Dear Parents and Friends,

God bless,

Mrs. Mann

Tonight's meeting for families interested in hosting an international student next year has been canceled due to inclement weather.

That French Show

Students in Padua's French classes will perform live in That French Show on Tuesday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m. The show is free and open to the public.

Report Cards

The third marking period closed on Wednesday, March 20.  Report cards including third quarter grades will be posted to NetClassroom by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27.  If there is any difficulty accessing report cards on NetClassroom, please contact Leslie Fundakowski, Academic Dean.

Diocesan Pilgrimage

This past Saturday 130 Padua students join over 1,200 teens from across the Diocese on a walking faith journey through the streets of Wilmington, stopping at St. Thomas, St. Anthony, St. Francis Hospital, St. Paul, St. Hedwig and finally St. Elizabeth for Mass. In approximately 9 hours, our students traveled the road of Holy Week, celebrating Reconciliation, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Stations of the Cross and the Eucharistic Feast of our Mass. Though it is a long and tiring day, our students left with a feeling of deep accomplishment and stronger sense of their relationship with Jesus Christ. We thank all of the teachers and coaches who accompanied our students Saturday. They showed with each step that they indeed lead by example.    

Inspirational Concert 

This past Thursday, we were entertained and challenged by Christian singer/songwriter John Angotti. Throughout his music, John talked about the "God Moments" of our lives. He reminded our girls how God works in our lives as they begin to recognize Christ in each other and in their work in the world. God shows His love for others through them.

We talk so much about safe schools and positive communities, but a truly safe school is a Jesus centered one - where the focus is shifted from ourselves to others - such as in the lyrics the girls sang with Mr. Angotti, "Can You Imagine." 

Padua to Honor Former First Lady on May 9th 

Former First Lady Laura Bush is taking the lead when it comes to women's issues. In addition to a fellowship program, the Laura Bush Institute is expanding its programs in Africa and Afghanistan to aid women in need of educational access and health care. Click here to see her recent interview with CNN's Erin Burnett regarding her initiatives for women's empowerment.  

Mrs. Bush will be the honoree on May 9, 2013 at the Padua Academy Dinner in Honor of Women's Achievement at the Chase Center in Wilmington, DE. A limited number of tickets remain. Click here for more information and to register for the event. Click here to watch Mrs. Mann's interview with Comcast Spotlight about Padua's annual dinner and award program.

Padua Partnering with Girls' School in Pakistan

Catholic Youth Ministry's St. Timothy Award 

The St. Timothy Award is the highest recognition from the NFCYM for a diocese to confer to a junior or senior high school youth who lives as a disciple of Christ, sets a positive example for other youth, witnesses to their faith by exhibiting Catholic morals and integrity, demonstrates Gospel values through service to others, and exhibits Christian leadership in parish, school, and/or community settings. This year we had a tie, and the CYM Office agreed to allow us to nominate two outstanding seniors. This honor will be bestowed upon Kathleen Moore and Natalie Roddy this year. Congratulations to two outstanding seniors. 

Three Juniors Headed to US Naval Academy's Summer Seminar  

Uniform Ordering Reminders

The Spring Uniform begins when we return from Easter Break on Monday, April 8th. Students who bulk ordered socks for spring may pick them up after school on Tuesday, March 26th in the cafeteria. Socks will be on sale in the bookstore if needed. They are $5 per pair.

Fall uniform orders will be taken on Thursday, April 18 at Padua. This is the time to order for next year! We do not recommend going to the store. Students often pick up the wrong items at stores and items can be back-ordered by early summer. If the student is still growing, the company will be back in late September to take orders for slacks.

Next year is the last year for the rising seniors to wear items from the former gray uniform. Only members of the Class of 2014, next year's senior class, are permitted to wear burgundy sweaters, grey wool skirts, and the dark gray, pleated-front slacks ("manpants") from that uniform. No student currently in grades 9 or 10 is permitted to wear the former slacks, as indicated in the Student Handbook. They must have the light grey regulation slacks of the new uniform. Please order these if necessary. There will be one used uniform sale for Seniors (Date TBA). Skirts and shirts will be $10 each. "Manpants" will be $20 each. Maroon socks and sweaters are still available through Flynn & O'Hara. No one will be permitted to wear these items but next year's Seniors.  There is a very limited supply of "manpants" available. Current seniors are encouraged to donate their "manpants" to the school for resale, or to sell or give them directly to a current junior. Please do not write on them or destroy them. Other students need them.

Replacing Shoes for Current Sophomores

When our long time SAS "nun shoes" went out of production two years ago, we tried an Easy Spirit oxford for the Class of 2015. Though this was a reputable brand this shoe wore out quickly, lacked proper support and padding, and was not very comfortable. We strongly suggest that parents replace these shoes with the current SAS uniform shoe that is very supportive, comfortable, and made to last. The company will be here on April 18. An order form is available on our website.

IMPORTANT- SAVE THE DATE- SCHOOL ID PICTURE DAY

On TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, Lifetouch will be at school to take school ID pictures. Pictures will be taken from Noon-7:00 p.m. We will send instructions about making an appointment via email a little later in the school year. We are aware that some families will be out of town on vacation. There will be a make-up day early in the school year for those few students who are unavailable. Laptops will be issued that day for freshmen and any upperclassmen who switched to the school laptop program.

Why are ID Pictures Important? Every student must have an ID card for the first week of school. They are needed for seating charts, as a name badge for personal identification, for food purchases, and for library use. Students are expected to use their ID card to pay for lunch. Parents are welcome to refill the card with a credit card online, or may avoid fees by sending a check via Bill Pay, US Mail, or having the student drop it off. Checks received by 10 am can be added for lunch that day. Please keep the account replenished. Students are not permitted to charge lunches if there is no money left in the account. This slows down the lunch line.

Reminders about Early Dismissals

Schools are held to high standards of accountability for student safety. We take our responsibility for the safety of each student very seriously. We have a structured system for handling tardies, early dismissals, and nurse dismissals. The minor inconvenience of diligence is important for the safety of our students. It is very hard for a student to catch up from missing class for early dismissals. Classes meet only every other day, causing students to lose continuity with scattered absences. Parents are asked to schedule doctor appointments on days with 1:40 dismissals whenever possible. Students are required to bring a note requesting an early dismissal in the morning, so that the dismissal will appear on the Attendance Sheet, and every teacher will know why the student is not in class. Students are not allowed to drive themselves home when dismissed by the nurse for sickness if they have a fever, are dizzy, groggy, physically impaired, over-tired or any other condition that might put them at risk for an accident. This is a liability issue that requires caution on the part of the school. We ask parents understanding that we cannot allow students to drive in these circumstances. If the student texts a parent when she is ill, the parent should instruct her to ask to go to the nurse right away.   The nurse will call the parent if the student is ill. Students may not realize that they have a high fever or a serious condition. If a parent shows up at school without a call from the nurse, the student will receive consequences for violating safety procedures.  

Padua Academy will embark on a new recycling program beginning Monday, April 8! We currently are recycling cardboard, but we will add to that the collection of mixed paper, glass bottles, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans. Following are the details of the program:

• The program will start Monday, April 8, 2013.
• Blue recycling containers will be delivered Tuesday evening to classrooms, offices, work areas, the Cafetorium, the Gymnasium, the Teacher's Lounge, the Copy Room, and the Annex.
• White paper, colored paper, envelopes with plastic windows, tape, lightweight cardboard, file folders, and manila envelopes can be thrown into the containers designated for paper. It is not necessary to remove staples from paper. The mills are designed to remove these contaminants from pulp.
• Plastic bottles, glass bottles and aluminum cans can all be thrown into the same container designated for such. Those containers will be located in the Cafetorium, the Gymnasium, and the Teacher's Lounge. The recyclables will be removed on a daily basis.
• Classrooms: The recyclables will be removed, along with regular trash, on a daily basis. Please place the blue containers along with your regular trash can, at the end of the school day, in the corridors for pickup.
• Recyclables will be removed from the Main Office, the Annex offices, the Cafetorium, the Gymnasium, and the Teacher's Lounge as regular trash gets removed.

If you have any questions about our recycling program, please contact Mark Talmo, mtalmo@paduaacademy.org.

To All Parents - Senior Memory Book

Parents who would like to submit a line about a favorite senior for their Memory Book can email it to paduamemorybook2013@gmail.com They can send their payments to the office marked memory book with their name and the senior's name.

To All Senior Parents Only

Two letters were emailed last week to all parents of Seniors. We are in need of a chair for the After Prom as well as 30 chaperones for the night of the after prom, and other committee volunteers. If you are interested, please send an email to  Paduamemorybook2013@gmail.com and someone will get back to you with more information.

The products that we are selling are everybody's favorites. Friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers should be more than willing to help out. Seniors were invited to a meeting on Monday, March 18th, and given the specifics of the product and the sale. They now have an order form and brochure that describes the cookie dough choices. Please note that shelf life on all products is one year. Delivery will be made at Padua on April 30th.

STEPS TO THE SALE:

• This is a money up-front program, so when taking orders make sure to collect the money at time of order.
• We will accept personal checks written out to PADUA ACADEMY or money orders. If you collect cash from your customers, please write one check for the total amount of cash collected to Padua Academy and send in that one amount.
• When it is time to turn in your order, please transfer your grand totals of each flavor sold onto the TALLY SHEET provided. TURN IN TALLY SHEET ONLY, and the checks made payable to Padua Academy.
• ALL ORDERS AND PAYMENT MUST BE TURNED IN ON APRIL 8TH, 2013. NO ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS DATE.
• All sellers will be notified well in advance of when the delivery will take place.

PRIZES

• STUDENTS WHO MAKE 10 SALES will receive a Special Custom-Designed Padua Senior Class T-Shirt.
• TOP SELLER - $100.00 CASH PRIZE

Families, we would like to thank you in advance for helping our Seniors accomplish their goals by participating in this very important fundraising sale. Any questions can be directed to the Senior Class Moderator, Ms. Mary Lammert, mlammert@paduaacademy.org. 

Monday, 3/25 (Cycle 5)

Early Dismissal for Inclement Weather

International Host Family Meeting Canceled - New Date TBA 

Tuesday, 3/26 (Cycle 6)

That French Show, 3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 3/27 (Cycle 7)

Report Cards Distributed

Stations of the Cross

3/28-4/5

Easter Break 

Monday, 4/8 (Cycle 1)