PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

MR. RIDDER’S REMINDERS

Oct 1                     Begin Wearing School Sweaters to Mass /No Shorts until spring
                             Activity Fees Due
Oct 2                     SCRIP Dress Down Day – No Shorts
Oct 5                     No School – Archdiocese Teacher In-Service on Catholic Identity
Oct 8                     2pm Dismissal - Teacher In-Service
Oct 9                     All Staff/Students - Uganda T-Shirt Dress Down Day
Oct 11                   Bagels & Coffee Social for New Families10:15-11:30 Boland Hall
                             Annual Parish Pork Dinner 10:30-2:00 Parish Center
Oct 13                   Picture Retake Day
Oct 16                   1st Quarter Ends
Oct 20                   Parent Teacher Conference 5:00 – 8:00pm
Oct 20, 21 & 22     No School for PreS/PreK; PreS & PreK Parent Teacher Conference
Oct 20-25              Fall Book Fair in the Media Center (Closed Saturday, Oct 24th)
Oct 22                   Parent Teacher Conferences Noon - 8:00pm
Oct 23                   No School
Oct 29                   PreS Halloween Parties – Details Later
                             4th & 5th Grade Fall Music Program; 4th grade 6:00 & 5th Grade 7:00
Oct 30                   Halloween Parade/Parties - PreK–4th Grade

ACTIVITY/FIELD TRIP FORMS – The youngest and/or only child from each family brought home a gold 2009-2010 Activity Fees form explaining what is due to cover field trips and activities for each child. Please return the bottom portion of the form and a check with your child to school in an envelope. The fees are due today into the office. Please get this in as soon as possible. Forms are available in the office or you may go to the link below and print it off.

LINK TO 2009-2010 ACTIVITY/FIELD TRIP FEES FORM

HEALTH SCREENINGS UPDATE - We will be conducting a follow-up day of health screenings on Tuesday, October 6th for students in 1st – 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th grades who may not have been in school when we did the initial screening in September OR their results may have been altered due to illnesses. Vision and Hearing screenings will be performed as appropriate to each grade level. Additional screens for height, weight, blood pressure, dental, and scoliosis are planned. If you have any objections to having your child screened, you must notify Mrs. Friedt, the school nurse, with advanced written notice at cfriedt@stpatselkhorn.org. All information regarding every child’s health is kept strictly confidential.

OCTOBER 8th IS OUR NEXT 2PM DISMISSAL. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR ALL MONTHLY 2PM DISMISSALS - On the 2nd Thursday of each month, our school dismisses at 2:00pm to allow for Teacher’s In-Services. All students must be picked up on time on those days. The remaining 2009-2010 early dismissals are listed as follows: October 8th, November 12th, December 10th, January 14th, February 11th, March 11th, April 8th, and May 13th! Please plan accordingly with these early pickups, and make proper arrangements so all teachers may get to their meetings promptly. Late pickups will incur a $5 late fee. Thank you for your cooperation.

SCHOOL PICTURE RETAKES – School pictures have been sent home. After viewing them, if you decide that you would like to have your child’s picture retaken; it will take place on Tuesday, October 13th, from 8:30am to 2pm in the lower level “Old Library” area. If you choose to do retakes, your child needs to bring in their portrait package (in full) and hand it to the photographer when they have their picture taken that day. If your child was ill and unable to take an initial school picture, this day will be your opportunity to have your child’s 2009-2010 school picture taken. Please remember that all fall school pictures are photographed in the school uniform with sweater in kindergarten thru 8th grades. PreK students may come in anytime during these hours and we will slip them in. Order forms are available in the school office if needed for those who have not had a picture taken.

FALL PARENT / TEACHER CONFERENCES – Below you will find how the various grade levels are implementing parent/teacher conferences. Fall conferences will be held on two different days for kindergarten through 8th grades.
Tuesday, October 20th 5:00 – 8:00pm
Thursday, October 22nd Noon until 8:00pm
These fall conferences are required. This is a great time to receive feedback and ask questions to teachers on how your child is performing in school. Report cards will be given to parents at that time. Please see that at least one parent/guardian attends for each child. Sign-up sheets for appointments in PreS through 6th grade are posted in the front entrance area. Appointments need to be made by October 16th. If you feel you need more than the allotted time, please email the teacher to make other arrangements. The Specials teachers for Art, Music, PE, & Spanish, will be located in their classrooms and it is not necessary to make an appointment to see them.

KINDERGARTEN – 5th GRADE PARENTS will conference with every student’s homeroom teacher. If you feel you would like to visit with your child’s other core subject teachers, please make an appointment with the homeroom teacher and the additional core subject teachers at the same time. In these cases, the meeting will take place in your child’s homeroom.

6th, 7th & 8th GRADE PARENTS go to the lower level Jr. High area to pick up your student’s report card. Then, you should proceed to his/her homeroom teacher. Conferences for these students will be an open forum style, with a waiting area. If you would like to visit with the teachers of other subjects after conferencing with the homeroom teacher, feel free to go to their desk. Please keep conferences with each teacher to no more than 10 minutes. Appointments are not necessary for 6th, 7th & 8th grade conferences.

PRES & PREK PARENTS conferences will take place in Mrs. Andersen’s classroom on the following days:
• Tuesday, October 20th, from 7:30am to 8:00pm
• Wednesday, October 21st , from 7:30am to 3:30pm
• Thursday, October 22nd , from 7:30am to 6:00pm
Mrs. Andersen visits with every child’s parent/guardian. Please reserve a 10 minute appointment time on the sign- up sheets posted in the entrance if the school by October 16th.

UNIFORM SHORTS/SCHOOL SWEATERS – As noted in the Family Handbook, wearing uniform shorts for boys and girls ceases on September 30th. Students will again be able to wear shorts on May 1st. Also, school uniform sweaters must be worn by all students in kindergarten - 8th grades during Mass beginning on Thursday, October 1st.
NOTE: - Every student in the building owns a school sweater. Therefore, we strongly advise for you to put your child’s name inside their sweater on their tag!

EXTENDED CARE CALENDARS ONLINE - October calendars are due by Friday, October 2nd. All calendars turned in after Friday will incur a late fee. Please fill out dates needed and attach payment. Our program is a prepaid program. If you need all day care on Monday, October 5th , you will need to let extended care know by this Friday as well.

BOOK FAIR NEWS - Get ready to travel around the world at the Fall Book Fair! "Destination, Read Around the World" will be an international experience for the entire family! So mark your calendars and join us in the St. Patrick's Library October 20th - 25th. If you are interested in volunteering please contact Jane Chapman (KCCJDC@cox.net) or Karen Fontaine (kfontaine2@cox.net ).
This Book Fair is going to be really special this year. If the St. Patrick’s entire student body reads a combined total of 10,000 minutes in one week, they will receive a Uganda t-shirt dress down day! Look for your child’s reading log to help St. Patrick’s reach our goal. They will be logging their minutes starting on October 12th and ending on October 16th. All Reading Logs must be turned into the library by October 19th. If our goal is reached, the students will receive their dress down day on October 26th. Good reading skills provide all children with a valuable educational advantage. Allowing kids to choose their own books by connecting them with books they want to read will motivate them to practice more. I hope that this will rally our entire school community around a goal and get everyone more focused on the importance of reading. Thank you for supporting your kids in any way possible to help us reach our 10,000 minute reading goal. Mrs. McIntyre.

ST. PATRICK’S HOME & SCHOOL DIRECTORIES ARE AT THE PRINTER – They will be sent home upon delivery with the youngest & only student in each family. Directory Distribution Policy: The new policy, approved by the Home & School officers and the school office, is below. Please contact Home & School officers with any questions.
• Home & School members: Receive 1 directory free; additional copies maybe purchased for the member discount of $5/each.
• St. Patrick's staff: Receive 1 directory free. If you are a Home & School member, you can purchase additional copies for $5/each. If an employee is not a member, additional copies are available for $10/each.
• St. Patrick’s School families that are not members of Home & School may purchase directories for $25 with additional copies are $10/each.
To become a St. Patrick’s Home & School member, click on the attached link and return it to school ASAP. Over 290 of our 370 families are current members.

LINK TO MEMBERSHIP FORM FOR HOME & SCHOOL

PAGE ONE VOLUNTEER - Do you enjoy reading? Then, we have the perfect job for you! We are looking for volunteers to help us start a new extracurricular book club. Page One is a program that was started in Lincoln to encourage children to read for pleasure and share their knowledge with their peers. We are in need of 3 leaders who will lead different age levels: 3rd-4th graders, 5th-6th graders, and 7th-8th graders. Each leader will be in charge of meeting with their group once a week from January- April to discuss the books in order to prepare them for a competition in the spring. Please contact Mr. Ridder at ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org if you are interested.

BAGELS & COFFEE SOCIAL FOR NEW SCHOOL FAMILIES - Bagels and Coffee Social for families enrolled in 2009-2010 school year is being held Sunday, October, 11th in Boland Hall from 10:15-11:30. Stop by before or after mass, grab a bite and meet some friends. There will be muffins and juice for the kids. RSVP to Christina Butler, 289-9787 or ecbutler@cox.net by Thursday, October 8th.

FINAL UPDATE FOR SCHOOL & PARISH CARNIVAL - The final numbers are in for the Carnival! Thanks to the great weather and the great turnout, the School & Parish carnival brought in $1,329.51. All proceeds are going to the Capital Campaign Fund. Thanks for a great time and see you at next year's Carnival

SEPTEMBERFEST WAS A HUGE SUCCESS - Over $22,000 was sold and 95 families participated in the promotion. THANK YOU! Way to go St. Pat’s! Because we surpassed our goal of $20,000, the students have earned a Dress Down Day on Friday, October 2nd. SCRIP is available all year long and each sale will help us buy new laptops for the computer lab. Questions? Contact Deb Gustafson at 491-3820 or debragustafson@hotmail.com.

HOW YOU CAN HELP TO SEE THAT THE LUNCHROOM HAS A COLD SALAD BAR OFFERED DAILY? - For $5.00 you will receive a booklet with $10.00 coupon and several other valuable coupons! St. Pat’s gets to keep the entire $5.00! Proceeds from this sale will go towards the purchase of a COLD SALAD BAR for our students! Younkers Community Day is Saturday, November 14!

PLEASE RETURN YOUR ENVELOPES FOR THE 2010 AUCTION BASKETS - Envelopes from your child’s Room Mother or Father have been sent home via students. These envelopes explain the classroom basket that each class will be putting together to be auctioned at our Annual Dinner Auction in February. Please take a look at the envelope that your child brought home, follow up and return them (with your child to school) ASAP! Our wonderful Room Parents are already busy creating the theme and items that will tie into each basket. If you misplaced your envelope, please feel free to put your monetary donation in any envelope. Address the envelope Classroom Fundraiser Basket. Please make checks payable to your child’s class Room Mother or Father, and add on memo “classroom basket donation”. It is suggested that each student donates $5 to $10. Please donate what you are comfortable with. If there are any questions, please contact Kimberly Parsons at kimberly_parsons@yahoo.com.

BASKETBALL TEAMS FORMING NOW - Registration is now open for the 2009-10 PAL Basketball season. PAL Basketball is open to any 5-day student or parishioner in the 5th - 8th grades providing that enough kids sign up for a team at that grade level. If enough sign up for multiple teams, tryouts may be held for team assignments. Teams that are formed will play against other area Catholic schools in the Parochial Athletic League (PAL). The season will last from approximately Dec. 1st until approximately Feb. 15th. For questions regarding PAL Basketball contact Tim Tarrence at: ttpt1ne@msn.com. To register please go to: http://leagueusa.com/registration/index.jsp?SportsOrganizationId=240. For questions regarding online registration please contact Renee Shotkoski at: mjsshots@yahoo.com.

TRUNK OR TREAT... SAVE THE DATE - Ministry of Mothers Sharing (MOMS) is hosting a Trunk or Treat on Sunday, October 25th from 3:30pm- 5pm in the church parking lot! Please bring a can of food for the food bank! Any questions, contact Carrie Kubicek at 556-7479.

ST. PATRICK’S PARISH ANNUAL PORK DINNER - The Annual St. Patrick’s Parish Pork Dinner will be held on Sunday, October 11, 2009 from 10:30-2:00. This is a great opportunity to enjoy an excellent meal, meet fellow parishioners, visit with old friends and support a good cause. The entire proceeds from this dinner will be used to support the local St. Vincent DePaul Society. A flyer is linked below where there are six tickets for you to buy for your family or sell to your friends. If you can’t attend, please consider a donation in support of this annual event. Advance Tickets: $7.00 / Adult $3.50 / Children under 10. Tickets at the Door: $8.00 / Adult $4.00 / Children under 10. Take out will be available.
MENU: Roast Pork (Hot Dogs provided for the kids)
Mashed potatoes w/gravy
Vegetable Sauerkraut
Bread Applesauce
Dessert & Drink

LINK TO ST. PATRICK’S ANNUAL PARISH PORK DINNER TICKETS

DEVELOPMENT OFFICE VOLUNTEER NEEDED - The development office is looking for a volunteer (possibly two) to assist this fall with a few extra projects. If you have intermediate computer skills and would be available to help in the Development Office a few hours a week, please contact Laura Geisinger 289-4289 ext. 1526.

SAVE THE DATE - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH at ELKHORN RIDGE
Come share in an evening of food and wine! If wine is not your thing beer will be available. REGISTRATION BEGINS MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH
Watch this week’s church bulletin for the registration flyer. There is limited seating available so order your tickets early.

YOU ARE INVITED TO - THAT’S AMORE!
WHAT: Parish Dinner Auction Kick-Off Party
WHEN: Friday, October 9th, 7:00 PM
WHERE: Willie and Jill Douglas’ home
24313 Leavenworth Circle, Waterloo
WHO: Will Volunteers for this year’s auction
WHY: To sign up for committees & meet the honorary chairs
Join us for a fun-filled evening. Please bring an appetizer to share and your own drinks. In addition, if you’d like to contribute to this year’s Bag of Booze, please bring a bottle to donate to the cause. In order to RSVP and/or ask questions, please contact Ann Monday: annmonday@cox.net. Bring a Friend! Hope to see you there!

Principal's Notes Deadline:

Please submit all items/information in final form.

Principal's Notes deadline is Tuesday by 8:00am to the school or email to

ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org or kmoritz@stpatselkhorn.org

Archived Principal's Notes