Dear Parents,
While we are midway through our first full week of school, I reflect on the many pieces and people that must come together in order for us live out our mission of Mercy and education at St. Peter’s. Parents, teachers, staff, volunteers, clergy, and students--there’s so much to coordinate! We at school want to be partners in faith and education with parents, so that we can be positive examples of learning and growing. Together, we can model the ways we can live out our KEYS: Knowledge feeds growth. Every accomplishment needs courage. You are love. Service unites. I found this excerpt from a speech by Pope Francis (May 10, 2014) to be a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish in our school, and I clearly hear him speak of St. Peter’s School core values to grow, accomplish, love, serve, and unite!
“One is educated to learn many things, that is, much important content, in order to behave in a certain way and also adopt values. And this is very important. I wish you all — parents, teachers, people who work in the schools, students — a beautiful journey at school, a journey that enables you to learn three languages that a mature person should know how to express: the language of the mind, the language of the heart and the language of the hands. Harmoniously though, that is, to think what you feel and what you do; to feel deeply what you think and what you do; and to do well what you think and what you feel. Three languages, together in harmony! … And please, never let us allow our love for school to be stolen from us!”
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
TONIGHT! BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT
Back to School Night is scheduled for TONIGHT, Wednesday, August 29, beginning at 6:00 PM.
6:00 – 6:30 à General parent meeting in Church
6:35 – 6:50 à Middle School parent meeting in Church
6:35 – 7:40 à Visit booths on the schoolyard
6:55 – 7:20 à Parents visit K-5 Classrooms
7:10-7:30 à Parents visit Middle School Classrooms
There will be child care available in the Parish Hall from 6:00-7:45 PM. *Make sure you pick up your Parent-Student Handbook at the table in the school yard tonight!
CLASS DOJO
On Monday, a parent invitation was sent home through your child to join Class Dojo, a school communication app. Please join our school on Class Dojo using the code that was provided for your child(ren). Each child has his/her own unique code! More will be explained about Class Dojo during Back-to-School Night.
BEFORE and AFTER SCHOOL
The school doors open at 7:30 AM. You may drop off your child as early as 7:15 AM at the Alabama Street gate. If you must drop off your child before 7:15 AM, please bring him/her into Church for the 7:00 AM Mass so that they will be supervised at all times.
Please do not park in the White Zone on Alabama Street. For safety purposes, the driveway must be kept clear at all times. Also, please do not park in any yellow-numbered spaces in the Alabama Street parking lot. Thank you in advance for your cooperation on this matter!
The Buena Vista Child Care (BVCC) After School Program is available to students in grades K-8. All students who participate must be registered in the program. If your child participates in a CYO sports team, attends after-school computer lab, or participates in another after-school activity, he/she must register with BVCC.
All students not registered for and not participating in the after-school programs must leave the schoolyard by 3:15 PM on regular dismissal days and 2:30 PM on Wednesdays. Students may not leave the schoolyard and return to the campus after dismissal. At no time will a student be allowed to be on campus unsupervised. Parents must also leave the campus at this time, unless they have an appointment with a teacher or administration.
CAFETERIA and LUNCHES
Please make sure your child brings payment for lunch if he/she will be purchasing their lunch. Lunches should be purchased in the cafeteria before 8:00 AM.
** Lunches may no longer be delivered to school during the school day. Please make sure your child comes to school with a prepared lunch or purchases a lunch from the school cafeteria in the morning.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please make sure to read and complete all the forms that were sent home with your child. The information provided on these forms is very important and due back to the office by Friday, August 31st.
STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE
In the Que Pasa today is information concerning the Student Accident Insurance provided by the Archdiocese. The insurance will cover your child for injury at school.
ONLINE TRAINING FOR SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS
In order to be a volunteer at school events (such as a field trip chaperone or a sports team coach), adults must complete the online training on www.virtusonline.org.
*If you have already completed the online training by Shield the Vulnerable, your volunteer clearance is still good for 3 years from date of completion of that online course.
Follow these directions to complete the VIRTUS online training:
· Go to www.virtusonline.org
· Click on “First-time Registrant”
· Click on “Begin the registration process”
· Select San Francisco (Archdiocese)
· Create a User ID and Password for yourself
· Fill out the requested personal information
· Select St. Peter Elementary (San Francisco) **DO NOT SELECT St. Peter Parish**
· Provide your digital signatures for downloading and reading the documents: “Standards of Conduct for Those Working with Children and Young People” and “Policies and Procedures Regarding Child Abuse”
· Select the online course “Protecting God’s Children for Adults” (Online Training)
· Once you’ve completed the course, go to your Toolbox and click on “Training Report” to verify the completion of your course.
Upon completion of the online course, please email sjimenez@sanpedro.org or print out the “Training Report” page and submit it to the school office. You will receive 2 parent volunteer hours.
TDAP VACCINATIONS
California Law, (California State Law A354) requires that all students entering 7th-12th grades show proof of a Tdap (Whooping Cough) Pertussis booster shot. If you have not already done so, please submit documentation to the school no later than August 28th. The San Francisco Department of Health informs us we cannot offer a grace period for those who do not have a booster. Please contact your child’s health care provider and arrange for the Tdap booster.
IN THE CLASSROOM
KINDER - Hello parents, welcome to Kindergarten! I am looking forward to working with you and your child. This week, we will be reading "Chrysanthemum" and "Animals in the Park: An ABC Book." We will be talking about the idea that each person is special. Students will tell something that is special about themselves or a friend. We will continue to go over procedures and getting to know each other. Parents, please continue to help your child with homework. Thank you so much!
1A - Welcome back 1st grade families! This week we are continuing to review reading and math learned in Kindergarten. We are talking about the responsibilities of a first grader and what it means to be part of a community. Thank you for a wonderful start to the year. I'm looking forward to seeing you all at Back-to-School Night.
2A - 2nd Grade will be reading “Help! A Story of Friendship” and “Little Flap Learns to Fly.” We will review adding within 20, practicing the Our Father and sign of the cross, and talking about communities.
3A – Welcome back to school and 3rd grade. I am looking forward to meeting all of you on Wednesday evening for Back to School night. This week in Phonics/Language class we will be reviewing the beginning, middle and final consonant sounds. In Social Studies, we will begin a unit on recycling. We will continue to learn the rules and procedures for the year. A reminder - please be sure to sign the student planner each night after checking that the homework has been completed.
4A – Welcome back to school! This week, 4th grade focused on building classroom community. Through Do Unto Otters, 4th Grade brainstormed ideas for our classroom rules and why we need them to succeed. We discussed safety through Officer Buckle and Gloria, and created our own safety tips for our school. We also discussed respect and finally learned about our bucket filling activity. This week, we will begin our daily routines and our core subjects. We will discuss ways to read a book and story structure in Reading. In Math, we will focus on place value. We will continue to focus on building our classroom community where all students feel welcomed!
5A - 5th grade started out the school year by discussing what makes a good classroom community. Our class will work on combining those guidelines into one "class constitution" this week. We'll also review key math and reading concepts from last year.
6A Religion – Welcome back to school! 6th Graders will be enjoying some team building activities. Language Arts – Welcome to 6th grade English Language Arts! We have an exciting year ahead where students will discover the joys of poetry, drama, novels, and the power of persuasive writing. We will also be piloting a new literacy program this year that will target students' needs and make them stronger readers. This week, we will begin with exploring the elements of the short story, focusing on the characteristics of setting. Math - 6A will begin the year focusing on adding, subtracting, and estimating the product of decimals. Social Studies – Students will be deciding as a class what a successful year will look like to them. Science – Students will identify the conditions necessary for fossils to form.
7A Religion – Students will review existing knowledge about Jesus and the New Testament. Language Arts - Welcome back! This week we are focusing on getting to know one another, while also learning the importance of 7th Grade. Students will begin formal instruction mid-week. Math - 7A will focus on expressing rational numbers as decimals and decimals as fractions. Social Studies – Students will be setting up an outline of our units that we will learn about this school year! Science - This week we establish our routines in science class. Students will work on knowing exactly what to do during the first five minutes of class and how to prepare for the day's lesson. Seventh grade students will also begin their explorations on life science.
8A/8B Religion – Students will be focusing on The Apostle’s Creed and using it as a foundation for the rest of the class. They will create their own “Classroom Creed” that will be used to set expectations for the rest of the year. Language Arts - Welcome back to another exciting year at Saint Peter's! This week we are focusing on getting to know one another, while also looking into the High School Application process. Students will begin formal instruction mid-week. Math – Students will translate tables and graphs into linear equations. Social Studies – Students will be setting up an outline of our units that we will learn about this school year! Science - This week we establish our routines in science class. Students will work on knowing exactly what to do during the first five minutes of class and how to prepare for the day's lesson. Eighth graders will soon begin their explorations on physical science!
REMINDERS:
Aug. 29 Back-to-School Night, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Aug. 31 All school forms due
Sept. 3 No School – Labor Day Holiday
Sept. 4-14 STAR Testing, Window 1
