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IMPORTANT DATES
FEB. 7
Grades 2 & 3 with San Francisco Opera
FEB. 15
Grade 2 to Asian Art Museum
Outgrown uniform sale
FEB. 17
Showcase 9:15am
FEB. 20
NO SCHOOL
FEB. 21
Parent's Association Meeting 6:30pm
FEB. 22
Liturgy
Dress Uniform
FEB. 27
Dr. Thompson Speaker Series Presentation 6:30pm
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DAR Essay Contest Award Winners Announced
Presentation's students received top honors in the regional Daughter's of the American Revolution 2011 American History Essay Contest. In the 6th grade category, Presentation School's Alexia Lema received 1st place, Alexandra Garber received 2nd place and Hannah Porter received 3rd place, a rare sweep of all three prizes in one grade by a single school. Presentation Graci Bundschu received 2nd place among all 8th grade entries and Presentation's Kirsten Couchman received 3rd place. Our 7th grade did not enter due to academic schedule conflicts.
The Vineyard Trails Chapter encompasses all public, private and accredited home schools throughout Napa and Sonoma counties. DAR's Vineyard Trails chapter received 174 entries this year. Presentation was the only school in Sonoma to receive awards.
This year's D.A.R. topic was: "Pretend you were alive during the War of 1812 and had a friend who has become famous because of standing up for America during that exciting but dangerous time. Describe the person and how he or she stood up for America. Explain why it is important to honor such heroes when we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812."
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Prospective Parents "Bring a Friend" Lunch & Tour
Please call a friend who might be interested in Presentation and join us for a special luncheon on Thursday, February 16th from Noon-1:30pm. This is a great way to introduce friends who are considering changing schools or those who have an incoming Kinder to our school. Please rsvp to Beth Fox at 935-0122, ext. 210 or bfox@presentationschool.com. |
PERKS PERKS PERKS !
Register for PERKS classes today before they fill up!
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Art Department Needs Your Trash!
FASHION TRASHION
The 8th grade is embarking on their latest art assignment, "Trashion Fashion" where they will be working in groups to create inspirational artistic outfits out of trash. They will then have an opportunity to sign up to enter the "Trashion Fashion" competition through the Sonoma Community Center. If selected they will get to showcase their outfit down the runway on April 21st.
Items we are hoping you might save and send our way over the next two weeks include but not limited to items from your recycling bin including:
Plastic caps, bottle caps, bubble wrap, duct tape, glue sticks for glue guns, glue guns, tin foil, plastic water bottles, mannequin forms (we have seven groups and these would be returned), soda cans, empty Capri juice containers, yogurt containers with lids newspapers, magazines, and candy wrappers........
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Grade 3 Parents Lead the Annual Fund Challenge!
A N N U A L F U N D
Congratulations to the families of the 3rd grade! More than 30% of the 3rd grade families participated in the Annual Fund by Dec. 31.
Many Presentation School families have already contributed to this year's Annual Fund, but there's still more to be done if we hope to reach 100% participation by the end of the school year. If you are one of the more than 100 families that haven't contributed, PLEASE ACT NOW so we can achieve our goals and fund the activities that are so important to all of our children at Presentation School.
Over the next couple of months you'll be hearing from us about the ongoing progress towards reaching our goals, and we'll be working with the class reps to try to reach every family and ask them to participate. Every gift matters!
Every class that reaches 100% by Leap Day will receive a FREE DRESS DAY!! |
All Day Middle School Tech Museum Field Trip a Big Hit
Thanks to all the great parent drivers and students willing to wake early, the field trip to the San Jose Tech Museum was a big success. The students toured the Islamic Science Rediscovered exhibit, had free range of the museum itself and viewed the IMAX film "Arabia." Each grade also had the chance to engage in their own specific science labs. This is the first time Presentation has visited this museum for a field trip but the reviews back were excellent! |
Letter from Beth Fox, Director of Admissions:
"Resolve to Thrive" Last week I attended a seminar in Portland for Catholic School Admissions and Development Directors, as well as Heads of School from all over the Northwest, put on by the Institute of School and Parish Development. "Resolve to Thrive" was the topic of the day. One of the most important points I took away was that being a school of excellence requires a daily commitment to a common vision. At the same time, we must be able to clearly articulate our unique difference. As our school continues to grow, it is important to look both at our challenges and also our areas of excellence. What is our image and reputation? What are our core values? How do we live our Catholic mission? How do we create a loving, caring environment? How do we promote a culture of service? What is the profile of a student at our school? What do we honor in our teachers? What is our measurement for success? How can we support each other? All important questions for a relatively new Admissions Director!! A key focus was the concept of embracing change. From the moment the school opened its doors, things were changing and growing. Although change is often hard, the issue is not really change, but the management of positive change. Embracing change as the norm is critical to our success. All great schools anticipate and prepare for the future. Where is our school going over the next one-three-five years? We will continue, I'm sure, to build on our strengths and boldly address our challenges - and expect success! Finally, customer service is so important! Exceeding expectations, meaningful involvement of our parents, and strong communication are key. We want you to know that we want to hear from you. We will soon be launching a parent focus group and hope that you will take part. As always, we want to know 1) What do you believe is working well? 2) What are the areas of the school that we can improve upon; and 3) As we look to the future, what is your vision for our school (1, 3 and 5 years out)? Please take a moment and let us know! To be the best choice for our families and for potential new families, it is not enough to be a good school. We must resolve to thrive in order to prevail as the best choice. |
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Michael Thompson Best-Selling Book Titles Now Available in Presentation Library
In preparation for Dr. Thompson's talk at Presentation on Monday, Feb. 27, we have ordered three copies each of three of his most popular books, all available to borrow now from our library:
The Pressured Child: Freeing Our Kids from Performance Overdrive and Helping Them Find Success in School and Life
Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children
Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
  
Click here to register for Dr. Michael Thompson's important presentation to parents on Monday, February 27th at 6:30pm.
Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Community, Friendship, Social Power in Childhood
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See's Candy Sale Starts Next Week!
Save your Easter candy purchases for Presentation's
See's Candy school fundraiser!
Flyers will go out the week of Feb.
13.
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Calling All Photos For The Yearbook!
Deadline is fast approaching!
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Mother-Son Dodgeball Fun for All!
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Catching Up With a Grad: Emma Forsythe
Emma Forsythe graduated from The Presentation School in 2007. She recently stopped by the school during her winter break and we were able to ask her a few questions about what she has been up to since graduating from Presentation.
Emma went on to Justin Siena for high school where she felt she was not just a number but personally guided academically. She decided that she wanted something bigger for college and she now attends The University of Montana in Missoula. She had no problem with the transition from a small school like Justin to a University with 13,000 students.
While at Justin, Emma was on the soccer team for all four years. Unfortunately, there is not much soccer at the University of Montana but instead they offer "Timber Sports". Timber sports include logging, sawing logs, axe throwing, 30 ft. pole climbing & chopping, and burling - the university's team is one of the best in the country and Emma has enjoyed learning more about the sport.
The student body at the University of Montana is from all over North America. Many of the students come from the East Coast because the school has the largest experimental forest in the USA.
Looking back, Emma says she is so thankful for the self discipline she learned at The Presentation School and for her love of poetry which she learned from Mrs. Carroll. She never thought she would, but she does miss the religious education she received here and in high school. |
Our Grade 5 Class Waiting to Be The Readers in Our Most Recent Liturgy
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SCHOOL NEWS:
Safety is Paramount: While Sonoma is generally a very safe town, we need to be careful never to relax our guard when it comes to protecting our children. Please heed the eNews sent out yesterday and adhere to all safety precautions set up by the school when it comes to checking in, picking up and dropping off your children. Thank you!
Catholic Schools Week: Last week was Catholic Schools Week. In celebration of this important week, in the classrooms, we discussed how thankful we all are for being part of our amazing school community. As teachers, we discussed how we live our mission through our work with our students.
Yearbook: If you would like to buy a full, half or quarter page ad in the Presentation School yearbook to honor your child(ren) or to promote your business, those ads (including images) are due this week. Order forms should have come home with your child but there are additional forms available in the office. You can upload images or you can provide us with a sheet with the ad laid out and we will scan it in for you.
Garden Help Needed: The Garden Committee is planning events to prepare for planting. The first event will be the building of cold frames. Middle School students and their parents are invited to participate in the construction project. If you are interested and are available February 11 and 12, we are looking 10 volunteers who don't mind getting their hands dirty- reserve by emailing Ms. Fischman. Other projects include Earth Day celebration, Garden Docent positions, harvest celebration and many other opportunities to get dirty! Contact Lisa Atwood or Cindy Studdert for more information on how you can be involved.
Uniforms: As the children are growing and you are purchasing new uniform items, please remember that skorts, pants and outwear are to be purchased from either Classic Design or Land's End Presentation list. Any questions, please contact your child's homeroom teacher. You will find the uniform policy in the Family Handbook.
Lunch: Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to help with lunches. We still need After Care volunteers. Please contact Mrs. Wallace or Ms. Amy if you are interested and would like more information regarding responsibilities.
COMMUNITY NEWS:
8th grade parents -- The Sonoma Teen Center is offering free financial literacy classes for teens. The first class on "Money Management" will take place on Feb. 11 from 10 a.m to 12:30 p.m. at the Teen Center. This workshop will cover checking accounts, overdrafts & overdraft protection, debit cards, credit cards & understanding interest charges, building and safeguarding credit history, preventing identity theft, creating a budget, comparing bank services and selecting the bank best for you. The second class on "Savings/Loans" will take place on Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Teen Center and will cover savings accounts, college savings plans, US savings bonds, CDs, money market accounts and auto/college/small business loans. The last of the three classes will be a "Bank Visit" to 202 W. Napa St. on Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at West America Bank. Teens will tour the bank, and learn about teller work, money handling, customer service, new accounts and lending and careers in banking and finance. Best of all, all three Financial Literacy Classes are FREE. Transportation will be provided to the bank visit. Pre-registration is necessary, space is limited with a maximum class size of 30 and a minimum is 5. To register, email classes@Svteens.org or call 707-939-1452 and leave a message. www.svteens.org.
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