PRINCIPAL S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER THE BEAR PAW October 24, 2016... MONTH OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY... 24th Mon 25th Tue 26th Wed OCTOBER CONCLUDES: RED RIBBON WEEK AT SPBS STAR TESTING WINDOW II THIS WEEK SPBS Says a Decade of the Rosary each Morning in October (Monday-Thursday) to Honor: The Month of the Most Holy Rosary *Family Envelopes & Jr. High Cover Sheets Go Home * LOCK OUT ILLEGAL DRUGS DAY! Red Ribbon Assembly to Lock Out Illegal Drugs from SPBS at 7:50 a.m. (Students Receive Red Ribbons) * Mix It Up Day (Grades 3-8) *Peer Math Tutoring (Library) 2:45 3:30 p.m. *Return Family Envelopes & Jr. High Cover Sheets * JUST SAY YES TO A TREAT & NO TO ILLEGAL DRUGS DAY! (Students Wearing Red Ribbons Receive Red Licorice) *8th Grade Field Trip Christian Service for Life Galen Center by Bus-from 7:00am- 2:30pm *3:00 p.m. Faculty Meeting *7:30 a.m. SPBS Choir Practice (Music Room) * USE YOUR HEAD NOT ILLEGAL DRUGS DAY! (Students Wear Crazy Hair Styles!) *7th Grade Field Trip to MCA Mass & Olvera Street at 7:30-2:30 (Wear Full Dress Uniforms) *Campus Uniform Sale (Jackets/Sweatshirts) 2-4 p.m. ~ SPBS Patio *Peer Math Tutoring (Library) 2:45 3:30 p.m. Oct. 31st Mon Nov. 1st Tue 2nd Wed 3rd Thur 4th Fri NOVEMBER BEGINS: FOR THE TROOPS COLLECTION THIS WEEK SPBS READS! WEEK *Family Envelopes & Jr. High Cover Sheets Go Home *8:00 a.m. Pumpkin Decorating Contest HAPPY HALLOWEEN OUTREACH MINISTRY FREE DRESS DAY! PAY $2.00 TO PARTICIPATE IF NOT ALREADY PRE-REGISTERED *12:10 Senator Meeting *Peer Math Tutoring (Library) 2:45 3:30 p.m. Feast of All Saints Holy Day of Obligation *8:15 a.m. Mass (Gr. 8) Full Dress Uniforms ** ** 8th Grade Wears Saints Costumes to Mass *Return Family Envelopes & Jr. High Cover Sheets *NO Faculty Meeting *PTO Board Meeting 7 p.m. (Faculty Room) Feast of All Souls *7:30 a.m. SPBS Choir Practice (Music Room) *Peer Math Tutoring (Library) 2:45 3:30 p.m. *7:30 a.m. SPBS Choir Practice (Music Room) *NO SPBS MASS TODAY * For the Troops Collection Ends Today *Muffin Orders for 11/17/16 Due by 3:00 p.m. 27th Thur *7:30 a.m. SPBS Choir Practice (Music Room) * SOCK IT TO ILLEGAL DRUGS DAY! (Students Wear Crazy Socks!) 5th Sat ALL GRADES PRE-GALA SOCIAL at the Marasco s Home from 7:00-9:00pm 28th Fri *8:15 a.m. Mass (Gr. 2) Full Dress Uniforms SPBS Says a Decade of the Rosary after Mass * SCARE AWAY ILLEGAL DRUGS DAY! (Students Vote for a Halloween Song) *7th Grade Retreat 9:15-Noon (Hall) *12:10 p.m. Ecology Club Meeting (Media I) 6th Sun DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS - Fall Back... *Men s Club Pancake Breakfast: Hosted by the 8th Grade after the 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. Masses (Hall) 1
2016 Fall Fest Follow-Up And Thank You Notes! THANK YOU SPBS FAMILIES! ~We hope you enjoyed the festivities, the delicious food, the friendship, and all the fun at the 2016 Fall Fest! ~We are proud to report that the Car Raffle sold 1103 tickets!!! ~Special congratulations to our very own SPBS family, Spencer and Dana Osborne! The Osborne Family won the Raffle Grand Prize of either a brand new BMW or $25,000 in cash!!! ~Thank you again to each SPBS family who purchased Car Raffle tickets under the very successful Profit Dollars incentive program, spearheaded by SPBS Dad, Mike Cabrera, and his hard-working Car Raffle Team. ~We are also very grateful to the wonderful Fall Fest volunteers, especially those who chaired set-up, facilities, auction items, food, game booths and various sections. A shout-out goes to SPBS Alumni Mom, Jen McGee, for coordinating all the Fall Fest volunteers this year! Great job, Jen!! ~Finally, thank you for the leadership of Men s Club President and SPBS Dad, Jeff Lavorato, SPBS Principal Mrs. Suzanne Duffy and our Pastor, Fr. Michael Rocha. Your guidance, wisdom and support helped make this great fundraiser so very successful again! Sincerely, Dominick Tunzi - Fall Fest 2016 Chairman 2
RSVP FOR THE PRE-GALA SOCIAL ON 11/5 Earlier this month, you should have received an invitation from the Gala Committee to the pre- GALA school-wide Parent Social from 7:00-9:00 pm on Saturday, November 5 th. Please join us! The All Grade Parent Social will be a relaxing evening socializing at the home of SPBS parents, Nick and Anne Marie Marasco. We will have wine and cheese, enjoy good company and spend a beautiful evening in Santa Rosa Valley. The Gala Committee will have SCRIP gift cards available to purchase for your class basket donation and promise to reveal some fun plans for the Gala. If you haven t already done so, please contact Anne Marie Marasco marascoanne@gmail.com or 215-266-3502 and let her know you can attend. We ll see you there! SPBS GALA 2017 WEB PAGE IS NOW LIVE The SPBS GALA, celebrating 55 years of Excellence in Catholic Education, is coming January 28, 2017! This is the first time in five years that SPBS is hosting such a spectacular event. If you are relatively new to SPBS, and/or have never attended an SPBS GALA celebration, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. Of course, the GALA Committee will answer all your questions at the Pre-Gala Parent Social on November 5 th, but if you simply cannot wait that long, or are perhaps considering a sponsorship and would like more information, the GALA Committee has created a dedicated GALA 2017 page on the SPBS website. You will find a photo montage of prior GALA events, a link to the Hyatt Regency Westlake, information on making donations, sponsorship opportunities and much more. Simply go to www.stpaschalbaylonschool.org and click on the Gala 2017 tab at the bottom of the homepage. January 28, 2017 promises to be... A NIGHT TO REMEMBER! for all of SPBS! SPBS LIBRARY CORNER NEXT week, October 31-November 4, 2106 is SPBS READS! WEEK, sponsored by Mrs. Howard s Library. One of our special activities for that week will be a BOOK SWAP. Students are encouraged to bring in gently used bookswith their parents permission-and trade them for different books that they want to read at our Library Book Swap. ~Students may bring in books to the SPBS Library any time from NOW until October 31. Students will receive a Library Book Swap Ticket for each book they donate, up to 10 books maximum. Students may bring in as many books as they desire, but we place a ten-book limit on tickets, in order to allow a more fair distribution of the available books. ~Our SPBS Book Swap will be held at the Library during our SPBS READS! WEEK. More details will follow in the Bear Paw and via the Family Envelope. Remember...KEEP READING!! AMAZON SMILE SUPPORTS SPBS Dear SPBS Families, Before the holidays and their concurrent shopping season arrive, I would like to draw your attention to a very valuable ongoing charity program, which could potentially provide quite a bit of revenue to SPBS throughout the year...at absolutely NO COST to you! What could be better?!? ~Amazon provides the Amazon Smile program to non profit organizations. SPBS has already signed-up, so it is a very simple process for you to utilize the program...at great benefit to our school and students! You may use your existing Amazon account on Amazon Smile. ~Whenever you wish to shop online with Amazon, simply type in: smile.amazon.com ~Select St. Paschal Baylon School (spelled exactly that way with St., or it may not 3
show up on the list of charities) as your charity of choice. Once you have selected SPBS, Amazon Smile will actually remember this for future purchases. The Amazon website will even try to re-direct you to Amazon Smile, if you and log on to the regular Amazon.com website by mistake in the future!! ~By utilizing the Amazon Smile program at smile.amazon.com, SPBS will receive 0.5% of EVERY purchase you make on the tens of millions of eligible items...no amount limit! ~Please set-up your Amazon Smile account now, and automatically support SPBS every time you shop at Amazon! ~There was a flyer sent home last week in your Family Envelope, outlining details about this great SPBS fundraising program. Please sign-up now, and keep the flyer at home to refer to. Many Thanks! Together In Faith, Suzanne Stewart Duffy-Principal RED RIBBON WEEK Today - Monday, October 24, we will kick off Red Ribbon Week at SPBS! More than 100,000 schools and organizations across the country participate in this week in order to promote the anti-drug message. In 1985, Drug Enforcement Administration undercover agent Enrique KiKi Camarena was killed by drug traffickers in Mexico. Angered by his death and the damaging effects of drugs on our culture, people of Camarena s hometown of Calexico, California, began wearing red ribbons in his honor. This year marks the 28 th annual celebration of National Red Ribbon Week. The student council invited families and friends to attend our Red Ribbon Week Assembly this morning on the school basketball courts, as we joined hands to lock out drugs from our school. The schedule of events at SPBS for Red Ribbon Week is listed below: Monday, 10/24 - Lock Out illegal drugs 7:50 assembly, students receive their ribbons Tuesday, 10/25 - Just Say Yes to a treat and no to drugs - Students wearing ribbons receive licorice Wednesday 10/26 Use Your Head not illegal drugs Students wear crazy hair styles Thursday 10/27 Sock It to illegal drugs Students wear crazy socks Friday 10/28 Scare Away illegal drugs Students vote for a Halloween Song SPBS GROUP TEAM/EVENT PHOTOS Calling SPBS Families - Email SPBS Your Sports / Events Group Photos: ~As SPBS continues to expand our online presence, we would like to feature photos on our SPBS Facebook and website pages from our sports teams and other school events, featuring group and/or action pictures of our students. If you happen to take fun group SPBS photos, please email them to Suzanne Stewart Duffy at: school@stpaschal.org ~We will select the best photos to post to our Facebook page and SPBS website. We may also use the photos in our SPBS 2016-2017 Yearbook! We anticipate that we will receive many photos from our proud parents, and will strive to use as many as we can. However we cannot promise that all photos will be utilized. ~Please note, SPBS has a policy already in place against tagging on our Facebook page, therefore, no one will be tagged in any photos used in these platforms. Thank you in advance for your photo contributions! Enjoy our SPBS Facebook page! The SPBS Social Media Team 4
CELL PHONE COLLECTION Do you have an old used cell phone? Bring your used cell phones to the collection box on the bench outside the office now; or drop off your used cell phones outside Mass on October 29/30 and November 5/6. The SPBS graduating class will recycle phones for cash to be used to help fund their 2017 graduation expenses. HIGH SCHOOL VISIT DAYS Dress code for all 8 th Grade visit days is nice free dress. You are presenting your first impression and representing SPBS. Do not wear jeans, shorts, tank tops, or t-shirts. modestly and appropriately. Dress Any student who has signed up for these days is expected to attend. If you are unable to attend due to illness, please call the high school as they report to us any no-shows. All school work that it missed during these days is to be made up in a timely manner. Note: SPBS does not arrange transportation for these high school visit days. All permission forms and/or notes to let Mrs. Horak know about your child attending one of these days were due last Friday. Please call her if you still plan to sign your child up for a visit day. HIGH SCHOOL OPEN HOUSES Attention: SPBS 7th and 8th Grade Parents If you were unable to attend the application workshop held here on September 28, it is important that you have your child pick-up an information packet from Mrs. Horak. Remember, it is critical to discern high school selection before actually starting the application process. 8 th graders have already signed-up for high school visit days ; however, many of the high schools offer open houses for both 7 th and 8 th graders AND parents. Please refer to the blue handout in the packet for open house dates. CANDY COUNTING CONTEST Student Council is sponsoring a Candy Counting Contest, which is going on now through October 28th. Come by the school office this week, and see if you can guess how many pieces of candy are in the jar. ~The winner will receive the jar full of candy! ~Students, be sure to put your name, grade, and guess on the ticket, and you will earn a Picture Point for your class. One guess per student, please. ~The Candy Counting Contest winner will be announced on October 31. FOR THE TROOPS COLLECTION The Student Council will be sponsoring a For the Troops collection in honor of Veteran s Day. For the Troops is a non-profit organization based in Simi Valley that sends We Care packages to U.S. troops deployed abroad. ~Please see the Troops Wish List in the Family Envelope today for badly needed items. ~The SPBS students will also be writing notes of appreciation in class, to accompany the care packages. ~Please send in any style of greeting cards, stationary, or leftover Christmas Cards to be used for this purpose. All donations may be sent to the classrooms between Monday- October 31 and Friday-November 4th. ~There will be a friendly competition between the grades. Classes will earn Spirit Points for items donated For the Troops. Spirit Points are added up for the Trimester, and the winning classes receive awards and a special treat. ~NOTE: If you would like someone you know in the US Armed Services, who is currently deployed, to receive a We Care package, please contact Mrs. Horak directly. 5
IN REMEMBRANCE - PRAYER REQUESTS Dear SPBS Families, Please turn-in your completed Dearly Departed prayer request cards, which were sent home last week. Include the names of your beloved family and friends who are no longer with us here on earth, but who are now part of the Community of Saints. Eighth Grade students will then carry all the prayer requests we receive back by October 31st up to the altar at our Feast of All Saints Mass on Tuesday-November 1st at 8:15am. NOTE: As this feast day is a Holy Day of Obligation, we also strongly encourage parents to attend Mass on November 1st with SPBS. Together In Faith, Suzanne Stewart Duffy-Principal PANCAKE BREAKFAST Mark your calendars! The 8 th Grade will be hosting the Men s Club Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, November 6 with continuous seating from 7:45 11:00 a.m. They are selling tickets to help raise money for their graduation activities. ~The price is only $3.00 per person, or $12.00 for a family. At these prices, this is the best bargain in town. Enjoy a hot, tasty breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, fruit, juice and coffee with your fellow parishioners. Please see the ticket order form in today s Family Envelope. ~Tickets will be held at the door. Thank you for your support! Note: All 8 th graders are expected to sell a minimum of $12 - $15 worth of tickets (1 family or 5 individuals.) If you would like to credit an 8 th grader with the sale, please write their name on the order form. Thank you! CHRISTIAN SERVICE 4 LIFE EVENT As a culminating activity for Respect Life Week, the 8 th Grade will travel by bus to the Galen Center on the campus of USC, to attend the Christian Service 4 Life rally. The students will have the opportunity to hear speakers and watch a special presentation about St. Teresa of Calcutta. In addition, they will have the opportunity to visit booths highlighting examples of respecting life. ~Important Reminder: The organizers have asked that all lunches be put in clear ziplock style bags in order to speed up the screening process into the arena. 8th Grade students and chaperones are to be here by 7:00 AM sharp tomorrow-tuesday, October 25, to board the bus! ~Don t forget to bring your Family Envelope and Cover Sheet to turn in. Our 7 th MCA APPRECIATION DAY graders are our Mission Ambassadors. They will therefore attend the Missionary Childhood Association Appreciation Mass THIS Wednesday, October 26, at the Queen of Angels Cathedral to represent SPBS. After Mass, they will tour El Pueblo and historic Olvera Street. ~Important Reminder: campus at 7:30 AM sharp! We will be leaving Please plan to arrive at SPBS by 7:15. Do not forget your lunch money (and any shopping money!) Please keep our 7 th 7 TH GRADE RETREAT Grade class in your prayers as they attend their first retreat of the year. Their first class retreat will take place in the Hall THIS Friday, October 28, from 9:15 Noon. Mrs. Horak and Mrs. Kourounis will facilitate this retreat. Please do not plant appointments for 7th graders during this special retreat time. 6
The 8 th ALL SAINTS DAY MASS Grade invites you to attend a very special liturgy on Monday - November 1, as we celebrate All Saints Day at SPBS. ~The 8 th graders are preparing the Mass and will be dressed up as saints. They will be presenting the lives of the saints to the classes after Mass. All 8 th graders are to wear their costumes over their school uniforms that morning. NOTE: There will not be a school Mass on Friday, November 4 due to Mass on Monday. HALLOWEEN OUTREACH FREE DRESS DAY We alternate our Spirit Days with Outreach Ministry Free Dress Days. Spirit Days support Student Council and the Bear Cave. Outreach Days support those in need in our school community, local community or others in need. This month is our first Outreach Free Dress Day on October 31st, and the theme is Halloween. Students who did not pre-register may pay $2.00 to participate in Outreach Day. Participants are to wear appropriate black, orange or Halloween themed clothing (no costumes) to school. All students with 3 or more major items will receive a Bear Paw. MIX IT UP AT LUNCH DAY Today - Monday, October 24, the students in Grades 6 8 and Grades 3 5 will be mixed up at lunch and assigned to different tables in order to get to know some new people. The students will be provided with an ice breaker exercise, to try to find things in common with other students they may not know well. ~SPBS has participated in this international event in the past. We have found it to be one that helps promote a kinder, and more tolerant atmosphere here at our school. PUMPKIN DECORATING CONTEST The annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest is Monday, October 31! There will be two divisions, the lower building and the upper building. The categories are: funniest, scariest, prettiest, most school spirit, most holiday spirit, largest, smallest, most look-alike, most creative and most unique. Please do not depict violence or gore in your decorating. Only actual pumpkins may be entered and may not be carved. All entries must be brought to the tables outside the office by 8:00 a.m. All pumpkins are to be picked up by 3:00. Prizes will be awarded to the winners. This event has grown each year, so please try to keep your pumpkin displays to a reasonable size. VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY We would like to invite all families to attend our Veterans Day Assembly on Thursday, November 10, at 8:00 a.m. in the hall. We will be honoring all those who have served our country in the armed forces. We especially invite all veterans as our special guests. ~All Girl/Boy Scouts are asked to wear their scout uniforms to school to act as honor guards for our flag ceremony. SPORTS SPIRIT DAY Thursday, November 17, is Sports Spirit Day. All students who pre-registered at the beginning of the year may wear their favorite team jersey, clothing, or accessories (sorry, no hats or equipment.) ~If your child/ren were not preregistered they may bring in $2.00 to their classroom. ~All students who participate will receive a Bear Paw. ~Two students in each class with "over the top" team spirit will receive a special prize! 7
STUDENT COUNCIL MUFFIN SALE The student council will sponsor a muffin sale on Sports Spirit Day, November 17. All proceeds help support the Bear Cave and Student Council. While we do our best, students are not guaranteed the muffin flavor they ordered. All muffin must be preordered. If you did not order at the beginning of the year, the price is now $2.00 (please contact Mrs. Harding to place your muffin order by 3:00pm on Friday, November 4). PRAYER WRITING CONTEST Congratulations to Aidan L., Grade 2. He is the winner of the Student Council Prayer W r i t i n g C o n t e s t t h i s w e e k! Aidan wrote the following prayer: Thank You God Thank you God for food, water, and homes. Thank you for animals. Thank you for color. Thank you for people. Thank you for friends. Thank you for family. Thank you God. Amen. Aidan has earned 10 Praise Points for his class and a special prize. All other prayer submissions have earned 1 Praise Point for their class and a Bear Paw. SPBS SOCCER TOURNAMENT TEAM Attention Parents: If your 5th-8th Grade child is interested in participating on our 1st Annual SPBS Soccer Tournament Team please contact: Sue Stonehouse Girls Soccer Coach - sue@rollingforpink.org Christopher Mundwiller Boys Soccer Coach - christopher.mundwiller@gmail.com 1st SPBS Tournament dates are December 10 and 11. Information: contact Mrs. Patty Beck at pbeck@stpaschal.org or (805)495-9340 ext.126 TIPS TO HELP ENSURE A SAFE HALLOWEEN FOR YOUR CHILDREN -Try to Trick-or-Treat when there is still light outside. If that is not possible, be sure a responsible adult brings a working flashlight. -In addition, if you must go out at night, make sure that your child s costume is light colored and made with flame retardant material. -Have your children wear a costume that makes it easy for them to walk, see, and be seen. -Use retro-reflective tape on the costume or treat bag, so your child can be seen easily. -Use makeup instead of a mask. A mask may keep your child from seeing well. -Be sure to remember to have Mom and/or Dad bring a flashlight, so your group can see and be seen easily. -Insist that your children of all ages Trick-or- Treat with a group. Younger children should also have parents or an older brother or sister go with them. -Plan your Trick-or-Treat route ahead of time. -Be sure you remind your children to always: look left, right, and left again; and then look and listen for traffic before crossing the street. -Remind your children/group to cross streets (even residential ones) only at corners. Never cross between parked cars or mid-block. -Remember to always walk facing traffic if there is no sidewalk. -Instruct your children to never go inside or enter a stranger s house for treats. -Once you return home with your children, help them sort and check their treats. ~After you are back home, and have checked your children s treats...enjoy all the candy! ~Reminder: SPBS will have our annual Halloween Candy Collection for disadvantaged Catholic school students starting on November 1st! 8