February 8, 2008
Vol I., Issue 21

  Around Campus

Wednesday was one of those days, wasn’t it? As if the midweek madness wasn’t enough, most likely your child came home with a smudge mark on the forehead! Thankfully, there was an excellent explanation! The morning began with a peaceful, meaningful Ash Wednesday service where students, faculty and staff, school wide were able to receive the Imposition of Ashes as well as Holy Eucharist. It was a wonderful time of unity for our Community as we begin to prepare for Lent and Easter. Now you know the rest of the story!

Gong Hei Fat Choy! Upper Elementary students were treated to a special Chinese New Year celebration, Thursday. The Year of the Rat got started with a big ole party in Lisa Fuch’s classes when some parents got together to “do a little something” to celebrate the holiday. All we can say is we wish “a little something” always looked like this!

Academics were in the spotlight this week, as several of our Upper School students participated in the District TAPPS Academic and Speech competition. For a list of our top finishers who have qualified for the State meet in April, click here.

Kindergartners weren’t to be outdone by the Upper Schoolers, though. They showed that they can read, spell, write and problem solve all through one exercise! On any given morning, our little ones are working on consonant, vowel, consonant words. They first create the words by telling their teacher how to spell it (sort of Scrabble-like), then they read the word and, finally, write it down on their own sheet of paper. We don’t know if we’d take ’em on in a word game. They might embarrass us!

  Hot Topic

Our kids are gearing up to jump until their hearts are content – and during school hours we might add.

Next Wednesday, Parish third through eighth grade students will have the chance to celebrate Valentine’s Day early by participating in Jump Rope for Heart. This is a national educational program that teaches physical fitness and promotes the value of community service to students and their families.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, but how does it work? We can already hear you asking us to get to the point. How it works is two representatives from each grade level will make a commitment to jump rope for 15 minutes between 2:55 p.m. to 3:25 p.m., in the Midway gym, to show their dedication to physical fitness. Representatives will be chosen by the end of the day Monday through a “jump off” during regular P.E. classes.

As part of the preparation for the event, physical education students have been learning about cardiovascular health and the negative effects of stress.

We encourage parents to come out and watch as our students bring attention to physical fitness!

  Parish PA

Volunteers from the Parents Association help the school in many hidden ways. Take, for example, the marquee signs at the Hillcrest and Midway campuses. Each morning as you drop off your student you are reminded "Coffee with Mark Miner Feb. 13," "Re-Enrollment due Feb. 15," "Parent/Teacher Conferences," etc.   Behind these gentle reminders is the diligent work of Cathy Morris and Ann Kadesky (Midway) and Leslie Shaunfield (Hillcrest). These busy moms gather information from the school calendar, WeMail and class communications, determine the most pertinent information and figure out how to communicate notices in 15 letters or less. Postings are updated several times each month to keep you informed.  The Parents Association salutes these hard-working, behind-the-scenes volunteers who make our lives easier!