With pride in a job well done, our children bring home papers and artwork that we display on the family bulletin board or on the refrigerator door. These papers and projects give us insight into what is happening at school and how our children are learning and progressing. During the past year and a half, the faculty and staff of St. John Vianney School have worked hard to culminate work started some years ago to bring our school to the leading edge of Catholic education. The process of self-study for reaccreditation, three exemplary awards from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and a national award for innovation in Catholic education has supplied us with lots of papers, projects, and artifacts that are too big for the refrigerator. But we still want you to see everything.

Please join us on Wednesday, May 13th, following the All School Liturgy for coffee, informal conversation, and some show and tell. Please come so we can talk with you about how we combine our knowledge, skills, and commitment to the highest quality Catholic education to lay the foundations for successful student learning and ongoing progress. It will be an informal gathering. Walk in, look around, have some coffee and light snacks, and talk with teachers and administrators about your school. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about St. John Vianney School. 

Taking the Lid Off!

Expanded Opportunities in Middle School Spelling

Once the fundamentals of spelling are learned in the elementary and intermediate grades, it is considered best practice to continue to expand spelling skills within the context of disciplinary studies. Students learn the meaning and spelling of new words in their studies of religion, math, social studies, science, and literature. At St. John Vianney School, we supplement this effort by monitoring this skill to make sure that every student masters the spelling of words routinely used at the middle school level. Our middle school students complete a pre-assessment that allows the teachers to gauge each student's current level of proficiency in spelling. Our basic spelling program utilizes three different lists.

• Foundation List- This is the initial list that is administered as a pre-assessment. The foundation list identifies those words that have been identified for mastery by the end of 8th grade.
• Expanded List- This list identifies words at the next level of mastery. Students in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade who master the foundation list will move on to the expanded list.
• Advanced List- This list provides challenge for students who have mastered both the foundation and expanded list. The advanced list is primarily made up of words most frequently misspelled by students at the secondary and post-secondary level.

We are very pleased to share news with you about our expanded opportunities for students who are ready to move beyond the Advanced List. For those high ability spellers who conquer the three previous spelling lists, here is something that will keep them busy for a long time. This is a list of 5000 words for study in preparation of the ACT/SAT.  No, it's not strictly a spelling list, but kids who have exhausted all three lists are ready to look elsewhere for learning.  We will utilize this list for a variety of reasons -

1. Almost inexhaustible
2. Great resource for personalized spelling lists for kids with specific disciplinary interests
3. ACT/SAT prep
4. No copyright restrictions when used in the classroom setting
5. The super-spellers love it

Please click on the different lists to print or save to your home computer. 

May Crowning and Living Rosary

We invite all families and friends to a May Crowning Liturgy and Living Rosary honoring our Blessed Mother as Queen of Heaven and Mother of God. It will be held in church on Wednesday, May 6 at 1:30pm.  Students should bring their own rosary if possible. 

• Signed Tuition Contract
• Completed EFT form with voided check attached (Needs to be completed each year)
• School Fees

If plans have changed and you will not be attending St. John Vianney School next year, please alert the office. 

St. John Vianney School students will once again be participating in a Read-a-thon to raise funds to continue building the library for the children of our sister parish, Santisimo Sacramento, in Piura, Peru. The pledge drive will run May 4-10 and the Read-a-thon will run from May 11-17.  Please look in the Shamrock Weekly next week for more information and for ways you can support the SJV students as they help build a much needed library for the children at Mother of Good Counsel School. What a wonderful service opportunity- SJV students read to help the children in Piura read, too! 

We are proud to announce that the SJV Summer Camp is back for its second year! 

New for this year:

• The camp runs July 6-10 and 13-17 from 8:00-3:00.
• Sign up for one week or two, depending on summer schedules
• Opportunities for organized outdoor play (weather permitting) are offered every day at no extra charge.
• A greater variety of classes, including new classes, such as engineering with Legos, drama, and dance, along with some of the old favorites like cooking, technology and art!

By clicking on our SJV Summer Camp link, you will find everything you need to know, including class offerings and descriptions, schedules, pricing and registration information. If you are interested, please print the catalog, register for classes and return to the school office with payment at your earliest convenience.  Please note that registration closes on Friday, May 15. Please direct any questions to Dan Demeter or Chris Gordon. Thank you for considering our great summer camp!  

Mother-Daughter Dance sponsored by the 6th Grade Girl Scouts- Troop 2045 

Come and join us for the global adventure of a lifetime. Come to the Girl Scout Mother Daughter Dance!

Where: St. John Vianney School cafeteria

Who: All SJV mothers and daughters are invited

When: Saturday, May 16th from 6:30 to 8:30pm

Why: Celebrate moms and daughters and support Soles for Jesus

Bring: One pair of new or gently used shoes to donate to Soles for Jesus

Cost: $2 dollars each or $5 dollars per family

High Interest Day

Thank you to all who volunteered for High Interest Day!  We appreciate the time and commitment from our presenters and parent helpers.  The day was a big success and is one our children look forward to all year long.  Thank you, Rebecca, Jenni and Tina for your planning and organization!

Officer Team for 2015-16

Congratulations to our newly elected Executive Officers for next year!  Co-Chairs:  Stephanie Rossi & Laura Russell; Secretary:  Amy DiPiazza; Treasurer: Kris Tontis.  They will be installed at the luncheon in May and will begin their year July 1.

Committee Chair Openings

The following openings are available for the 2015-16 year:  Orientation Day (1 or 2), Public Relations (1); Schwanns (1), Hospitality (1), Forensics (1), S.T.E.M (Lego) Club (1); Playground Supply (1); Secret Santa (2).  Please consider volunteering today to lead these committees.  We have many parents ready to assist you.

Dine Out with SJV 

Celebrate Spring with your SJV family at Culver's in Elm Grove (15280 Bluemound Rd.) on Monday, May 4th from 5:00pm-8:00pm. Culvers will donate a percentage of all sales made during these hours. Simply say you are with SJV - No flyer necessary!

Schools across America take the time to celebrate teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week. The first full week in May has been designated as a time to honor teachers for their passion, hard work and dedication to educating children. Let's start Teacher Appreciation Week 2015 on Monday morning, May 4, with a special early morning breakfast for our teachers.  Thank you for taking the time to look at the list and for making your donation!

Please visit the Breakfast Food Sign Up Genius to sign up for your donation. 

Summer Vacation Bible School 2015

Children K4-5th grade are invited to EVEREST, June 22-26, 2015 from 9:00am to noon.  This week long adventure is full of music, Bible stories, prayer, games, crafts, snacks and so much more. Click here for the introduction letter and registration forms. Adult and teen volunteer forms are also included.   

SJV Parish Festival Volunteer Opportunities Now Available!

Many exciting jobs are available, sign up now for a shift or two, or three or four! at this year's festival, June 5, 6 and 7. 

Important details for online sign up:

• Online sign-ups take precedence over the hand-written ones in the Narthex
• ONE NAME PER LINE, please
• Please use upper and lower case lettering when entering name
• Please ask your teenage/high school student to gather their friends to work in Parking- they receive a FREE t-shirt and beverages
  (ahem, non-alcoholic) during their shift!

If you have problems registering or would like additional information, please contact the SJV festival volunteer organizer and SJV School parent/SJV catechist Kathy Uy 262-782-6778.  Thank you for being the best part of SJV's largest annual fundraiser- the warm, welcoming, friendly faces! 

Spotlight Youth Theater proudly presents: The Music Man, Junior  

We are excited to have eight SJV students in this production- Genevieve Baynes, Ella and Riley Connelly, Luc Demmon, Ellen, Emily and Erin Fricker and Olivia Kroeplin

We would love to see many SJV faces in the audience. Shows are:

• Friday May 8 - 7:00pm
• Saturday May 9 - 2:00 and 6:00pm
• Sunday May 10 - 3:00pm

Performances are at St. Thomas More High School- 2601 E. Morgan Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207

For tickets go to www.spotlight.org or talk to one of the SJV families and they would be happy to help you get tickets.  Spotlight's goal is to "reflect Christ through the performing arts."