Dear Parents,

We continue preparing our hearts for the coming of Jesus, and this week we celebrate Mary and St. Juan Diego on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In the Advent prayer below (by Kelly Balarie), I sense a connection with Juan Diego’s story of faith, love, and courage that is still so relatable today. Even through the challenges in our lives, we can turn to God and our Blessed Mother Mary for strength, just as St. Juan Diego did.

Lord,

Advent is here, but so are old habits.

Advent is here, but gone are people we love.

Advent is here, but fears surface.

You say, "I see all that, and I can handle all that."

You say, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

You say, "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid."

You say, "Tell everyone who is discouraged, Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue."

What looks unscalable, You boost me over.

What seems unbearable, You bring me through unbelievably.

What can't be managed, You say, "Let down your guard and I will guard you."

Amen.

--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez

ST. PETER’S FOOD DRIVE

The 8th graders are leading the school in a service project of collecting dry or canned foods and cash donations for the SF Marin Food Bank to help feed the thousands of hungry families who live in the Bay Area. Last year, we collected over 1,200 pounds of food. Let’s match or beat that goal! The homeroom that collects the most donations per student will win a special prize.

WINTER CLOTHING DRIVE

Thank you so much for the support you have already offered in donating cold weather clothing items for the Oakland parish of Mary Help of Christians! The collection continues through Wednesday, December 19 and our focus going forward should be jackets in good condition, of all sizes! Thank you and God Bless!

TUITION POLICY FOR 2nd SEMESTER

All student tuition accounts must be up to date and paid through December 2018 in order for your child to return to class for the 2ndSemester on January 7, 2019.

If your tuition is not paid by December 15, 2018 your child will not be able to return to class on Monday, January 7, 2019.

Please plan ahead so your tuition is received on time by December 15, 2018.

If you have any questions, please call the Tuition Office at (415)647-8662.

LAS POSADAS

BVCC is hosting Las Posadas at St. Peter’s School this Friday, December 14, from 6:00-7:30 PM. There will also be food for sale. All are welcome to join the celebration.

HOLIDAY EVENTS NEXT WEEK

Please see the attached flyer for details on our school holiday activities for next week! Tuesday 12/18 is “Holiday Sweater Day,” Wednesday 12/19 is “Holiday Hat Day,” and Thursday 12/20 is our Christmas Prayer Service and Program, followed by a student game in the gym.

COMPUTER LAB

The computer lab will be CLOSED on Wednesday-Thursday, December 19-20, and will re-open when classes resume after Christmas vacation, on Monday, January 7.

BVCC WINTER CAMP

If you would like your child to participate in the BVCC Winter Camp, open from December 26-28 and January 2-4, you can fill out and return the registration form which was sent home last week. Forms are also available in the school office and in the Parish Hall with the BVCC After School Program.

PARENT VOLUNTEERS

We depend on parent volunteer support throughout the school year! Our wonderful school events would not be possible without our loving parent volunteers! Some upcoming events include Family Lotería Night and the Family Dance. If you would like to help plan future events and fundraisers, or would like to join one of our parent groups, please contact Mrs. Jimenez at sjimenez@sanpedro.org or leave your name and number at the office.

IN THE CLASSROOM

KINDER - This week in Kindergarten, we are going to discuss ways to help out in a community. We will read Roadworks to discuss the ways that people improve their community. Students will also learn how to write a sentence about a worker. In Math, we will learn how to add and subtract within 5 fluently.

1A - This week we will be taking a trip around the world to learn how Christmas is celebrated in different countries. In religion, we are continuing our Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar in preparation for the birth of Jesus. In math, we will be reviewing our units on subtraction and data and graphing. We are also preparing and practicing for our singing of ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ for next week's Christmas Prayer Service.

2A - We will read “Ways to Enjoy Music” and create and interpret bar graphs. We’ll sort bits and pieces, watch our paperwhite bulbs grow, and learn about reading maps. We will prepare for Jesus' birth by talking about better choices and start practicing the Act of Contrition.

3A – In Religion, 3A will read the story and learn about Our Lady of Guadalupe, practice our Mass responses, and practice our Christmas Carols for the convalescent hospital and the Christmas Program on December 20. In Language Arts, we will finish writing our Christmas cards for the residents of Sheffield Convalescent Hospital. On the December 13 we will walk to the convalescent hospital and share our Christmas spirit with some very special people.

4A - Happy 2nd Week of Advent! This week, we will continue to focus on preparing our hearts for the season of Advent. We will learn about a variety of Christmas traditions as well as the Jesse Tree. In Reading, we will finish our “Stormalong” story, and focus on our Christmas picture books to discuss character development. We will also read, "Once upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude" and focus on the skill of comparing and contrasting. We will finish our Multiplication unit in Math this week, and transition into our Division unit. Please continue to practice math facts at home! In Social Studies, we will compare all of California regions through our new online Social Studies Curriculum. In Science, we will continue to focus on landforms and weathering.

5A - This week, 5th graders are working to identify the plot structure elements in holiday stories with their book clubs. In math, we're learning how to plot points on a graph. We'll continue our gingerbread story unit in Language Arts and publish our special "Transformed into Gingerbread" writing assignment. 5th grade will celebrate the end of this Language Arts unit with a gingerbread-themed party on Friday!

6A Religion – Students will be leading the Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe this week. Language Arts – 6th Graders continue to meet their goals on our literacy program Lexia PowerUp, and students are showing amazing growth on their reading levels. We are also continuing to read our novel, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, and analyzing the racial inequalities faced by African Americans during the Jim Crow era. We will be looking at non-fiction text to compare segregation and racism then and now. Math - 6A will multiply mixed numbers. Social Studies – Students are beginning the physical geography of India. Science – Students will take a test on early Earth history.

7A Language Arts - Students have wrapped up their reading on A Christmas Carol. They will participate in a Change of Heart Activity, focusing on Scrooge’ s BEFORE and AFTER character transformation. Through this, they will be able to identify how and why he has a "change of heart.” Math - 7A will continue to divide fractions and begin evaluating algebraic expressions. Social Studies – Students are finalizing an art project for their Africa Unit and is comparing the early West African Civilizations. Science – Students have wrapped up their study of cells and organelles and now it's time to start looking into biological levels of organization. They will frame the rest of our year!

8A/8B Religion – Students will be introduced to Unit 3 which focuses on the role of the Church in medieval society and will begin to prepare for their ACRE exam! Language Arts - Students are continuing to read Night. They focused on answering what it means to be a bystander, a person who is present but does not take a stand, or an upstander, a person who takes a stand against an act of injustice or intolerance. They discovered how many truly stand up to cruelty, during the Holocaust and even in modern times. Math – Students will start projects on multi-step equations and begin finding a constant rate of change. Social Studies – Students are learning about the Legislative branch in the Constitution Unit and each student will research a bill that is in Congress right now to become a law. Science - Students are in full engineering mode. The mission is to power a rocket using a safe chemical reaction!

REMINDERS

Dec. 11-12 St. Peter’s Christmas Shop

Dec. 12 9:30 AM School Mass – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dec. 13 8:30 AM Advent Reconciliation, 8th Grade

Dec. 13 3A Field trip to Sheffield Convalescent Hospital

Dec. 14 6:00 PM, Las Posadas with BVCC

Dec. 18 5A Field Trip to the Exploratorium

Dec. 19 4A Field Trip to Mission Branch Library

Dec. 19-20 Computer Lab Closed

Dec. 20 9:00 AM Christmas Prayer Service and Program

Dec. 20 12:30 Dismissal

Dec. 20-Jan. 6 CHRISTMAS VACATION