May 2017 Volume VIII Issue 10 8th Grade Graduation May 16 Last Day of School May 25 Inside this issue: May Crowning Celebration of our Blessed Mother Bioshphere 2 Field Trip 2 Spring Concert 2017 3 Next Generation Diner 4 Family Service Project 5 Field Day 2017 6 Spanish Spelling Bee 6 The Adventures of Pencil and Ruler 7 May Birthdays 8 2017-2018 School Dates 6-7 IMPORTANT DATES May 1 - Middle School Info Session 4:30 p.m. 3 - Spring Concert, 6:30 pm 5 - May Crowing, Early Dismissal at noon 7 - All School Mass 14 - Family/8th Grade Mass 16-8th Grade Graduation 19 - Kindergarten Promotion 25 - Last Day of School Early Dismissal at Noon STREAM Showcase June 5-9 Bricks 4 Kids Camp 12-16 Camp Invention 19-23 Bricks 4 Kids Camp 26-30 St. Gabe s Summer Program Annunciation students celebrated May Crowning on Friday, May 5. Each year a boy and girl are selected from 3rd grade to place the crown of flowers on the statue of Mary in celebration of our Blessed Mother. This year Luke Baillargeon and Izabella Holwerda were selected for the honor. Afterwards, all students processed in a line to and laid flowers at Mary s feet. Special thanks to our Catholic Identity Committee for planning this special morning. Annunciation Catholic School Class of 2017 8th Grade Graduation Mass Tuesday May 16 at 5:30 p.m. Co-celebrants Bishop Nevares and Fr. Dennis O Rourke St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church The Mission of Annunciation Catholic School Within our strong Catholic community, we develop children who excel academically, spiritually and socially.
Page 2 7th Grade STREAM s to the Biosphere For the month of April, 7th grade English and Science classes engaged in vocabulary study to introduce science concepts prior to their field trip to the Biosphere. Membean is a vocabulary program that the Catholic high schools, and now the Junior High students at ACS, use to build their understanding and knowledge of words with visual maps, auditory components, and word association connected to social studies and science terms. This program assists students in the content areas as well as preparing them for the HSPT (High School Placement Test) taken in 8th grade for admittance into local Catholic high schools. Students in 6-8th grade have their own username/password which allows them to work at their instructional level to build a robust and comprehensive vocabulary. Seventh grade students studied roots such as bio, hydro and eco in English class before making their trip to the Biosphere helping to build their understanding of biomes and ecology prior to their trip. This interdisciplinary Activity helped 7th grade connect roots to science terms. The Biosphere a great learning experience was a success as the guide stated our 7th grade students knew more than a 10th grade Science Class he had met the day before! Visit www.membean.com for more information.
Page 3 Spring Concert 2017 Grow Where You Are Planted
Page 4 Next Generation Dinner Sells out to Support St. Vincent de Paul and F.A.S.T. On April 29, 2017, the 8th grade class hosted the second Next Generation of Generosity Dinner benefitting the local chapters of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Foundation for Aquatic Safety and Training. The sold out event was a great success. Many students from the 5th through 7th grade were available to discuss the STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math) exhibit, the 5th grade solar system project, and provide a demonstration of the 3D printer. In addition, beautiful art pieces were display from some of our blossoming artists in kindergarten through 8th grade. The Vibrant Vinnies, the young Vincentian club at Annunciation, were there to show their completed service projects over the past three years. Shirley Smalley was recognized for her generosity and hard work with these young Vincentians and the Vibrant Vinnies for becoming the first Young Vincentians club in the nation to be recognized as their own conference in the Nation. The 8th graders announced where they will be attending high school in the fall and were presented with a gift from each of those schools. Thank you to the St. Gabriel Knights of Columbus for their hard work cooking another fantastic pasta dinner and to Our Lady of Joy for the use of their parish hall and kitchen. The proceeds earned from the event total ed $6,000. Thank you to all who attended and supported this event. See you next year! Last Day of School Family STREAM Showcase Thursday, May 25 All school families are invited to join us for our last school Mass of the year followed by a fun morning of Family Engineering. Come see and share in the fun with your students! Discount tickets on sale at the school store now! $30 Each Don t forget to join your fellow ACS friends at Wet n Wild on August 4.
Amoroso Family Annual Easter Drive Brings Joy to Homeless Families Every year the Amoroso family supports a charity during Lent. This year they collected over 300 chocolate bunnies for the shelters of UMOM. UMOM is Arizona and is the largest shelter for homeless families in the state. The chocolate bunnies were handed out to the children at the shelter throughout the week of Easter. The Amoroso s thank all the of their friend and family for supporting them with donations of chocolate Easter bunnies. Page 5 Pictured above: Luca (3rd) and Peter (6th) and their parents Jill and Nic, open their home and provide refreshments to all who bring Easter donations to help support this wonderful cause. ACS Uniform Closet Uniform Sale Friday, May 19 7:15-8:30 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. In the K-3 building All remaining new items must go! Pants $10 Shorts $10 Shirts $10 (limited quantities and sizes available) Used pants, shorts, shirts $5 Used Plaid $15 (We are accepting gently worn and clean used uniforms) Where in the world are our ACS Angels? Taking a fun family trip? Visiting an historic site? Trekking through a distant land? Enjoying the beaches of a beautiful island? Share your favorite family vacation photo with the ACS newsletter! Send quality jpg files to office@acsphx.org
Page 6 Field Day 2017 Makes a Splash! ACS Students Earn 2nd and 3rd Place in Diocesan Spanish Spelling Bee James Humphrey (2nd grade) and Michael Duke (7th grade) won 2nd and 3rd place respectively in their grade divisions at the annual Diocesan Spanish Spelling Bee. Many students from Catholic elementary schools throughout the diocese came to St. Catherine of Sienna on April 25 to compete. We are very proud of James and Michael for representing Annunciation so well. Congratulations gentlemen!
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Annunciation Catholic School 32648 N. Cave Creek Road Cave Creek, AZ 85331 Phone: (480)361-8234 Fax: (480)207-6730 School Hours 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Office Hours 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. AZ Tuition Connection www.arizonatuitionconnection.com If you have a state tax liability, don t forget to take the Arizona state tax credit by April 15. Recommend a particular student or choose Annunciation to receive your tuition support. Choose how your state taxes are used and help a family who chooses Catholic education! School Administration Headmaster Fr. Dennis O Rourke fatherd@stgacc.org Principal Dr. Sharon Pristash spristash@acsphx.org Dean of Students Ms. Lynne O Keefe lokeeffe@acsphx.org Development/Marketing Mrs. McCann - kmccann@acsphx.org Office Administration Mrs. Schwartz lschwartz@acsphx.org Office Support Mrs. Fabry office@acsphx.org School Nurse Ms. Thallemer nurse@acsphx.org Ava Bush Andrew Corso Antonio Motola Brooke Powers Elleanor Scott Sophia Scott Samantha Sposi Elena Scagnoli River Vogelsang Ms. Neal Mrs. McCann Important Dates 2017-2018 School Year Aug. 8 - First Day of School (Opening day prayer at 8 a.m.) September 4 - Labor Day, No School November 22-24 - Thanksgiving Break Dec. 22 - Jan. 5 - Christmas Break Jan. 15 - Martin Luther King Day, No School March 30 - April 6 Easter Break May 24 - Last Day of School To view the complete staff directory please visit the school website or follow the link http://acsphx.org/about_us/staff_directory