Dear Parents,
This week, we celebrate special days in the Church: All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. On the Feast of All Saints, a holy day of obligation, we honor those who have lived lives faithful to God. On the Feast of All Souls, we remember and pray for our loved ones who have passed away, and honor them through prayer, or even by making special altars in their memory.
As we honor the Saints, let us remember how they lived out the Beatitudes—Jesus’ teachings on how to live as a Christian and to find true happiness. Also, while we prepare for Parent-Teacher Conferences next week, the Beatitudes can help us to reflect on how to be role models for our children. We can lead our children by example and live out our faith!
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT
If you’ve pre-ordered your tickets for Family Movie Night, we’ll see you on the schoolyard at 6:00 PM this Friday, November 2! There will be a movie presentation of COCO (in time for Dia de los Muertos), and there will be a snack bar, too! Bring lawn chairs and blankets to stay warm and comfortable as we watch the movie! Proceeds will benefit our Athletic program.
WINTER SPORTS REMINDER
The $85 payment for boy's basketball and/or girl's soccer is due this Friday, November 2nd. Thank you for your attention to this. GO AZTECS!
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES AND SURVEYS
Last week, each child took home an appointment sign up for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Teachers are organizing their schedules so that they can meet with each parent in their class.
Next week, from Tuesday, November 6 – Friday, November 9 are 12:30 Dismissal days for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Your child is encouraged to attend the conference with you. Please ensure that you keep your 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.
Also, after your conference, please go to the Faculty Meeting Room so that you can fill out an online survey about the school. Your input is valuable and is an important part of our accreditation process. Plus, you will receive a parent hour AND two keys for each of your children!
140th ANNIVERSARY
St. Peter School’s 140th Anniversary celebration is this Sunday, November 4! Join us for a special mass at 2:30 PM, which will be followed by a reception in the parish hall. If you are available to help with the set-up or clean-up of the event, please contact the school office.
IN THE CLASSROOM
Kinder – This week, we will continue to recognize and produce rhyming words. As a whole class, students will participate in a rhyming words scavenger hunt that will take place in the garden. It's going to be a fun week searching for rhyming words! In Math, we are working on adding and recognizing numbers from 10-20.
1A – This week we are reading and learning about buildings and what they are made out of. In religion, we are celebrating All Saints Day. In math, we are continuing our work with subtraction. In social studies, we are discussing community helpers. And of course, we are celebrating Halloween and Dia de los Muertos! :)
2A – 2nd Grade will be reading poetry and adding 3-digit numbers with regrouping. We will talk about praying (talking and listening to God) and investigate properties of liquids and solids.
3A – This will be a very busy, yet fun-filled week. We will celebrate Halloween with a visit to the convalescent hospital in our costumes to delight the residents. We will then return to school for our parade and party. After our parade, we'll be treated to games and food in the schoolyard until 3:00. These are great examples of our KEYS: Love and Service. On Thursday, we'll celebrate All Souls Day by attending Mass and remembering all of our loved ones that have gone home to God, the Father. A week of celebration and fun. YEAH, St. Peter's!
4A – We have an exciting week ahead in 4th Grade! In Religion, we will be learning about All Saints' Day and Dia de los Muertos. We will be learning about different saints as well as praying for people in our own lives who have passed away. In Reading, we will be focusing on Friday's field trip to the Asian Art Museum. We will be researching Asian artwork and discovering the culture and traditions in art. In Math, we will begin our Multiplication unit. Please make sure you are practicing your multiplication facts at home! In Social Studies and Science, we will be learning about landforms specific to California and how they have changed over time. We will be prepping during the week for our conferences as the students will lead a portion of their conference for their parents!
5A – As a special science investigation for Halloween, 5th graders will learn how to make ice cream in a bag this week. Students will investigate whether ice cream is a mixture, a solution, or something else. We will learn about Dia De Los Muertos in religion and ELA and discuss voting in social studies as the midterm election approaches. 5th graders will also begin reflecting on their first quarter work in preparation for next week's student-led conferences. Our first 5th grade newspaper was released on Tuesday, so check your child's take-home folder for it. As always, check Class Dojo for daily updates from our classroom.
6A Religion – 6th Grade Religion will be preparing for their Works of Mercy Class Retreat this Friday. (The retreat will be at St. Peter's). Language Arts – 6A is hard at work on their short stories. We are well into the drafting step of the writing process and this week we will focus on improving our descriptive writing. We will also continue to practice the rules of using quotation marks in our stories' dialogue. Math– Students will present their Math game boards. Social Studies – Students are continuing their Pharaoh research project and presentation. Science – 6A will present their Science game boards.
7A Religion - I would like to begin by thanking 7A families for making last week possible. Without your efforts, 7A students would not have been given such an amazing experience at camp last week. As we return, we hope to take what we learned and apply it to our everyday lives. Language Arts - Students will continue to wrap up their novel, Walk Two Moons, with lessons based on the story elements, plot, conflict, theme and character analysis. They will also begin their Enrichment Projects this week. Math – 7A will add and subtract mixed numbers. Social Studies – 7A is back from Caritas and will be starting to read a chapter book about life in Africa: A Long Walk to Water. Science - We welcome back our seventh grade from their week-long retreat at Caritas Creek Camp where they focused on the ecology of the area. Now that they're back, we continue with their exploration of cells and cell structures!
8A/8B Religion – Students will be able to identify ways to bring Christian principles into society and how icons influence prayer life. Language Arts - Students are ending their unit on Mockingbird with a Debate: should Caitlin attend a mainstream school or should she attend a school with students of similar conditions and syndromes like herself, Asperger Syndrome? They are also working on their woodworking project-chest due in 2 weeks. Math – Students will continue working on math projects and solve equations with variables on each side. Social Studies – 8th graders are preparing for the St. Peter's 140th Anniversary Celebration this Sunday at 2:30pm! Science - Students now know why atoms bond to make molecules. We now look at why molecules interact with each other to create chemical reactions!
REMINDERS:
Nov. 1 All Saints’ Day School Mass, 8:15 AM
Nov. 2 6th grade Retreat
Nov. 2 4A Field Trip to Asian Art Museum
Nov. 2 Family Movie Night, 6:00 PM
Nov. 4 St. Peter’s School 140th Anniversary Celebration, 2:30 PM Mass
Nov. 6 School Mass honoring Veterans, 8:10 AM
Nov. 6-9 12:30 Dismissals, Parent-Teacher Conferences
Nov. 5-16 STAR Testing
Nov. 7 Free Dress for No Tardies in October
