Thank you, once again, for arriving on time on Monday, so that your children could participate in the prayer service for the second week of Advent. We listened to the story of the Annunciation and prayed that when God asks us to do His will, we will act accordingly. This week also, the students in grades three through eight received the Sacrament of Reconciliation.   Tonight, Mrs. Becky Kelly will direct the students in grades three through five for their Christmas program and next week, the primary grades and preschoolers will delight us. As we continue to prepare the way for the birth of Christ, and celebrate the third week of Advent, please come early again on Monday.

By now you have had time to review your students' report cards and the ITBS results (families in grades two through eight). Even though we are in a holiday mode, it is important that you take the time with your child to set goals for continued improvement. At our recent faculty meetings we have been studying the assessment data from class and standardized tests results. We concluded that the area that still needs attention is in math computation. In all other areas we score well above the national average.   The ability to compute is foundational and essential. To improve mastery of math facts we need your help. By the end of third grade, students are expected to be fluent in their multiplication and division facts to 100!   And they need to maintain this fluency! This means that the students should be adding and subtracting fluently by the end of second grade. Practice in the car, going up and down stairs, count, skip count, add, subtract, multiply, divide! Use Mathletics and Xtramath.org as drills. Use flash cards and playing cards and even the lights on your Christmas tree and have fun with numbers!

Thank you for your continued support. Your involvement in your child's learning is key to his/her success.