St. Charles Catholic School Weekly News 
March 7, 2016
Students in grades 3-8 will be taking the Iowa Assessments™ beginning March 14 along with students from all of the Kansas City Diocesan Elementary Schools. Testing will take place each morning. Teachers and staff have made plans to provide a positive testing experience by preparing students through discussions regarding test-taking, preparing the rooms and materials, and planning a schedule which provides for taking breaks and minimizing distractions. During next week, NO HOMEWORK will be assigned that has to be done the night before testing or that will be due on a day when standardized tests are being administered.
About the Iowa Assessments
The Iowa Assessments help determine how students are performing on nationwide standards. These assessments measure achievement in several important content areas including Vocabulary, Word Analysis, Reading, Listening, Language, Mathematics, Computation, Social Studies, and Science. The exact tests that your student takes will depend on his or her grade level.
The Iowa Assessments help teachers identify a student's strengths and areas that may need additional emphasis. The Iowa Assessments also measure student growth and progress in the content areas assessed from year to year. The assessments produce information that enables sound decision making and provides a focus for teachers to evaluate instruction. 
Each test includes sample questions to help students become familiar with the content and format of the tests. Samples help inexperienced test takers understand what to do-how to mark answers and move from question to question.
Most questions are read aloud, and students mark their choices in their test booklets by filling in a circle for each question. All test questions are multiple choice.
How your student can prepare for test taking-and what you can do to help
Parents can also assist their children in having a good week of testing by doing the following:
  • Taking the week of no homework for grades 3-8 as an opportunity to go for family walks, get exercise, and enjoy the outdoors in the evenings.
  • Continuing with the same evening and bedtime routines to help your child get a good night's sleep.
  • Providing ample time in the morning to eat an unhurried, healthy breakfast
  • Getting your child to school on time.
  • Avoid doctor's medical appointments during this week, especially before lunch.
  • Being calm and positive when talking about testing, assuring your child that all you expect is their best effort.
  • Remind your student that these tests are only one part of the school day. Emphasize that you have confidence in his or her ability to do the best job possible.
  • Remind your student to listen carefully to the directions and to each question as it is read aloud during testing. Encourage your student to ask the teacher for help if he or she does not understand the directions.
Score reporting and how we use test results
The school will receive test scores towards the end of the school year. These scores will indicate how your student performed on the tests compared with students across the nation in the same grade. Discuss the test results with your student, and if you have any questions, contact your child's teacher. Our teachers will use the results to help improve individual and whole group achievement.
Thank you very much for encouraging and supporting your student during testing. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's teacher or Principal Ann Lachowitzer.

Sincerely,
Ann Lachowitzer
Principal
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My Student's Progress
Lunch Program
Athletics
Registration
Preschool and K-8
K-8 Registration - Registration forms for the upcoming school are due back soon!
 
Preschool Registration - We understand that choosing the right preschool that best meets the intellectual, spiritual, physical, artistic, and social needs of your child and family is a significant decision, gratifying and at times intimidating. As parents and educators, we firmly believe that parents are the experts and our job as educators is to join them. Our school is here to help you throughout this process and determine if St. Charles Catholic School is the right educational path for your child.  If you are thinking about enrolling your child in our accredited program and have not toured our school, please call to schedule a time, 816-436-1009.
Athletics
 
CONGRATULATIONS to our 5th & 6th grade Chargers basketball teams!
St. Joseph Table Tradition
Friday, March 18, 2016
 
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (school)
1:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (public)
Borromeo Hall
Enjoy Pasta Milanese, pasta with plain sauce, bread, frozia, and beverage

SCHOOL FATHER'S MASS/ST. JOSEPH TABLE AGENDA:
8:45 a.m.
Fathers Arrive - Please join your child on their way to Mass
9:00 a.m.
Mass
10:00 a.m.
Table Blessing; fathers may stay and wait downstairs for your child to return or speak to the teacher to see if it is okay for you to come back to the classroom with your child
Lunch Served (Free-Will Donation Recommended):
11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: Pre K - 4th Grade
11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.: Grades 5-8

We are in need of parent volunteers to help greet, serve, bus tables and clean up during our St. Joseph Table event.  Please consider donating your time and talents.  We appreciate your support!

To sign up, please click HERE
Weekly School Mass & Reconciliation
Please join us as we celebrate weekly Mass every Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. Each homeroom takes turns planning Mass throughout the school year.  That same week, one grade level will attend Reconciliation.
Mass:
March 8 - 3rd Grade (W.)
March 15 - 3rd Grade (S.)
March 22 - 2nd Grade
Reconciliation:
March 10 - 2nd Grade
March 17 - 8th Grade (P.)
Positive Perks
The following students received a positive perk for exemplifying positive behavior.


Bartkoski
Zachary
 
 
Bednar
Jacob
Mitchell
Benji
Burns
Ethan
Pileggi
David
Caime
John
Quintero
Christian
Caime
Giovanna
Quintero
Joshua
Coffer
Neva
Russell
Colt
Enna
Bella Rose
Russell
Wesley
Epperson
Joe
Scott
Ryan
Garza
Austin
Simone
Mia
Hennessey
Abigail
Simone
Mia
Henton
Audrey
Toney
Alex
Hood
Riley
Toney
Alex
Hood
Elaina
Vogt
Lauren
Leinen
Owen
White
Olivia
Medina
Eric
Whitebread
Kayla
Melton
Morgan
Zuniga
Alex
Youth Ministry


Camp Savio 2016
6th, 7th and 8th grade students

Middle School
Week 1: June 6-11
Week 2: June 13-18
Cost: $375.00

High School
June 21-24
Cost: $325.00
Questions:
Jen DeCoster
jdecoster@stcharleskc.com
816-436-0880 ext. 216
For Your Information:

Tuesday, March 8
Track practice begins, 3:15-4:15p.m.
 
Friday, March 11
NO SCHOOL; Extended Care - Open (Educator Ministry Formation Day)
St. Charles Borromeo Parish Fish Fry, 4:00p.m.- 8:00p.m.
 
Save the Date:
Tuesday, May 3 - May Crowning, 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, May 10 - Final Charger Breakfast, one parent may attend! 9:50 A.M. More information to follow 

PLEASE NOTE:
  • Revised April Pizza Lunch Dates: April 7 and April 21
  • Due to the Annual St. Joseph Table Tradition, the March Smoothie King lunch date will be moved up to Wednesday, March 16.  Completed orders with payment are due to the office by Thursday, March 10th
     
  • Pizza Lunch - March 17 (Treats available for purchase)
  • Smoothie King - March 16 CLICK TO ORDER

Upcoming events














Happy Birthday!
Blair R. - March 4th
Bella R. - March 9th
Landon T. - March 9th

Trash Bags For Sale!
We are once again selling trash bags to help with our 8th grade class activities and gift back to the school when we graduate. The price is $10 per roll.  We carry the following 3 sizes in strong, durable trashbags:
  • Blue Bags: Supersize bags - 55 gallons - holds 2 full yellow bags or 3 to 4 white bags
  • Yellow bags: Garage/yard can size  -  39 gallons - holds 2 full white bags
  • White bags - Kitchen size - 15 gallons
For your convenience, Trash Bags are sold by the roll or case through the kindness of our school secretary, Linda Krickle, in the school office.  If you have a particular 8th grade student you know and would like to credit them with your purchase, please mention their name at the time of sale. Our 8th grade students thank you in advance for your support! 
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Parenting Tips
From Jim Fay of Parenting with Love and Logic
For the vast majority of us, life is challenging. As loving and responsible parents, we do our best to provide for our families. We either work demanding jobs away from home or oftentimes tougher ones at home. Many of you do both...and you do both well.

If you're like me, the daily stress and exertion of life can take its toll on your patience and your tone of voice with the ones you love the very most. I've never met someone who didn't face this challenge on a daily basis. It falls under the category of "life."

While we can't take the stress out of living, we can do our best to remember a few key things:

Expecting no stress creates more.
Knowing that life is stressful for all of us...and that this is the standard state of affairs...can go a long way toward helping us avoid being overwhelmed by it. Take a Love and Logic class from one of our local facilitators. You'll see that you are not alone.

Seeing purpose in stress creates hope.
Every difficulty we face can either erode us or grow us. When we look for the growth and learning opportunities each trial brings, our perspective remains far more positive.

Emotional connections with others make it seem smaller.
Many of us withdraw or throw ourselves more deeply into our work when we feel stressed. As a result, we isolate ourselves from the relationships that give us the most strength. Again, taking a local class can really help.
 
Remember daily that our kids are looking to us for calm leadership.
As we all know, kids take their emotional cues from the adults around them. When we can keep ourselves positive in the face of stress, will our kids be more likely to do the same?
 
When we can talk to them in a tone that truly communicates our love for them, will they respond in far more positive ways?
Don't expect yourself or your kids to be perfect.
 
We all get snippy and snappy from time to time. Forgiveness is a wonderful thing!