Good News from Dr. Bennett…Feb. 3rd, 2012
Great Week of Celebration
Thanks to all the teachers, students and parents who helped to make the celebration of Catholic Schools Week such a success. Attendance at the Open House was very good, with 16 new families coming to meet us. It was exciting to see some of our parents giving tours for our guests. We are always willing to give tours to any families who are interested in our school.
Our Saint of the Day contest was fun and the students really got into it. Thanks to Mrs. Niedbalski and Ms. Ratkewicz for putting all the activities and clues together. We had an amazing crowd of super grandparents with us for Mass and a visit Tuesday. I know the children were so happy to show off their rooms and projects. Everyone showed good taste with our pajama and hats days and we never really worry about abusing that privilege.
Help for CGS Family
One of our Cathedral families, the Reimes, who have a daughter Mallory in Kdg., had a fire at their home last Sunday. They lost much of their living room a newly-remodeled kitchen and the attic and some of the basement. Presently, they are working with their insurance carrier to get everything restored in a timely fashion. In the meantime, they are staying in a hotel and probably doing fast foods and deli selections rather than home cooked meals.
We are gathering funds and gift cards to share with the Stacey and Mark so that they can not stress about meals. Gas cards and cards for Target, Kohl’s and others will certainly be helpful as they refurnish their kitchen and other rooms. If you wish to help out, please send cards or cash in an envelope marked “REIME” and we will see that they get all of them soon. I know they will be grateful for any help we can give them.
Correction about Science Fair
Last week I gave the wrong date for the Science fair. The students will actually bring in their projects on Feb. 16th for judging and will be displayed on the 17th. Hopefully, your child who is making a project is well into it by now, so that it will be completed on time.
Pennies for Pets
The Humane Society came and collected the first week’s coins on Monday and the class with the most money brought in for that time period was grade 2, with a per student average of $4.17. Our total for the first week was $265.78. We will let you know next week which class brings in the most when the Humane Society collects and counts all this week’s pennies for pets. We are happy to be giving this great group some additional funds to assist in their care for special little friends like adoptable dogs and cats.
St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry
Every year we join in the city-wide school children collection of food called “Drive Away Hunger” whereby food is collected and delivered to the local food pantries in as many as 16 school busses last year. That effort will not begin until the middle of March through the middle of April. Last year our food pantry received one or two busloads of food to be given out to needy families.
However, I was over at our own St. Vincent’s food pantry and was shocked to see that the shelves are almost empty. There wasn’t much to offer to those families who came to get what they needed. Even though there will be food coming from our Drive Away Hunger effort, that doesn’t help the cause for this present time.
If all of us could just bring in some extra bag of cans or boxes of food that can help to fill those empty shelves NOW, that would be most appreciated. We always have the green totes by the back door to collect your donations. Please try to help if you can. Thanks for your care.
McKendree Music Fun
Our students in grades PreK – grade 3 will enjoy a field trip to McKndree University for a musical performance of “Storytime”, featuring “Peter and the Wolf”, “Tubby Tuba” and “Pictures at an Exhibition”. They will leave next Thursday about 11:45 and return about 2:15. This should be a really wonderful musical experience for the children and I hope they gain a greater appreciation for fine music.
Great Summer Program Coming!!
We will be offering a very special program at our school this summer. It is called “Camp Invention” and the program is part of a national company that brings these kinds of programs to students all over the country. This program stresses the four major subjects which are the focus of the future – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. This is usually referred to as STEM. These subjects are meant to help students be better thinkers and problem-solvers.
The program, Camp Invention, is intended for students going into grades 1-6 next school year (our present Kdg.-gr. 5 students). The classes will take place the last week of June, from the 25th- 29th. It will last from 9:00-3:30 all five days. The Company is called Invent Now and I have gotten rave reviews about this program from several principals in the diocese who have had this program for 3-5 years and just love it. All materials and trainings are provided by the company and our teachers will be the teachers for the program, once they are trained.
Next week you will receive a flyer with all the information about the program and how to register. There is a $25 discount for registering before March 30th. I hope that many of you will decide to come and enjoy it with us. We will be hosting this program for all the local Catholic schools, so we hope to have lots of participants. More info coming later.
Dance for 7th and 8th Graders
We will be hosting a dance for the 7th and 8th graders in the surrounding Catholic schools this Saturday. Thanks to Amy Gould for organizing this event and to all the parents who will be there to help. I know that all of the young folks will have a great time in the McCormick Center. This will end our Catholic Schools Week celebrations.
Getting closer and closer to Spring!!
Dr. Bennett