September 08, 2008

Parents, last weeks Gospel is the simplest yet most poignant of all the Gospels in my opinion. Jesus says quite clearly, “where two or three are gathered in my name there am I in the midst of them.” We are a community of educators, learners, believers and servers. We are here because our First Teacher showed us the way, the truth and the light.

As the leaders in our community, parents, teachers, clergy, we model right behavior, positive attitudes everyday. You know, children are like little sponges; they soak up the good and the bad. It’s up to us to make sure that those little sponges are only exposed the good, the pure and the clean. Our community is one of action, prayer and a model for the local community. Let’s be sure that the students here bring the best of our community to the community at large and model what it means to gather in His name.

ITBS – Standardized Testing

Parents, next week is our students least favorite week of the school year; standardized testing. In order to make this go as smoothly as possible, please make a few adjustments to your schedule to be sure to give your student a hand up on these tests.
• A nutritious, complete breakfast each morning.
• Plenty of sleep the night before
• Conversation about ‘doing your best’ but not to worry about the results.
• Test-taking strategies will be taught here at school, but let your student know that they have to do the best they can and let it go – we’re just trying to get an idea of what we need to work on as educators.

We will share the results of the tests with you at conference time in late October and early November. Please be sure too that your child comes to school at least for the first two hours each morning next week. It’s hard to schedule time to have students who were absent do make up tests next week. Keep them healthy!

Mr. Dooher's Wish

Here are a few items that we don’t necessarily need in our school but some items I wish we could have. If there are generous souls out there who care to donate these items to the school, boy would that just make my day!
• A Smart Board for the 7th and 8th grade math classes
• DVD players for two classrooms
• A new receiver/mike/CD player for our announcements in the morning.
• A new desktop computer for our office secretary
As I said, these are the extras that make life easier for our teachers and staff. I have written grants for these items, but grants are never guaranteed. Some of these are pretty expensive – that’s why they’re on the wish list. Let me know if you can help out…just putting’ it out there.

Paper. . .

On back to school night, I asked that each family donate one ream of copy paper to the school. So far the response has been under whelming. As I said, I try to keep our operating costs down by relying on donations such as paper and other office supplies. Each ream of paper is about 3.00 I don’t have to spend. If all 180 families donated one ream of paper, I wouldn’t have to buy paper until February. For those of you who have donated already, thank you so much! For those of you who have simply overlooked the request, perhaps your next trip to Target, or, Office Depot you’ll remember to grab a ream for St. Finn Barr. Gracias!

High school

For those families who students are graduating this year, please pay attention to the deadlines for the various Catholic high schools. Mr. DiNubila has a list of all the requirements and he will make sure your student gets them. We will also be offering a High School entrance exam study club, later in October and November. We usually offer a series of three consecutive Saturday’s for about three hours each. If you are interested, let Mr. Dinubila know as soon as possible so that he can let our presenter know about numbers and ordering materials.

Homework

I’m going to be a real nag now. We started out the year in all classes with a firm homework policy regarding late work. The over all policy is that if a student is sick, or there is a compelling family emergency, then time is given to make up work. A student simply cannot decide on his or her own that they’re not going to do assigned work. I’ve asked the teachers to send home progress notes as soon as two or three assignments are missed. Remember, if there is no illness or any other excuse, your student may not make up the work. If this seems harsh, take a look at what high schools expect. There is NO leeway for missed work – none. If the work isn’t there on time, then a 0 is given. If you have questions concerning work, go to our web site, stfinnbarr.org and click on the parent resource button, then click on the appropriate link for the class you’re interested in. All our Jr. High teachers are on line, as well as our 4th and 5th grade teachers. Any questions, please feel free to give me a call. I take full responsibility for this policy – it’s generally my philosophy – and I’ve passed it on to the teachers, but I stand behind them 100% for enforcement.

Courage
we
take on the

Strength

Of that which
We
Overcome

 

God bless you.
Tom Dooher .

updated 09/09/08 dh

What’s Coming Up

09/10/08 3:00 PM dismissal
Prayer Service 9:00 AM St Finn Barr Church

09/11/08 3:00 PM dismissal

09/12/08 3:00 PM dismissal
Hearing tests, K-1-2
Ice Cream Social, Parish Hall 6:00 PM
4th Grade to G.G.Park

09/15/08 1:30 PM dismissal
ITBS testing begins

09/16/08 3:00 PM dismissal

 

Please note the revised September Calendar in your packet today.

 

 

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