PRINCIPAL’S PAGE

MARCH, 2008

The month of new life: the first day of spring, and this year - the Resurrection of Our Lord! You might also want to add Saint Patrick’s Day, and Saint Joseph’s Day to the list. Despite the still-cold days, there are some signs of plant life making their way toward the sun, and occasional bird song in the mornings.

Thank you for coming in to re-register during January and February. Your numbers will help me determine how many homerooms we will need for the 2008-2009 school year.

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Family Math Night and Book Fair 6:30 P.M. Monday, March 3 in the Ballad Room.

Power School will be inaccessible from March 3 - 14, during the storing of grades.

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Tuesday, March 4, our fourth graders will take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The test takes about ninety minutes and is administered by NAEP personnel. Although we do not receive any test results, it means that our school is included in the statistics that make possible the “Nation’s Report Card,” which appears annually. The NAEP is by invitation, and we’re honored to have been chosen to participate.

Next week, all of our students from grades one through eight will take the Terra Nova Achievement Test. (The usual yearly reminder is to be sure students are well rested and have had a good breakfast.) This standardized test gives us a snapshot of how our students are achieving in the areas of reading, language, math, social studies, and science. It also assesses their cognitive skills. The eighth grade will also be taking the test this year. For the first time, we’ll be able to track their academic progress, compared to national norms, from grades one through eight. We use the test results to see what adjustments we might need to make to our curriculum. It can also help us to see areas where we might make accommodations for students with learning differences. We usually receive the results in late spring, which allows us to plan for the upcoming year.

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Congratulations are in order for our February Students of the Month:

Pre-school: Gianna Britton and Kameron Roberts

Kindergarten: Robin Land

Grade one: Marissa Sansone

2A: Nikko DiSimplico

2B: Stefania Lombardo

3A: Olivia Winslow

3B: Kayla Godlewski; Honorable Mention to Jasmine Fisher

4A: Olivia Schneese

4B: Matthew Kirkland; Honorable Mention to Dante Cautillo and Hannah DiDonato

5A: Billy Vernon

5B: Bernadette Mazalewski

6A: Samantha Krause; Honorable Mention to Daniel Moreno

6B: Abby White; Honorable Mention to Sean Riley

7A: Gina Mele

7B: Anthony Muzzi

8A: Danielle Winter; Honorable Mention to Samantha Hrivnak

8B: Samara Gayle

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Congratulations to Renee Pedicone, Shakira Johnson, and Christopher Grega who have been selected to participate in the MATH LEAGUE INVITATIONAL in Dover this April!

Congratulations to the winners of the VOCATION ESSAY CONTEST sponsored by the Knights of Columbus:

Michelle Jablonska, grade 5

Kelly Rozenko, grade 6

Dalton Dudkewitz, grade 7

Catherine Herron, grade 8

Congratulations to St. Anthony alumnae who made the Padua Honor Roll for the second quarter

First Honors: Suzanna Dawyot, Gizelle Pendang

Second Honors: Gabrielle Archangelo, Shannon Bell, Julie Cherico, Rachel Cress, Jessica Dost, Alexandra Hrivnak, Elizabeth Onesi, Kelsy Panella, Michelle Pedicone, Charlotte Strazdus, Brianna Tassone, Tianna Wagner

Principal’s Award: Jessica Dost, Alexandra Hrivnak, Kelsy Panella, Michelle Pedicone, Gizelle Pendang, Gabriella Perrino, Juliana Perrino, Alicia Stracke, Charlotte Strazdus

PRE-SCHOOL, KINDERGARTEN, AND FIRST GRADE would like to thank everyone for their support of the “count the jellybean” Lenten fundraiser. The correct number was 2632, and Marco Tassone won with a guess of 2630! The fundraiser made $162.00

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Last week I attended the Diocesan Principals’ retreat. The theme was “Being A Blessing.” The word blessing comes from the Latin bene+dicere, “to say well.” Every time we encourage a child, or one another, by our words or actions, we are giving blessings. It is our role as parents and educators to give those in our care “possibilities to live into, rather than expectations to live up to.” A quote, not from Francis DeSales, but from Sister Suzanne Donovan, SC. The possibilites are endless.

A great old Protestant hymn prays God to “Make Me A Blessing Today,” definitely something to pray for.

God bless you and your family,

Patricia M. O’Donnell