"See the future, be the future"  

 Dear Parents and OLF families,

As we are celebrating "Red Ribbon Week", we realize our paramount

responsibility of guiding our children to make wise and healthy choices.  We watch out for them, talk to them, and pray with them that they are safe from any harm. We are concerned about many external influences that could hurt our children, but probably none of these would strike as much fear in a parent heart as drug-use.

In the past, parents would feel relieved if they didn't find any "substances" around their kids, neighborhoods, and schools. But, we must be more alert these days, because household inhalants are among the fasted growing drugs used by middle school students. These are usually found in aerosol sprays, cleaning products with nitrites, and other volatile solvents.

As a parent, it is our responsibility to secure these products at home, and to monitor our youth 24/7. A child's curiosity or inability to say "NO" at the right time would be a costly error, when it is measured in health and well-being.

The national trends of using "fashionable" drugs and the tides of steroids, methamphetamines, smoking and alcohol use, are all working against parents and students, alike. We hear of younger and younger kids falling victim and becoming addicts.

If there is one thing you can do as a parent, it is to stay informed! Don't be afraid to talk about your family values, your parental expectations and even the devastating effects drugs have on people's lives. Don't be afraid to ask the right questions and to set the needed parameters. This is about your child, and he or she is still a minor. Please take a moment to talk to you child today, especially, as we celebrate Red Ribbon Week! May God guide us daily with wisdom and love, so that together, we all can "see the future and be the future!"  

Beate W. Nguyen, M.A.Ed.

Principal

Thank you, Griffin Family, for displaying our students' powerful "vision" against drugs! Go OLF Falcons!

Yesterday, we received the results of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), which we took during the month of September with the rest of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Orange.  Grades 3, 5 and 7 also took the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), which measures the child's cognitive abilities.

Both standardized tests are important indicators for educators to use. The test results at the beginning of the school year allow us to measure where the student is at with regards to his/her academic progress. Faculty and administrators use the data to determine instructional emphasis and to guide teaching strategies throughout the entire school year. By understanding our students' needs, strengths and abilities, we are empowered to tailor our curricular programs to ensure continued academic rigor, differentiated instruction, learning support, cross-curricular connections and relevancy to the student. 

As parents/guardians, we need to be cautious about the interpretation of the test scores. Please remember that standardized tests are "snap shots" given in limited time frame, within a given environment. They do not reflect the abilities or potential of the whole child! As with any statistical data, it is imperfect because it does not take into account a child's physical well-being on the days of testing, any distractions or anxieties for test takers.

I am planning to give detailed presentations about what you can and can't determine from your child's test results. I also want to share with you where we are at as a school on a national and local level.  It is important, that there is complete transparency and understanding by everyone. Only by measuring and reviewing your child's and our school's academic progress, can our students benefit from such a dialogue. We are after all partners in education!

Ideally, I would like hold a parent information night, to guide you in the review process, and to address your questions and concerns.  However, we do not yet have a functional assembly place/hall, and I am not comfortable doing this in church!

Therefore, will be holding two general information sessions to discuss these test results:

Monday, November 7 for Grades 2-4^th

Monday, November 14^th for Grades 5-8^th

Because seating is very limited in the classroom, you need to r.s.v.p. to Cindy Clark at cclark@olfschool.net by Thursday, November 3^rd. 

Should there be a need for you to receive further individualized interpretation of your child's test results, I will be glad to schedule time with you on an individual basis. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your concerns. I am here to help you and your child, and with God's guidance and love, we all appreciate His gift of our precious and unique children!

Has your son/daughter expressed a desire to serve God as an Altar server? In order to altar serve at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church you must be in 4th grade or above, attend mass services on a regular basis and have received First Eucharist. 

Altar server training for NEW altar servers is going to be held on Saturday, October 29th from 10:00 am - 11:00 am in the Church. All those 4th grade and older who are interested can download the information HERE. 

In an effort to continuously improve our curriculum by design, and to prepare our students for the future, the following minor adjustments will  be made to  our academic programs and take  place after Student-Led Reviews and Parent-Conferences, beginning November 1st.

1. Music instruction will partially relocate to Friday morning before Mass for a 20 minute period, and thereby reduce the current need for a long 50 minute period of music appreciation. The practice of liturgical music before mass will benefit all students (Grades 2-8th) and hopefully motivate their participation. The overall duration of Fine Arts instruction, including Performing Arts and Visual Arts at OLF continues to meet or exceed the Diocesan guidelines. We specifically appreciate the contributions of our Art Angels for visual arts instruction. Also, on November 1st, we will welcome our new Parish Music Director, Mrs. Audrey Donalson, her husband and children to our parish and school family. 
2. Spanish will continue to be taught from MAP to 8th grade, however the alloment of minutes is increased to enable our student to compete at the HS level upon graduation. It's an advantage we want them to maintain!
3. The electives for 7th and 8th Grades are now combined to meet at the same time. This enables the pursuit of a personal interest, as well as social interaction and persoanl growth.
4. There is currently discussion about offering Manadrin Chinese as an elective at the Jr. High School level. Increasing competitiveness of OLF students in an ever increasingly global community may be the right choice for some of our youth. Please send your feedback and thoughts about offering this at OLF as an elective.
5. The Decathlon Team will not compete in 2012, because it takes us more time to build up the proper support structure. We are using the "Decathlon Elective" to prepare our current 7-8th graders for academic rigor. Our team will be formed by the end of this year,  observe the competition in Spring 2012, and compete in 2013. The skills that are acquired by our team members, and the knowledge that is being constructed through teamwork, would make any parent proud!
6. Trial phase for PE at the Junior High level beginning November 1st! In an effort to eliminate time consuming changes of PE uniforms, our 7th and 8th graders will be allowed to come to school in their PE uniforms, rather than change at school. If all goes well during November, we may permit the 4-6th Graders to do the same later on. The condition for a successful implementation is that we are able to source a good quality PE uniform pants, that is optional for parents to purchase, and that can be worn on top of the shorts during the cooler weather. Please watch for further announcements.

We have reviewed all necessary aspects and legal issues relating to the Field Trip Transportation. We are now satisfied that we have thoroughly updated the necessary forms and parameters to allow some field trips within the County of Orange to be using parent drivers. For other trips we will require buses through the Diocesan clearing house. The new forms will be available shortly, but are supported with much more details relating to safe driving.

During the month of November two field trips are already planned, and busses are now paid for, because we didn't want to cancel the trips all together, while the task force concludes its work.

After finalizing the wording for our handbook update, we can expect the new policy to be in effect by December.  A special thank you goes to Mrs. Margaret Senske, Mr. Kevin Denhke and Mr. Mike Dolan for their diligence and support in getting this task accomplished. By looking critically at the status quo, we have developed an updated, strenghtend policy. Thank you Task Froce Members!

S.O.A.R

 (Study, Organize, Achieve and be Ready)

4 Academic Success!

Click HERE for S.O.A.R flier!

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