Dear Parents,
Later this week, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, or as we lovingly call it, Mercy Day! At St. Peter’s, we remember and celebrate the Sisters of Mercy who founded our school and continue to care for and support our students to this day.
The sisters of Mercy our living examples to us for living out the mission of Mercy. MERCY means to show love and compassion towards others; to forgive others and to be grateful to be forgiven by others; to show charity and generosity, especially to those in need; to have the courage to stand up for what’s right, especially for others who are afraid to stand up for themselves; to have faith in God. MERCY means having an open heart and open mind!
Let’s remember to be thankful for all the good works of the Sisters of Mercy, and try our best to live out the mission of Mercy ourselves, not only at St. Peter’s School, but everywhere!
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
MERCY DAY MASS
Since we will have a school mass this Friday, September 20, students must be in complete uniform. Gray sweats may not be worn this Friday.
SUNDAY FAMILY MASS AND RECEPTION
Our first Sunday Family Mass of the school year is this Sunday, September 22 at 9:30 AM. A reception will follow in the Parish hall after the Mass. Please join us in this celebration. Students who attend Mass in uniform will receive a Free Dress Pass to use on the following Monday.
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 victims of Hurricane Dorian. The classes in grades K-4 and 5-8 that raise the most money will win an ice cream party!
FAMILY INCOME SURVEY
We are still collecting Family Income Surveys (on PINK paper). If you’ve received a 2nd notice to turn it in, please do so as soon as possible, as these surveys help our school receive extra services. Thank you for your cooperation!
ST. PETER’S ATHLETIC SWEATS
We are currently taking orders and payments for the gray AZTECS sweats. This is the only time of the year that these sweats will be sold, and the last day to submit your order form and payment is October 2. Don’t miss out!
FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT
The movie Aladdin will be shown on the St. Peter’s schoolyard on the evening of Friday, October 4. Ticket and dinner pre-order forms for this movie night have been sent home, along with volunteer and donation forms. Make sure you place your pre-order so you and your family can join in on the fun!
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.
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 - Kindergarten is continuing to “BUZZ” with activity. We are still working on classroom rules and procedures. I am so excited to see them all growing into strong learners and good listeners. We are learning the importance of sitting properly on the rug and keeping our hands always to ourselves. Remember to send your “BEE” (child) with a reusable water bottle (preferably leak proof) and a small healthy snack for morning recess every day!
1A - This week 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 – This week, we're reading “Not Norman” and working on adding and subtracting. We'll attend mass, practice mass responses, and receive a blessing. Please mark your calendars for September 25 for our First Communion meeting at 5:45 PM in St. Peter's Church. If you have not already submitted a copy of your child's baptismal certificate, please do so by this Friday, September 20. Thank you!
3A – This week in Religion class, we will read the story of Mother Catherine McAuley and the beginning of the Sisters of Mercy. We will celebrate the Sisters of Mercy and their presence in our school since it began in 1878. That celebration Mass will begin at 8:30 AM. Please join all us if you can. In Language Arts, we will begin our daily language review which will focus on complete sentences, punctuation and capitalization. In Math class, our emphasis will continue to be on place value through 9,999.
4A – The 4th graders are doing an awesome job with our two online programs Lexia and STMath. This week, we will continue to focus on our Religion responses. We will also be working on Second Step, a socio-emotional program to help us with conflicts and resolutions. In Reading, we will focus on Because of Winn-Dixie, where we will discuss story structure and summarizing. We are up to 10 minutes in our Daily 5 Stamina! In Math, we will finish up our Place Value unit. It is the basis for our future units of Addition/Subtraction and Multiplication/Division. In Science, we will begin our unit on the landforms. In Social Studies, we will continue to focus on Me on the Map. Thank you for all your help and support!
5A - This week, 5th graders will use their place value understanding to relate base ten units from millions to thousandths in math. We’ll also use a silly story by Louis Sachar to practice using story structure elements when summarizing. In religion, 5th graders will come up with their own practical definitions of mercy in honor of Friday’s Mercy Day celebration.
6A Religion – Students will be preparing for Mercy Day by defining mercy in their lives and identifying ways that they can live out mercy throughout the year. Language Arts – This week we are delving further into our short story unit and analyzing different types of conflict. We'll read the tense short story "Amigo Brothers" and create our own comic book representations of types of conflict. Math – Hello families, this week the 6th grade students are exploring ratios and learning what it means to be equivalent. Social Studies – Students are getting connected to both Google Classroom and BrainPop where there will be Social Studies lessons and assignments posted throughout the year. You can ask your child to show you their accounts! Science – This week we will continue to learn about the weather, climate, and meteorology. We will have our first test this week covering the syllabus and the first week of content about weather. We will review as a class prior to the test.
7A Religion - Students will be preparing for Mercy Day by defining Mercy and identifying ways that they can live out Mercy throughout the whole year. They are also on the second lesson of their Second Step Social Emotional Learning Program in Religion class. Language Arts - Students have focused on the types of conflict and how it is the driving force to any story. They will now put their knowledge to the test with a quiz and essay assessment. Additionally, students will be introduced to their first novel, Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech. A series of pre-reading activities will take place next week to further comprehension as students read. Math - 7th grade students are exploring proportional ratios through creating tables and finding a constant. Social Studies – Students will begin to study the physical geography of Arabia and identify ways that life in Arabia is affected by its geography. Science - Students have now tested on class procedures and the scope and sequence of the academic year. Now, seventh grade begins their journey into life science by way of photosynthesis.
8A Religion – Students will be able to detail the root of the word “Catholic” and note what Pope Francis wants for the future church. The emphasis on service and mercy lends itself to our Mercy Day celebration at the end of the week. Language Arts - Students are finalizing their Personal Narrative Essay this week! Next week, they will begin the pre-reading activities for their first novel, Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine. This will serve as the contextual background of the different topics and themes that will be introduced as they read. Math – 8th grade is continuing to work with exponents. There will be math games and activities on Thursday to reinforce their learning of the concepts. Social Studies – 8th graders will begin a Family Interview Project and some 8th grade students will be interviewing community members for the St. Peter's Legacy Project. Science - Students have now tested on class procedures and the scope and sequence of the academic year. Now, eighth graders start their year of science by studying atoms.
REMINDERS:
Sept. 20 Mercy Day School Mass, 8:30 AM
Sept. 22 Sunday Family Mass, 9:30 AM and Reception after Mass
Sept. 23 12:30 PM Dismissal
Sept. 25 First Communion Parent Meeting, 5:45 PM in Church
Sept. 26 8th grade Parent Meeting, 7:15 AM or 6:00 PM
Oct. 2 Payments and Orders due for gray AZTEC sweats
Oct. 2 6th Grade Caritas Creek Parent Preview Meeting, 6:00 PM in the Faculty Meeting Room
Oct. 3 LifeTouch School Picture Day
Oct. 4 Aladdin Family Movie Night, 6:00 PM on the schoolyard
