PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

MR. RIDDER’S REMINDERS

May 2                Dress Down Day for Reaching SCRIP Goal

                         1st Grade Rainforest Play in PC at 2pm –1st Grade Parents Invited

May 4                Confirmation @ 12:30pm in the Church

May 5-9             Teacher Appreciation Week

May 6                5th - 8th Grade Spring Music Program at 6:30pm

                         (Held at Elkhorn Methodist Hills)

May 8                2pm Dismissal – Teacher In-Service

May 9                Hawaiian Theme Dress Down Day

May 12              2nd - 4th Grade Spring Program at 6:30pm in the Church

May 13              8th Grade Last Day of School

                         Move Up Day Kindergarten - 7th Grade

May 14              Acro-Dunk Performance for Students/Staff for Magazine Sales Reward

May 15              All School Mass Honoring 8th Grade Class

                         Followed By Breakfast for Graduates & Their Parents Only.

                         Graduation in Church at 6:30pm

May 15              PreS Picnic & Last Day of School / K-2nd Field Day from 12:30 – 3:00pm

May 16              3rd - 5th Field Day from 12:30 – 3:00pm

May 19              6th - 8th Field Day from 12:30 – 3:00pm

                         PreK Field Day and Last Day of School

May 20              Last Day of School –11:00am Dismissal

DID YOU KNOW …The first day of school for the 2008 – 2009 school year will be August 20th, and the school year will end on May 22, 2009?  We are so pleased to announce the new addition will be completed by August 1, 2008.  We anticipate 690 keen and enthusiastic students to fill our building.  We are all ecstatic about the start of the 2008-2009 school year, in particular because of the opening of our newest addition.  If you are interested in taking a tour of the latest addition, please contact Don Ridder at St. Patrick’s School at 289-5407 or by email at ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org.

DRESS DOWN DAY COURTESY OF SCRIP- Thanks to you we surpassed our $15,000 SCRIP sales goal – the kids are allowed a DRESS DOWN DAY tomorrow, Friday, May 2!  We actually sold over $17,000 in sales – Our final numbers will be announced next week!  Thanks to all of you, we know the students and staff will enjoy their dress down day.  SCRIP cards are always available at the Info Desk at school Monday - Friday & near the Parish Center steps after weekend mass – Thank you for your continued support of this program!  As always, if you have any questions or comments contact Jane Chapman @ 553-6131 or email KCCJDC@cox.net – Shop through SCRIP cards – it pays!

END OF THE YEAR LUNCH ACCOUNTS - We want to thank everyone who supports St. Patrick’s lunch program. With the end of school year approaching we need to receive payment for all negative lunch account balances by Friday, May 9th. Families with unpaid lunch account balances will not receive their child/ren’s report cards. If your family has a positive lunch account balance, no checks will be issued and it will carry-over to next year. For updates on your lunch account contact Mr. O’Hara via email dohara2004@msn.com, or call 402-753-9940. 

MAY LUNCH MENU – The school lunch menu for the month of May is available on the website www.stpatselkhorn.org

PARISH ELECTIONS – Help choose our School Board as well as other Parish Committees by voting at Masses this upcoming weekend.  St. Patrick’s School Board will be seeking 3 new members.

LINK TO PARISH ELECTION BIOGRAPHIES

SPRING PICTURES – Last week, your child’s spring picture packet was sent home.  These pictures were not prepaid.  Your family should choose whether or not to keep any or all of the photos.  If you choose NOT to keep the photos, please return the entire package to school.  If you choose to keep any or all of the photos, simply follow the directions on the back of the LifeTouch package. Send any unwanted photos along with your payment to LifeTouch to school ASAP.  PLEASE NOTE:  LifeTouch will assume that any unreturned photos are wanted, so YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THEM. 

REMEMEMBER EARLY DISMISSAL – is on May 8th.  The teaching/administrative staff will be having an in-service meeting.  Please make arrangements to have your children picked up by 2pm.

GRADUATION – St. Patrick’s School will celebrate its 3rd Graduating Class on Thursday, May 15th at 6:30pm in the church.  All parishioners are welcome to attend as these 25 students complete this phase of their education and look ahead with excitement to high school.

ARCHDIOCESE MATH COMPETITION RESULTS – On Saturday, April 19th, our school was the host for the Archdiocese Math Competition.  We hosted 21 schools and 252 students in grades 4th through 8th . As a result, the experience was great.  All teams did an excellent job and our school facilitated everyone’s needs at a very high level.  A huge thank you goes out to all the staff and students who spent their Saturday morning at school helping this cause and congratulations goes to all of the St. Patrick’s competitors.  A special congrats goes to Anna Bellinghiere and Andie Hanus who received 3rd place in the 4th grade team division and also received individual awards.  Overall, this was a great experience for our school and we cannot wait to host it again next year with the new addition open.

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK; MAY 5th-9th - Two weeks ago each student was given a bright colored flower to create a thank you note on for his/her teacher.  This is to help celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week which is quickly approaching during May 5th-9th.  Please remember to have those returned to school by Friday, May 2nd.  We would like to have 100% participation and show our teacher at St. Patrick’s how grateful we are for them!

ANOTHER WIRING PARTY – Thanks again to the people that helped with the computer wiring “party” at St. Patrick’s school.  Please mark your calendars for Saturday, May 17th  from 8:00am until finished, we will be wiring the top floor. The lower level lasted under 3 hours because of the awesome turn out of volunteers.  If you again, would be available to help, your assistance would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you!

SPRING PROGRAMS – The 5th – 8th Grade will perform on May 6th at 6:30pm, but will be held at Elkhorn Methodist Hills Church, and lastly, on May 12th, 2nd – 4th Grade will perform at 6:30pm at St. Patrick’s Church.  Making this adjustment should reduce the parking lot perplexity and crowded seating in the Church during performances.  Thank you!

ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL SUMMER SCHOOL INFORMATION - This summer St. Patrick’s School will be hosting one session of summer school.  Each of the classes are intended as a “kick-start” for students who will be entering grades K-4.  The class size limit will be cut off at 15 students based on the 15 turned in first.  Please take a few moments to review the classes listed below. If you need a registration, please feel free to contact the school office at 289-5407

2008 Sessions: August 4th-August 8th

Time: 8:00-11:00

Course Fee: $100 (Includes $20 building fee)

Please make checks payable to the teacher in charge of the session and not to

St. Patrick’s School.

Kindergarten Readiness  (Miss Ashley VanDyke) - This class will be an upbeat session for children entering kindergarten to fine-tune skills needed to be successful in the fall.  Emphasis will be on readiness skills such as fine motor, listening, social, and letter/number recognition.

1st Grade Readiness (Mrs. Tracy Kill) - This class is intended for students who will be entering first grade in the fall.  Emphasis will be on early reading/phonics skills: word analysis, word patterns, sight words, and decoding . VoWac will be introduced.  Basic math skills will also be covered.

2nd Grade Readiness  (Mrs. Jodie Hotovy) – This class is intended to build reading and VoWac skills for students entering second grade in the fall.  A continuation of basic reading skills will include oral reading, decoding, and comprehension.  Math concepts to be covered: addition and subtraction strategies, place value, money, and time.  The students will be introduced to two digit addition and subtraction.

3rd Grade Readiness  (Miss Betsy Larson) - This class is intended for students who will be entering third grade in the fall.  Emphasis will be placed on reading, writing, and grammar, as well as the review and application of VoWac sounds and rules.  Math concepts such as addition and subtraction with regrouping, problem solving, time and money will also be covered.

4th Grade Readiness (Miss Tiffany Wagner) - This class is intended for students who will be entering 4th grade in the fall.  An emphasis will be placed on both reading and writing skills. Math concepts such as multiplication, division, and geometry will be covered.  General mastery of basic facts will be encouraged through daily review and timed tests.  Your soon to be 4th grader will be sure to start the New Year with confidence!

ST. PATRICK’S ATHLETICS - This past school year the Athletic Committee sponsored 18 different sports programs, with over 1,500 participants.   This was accomplished with the help of over 215 volunteers and a budget of approximately $70,000.  This may seem like a large amount of money but St. Pat’s programs continue to maintain some of the lowest registration fees in the area.  These same programs with a couple of additions will be offered next year.  Check out the Athletic Information link on the School website for more details. 

SPORTS BANQUET 2007/2008 RECOGNITION – 116 kids in 5th -8th grade and their parents were invited to the 2nd annual Sports Banquet held last Sunday evening.  Congratulations to those girls and boys who were selected to receive the Sportsmanship Award for their sport. The Sportsmanship Award is given to one individual for consistently demonstrating a positive attitude, putting in 110% effort and being a team player. The following are the Sportsmanship Award winners: 5th Grade Girls Volleyball – Kierra Harder, 5th Grade Girls Soccer – Kaelie Lenz, 5th Grade Girls Basketball – Alicia Mountain, 5th Grade Boys Basketball – Jack Morock, 6th Grade Girls Volleyball, Nikki D’Elia and Libby Edmundson, 6th Grade Girls Soccer – Abby Davis, 6th Grade Girls Basketball – Joelle Gerten, 7th Grade Girls Volleyball – Cara Fangman, 7th Grade Boys Basketball, Hunter Hottovy, 8th Grade Girls Volleyball – Mary Friedt, 8th Grade Girls Basketball – Rachel Doyle, 8th Grade Boys Basketball – Sean Kruger,  6th – 8th Grade Girls Track, Francesca D’Elia, 6th – 8th Grade Boys Track – Andrew Karstrom.  We also extend our appreciation to the 2007/2008 Athletic Committee Officers for their time and dedication to our sports programs over the last year.  Thank you to Tim Tarrence, Shelly Whitaker, Todd Parr and Erik Carlson.

ATTENTION: THERE IS A CHANGE IN DATE FOR LAST HOME AND SCHOOL MEETING - The final Home and School meeting will be Sunday May 4th 6p.m. at Sam and Louie's in Elkhorn.  We will be voting on LARGE monetary amounts for the new school building.  Election/votes for new officers and committee co-chairs.  Please plan on attending this last and important meeting!  Any questions contact Staci Witkowski at 614-0955 or ladybug97@cox.net

SAVE THE DATE:   SUNDAY AUGUST 24TH from 1:30-5:30pm at ST. PATRICK'S PARISH CARNIVAL - New this year will be FUN SERVICES games and activities for all ages!  Featuring the ADRENALINE RUSH- “an obstacle course even adults can do”!  Speed Pitch, Dunk Tank, Plinko, Pitch till U win, Swinger Ball, Crossbow darts, Spin O Prize and many more games and inflatables for all.  Plan on attending with the whole family for an afternoon of Food, Fun and Entertainment!

DO YOU HAVE ANY USED SCHOOL SUPPLIES? - Please consider donating your used school supplies at the end of the school year.  These items will be used for our new art lab, teachers classrooms, teacher workroom and our Sister School in Uganda.  There will be boxes at the front entrance of the school where the supplies can be dropped off.  Drop them off here instead of the landfill!!!  Love Mother Earth!

SAFE ENVIRONMENT…all volunteers who work with the children in our school and/or parish on a regular basis must attend a SE training session and have a background check completed.  If you plan on volunteering in any way, please attend one of the following SE trainings:

Tuesday, May 27, 2008, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm @ St.Vincent De Paul. Call Wendy @ 496-7988, extension #239 to register.

Saturday, June 14, 2008, from 9:00am to noon @ Cathedral Arts Center.  Call 553-5524, extension #1 to register.

LILY LEYDEN SPAGHETTI AND AUCTION BENEFIT WILL STILL BE HELD- It is with deep sympathy, we share with you that little Lily lost her battle with cancer on Saturday, April 26th, however, the benefit to support her family will still be held at the proposed time. See details below, and please keep the Leyden family in your prayers:

Lily was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in June 2006 when she was just 2 ½ years old. At that moment, the Leyden's life changed forever. Lily underwent countless testing and procedures including biopsies, chemotherapy, bone marrow aspirations and more. Although Lily achieved remission early in 2007, she relapsed in July of the same year. The next step took the Leyden's to Minneapolis for a triple stem cell transplant in October 2007. Lily again underwent another battery of procedures, including more chemo and radiation. On December 4th 2007, Lily was transplanted with cord blood. Although there were a few complications, for the most part Lily did amazingly well with the transplant. She had the doctors, nurses and staff in awe of her spirit and determination. Unfortunately 60 days post transplant, it was determined that Lily had relapsed again. The Leyden's had come back to Omaha to pursue further treatment under supervision of the medical team from MN and NE. Although Lily's prognosis was not good, John and Shelly were determined to give her all possible treatment and options for healing. This very condensed version of Lily's story brings us to today. Through this long and painful journey many expenses have come with it. The trips back and forth to Minneapolis, meds, co-pays and numerous general expenses that go along with caring for a sick child for nearly 2 years. Family and Friends of the Leyden's are organizing a spaghetti benefit on Sunday, May 4 from 4:00 until 7:00pm at Bethany Lutheran Church to help diffuse some of the expenses that have been incurred. Please join us in support of this family and this courageous little girl who battled this disease everyday for 2 years! Monetary donations can be made to any Wells Fargo Bank Branch "Lily Leyden Fund".  Tickets are available at the door $7.00 for Adults and $5.00 for children 12 and under.  Children 3 and under are free. You may also purchase tickets online at Lily’s website:  www.lilyleyden.com. You can also purchase your Spring Flowers at this event.

Principal's Notes Deadline

Please submit all items/information in final form for Principal's Notes

by Tuesday, 8:00am to the school or email to:

ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org or kmoritz@stpatselkhorn.org

Archived Principal's Notes