eGazette - August 26, 2009

September 2009 School Calendar

See attached.
September_2009_Calendar.pdf

Welcome to the 2009/2010 School Year!

Although the days continue to radiate warmth, the exciting moment has arrived for our return to the routine of school. I hope your summer has been filled with precious and savored family time. Our dedicated staff has returned energized and are prepared to deliver another year of challenging, compassionate instruction. We welcome new teacher, Mrs. Ham to our teaching family. We also offer Mrs. Ham and Mr. Gallegos congratulations on their summer weddings. I offer a special welcome to our new families. This week marks your entry, not just into a school, but into a genuine and caring faith community.

This year, we will weave our spiritual theme, "With One Voice" into all that we will do; academics, socialization, faith activities and community service. "With One Voice", we will grow together in knowledge, faith and friendship.

Our curriculum focus will be on Math. Our faculty has analyzed our instructional materials and curriculum delivery. And while we don't consider our standardized testing to be "high stakes", we are proud that the Diocese of Santa Rosa scores are well above national scores. In elementary school and middle school, it's all about becoming strong in core skills. Stay tuned for whole-school and at-home activities centered on firming up our Math foundation.

For our new and returning families, I invite you to be active in the following:

- School Web site: www.stjohnscatholic.org: This is a critical source for daily homework, information from your child's teacher, general and specific information about school and parish happenings.

- School Liturgy: Each Wednesday at 8:30am, we are blessed with the unique opportunity to celebrate Mass as a school community and you are always invited. Each class, grades 3 through 8, "hosts" by leading music, serving as lectors and altar servers and sometimes reenact the Gospel. This morning, our staff hosted our school liturgy to welcome our students to the 2009/2010 school year.

- Family Club: Looking for ways to get involved, meet other families and meet your parent participation hours? The Family Club is your source! The Family Club provides numerous enrichment opportunities for our students and families and they need you! The school web site contains current contact information for Family Club board members and activities.

Among the opportunities to become involved, I extend an invitation to several important groups:

- Faith Formation Team: Our FFT consists of parents and faculty and exists to create faith formation opportunities for our students and families. We are limited only by our spiritual creativity as we make the liturgical year come alive for our school. We meet at 3:30 on the first Thursday of each month in the library. Join us!

- Public Relations/Recruitment: Do you have a background or talent in marketing or journalism? Our PR Committee would like to get to know you! As a non-public school, we rely on excellent PR to spread the word and ensure a steady enrollment. Please contact jgiaquinto@stjohnscatholic.org if you are interested in joining our PR team.

- Building/Maintenance/Emergency Teams: Do you have skills in construction, contracting or electrical work? Could we contact you to place sandbags in the event of a possible flood? Please contact me at njordan@stjohnscatholic.org if you are able to join these important teams.

- Jog-A-Thon: The Jog-A-Thon, our first major fundraiser of this year, is running in with the theme, "Footloose". We're going "80's" -like totally! And, we are looking for pictures of you - our parents! Please send in a picture of you from the rad decade of the 80's for a contest we're having! Also, let us know (jgiaquinto@stjohnscatholic.org) know if you are willing to participate in an "airband" for our upcoming rally.

In closing, I share with you the refrain of our spiritual theme, "With One Voice". As we learn the song, we will absorb these words and our spirit will permeate our immediate and greater community.

With one voice we'll pass the Word along;
With one voice, bring justice to the world.
And with all the angels
We'll spread the goodness of God.
With all power and glory
The Word of God shall reign.

Again, welcome to the 2009/2010 school year! I anticipate a wonderful time together. Thank you for the blessing of your children whom you have entrusted to our care. Through our partnership, they will grow right before our eyes.

With one voice..., we'll pass the Word along.

In Peace,

Nancy Jordan
Principal

Every full-day Friday is Fundraising Friday Pizza Lunch Day. An order form is included in your Wednesday Envelope and as an attachment below. You may prepay for the entire year, pay monthly, or pay on day of the pizza lunch. Orders are accepted up until 9:00am on Friday. The cost is $5.00 and includes two slices of cheese pizza, salad and a treat.
PIZZA_ORDER_FORM.pdf

We are partners with our new neighbor, Frankie's Deli, and orderlunches.com to provide a secure, fast and easy-to-use online ordering system that allows parents to view Frankie's Deli's student lunch menu, order, prepay and manage student lunches on the web. See information attached.

Welcome back to school everyone!

In addition, to all the families who are new to St. John the Baptist Catholic School, we send out a very special welcome!

The Family Club is off to a running start...

Thank you to Kristy Reynoso for helping us kick off the school year with the "First Day of School" social. Hopefully, many of you enjoyed a cup of morning coffee from our personal favorite, the Bean Machine, just one way the Family Club gives back to the many individuals who support and help us throughout the school year.

Back To School Night is Tonight! Please come visit us at the Family Club table during the General Meeting in the Parish Hall from 6:15 -7:00. We would love to meet all new parents if we haven't yet met, and welcome back familiar faces too. We will be available to answer your questions about activities that will take place throughout the school year. Meet your Room Parent Coordinators tonight as well. They have already been busy welcoming new families and getting your teacher's classroom volunteer and wish lists prepared! Thank you, Room Coordinators!

September 1 will be the kickoff date for the Holiday Wishes Catalog fundraiser. Our catalog representative will join us alongside the Family Club table at Back To School Night with sample items and catalogs. Your purchases from this fun-to-order-from catalog and online site will help Family Club support some wonderful school programs and activities: Art and Music programs; Library support; hospitality at many school events; staff appreciation luncheons; and Christmas gift certificates for Children in Need, to name just a few.

Mark your calendars and plan to join your Room Coordinators for the first Family Club meeting: Friday, September 11, 8:30 am, upstairs in the Art Room. All parents are invited, and welcomed, and encouraged to attend! As parents, you are all members of the Family Club. It's a great way to find out about all the upcoming school activities, as well as talk and share a cup of morning coffee with other school parents.

Have a wonderful first week of school, and see you tonight!

Note: If you have not already done so, please turn in your 2009/2010 Volunteer Commitment Form. Forms are attached.

09-10_Volunteer_Commitment_Form.pdf
09-10_Volunteer_Committment_Form_-_Back_Side.pdf

Please remember that parking in the playground is not allowed during morning drop-off. The south-western gate is open for students and parents to walk into the yard. To have cars entering and parking on the yard creates a safety hazzard for them as well as for the students lining up for assembly.

We invite all families to morning assembly but ask that you use parking available on the surrounding streets. Also, students may not be dropped off on Napa Street to enter the front door of the school. The City does not allow for traffic back-up on Napa Street.

Are you ready to cut FOOTLOOSE?

It's time for our annual Jog-a-Thon fundraiser.

This year's theme is Footloose!

The fun will take place at 11:30am on Thursday,
October 8, 2009 at Justin-Siena High School.

Parents/Guardians - New Families and Old:
Consider being part of this exciting event.
There are several opportunities to get involved.
We need committee leaders, committee members or
Volunteers willing to help for just a few hours.

For more information please stop by our table at
Back to School Night or contact Katie Batt - ktbatt@yahoo.com
Or Mary Beth Bemis - marybemis@mac.com.

You will receive fundraising volunteer hours for your participation.

Thank you!

Katie Batt

2009_Jogathon_Calendar.pdf
09_t-shirt_order_form.pdf
2009_Business_Sponsor_Form.pdf

Hello Extended Day Care Parents and Children:

Welcome back to Extended Day Care at St John School. First, we have Mrs. Dehzad as the early morning and after school care provider. Second, we have Mrs. Gibbs as the after school care provider on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Third we have Nubia Kunst as the after school care provider for Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. Between the three of us we have boys and girls from 1st, 3th, 5th, 7th, and 8th grades, in addition to your children.

Following are a few reminders of school policies:

- Please, no cell phones during Extended Day Care (if a child needs to call a parent or another adult they must ask permission to use a phone).

- Please, no electronic toys at Extended Day Care. The reasons are many: we cannot be responsible for the loss or breakage of these toys, due to the sometimes large number of students attending Extended Day Care we cannot always monitor the games they are playing (or that younger children might "watch"), and children often do not want to share a toy from home, which can create hurt feelings.

- Please, no electronic listening or viewing devises, due to similar reasons as stated above.

- Please, no toys from home. As with electronic toys, small plastic toys from home create "sharing" problems and if your child's beloved toy manages to make it into the hands of another child it can get broken or lost.

These policies are consistent with our Parent/Student School Handbook. In fact Extended Day Care is an extension of school and the same rules from the school handbook will apply to the Extended Day Care Program. We do try very hard to provide a wide range of fun and engaging activities both indoors and out that are appropriate for a school environment and for the wide range of ages of the children who attend extended care.

Food
- Children DO need a healthy afterschool snack, and we encourage all children to eat their snack immediately after school.

- On half day Wednesdays please remember both a lunch AND a snack if your child is planning to stay until after 3:00pm.

Clothes/Uniforms
- We tend to play outside as weather permits during extended care and because of this your child's uniform may get soiled. If your child would like to wear "play clothes" during Extended Day Care, they may. Please keep in mind that the same rules as Free Dress Days apply.

Thank you for your trust in us with your children. Please feel free to contact us with any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions you have for the Extended Day Care program or your child's particular needs.

Eileen Dehzad, Nubia Kunst and Suzanne Gibbs

Dear St. John the Baptist Catholic School Families,

The start of the 09/10 school has arrived! Amongst all the activity, new textbooks, materials, paperwork, I wish to express to you details of how we are managing the community concern of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus. While we do not want to alarm or cause concern, we want to assure you we are being proactive in our health and safety practices.

- Communication with Napa County Department of Public Health/Napa County Office of Education: We are connected with both of these agencies who provide me regular e-mail updates and conference calls on H1N1.

- Health Measures on Campus: Teachers will be implementing CDC recommended health practices including providing regular opportunities for students to wash hands and use our wall-mounted hand sanitizing stations. Desks will be wiped down regularly with anti-bacterial wipes.

- Compliance with the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu): Please see the following for information and recommendations provided by the CDC.

Symptoms:
The symptoms of H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with novel H1N1 flu virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. If you are sick, you may be ill for a week or longer.

What you should do if you have symptoms:
Unless necessary for medical care, you should stay home and minimize contact with others, including avoiding travel and not going to work or school, for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer.

Protect Yourself, Your Family, and Community:

- Stay informed. Health officials will provide additional information as it becomes available. Visit the CDC H1N1 Flu website (www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu).

- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (or cough into your sleeve if tissue is not available). Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.

- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

- If you are sick with a flu-like illness, stay home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer, except to seek medical care or for other necessities. Keep away from other household members as much as possible. This is to keep you from infecting others and spreading the virus further.

- If you are sick and sharing a common space with other household members in your home, wear a facemask, if available and tolerable, to help prevent spreading the virus to others.

- Do not share beverages, foods, or eating/drinking utensils.

Additional Recommendations for K-12 Schools:

- School dismissal is not advised for a suspected or confirmed case of novel influenza A (H1N1) and, in general, is not advised unless there is a magnitude of faculty or student absenteeism that interferes with the school's ability to function.

- Students, faculty, and staff who appear to have an influenza-like illness at arrival or become ill during the day (or at a school function) should be isolated promptly in a room separate from other students and sent home.

- Aspirin or aspirin-containing products should not be administered to any person aged 18 years old and younger due to the risk of Reye syndrome. Please consult your physician.

- Parents and guardians should monitor their school-aged children, and faculty and staff should self-monitor every morning for symptoms of influenza-like illness.

- Ill students should not attend alternative child care or congregate in other neighborhood and community settings outside of school.

Thank you for your attention to the above. The media coverage may cause worry but our response continues to focus on best practices in health management, something we need follow throughout the year to avoid all routine colds and flu.

In Peace,

Nancy Jordan
Principal

A volunteer has generously offered to sell scrip after school on Friday afternoons on the playground. Stop by her table and purchase scrip for your weekend shopping.

Scrip is always available in the school office during regular school hours.

As some of you know, our dear classmate, Addie G. (6th grade), became critically ill and spent much of her summer in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at UC San Francisco. Addie is at home, but continues to travel to San Francisco for treatment. If you would like to help Addie and her family by visiting or donations, please check with Mrs. Giaquinto in the school office for more information. Addie's condition is not-contagious and she is anxious to return to school.

Please keep Addie and her family in your prayers.

Great news!

We recently received a exciting notice from P,G & E regarding our energy usage. During the 2008/2009 school year, we saved 67% in gas used and earned a 20% credit on our spring bill! This achievement speaks to the replacement of our school building heating system. Our over 600 school and religious education students now benefit from a functional heating system and we are confident that we are managing our resources in a responsible, energy-efficient manner.

If you have not yet contributed to our Facilities Campaign, please help. Every contribution counts as we are so close to paying off our debt. Please send donations made payable to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (note: "Facility Fund"). You may mail or drop off at the school or rectory office. Your donations are tax deductible.

Thank you for your generosity in caring for your faith home and school.

Blessings, Nancy Jordan and Fr. Gordon