March 12 Holy Family School Weeky Letter

March 12, 2009
Dear Parents,

Last Friday my wife, Patti, and I worked our first PTO Fish Fry. What an experience! While on the surface it appears that the main purpose of this yearly event is to raise money for our school, it quickly became evident that there is possibly a more important purpose – bringing our school community together.

In today’s world we all live hectic lives where there never seems to be enough time, especially when it comes to spend time with our neighbors. As soon as I began working at the Fish Fry, I realized there was much more to this event. It was unbelievable to see so many people working at the Fish Fry. The work force included children as young as kindergarteners to senior citizens (OK, just in case your mind is racing, I certainly don’t include Patti and myself in this group), students who have recently graduated from HFS and many parents of present students at HFS. The atmosphere in the kitchen and cafeteria was lively, to say the least. Laughter, not fish, seemed to be the main course. Laughter, smiles, friendly banter and teasing were dished out all evening and when the last dinner was served, we sat at tables and continued getting to know each other better. Although Patti and I were tired at the end of the evening, it was a satisfying type of feeling. We’re already looking forward to working again in two weeks so that we can get to know more about our friends at Holy Family School!

The past two weeks, I have shared the information we gathered at the Parent/Teacher/Commission meetings. As promised, I will begin addressing many, if not all the questions raised at these meeting. I will begin in reverse order, starting with the Grade 4-7 meeting.

• It was suggested that we differentiate instruction so that all our students’ needs are met and each student is challenged. By the end of April, six of our staff members will have attended workshops on differentiated instruction. These staff members will then be asked to share the techniques and materials they received with their colleagues.

• The question “When is it appropriate to transfer their children to public school?” was asked. This is a question that must be answered by each individual parent. However, it has my observation that the students that completed 8th grade at HFS have adjusted extremely well in the public school system. They have been frequently placed in the accelerated classes and have consistently been on the Honor Roll. I believe parents need to address the issue of why they send their children to school – is it for academics or socialization? While both can be addressed, which is more important?

• What will happen if there are only 2 or 3 students in a grade? Will that grade be eliminated or will I combine grade levels? I can assure all parents that even if there is only one student in a grade level, we will accept that student. We will not combine several grade levels for the core subjects (Math, Science, SS, and LA). We will continue to combine classes for PE, Music, Health, and Computer, as well as possibly for Spanish and Art.

• There was a concern expressed about the small class sizes in middle school at Holy Family. As a parent, I would instead be concerned with the possibility of large class sizes at public schools due to staff reductions caused by the Governor’s proposed educational budget cuts. Smaller class sizes mean more individual attention for each student, which again refers to the question of why we send our children to school – for academics or socialization. An added benefit of small class sizes is that our students have many public speaking opportunities, both in the classroom and at our HFS Masses.

• Our students need more extracurricular activities (other than sports which they can receive through their local communities) to enhance their educational experience. Our 7th/8th grade Odyssey of the Mind Team just competed at Oneonta State a few weeks ago. We are already planning to add an elementary team for next year. Our 4th-8th grade chorus was recently organized and will be practicing and preparing for our Spring Concert. I’d also like to look into an after-school Art Club for next year. I’m certainly open to other suggestions from teachers and parents for additional extracurricular activities we can offer our students.

• The final suggestion was to improve the research skills of our students using databases. Ann French is in the process of obtaining information about databases that are free to schools. She plans to address this issue in her computer classes next year.
  
  There are several changes that I am considering to implement next year for our students in grades 5-8. This year I began the school day earlier for our 5th & 6th graders. Next year, I plan to extend their day until 3 pm. This would give us more flexibility in scheduling, as well as provide students with more academic time in classes. This would mean that all our students in grades 5-8 would attend school from 8 am until 3 pm. I am also seriously considering a block schedule for middle school students for next year. This would mean that core subjects would be scheduled every other day for a double period. While this seems insignificant, it means less movement for the students, a longer period enabling students to complete labs, discussions and projects in class, and provides students with 7 ½ additional hours of instruction in each core class (5 minutes passing time between classes for 90 instructional days equals 450 minutes or 7 ½ hours).
  
  Next week I’ll address the concerns raised at the elementary parent meetings.
  
  God Bless,
  
  Gene
  
  UPCOMING EVENTS
  
  Tuesday, March 17th St. Patrick’s Day – Students requested to dress in green
  Sons of Ireland Band – 10 am Gym
  Lecture: Strong Celtic Women – 1 pm Church
  
  Thursday, March 19th St. Joseph’s Day – Students requested to dress in red
  
  Friday, March 20th PTO Fish Fry: 5 – 7 pm Cafeteria