February, 2009

February 2009
Take delight in the Lord, and he will grant you your heart’s request. Psalm 37:4
January ended so nicely with our Catholic Schools Week. Thank you so much to everyone for making it such a success.

February is a short month, and a busy one. We started the month with a weather scare, but all was well. If we should have to close school during the day due to hazardous weather, we will post it on the TV stations and on our website, plus we will email you. If need be, we will call. But, we are grateful that we did not have to do that today.

Once again I appeal to you to follow our dismissal routine in the afternoons. The crossing guard asked me to remind you that unless you have a kindergartener, you should be pulling out of the back of the gym. She is having a very difficult time controlling all the exits. From a safety issue, we cannot allow children to be walking to cars unsupervised. Some children are leaving the buildings and walking to cars in the circle and/or parking lots by themselves. If there is not a parent meeting them when they are dismissed from the buildings, we must insist the students go to the gym and wait for the parents there. In the mornings, I am still seeing children walk from parking spots to the ramp by themselves. Many times they are darting between cars that are dropping other students off at the ramp. Please, help us keep your children safe.

Important information: Monday, February 9th, is scheduled for parent/teacher conferences. These conferences will be held from 3:30 P.M. until 7:30 P.M. If your teacher has not contacted you for an appointment, but you want one, call or email the teacher. School on Friday, February 13th is a half day. The afternoon was originally scheduled for the parent/teacher conferences, but we think we will get better response to have them in late afternoon and evening on the 9th. There is no school on Monday, February 16th; this is President’s Day.

Also, to accommodate parents who work and cannot come during the day, we are having another kindergarten Open House for perspective parents of 2009-10. This will be held on Wednesday, March 4th from 6:00 P.M -7:00 P.M. If you know of anyone who may be looking to send their children to kindergarten next year, tell them about this opportunity to get to see and hear what we have to offer.

Ash Wednesday is February 25th. There will be a Home and School meeting after the Ash Wednesday evening mass. This will be an important meeting; more information will be going out on this.

There are many things we have done in the past 3 ½ years to enhance our curriculum and make our academics stronger and more engaging for our students. One of them is to incorporate more field studies. These are opportunities for students to get real world experiences and hands on learning. Unfortunately, the economy has really put a damper on this, and the costs of buses have almost become prohibitive. However, Home and School has really stepped up to the plate. They realize the importance of field studies and how expensive they have gotten; so, Home and School is donating funds to each class to offset the expense. So, every time you purchase a SCRIP card and/or support the Home and School fundraisings in any way, you are helping your children. Thank you so much to the Home and School officers and to you for all you do.

On March 19th, Bishop-Elect Stika will be installed as Bishop of Knoxville. He would like as many school children there as possible. We are planning to take the 6th-8th grades to this wonderful event, and we will be using the Home and School donation and other funding to pay for this. There will be an area reserved for the students at the Knoxville Convention Center. More information will be going home as we finalize our plans. If parents want their other children to attend this event, they are welcome to take them. More information on all the plans will be sent out as they are made. The Diocese has asked for a count of people who might be going from our school/parish so they can make suitable arrangements. Therefore, we will be taking a head count in a few weeks.

Appropriately, the virtue for the month is “love”. The thesaurus gives many synonyms for this word, and often we use it without putting any thought into its meaning. But, the true meaning of this virtue is shown by our actions more than our words. Sending your children to OLPH, supporting our staff and programs, and volunteering your time to assist us are a few ways you have modeled this virtue. Know that we are very grateful and appreciative.

God Bless,
Jeri McInturff