November 18, 2009
Dear Parents,
How would you like to have a personal tutor for your child? For those of you with multiple children, this might seem impossible. Who could afford it?
Well, Lincoln City Libraries has tapped into a fabulous on-line tutorial program called “Brainfuse.” A representative demonstrated its potential to our teachers at the last faculty meeting and I think this holds GREAT possibilities to help our children with many different skills.
Here are some more details:
Log on at any Lincoln City Library or from home. It’s free! You just need a City Library Card number.
Your child will be put in contact with a live tutor (screened and secure) to work on skills or answer questions.
Tutors are trained to help your child understand the topic and not just give answers.
No time limits for length of sessions!
Writing Lab is especially a great tool. Students can submit a paper and receive it back within 24 hours with corrections and suggestions. Some students in St. Peter’s Junior High have already used this service with great success. (Mrs. Caradori is very pleased with it, too!)
No tutor can replace the powerful influence of a parent in a child’s life, but sometimes they can certainly be a helpful tool. You might want to check out this tutorial program for your own children! Just go to www.lincolnlibraries.org On the homepage click on the link down the left side called “Linc for Kids.” This screen will then have a link on the right side called “Homework Help Now.” If you click here, you will have the opportunity to check out a sample tutorial session. Or, log in your library number and let your child get started with either homework help or skill-building sessions.
In the Heart of Christ the King,
Sister Mary Alma, C.K.
EARLY DISMISSAL this Friday, November 20 at 1:30pm due to the Faculty Meeting.
NO SCHOOL next Wed.-Thurs.-Fri., November 25, 26, 27 – Happy Thanksgiving!
TARDY & SICK STUDENTS Parents, if your child is going to be tardy or is sick for the day, please call the school office as soon as possible with this information. Also, please mention if your tardy student will be needing hot lunch. Some days there are numerous students whose parents have not called in their late/sick child; and in an effort to keep all students safe, we need to know who is at school.
NOTE ON DISMISSAL The office gets numerous phone calls at the end of the day with changes of plans for a student’s dismissal, and this is a very hectic time of the day. We understand that at times you may have to call to notify your child due to unforeseen circumstances. When possible, please have your dismissal plans conveyed to your child before they come to school for the day. Thank you for your help with this.
HOW HAS THE RECESSION AFFECTED ST. PETER’S PARISH/SCHOOL? Just as your business/household has been affected by the Recession which began in Sept. 2008, so has the parish been affected in these ways
· Collections are down $1,000 weekly.
· CSA/DDP is down 13%, or $20,000.
· Teacher base pay has not increased for two years and is only $24,000. Average teacher pay is $32,870. The Sisters have received increases in their teaching stipends each year. The priests have received no salary increase for several years.
· An unexpected health insurance increase of 19% begins in January 2010.
· Tradition of Faith payments are lagging and our debt repayment plan is no longer on schedule. However very few pledges have been cancelled.
END-OF-YEAR GIVING is usually 12-20% of our parish’s annual tithe. You will receive a mailing in early December on how you can help alleviate the Recessions’ effects here in our parish.
· Teachers received a modest raise as per the pay scale. However since the base pay hasn’t increased for two years, the percentage of the raise has not increased either.
· Due to the Recession, tuition was not raised last year. The teacher pay raise came from the parish increasing its $700,000+ annual subsidy to the grade school.
· Please consider a generous contribution to the SFA’s Teachers’ Christmas Bonus collection.
BOOK FAIR Please support St. Peter’s school by stopping by the book fair at the SouthPointe Barnes & Noble on Tuesday, December 1. Please tell the sales clerk that you want your purchases to be applied to St. Peter’s as the clerks are not allowed to ask. Any sale may be applied – coffee shop, too! This is a great chance to use Barnes & Noble Scrip!
BOOK FAIR VOLUNTEERS are needed for both during the day and during the evening. Please contact Ronda Purbaugh at rpurbaugh@stpeterslincoln.com or 421-6299; or Karen Plachy at kmgp@inebraska.com or 328-8790 if you can help. Thank you.
CLOTHING DRIVE will run November 16-20. Please bring new and used clothes to school to be donated to Catholic Social Services. Thanks in advance for your generous support in “clothing the naked”. PLEASE NOTE that St. Vincent de Paul is especially in need of blankets, silverware, and pots and pans. If you have any of these items, please bring them along with your clothing drive items and mark the bag “SVDP”. Thanks!
TOY DRIVE will run Nov. 30– Dec. 4. Please bring in NEW TOYS to school during this time to be donated to the Catholic Social Services Toy Store – they will be used as presents for children in need. If you have used toys to donate in addition to new, please take them to the St. Louise Thrift Store and they will be warmly accepted there. Thanks in advance for your generous support of these children in need.
CHRISTMAS PROGRAM for Kindergarten and 1st Grade will be held as follows: On Thurs. Dec. 10, parents with last name starting with A-L should attend; and on Fri. Dec. 11, parents M-Z should attend. The program begins at 2:30pm each day in the cafeteria. If you need to attend on the opposite day because of a schedule conflict, please let your child’s teacher know. All students will perform both days.
CHRISTMAS PROGRAM for 2nd through 6th grade with the Jr. High select choir will be on Thurs. Dec. 17 at 7:00pm. The 1:30 pm dress rehearsal in church is open to the public and will last about an hour. If you are planning your child’s holiday wardrobe keep the following in mind. Boys should dress as for Mass (nice slacks and dressy shirt; and no jeans, wind pants or T-shirts). Girls need to wear a knee-length or longer dress and tights (not nylons) as they will be standing and sitting on the risers. Girls should not wear sleeveless/spaghetti straps unless worn with a sweater or jacket over them. New this year: Those in the Junior High select choir will be wearing all black clothing (skirts, dresses, or slacks). Girls will also wear a chunky necklace of their choice of color.
READING TIP #10 In addition to read-aloud time, some families schedule D.E.A.R. time...Drop Everything And Read! No telephone, no TV, just uninterrupted reading time. Here are some tips to make this a success. Make sure everyone has something to read, write it on the family calendar, schedule for a short amount of time at first, and make sure everyone takes part! (From “The Parenting Institute”)
2009 HOLIDAY SCRIP CONTEST is underway! A chance to win prizes weekly! Look for contest details and the Christmas green holiday Scrip form in your child’s folder today. Historically, over 40% of our total year’s sales occur during these 5 weeks. Let Scrip help with all of your holiday shopping needs. Prize drawing winners will be announced each Monday.
NEW HOLIDAY SCRIP IN STOCK including iTunes, Sephora, Noodles, Bed Bath & Beyond, Cabela’s, Express and more! We even have holiday gift card wrappers in stock to make your “wrapping” even easier (order via your Scrip order form). Let Scrip help simplify your shopping. We’ll do all the work, you simply write the check and you are done!
SCRIP VOLUNTEERS for this weekend (Nov. 21/22) Mass times are as follows: 5:30 McCarthy/Machacek; 8:00 Beiermann/Schriner; 9:30 Beckman/L. Kearns; 11:30 A. Pfeifer/Bockmann. Thank you for volunteering!
eSCRIP SIGN-UP We have 34 families signed up, and we are at 45% of our sign-up goal which is 75 families by Jan. 31. eScrip is an easy way to automatically receive your Scrip every two weeks without completing an order form. Take the hassle out of buying Scrip! Participating families’ feedback has been very positive. Contact kasp@windstream.net or call the school office for the sign-up form.
VOLUNTEERS are still needed on December 4 to help with St. Nicholas Day during Mass. We will meet in the lobby of the school at 8:15 a.m. Please contact Laura Barrios at Gallagh519@msn.com or 420-4907 to sign up. Thank you from the Spiritual Committee.
PLEASE JOIN US on Sun., Dec. 6 for Breakfast with St. Nicholas in Bishop Vasa Hall after 8:00AM & 9:30AM Masses and before 11:30 Mass. St. Nicholas will be present with treat bags and activities for the children. Cost is $5 per person or $20 per family. Cinnamon rolls available for purchase & new St. Peter's T-shirts available for order. Questions, contact Ashley Ulrich at 420-1610 or ulrichashley@hotmail.com Sponsored by Our Lady of the Assumption Circle
SCHOOL WEBSITE Don’t forget to visit our school web site where you will find photos from school activities, printable Scrip forms, the weekly newsletter, lunch menu, classroom news, and more! Go to www.stpeterschool.homestead.com and click on classrooms. (Hint: The web site is also listed on the inside back cover of our School Directory.)
SERVICE HOURS Are you needing ideas for your student to complete service hours? Why not have your child (or your whole family) help out with cleaning the church on a Saturday morning? Time commitment is only a couple of hours. Please call Nancy Johnson at 421-3391 for available times.
BOYS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE November 30 @ St. Peter
November 23 @ St. Peter 5:45 Lincoln Christian vs. Cathedral (7)
5:45 St. Teresa vs. St. Peter Cardinal (6) 6:45 NAM vs. St. Peter Cardinal (7)
6:45 St. James vs. Blessed Sacrament (6) 7:45 NAM vs. St. Peter Cardinal (8)
7:45 St. Teresa vs. St. Peter Cardinal (7) November 30 @ NAM
November 23 @ Cathedral 5:45 St. Peter Black vs. NAM (6)
7:45 St. Peter Black vs. Cathedral (8) November 30 @ St. John
November 23 @ NAM 7:45 St. Peter Black vs. St. John (8)
7:45 St. Peter Cardinal vs. NAM (8) November 30 @ St. Joseph
November 23 @ St. Joseph 5:45 St. Peter Cardinal vs. St. Joseph (6)
5:45 St. Peter Black vs. St. Joseph (6) November 30 @ St. Teresa
November 23 @ St. Patrick 6:45 St. Peter Black vs. St. Teresa (7)
6:45 St. Peter Black vs. Lincoln Christian (7)
