Dear Parents,
I feel blessed to have been a part of the St. Peter’s School community over the past 18 years as a teacher, a parent, and an administrator. I’m grateful for all the people who have shown and continue to show so much love and dedication to St. Peter’s! I’m thankful for all the students who inspire me to continue to grow as an educator. As the celebration of our annual Alumni Memorial Mass approaches this Sunday, I am reminded of all my students, many of whom are now St. Peter’s alumni! Here is a special alumni prayer that we can offer in thanksgiving for all alumni and for all who have been a part of St. Peter’s rich history:
Welcoming God, with glad hearts we celebrate our shared histories. In deep gratitude that stretches back through the years, we remember the strong friendships forged at St. Peter’s School. We give thanks for the devoted lives of teachers, coaches, mentors, and family whose generosity nurtured students as they grew. May alumni and St. Peter’s community members enjoy their time together as they share memories of days gone by and news of where life’s journey has taken them. May their personal reunions be shaped by kindness and laughter, and may the stories told and retold bring delight and good will. Bless their reunion time. May these moments together lead us all to treasure ever more fully each beat of our hearts and every new day life brings us.
We ask this, through Christ our Lord. AMEN.
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION
Our school Halloween celebration will take place on Thursday, October 31 from 1:00-3:00 PM. We will begin with a costume parade followed by games. Please see the attached flyers for ways that you can volunteer or donate items and the prices of tickets to purchase food and play games. Your help is appreciated!
Students may come to school dressed in an age-appropriate Halloween costume. However, please do not bring any costume parts or props that resemble any type of weapon. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter.
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Going home with each child today is an appointment sign up for mandatory Parent-Teacher Conferences, which are from November 4-7. For each child, please mark THREE possible appointment times that you can meet with the teacher, and return this form to your child’s teacher. You will then receive confirmation of your appointment time.
ALUMNI MEMORIAL MASS
St. Peter School’s annual Alumni Memorial Mass is this Sunday! Join us for a special mass on Sunday, October 27 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.
OCTOBER 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 - Our Student of the Month for October is Frida Garcia. Let us put our hands together and our voices in cheer as every accomplishment needs celebrating! Frida is finding her courage and her voice among her peers. She is eager to learn and ready to say “YES” to the challenge just as Mary had said to God.
1A - Nadyah Ghattas is an excellent example of a student who lives out St. Peter's KEYS. Nadyah is loving and kind to all those around her and is always quick to help those in need. She comes to school ready to learn and faces new challenges with an open heart and open mind. She works together with her classmates to achieve goals and she loves to make her brain grow.
2A – Rio Rangel is second grade's student of the month. Rio's enthusiasm for learning and growing shines through in everything she does. She is quick to serve others and lend a helping hand. She goes the extra mile to get things done. She enjoys every subject! Go Rio!
3A – Angel Romero is a fine example of our COURAGE and GROWTH keys. He has shown remarkable GROWTH since the beginning of the school year. He has also shown COURAGE because of his willingness to help others in many different classroom situations. Besides rising to "table leader," he has shown leadership throughout the classroom by staying focused and helping others to focus as we've been learning in our Second Step Program. We are very proud of you, Angel!
4A – Cristhian Sevilla came in this school year focused! He puts great energy and effort into all of our assignments, showing his dedication to accomplishing tasks. He is kind to all of his classmates helping us make our classroom community a united and loving place to be. He applies critical thinking skills to our new math curriculum and he loves to read! Keep up the great work, Cristhian!
5A - 5th grade's October Student of the Month is Serena Vanden Berghe. In just one month of school, she's already shown *incredible* growth on her STAR math and reading tests! She also lives out St. Peter's mission by embracing new experiences with an open heart and open mind. We know Serena's kind and resilient spirit will help her accomplish great things this school year. Keep up the great work, Serena!
6A - Daniela Perez has been exemplifying each of our core values this school year. She has the KEYS to grow and accomplish as she tries new things and accepts challenges with an open heart and open mind. Daniela has the KEYS to love as she lives out the teachings of Jesus in her words and actions - she serves and unites as she shares her gifts with us and supports and encourages always. Thank you for being such a light in our classroom, Daniela!
7A - Giovanni Serrano is a great example of self-control and working effectively in both social and academic settings. He approaches new challenges with an open heart and always keeps striving toward his goals. Gio is a wonderful part of class and school community.
8A – Vianey Avendano has accomplished so much this year! She has confidently stepped out of her comfort zone, has a drive to be academically successful and has offered herself to others whenever possible. Her focus and dedication is admirable, and by taking risks she has grown in many ways. Vianey continues to keep an open heart and open mind, for herself and for those around her. Keep up the great work Vianey!
IN THE CLASSROOM
KINDER - Halloween will be haunting us again soon! Costumes are always fun to do! So please come dressed on the 31st to school and remember no inappropriate costumes or items such as swords, guns, knives or scary masks. Also, we will be doing a little trick-or-treating and decorating bags in our room, so to participate please have your child bring in a small treat (i.e. spider rings, pencils, stickers, temporary tattoos or candy) by October 30. Please have enough treats for 18 students and place them all in one Ziploc bag with your child’s name on them. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
1A - This week we are focusing on words beginning with r and s blends, such as "spin" or "grab." In religion, we are continuing to focus on the ways we praise God. In math, we are continuing to practice forming and breaking apart number bonds. In science, we are learning about how our bodies move. In social studies, be are beginning to talk about the importance of different community members.
2A - 2nd Grade is reading and comparing the fables "The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and "Wolf, Wolf!” We are reviewing place value in math. In religion, we will say prayers for loved ones and pray the first decade of the rosary.
3A – This week 3A will focus on our rotational models working on iPads and tablets to GROW our math skills in rounding numbers, place value, and standard and expanded notation. We will work on Lexia (our Language Arts skill builder) with iPads and tablets. The focus will be on spelling rules involving doubling consonants and sequencing sentences. Small group and one-on-one instruction will be stressed. In Language Arts, we will write journal entries about the many lessons that were learned and enjoyed on our field trip to the Great Peter Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma.
4A – We are making great strides in 4A! This week, we will make our own Rosary beads as a way to pray to Mary, our Mother. In reading, we will discuss the comprehension strategy of author's purpose and work on the skill monitor/clarify. We use both of these skills to help us comprehend what we are reading. Please remember that we will begin our first book report on November 4th. In Math, we will focus on creating numbers that are 1, 10 and 100 times greater or less than a number. We will also be exposed to vertical number lines to round numbers. We have our field trip to the California Academy of Sciences this week. Thank you for all your support!
5A - This week, 5th grade explored the art in our neighborhood with a Precita Eyes Mural Tour field trip. We are becoming masters at rounding decimals in math, and we are focusing on using text evidence to support inferences we make while reading.
6A Religion – Students are continuing their Ofrenda Project by viewing the Day of the Dead BrainPop Video and brainstorming prayers and items to include in their shoebox Ofrenda next week. Language Arts – 6A continues to analyze the PLOT structure of short stories. We'll be reading the classic Rudyard Kipling tale: "Rikki Tiki Tavi" which will show exactly how an author builds suspense. Math – Students are creating tables, graphs, and diagrams to show proportional relationships. Social Studies – Students will begin exploring Egypt by learning about the physical geography of the region. Students will also begin a two-session art project with Diane and Alejandra from the Mexican Museum. Science – This week, scientists will be learning about mass, density, and volume. They will also begin preparing for laboratory time.
7A Religion – Students will be visited by Paula Pardini and Meredith Seel (Caritas Leader) to prepare for their retreat next week. Language Arts - Students are continuing their reading of Walk Two Moons. They will complete lessons based on the story elements, plot, conflict, theme and character analysis to better comprehend the overall story. Math – Students are using ratio reasoning to compute unit rates associated with fractions in the context of recipes, lengths, areas, and speed. Social Studies – Students will be finalizing Arabia projects as this is their final week of class before progress reports are complete. Students will also begin a two-session art project with Diane and Alejandra from the Mexican Museum. Science – Students continue to work on their science art projects as they prepare to make their way to CYO camp next week! Their science focus next week will be: Ecosystems!
8A High School Scholarship Update: The Achieve Program (Riordan, Mercy - San Francisco) updated their application due date to Friday, December 6, 2019. You can find their current application online at https://achieveprogram.org/
Religion – Students will continue to explore the importance of Jesus’ call for togetherness among his followers. They will also begin a saint research project. Language Arts - Students are quickly coming to the end of their first novel. They are recognizing the ways in which Caitlin is changing on her way to finding closure. They will also continue their High School Placement Test (HSPT) lessons on analogies. Math - 8th grade students are learning about powers of 10 and scientific notation. Social Studies – Students are continuing their SWOT analysis about the colonies; they will debate their findings. Students will also begin a two-session art project with Diane and Alejandra from the Mexican Museum. Science – Students continue to work on atoms and will specifically begin to determine why they bond with other atoms!
REMINDERS:
Oct. 23 5:45 PM, First Communion Parent Meeting in Church
Oct. 24 4A Field Trip to California Academy of Sciences
Oct. 26 11:30-2:00, SF Bike Coalition Bike Fair at St. Peter’s School
Oct. 27 2:30 PM, Alumni Memorial Mass
Oct. 28 12:30 Dismissal
Oct. 28-Nov. 1 7A at Caritas Creek Camp
Oct. 29 2A Field Trip to Mission Branch Library
Oct. 31 1:00-3:00, Halloween Parade and Games
Nov. 1 8:30 AM, All Saints’ Day School Mass
