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     Set of weekly School Newsletters

 

 

 

 

 

St. Henry School Newsletter

 

November 30, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

                   Isaiah 9:  1(A)

 

 ADVENT begins Sunday.  What a wonderful season of spiritual growth and joyful anticipation.  Fr. Brian made some excellent suggestions for parents in the Bellringer you should have received this week.  Teachers, will, of course, be doing some activities in the classroom and grades two through eight will all have the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation over this next month. 

 

 The Student Council Food Drive netted 1, 873 items – an average of about 12 donations per student! The St. Vincent DePaul Society was really grateful, for good reason.  God bless all of you who were so generous.  It came to our attention that a few students went door-to-door seeking donations for this drive.  Just a word about that. That was all well and good IF their parents were fine with that and made sure they were accompanied by some responsible adult – kind of like how parents walk along with their children while “Trick or Treating.”  However, the school will NEVER issue a request that would be done.  Let me share the Diocese of Madison policy regarding “Fund-Raising Activities”  (DBA 3120):

 

            Fund-raising activities for parish education programs must have the approval of the Parish Education Commission.  Parish schools and parish religious education programs are discouraged from using grade school youngsters as door-to-door salespersons in fund-raising activities.  Minors under the age of 12 shall not be permitted to work in any “street trade.”  Local community restrictions and the safety of children should always be taken into consideration.

 

So the students’ safety should always be first and foremost.

 

Time to share our first quarter honor roll attainees.  Congratulations to all these youngsters.

 

The honor roll students with a grade point average of 3.2 to just under 3.8 are as follows:

 

Grade Four      Megan Bacchi, Sarah Bredow, Jenny Brebeck, John Hertel, Topher Justmann, Cal Kemp,

                         Mara Lapp, Gabby Linskens, Lacey Mehltretter, Grace O’Connor, and Josh Schroeder

Grade Five       Noah Cole, Thomas Green, Janelle, Hamilton, Brian Hogan, Emily Lemminger, Jeffrey

                         Schultz, Jacob Turner, Leah Uecker, and Caleb Walter

Grade Six         Jill Brebeck, Angela Breunig, Justin Drebenstedt, Adrian Gottwein, Sara Hogan, and

                         Jessica Mallow   

Grade Seven     John Brebeck, Megan Heiden, Brendan O’Connor, Jerry Tracy, Ben Uecker, and

                         John Wagner

Grade Eight      Kasey Caine, Elizabeth Caine, Devin Herritz, Francis Hertel, Jesse Hinchcliffe, Jared

                         Keller, Alicia Strupp, and Isabel Vazquez

 

The high honor roll students with a grade point average of 3.8 to 4.0 are as follows:

 

Grade Four       Brett Caine, Alex Denault and Trey Jahnke

Grade Five       Isaac Elsen

Grade Six         Kristin Miller

Grade Seven     Juliena Herritz and John Tesensky

Grade Eight      Kara Denault and Jacob Jurgella

 

OPEN A BOOK AND AWAY YOU GO TO ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME

 

Literature can be provocative.  Recently the fifth grade traveled with a china rabbit named Edward Tulane on a miraculous journey while listening to the reading of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  Kate DiCamillo, the author, led students on the expedition while they observed the intense plot in their mind’s eye.  Students’ thoughts and emotions surfaced as they empathized with Edward with every hardship and triumph he experienced.  Literary themes of love, friendship, loyalty, vanity, and appreciation presented themselves in such a way that students enthusiastically clicked away on the computer keyboard to write their reactions to the book.  “Read some more, read some more” is what is often heard in the fifth grade classroom. 

 

The request was heard, and more great literature was read.  Students journeyed into the past to Denmark during the time of the German invasion in World War II while reading Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  The themes of loyalty, bravery, and friendship set the stage in this book.  Once again, the emotionally – charged plot facilitated the ultimate goals of comprehension and critical thinking.

 

Mrs. Lemminger

  

ART NEWS

 

Although I have already done this with the students, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you, the parents, the process of determining the achievement part of the art grade.  First we need to understand that a “C” is definitely an acceptable grade for most students; it’s average! This means that the students completed their work in a way comparable to other students their age, they followed directions well, and they turned it in on time.  By the fourth grade coloring within lines that are drawn, and creating – whether it is drawn, torn, or molded – an object that resembles the real thing are common expectations for the “on target, average” child. 

 

To receive a “B”, my standards are obviously a little higher.  The student needs to have very neat and purposeful embellishing and above average drawing skills.  Also to receive a “B”, I need to see evidence of the student being creative.  Generally, my directions are guidelines; what the student does with these guidelines really determines how creative and motivated they are.  To obtain an “A” the student follows all the above suggestions and excels with them.

 

Suggestion to help children become more creative. Sorry, but turn off the TV and video games!  Fostering imagination through play, reading, drawing, painting, cooking, building and even cleaning can help not only in art but also in all the academic classes and lead to a much more calming and fulfilling life.

 

Mrs. Kemp

 

Dates to Mark on Your Calendar

 

DECEMBER

Sunday      02    First Sunday of Advent

Wednesday   05    Grade ONE fills liturgical roles during 8:15 Mass

St. Henry/St. Bernard Play Group, 9:30 am, Parish Center

Athletic Association Board meeting, 6 pm, computer lab

Thursday    06    St. Nicholas Day – Happy Feast day, Kindergarten Class!

Friday      07    Grades 1 and 2 go to Hartford for “Twas the Night before Christmas.”

                  First set of AR points due for second quarter (grades 4-8)

Home and School Christmas Store for Students’ Shopping (optional,

of course)

Market Day pick up

Wednesday   12    Grade EIGHT fills liturgical roles during 8:15 Mass; Our Lady

of Guadalupe Feastday

Thursday    13    Dress up in honor of St. Henry Day

                  Odd-numbered grades bring ˝ to 1 dozen cookies or bars before

noon to K room. Please have any containers you want back clearly

marked.  For gathering following the evening program.

MUSIC program, 6:30 pm, Parish Center

Friday      14    Student Council Stuffed Animal and/or PJ’s and/or Slipper Day!

                  Gingerbread Houses being made by Grade Seven and One study-buddies.

                  Mid-quarter reports go home.

                  Kringle and Kraemer Cheese Pick Up in PC

Saturday    15    Grade TWO participates in the Sacrament of Reconciliation

for the first time!

Sunday      16    School Children’s Cantor Choir leads congregation

singing at 10:30 am Mass

Tuesday     18    Grade SEVEN goes to “The Christmas Carol” in Madison’s Overture Center

Wednesday   19    Grade SIX fills liturgical roles during 8:15 Mass

                  Seventh grade presents the Jesse Tree in Church at 1:00 pm

Friday      21    11:30 dismissal – Christmas vacation begins!

 

JANUARY

Thursday    03    School resumes.

 

Memory verse for week of December 3-7  

“Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom, a light has shone.”             Isaiah 9: 1(B)