May, 2014

Principal's Corner

May 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians,

May is here, and this is my last Principal's Corner.   I can't tell you enough how much I have enjoyed my tenure here.  It has been such a pleasure to be a part of this wonderful community and to make such wonderful friends and acquaintances. As I look back at the past nine years, I am very proud and happy about so many accomplishments we made, and of course, disappointed that not everything I wished for has come to fruition.  It truly takes a village, and this village consists of the students, parents, faculty, superintendent, and our wonderful priests.  I am indebted to all.  We are in the midst of a Principal Search, and as soon as it is finished and a decision made, we will let you know.

In January, I applied for a grant to help us acquire an iPad tablet mobile lab.  At the end of February, we received a $10,000 award from the Osborne Foundation.  We then ordered our tablets, docking station, and the other components needed for the lab.  We have received everything, and Mrs. Hale has been getting it all programmed and ready to go.  Meanwhile, our teachers have been getting some professional development through workshops, webinars, and peer instruction on how to maximize this technology for student use.  We are very excited about this, and hopefully, this is the first small step to upgrading our technology integration in the classrooms.   (See picture attached.)

As you know, we are losing our fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Sandi Forrester.  She has decided to retire so she can enjoy her grandchildren (who live out of state) more.  We wish her the very best.  I am excited to say that we have hired a teacher to take Mrs. Forrester's vacancy.  Many of you already know this teacher, and I think you all will be as thrilled as I am.  Mrs. Megan Monahan is returning and will be Mrs. O'Brien's cohort in the fourth grade. 

This month, as usual, is going to be an extremely busy and eventful month.  As always, the information will be published in the Friday Fanfare, on Parents' Web, and on our website.  Right now we have a book fair going on, and it will continue through this week.  Other events to note are:

·         Grandparents' Day--Friday, May 2^nd beginning with 8:15 mass.  Note:  Students will be dismissed from school at 11:30.  No lunch will be served, and there will not be aftercare.
·         First Holy Communion --Saturday, May 3rd, 10:00.  Congratulations to all the children receiving this wonderful sacrament for the first time.
·         Creative Arts Guild (CAG) will have their meeting on May 5th.  This is a wonderful organization which helps to support our arts program.  They need new members; please consider joining them.
·         $1.00 out of uniform--Wednesday, May 7th.
·         Volunteer Brunch--Wednesday, May 7th  after mass.
·         Home and School Meeting--Wednesday, May 7th, 6:00.  This will be the last one for the year. 
·         Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) awards--May 9th, after 8:15 mass.  This is also our last Virtue Mass for the school year.
·         Pre-K Celebration Luncheon--Tuesday, May 13th.
·         Kindergarten Celebration--Tuesday, May 13th, 6:00
·         Eighth Grade Class Night--Wednesday, May 14th, 6:00 in the PLC.
·         Eighth Grade Celebration Mass--Thursday, May 15th,  6:00.
·         Seventh Grade Growing in Grace Mass--Wednesday, May 21st, 8:15.  
·         Field Day--Thursday, May 22nd, all day.

·         Last day of school for students--Friday, May 23rd.  The students will be dismissed at 11:30 and there will be no lunch or aftercare.

Again, as I say good-bye, I want to thank all of you for your support.  As Macy Gray sang in her song, "I say good-bye and I choke, I walk away and I stumble..."  Please remember me in your prayers.

God bless,

Jeri McInturff

April, 2014

Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart. (1 Sm 16/7)

 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

 

It is April already.  This means only two months are left in this school year.  Even though March's weather was not the best, the month was full of activities and successful happenings.  Our eighth grade trip was great, and even though we had snow on the ground and very cold weather, we were able to stay with our itinerary and enjoy Washington.  We are so thankful for that. 

Also in March, we received some exciting news.  We applied for a grant to help us acquire a mobile iPad lab, and we were awarded $10,000 towards the purchase of it.  With those funds and funds from other sources, we were able to purchase the tablets, power sync cart, monitoring computer, and insurance.  We purchased teacher iPads earlier (see attached picture), and today we received notification that some of the recently ordered items are being shipped.  The teachers are attending workshops and webinars to be able to use this lab to the fullest and further engage our students in their learning and successes.  We are very excited for this new phase of technology to be added to our great school and incorporated into our curriculum. 

Another bit of exciting March news is that we have been working on updating our website.  It is almost finished, and when it is completed, we will let you know. 

We are in the last quarter of the school year.  You should have received an expectation letter from each of your student's teachers.  Remember that homework and grades are posted on ParentsWeb.  If you have any questions or concerns about your student/s, do not hesitate to contact your teachers.

As I write this letter, our students are taking their IOWA Basics Skills Tests.  These tests are given to inform us of many things.  First of all, it tells us (and you) what the students know and don't know.  They also tell us how well we are doing as teachers, and we use this data to help us plan for the future.  However, they are not the end all assessment.  We know that some students do not test well; or, some students may not feel well when taking a particular test.  Or, there can be other variables to interfere with the assessments/results.  Although this is great data and we use it, this is only a piece of many pieces of information we use to assess our students and inform us of our instruction.  We generally get the IOWA results back in May, and we will send them home with the students' report cards.  

 

One of the most powerful events we put on at OLPH is the Living Stations of the Cross.  This is presented by our eighth grade students, and every year I am deeply touched by it.  This year the presentation is on April 11.  It will be at 2:00 for the student body and 5:30 for the parish.  I highly recommend you attend one or both of the presentations.  It will be a great lead in to Easter week and break. 

Other April events are:

·         April 3 -- Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night

·         April 4 -- First Friday and the Virtue (Generosity) Mass

·         April 5-- Volunteer work day for parents (and students).  Nature Place and our grounds are really in need of sprucing up.  We can use many hands. 

·         April 9 --  $1 Out of Uniform

·          April 11 -- Jason Evert presentation for 7^th and 8^th grade students at Notre Dame High School

·         April 14-18 --  School Closed for Easter Break.  See the Fanfare, Websites, and Church bulletin for the church schedule for Holy Week.

·         April 21--  School closed for Bishop's Day

·         April 22 -- Students return to school

·         April 22 -- Life-Touch pictures:  Out of uniform and spring sports pictures

·         April 28 -- Beginning of  the week long Book Fair

·         May 2 -- Grandparents Day:  More information will be coming out on this, but please mark your calendar.

 As I close this letter, I want to pass along a wonderful compliment we received last week.  We have a student teacher, Sister Agnes,  from Aquinas College working under Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Workman.  Sister Agnes'  professor from the College, Sister Michael Andrew, was here evaluating her last week.  This is the second student teacher we have had from Aquinas, and Sister Michael Andrew has been the evaluator for both.  She told me that she visits many Catholic schools, and all have Catholic Identity, but that OLPH is Catholic to the core and she experiences this in the classrooms and even  feels this and our welcoming spirit just walking through the halls.  She also remarked to us that she thinks that we are the best kept secret in Tennessee.  Wow!  You can imagine how great I felt. 

I hope you have a wonderful April, and a refreshing and safe Easter break.  As the end of the school year approaches, I am reminded more every day on how blessed I am to be part of this community.  Thank you for all you do.

God bless,

Jeri

March, 2014

"Then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my chosen Son; listen to him.'"  Luke 9:35

 Principal's Corner
March 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It is March already; there is only three months (including March) to the end of this school year.  The year is flying by. 

As you know, this Wednesday (March 5) is Ash Wednesday.  There will be an all school mass for this day in addition to Friday which is First Friday and our virtue mass.  Following Wednesday's mass, Father will be blessing our outdoor Stations of the Cross.  If we ever get nice weather again, please feel free to pray these stations.  We still have to add signage, but the stations themselves are all up and ready; they are located across from Nature's Place on the outside wall of the gym.  Thank you, Mrs. Meinert, for all the work and planning you put into them, and thank you to the creators of the plaques. 

The following are some of the events coming up this month:

·         We will be administering the NCEA (National Catholic Education Association) religion assessment to all 5^th and 8^th grade students.  This will take place on March 12 & 13.

·         We will take our 8^th graders to Washington, D.C on March 17^th.  I certainly hope the weather is better by then.  Please pray for us. 

·         There is no school for the students on the 14^th; the teachers of all three Catholic schools will be having an in-service that day. 

·         The end of the 3^rd nine weeks is the 13^th, and report cards will be sent home on the 19^th.

·         The 19^th will be $1.00 out of uniform day.

·         March 31^st will be the start of the IOWA tests for all students in grades 1-8.

I have addressed student drop offs and pick-ups many times, but it seems I must again.  I have gotten a couple of calls from parents telling me about some very frightening experiences while dropping their children off for school.  We have a 5 mile per hr. maximum speed limit in our parking lot which needs to be followed.   If a car door is open and/or a child is outside the car, no one should be passing that car until the child is in a safe place.  No child (no matter what age or grade) should be walking in the parking lot without adult supervision.  If a child gets here before 7:45, he/she needs to go to the cafeteria.  Our ramp door is open in the morning for easy admittance.  Our front door does not open until 7:45.   

For afternoon pick-up, all students are to go to the car line unless the parent is present to pick them up at another location.  If a parent is not present when the classes are dismissed, the student is NOT to wait for the parent; he/she is to go to the gym or car line with the class.  If a parent picks up the child at the ramp, we ask that they not be standing and blocking the ramp access for other students and teachers.  If a teacher asks you for identification, please do not get upset?we are responsible for the safety of the children, and not all teachers recognize all parents.  This is why we issued car tags. 

Finally, thank you to all of you who helped make ChattiGras such a success.  I have heard from many who thought that this was the best of the three, and I agree.  We had several staff members from the three schools who worked especially hard on this event, but we could not have had such a success without all the parent help, contributions, and participation. So, thank you.  The final figures will be given as soon as we can.  There are still some outstanding money and paperwork which needs to be taken care of. 

 Have a wonderful March and beginning of Lent.

 God bless,

 Jeri McInturff

February, 2014

Principal's Corner

February 2014

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Wow!!  What a January we had.  I sure hope that the groundhog does the right thing this weekend; I am really tired of this weather. 

We had a wonderful Catholic Schools Week even with the snow days off.  Thank you to Home and School for the ice cream for the students.  Thank you to Notre Dame for the t-shirts and cookies for the 5^th-8^th graders.  Thank you to all for the participation in the donations to the Community Kitchen and LeBonheur Children's Hospital; we will give you the amounts collected as soon as we get it.  Congratulations to Emily Roach for winning the Spelling Bee.  Congratulations to the Teachers for winning the basketball game, and congratulations to the 8^th grade for being such good and fun sports. 

On February 7^th & 8^th we will be hosting Family Honor.  This is a great interactive program for parents and 8^th grade students focusing on important issues that teenagers are faced with.  Call Mrs. Patti Morrison or Mrs. Mary Pat Haywood for more information, if you need it. 

ChattiGras is February 15^th at the Convention Center.  I encourage all to attend.  It is a wonderful time and all the proceeds go to the three Catholic Schools and student scholarships.  Call Mrs. Cissy West for more information, if you need it.  I hope to see you all there.

School will be closed on the 17^th in honor of Presidents' Day, and the 19^th is $1.00 out of uniform day.  Notre Dame will be testing the 8^th graders on the 22^nd.  And last, but not least, basketball games are scheduled all through February.

Hopefully, we will not have any more weather that warrants us to call off school.  However, if we do, we will try our best to make the right decisions at the right time. 

Have a wonderful February,

Jeri McInturff

 

January, 2014

God's face is that of a merciful father who is always patient. A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.  Pope Francis

          

January 2014

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and winter break.  What a way to start the new year with this weather!  This is a perfect time to remind you that if we have school closings for inclement weather or any other reason, we will send out a Parent Alert.    Although, we generally close when Hamilton County does, it is not a guarantee.  However, all three Catholic schools do agree on our closings unless there is a school specific reason. We will try to get it on the TV stations, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.  If we do call you in a Parent Alert, please give it time to relay the recorded message.  I will also try to do a text message with it; however, I can only put in 140 characters in a text message.  So, there may be a time I cannot send it in a text. 

January is basketball season.  The schedule of the games will be posted on our website and in the Fanfare weekly. Our first home game is January 9^th.   However, we have an East Tennessee Diocesan Play Day on January 11^th in Knoxville.  There will be no admissions charged if you wish to attend.  This day has been coordinated with the Notre Dame and Knoxville Catholic basketball game that same date.  So, you may want to save this date as a family outing for basketball.  Next year, Chattanooga will be hosting it. 

January is also the month we celebrate Catholic Schools Week.  This week long celebration will begin with 10:00 mass on Sunday, January 26^th.  There will be a lot of activities throughout this week as we celebrate the theme of "Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service".  There will be a lot of information coming out about this in future correspondences. 

Wednesday, January 15^th, is $1.00 out of uniform day, and it is also the day we will be sending home report cards for the last quarter.  We have another Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night on the 16^th.  This month's competition for the Hungry Howie's Pizza Party will be for box tops. 

ChattiGras is quickly approaching (February 15^th).  If you have not yet bought your tickets, you can purchase them from Cissy or online (www.biddingforgod.com/chattigras).  The online auction begins January 27^th.  Plan on attending this annual event as it is fun for all and benefits the three schools and our students. 

Have a wonderful rest of January.

God bless,

Jeri McInturff