st. john xxiii catholic school community newsletter
TRANSCRIPT
St. John XXIII Catholic School Community
NEWSLETTER
Friday, January 17, 2020
Dear Saint John XXIII Community,
Even after almost 25 years in education, I am still amazed by things I see from our kids and how capable they are when we let them go on their own. Last week we wrapped our Friday with the annual spelling bee final in the library, which as the last newsletter reported, ended after a 41 round battle between 8th graders Ava Handel and Lindsey Barcia with Ava winning the opportunity to represent our school at the next state level. It got so far that they ran through ALL of the words in the first booklet and had to go to the “undisclosed” words to find a winner. Let me put this in perspective by sharing just SOME of the words from the last 20 rounds that still couldn’t break the tie as they were ALL spelt correctly: bindi, nefarious, hokum, thermohaline, guanine, jodhpurs, diaphoresis, Lascaux. Two 13 year olds went head to head over these words that clearly they had taken it upon themselves to spend their free time studying. Simply amazing.
As if that wasn’t enough, today, I moderated our Geography Bee final with 12 of our best from middle school. Megan Wheeling took 1st place knowing that Ascension Island is a territory of the United Kingdom, Gamla Stan is a district within Stockholm and Columbia is the world’s second largest distributor of cut flowers. All news to me!
This week too, we began work on our new gardens (see below). Many of you have noticed them already along 60th street just inside our fence by the field. I got to spend time this week with 1st graders in a STEM class as they carefully planted each of their seeds and talked with me about how it would all work, and looked as excited as ever about the prospect of what was coming in the days ahead. They have even embraced their own composting piles which I can report they are taking VERY seriously each day.
These examples are truly a testament to the work our teachers and parents are doing towards getting kids excited about learning and experiencing. Thanks for partnering with us to help guide your children each day and support you as their parents and primary educators. The Holy Spirit works here every day and shines His light upon our children in so many ways.
God Bless, Preston Colao
Principal
IMPORTANT SCHOOL NEWS
Important Dates
Monday, 1/20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, NO SCHOOL
Friday, 1/24: World Rosary Day, 11:20 a.m., Courtyard
1/26-2/1: Catholic Schools Week
Thursday, 1/30: Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast, 7:30 a.m., Library
Friday, 1/31: Field Day, 8:00 a.m.
Friday, 2/7: Father/Daughter Dance, 6:30 p.m. (time change!), Gymnasium
2/17-2/21: President’s Day Break, NO SCHOOL
SCHOOL CALENDAR LINK
Kindergarten 2020/21 Registration
Believe it or not, we are well on our way to Kindergarten 2020/21 Registration!!!! We have had such a great response to our new online application process. Thank you to our families who have already submitted applications for their future Kinders! Keep those applications coming in! Screenings will begin mid-January.
We will continue to accept applications for current families, as well as for NEW FAMILIES, for all grades. Please pass the word along to all your friends and relatives with future Saint John students!! Our application process is now online! Please visit the ‘Admissions’ tab at saintjohnxxiii.org. Thank you!
FIELD DAY
The much anticipated day of competition is almost here! This year’s Field Day is Friday, January 31st. We would love your help with this busy and fun day. Once you are Safe Environment certified, SIGN UP HERE to help set-up, clean-up, keep score, help with
snacks or supervise students and game stations.
FIELD DAY VOLUNTEERS - TIE DYE SHIRTS
If you will be volunteering, we will tie-dye a shirt for you! Bring in a white cotton t-shirt, with your name written in black Sharpie on the inside collar, rubberband the shirt the way you want your tie-dye pattern to look, and put the shirt in the “tie-dye bin” in the
office. We’ll tie-dye it in “volunteer green” for you, and have it ready to go for Field Day! Questions? Please contact Keri Rozansky: [email protected]
FIELD DAY TIE DYE SIGN-UP
Sign-ups have gone out for Tie-Dye week. But if you missed the email, here is another chance to sign up to help tie-dye Field Day t-shirts the week of January 21st.
TIE DYE SIGN UP
Daddy/Daughter Round-Up
Jump into your boots, pop on a cowboy hat, pick out some gingham or denim and hit the dance
floor to Boot Scootin’ Boogie in your country western best! Daddys & Daughters, join us for the
annual Daddy/Daughter Dance on Friday, February 7th at 6:30 p.m. Click HERE to register
for the dance. An email has gone out with all the details!
Faith In Action
Do you and/or your child speak a second language? Help us Kick off Catholic
Schools Week!! Do you speak a 2nd language and would you like to participate in our World Rosary to kick off Catholic Schools Week? If you are interested, Parents and students can sign
up to say the Hail Mary or the Our Father in a language other than English. Please use the sign up link to sign up!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4DAAA92CA7FF2-ways1
Our World Rosary is scheduled for Friday January 24th at 11:20. This is our kick-off for Catholic Schools Week. Everyone is invited and all are welcome. If you would like to participate by wearing a colored Tshirt to represent your region of the world for
prayer,
Kinder and 1st can wear a Yellow Tshirt 2nd and 3rd can wear White
4th and 5th can wear Green
6th and 7th can wear Red or Blue
8th can wear Black
Please make sure that there are no brand name labels largely printed on the shirt. If you do not have one, please do not go out and buy one. God loves our prayers much
more than our shirt color This is a beautiful community event...we hope you can join us!
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"Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed."
This theme encompasses the core products and values that can be found in Catholic schools across the country. Not only are we teaching students to become future servant leaders, faith-filled disciples
and enriched citizens in our communities, we, as educators, are growing with them. In Catholic schools, we are all learners, servants and leaders. These shared qualities are what make Catholic
schools work. They are what make Catholic schools succeed. The official CSW logo brings the theme to life. The open book made up of multi-colored pages
symbolizes how all areas of Catholic schools blend together, with faith — symbolized by the cross — at the forefront. Catholic schools are vibrant, dynamic and excellent.
Stay tuned for all the great activities we have planned for our Students, families, staff and community!
St. John XXIII Annual Appeal 2019-20
We are so very thankful for you! Our St. John XXIII community gifted $112,282 through December 31, 2019 to the Annual Appeal. Your support and commitment to our school are much appreciated. 96 families have gifted to the Annual Appeal for a 26% participation rate. This number is a great start, but we would love to get that participation rate up! As you know, the Annual Appeal runs through June 30, 2020. Make a plan to make your gift before the
end of the school year and help us get to 100% participation. Did you know you can designate a
monthly payment through FACTS? Contact us today to set that up through FACTS.
Annual Appeal gifts are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
CEA
Will you owe AZ taxes this year? Would you like a say in where some of your dollars are directed with those taxes? Have you used part of your tax dollars towards another STO? As long as you have enough tax liability, you can “stack” tax credits. Half of your tax liability can go to an STO, half can go to CEA. We know there are lots of options out there for STOs. Do your research and speak with your tax professional to choose the best option for your family. Click HERE for more details.
Visit www.catholiceducationarizona.org or call one of their knowledgeable staff with
questions or speak with your tax professional about the benefits of a tax credit.
Mark your calendars now… this year’s Spring Auction is Saturday, April 25, 2020.
There are lots of great things already in the works for the evening. We will need the community’s help in making this event a success. We will be sending out updates and
requests in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out. IMMEDIATE NEEDS:
1. Do you own a sign company? Let’s talk asap. 2. Interested in sponsoring the event? Let us share our Sponsorship Tiers to best fit
your needs. This is a terrific time to advertise your company to our large community!
Email Development Director, Kristen Butler, at [email protected] so we may share our sponsorship and donation opportunities.
School Advisory Board Notes
We invite you to listen to a piece from Pope Francis posted on Relevant Radio. CLICK HERE
Don’t just think of SCRIP at Christmas time. We have all the gift cards you need year round. Whether you need last minute gifts, dinner and a movie or for weekly grocery shopping (And don’t forget, we carry Visa, with no activation fee, that can be used at
Costco.) …We have it all!!
Remember, it does not cost you any more than what you were going to spend!
You can also use your FACTS account to purchase SCRIP!
For questions Stop by the SCRIP cart before or after school or email Pegge Gentry, at [email protected] with any questions.
Scrip Sales Hours:
Tuesday-Thursday
7:30 – 8:15
2:30 – 3:15
Friday
7:30 – 8:15
12:15 – 1:00