Saint Christine School October 2014 Newsletter

3125  S.  Schenley  Ave.  Youngstown,  Ohio  44511  

330-­‐792-­‐4544  FAX:    330-­‐792-­‐6888 http://www.stchristine.org

Mission Statement As part of the ministry of education in the Diocese of Youngstown and governed by Lumen Christi Catholic Schools, Saint Christine School serving the faithful of the Cornersburg area of Mahoning County, strives to develop faith-filled, academically prepared children from pre-school to eighth grade. In collaboration with families, the parish, and the diocese, we guide children to know God and to live the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We nurture the students’ talents, encourage them to embrace diversity, and prepare them to be life-long learners working for a better world. We are committed to our long-standing tradition of academic excellence and providing service to those in our community.

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE I recently had the opportunity to travel to the southern part of Ohio. As I drove home, it was obvious from the gradual color changes of the leaves that autumn is here. It looks like we are in for a beautiful and colorful season. I hope you and your family are able to find the time to drive or walk into this beautiful landscape of nature during the next couple of weeks. I am happy to report our enrollment is up this year. We have a total of 387 students, which is an increase of 37 from last school year. Please continue to spread the good news about our wonderful school to your neighbors and friends! MOONEY/URSULINE RALLY Our students in grades 6, 7 and 8 will be attending the Mooney/Ursuline rally on Thursday, October 23rd. Students will attend either the rally at Cardinal Mooney or the rally at Ursuline, depending on their area of attendance. Information and permission slips were sent home last week. EARLY DISMISSAL Monday, October 27th is Early Dismissal. Students will be dismissed at 1:50. MEETING CANCELLED The Family Meeting for Confirmation and First Reconciliation scheduled for October 23rd has been cancelled. Any questions please contact Mrs. Boyle at 330-793-0544. MARKET DAY Market Day pick-up will be Monday, October 27th. You may pick up your orders in Gutman Hall between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. HALLOWEEN Our Halloween parade will take place (weather permitting) at 12:30 on Friday, October 31st. If you have not already done so, please return the Halloween dismissal form to school by October 24th. Since the students will be changing into their costumes here at school, we are asking that Halloween costumes be kept SIMPLE. Just a reminder to students and parents: the spirit of the day is FUN…please no costumes depicting deadly, hurtful characters. REPORT CARDS The first grading period ends on Friday, October 24th. Report cards will be generated by Option C and issued on Thursday, October 30th. Report Cards need to be signed and returned to school. Parents are reminded that tuition payments must be current and service fees

must be paid before a student’s report card can be issued. Any questions regarding your tuition balance should be directed to Joy Squibbs at the LCCS office. The phone number is 330-788-6106. PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES Conferences will be held on Wednesday, November 12th from 2:30-5:00 and 6:00-8:00 p.m. Conference request forms will be sent home with the students. You will also receive a confirmation slip confirming your appointment time. Conferences must be kept to a maximum of eight (8) minutes per parent(s) due to the many people to be seen. Thank you for respecting the eight-minute time frame by setting up a longer conference session at another convenient time. 2014-2015 STUDENT COUNCIL MEMBERS Recently, elections for Student Council officers and grade representatives were held and the results are listed below: President: Thomas DeLuca Vice President: Caitlyn Sapp Secretary: Anson Hankey Treasurer: Zachary Saunders 4th Grade Reps: Christopher Philibin and Olivia Puhalla 5th Grade Reps: Anthony Ciavarella and Hayden Dorion 6th Grade Reps: Samantha Holden and Joey Scott 7th Grade Reps: Dylan Karlovic and J.J. Walsh 8th Grade Reps: Jack Keffler and Austin Dabney Congratulations to all! I look forward to working with all the officers and representatives to ensure another successful school year. SCRIP SCRIP sales are in full swing. Order forms are sent home with the students every Tuesday and are to be returned on Thursday. Please consider supporting this worthwhile fundraiser. GENERAL MILLS BOX TOPS/CAMPBELL LABELS FOR EDUCATION Once again, Saint Christine School will participate in the General Mills Box Tops for Education and Campbell Soup Labels for Education programs. Please continue to collect these items. The school is also collecting used ink cartridges. Kindly send the used cartridges in a zip lock baggie to school with your child. APPLES FOR STUDENTS / BOTTOM DOLLAR The Giant Eagle Apples for the Students is underway as well as Bottom Dollar Foods Classroom Connections Program. Our school ID code for Giant Eagle is 1054 and for Bottom Dollar the code is 52667. Once you register, you will help our school every time you use your Giant Eagle Advantage Card or your Membership Card from Bottom Dollar Food.

Saint Christine School October 2014 Newsletter

3125  S.  Schenley  Ave.  Youngstown,  Ohio  44511  

330-­‐792-­‐4544  FAX:    330-­‐792-­‐6888 http://www.stchristine.org

Mission Statement As part of the ministry of education in the Diocese of Youngstown and governed by Lumen Christi Catholic Schools, Saint Christine School serving the faithful of the Cornersburg area of Mahoning County, strives to develop faith-filled, academically prepared children from pre-school to eighth grade. In collaboration with families, the parish, and the diocese, we guide children to know God and to live the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We nurture the students’ talents, encourage them to embrace diversity, and prepare them to be life-long learners working for a better world. We are committed to our long-standing tradition of academic excellence and providing service to those in our community.

EMERGENCY CLOSINGS With the weather changing and winter just around the corner, I would like to remind you of our school’s procedures for school closings. Saint Christine School will close only if specifically mentioned and will no longer be directly affected by the Youngstown City Schools closings. We may also be following a two-hour delay schedule if Austintown, Boardman, and Canfield are all operating under a delay. Again, if we do decide to adjust our schedule, Saint Christine School will be specifically mentioned as operating under a two-hour delay. When weather conditions make transportation extremely difficult, parents/guardians and students should listen for announcements of school closings on the local radio and television stations. We will also use our parent notification system, One Call Now, to alert you of any closings or delays. Kindly let the office know of any changes made to your family’s contact information. Please keep in mind that on any day in which classes are cancelled due to severe weather conditions, all other school-related activities (school-sponsored social events, meetings, extracurricular activities, or athletic events/practices held on or away from school property) shall likewise be cancelled on that day/evening. DRESS CODE Dress code directives were sent home at the beginning of the school year. Students are to be in compliance as per the directives. Just for a point of clarification, uniform shirts/blouses are to be plain white or light blue. Shirts with emblems or logos are not considered uniform shirts. Also, boy’s hair may not hang below the eyebrows or below the ears and may not fall below the top of the shirt collar. Boys are to wear durable brown, black or navy (slip-on or tie, loafer or oxford) dress shoes with normal heels (no clogs or cleats). Girls are to wear durable brown, black or navy (slip-on or tie, loafer or oxford) dress shoes with normal heels (no clogs, sandals, or heels higher than 1 ½ inches). No fad shoes may be worn for school. Shoes should be practical and healthy for students. Shoes must be tied, buckled, or fastened at all times. Please note just because a specific item is not listed as “not permitted,” this does not necessarily imply that it is permissible. ATTENDANCE Student absences must be reported to the school office each morning before 9:00 a.m. If you fail to report your child absent, the school is required to contact you by phone. Unreported absences will be recorded on school records. By law, we must verify each absence. A written note for the files must be given to the teacher when the child returns to class after an illness or absence, even though the Parent/Guardian called the school.

OUTDOOR AND INDOOR RECESS With the cold weather around the corner, I would like to review our policy for determining whether students go outside for recess or remain indoors. If the temperature including the wind chill factor falls below 32 degrees, the students will stay indoors. Also, if it is raining, snowing or extremely windy, the students will also remain indoors. PARKING LOT I would like to remind everyone once again of the procedures in place for afternoon pick-up. LOWER LEVEL DISMISSAL At dismissal, there are four lanes that form in the lower lot. Please note that the driveway is ONLY ONE WAY IN and ONE WAY OUT. The south end is for entering and the north end is for exiting. Parents are to exit their cars and wait on the sidewalk near the middle doors for their child(ren) to be released by the teachers on duty. Cars will not be permitted to move until ALL the children have been released to an adult and are safely in their car. For safety reasons, cars are not to pull out of the lot until directed to do so. If the lot is full when you arrive please park on the street. Cars should not stick out into the street. Extreme caution should be used at all times. Students in grades 4-8 who do not have younger siblings are to use the upper lot (Canfield walkers) at dismissal. UPPER LOT DISMISSAL At dismissal, buses are lined up along the sidewalk and along the front porch near the main entrance. Canfield walkers will be dismissed from the front porch near the main office. Students will be dismissed once the buses have left the lot. Parents will be directed to pull up and pick their child(ren) up, or parents may park their cars and walk down to pick up their child(ren) from the porch. Students will not be permitted off of the porch until they are released by one of the teachers on duty. Traffic overflow should park in the lot across the street until the parking lot empties out. Remember the speed limit of 5 mph at all times when driving on school property. Extreme caution should be used and everyone should observe the driveways designated as enter only and exit only. SECURITY As always, the security of our students is a top priority and one that we take very seriously. Doors throughout our school are locked at all times and monitored via cameras. All visitors are required to report to the school office when entering the building. While monitoring the doors during school hours is a task that can be managed by our staff, we continue to struggle with security after school hours. Saint Christine School continues to be a very busy place after hours with many activities and events, which requires everyone’s diligence in keeping our building secure. All coaches, staff and committee chair

Saint Christine School October 2014 Newsletter

3125  S.  Schenley  Ave.  Youngstown,  Ohio  44511  

330-­‐792-­‐4544  FAX:    330-­‐792-­‐6888 http://www.stchristine.org

Mission Statement As part of the ministry of education in the Diocese of Youngstown and governed by Lumen Christi Catholic Schools, Saint Christine School serving the faithful of the Cornersburg area of Mahoning County, strives to develop faith-filled, academically prepared children from pre-school to eighth grade. In collaboration with families, the parish, and the diocese, we guide children to know God and to live the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. We nurture the students’ talents, encourage them to embrace diversity, and prepare them to be life-long learners working for a better world. We are committed to our long-standing tradition of academic excellence and providing service to those in our community.

people have been given directives regarding keeping the doors in our building locked and closed at all times. In addition, no student will be permitted back into the building after 3:15 to retrieve forgotten items from their classrooms. Students attending any sports or school related activity that require admittance to the building will only be permitted in the building when the adult in charge is present. Your full cooperation in this matter is not only appreciated but also greatly needed in order to provide a safe and secure environment for our children. ELECTIONS As American citizens, we have the civic duty to exercise our right to vote. Along with this right comes responsibility that requires our full participation in the political process. I would encourage all of you to exercise your right to vote on Election Day, November 4th. As you cast your vote, remember all those who came before us and fought to protect this very precious right. Every vote counts and every voice matters! LUMEN CHRISTI UPDATE Attached please find the monthly (October) letter from Dr. Lois Cavucci, President of Lumen Christi. As always please know that if you have any questions or concerns regarding LCCS you can contact Dr. Cavucci or one of our wonderful Board of Directors. Recently, Kevin McHenry. A Lumen Christi board member spoke to the faculty about the LCCS Annual Campaign. FROM THE SCHOOL NURSE There are several viruses going around. We have had a couple of cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth as well as Strep Throat and several upper respiratory infections. We are being diligent in wiping down desks as well as water fountains and bathrooms in order to reduce the spread of germs. Please keep your child home if they are having diarrhea, vomiting, coughing or complaining of a sore throat. Also, your child must be fever free without medication for 24 hours before returning to school. Frequent hand washing is the best prevention so please encourage your child to wash their hands especially after using the restroom. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions regarding your child’s health. Suzie Cavalier RN, MSN School Nurse

Prayer for Autumn Days - Sr. Joyce Rupp, OSM God of the seasons, there is a time for everything; there is a time for dying and a time for rising. We need courage to enter into the transformation process. God of autumn, the trees are saying goodbye to their green, letting go of what has been. We, too, have our moments of surrender, with all their insecurity and risk. Help us to let go when we need to do so. God of fallen leaves lying in colored patterns on the ground, our lives have their own patterns. As we see the patterns of our own growth, may we learn from them. God of misty days and harvest moon nights, there is always the dimension of mystery and wonder in our lives. We always need to recognize your power-filled presence. May we gain strength from this. God of harvest wagons and fields of ripened grain, many gifts of growth lie within the season of our surrender. We must wait for harvest in faith and hope. Grant us patience when we do not see the blessings. God of geese going south for another season, your wisdom enables us to know what needs to be left behind and what needs to be carried into the future. We yearn for insight and vision. God of life, you believe in us, you enrich us, you entrust us with the freedom to choose life. For all this, we are grateful. Amen.