Dear Parents,
Blessings to our 8th graders as they embark on their 3-day retreat in Occidental this week. I hope that they all grow closer to God and to each other as they pray together and strengthen their faith and community.
The 8th grade retreat includes physically traveling to a place outside of school, but all of us within St. Peter’s are on a journey, too. We are all on a journey to learn different ways that we can grow—intellectually, spiritually, and socially. As we journey together, we learn new facts, try new activities, learn from mistakes, consider different perspectives, and help others around us. We strive to open our hearts and open our minds, and live out our faith. That is an adventure that challenges and excites me. I am proud to be a partner in guiding your children on this journey of growth!
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
By now, you should have requested a conference time to meet with your child’s teacher. Your child is encouraged to attend the conference with you. Your child’s teacher will send home a confirmation of your conference appointment. Please ensure that you keep this appointment, as it will be key to strengthen the home-school connection, and will help to nurture your child’s intellectual, spiritual, social, and emotional development.
HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION
St. Peter’s Halloween Costume Parade and Celebration will take place on Tuesday, October 31 from 1:00-3:30. Parent volunteers are needed to make this event and fundraiser a successful one, so if you are able to help, please notify Mrs. Cea or Mrs. Jimenez. 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.
Recently, schools were notified 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.
ALUMNI MEMORIAL MASS AND RECEPTION
Sunday, November 5 at 2:30 PM is our annual Alumni Memorial Mass. If you are able to help with set-up, directing parking, or clean-up, please contact the office or fill out a volunteer form. You are also very welcome to connect with others and celebrate mass with St. Peter’s Alumni on this special day!
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH!
Homeroom teachers identify Students of the Month at the end of each month. We celebrate these students because they have exemplified living the St. Peter’s KEYS:
Knowledge feeds GROWTH.
Every ACCOMPLISHMENT needs courage.
You are LOVE.
SERVICE UNITES.
Kinder - Genesis Garcia is a hard-working student. She is always giving her best effort in class. She works cooperatively with her peers on group assignments and projects. She is kind and treats others with respect. Genesis is a great role model for others.
1A - Kalabe Mehari is a kind and thoughtful student who gets along with everyone around him. He is constantly displaying a desire to grow and learn and is always working hard to achieve this. Kalabe never gets discouraged when he makes a mistake, but rather takes it as an opportunity to improve. For these reasons I am so proud to award Kalabe as first grade’s student of the month.
2A - Danna Sanchez-Arias is always helping others (service), working hard (accomplish) and trying her best (grow).
3A - Zinara Fuentes is a very helpful student who completes her classwork and homework successfully each week. She helps her partner in class and contributes to our 3rd grade discussions frequently.
4A - Aleska Salas Donis is 4A's Student of the Month for October. She is shining example of our key: "Knowledge feeds growth." She has excelled academically this first quarter and continues to live out our KEYS.
5A – Gabriela Clemente is our student of the month for October. We're so grateful for her joyful presence in our classroom! Gabriela is constantly working extremely hard in academics, and she is exceptionally kind to her fellow classmates. Congratulations Gabriela!
6A - Mateo Perez is a wonderful example of a student with the KEYS. He is quick to notice when a peer or teacher needs extra support, he is always serving others, and he participates and exercises his brain in the classroom each day.
7A - Joshue Ruiz has shown what the key to 7th grade success is: honesty, helpfulness, being a hard worker in the classroom, as line leader, even working hard to be a good friend and classmate to EVERYBODY that surrounds him. Joshue made some great choices this month, even when it was difficult. His cheerfulness spreads easily. Congratulations Joshue!
7B - Victoria Colvin is involved in so much at St. Peter’s, from student council, volleyball, and the choir, yet she still manages to excel academically in all her classes. To take on so much requires courage, and Victoria has shown that she's not afraid to go after the things she wants.
8A - Crystal Hernandez has demonstrated what it means to have courage, as a leader, student council officer, ambassador, classmate and friend. She is always willing to get out of her comfort zone to help others, not because she has to, but because she genuinely wants to. With all that she brings to St. Peter's, she still manages to excel in the classroom, proving that with courage she can balance it all!
IN THE CLASSROOM
KINDER - This week in KA, we are learning all about Bugs! Students will do a research project with a partner to show different bugs in their environment. First, they will choose a bug for their "Bug bulletin Board." The bug bulletin board will give information about bugs. Each drawing will have a label with the name of the bug.
1A - This week in first grade in reading we are reviewing the material learned in Unit 1. In religion we are discussing God's Creation of Adam and Eve. In math we are continuing our work with subtraction. In social studies we are discussing the different places that we live. In science we are continuing to experiment with air and water.
2A - We will be reading expository texts to learn about animal babies and parents; comparing numbers using >, <, and = signs; using our mapping skills; learning the importance of storytelling, scripture, St. Hilary, and the Liturgy of the Word; and continuing to learn about the properties of liquids.
3A - This week in the third grade Religion class we continue to practice our church responses. In Language, Math, and Phonics classes we are nearing completion of our second-grade curriculum review. We continue to accomplish our class and home studies with courage and confidence!
5A – 5th graders will be practicing subtraction with zeros in the minuends and numbers in the hundred thousands. We will continue our novel study by examining the figurative language we've noticed so far in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
6A Religion – Students are wrapping up Unit 1 lessons and activities this week to finish Quarter one. Language Arts – 6th Graders will be wrapping up their Short Story unit, culminating in a Writer's Workshop of their own fictional short stories. Students will begin brainstorming, planning, and drafting their stories, as they learn about essential writing skills like "show not tell," figurative language, and dialogue. Math - 6th graders will be learning about prime factorization exponents and mean median and mode. Social Studies – Students are continuing the Physical Geography of Egypt and beginning to learn about the many gods and goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Science - Students will be learning about barometers, atmospheric pressure, and weather balloons.
7A/7B Religion - 7th graders will be continuing to study about the baptism of Jesus, then we will be learning all of the symbols and parts of the baptism ceremony by having a 7th welcome ceremony. Language Arts - Students have concluded the reading of their first novel Walk Two Moons. They are completing lessons based on the story elements, plot, conflict, theme and character analysis to better comprehend the overall story. Additionally, students will finalize the unit with an Enrichment Project and Test. Math – 7th graders are starting the journey into all things equal, and will be learning about equations. Social Studies – 7th Grade Social Studies participated in an art lesson to make African masks. They will continue the book A Long Walk to Water and will finish their Africa Unit next week. Science - Students will dive deeper into the cell and show us how much they know about organelles.
8A Religion – 8th Graders are away at their Confirmation retreat! Language Arts - Students are wrapping up their first novel Mockingbird. They are finalizing this unit with a couple culminating assignments, a debate and a woodworking project-chest, which will take place after they return from retreat. Math - 8th graders are finishing up exponents and monomials, and then Pythagorean theorem and square roots. Social Studies - 8th Graders will be ending the American Revolution so that they can begin the Constitution upon their return from their retreat! Science - It is a short week for the 8th graders as they prepare to leave for their retreat. Either way, we will explore ionic and covalent bonding on Monday and Tuesday.
REMINDERS
Oct. 25-27 8th Grade retreat to CYO Camp at
Occidental
Oct. 31 1:00-3:30 Halloween Celebration
Nov. 1-3 12:30 dismissal for Parent-Teacher
Conferences
Nov. 1 8:15 AM All Saints’ Day School Mass
Nov. 2 Free Dress for No Tardies in October
Nov. 3 6th Grade Retreat
