November News.pub - Austin

PACELLI Catholic Schools
Campus Connections
NOVEMBER, 2015
CAMPUS CONNECTIONS
NEWS FROM THE A-TEAM
One of Pacelli’s goal is to prepare students for a
successful life after graduation that includes
college or technical education, involvement in
the greater community, and a desire to use their
gifts from God the way He intended. Pacelli has
a very positive reputation with college recruiters
because of the values we uphold, the
expectations we have of our students, and the
ways we prepare students for post secondary
education. Family Education Network (Sandbox Networks, Inc.
2015) lists the Top 10 Things Colleges Look for In a High School
Student:
1. Challenging High School Curriculum
2. Strong Grades and Upward Trend
3. Solid Scores on Standardized Tests
4. Quality Involvement in Activities
5. Record for Community Service
6. Work or Out of School Experiences
7. Well Written Essay
8. Positive Recommendations From School Personnel
9. Additional Adult Recommendations
10. Other Special Attributes or Awards
With the addition of AP, Honors, and PSEO classes, along with
the curriculum development with Notre Dame’s ACE
Collaboration, our high school curriculum is the most challenging
and focused around. Our MAP testing not only is a consistent
gauge by which to adjust our curriculum, but its focus on student
improvement and the “upward trend” individualizes students’
education. We not only encourage, but celebrate students’
involvement in extracurricular activities, and Pacelli’s tradition of
service prepares students to see the greater good.
We need YOUR HELP too! A few things parents can do to help
their children not only get into college or technical school, but also
receive scholarships are:
1. Encourage a strong, independent work ethic in your
students. Expect THEM to be checking RenWeb daily
instead of you. Insist THEY talk to their teachers and
counselor when they need help instead of you.
2. Support our students who are involved by attending
sporting events, plays, choir performances, etc.
3. Encourage your child to participate in the many
scholarship opportunities and competitions that will make
their applications stand out. We give students the
opportunity to participate in many essay competitions for
scholarship money through the year. The Voice of
Democracy, Knights of Columbus, Access Scholarship,
and many others are great ways to earn money for
college, and add some impressive material to their
applications.
Thank you for working with us to help your children reach their
potential, and make this world a better place!
Laura Marreel, Principal
Pacelli Catholic Schools
Greetings to all the families of Pacelli
Elementary School. I hope everyone is
having a SUPER year up to this point. It
is already the end of October and I am
amazed at how fast the school year has
gone. It is wonderful seeing soooo many
smiling faces on the children as they
come to school each day. I am blessed daily to be a
part of their lives.
The Walk-a-thon was a huge success and it was great
sitting in the dunk tank for 38 minutes as the students
and adults threw softballs at the target, (which they
were very accurate I might add) A good time was had
by all. I want to thank all teachers, parents, friends and
volunteers who contributed countless hours making our
carnival such a success. Thanks again
Clay P. Bedford is quoted as saying, “You can teach a
student a lesson for a day: but if you can teach him/her
to learn by creating curiosity, they will continue the
learning process as long as they live.” This is a great
quote for the education of our children. The teachers at
Pacelli work diligently daily to ensure that they guide
their students and place responsibility of learning upon
them. They are merely facilitators of learning within
their classroom nurturing the minds of our children as
they watch their knowledge grow. We are blessed to
have GREAT TEACHERS at Pacelli and I thank them
for their hard work and dedication to their students and
their families.
Booker T. Washington says that few things will help an
individual more than to place responsibility upon them
and let them know you trust them. In short, we must
allow our students to fall and pick themselves back up
again in their educational paths so that they can learn
from their mistakes, grow, and create lifelong
knowledge.
Peace,
Mr. Kennedy, Pacelli Elementary Principal
[email protected]
Updates from your Pacelli School Board…
Your Pacelli School Board is embarking on a project that we are anticipating at least one year to fully complete.
One of the take away items from the Pacelli Visioning Task Force is to create Guideposts for each grade, kindergarten through 12th grade.
What is a Guidepost? A Guidepost is a resource for parents to understand and see first-hand:
What their child will be learning in their core subjects.
What their child is expected to comprehend and be able to apply by the end of each grade.
What parents can do to help their child succeed in reaching each educational milestone.
How Pacelli Catholic Schools will partner with you should your child encounter any obstacles in meeting
the Guidepost goals.
How are we going to create the Guideposts? We will be examining the curriculum for each grade level, compare and contrast with the Minnesota and the Common Core State Standards, and collaborate with the Pacelli
teachers in each grade level. After all the research is done, we will put together Guideposts for every grade to
allow you to visualize your child’s academic path year to year.
If you have any questions or feedback for the Pacelli School Board, please contact any board member or email
us at [email protected].
Library News
Gone are the days of writing your name on the card in the back of your library book in order to
check it out of the library. Now students using the Pacelli primary library (Pre-K through 3rd grade)
can check books out electronically through RenWeb, the same program used for attendance,
lunch, and grades. Not only are the books checked out electronically, anyone can search online for
books in our library using this link: http://pc-mn.client.renweb.com/LibraryPublicSearch/
Default.aspx?s=&dw=True
Teachers and students have enjoyed
using this new library system in our
school. Once the primary library is
finished, the next phase of the project
will be putting barcodes on books in the
upper library (grades 4-5).
Many, many thanks to Miss Kilkus for
spending her summer sorting and
organizing our primary library, entering
all of the books into Renweb and
putting bar codes on each book. We are so excited to have this fun, new electronic
library check-out system.
PACELLI’S WINTER WEATHER CLOSINGS AND DELAYS
Winter sometimes his us faster than we would like, so here are some reminders of how Pacelli
handles our weather-related schedule changes and communications:
1. We will delay, dismiss early, or close when Austin Public Schools delays, dismisses
early, or closes.
2. When there is a 2-hour delay, we will begin at 9:55 a.m. There is NO MORNING
PRESCHOOL when there is a 2-hour delay.
3. Shamrock Zone is ALWAYS OPEN at 6:30 a.m. and will always close at 6:00 p.m. This is
true on late start days as well.
HOW CAN YOU FIND OUT IF WE ARE 2 HOURS LATE OR CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER?
KAAL TV 6 will list Austin Public and Non-Public Schools either on TV,
online (www.kaaltv.com), or through text alert if you are signed up with them.
(visit their webpage to sign up).
In addition, Pacelli will post on our Facebook Page and we will send out our own text alert
(to sign up for Pacelli text alerts, text @mr.pacelli to 507-283-7094.
FALL FOOD DRIVE
Now through November 20th, Pacelli students will
collect non-perishable food donations for
The Salvation Army Food Shelf -- send donations
to school with your student.
Thank you for your generosity!
Welcome to Our Pacelli Family
Deacon Aho
volunteers in
our cafeteria
every day!
WELCOME
TO
PACELLI
James Huff
Julie Kremin is our Pacelli
is our Pacelli IT department
Advancement
contact
Assistant
Katie Dahl
is the
Middle/High
School
Attendance
Secretary
WELCOME
TO
PACELLI
Jazmyne
Judy Einck,
Rodriguez,
“Ms. Judy”
is a Shamrock “Ms. Jazmyne”
Zone Assistant is a Shamrock
Zone Assistant
Pacelli KPrep
students had
a great time
visiting
Farmer John’s
Pumpkin
Patch
in October!
4th Grade Fire Safety
The first week of October was fire
prevention week. As part of this week,
fourth grade students had two visits with
some of the Austin firefighters. We talked
about the importance of fire safety, having
working smoke detectors, and practicing
escape plans at home.
Each student was asked to make a poster
about this year’s theme: Hear the Beep
Where You Sleep. Every bedroom needs
a working smoke alarm. Congratulations
to Adam Christenson and Blake Zimmerli
for their winning posters in this contest!
SPAGHETTI
DINNER
Wednesday, November 4th
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
St. Augustine’s Church
Jennings
Please join us for an
Hall
All-You-Can-Eat
Spaghetti Dinner
Free Will Donations
Accepted at the Door
Sponsored
By the
Pacelli Booster
Club
All proceeds support the
Pacelli Booster Club
Is it Influenza (“the flu”) or is it Stomach “flu”
Influenza is a viral infec on that a acks your respiratory system -- your nose, throat and lungs. Influenza, commonly called the flu, is not the same as stomach "flu" viruses that cause diarrhea and vomi ng.
h p://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-condi ons/flu/basics/defini on/con-20035101
Please keep these policies in mind when determining if your child should stay home from school. (taken from
the Pacelli Parent Handbook) If your child will be absent for the day, please call the office at 433-8859 before
8:15 a.m. The office will no fy your child’s teacher. Please report your child’s symptoms and/or the reason for
the absence. Inform the office if the absence is due to chickenpox (also called varicella) or shingles (also called
zoster) and if the illness was diagnosed by lab tes ng and/or examina on by a healthcare provider. Schools are
required to no fy the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) when these diseases occur in students. Please
also report if the absence is due to influenza or pertussis as MDH is studying these diseases as well. During flu
season, we need to know what the symptoms are to know when to report to the State.
To help prevent the spread of disease, please keep your child home from school if he/she has:
·fever of 100 degrees or higher
(child should stay home un l he/she is fever without the use of an
fever medica on)
·vomited in the past 12 hours
·Diarrhea in the past 12 hours
·cold symptoms – cough, runny nose, fever
·influenza symptoms – fever, cough, sore throat, body aches
*just started an an bio c (when an bio cs are used for pink eye,
strep throat, etc., the child needs to be on their medica on for 24
hours before returning to school).
CIRCLE OF GRACE Instruction at Pacelli…
The second graders will soon begin learning about their “Circle of Grace.” The Circle of Grace is a
curriculum completed in all the Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Winona from grades K-12.
The second grade curriculum focuses on recognizing “safe” versus “unsafe” secrets and behaviors, what a
trusted adult is, and how to ask for help. The objective of the Circle of Grace program is to help children
understand that they are created by God and live in the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They will
be able to describe the Circle of Grace which God gives each of us. They will also be able to identify and
maintain appropriate boundaries.
-
Academic Notes
Sports Notes …
(Mrs. Hoebing, 6-12 Academic Counselor)
Chelsea Brolsma, Athletic Director
It is hard to believe that we are almost to the end of October
already! We are off to another great year and I am thoroughly enjoying
working with all of the awesome students we have here at Pacelli! I
would like to update you on a few things that have been happening or
are in the works. First, I spent the last two months working on putting
together a website that will hopefully help students and parents find
necessary information and resources more easily. This includes
information about colleges, ACT, and scholarships, among many other
things. This website will be up and running for the public very soon;
watch for an e-mail from me!
The next ACT test date is December 12, 2015, with a registration
deadline of November 6th. It is important that students take the ACT
test during their junior year of high school in preparation for
college. All test dates and deadlines are listed on www.actstudent.org
and are also listed on the school calendar and they will be on the new
web page once that becomes available. If there are questions about
the ACT, please connect with me.
On October 28th, I will be taking the juniors to Riverland for their
annual College and Career fair. This is a great opportunity for our
students. Each student attends 2 informational sessions on careers of
their choosing and 1 mandatory session on paying for college without
drowning in debt. The students also have the opportunity to visit with
numerous colleges and universities. This is a great experience for all
and I am looking forward to it!
I am trying something new this year...I am teaching a high school
introductory psychology course! I am thoroughly enjoying this new
adventure, and I think the students are as well. We are wrapping up a
unit on abnormal psychology this week, which is my favorite topic! The
students were assigned groups and each group presented on a
different culture and how that culture deals with mental health. This
was a great way to start the unit and really opened all of our eyes to
how different cultures deal with mental health topics in different ways!
Lastly, I am very excited about a new group that we are starting here at
Pacelli. Our new “peer group” does not have an official name just
yet. Each student in grades 6-12 had the opportunity to nominate one
male and one female from their grade. The students were to nominate
their classmates who had the qualities of being honest, caring, nonjudgemental, trustworthy, positive, and being a great leader. From
these nominations, one female and one male were selected from each
grade to represent their peers and our school. This group of students
will be working on many different things throughout the year. Part of
the purpose of this group is to maintain positive peer relationships and
to bring sensitive topics, such as bullying, into the classroom for
discussion. We have a great group of students and I am confident that
they will represent Pacelli well!
Greetings from the Pacelli Athletic Department!
Our fall sports are coming to an
end. The football team completed their
season in the first round of sections. We
completed our season with two great
wins! The homecoming game was
dominated by our Athletics with a 80-18
victory over Glenville-Emmons. It was a
fantastic team victory! Senior night for
the football team included three Pacelli
gentlemen, Daniel Bollingberg, Jordan
Cotter, and Braden Kocer, who have
been great leaders to our football
program.
The volleyball team returned
most of the players from our varsity
roster last year. Leading our team are
Seniors, Sarah Holtz and Courtney
Walter. The volleyball team has had its
ups and downs with injuries but is going
strong into sections. Leadership on the
team has encouraged the ladies to work
hard and push through obstacles. One
of the standout matches was against
Spring Grove. The ladies were down two
sets to none and the girls pushed back
and beat Spring Grove three sets to two.
It was an exciting match, showing the
perseverance of our ladies.
The cross country team has had
a season of PRs (personal records). The
boy’s and girl’s cross country teams
have shown great improvement as the
season has gone on and looks to have a
bright future. The team has three
seniors, Hannah Nelson, Bennett
Kraemer and Jacob Kramer, who have
been showing great leadership
throughout the season to such a young
team. The team also returned 2014
Section 1A Champion Kayla
Christopherson to the course.
As the fall seasons come to an
end, we look forward to the winter
seasons beginning.
PACELLI CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
STUDENT OF THE MONTH
STUDENT
NOMINATED BY
STUDENT
NOMINATED BY
Landon Phan
Ms. Denn
Lilly Loverink
Mrs. Schafer
Jake Kiker
Ms. Denn
Daniella De la Cruz
Ms. Solland
Kaylee Alfaro Hernandez
Ms. Kilkus
Jack Klingfus
Ms. Solland
Jada Tucker-Nelson
Mrs. Frederick
Kendahl Lewis
Mrs. Leif
Charleston Buniag
Mrs. Frederick
Adan Lagunas
Mrs. Leif
Chudier Lual
Mrs. Korfhage
Patrick Murphy
Mrs. Hoebing
Kevin Ortiz Reyes
Mrs. Korfhage
Ameri Garcia
Mrs. Hoebing
Ashley Lagunas
Mrs. Korfhage
Rory Bickler
Ms. Brolsma
Daran Plunkett
Mrs. Schafer
Juan Barguiarena
Mrs. Juenger
NOVEMBER
Sun
Mon
1
Tue
Wed
2
3
3rd Grade
Nature Ctr
8
Thu
9
4
Elementary
Picture
Retake Day
-----------Spaghetti
Dinner 5-7pm
10
Hearing &
Vision Screen
Fri
11
MS/HS Mass
5
K-5 Matchbox
Children’s
Theatre
------------K-4 Flu Clinic
Sat
6
Grandparents;
Day.
Mass - 9 a.m.
7
Early Release
End 1st Qtr
12
13
14
20
21
27
28
Elementary
Mass
K-1-- 3-5-7-10
& all new stdts
(2nd Hearing only)
15
16
17
18
24
25
1st Quarter
Honor Roll
Brunch
22
23
19
Dollar Jean Day All School
Mass
26
HAPPY
THANKSGIVING
THANKSGIVING
THANKSGIVING
BREAK
BREAK
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
NO SCHOOL
Shamrock Zone
is Open
6:30 am - 6:00 pm
29
30
Shamrock Zone
Is CLOSED
Shamrock Zone
is Open
6:30 am - 6:00 pm