Our
Lady of the Pillar School
Newsworthy Notes
Vol. 18 Issue 2 September 2,
2005
| Notes
from Sister Therese Marie |
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JUBILARIANS CELEBRATE IN ST. LOUIS
Seven Marianists celebrated their jubilees on June 5 at Our Lady of the Pillar parish in St. Louis. Concelebrating the Eucharist were Frs. Robert Osborne and Jim Tobin; Fr. Joe Uvietta gave the homily. A social and dinner followed. Shown at Our Lady of the Pillar, from left, Fr. Jim Tobin (50 years), Bro. Rich Middleton (60 years), Bro. Roberto Hanss (50 years), Bro. Bob Wood (60 years), Fr. Robert Osborne (50 years), Bro. Greg DeMoor (60 years) and Bro. Jim Droste (50 years). Congratulations to the jubilarians! (from www.marianist.com) Congratulations, Father
Tobin,
The school year began with the Eucharistic Celebration in Honor of the Holy Spirit. Father Tobin reminded the children to pray to the Holy Spirit who is our friend and companion. Father Wightman concelebrated the Mass. The Youth Choir, Bell Choir, 6th and 7th grade flag and banner bearers, and the 8th grade portrayal of the Reading helped us begin this year on a high note. The blessing of the new students took place while the congregation sang the Blessing Song.
Our weekly newsletter comes home every Friday with the oldest child in the family. Please read it carefully to keep up with school news. To submit your important announcements in Newsworthy Notes, please e-mail Mrs. McNulty at tmcnulty@olpillar.com by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday of a regular week and by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday of a short week. Anything submitted after those times will be saved for the following week. At the same time, please e-mail Judy Rieke at jrieke22@swbell.net for items to be printed on the school web site.
Parents, please
make sure your child/children have a note of permission on file
in the School office by Tuesday, Sept. 6. If you have not sent a
note, Insurance Forms If you are interested in purchasing insurance found in your packet, please return the form to the office by September 9th.
You might have seen the United Way of Greater St. Louis poster displayed throughout the city. Cami Garland, Our Lady of the Pillar School, Class of 2001, appears on the poster. She is also a graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy and is now a freshman at Yale University. For a link to the United Way Missouri website where Cami's own story and photo are featured, click here. Cadet Daniel Spellacy, Class of ‘98, was honored for outstanding academic achievement at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Also, Daniel has been named as one of 18 new commanders to lead the Corps of Cadets as a company commander for the coming year. Bridget Atwood, Class of ‘98, has been accepted as a theology minor at St. Louis University. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa, the National Honor Society for Religious and Theological Studies.
Grocery Store Coupons Dierberg's and Schnuck's gift cards will be sold in the car pool line on Mondays and Thursdays again this year. Both stores now use the convenient gift card; no more paper coupons. Shop-n-Save will no longer be available. OLP earns 5% on all sales and all proceeds benefit our computer lab. Please support this simple fundraiser for our school. The earnings really add up! BELLARMINE SPEECH Welcome to another year of Bellarmine Speech. We hope to see lots of interest from the students, as always. This means we need interest and involvement from parents as well. Judges
carrying a green or orange card are ready to judge again this year.
If your card is red, then it has expired, and you will need to attend
a workshop again. Judges
workshop dates:
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at stm@olpillar.com |
OLP Students and Student Council will be sponsoring a fund raiser to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The week of September 6-9th a raffle will be held during the lunch periods. Chances are 50 cents a piece or 3 for a dollar. We will be raffling off jars of candy and other surprises that the children can view in the cafeteria. All proceeds will go to Catholic Charities. Parents please encourage your children to be generous at this time of need. You may also write a tax deductible check made payable to “Catholic Charities USA.” The check will be applied to purchase raffle tickets for your children. School Handbook Have you read our new revised School Handbook? It can be found on the OLP website under the School link or by clicking here. After you and your children have read it, print the Handbook acceptance form and sign that you have read the hand-book and understand the policies and expectations of Our Lady of the Pillar School. The Computer Use Policy and Web Publishing Permission forms found on the website must also be printed, completed and returned to school. These forms are kept in the office. You will be contacted if these forms hae not been returned. We would like to highlight a few points in our handbook.
If you are planning to work with children as a volunteer, coach, etc., it is mandatory that you attend “Protecting God’s Children”. There are many such meetings at different parishes. Note the times and dates for these meetings on the following web site: www.archstl.org/children/children.html Fall Fund Raiser The wrapping paper/candy fund raiser is well under way. Don’t forget to go out and sell. This fund raiser is important for our students and the school The monies received from the sale bring to the school the ‘extras’ that are not in the budget. Your interest and cooperation in this project are greatly appreciated.
Please continue to save box tops. The first pick-up will be on September 22nd and the three highest classes will have a dress-down day on September 29th. Remember to cut the "box top" coupon along the dotted lines. The box tops we turn in are those that have an expiration date on them. Sometimes the real Box Top coupon is on the back of a label or box. We do not turn in Betty Crocker points. Additionally, OLP earns Box Top funds when you purchase items online through the Box Tops Booster Club. One OLP family just purchased a computer through the Box Tops Booster Club. Log on to the boxtops4education.com website for details on how to support OLP with your online purchases. You'll be surprised at the amazing number of stores participating in this program. Eddie Bauer, Lands' End, Staples, Office Depot, Dell, Barnes and Noble -- check out the Marketplace online!
Boys Grades 1 through 5! Join the adventure! Join Pillar's Pack 490. Camping -- Hiking -- Canoeing -- Service to God and Country. A discussion of this year's activities will be presented to parents while new scouts participate in scouting activities outdoors. Questions?
Call Mark Milburn @ 314-997-6193 /
Sign up now to participate in these activities offered through Our Lady of the Pillar Parish. Deadlines are soon. For applications and information on these activities (practices,responsibilites) link here
Please add
to Kindergarten: |
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| Class News and Student Activities |
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Kindergarten News The little books from our reading series will be sent home on Thursday. Please read them with your child. They contain all of our “sight words.” Aug 26 - We have had a wonderful start. Our children are happy and enthusiastic. They have eagerly begun work in their workbooks. We will be working hard with our letters and sounds. In Art class this week, we will be making dogs. To go along with this theme, we will celebrate “The Dog Days of Summer”. On Monday, the children may bring a stuffed dog, a picture of a dog, and a favorite book about a dog to share with the class. First Grade News Sept 2 - The first grade class is off to a great start. The children are settling into their routine and are making a smooth transition to first grade. We have spent time getting to know each other and going over the many things this school year will bring. They are enthusiastic and eager to learn. The children are working on identifying complete and incomplete sentences, as well as recognizing digraphs. It will be a busy year and I look forward to working with your children, as well as each one of you. Second Grade News Sept 2 - Second grade is in full swing and doing great. Every day I am greeted with smiles and enthusiasm. It's wonderful! In Religion class we are learning about the Blessed Trinity, and how Jesus used parables to tell of God's love for each one of us. We have a big year ahead, as we prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion. PLEASE SAVE THE DATE of OCTOBER 4th for the second grade Reconciliation retreat. All 2nd grade students and parents are required to attend. I will send home additional information in a few weeks. Until then, thanks to all of you for helping the children get off to a GREAT start. Third Grade News Sept 2 - Our Honor of Mary Medal begins its journey around the room this week. Paige Kendrick was caught performing an act of kindness for a classmate, so she will wear the medal for a week. We are on the lookout for friends being kind to others. We spent quite a bit of time Monday afternoon discussing rules to live by in our classroom and at school in general. Your children came up with lots of great ideas for making our class a fun and peaceful place to learn. Most of the ideas flow from the theory that we should “Always show respect for each other and the rules.” Now we will see how well we can live by them. Enjoy the long weekend! Aug
26 - Welcome to the Third Grade !!! Your children have already received a Solid Gold Spelling List to keep at home to help them prepare for Friday spelling tests and spelling sentences. Hopefully the lists have been placed in a safe place. Have a great weekend. Fifth Grade News Sept 2 - The fifth grade has had a very exciting first week of school. We have made it through a full week of our new schedules, had at least one quiz, learned some delightful Spanish, and made a new friend or two. We are busy writing paragraphs, studying Spelling, and learning about our faith. All of us are planning to participate in our Friday morning Masses; and we've talked, drawn, and written about how we can follow our school motto, "Be An Apostle" this year. Math, Science, and Literature are keeping us busy every night--that's great! We will also be visiting our school library this week looking for great authors, good books, and, maybe if we're lucky, something spooky and scary! We're all reading, thinking, planning, learning, and enjoying being back together. Mrs. Atwood made it through the first week, also; and she only had one blister! Have a great week! Aug
26 - School is off to a wonderful start for our 30 fifth
graders. A BIG welcome to Katherine Taylor!!! We are working hard
reading and following schedules, finding our classrooms, and adjusting
to our new location at the other end of the building. All the students
and I, Mrs. Atwood, are ready to have a great year after enjoying
exciting and busy summers. (Cont.) September is a busy month. The fifth grade will be starting the DARE Program and will make a field trip to visit the retired Franciscan Sisters who will be our Pen Pals this year. We are ready to make this year's school motto, "Be An Apostle", come alive. Have a great year, one filled with joy and excitement!
"The wisest mind has something yet to learn." - George Santayana "One who does not look ahead remains behind." - Brazilian proverb "All things are difficult before they are easy." - Italian proverb |
News from Mrs. Ryan Sept 2 - Thanks, Mrs. Bick and Mrs. Duval for organizing our Sixth Grade Volunteer Forms. Please send the completed forms to school with your students. We do have a great year ahead of us and your volunteer spirit and generous donations are greatly appreciated! We’re developing topography skills in our 6th Science classes and the 5th graders are paying close attention to the Skills Handbook of their Science books to build their vocabulary to think like a scientist. The 6th graders are preparing an upper grade Mass for Sept. 9, the Feast of St. Peter Claver, and we are studying the first books of the Old Testament. Aug 26 - Welcome to our new classmates, Berkeley Combs and Mary Cate O’Brien! You’ve joined a very positive, hardworking team and our Teamworks field trip is scheduled for September 13! The sixth graders have made some signs for our classroom. As part of our school theme “Be an Apostle”, these colorful signs direct us along our daily path, helping us to show we are God’s people! In Science we’re employing quantitative and qualitative methods to map the earth and sky. The fifth graders have jumped into problem solving in both Science and Literature. We’ve learned impossible things are happening every day because of Math, Science, Reading and Writing! (Yeah, Cinderella had that fairy Godmother, didn’t she?) Notes from Mrs. Jones Sept 2 - 7th grade has been working very diligently on studying minerals. We have been identifying specimens, looking at salt cystals under microscopes, and examining crystal structure itself. We are also looking forward to having Dr. Paula Miller, an organic chemist, visit our school on Sept. 8th, to speak with the 7th and 8th grade about the Science Fair and the procedures involved. I am equally
excited about enrolling the 7th and 8th grade classes in a PhysicsQuest.
The contest is sponsored by the American Physical Society,
in College Park, Maryland. We are moving
quickly along the timeline of history. 7th graders are working in
groups to create giant Foldables. These will organize and present
large chunks of history Seventh Grade News Aug 26 - We are off to a great beginning! We would like to welcome Tori Davis to our class, she is a wonderful addition. This year is Science Fair year and we are already brainstorming and choosing topics. We are also looking forward to working with a Science Outreach group that is sponsored by Pfizer Corporation. This will enable the students to have access to professionals in the field and make connections to the everyday world. Eighth Grade News Sept 2 - Father Tobin led us in a prayer service in our classroom, called us to be the leaders of the school and blessed us with holy water. We renewed our baptismal vows and answered the call by promising to be dedicated leaders. We are reading TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and working hard on our first writing pieces Aug 26 - My name is Yajaira Guédez de Jurado and I will be your child’s Spanish teacher. I was born in Venezuela. I came to USA eleven years ago to do research in Immunogenetics of diseases at University of Tennessee, Memphis. More recently, I have been teaching Spanish in enrichment programs and summer camps at Catholic and public schools in Missouri and Illinois. Currently, I am working on my Master in Secondary Education (field; foreign languages, with focus on Hispanic culture) at UMSL. The methods that I will be using at OLP follow the International Educational Systems (IES) design. The methods recreate a process of language acquisition which is similar to the way children learn their primary language. Several things make the program unique:
The tapes are designed to tune student ears to the inflections of native speakers and immerse students in the language. I will encourage my students to listen to the tapes at home a minimum of 5 minutes a day. Family support and input is extremely important. The more students listen to the tapes the more they enhance retention, comprehension, and conversational development. The tapes will most likely be difficult to understand at the beginning of the course. It is normal not to understand everything. Over time and with repeated listening, students will understand more and more. Books of some of our curriculum (K-6) are almost completely devoid of writing. This is intentional. The purpose is to teach students to understand and speak the spoken language. The workbooks are designed to allow students to follow along with the audio tapes and to link spoken vocabulary with visual images. The material simulates an oral immersion learning process. Readings and writing activities will be gradually introduced in class to 3rd-8th grade students. I will be sending
home the books, tapes, and instructions on how the students should
use the material. Please feel free to contact me anytime (home phone
#: 314-542-4276, voice mail #:314-993-6436 ext. 126, or e-mail address
at yjurado@olpillar.com
for questions or comments. I am eager to pass my love for language
on to your child! Yajaira B. Guédez de Jurado |
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Holy
Spirit Mass
Newsworthy
Notes
Cafeteria
Update 
Important
notice for walkers/
Alumni
News
Reminder:
All emergency and student health information was to be sent to the
School Office by Monday, August 29th. 
RAFFLE
TO HELP THE HURRICANE VICTIMS
Mandatory
Meeting
SCHOOL
NIGHT TO JOIN CUB SCOUTING 
Youth
Choir and Bell Choir and Altar Servers
Please
make this change to your OLP Phone Directory:
Sept
2 - Hot Diggity Dog Kindergarten is having a dog-gone
good time. We have shared our favorite dog books, enjoyed a “
puppy chow “ treat, and a visit from O.L.P.’s favorite
dog, Beau. Mrs. Baker has taught us fun dog songs, including “
How Much Is That Doggy In The Window.”
The
Wise Old Owl is back again! 
¡
Bienvenidos al curso de Español !