Dear Parents,
Thank you to everyone for your patience last week as we dealt with the poor air quality conditions in our area. Students were very cooperative as we had to remain indoors all day, even during the morning before the first bell and during all their recesses.
Let us all continue to pray for those who have been affected by all the recent tragic events—the North Bay fires, the destructive earthquakes in Mexico, the Las Vegas shooting, and the hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. In September we took up a collection for victims of the earlier hurricanes; presently we are accepting donations of supplies for the people in Puerto Rico; and an upcoming project will be to take up a collection for the fire victims. As we pray and help those in dire need, take time to say a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings that we have, such as our families, our friends, our health, and our safety. Coming together through prayer and service will open our hearts and minds, and strengthen our St. Peter’s community!
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
EMERGENCY READINESS
With all the emergencies that have occurred lately, we want to be proactive in our own readiness. At school, we have regular fire drills and earthquake drills. If your child requires asthma medication, please ensure that the medication is current and not expired. If your child has not yet brought in an emergency kit of water and crackers/granola bar, please send that to school right away. And throughout the year if there are any changes in phone numbers or addresses on your child’s emergency card, please notify the office right away so we can update that information immediately.
IMPORTANT INCOME SURVEY
It’s still not too late to turn in the very important Family Income Survey! This information is necessary for our school to receive funding for math and reading programs. If you have NOT completed a survey yet, then your child was sent home with another one today. Once it is returned, your child will receive a KEY for service.
HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION
See the enclosed information about the St. Peter’s Halloween celebration on Tuesday, October 31 from 1:00-3:30. Parent volunteers and donations are needed to make this event and fundraiser a successful one, so if you are able to help, complete and return the forms to your child’s teacher. We especially need help in supervising and hosting game booths.
Children may come to school in costume on Halloween. However, all costume parts that symbolize weapons must not be brought to school!
Also—consider walking or taking public transportation to school if you will be joining the Halloween celebration. Parking is extremely limited, and two years ago, cars were ticketed on Halloween for parking on the sidewalk by the parking lot. Be cautious!
SHIELD THE VULNERABLE CHANGES
Thank you to all the parents who completed the online course on www.shieldthevulnerable.org this past September. The certificate is good for 3 years from date of course completion, and parents with this certification are clear to volunteer for school events such as field trips and coaching sports teams.
However, schools were just notified this week that the Archdiocese will no longer be using Shield the Vulnerable as a training course. Beginning in November, we are now switching to VIRTUS as a new online training course for school staff and volunteers. More information will be provided once the Archdiocese sends further instructions to the schools.
HURRICANE IRMA RELIEF
Donations of supplies for victims of the hurricane in Puerto Rico will be collected through October 25. Most needed items include: canned foods, ready-to-drink liquid baby formula, baby food (no glass jars), diapers, and feminine hygiene products.
FAMILY MASS AND RECEPTION
Sunday, October 22 will be a 9:30 AM Family Mass followed by a reception in the Parish Hall hosted by classes 1A, 4A, and 6A. Please join us on this day. Also—children who attend mass in their school uniform will receive a free dress pass to use on the following Monday.
IN THE CLASSROOM
KINDER - This week in KA, we will do a research project to explore the different shapes around us and make a class chart of shapes. The class will be divided into four groups- circles, rectangles, squares, and triangles. Members of each group will work together to identify classroom objects that include their shapes. Lastly, each group will create pages for their shape. Each page will have a drawing of the object and a sentence that tells what shape it is. These pages will be put together on a bulletin board to create a four-column chart.
1A - This week in first grade we are reading, writing, and discussing exercise and how our bodies move. In religion we are practicing the Hail Mary. In math we are finishing up single digit addition and beginning our introduction to subtraction. In science we are investigating how water can be used to show that air takes up space. In social studies we are continuing to discuss community and immigration.
3A - In Language class we are identifying and writing simple and complete subjects. In Math class we'll review rounding numbers to the 10's and 100's place. This can be confusing so please practice this skill with your child. We have successfully completed two projects in Social Studies. We've made relief maps from clay and pioneer log cabins from milk cartons and pretzels. GREAT JOB THIRD GRADE!
4A - This week 4A students will identify nouns in the subjects of sentences, add 4-digit whole numbers and money amounts with regrouping, describe the land of California.
5A – 5th grade will be practicing the skill of "close reading" in language arts this week as we continue our first novel study. We're discussing rounding and adding problems with more than 3 addends in math.
6AReligion – 6th Graders are Comparing the story of Joseph from the Bible and the Film. Language Arts – 6th grade ELA is focusing on identifying THEME in short stories. We will be reading several classic short stories, analyzing the theme, and then citing textual evidence that supports our analysis. Math - 6th grade will be concluding their unit on decimal operations and then splitting up into fractions. Social Studies - 6th Graders are starting to explore the physical geography of Egypt. Science - 6th graders will be turning in projects about the 5 layers of the atmosphere and starting an investigation into how air pressure affects weather this week.
7A/7B Religion - 7th graders are now studying about the Baptism of Jesus and our catholic identity. Language Arts - Students are wrapping up their first novel, Walk Two Moons. They are discovering many plot twists as they reach the end! To close the novel, students will participate in a variety of lesson extensions that center on the plot, conflicts and themes. Math – Students are wrapping up their unit on all operations with negative integers. They will be writing their Integer essay stories this week. I can’t wait to see what they write about! Social Studies – 7th Graders are continuing their West African Empire Research. Science - Students are now wrapping up their study about microscopes after having drawn magnifications at 40x, 100x, and 400x! Now it's time to take a look at what is inside of cells!
8A Religion – 8th Graders are focusing on the third Mark of the Church: Catholic. Language Arts - Students are continuing to read Mockingbird and completing assignments related to their reading. They will also begin the introduction to the English HSPT, starting off with analogies. Math - Students will be expanding into the world of exponents and scientific notation. Social Studies - 8th Graders are continuing the book: Guns for General Washington while they continue studying the details of the American Revolution. Science - Students will take a further dive into studying exactly why certain elements react with each other and will even create some of their own reactions!
REMINDERS
October 18 6:00 PM 6th Grade Mandatory Parent
Preview Meeting in the Faculty Meeting
Room for Caritas Creek Camp
October 22 9:30 AM Family Mass and Reception
October 23 12:30 PM dismissal
October 24 8:15 AM school mass
October 24 3A pumpkin patch field trip
Oct. 25-27 8th Grade retreat to CYO Camp at
Occidental
