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April 14, 2016
Hello Notre Dame Families!
CHRIST REJOICES IN OUR SCHOOL SPIRIT! Our school theme is so appropriate during the months of April and May. There are so many activities in the life of our school this time of year that reinforce C.R.O.S.S. in so many ways. It is my goal to share in my remaining letters how as a faith community we live our school theme each and every day.
At Mass yesterday, all of us were able to give witness in congratulating the second graders who have and will receive their First Communion. The third graders, Fr. Judah and Mr. Katona gave great affirmation to the second graders at Mass. All of the second grade students will celebrate as a school community their First Communion at the May Crowning on May 11.
The SECRET ISLAND ADVENTURE CARNIVAL is tomorrow night from 5-8 pm. in the middle school gym. There will be a cookout, carnival games, music and a photo booth. There will be two raffles that will have both small and large items for the winners. The students can also participate in BUCK FOR THE BEACH DRESS DOWN DAY Friday, April 15. Everyone who brings in their dollar, and the form that the students received will be entered into a special raffle. You are encouraged to wear your beach clothes to the Island Adventure tomorrow night.
We are celebrating National Library Week all week. The teachers have planned activities such as having the older students read to the younger students, students and staff dressing up as book characters, and have facilitated a Book Drive to benefit House of Hope, Family Services of Northeastern Wisconsin and St. Vincent de Paul Society. Celebrating National Library Week is a great way to make reading enjoyable as well as to provide a spirit of enthusiasm on the part of all of our students and staff.
On my Parent Education Page this week I have submitted a summary of the status of our Math Program in terms of change and growth. My goal in providing you this information is for you to see what your child has, is and will learn in Math at both the elementary and middle school level. My summary reflects the work and processing any curriculum revision must undergo, especially in a core subject area as Math. I want to thank those of you who have worked in making our Math program one that will demonstrate continued growth for all of our students.
You may have read on my Parent Education Page articles about what bullying is and is not. The word bullying in any context can raise major red flags. At the same time the word can often be overused. I have forwarded the teachers in grades 3 through 5 a survey that students fill out that assesses their own feelings about their relationship with other students in their grade. These grades were picked at random. Student surveys of this nature can guide the staff to observe, see and instruct students as to what appropriate behavior is when interacting with both peers and adults. I encourage you to share with your child(ren) anything on my page that can spur discussion at home. WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) is a great way to put relationship issues in a Catholic Christian context.
I hope you have been a regular reader of the Notre Dame FACEBOOK page. Social media can be a great means of showing the many "fun" moments we enjoy together. FACEBOOK also provides the community with the message that Notre Dame is a great place to be. Encourage your friends and neighbors to LIKE our FACEBOOK page.
The next middle school grade check will be Friday, April 22. Any middle school student who has a failing grade or whose GPA is below 2.0 will remain after school Tuesdays and Thursdays until the grades are at an acceptable level. Students who remain after school on these days will receive help and assistance from the appropriate middle school teachers. The main reason some middle school students have occasional poor grades pertains to work that is turned in late. Parents of students with low grades will be contacted Monday, April 25 regarding their child remaining after school. This time after is never meant to be taken in a punishment mode. All of us can agree that academic success is at the center of what we as educators do for each child.
Thank you for being so prompt in communicating to us regarding decisions you have made for your child's education next year. I am very encouraged with the number of families who have enrolled their child(ren) at Notre Dame for the upcoming school year. I realize I have written this many times, but you and your child(ren) are the best marketers of Notre Dame School.
Several weeks I ago I wrote about the items we currently have in the Lost and Found. We would like these items to be picked up by Monday, April 18. After that date we will be sending any lost items to one of the service organizations we work with such as St. Vincent de Paul. We also have books, water bottles and other items that students have lost and not retrieved.
I realize that April 15 can be a very stressful day for the adults, but if your child(ren) look at the Uniform Dress Code in the Parent Handbook they may be very pleased as to a particular item of clothing that can be worn the remainder of the school year. See if your child(ren) know of what this paragraph means.
In this weekend's readings from the Acts of Apostles, Paul and Barnabas begin to preach to the Gentiles. Their message of salvation was not well received and both Paul and Barnabas were expelled from the community. As the writer of Acts, Luke is teaching us that it is not easy to stand up for our belief in Jesus. Let us all continue to teach our children that doing the right thing is what Jesus wants us to do, even if it is unpleasant or if others do not agree with what we believe.
Have a great rest of the week! Incidentally, seven percent of people are left handed. Hooray for those very intelligent and special people.
God Bless,
James A. (Jim) Clark, Principal
"I CAN DO EVERYTHING THROUGH HIM WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH."
Philippians 4:13
Parent Education
Mr. Clark has set up a Education Post at the top of our webpage. This week he added the topic Math Curriculum Review for Notre Dame of De Pere . This site is updated constantly. There are many valuable tools in which parents can educate themselves in different aspects of their children's education. Very helpful information. Check it out here.
Athletic Banquet
Mark your calendars: There will be an athletic banquet for all the kids that participated in sports this school year and their parents on Thursday April 28th in the Middle School Gym. All athletes will received pins and letters at that time. Details to follow.
NDA - Cross Country Informational Meeting
For current 8th grade students. Sunday May 15th at 5:30. For more information please click here
From Above Bakery
Charity Auction ~ April 17th, 2016. Bidding starts at Noon!! 50/50 Raffle, hamburgers, hot dogs, walking tacos and yummy bakery of course. Credit and Debit accepted. For more information click here
National Library Week Service Project
National Library Week is April 11th-15th.
Our goal is to promote reading for children of all ages. This year, we are collecting NEW or VERY GENTLY USED BOOKS for children, ages birth - middle school. The books will be donated to the House of Hope, Family Services of NE Wisconsin and St. Vincent de Paul Society. These community outreach programs are in great need of books and are so grateful that we are willing to help them.
Please drop off your book donations at the elementary or middle school offices. Each classroom will also have a donation basket or bin.
Our book collection runs from Monday, April 4th - Friday, April 15th.
Thank you for your generosity and support to those in need.
¡Celebremos!
Friday May 6th GRACE Spanish teachers invite you to the first all GRACE celebration. Join us to celebrate the community, diversity and Christian Spirit that is GRACE. For more information please click here
Linc Darner's Boys Basketball Camp
Linc Darner"s Boys Basketball Day Camp at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a great opportunity for young boys aspiring to improve as basketball players. Through drills and competition this camp is designed to give kids a fun and exciting introduction to the fundamentals of basketball that will help maximize and develop their basket ball skills.
For more detailed information please click here.
GRACE Middle School Golf Tournament
This is a new event for middle school students. This event will be on Friday May 13th, starting at 4:30 pm. It will be at The Woods, on the east side of Green Bay.
This is similar to a high school meet. All golfers must know how to golf on their own. It is not a class.
More detail next week! At this time they just need to know if there are golfers in the GRACE schools who are interested. They tentatively have planned for 20 golfers. Information, questions and to sign up please contact Sue Aerts at saerts@gracesystem.org
Please HELP!!!!
We are in DESPERATE need for volunteers for lunch time. We need volunteers for the lunch room to help serve and also we need volunteers to help walk the middle school students over to the elementary school for lunch. Please Help!! We need you!! Please click here to sign up: Lunch Volunteer Help!!
SCRIP News
Are you still in need of some VOLUNTEER HOURS for the current school year?
The SCRIP office is looking for a few more volunteers to help sell SCRIP during the remainder of the year! There are morning and afternoon shifts available as well as opportunities in both the Middle and Elementary buildings... Choose whatever fits best with your schedule.
If you have never sold SCRIP before ~ training will be available!
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