ST. JOHN THE BELOVED SCHOOL FEBRUARY, 2014 NEWSLETTER Dear Parents and Guardians, FRANCISCAN VALUE FOR FEBRUARY: FORGIVENESS – to acknowledge our uniqueness as we are open to being free of anger, grudges, and hostilities toward others (honesty, flexibility, caring, openness). STRETCH FORTH YOUR HAND TO GOD Do you remember the television show “Let’s Make a Deal”? Perhaps it still exists in some incarnation. Contestants were given a choice of whatever was behind three curtains. It could be a new car, a set of steak knives or a day-old loaf of bread. It wasn’t exactly fire and water or good and evil, but you could certainly be disappointed. We are given many choices in how we will follow Christ in this world. It’s not always as simple as good or evil. But we can disappoint God and ourselves nonetheless. We can choose to help the poor, or we can ignore God’s call to love our neighbor. We can stop gossiping, or we can pretend its just conversation, we can forgive and forget, or we can nurse our resentments. We can have compassion and respect for others or we can treat people as If they don’t really matter. We all have choices. “Stretch forth your hand to God.” GREAT NEWS! We are pleased to present the list of eighth grade students at St. John the Beloved School who through their outstanding performance on the High School Placement Test received merit-based scholarships from the following high schools: PADUA ACADEMY Mary Shannon Donnelly Lauren Hilger Sarah Manno Ava Stratton ST. ELIZABETH HIGH SCHOOL Ava Stratton SALESIANUM HIGH SCHOOL Joseph Fassano Grady Mc Peak Nicholas Saponaro ST. MARK’S HIGH SCHOOL Connor Daniel – Principal’s Scholar Erin Derick Grady Mc Peak Timothy Rubini Mollie Russell Rachel Staib URSULINE Emily Sardo Catholic Schools Week was an exciting and busy time. Bowling was a huge success. Thank you to Mrs. Malatesta for coordinating this event. The volleyball game is always fun and continues to be a staple of Catholic Schools Week. Thank you to our Home and School members for providing faculty and staff with a delicious luncheon and an ice cream treat for the students. Our Distinguished Graduate this year was Mr. David Ballintyn, an educator in Alexandria, Virginia and is also Mrs. Patty Ballintyn’s son. She is a paraprofessional in kindergarten. David gave an inspiring speech at Mass and is a true example of the value of a Catholic education. Thank you to Mrs. Thompson for coordinating this event. Middle School students gave a day of service at Friendship House, Guardian Angel Child Care, and Ministry of Caring Child Care. Franciscan Care Center, Claymont Community Center, Catholic Charities Store, Jesus House, and the Sunday Breakfast Mission. It was a good learning experience for all. Thank you to Mrs. Goetz for coordinating these visits. Congratulations to our State Fire Prevention Award Winners: Sean Albert, Collin Jeffery, Chad Dohl, and John Cohill. ART FAIR WINNERS 7th Grade Turrell Boxes: 1ST: ELAINA MAAHS, 2ND KYLIE LUTZ 3RD, RYLEE KING, VANESSA BARTHOLOMEW HM SABRINA SULLIVAN, MAURA MILLER GOLD FOIL 1ST KAYLA WOLFF, ZABRINA MORTAROTTI , 2ND DOMINIC RAGAZZO, MICHAEL RYDLEWSKI KYLIE LUTZ . CREATIVITY: MAGGIE SCHULTE. STYROFOAM CUP FACES 1ST MAGGIE SCHULTE, AMANDA PATTERSON 2ND NATALIE PAOLI, 3RD SETH BALE, HM LIZ BAKER CREATIVITY, BEN HENRY SABRINA SULLIVAN. WOODEN BIRDHOUSES 1ST DAVID FILIPPONE, MICHAEL PASTRO, ZABRINA MORTAROTTI 2ND HEATHER PLYSTAK ,LINDSAY NICHOLS, 3RD BRIAN MURPHY, MAURA MILLER HM GABE ROBERTS, KAYLA WOLFF 6TH GRADE CASTLES 1ST BREANNA BURTON, PATRICK CANNON 2ND HANNAH JEKER 3RD AMANDA TUCCI HM DAISY BARTHOLOMEW CREATIVITY NATE ECHEVARRIA WOODEN CROSSES 1ST GINA HOBBS, CALI CUMMINGS, MACKENZIE PRETTYMAN 2ND ADAM OBEREMBT, NICK RAGAN, JORDAN KEOMANIKHOTH 3RD GREGORY WEIDNER HM SYDNEY SMITH CREATIVITY: JULIA SARDO 8TH GRADE CLAY 1ST TIM RUBINI, AVA STRATTON 2ND VALENTINA SAUGHELLI 3RD ANDREW STOFA, HM CHRIS COHILL, RACHAEL STAIB. CREATIVITY CASS PADOVANI 8TH GRADE CLOCKS 1 ST EMILY SARDO 2ND CASS PADOVANI, BAILEE SPILLAN 3RD ELLA CATTERTON ,CHRIS COHILL HM EMMA TOY, ALEXIS CONTE ,OLIVIA SCALORA CREATIVITY JACOB BATES . STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS The proceeds of the December Tag Day allowed student council to donate $600 to the retirement fund for the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia. The Panda Bear Raffle, won by P.J. Johnston of 3-A, earned $150 for Saint John the Beloved’s Outreach Program. Thank you to all who participated in both fundraisers. The proceeds of the February Tag Day will be donated to Birthright of Delaware; the exact amount will be revealed in the March newsletter as the tag day collection has not, yet, been counted. Again, thank you to all for your support. Upcoming Events General Meeting: February 11 As always, students and parents are reminded of the need to bring in a note identifying the name of the person with whom members will be going home. This information is purely in the interests of each student council member’s safety. Tag Day, February 13 Donation: One dollar Theme: “Celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day”   Suggested Colors: Red, Pink, White, Shades of Purple, and Black Please feel free to wear Valentine-themed accessories!! To Benefit: The proceeds of the day will be set aside for the purchase of the “ingredients” for Easter baskets for Emmanuel Dining Room. Please note that nobody should ever feel that she/he needs to purchase new items of clothing for a tag day. Be inventive. Use items that you already have in your closet. Additionally, no student should ever feel under pressure to dress in theme. Students may observe a tag day as a dress down day; that is totally acceptable. Themes are only suggested for fun. As long as a student pays a dollar for the privilege of dressing down/in theme, that is all that counts. Questions/comments pertaining to student council should be addressed to Mrs. O’BrienRoache ([email protected]/998-5525, ex. 322). Thank you for your ongoing support. Happy Valentine’s Day! Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for the three hand-made bookcases in the library. These three bookcases were specially made to fit at the ends of the book aisles and to be about the same size as two existing bookcases. Special thanks to Ritchie Molaison and Mike Goetz for providing their craftsmanship, and to Steve and Valerie Oldiges who helped with the finishing touches once the units were fully assembled. The bookcases were put in service during Christmas vacation IMPORTANT POINTS For the next school year, report card conferences will be scheduled by the teacher and this information will be given to you at Back to School Nights. This will give you ample time to look at your schedule to make sure that you can be there at your assigned time. We ask that you do not request a certain teacher for the next school year. These decisions are made by the faculty keeping in mind the student’s needs and learning style. A good deal of time and thought is given to this process. REMINDER: EXTRA TIME ON UPCOMING TERRA NOVA TESTING: Students who have been DIAGNOSED with a learning difference and it has been DOCUMENTED and shared with school are eligible for untimed testing on standardized tests. If you would like your child to receive this accommodation for the upcoming Terra Nova testing, please email Mrs. Magee at [email protected] in order to process this request. Students whose parents do not contact the school to make these arrangements will be given the timed test. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Keep sending in your Box Tops for Education. We just received a check for $1,300. As you can see, this is a worthwhile project. The 2014-15 Eagles Club registration form can be found on the website. We are finding more and more sweaters and sweatshirts and would like to give them back to their owners but there are no names in them. It is important that you remember to do that so that we can return them. Special Persons Days are scheduled for April 28th through May 1st. This is a time to have lunch in the hall at 11:30 a.m. with the special people in our lives. A tour of the school follows. You can either brown bag your lunch or bring in goodies from the outside. Reservation form is on the website. Donuts and Dads is scheduled for Tuesday March 4th (A-L) and March 11th (M-Z), 7:10 a.m. in SJTB Hall. Please remember to park in the back lot. Daniel Grey, alumni of SJTB, made the Honor Roll at Charter School of Wilmington and CCD alumni, Kristen Horne, made the honor roll at Padua. St. Valentine: O glorious advocate and protector, St. Valentine, look with pity upon our wants, hear our requests, attend to our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labor and obtain for us divine blessings, that we may be found worthy to join you in praising the Almighty for all eternity, through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Yours in Christ Jesus, Mr. Richard D. Hart, Principal