St. Agnes School
Family Newsletter
August 31, 2011

Mission Statement of Saint Agnes School
Saint Agnes Elementary School strives for excellence in providing a Catholic education that inspires and empowers our students to embrace the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ as compassionate and faithful Christians, who continue to pursue their spiritual journey, their highest academic potential, and stewardship to others.

Thank You: Thank you for all your support in beginning this new school year. It was wonderful to see so many of you at Back to School Night. Let’s work together to make it a great year!

Bench: Stop by and see the bench in memory of Mrs. Gilliam. We wanted to put it our play area outside, but several people warned us that it could be stolen from the yard even if we bolted it down. There have been too many thefts in the neighborhoods; even on our church property. It will be in the school foyer for the time being ... maybe stay there.

Grandparents’ Day: Mark your calendars for our Grandparent Day Celebration which will take place on Friday, September 23rd. Please extend our invitation to your child/children’s grandparents to come and enjoy an afternoon here at St. Agnes School. We invite our Grandparents to come and visit the classrooms between 12:45 and 1:15. At 1:15, we will escort our grandparents to the gym where they will be entertained by our talented students, their grandchildren. It will be a day to make fun memories. We expect the program to go until about 2:15. Your children may leave with the grandparents if you wish. If your child will be dismissing with their grandparents after the performance, it will be necessary for you to fill out the attached form and return it to school by Friday, September 16th. Only students whose parents sign this form and return it to the office by September 16th, will be permitted to leave school with their grandparents.

Two New Dates: Put these two dates in your calendars:

October 12 – Book Fair Family Night
December – Children’s Christmas Concert (students in K, 1,2,3)

Uniforms: We were just ready to say “back to normal uniforms” and we get another heat wave. Students may continue to wear the gym uniform until further notice. As we are speaking of uniforms….parents, please check your children for proper uniforms. Look especially at socks, earrings, nail polish, length of skirts, and proper shirts. We will do periodic checks for uniforms, but help us out by making sure your children have the proper items. Thank you!

Forms: If you haven’t sent in the forms that were sent home the first day of school, please do so as soon as possible. If you are applying for free or reduced lunches, the form needs to be sent to the diocesan office within ten days of the start of school…do it today. If you need new forms, let us know.

Today’s forms include: Market Day with the youngest child;
Envelope from Catholic Charities explaining our counseling services;
Miles and Smiles info;
Yearbooks if you ordered one last school year

Custodial Agreements: If your children do not live with you as custodial parents 24/7, we need a copy of the court custodial records for your family. We do not need the whole divorce decree, only the part that refers to children’s custody, with the dates, who is the custodial parent, and proper signatures. If there is joint custody, we need that in writing. This is necessary to have on file for any child not living with mom and dad in the same household. Please send to the office in an envelope to the attention of Ms Groh. Thank you.

Immunization Records: If you haven’t already, please get copies of your children’s most current immunization records for our files. The kindergarteners and sixth graders would be the ones most impacted as they needed boosters and may be the most likely not to have updated copies in the school file. If your child has recently been given the immunizations, please remember that we need updated copies of the certificates on file. The NKY Health Dept. will want proof of all of those on file within the next few weeks.

Chorus: St. Agnes Chorus rehearsal will begin next Thursday, September 8th. If your child is in the sixth, seventh or eighth grade and is interested in joining the school chorus, please tell him or her to see Mrs. Miller in the morning before school starts, or email her at cmiller@saintagnes.com.  Thank you, Claire Miller

Sixth Grade Academic Team: If you are interested in joining the sixth grade academic team, please come to a brief parent/student informational meeting on Tuesday, September 6th at 2:45 in the library. If you have any questions, contact me at msucher@saintagnes.com.  Thanks, Mindy Sucher, sixth grade academic coach

Ink & Toner Recycling: Please send in any empty ink cartridges or toner cartridges to the computer lab and we will recycle them. We receive credit toward ink/toner supplies for the school for each one turned in. Last year we earned $985 in credit for all of the cartridges we collected! Some parents were able to save toner cartridges from their workplace and that really helped add up to big savings! (No Xerox cartridges allowed.) If you have any questions, please email Monica Wainscott at mwainscott@saintagnes.com.  Thank you, Monica Wainscott

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Faith for Generations Capital Campaign – Although school was dismissed, the people of St. Agnes spent their summer giving time, prayers, and pledges during the follow-up phase of our Faith for Generations capital campaign. In July a campaign newsletter was included in the church bulletin. This newsletter, which can be viewed by clicking here, thanked our 229 campaign volunteers and announced our preliminary pledge total of $2,897,996.
     Currently, 708 households have pledged a total of $2,948,425. This includes 138 school families who have responded to the campaign and pledged a total of $673,500. We are just $50,905 short of our $3,000,000 Basic Needs Goal! Remember that all of the projects included in our Basic Needs Goal are for improvements to our school facilities, including: the building of a retaining wall to stabilize slipping on the northeast corner of the building, updating the inadequate electrical system to improve safety and technological capability, improving the indoor air quality with the installation of a ventilation system, and installing air conditioning to create an environment more conducive to learning.
     To those of you who have submitted your gifts of pledges and prayers – thank you! If you have not yet made your commitment, please pray about this and consider how you will participate. If you have misplaced your pledge card, pledges may be submitted to the parish office by phone (859)431-1802 or emailed to Fr. Keene at mkeene@saintagnes.com.  If you are new to the St. Agnes community and have not received information regarding our Faith for Generations capital campaign, please contact Julia Hurst at jhurst@csg.org.

See You On Sunday! Over 700 parish families have pledged their support to the capital campaign and to provide Faith for Generations through our largest ministry – our school. As current school families, it is our children who will be the first beneficiaries of this sacrifice. Please remember to thank your fellow parishioners by regularly attending Sunday mass at St. Agnes. It is critical that parishioners see school families practicing the faith for which we have all sacrificed. Thank you.
          –Fr. Mark Keene, The Board of Catholic Education, and Capital Campaign leadership

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Board of Education News:

Family Service Hours: Welcome back to another school year at St. Agnes. Without the assistance of you, our parents, many of the school, athletic and extracurricular activities would not be possible or as successful. The Boosters, PTO, Capital Campaign and recent Homecoming are all run and made successful through the volunteered time of the parents and guardians of our school children, in addition to the generous support provided by the Parish. The Family Service Hours page, found on the Parent Organization tab of the school web site, provides a listing of the many ways in which you can help. Also, all hours provided may be quickly and easily recorded on the electronic form also found on this page. As a reminder, each parent/guardian is asked to provide 10 hours of volunteer service each school year. Further details are provided on this page as well. Thanks in advance for all you do to make St. Agnes School a success for our children.

Sunday Mass Servers: Many of our older grade school children volunteer as Sunday Mass servers. We appreciate your services at the liturgies. On those occasions when you cannot attend on the day or time that you are scheduled, please contact your coordinator or the church office to arrange for a substitute.

PTO News:

First PTO Meeting: The first PTO meeting of the year is Thursday, Sept. 8 at 7:00 in the library. ALL are welcome! Hope to see you then!

Product Survey Volunteers Needed: We are still in need of several volunteers for the Product Survey on Tuesday 9/13 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm, I have more of a need at the following times: 5, 5:30, 6 and 6:30. We could use as much help as possible, so please tell your friends, family and neighbors- anyone that is interested in an easy, and not too time consuming, way to help St. Agnes School. In the 2009-2010 schoolyear, we raised almost $3,000 but this amount is based on how many individuals participate. Please e-mail rene.cooper@hotmail.com  if you would be available for 15 to 30 minutes on Tuesday, September 13th to take a product survey. If you have questions, feel free to call me at 859.816.0929 or e-mail rene.cooper@hotmail.com.  The survey will be held in half hour increments from 4:00 to 7:00, so please indicate which half hour time slot you will be present in your RSVP. I have submitted my initial headcount, but we are still in need, please let me know if you can make it ahead of time but I will gladly welcome walk-ins the day of as well.

Market Day: It’s not too late to order from Market Day. Order cut off is Thursday 9/1 and our sale date is next Tuesday 9/6 at 5:30 in the cafeteria. There is a coupon for new customers who place their orders online at www.marketday.com. Enter promo code NEWFIVE at checkout and save $5 when you spend $25. Questions? Heather Mast 760-1604

Playground Volunteers Needed: We need many playground volunteers from among this year’s first and second grade parents. Playground duty runs from 11:20-11:45, and you can sign up for as many days as you would like each month. This is a great way to earn service hours for your family! If you are interested in helping, please contact Annette Ward at annetteward5@gmail.com or call 859.760.634. Thank you!

Room Parent Sign-Ups: Don't forget that the last day to sign-up as a Room Parent or Homeroom Helper for your child's classroom is this Friday, September 2. You know how much the kids love to see your faces in their classrooms!! Please fill out the form linked here. If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Dickhaus at ddickhaus@yahoo.com.  Thanks!

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Second Grade Brownies: Brownies sign up time!! Second grade brownies are starting for the school year and we would like you to join! If your daughter is interested in joining our group this year we will have our first meeting right after school on Friday, Sept. 2 until 4:30pm. Please email amygeig@yahoo.com for sign-up paperwork to be sent to you via kidmail.

Cub Scouts: Come join the Cub Scouts at St. Agnes! Cub Scout sign-ups for grades 1-5 tonight at 7 pm in Murphy Hall. Please call or email Pat Anneken if you have any questions. 859-331-1835 or patrick.anneken@fuse.net

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Save the Dates: A wonderful chance to help our families:

This Saturday, September 3rd -- Rock Downs VI: Please note the date correction from last week .... Join us at Rock Downs VI --THIS SATURDAY-- September 3 from 6 pm -12 am. It is a great family evening! It is $25 per family. If you have yet to RSVP, there is still time! Email Missy at raisinghail@fuse.net.  Can't wait to see you here!!! Click here for details!

Saturday, September 17, at the Drawbridge Hotel - Elizabeth's Evening of Enchantment - Join us for a night to help Princess Elizabeth Smith (a first grader at school) fight the battle against the evil dragon (B cell lymphoblastic leukemia of the bone). We are in need of items to be raffled or auctioned at the event. Would you consider donating? They can be sent via KidMail to Jill Hassman c/o Will 7W, dropped off at the school office, or call Jill at 859-630-3842 to make arrangements for pick-up. For cash donations, please make any checks payable to the Elizabeth Smith Support Fund or go directly to any Fifth Third Bank location. Please click here for an invitation to the event. You may also register online at (http://www.cincyticket.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=802).  If you have any questions or to volunteer to work the night of the event, please contact elizabethsevening@gmail.com.  Thanks!

Sunday - September 18 - 2nd Annual Smiles and Miles 5K - Honoring the Life of Maria Schaffstein will be held on St. Agnes grounds from 4:00 - 8:00pm. This is a family friendly event and features a 5K run/walk through scenic Park Hills and Devou Park. Maria was tragically killed in an accident April 2010. Over 900 people joined us last year and we invite you to be a part of this wonderful day. All proceeds from the race benefit St. Agnes School. To register visit: sprunning.com or email andy.kennedy@ctonky.com.