ND-BG Families Welcome back for the 2013

NOTRE DAME—BISHOP GIBBONS SCHOOL
2600 Albany Street Schenectady, NY 12304 (518) 393-3131 Fax (518) 370-3817
SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER 2013
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to the 2013-14 school year. I’ve missed the noise of teens and pre-teens in the building as well as the camaraderie of my colleagues in the ministry of Catholic Education.
As mentioned in my summer letter I’d like to welcome Mr. Gary Gustin, who will teach middle school history, Ms. Amanda DeMarco, who
will teach fine arts and Mrs. Karen Harp who will take over for Mrs. Fingerhut who is on maternity leave (baby boy Fingerhut due on September 10th).
This year, we will institute the use of iPads in the classroom as well as the flipped classroom concept in one of our classes. We will also
continue with the Common Core curriculum in our middle school as well as adopt the Common Core curriculum in high school Math and
English. Students entering grade 9 will take the common core Integrated Algebra Assessment at the end of 9 th grade and the Common Core
English Assessment at the end of grade 11…there will be more to follow. In addition, we have a wealth of new electives for our 11th and
12th graders….Cold War, Drama, Journalism, Black Death and the History of Modern Music. Look for the Sainted Knights, the combined
football team with students from ND-BG and Saratoga Catholic. For the first time ever, we will have football under the lights (Saratoga).
There are many exciting happenings for a very exciting year.
As parents, you are the first teachers of your children. It is our goal to support you in striving to cultivate in our young men and women
character, integrity and respect for themselves and others in our ND-BG community all in the framework of our Catholic traditions. You
have entrusted us with your children and we promise to care for them and take care of them.
Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Ninette F. Kondratowicz
Principal
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NO SCHOOL—Labor day
27
Superintendent Conf. Day; Staff Orientation/ devel
30
opment day; Faculty meeting 1:30pm @ ND-BG
FIRST DAY OF CLASSES—1/2 day of School;
Faculty Meeting and BBQ
Music Ministry meeting afterschool, Location
TBA
Mass at the Cathedral (Grade 9-12)
Music Ministry Rehearsal afterschool; EMT
meeting
2:15 Band Assembly
Training for Eucharistic Ministers 12pm; Praying of
the Rosary 7pm, School Chapel
Opening School Liturgy 1:30pm @ St. Paul's ; SAT
PREP 2:45-3:30pm with Ms. Quinn
Diocesan Principal’s Meeting Band Forms Due;
Career day/College Caravan (Grade 11&12)
SAT PREP 2:45-3:30pm with Ms. Quinn
Dept. Chairs Meeting 3-4pm; Back to School
Night 6:30pm-8:30pm
Class of 1963 50th Reunion
SAT PREP 2:45-3:30pm with Ms. Quinn
ND-BG Families
Welcome back for the 2013-2014
School year!!
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For the 2013-2014 school year we are looking to grow
our Music Ministry Program. The First Informational
meeting will take place on Thursday September 5th afterschool (location TBA) and our first musical rehearsal
to prepare for our Opening School Liturgy will
take place on Tuesday September 10th afterschool. ALL ARE WELCOME!
For more information please contact Mrs. Harrigan: [email protected] or 393-3131 x100
Welcome back from the Health Office.... I hope you had a
happy, healthy summer!
Just a reminder that all new students, and students in
grades 7 and 10, are required to have a current physical on
file. Also, those students trying out for sports, or needing
working papers, all need to have one as well. Please remember to send in a copy to the Health Office as soon as it
is completed. Students who require medications while at
school are reminded to send in the required paperwork
(available on the website). Those forms need to be renewed
each year, including those for Epi-pens. Thanks so much!
Jeanne Ryan RN MS
ND-BG School Nurse
Ph: 393-3131 (ext 104)
Fax: 370-3817
[email protected]
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION
Please note that some districts will not transport students when they are closed and we are still open. It is
up to parents/guardians to transport your student
when this occurs. We will do our best via e-mail to
contact families during these instances as well as updating our website, however, it is the parent/
guardian responsibility to know when their district will not be providing transportation for their
student.
Please note the following September dates and districts where transportation will NOT be provided for
students:
Wednesday September 4th – ½ day of school
Duanesburg—No Transportation AM AND PM
Guilderland—No Transportation AM AND PM
Mohonasen - No Transportation AM AND PM
Niskayuna—No Transportation AM AND PM
South Colonie—No Transportation AM AND PM
Schalmont—No Transportation AM AND PM
Scotia—No Transportation AM AND PM
Thursday Sept 5th
Mohonasen - No Transportation AM AND PM
Niskayuna—No Transportation AM AND PM
It’s Cool to
Be Kind
Interested in learning a new
skill, helping others and earning
service hours at no cost to you?
Thanks to Jo-Ann Fabrics, the
school has received crocheting
kits complete with hooks, yarn
and instructions. The first project will be a crocheted rectangle that when finished will be sent to the Warm Up American
Foundation whose volunteers will sew the rectangles into
finished blankets given to people in homeless shelters and
other needy individuals. Crocheting is not just your grandmother’s hobby anymore. Since 1998, there has been a
400% increase in the number of people (both male and female) under 35 who knit and crochet with over 50 million in
the US alone. Flip on television and you will hear about avid
celebrity crocheters such as Raven-Symone, Eva Longoria,
Gwyneth Paltrow Trisha Yearwood, Madonna and many others. Miss Quinn will offer an info meeting in Room 18 on
Thursday, Sept.19 at 2:45PM. The meeting should last 1520 minutes. Any questions, please call Miss Quinn at x205.
Guilderland—No Transportation AM AND PM
Scotia—No Transportation AM AND PM
Shenedehowa - No Transportation AM AND PM
Friday September 6th
Niskayuna—No Transportation AM AND PM
Friday September 27th
Schalmont - No Transportation AM AND PM
If your student cannot make it into school because of
lack of transportation, a written note from the parent/
guardian will be needed on the next school day as
per New York State Law.
Please remember that we follow the
policy of each district concerning
transportation.
NEWS FROM OUR TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR
Greetings Parents & Guardians! I’d like to take this opportunity to
introduce myself in my new role as Director of Technology for
Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons and also to discuss some of the
exciting technological developments occurring this year at NDBG:

For the first time at ND-BG, Economics will be offered as an
online course. This is part of our continued partnership with Maria
College to offer high school students the experience of taking an
online course with college-level rigor.
Continuing our push from the 2012-13 Academic Year, students
must use their ND-BG e-mail accounts in order to communicate
with teachers. However, it’s even more vital than ever for our
students to use their school e-mail accounts. Students will be
required to use these accounts in order to participate in any
online courses or to use Naviance. If you have any questions or
need an account reset, please contact me at [email protected]

Wireless Internet is now available in the ND-BG Main Office
and Library!

We have iPads! Using State Funds, ND-BG was able to purchase iPads for use in classrooms throughout the building for
research and educational use.

We are very excited to announce that ND-BG was the recipient this summer of a Higher Powered Learning Grant provided by
the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany to expand our wireless
internet capabilities throughout the building. Our hope is to complete the upgrade of our wireless capabilities by Christmas.
The new ND-BG website is launching soon! Please keep checking back for updates.
Also as a reminder: parents & guardians have the ability to set up
their own username and password to access Powerschool Parent Portal. Simply visit http://rcdaps.org/public and click on the
blue "Create Account" button.
You will need the Access ID & Password listed at the bottom of
your child’s student schedule. Parents with multiple children at
ND-BG will be able to access information for all of their children
through this single log-in. However, each child's unique Access
ID and Access Password are required for the initial set-up. As
always, we are available to assist with any issues you may encounter while completing this process.
The same student id and password that access PowerSchool are
also used for Moodle, the school’s learning management system
for assignments and homework. Please note that in Moodle, the
alphabetic characters in the user id and password are entered in
lower case. The web address to access Moodle is http://
courses.nd-bg.org.
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SAT Prep
In preparation for the PSAT which sophomores and juniors will take in midOctober and the SAT, ACT which seniors will take this year, Miss Quinn will
offer free after school prep classes in Critical Reading and Writing. The
classes will meet in Room 18 from 2:45-3:30PM on the following Mondays:
9/16/9/23, 9/30 and 10/7. Please call Mrs. Tobin at extension 114 to register. Miss Quinn will provide the prep material.
Family Fundraising
Events
2013-2014
1) September Kicks off our Annual Magazine Sale
2) October 11th – Golden Gallop
3) Spring Tuition Raffle
Each family may utilize any and all of these three events to help with the
Family Fundraising requirement. More information about each of these will
be available before the fundraiser begins. Look for Magazine information in
this month’s newsletter. If you have any questions about any of these
events please feel free to contact Miss Baseel at 518-393-3131 ext. 107.
Praying the Rosary as a Community
of Faith!
Come and join us in praying the Rosary Thursday,
September 12th at 7pm in our school chapel for
our families, school, country and special intentions.
If you cannot make it and have any intentions you
want us to pray for, please email me at [email protected].
I will be going over the log in processes for the school’s computers, email, PowerSchool and Moodle with all of the students during the first few weeks of school. Should a question arise please
feel free to contact me at
518.393.3131 x126 or by email at
[email protected].
If you have any questions please call Kathy Tobin at x114.
Happy School Year!
Please see attachments of items in our School Store. Some new items
are:
~Teachers/Staff Sponsored Scholarship Fund T-Shirts - $12
Ritch Harrigan
Director of Technology
Social Studies Teacher
Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons
All are welcome!
+
ND-BG SPIRIT STORE +
(all proceeds go to a scholarship for a student in need)
~School supplies: e.g. notebooks, colored pencils,
markers, pencil box, calculators
Store is open during school hours.
Thank you for your continued support of our school. +
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es and wraps, and fresh produce arrives weekly for
NEWSLETTER TITLE
the salads and fruit cups.
Greetings! I am looking forward to serving the students for
another year – this September marks the start of my fifth
year! It’s hard to believe it’s been that long already. Just a few
reminders for returning families, and some information for the
new ones:
Healthy options are available daily. Sandwiches are
served on wheat rolls or wraps. Tossed salads, fruit,
yogurt, milk, juice, and water are only some of the
items available every day – we work to make lunches
that are nutritious, healthy, and above all else, not
boring or tasteless!
Lunch cards are available for purchase at the register.
They are sold in increments of $25.00, cash or check.
Checks should be made payable to PRESTIGE SER-
If you have any concerns or question, you can reach
me at the school, (393-3131) extension 124, or by
email: [email protected].
VICES. Cards can be purchased at any time during
the day, but it is preferable that students bring their
money to me before homeroom, so as not to slow
down the lunch line during service.
Thank you!
Cindy DeFiore,
kitchen manager Prestige Services
Students are not allowed to “charge” lunches. If students
forgets their food or lunch money at home, we cannot
give them food. The only exception to this is for students who use lunch cards. If their card runs out, I
can take the amount owed out of the next card pur-
Family Fundraising
Events
2013-2014
chased. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience
this may cause.
There is no food service on half days.
Students are not allowed to purchase food at any time
other than before homeroom or during lunch, unless
1) September Kicks off our Annual Magazine Sale
2) October 11th – Golden Gallop
3) Spring Tuition Raffle
they have a class in the cafeteria and the teacher
allows it.
We use as much fresh food as possible! After all, I have
to eat here, too – if I wouldn’t eat it, I’m not serving it
to your children! The pizzas are prepared by us at the
school, fresh chicken is cooked off for the sandwich-
Each family may utilize any and all of these three
events to help with the Family Fundraising requirement. More information about each of these will be
available before the fundraiser begins. Look for
magazine information in this month’s newsletter. If
you have any questions about any of these events
please feel free to contact Miss Baseel at 518-3933131 ext. 107.