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Author Visit
Anyone with a student in 3rd, 4th or 5th grades has probably heard about the author visit we had last Friday. Tyler Whitesides, the author of the fantasy series Janitors came to Sacred Heart School to share how he came up with the ideas for his book, talk with students about how they can make the ordinary extraordinary and signed books. As your students may have told you, Mr. Whitesides got the ideas for "Janitors" after working night shifts as a school janitor. Throughout all of his books, Mr. Whitesides finds ways to take ordinary things, like a latex glove, extraordinary. In the first book, the main character Spencer puts on a latex glove that allows him to break away from anyone who might grab him. The third of five books in the Janitors series was published this summer and many of our students had already read them all. I started the first one in preparation for the visit and have really enjoyed it. If you like reading with your child, I would highly recommend any of these books. - Ms. Gray
Middle School Library Presentation
Yesterday the KCLS Teen Librarian, Darcy Brixey, came and met with our middle school students. Please ask them what they learned! She spoke with them about researching and accessing information through the King County Library website and navigating the extensive list of databases and services. - Mrs. Hooper
PK-3 All Saints Day Parade
In an attempt to put some minds at ease, we have made some changes to our annual All Saints Day Parade for students in PK-3. Each year we ask the PK-3 students to pick a saint that they would like to "dress-up" as. Over the years we have seen some wonderful costumes; however, the goal of the parade is for students to learn a few things about a saint and to share these with the school community.
This year, since are focusing on the lives of the saints as a school, we have asked each teacher to create a Sign-Up Genius for their Saints Parade; parents will be asked to log-in and indicate which saint their child will be coming as so that there will be no duplicates in a class (i.e. 2A). This year, we encourage you, as the parents of these wonderful saints, to think of simpler, but equally clever, ways for your children to represent their saint. Create a simple sash with the saint's name using a fabric marker or glitter pen. Students do not need to wear costumes, but if they would like to, have your son wear a bathrobe or your daughter wear their princess costume from Halloween. Students can also carry a prop that represents their saint - a stuffed animal for Saint Francis of Assisi or roses for St. Therese of Lisieux.
What we would like all students to have is 3 facts about their saint; this might be 3 words or 3 sentences, depending on the age. We will begin our All Saints Day celebration this year with Mass at 8:45am in the church on Nov1st, after mass our PK-3 students will "parade" in front of the altar and share the facts about their saint. - Ms. Gray
Choosing a Saint?
All Saints Day is around the corner and you might be wondering what saint to study, want to learn more about the saint you have chosen for the Saints Parade (PK-3) or want to learn more about saints in general. Consider the Sacred Heart School Library! Library Home Page, or click on the catalog tab and see what saint books are available for check out. Also, feel free to stop by the library to browse or ask questions. Happy researching! - Mrs. Hooper
Fall Conferences
The dates for our Fall Goal Setting Conferences have been set for Thursday, Oct. 24th with the first conference being at 11:30am and the last conference starting at 7:05pm. Friday,October 25th with the first conference being at 9am and the last conference starting at 3:15pm. Please note, while students in 1st - 8th are expected to attend conferences with their parents, there is no school on these days.
- Families with students in PK-5th Grade will be receiving an email from their child's teacher asking them to sign up for their child's conference; each conference is set for 20 minutes; please sign-up for one slot only. As a reminder, in grades 1st - 5th, students lead at least some portion of the conference, so please choose a time that works for both you and your child.
- Middle School (6th - 8th) Conferences will be held in the Gym, but no sign-ups are needed. In the next couple of weeks, middle school students will be identifying two classes that offer them the greatest opportunity for growth (e.g., language arts, math, Spanish, music). The students will use data (e.g., test scores, grades, number of missing assignments) to help them make their selection. After identifying the two classes and confirming their choice with their homeroom teacher, that information will be sent on to the teachers they have identified as well as to you, their parents. During middle school conferences, parents of middle school students must meet with the two teachers their child identified and may meet with any others that they choose.
As always, if you have questions/concerns, are uncertain about something or need help, please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher(s) anytime by phone or email.
- Mr. Burroughs and Ms. Gray
Bullying Definition
We are in the process of updating our handbook and one of the items we looked at first was our definition of Bullying. The guidance program Mrs. Boyd has developed and supported in the classroom comes from the Committee for Children. We felt it was important to have a definition that was "student-centered", so what we came up with is, "Bullying is mean or hurtful behavior that keeps happening. Bullying is not safe, respectful, or kind and it is against Sacred Heart School rules." As Mrs. Boyd is working with her students, she is also reminding them that that they are capable of Recognizing, Reporting, and Refusing bullying; students at Sacred heart School are asked to pledge to be powerful bystanders who can make a difference in our community.
- Mr. Burroughs and Ms. Gray
ITBS/CogAT Testing
We are preparing for our standardized testing, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in grades 2nd - 8th and CogAT in grades 3, 5 and 7 and I want to make sure everyone is aware of the testing days. We will be testing Tuesday, Oct. 15th thru Wednesday, Oct. 23rd and Monday, Oct. 28th thru Wednesday, Oct. 30th. Please try to avoid making any appointments during this time period, we have a limited testing window and it can be difficult to find time to make up tests that were missed. Thank you in advance for your help. - Ms. Gray
October is the Month of the Holy Rosary
Take this opportunity to pray together as a family. What if you've never prayed the Rosary or haven't in a long time? Do you feel like you can't make the time? Try this simple guide. Try praying together one decade each night. The best way to teach our children about the importance of our faith is to pray together with them. - Mr. Burroughs and Ms. Gray
Called to Protect for Parents and Families
This class will be offered November 6th at 6:00 p.m. at St. Louise Church in Bellevue. THIS CLASS DOES NOT SATISFY ANY TRAINING REQUIREMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT OR VOLUNTEER SERVICE. It is intended for parents who do not volunteer with children but are interested in finding out more information about how to protect children from abuse. You can register for this class here.
Are you a Eucharistic Minister? Would you like to help serve at school Masses?
We are currently building our list of parents and grandparents who are Eucharistic ministers and are able to attend some or all of the school Masses. Please let us know if you can serve by e-mailing Ms. Gray . If you would like to help but aren't yet trained, you can let her know, too. We can schedule a training opportunity for interested parents once we have a few who have contacted us.
Uniform Clarification on Pants and Shorts With our first Free Dress Day behind us, we received there were a couple of things we need to clarify. Leggings can be worn on Free Dress days if they are worn with a long top or under shorts, a skirt or dress. Sweatpants cannot ever be worn unless there is a health exemption on file. SHS Science Fair - Volunteer Judges Needed!!!!!! Thursday March 6th 8am-3pm Sacred Heart School Gymnasium SHS is looking for STEM Professionals /or Educators who could help judge student projects. If you are interested or know someone who would be interested in volunteering please e-mail or call: | 
