Friday, May 28, 2010

May 27, 2010
Dear Parents,

We’d like to welcome a new student to our school, Zachary Vincent XiZhong Marsh. Zac will be joining his sister Riley in the 3rd grade class for the remainder of the school year. He is the son of Cathy and Rod Marsh of Norwich. Zac is 8 years old and was born in Shenzhen, China, which is near Hong Kong. He’s a typical boy – his favorite subject is physical education. During his free-time in class, Zac can be seen playing chess on the computer. Now several of his classmates have joined in. It appears that this is a win-win situation for everyone!

Congratulations to Father Ralph on another milestone birthday today, May 28th. It’s amazing how he seems to look and act younger each year!!! All of our students enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to Father at lunchtime – they also didn’t mind sharing a bit of his birthday cake with him.

Please join us at several important events this week. They include:

• Tues, June 1st Canine Police Dog – Officer Clarke 9 am

• Wed, June 2nd Dessert Theatre Rehearsal 11:30 am

• Wed, June 2nd Flynn & O’Hara Uniform 1 pm
Measurements

• Thurs, June 3rd Dessert Theatre 6 pm
Council of the Arts

• Fri, June 4th 1st Friday Mass – 2nd Graders 9 am

• Fri, June 4th Adoration – St. Paul’s Chapel


Gene

Thursday, May 20, 2010

May 20, 2010
Dear Parents,

Please remember tomorrow (Friday) is a free will offering “non-uniform” day to support the Relay for Life Cancer Event. Classroom teachers will collect the donations. Below are the upcoming events.


Upcoming Events

Fri, May 21 Kindergarten Screening 8am – 3pm

May 24-26 Fountas-Pinnell Reading Assessments

Tues, May 25 4th Gr. Science PerfTest 8:20-10am

Wed, May 26 Father O’Connor – speaking on vocations

Fri, May 28 Science Fair – Gym 10-11 am

June 1,2,3 or Officier Clarke and his canine
last week of All students in gym 9 am
school

Wed, June 2 Dessert Theatre Rehearsal 12:15 pm

Wed, June 2 Flynn & O’Hara Uniform Measurements 1-2 pm

Thurs, June 3 Dessert Theatre 6pm

Fri, June 4 2nd Gr. Mass 9am

Fri, June 4 Adoration TBD

Mon, June 7 4th Gr. Science Written Exam 8:20 – 10am

June 8 or last Fishing – Gr. 5-7 Time TBD
Week of school Sarah Stroh’s property, including a picnic

Wed, June 9 Auriesville Retreat – Gr. 5-7 8:30-5:30pm

Thurs, June 10 Binghamton Mets BB Game 9am-2:10pm
Grades 1 - 7

Fri, June 11 Farmers’ Museum Gr. 2,4,5,7 8:45-3:30pm

Tues, June 15 Olympic Day – Gr. 1 - 7 All Day

Tues, June 15 Police Station Visit – Kindergarten
Surprise Picnic

Tues, June 15 PreK Picnic (weather permitting)

Wed, June 16 Olympic Awards Ceremony Time TBD

Thurs, June 17 PreK and K Celebration 6pm

Fri, June 18 Kindergarten Picnic 11am – 1pm
Parents invited

Friday, May 14, 2010

May 14, 2010
Dear Parents,

I hope you were able to attend the Spring Concert last night. What a wonderful event! Next up is our Dessert Theatre on Thursday, June 3rd at 6pm. Hope to see you there.

We have a very busy spring with many educational field trips on the horizon. I have listed the events that are now scheduled. Please mark them on your calendar.



Upcoming Events

Fri, May 14 Ross Park Zoo Mobile EC-K 8:45
1 – 3 9:40
4 – 7 10:30

Fri, May 21 Kindergarten Screening 8am – 3pm

May Fountas-Pinnell Reading Assessments

Tues, May 25 4th Gr. Science Perf. Test 8:20-10am

Wed, May 26 Father O’Connor – speaking on vocations

Fri, May 28 Science Fair – Gym 10-11 am

June 1,2,3 or Officier Clarke and his canine
last week of All students in gym Time TBD
school

Wed, June 2 Dessert Theatre Rehearsal 12:15 pm

Thurs, June 3 Dessert Theatre 6pm

Fri, June 4 2nd Gr. Mass 9am

Fri, June 4 Adoration TBD

Mon, June 7 4th Gr. Science Written Exam 8:20 – 10am

June 8 or last Fishing – Gr. 5-7 Time TBD
Week of school Sarah Stroh’s property, including a picnic

Thurs, June 10 Binghamton Mets BB Game 9am-2:10pm
Grades 1 - 7

Fri, June 11 Farmers’ Museum Gr. 2,4,5,7 8:45-3:30pm

Tues, June 15 Olympic Day – Gr. 1 - 7 All Day

Tues, June 15 Police Station Visit – Kindergarten
Surprise Picnic

Tues, June 15 PreK Picnic (weather permitting)

Wed, June 16 Olympic Awards Ceremony Time TBD

Thurs, June 17 PreK and K Celebration 6pm

Fri, June 18 Kindergarten Picnic 11am – 1pm
Parents invited

Friday, May 7, 2010

May 7, 2010
Dear Parents,
Just last week I read a disturbing story in the newspaper about a Good Samaritan who came to the assistance of a woman being attacked in New York City. The attacker stabbed the Good Samaritan several times and left him bleeding on the sidewalk. Seven people walked by within an hour of the attack and looked down at the Good Samaritan as he lay bleeding. One passerby even lifted up the dying man, laid him back down and then walked away. The Good Samaritan bled to death before help arrived. All of this was captured on surveillance cameras.
Why would I share this disturbing story with you? The reason is simple – we often forget how fortunate we are. We live in a beautiful part of the State where our children can still enjoy the simple things in life and we have a compassionate, caring and supportive community we live in. This once again came to the forefront last week at the benefit for Maureen Walhberg. The show of support and encouragement was phenomenal! Thirty-three beautiful baskets were raffled off, cakes/pies/cookies sold and a free-will offering taken. While these events were occurring, we were treated to the wonderful music of the Sons of Ireland. All of this was donated by the friends in our community. How different from the opening scenario.
As an educator, I look at this as a “teachable moment.” Here we are as adults/parents/grandparents teaching our children by example how to care for each other. As adults, we all know that an education is important, but there’s more to an education than what we learn from textbooks or cyber-space. We just taught our children, by modeling, how to be caring, considerate and compassionate. How fortunate we are to have a supportive community like Holy Family School and the Norwich community.
Gene


UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, May 12 PTO Meeting 7pm
Thursday, May 13 Ascension Thursday 9am
Mass – 1st Graders
Thursday, May 13 Spring Concert 6pm
Friday, May 14 Ross Park Zoo Mobile
EC – Kindergarten 8:45am
Grades 1 – 3 9:40am
Grades 4 – 7 10:30am
Sunday, May 16 PTO Golf Tournament - Norwich
Friday, May 21 Kindergarten Screening 8am – 3pm
Tuesday, May 25 Science Performance 8:20 – 10am
State Exam
Wednesday, May 26 Father O’Connor Visit – Vocations
Monday, May 31 No School – Memorial Day

Saturday, May 1, 2010

April 30, 2010
Dear Parents,

I hope to see everyone tonight from 6-8pm in our gym for the Maureen Wahlberg Benefit. I’ll be glad when I can move around my office again – but it’s a good thing. My office is full of baskets that were donated by the families at our school. It’s nice to know that when someone is in need in our family, we all band together to help out. It should be an awesome event!
I’m not sure what dress to wear to the event – oh, I forgot, Gina doesn’t exist anymore! I hope everyone had as much fun as Pete, Rob and I did at the fashion show. The students (and their parents) certainly earned it by raising over $700 in Box Tops.

Our children have just completed the State ELA Assessment Exams and will take the Math Exams from May 5-7. The students performed very well on the ELA exams and we expect the same for the Math exams. Please ensure that your children receive the proper rest the night before the exams.

I know I’m harping, but please turn in your child’s Enrollment Application as soon as possible if your child is returning next year. Please see me if you have any questions.

Thank you for all the feedback concerning next year’s school calendar. I heard from approximately 30 families and the vote was split right down the middle. After reflecting on this, I have decided to follow the public school calendar for the Spring break. This means we will have off the 2nd week of April (April 11-15) and April 21 & 22 for Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

Please mark on your calendars May 6th and 7th. All parents/grandparents and friends are invited to join us for the National Day of Prayer and May Crowning events.

Gene


Upcoming Events

Wed, May 5th Math State Exams Grades 3,4,5,6 & 7
Thurs, May 6th Math State Exams Grades 3,4,5 & 6

Thurs, May 6th Nat’l Day of Prayer
All American Lunch 11 am
(Parents Invited)
Festivities 12:15 pm

Fri, May 7th Math State Exams Grades 4 & 7

Fri, May 7th May Crowning & Living 1 pm
Rosary - Gym

Wed, May 12th PTO Meeting 7 pm

Thurs, May 13th Ascension Thursday 9 am
Mass – 1st Graders

Thurs, May 13th Spring Concert 6 pm

Fri, May 14th Ross Park Zoo Mobile
EC – Kindergarten 8:45 am
Grades 1-3 9:40 am
Grades 4-7 10:30 am

Sun, May 16th Golf Tournament