The Falcon’s Nest October 2011

“Fishers of Men”

Matthew 4:19

Our Saviour Lutheran School Phone: 718-792-5665

1734 Williamsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10461 Fax: 718-409-3877

Dear Parents and Friends of OSL:

With this initial newsletter, I warmly welcome both our returning and our new students and families to the beginning of a

new school year. I look forward to serving each of you with the best school that Christian education has to offer! The information

contained in the monthly Falcon’s Nest is designed to keep you informed of the major events and happenings at Our Saviour. Please

read the following pages carefully, and never hesitate to contact the school with any questions.

******************************************************************************

ABOUT OUR THEME . . .

“If you see something, say something.” This is the classic NYC saying made popular by the MTA in their many announce-

ments over the loud speakers in trains across the city. Our city government realizes how important it is for everyday people to speak

up in order to assure the safety of New York as a whole. While this is a very important concept, I believe they stop short of our true

mission. Saying something only goes so far. Instead, might I suggest we adopt the saying, “If you see something, do something!”

This saying also reflects our calling as Christians. It’s not enough for us to merely acknowledge that something is wrong or out of

place. God did not create us to be people of inaction, rather He created us to be people of action. Jesus specifically told His follow-

ers to fish for men, and then He went out and showed them what that meant. As people of Christ it is our responsibility to take up

Jesus’ command for action and fish for men. This school year I challenge not just our students, but I challenge us all to put our faith

into action and fish for men. Sharing our faith, caring for the down trodden, being a Christ-like example to all those around us are

just a few ways we can all share Christ with others. Fishing for men is not easy, but remember it is our call. Adopt this simple

phrase . . . “If you see something, do something!”

Mr. Matthew D.M. Dummann

Headmaster

2011-2012 School Year Theme . . .

Faculty Spotlight Ms. Shanika Perez (Upper School Math)

Shanika Perez was born and

raised in The Bronx, where she

has been a part of the Our Saviour

Lutheran Church community

since the day she was baptized.

She attended The Young

Women’s Leadership School of

East Harlem where she graduated

in June 2007. Ms. Perez went on

to study at Marist College in

Poughkeepsie, New York. In May

2011 she graduated with a Bache-

lor of Arts in Mathematics along

with an initial NYS teaching cer-

tification for grades 7-12. She

also minored in Psychology

where her classes focused on the

psychological development of

children and adolescents. During

college, Shanika also participated

in a number of clubs including;

equestrian club, chess club, math

club, dance club and Campus

Ministry. Shanika plans to fur-

ther her studies and pursue a pro-

fessional teaching certificate for

adolescent education and a mas-

ter’s degree in mathematics edu-

cation. As an Our Saviour

teacher, Shanika hopes to break

the barrier and create an environ-

ment where students want to learn

math and do not see it as a hope-

less subject.

Mr. Reid Otto (Director of Student Life & Upper

School English)

For someone whose mother had

to leave the World Series in order

to give birth to him, Mr. Otto

naturally has an affinity for the

rich baseball traditions of the

Bronx. He comes to us from the

Midwest where he grew up in

Wisconsin and attended the Uni-

versity of Wisconsin. He recently

spent a year teaching at St. James

Lutheran School in rural North-

rop, MN, where he also did some

coaching. Reid has enjoyed mak-

ing the transition from a rural

Midwest to a New York lifestyle.

As the new Director of Student

Life he is excited to get the

chance to create new opportuni-

ties for students to grow as indi-

viduals and as a community, and

he has many ideas that he is eager

to implement. Teaching English

classes to grades 7-12 is also

something that will allow Mr.

Otto the ability to tap into the

multifaceted content area in a lot

of different ways.

Serving in New Positions . . .

Mr. Matthew Dummann

Headmaster

Mr. Jeffrey Moller

Director of Discipline & Student Services

Pr. George Ramsudh

Upper School Religion & UPK Director

Mr. Kenneth Ashby

Grade 5

Mrs. Linda Gast

Grade 4

Ms. Kimberly Surphlis

PK Aid

Ms. Judy King

Librarian

Page 2

WORSHIP AT OSL . . . Chapel is

held each Wednesday. Attendance at

chapel is mandatory. Offerings will be

taken during homeroom and given to a

different mission each quarter. Class-

room prayer and devotional time also

add to the worship atmosphere at OSL.

We also invite all students, parents,

families, and all others to join us for

Sunday worship at Our Saviour. The

service begins at 10:00am and is fol-

lowed by optional Sunday school ses-

sions and Bible classes. If you do not

currently have a church home we

invite you to join us!

DRESS CODE REMINDER . . .

OSL polo shirts may now be worn in

place of the dress shirt and tie through

out all months of the school year.

There are new sweater options avail-

able, as well as long sleeve OSL polo

shirts.

NEWSLETTER E-MAILINGS . . .

During the school year, the Falcon’s

Nest will be sent out via email to every

family. Please take time to read it, as

it is an important source of information

about school activities. If you do not

yet receive this via email, please send

your email address to school with your

child or simply email your address to

dummann11@hotmail.com.

2011-2012 PROGRESS REPORT

DISTRIBUTION . . . Listed below

are the dates on which students will

bring home progress reports. Parents,

please watch for them and review them

with your son/daughter. If you have

any questions when you receive these

reports, please contact the teachers at

your earliest convenience. Remember

that these reports must get signed and

returned to the homeroom teacher!

Quarter 1 - October 7

Quarter 2 - December 21

Quarter 3 - March 14

Quarter 4 - May 18

STUDENT HANDBOOK . . . Hand-

books were not distributed at registration

day this year, because we were waiting

on a paper delivery in order to print

them. They are now in the process of

being copied and one will be sent home

with each child in the next couple

weeks. Please review the handbook with

your son/daughter to become familiar

with the expectations and requirements

that are pertinent in creating a positive

experience at OSL for you and your

child.

PARENTS: PLEASE MAKE NOTE

OF ATTENDANCE POLICY . . .

Parents are reminded to call the school

Office at 718-792-5665 before 10:00 am

on the day of a student’s absence. We

strongly recommend carefully reading

the attendance policy in the Student

Handbook (especially policy 2.13). In

addition, students must bring an excuse

note upon returning to school, so that we

can identify the absence as excused.

Any absence not excused with a note

from home could result in a lowered

grade for any class and homework

missed on that day. Your support and

cooperation are greatly appreciated!

BACKPACK POLICY . . . Please note

the change in policy regarding the use of

backpacks during the school day. Stu-

dents are NOT allowed to take their

backpack to and from class. All back-

packs must remain in the student’s

locker throughout the school day. The

only bag which may be used through out

the course of the school day is the OSL

provided sling bag.

PLEASE DO NOT CARRY HEAVY

LOADS IN THE OSL SLING BAG, AS

THEY ARE NOT MENT TO BE USED IN

THE SAME MANNER AS A NORMAL

BACKPACK!

PARKING LOT PROCEDURES . . .

The school parking lot will be open from

7:30am - 8:30am and again from 2:30pm -

3:30pm every day for drop off and pick

up. You will not be able to enter the

building through the back parking lot en-

trance, instead we ask that you walk

around to the front of the building to drop

off or pick up your children. The back

doors must remain closed and locked for

security reasons.

HALF DAY AFTER-CARE . . . After

care will be available for lower school

students through out the year for both full

and half days. We have a number of half

days of school in this year’s schedule for

staff development and in-service, therefore

in order to limit the inconvenience to our

parents we are offering after-care on all of

these days. Yellow busses will run on half

days as well. Contact the bus company

for the change in drop off time for these

days.

NOTE: Half days always end at Noon.

Pre-kindergarten ALWAYS has

full days, even on days when the

rest of the school dismisses at

noon.

SCHOOL ARRIVAL POLICY . . .

Any Lower School student (excluding

yellow bus riders) that arrives at school

before 7:45am will be sent to Pre-Care.

Teachers are not ready to accept students

in their classrooms until 7:45am.

Coming Soon . . .

Our Saviour will soon be releasing a brand new administrative software system which

will provide endless benefits to students, parents, teachers, and administrators!

ParentsWeb will give students and parents the ability to access an online grade book

with accurate and up to date grades 24/7. Also available will be discipline reports,

teacher comments, progress reports, instant teacher email capability, homework assign-

ments, and much, much more! All of this will be available online day or night. We are

currently in the set-up phase and we are hoping to have it up and running by the second

quarter. MORE DETAILS IN THE COMING WEEKS.

SCHOOL YEAR

INFORMATION . . .

Page 3

Page 4

Christian Leadership Award “September”

Our Saviour Lutheran’s Christian Leadership Award is a monthly award given to the students that exhibit out-

standing Christian leadership both inside and outside the classroom. Priority number one at Our Saviour is

raising up children with good Christian values and principles. Those students who exhibit these values are

honored with this monthly award. As a part of this award, each recipient will be given a certificate and have

the opportunity to have lunch with the principal. Congratulations to this month’s Christian Leadership Award

recipients!

GRADE 6 GRADE 7 GRADE 8

GRADE 9 GRADE 11 GRADE 12

George Brown, Jr. Jerick Japitana Sean Anderson

Amaiya Anthony Jody-Ann Cooper Sara Ortiz

GRADE 3 GRADE 4 GRADE 5

Angella Simmons Timmy Trinh Keeshaun Charles

Pre-Kindergarten GRADE 1 GRADE 2

Nathaniel Donaldson Aris Brown Sierra Curtis

Mantie Reid

GRADE 10

Sanjana Heralall

Kindergarten

Page 5

!! VERY IMPORTANT !!

If your child arrives to school after

7:55am (Grade 7-12) or 8:15am

(Grades PK-6) you must sign them in at

the front desk. This is a new procedure

for lower school students.

In order for your child’s attendance re-

cord to be accurate you must sign them

in after these times. Classes begin

promptly at 8:15am in the lower school

and attendance is reported to the office

at that time. If your child arrives late

and does not sign in, there is a very

good possibility that they will go down

as being absent rather than late.

Thank You for your cooperation!

Yellow Bus Contact Information

Atlantic: 718-328-9168

Pioneer: 718-931-5450

Contact the bus company with any questions or

problems regarding your child’s route, stop, or

pick up time.

If they are of no help see Mr. Dummann

PTA Meeting The first Parent-Teacher Association meeting for the 2011-2012 school year is on Tuesday,

October 18 at 7:00pm. The goal of our PTA is to organize fellowship opportunities for our

students and their families, as well as fundraise for specific priorities that the group de-

cides on. Our faculty representative to the PTA this year is Mr. Reid Otto. You will also

have the opportunity to meet our new faculty members at this first meeting. Hope to see

you there!

PARENTS OF JUNIORS & SENIORS Money for choir concert attire is due to Mr. Ervin on October 12. The

tuxedos and dresses come from Arizona which requires early ordering.

Please make sure your payment is on time.

UPPER SCHOOL

STUDENT COUNCIL

Clubs and Activities

MIDDLE SCHOOL

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL . . .

Volleyball try outs were held

this past week and the season

is now off and running. A

schedule of both practices

and games will be released

shortly by Coach Lang. Re-

turning from last year’s team

is Ariyan Ramsey, Kiki

Brown, Nicole Vereen, Kai

Parker, and Amy Walbrook.

The rest of the 14 girl squad

is rounded off with new

comers. Coach Lang looks

forward to taking the volley-

ball program to the next level

and improving upon last

year’s third place finish in

the league.

Good Luck Girls!

FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB . . .

New this year to the Our Saviour club scene is the

Film and Photography Club. Mr. DiNome

(Spanish teacher) is going to use his expertise in

photography to lead students through the art of

snapping pictures. This isn’t your ordinary point

and shoot type of club though. Members will

learn the ins and outs of photography including

all the secrets to make your pictures look profes-

sional. If you are interested in this new club op-

portunity, please see Mr. DiNome for more infor-

mation.

VARSITY BOYS

BASKETBALL . . .

Mr. Moller will once again be

coaching the Falcons this sea-

son. A preliminary meeting

was held this past week to

outline team expectations.

Practices will not begin until

November. See Mr. Moller

for more information on try

outs and eligibility.

Page 6

Below are the results from the student council elections in The Upper School. Elections were held on Friday,

September 23. Congratulations to all those students who have been voted into office for the 2011-2012 school

year! Stay tuned for important student council events and updates!

EXECUTIVE BOARD REPRESENTITIVES

President: Adam Francis Grade 7: Mia Algarin

Vice President: Carl McDonald Chyna Duprey

Treasurer: Freddy Maldonado Grade 8: Kai Parker

Secretary: Adrian Summers Amy Walbrook

Grade 9: Fabian Toro

Julianne Garcia

Grade 10: Suhmer Curtis

Grade 11: Jerick Japitana

Jason Algarin

MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS

BASKETBALL . . .

Mr. Otto will be taking the

coaching reigns from Mr.

Dummann this year. Due to

the large number of students

interested in playing, we will

be holding try outs in early

November. See Mr. Otto for

more information on schedul-

ing and eligibility.

Page 7

Accreditation Update In case you weren’t already aware, Our Saviour is currently going through

the re-accreditation process with Middle States Association of Schools.

Our planning team has submitted the school’s objectives which were ap-

proved by MSA. We are currently working on creating action plans for

achieving our stated objectives. The visiting team that will evaluate OSL

is scheduled to be on campus during the week of April 16th, 2012.

If you are interested in helping during the week that the visitation team

is here please contact Mr. Dummann. We could use volunteers to help

set up meals, lead tours, or any number of other jobs.

First Annual Lip Sync Competition

Come join us on Friday, October 28th at 7:00pm

for what will be a memorable night of singing (or at

least pretending to sing). Stu-

dent groups and individuals will

compete to crown Our

Saviour’s version of American

Idol. Perform- ances will be

judged and cri- tiqued by a

panel of OSL faculty mem-

bers. In addi- tion, there will

be a special per- formance given

by a group of OSL teachers.

This is some- thing that can

not be missed! Come and sup-

port your fel- low classmates,

or simply come to be entertained. Tickets are $5

for adults, $3 for students with their student ID ($5

with no ID), and children 6 and under are free.

Lower School students that do not have a student ID

are also $3. For more information on this or any

future events at Our Saviour please contact Mr.

Otto (Director of Student Life) at 718-792-5665

Ext. 26.

OSL’S ART PROGRAM

The OSL Art Department has ex-

panded to include grades K-6. This

heightens our commitment to provid-

ing the best art education for all

grades K-12, and continues our

strong belief that the arts are a fun-

damental aspect of Christian educa-

tion. Art encourages students to be

creative, but also they learn basic

classroom skills such as decision

making. At OSL we encourage stu-

dents to think creatively and to ex-

pand their world through art. Our

students will gain a better knowledge

of invention, which is an ever in-

creasing skill and ability in our world

today.

So many of our students these days

learn visually, and the arts provide

an outlet for this type of learning.

While many schools are cutting their

art programs we are expanding our

commitment to it. This is just one

example of our commitment to pre-

pare all of God’s children for life.

Mr. Paul Ramspott

Art Teacher

ONE LAST THOUGHT . . . Our faculty and staff look forward to working with you, and thank God for the opportunity you have given us to serve your children.

We believe that together we will develop Christian young men and women of whom we can be proud. Our prayer is that God will

bless our efforts in 2011-2012 as you join us in making this another remarkable and memorable year!

Page 8

Important Dates

to Remember

+ OCTOBER +

Friday, 7 - Progress Reports Issued

Sunday, 9 - Morris Park’s Columbus Day Parade

Monday, 10 - NO SCHOOL (Columbus Day)

Tuesday, 18 - PTA Meeting

Thursday, 20 - School Pictures (Grades PK-7 & 9-11)

Friday, 21 - School Graduation Pictures (Grades 8 & 12)

Friday, 28 - First Annual Lip Sync Competition

+ NOVEMBER +

Monday, 1 - Thanksgiving Food Drive Begins

Friday, 4 - NO SCHOOL (Faculty Development)

Thursday, 10 - End of 1st Quarter, Noon Dismissal (K-12)

Friday, 11 - NO SCHOOL (Veterans Day)

Tuesday, 15 - Thursday, 17 - Parent-Teacher Conferences

Friday, 18 - Thanksgiving Food Drive Ends

Tuesday, 22 - Third Annual Thanksgiving Community Feast

Wednesday, 23 - Friday, 25 - NO SCHOOL (Thanksgiving Break)

Monday, 28 - Toys 4 Tots Collection Begins