website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Set of weekly School Newsletters
|
|
|
|
St. Henry School Newsletter
|
|
|
|
“Jesus came,
although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said,
‘Peace be with you.’”
Today is third quarter report card day. Attending a (huge) Love and Logic seminar yesterday in Madison with four faculty members reminded me of the advice about reacting to report cards from L & L’s founding co-father, child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Foster Cline. He suggests, for motivation sake -- or for avoiding killing motivation (!), -- a parent give lots of enthusiastic pizzazz to the good grades and just a quick, low-key, somber notice of the lousy ones. He teaches that parents really want to give the child the message that the grades are the child’s concern, not mom and dad’s. The grades are, after all, the result of the child’s efforts and directly affect the child’s life, not the parent’s. So even the praise should be centered not so much on how happy and proud the good grades make the parent but how happy and proud the CHILD must be that the hard work and effort paid off. Dr. Cline says a quick question on a bad grade like “Are you proud of this grade, Son?” with a response like “Good” when the parent gets the answer “No” is sufficient. Yesterday’s speaker, Dr. Charles Fay, stated that research shows academic achievement, unlike inappropriate behaviors, is NOT changed by consequencing (or punishing) or even rewarding a youngster. We have much to share from his conference about his advice in case you’re interested and have sent for the DVD on this subject which should be soon.
Some really important dates to remember for the coming week:
Monday, April 16th. Your taxes are due in the mail and your service hours slip and/or a check to St. Henry School for each unserved hour ($10 per unserved; $150 max) is due into the office.
Wednesday the 18th NO SCHOOL This is only for St. Henry School since eight of the teachers and myself are gone for a conference on teaching kids to write better. Such an important skill. We hope the day will prove to be really valuable for the students in the long run.
ATHLETIC PACKETs for participation in next year’s sports programs are due this coming week. The date said the 18th but since we aren’t here that day, the late fee won’t be put in place if they are back on the 19th. After that, yes. It is so important to get those in since decisions must be made on team formations based on numbers: Are there enough children playing in that grade to form a team of its own? Do we need to combine two grades into one team? Do we need to make a combination team with St. Bernard’s? Big decisions that must be made in early May so the board really needs the registrations back. They also need two new board members. Without the board, no athletic program. Since the board has always been able to have enough volunteers come forward for decades and decades now, I can’t imagine there won’t be some wonderful, generous parents who’ll come forward soon.
School families SOCK
HOP tonight! HASA sponsored. Hawaiian theme. Parent must accompany children. In Parish Center from
STUDENTS HAVE EXCITING NEW PROJECT
The commonly known Seven Ancient Wonders of the World were all
man-made monuments chosen by Philon on Byzantium in 200 BC. His list of wonders was basically an
old-fashioned travel guide for fellow Athenians. All were located around the Mediterranean Sea
as this was the whole world that was known to the Greek civilization at that
time. Only the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt
remain from the original Seven Wonders.
Bernard Weber is reviving the concept of the 7 Wonders with a huge
global campaign, and this time around millions of people all over the world
will choose the New 7 Wonders of the World.
St. Henry students will be casting their vote too. The eighth grade class, as part of social
studies, is in the process of creating posters representing each of the
twenty-one finalists for the New 7 Wonders.
Each student was assigned a “wonder” to campaign for. The posters will be on display in the
cafeteria at the end of April, and each student will pick one “wonder” to vote
for. The top seven vote getters in the
school will be chosen as our 7 wonders, and we will go online and vote. The announcement of the New 7 Wonders of the
World will be held on
Mrs. Smedema
WE LOVE TO READ IN KINDERGARTEN
We have completed learning all the letters of the alphabet. The rest of the year we will be focusing on
fine tuning our sounds and working on reading strategies. Please encourage your child to read the
sentences they bring home to you. It is
so exciting when a child has an opportunity to read to you. Your interest also lets them know how
important reading is. Children love
listening to you read to them every night. Ask them what they thought about the
story. That’s what we do!
Report cards were sent home today.
Please take time to talk with your child about all the different
areas. As Love and Logic insists,
respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness are just as important as the
academics. (If not more). We have many
helpful Love and Logic materials in the office that may be checked out.
Please be sure to check the monthly calendar that I send
home. It gives the days that we will be
attending Mass. On Mass days please have
your child wear nice dress pants. They
may change into their everyday wear after church. This will prepare them for next year when
they will attend Mass each Wednesday and will be required to wear dress
clothes. The calendar will also list the
fun dress up days so they may participate.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Mrs. Lapp
Dates to Put on Your Calendar
APRIL
Friday 13 Third
quarter report cards to home.
Home and School SOCK HOP Luau!
per person; $5 max per family An adult must
accompany children. Pizza, nachos,
slushies, and
glow necklaces available for purchase
Monday 16 SERVICE
HOURS slips for 2006-07 due in office and/or
money owed for unserved hours.
(See school contracts.)
Home and School Association mtg., rectory
hall,
Wednesday 18 NO
SCHOOL! Only St. Henry School off
so faculty can
attend a seminar on 6-Trait Writing.
Thursday 19 Seventh
graders leave for overnight trip to
MacKenzie Environmental Center
Friday 20 Sixth
grade science field trip to the Cave of the Mounds
Market Day
Monday 23 Mandatory
Parent mtg. for parents of athletes who
are new to the program for 07-08,
PC,
Tuesday 24 Grades
6 & 8 share bus to field trips in Milwaukee.
Wednesday 25 Grade
five fills many liturgical roles for
USED BOOK FAIR
Visit to sixth grade class
from Business in Education
representative from MATC
Friday 27 Student
Council Stripes Day
Sunday 29 Athletic
Association Banquet, PC,
MAY
Wednesday 02 Grade
three fills many liturgical roles for
Grades 1-8 to Madison for WI
Chamber Orchestra Performance
Play Group meets
Friday 04 First
set of AR points due for the fourth quarter
First Communion Retreat
Sunday 06 First
Communion at the
Memory verse for April 16 – April 20 Acts of the Apostles 5: 29-30
“We must
obey God rather than men.
The God of our
ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a
tree.”