Principal's Memo

Building Confident Catholic Leaders Through Faith, Community

and Education

           

Jan. 29, 2013

Catholic School Week Activities

During Catholic School Week students are participating in the following activities:

Monday: DEAR Day (drop everything and read) the last hour of the school day; students may wear pajamas to school!

Tuesday: Science Activity at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Wednesday: Art Activity at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Thursday: Field day activities at 1:00 p.m. in the parking lot

Friday: In-N-Out in the lunch area

Preschool children will have a different schedule for their activities. We want to include the preschool children that leave at noon. Please review Mrs. Serafin’s preschool newsletter for your information.

Field Day

Parent volunteers will be needed for Field Day on Thu. Jan. 31 at 9:45 a.m. Miss Mancia will need some assistance in setting-up field day activities.  Volunteers will be needed to fill water balloons, fill balloons with helium, and hang posters.  Please contact the front office if you are available to help.  Thank you!  

PTO Mandatory Meeting

We have a mandatory PTO meeting tomorrow Wed. Jan. 30. All school parents, including preschool parents, are expected to attend the 7:30-8:30 p.m. meeting. Free care for the children will be provided in the Religious Adult Center.

Mr. Norman, the guest speaker, will share information on a nationwide program which is helping families and children grow stronger in their Catholic faith.

Choice Lunch

Third grade parents, it is your turn to volunteer to serve Choice Lunch for lunch credit. If you are interested please call the office at (323) 255-5803 ASAP.

Benchmark Assessments

Students in 2^nd through 8^th grades will take the second round of benchmark assessments starting the week of Feb. 4. The students have had three months since the October assessment to master these standards. We expect all students to show growth in the second round of assessment.  They are tested on the same standards but the questions will be different.

OPEN HOUSE

We want to THANK the volunteers that came out this Sunday in the light rain to help with the Open House event. This time the weather was not on our side and did affect the number of visitors but the ones who did come were well received by our student and parent volunteers and given a tour of the school.  If you know of any family, friends, or neighbors that have school-age children and are considering a new school, always keep us in mind and send them over. We welcome them and are always happy to speak with prospective families.

International Food Day

Every year on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, we celebrate with an International Food Day. Parents participate by sharing one of their favorite cultural dishes. Parents are given service hours for donating and/or volunteering to work during this fun day.

Student may purchase lunch tickets for $3.00. We have many parents and grandparents who also join us for lunch and who enjoy this opportunity to taste food from a variety of cultures. International Food Day is on Tue. Feb. 12.

Ash Wednesday

Students will receive their ashes at the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Wednesday, Feb. 13. After the distribution of ashes the students begin a Lenten retreat in their classrooms to prepare them for the season of Lent.

Valentine Party

Valentine parties will be held in the classrooms the last hour of the day on Thu. Feb. 14. The room parents will provide the students with a cupcake and a drink. Students are allowed to pass out Valentine cards during the party but must include all students to avoid any hurt feelings.

School wide Learning Expectations

These are the Schoolwide Learning Expectations students are expected to review this week.

A student of St. Dominic Parish School will be...

a responsible and respectful person who:

·          is self-confident and self-motivated and has the inner strength to make moral, compassionate, and healthy choices.

·          is prepared to make a positive difference in the world through his/her words and actions.

·          appreciates and values the diversity of all God’s people.

An active and involved student who:

·          is a self-motivated learner who demonstrates the skills and technological knowledge to succeed.

·          builds a solid foundation in the academic subjects and an appreciation of the arts.

Principal's Memo

Building Confident Catholic Leaders Through Faith, Community

and Education

           

Jan. 22, 2013

Filming

The church parking lot and kindergarten  play area will be rented out on Wed. Jan. 23 and Thu. Jan. 24.

Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group Inc. will be filming “Legends.”

Book Fair

The Book Fair will be open for Open House on Sun., Jan. 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.,

Mon. Jan. 28 to Thu. Jan. 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Fri. Feb. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  If you are interested in working at the Book Fair for service hours, please leave your name, phone number, email, and what day you will work, in our school office. Parents must be Virtus trained and have been fingerprinted.

Progress Reports

Progress reports for the second trimester went home today, Jan. 22 to all students who are earning a C or lower.  This is the time for students to re-examine their study habits; there is enough time to improve grades for the end of the second trimester which ends in March.

Transitional Kinder

We will open a transitional kindergarten class in the fall of 2013. Transitional kinder is a two year program. The students that enter TK have to be 4 years of age by Dec. 1, 2013, and 5 years of age by Dec. 1, 2014 when they enter Kindergarten.

The TK curriculum will include socio-emotional standards, English language arts standards, math standards, science standards, social studies standards, physical education standards and fine arts standards. A TK aide may be hired depending on the number of students in the classroom. We will send invitations to the

preschool parents for a Kinder and TK meeting in February.  

Daycare Aide

We need an afternoon daycare aide in the regular school daycare for the younger children (kinder to 3^rd grade).  Requirements for the position are at least 6 units in child development and work experience with 5 to 8 year olds. Hours will average at least 2 hours per afternoon.  Please call the school office ASAP if you know of a qualified person who is interested in the position.  

WCEA/WASC Visitation

On Tue. Feb. 5 to Thu. Feb. 7, we will have six WASC/WCEA team members from four different Catholic elementary schools here at St. Dominic School. These 6 members are here to review evidence of our self-study. The group of educators will visit all classrooms, speak to students and review their work. They will meet with the teachers, pastor and principal. At the end of the third day of observations, review of evidence, and interviews, they will conclude with a report of their findings. The team will focus on student learning, areas of strengths and the goals, and actions plans that we the faculty and administration have planned for the next WCEA/WASC accreditation.

Catholic School Week Activities

During Catholic School Week, all students including the preschoolers, will participate in the following activities:

Monday-Friday: Book Fair in the library

Monday: DEAR (drop everything and read) the last hour of the day; wear pajamas to school!

Tuesday: Science Activity at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Wednesday: Art Activity at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Thursday: Field day activities in the parking lot

Friday: In & Out in the lunch area; Student Council assembly at 1:00 p.m.

IN-N-OUT

Only 38 students who have pre-ordered the In- N-Out lunch. All pre-order forms for the In-N-Out lunch are due in the school office by Mon. Jan. 28. The lunch truck comes with a pre-order count and cannot fill on the spot orders on Fri. Feb. 1.

Morning Valet

Parents, we need more help during the morning drop-off. Please refer to your school calendar, website calendar and/or school valet banner, to see which grade’s parents are assigned valet duty. This is an easy way to earn service hours for parents who are not able to assist during the school day.

PTO Mandatory Meeting

All school parents, including preschool parents, are asked to be on time for the 7:30-8:30 p.m. PTO meeting on Wed. Jan. 30.

Mike Norman, Associate Director of Religious Education for the L.A. Archdiocese, will be sharing with parents the tools of witnessing our Catholic faith to our children. This task for parents is not easy or simple, especially given all the stresses and demands of our lives. Mr. Norman will be sharing information of a nationwide program which is helping families

and children grow stronger in their Catholic faith.

Marketing Grant

Our SDS Marketing Team was busy during this winter break preparing the 2012 Grant Application – Cycle One, through the MAX LA, Dept. of Catholic Schools.  We are very happy to report that once again our hard work has paid off because St. Dominic School has been selected to receive a grant through this program! There was a total of 44 schools (14 high schools and 30 elementary schools) within the Archdiocese that submitted applications of which 22 schools were awarded grant funds. This award will continue to assist us with marketing our beloved school.

Great job T-E-A-M!

School wide Learning Expectations

These are the Schoolwide Learning Expectations students are expected to review this week.

A student of St. Dominic Parish School will be...

a committed Catholic who:

• actively participates in the Mass, sacraments, and traditions of the Church.
• shows respect, tells the truth, and tries to be like Jesus.
•  willingly shares his/her gifts to serve others in the Church and global community.

a responsible and respectful person who:

• understands his/her innate value and the value of others as beloved children of God.

Principal's Memo

Building Confident Catholic Leaders Through Faith, Community

 and Education

           

Jan. 15, 2013

Progress Reports

Progress reports for the second trimester will go out on Tuesday, Jan. 22 to all students who are earning a C or lower.  This is the time to re-examine your study habits; there is enough time to improve your grades for the end of the second trimester which ends in March.

High School Entrance Examinations

The 8^th grade students will take the Catholic High School Entrance Examination on Sat., Jan. 26 at the Catholic High School of their choice.

Good luck to all the 8^th grade students who will be testing. Don’t forget to relax the evening before the test and have a good breakfast the morning of the test.

Catholic School Week Activities

During Catholic School Week, all students including the preschoolers, will have the following activities:

Monday to Friday: Book Fair in the library

Monday: DEAR (drop everything and read) the last hour of the day; wear pajamas to school.

Tuesday: Science Activity at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Wednesday: Art Activity at 1:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

Thursday: Field day activities in the parking lot

Friday: In & Out in the lunch area; Student Council assembly at 1:00 p.m.

Mandatory PTO Date Change

The PTO/Preschool meeting scheduled for January 16 has been changed to Wed., Jan.

30. A special speaker, Mike Norman, is scheduled for the January meeting.

Preschool parents will join us for this meeting at 7:00 p.m.  School parents, Saturday Religious

Education parents and confirmation parents will all be at the same meeting.

School Choir

Rehearsals in January begin next week on Tue., Jan. 22 during the morning at 7:30 a.m. only. On Thu., Jan. 24, choir rehearsal will be at 7:30 a.m. and after school at 3:00 p.m.

Academic Decathlon   

These next two weeks are going to be very busy for the decathletes.  The team will be taking their final qualifying tests and demonstrating to the coaches that they are committed and competitive.  The team will be named and posted by next Tuesday.  Students have received a very important letter of which the 2nd page needs to be returned as soon as possible but before Thu, Jan. 17.  Parents will be getting organized to assist the team and coaches with things like fundraising so our school is represented in the Academic Decathlon official program, getting sweatshirts ordered, creating an e-mail list and telephone tree, so the event on March 2 is pleasant.  Parents are also making sure their children are attending the mandatory sessions as well as studying the subjects for Super Quiz and individual subjects.  We need 150% effort to advance forward so we can show our best at the event.  Thank you to the sports coaches, school staff, parent volunteers, and faculty who are cooperating with our schedules.

NO SCHOOL

Monday, January 21

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Birthday Observed

Security

We now have all the gates and hallway doors that are accessible to the street locked at the start of the school day. We have more than one point of entry during the school day.  Daycare parent enter and exit by ringing the bell at the east black gate.  We ask that during the day everyone enter the campus through the main office only. Preschool parents may enter preschool by ringing the bell at the west black gate.  

We have procedures for a lock down situation. Procedures depend on whether the intruder is outside or inside the campus.

We are acquiring and installing a security camera system to monitor the campus. This includes the preschool and daycare. It is important to keep the second gate in the preschool area locked for security.

We have called the LAPD Northeast police station that is assigned to our school to plan and coordinate a visit to our school.

School wide Learning Expectations

These are the Schoolwide Learning Expectations students are expected to review this week.

A student of St. Dominic Parish School will be...

a responsible and respectful person who:

• appreciates and values the diversity of all God’s people.

an active and involved student who:

• is a self-motivated learner who demonstrates the skills and technological knowledge to succeed.
• builds a solid foundation in the academic subjects and an appreciation of the arts.
• communicates effectively, thinks critically, and is a creative problem solver.

a committed Catholic who:

• builds a firm foundation in, knowledge of, and love of the Faith.

Principal's Memo

Building Confident Catholic Leaders Through Faith, Community

 and Education

           

Jan. 8, 2013

Cookie Dough

We are selling the following tubs of cookie dough for $10 each:  2 Reese’s Peanut Butter, 2 Monster, 6 Peanut Butter , 3 M&M’s, 2 Lemon Drop, 1 Walnut Chocolate Chunk. The following Pre-portioned tubs are also available: 1 Chocolate Chunk, 1 M&M’s, 4 Oatmeal Raisin, 5 Snicker Doodle, 1 Classic Sensation, 1 Walnut Chocolate Chunk, 3 White Chocolate Macadamia, and 4 White Chocolate Oatmeal Cranberry.

Fresh & Easy

Fresh & Easy receipts need to be turned in by January 15 so we can get them in the mail. 

We need all receipts over $20 dated between September 2012-December 31, 2012.

Santa’s Workshop

We want to thank Mrs. & Mr. Duke for the wonderful Santa’s Workshop. The students, teachers and parents enjoyed the great bargain shopping.

Parent Updates

Updates will go out in the Family Envelope the last week of January. The updates will include tuition, raffle, service hours, fiesta hours, and mandatory meetings updates.

Catholic Schools Week

Sunday January 27, 2013 marks the beginning of Catholic Schools Week. Here at St. Dominic’s we start out with Mass at 9:00 a.m. Following Mass, please join us for our Open House from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Scholastic Book Fair will be open during Open House. Students will have a fun filled week of activities!

In & Out

To end Catholic Schools Week we celebrate with an In & Out lunch. This is a great opportunity to come and have lunch with your child/ren and friends. All lunches need to be pre-ordered by Monday, January 28.  We hope to see all parents at this In & Out lunch.

Yearbook Sale

Lifetouch has replaced Bartolo as our photographer and yearbook provider.  Lifetouch is more expensive so the yearbook will cost $5.00 more than last year. If we do not meet our quota for yearbooks we will have to go with another company for next year. We were notified of the change about Bartolo joining Lifetouch too late to research another affordable company for this school year.  

Enclosed is a preorder form.

Mandatory PTO Date Change

The PTO/Preschool meeting scheduled for January 16 has been changed to Wednesday, Jan. 30. A special speaker, Mike Norman, is scheduled for the January meeting.

School Choir

Rehearsals in January begin on Tuesday, Jan. 22 during the morning at 7:30 only. On Thursday, Jan. 24, choir rehearsal will be at 7:30 a.m. and after school at 3:00 p.m.

New Flooring

New laminate flooring was installed in the four preschool classrooms, kindergarten, and the daycare room during the Christmas holidays. The school offices also had new laminate flooring installed. Funds from our investment account that is used for capital improvements were used.

Parking Rental

The school parking lot will be closed to school parents this Friday, January 11. The Arts & Science Department will be filming “Fifth Third Bank” on Colorado Blvd. Our school parking lot will be rented for production parking.

 

School wide Learning Expectations

These are the Schoolwide Learning Expectations students are expected to review this week.

A student of St. Dominic Parish School will be...

a committed Catholic who:

• shows respects, tells the truth, and tries to be like Jesus.
• willingly shares his/her gifts to serve others in the Church and global community.

A responsible and respectful person who:

• understands his/her innate value and the value of others as beloved children of God.
• is self-confident and self-motivated and has the inner strength to make moral, compassionate, and healthy choices.
• is prepared to make a positive difference in the world through his/her words and actions.