Dear Parents,
Yesterday, celebrating our first mass of the school year led me to reflect on the Sacraments and the meaning they have in our lives.
In my reflections, I thought about my role as a parent as my third and youngest child prepares to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist this year, and I was drawn to read an article found on www.usccb.org (by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). I share part of that here:
We recognize that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality, a reality open to all the human senses but grasped in its God-given depths with the eyes of faith. When parents hug their children, for example, the visible reality we see is the hug. The invisible reality the hug conveys is love. We cannot "see" the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we can see its nurturing effect in the child.
The visible reality we see in the Sacraments is their outward expression, the form they take, and the way in which they are administered and received. The invisible reality we cannot "see" is God's grace, his gracious initiative in redeeming us through the death and Resurrection of his Son. His initiative is called grace because it is the free and loving gift by which he offers people a share in his life, and shows us his favor and will for our salvation. Our response to the grace of God's initiative is itself a grace or gift from God by which we can imitate Christ in our daily lives.
The saving words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the foundation of what he would communicate in the Sacraments through the ministers of the Church. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognizes the existence of Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord. Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier.
As a family, I encourage you to live out the faith by attending Sunday Mass and joining us at school Mass when possible, and witness the grace of God in receiving the sacraments.
*If your child has not received the sacrament of Baptism and you would like him/her to be baptized, please contact the school office.
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
RECOLOGY ASSEMBLIES
Today, all students participated in informative assemblies teaching them about composting and recycling. We are called to be stewards of God’s creation, and reducing waste, recycling, and composting are positive responses to that call! Talk to your child about what they learned at the assembly, and encourage good habits that help protect the environment.
DIMES FROM HEAVEN
The “Dimes from Heaven” collection this week will help to benefit Student Council events for this year. Also, because we want to live out our KEYS that “SERVICE UNITES” and “YOU ARE LOVE,” part of the proceeds will be donated to the local SPCA. The classes in grades K-4 and 5-8 that raise the most money will win an ice cream party!
FAMILY BIKE FAIR
Join us on the St. Peter’s School schoolyard on Saturday, September 29 at 12:30 PM for a Family Bike Fair. Parents can learn about bike safety, and children can learn biking skills. Practice bikes will be provided, or bring your own bike! Register online at www.sfbike.org/TallerDeBicis or call 415-431-2453, ext. 314. See the attached flyer for more details.
CLASS DOJO
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!
APPOINTMENTS WITH TEACHERS
If you’d like to meet with your child’s teacher, please make an appointment. The time before the first bell rings is time that each teacher needs to prepare the lessons for the day. Please message your child’s teacher via Class Dojo, email, or a message in the office if you’d like to schedule a meeting so that he/she may plan accordingly.
INDIVIDUAL EMERGENCY KITS
A letter was sent home asking each child to bring an emergency kit to school. While each classroom is equipped with an emergency bag with items such as a first aid kit, flashlights, and batteries, we also want every child to be ready with food and water.
In a Zip-loc bag labeled with your child’s name, please pack: a 16.9 fl. oz. bottle of water and a non-perishable snack such as crackers or a granola bar. These kits will be stored in a closed bin in the classroom. If these emergency packs remain unused, they will be returned to your child at the end of the school year. Please bring these individual emergency packs to your child’s teacher by Friday, September 14.
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 hours.
SCHOOL UNIFORMS
Please ensure that your child is following the uniform policy as stated in the Parent and Student Handbook. Also, several students have already reported missing school sweatshirts, so check that your child’s sweatshirt is labeled with his/her name and grade.
IN THE CLASSROOM
KINDER - Hello families! This week we will continue to review letter recognition and identify numbers 0-10. We are also working very hard on writing our names and numbers. We will also talk about what it means to be a good citizen at school and at home.
1A - This week in First Grade we will be finishing our review of Kindergarten reading skills. Please help your child prepare for their Smart Start sight word test on Friday. We will be continuing to express how we're feeling using "I Messages" and talking about the importance of respecting the rights and opinions of others.
2A - 2nd Grade will be reading “Not Norman” and continuing with strategies to add sums within 20 (practice!). We will be talking about heroes, Mary, saints, and good/not so good actions. We’ll learn about praying a litany, loving one another, and talking about sacramental preparation.
3A – This week in 3A we are practicing the Mass responses that we use at church each Sunday and Tuesday. We are also beginning our rotational models for STMath. In Reading class we are enjoying the story "How My Family Lives in America."
4A – This week in Religion, we will continue to focus on our Mass responses as well as begin to learn about the Old Testament. In our Literacy Block, we will focus on identifying story elements through our novel Because of Winn-Dixie. In writing, we will focus on the relationship between subject and predicates in our complete sentences. We will focus on our new word work and our new words for the week. In Math, we will continue to focus on place value through expanded form and ordering numbers. We will continue to discover different rocks in Science. In Social Studies, we will work on "Me on the Map" discovering where California is in relationship to other states, countries, and continents. We will discuss what high quality work entails and work on developing high quality work throughout the year!
5A - This week, 5th graders are starting to work with their "literary societies." Different reading groups rotate through reading, writing, and grammar activities together. We'll identify the place value of decimals in math and discuss the scientific method in science. As always, check Class Dojo for more daily updates from our classroom.
6A Religion – Students will begin to explore the parts of the Bible and the beginning stories of the Old Testament. Language Arts – 6th Grade ELA will be talking about conflict in short stories this week, focusing on identifying the different types of conflict, such as internal and external. Students are also doing a great job at our rotation model procedures. Math – Students will estimate the product of decimals and judge the reasonableness of the results. Social Studies – Students will continue to study the first known civilization: Ancient Mesopotamia. Science – Students will explain how fossil correlation is used to determine rock ages.
7A Religion - Students will learn that through the mystery of the Incarnation, Jesus Christ became man while continuing to be God. Language Arts - Students are continuing to identify and analyze the types of conflict in a short story. They are transitioning to apply the types of conflict, internal or external, in their very own short story! Math - 7A will compare and order rational numbers. Social Studies – Students will compare the similarities and differences between the three major world religions. Science - Students continue their exploration of photosynthesis and cellular respiration as they prepare to work on their first model of biological processes.
8A/8B Religion – This week eighth grade religion will focus on the word “catholic.” They will examine the root of the word, how it has evolved over time, and what Pope Francis sees for the future of Catholicism. Language Arts - Students are in the beginning stages of composing their Personal Narratives based on a challenge they have overcome or are currently overcoming. Math - 8A will solve two-step equations. Social Studies – 8th graders are beginning St. Peter's School history projects by interviewing alumni and community members that have impacted the history of our school. Science - Students continue their work on exploring atoms, learning more about isotopes, ions, and atomic models.
REMINDERS:
Sept. 4-14 STAR Testing, Window 1
Sept. 10-14 Dimes from Heaven Collection
Sept. 12 8th Grade Parent Meeting, 7:30 am OR 6:00 pm
Sept. 12 Recology School Assemblies
Sept. 13 St. Ignatius Presentation to 8th graders
Sept. 13 Summer Learning Challenge Grand Prize Field Trip to Levi’s Stadium
Sept. 13 8B field trip to El Tecolote newspaper
Sept. 17 5A Field trip to Academy of Sciences
Sept. 19 Caritas Camp Retreat Parent Preview Meeting for 6th grade parents
Sept 21 Mercy Day School Mass, 8:30 AM
Sept 23 Sunday Family Mass and Reception, 9:30 AM
