several important ways. They can learn much about the educational needs of both individual students, as well as the class as a whole. Some students test scores may provide evidence of a suspected learning disability and need for further testing. Teachers can identify gaps in students background knowledge, and make adjustments early in the year. Test scores may also be used as one criterion for eligibility for particular classes/programs. These are all valid uses for standardized test scores. There are also a number of invalid and inappropriate ways some parents might be tempted to use them. Examples of inappropriate ways to use test scores include: Comparing class or school averages against another class s or school s averages. And, where there is any change in the make-up of a class from one year to the next, comparison of the class average from one year to the next becomes even less meaningful. Resist the urge to do so! Evaluating the quality of a teacher or a school based on test scores. The temptation is strong to do so, as it is such an easy comparison to make too easy to be anywhere near valid! That is why this Archdiocese does not publish the test scores of individual schools. It is misleading and serves no valid purpose. Perhaps the most inappropriate use of test scores is to make a decision or draw a conclusion based on the results of one test alone.
Preparing for the Test There are steps parents, students, and teachers can take to increase the likelihood of a positive testing experience, which is not an oxymoron! Parents and teachers walk a fine line in preparing students for standardized testing too much pressure to do well because everything is riding on this is way too far in one direction, and, Don t worry, the scores don t count anyway! is way too far in the other! I always advised my students to get enough sleep the night before a test, have a decent breakfast the morning of, come with two nicely sharpened pencils with good erasers, and ask the Holy Spirit for the gifts of knowledge and wisdom and perseverance. Teachers are well advised to prepare the testing materials and environment carefully, ensuring adequate lighting, space, fresh air, and quiet. Distractions must be eliminated as much as possible. In my former school, we began each testing week with an all-school prayer service asking God to bless our efforts and give us peace of mind and heart. Little ones who did not take the test offered moral support and promises of prayers to their older schoolmates. In Catholic schools we have the luxury of being able to do that, and we should! Test week can be as negative or positive an experience as we help make it for our children. Here are some important, simple, practical, and effective steps parents can take to make it relaxed and productive: Plan ahead! Be sure that your child is able to attend school every day during the days the tests will be administered. Teachers like to spread them out over a number of days so that students do not become fatigued. Work with them, and schedule routine doctor visits for another week. Fire up the engine! Breakfast fuels the body and mind. It takes energy to maintain focus and perseverance during lengthy tests. Give him or her this important advantage! Be prepared! The Boy Scout motto is good advice for a positive testing experience. Make sure your child has sufficient rest and two #2 lead pencils (sharpened, please!) every day of test week. Pray with and for your child! There is no statistical data, but our faith tells us that the Holy Spirit has many gifts that students will need during test week knowledge, fortitude, wisdom, right judgment are just a few. Ask God s blessing on your child and his or her efforts. Use calming words and tone to assure them that all you expect is that they give the tests their best effort no more, no less. And, don t forget to tell her that you love her and, in the end, it s NOT THE END OF THE WORLD! (Happy Testing!) Coming soon: Test Interpretation
SHAPE Your Faith (Sacred Heart s Amazing Prayer Event) Parents, caregivers, grandparents, etc (drivers of the carpool) please join us for prayer before you go to work. What a way to start the day!! Please join us for a prayer service in the gym Friday, September 16 th. It will start at 7:30 am and end by 7:40 am. Everyone is welcome
SACRED HEART 2017 PRO LIFE TRIP We are inviting all Sacred Heart Parish 8thGraders and High School Teens to join LifeTeen and the Archdiocese of St. Louis for this faith-filled event! January 25-29, 2017 Jan 25: Depart from satellite locations after school lets out Jan 26: Arrive in Washington DC hotel check in, dinner and evening programming Jan 27: March and evening programming Jan 28: Tour DC and Mass at the National Shrine, then depart for St. Louis Jan 29: Arrive in St. Louis at satellite launch locations The group will be staying at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in DC. Cost is $350 per person This price includes hotel (quad room), bus, a custom sweatshirt or other apparel ($40 value), tour(s) on Saturday and DC Metro fares ($20 value). Food and souvenir costs are not included. Important Dates Sept 30: $50 non-refundable deposit is required (check made out to Sacred Heart) Oct 28: $150 is due Nov 25: $150 is due We will have a meeting at the end of October for all participants. A limited number of spaces is available so please talk to your child(ren) and reflect on this important experience! Any questions? Contact Tami Schiermeier at 618-971-8717 or schiermeierbt@yahoo.com or Rita Sextro at 314-495-1655 or dsextro@yahoo.com