OUR LADY OF FATIMA SCHOOL
STANLEY T. STEELE
PRINCIPAL NEWSLETTER
December 1, 2017

"Live completely at peace because there will be light."
                                                                                 Padre Pio
OUT AND ABOUT:
  • On Wednesday, November 29th, Cynthia Kim was here from Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation to receive a check from the H.S.A. for the money raised from International Family Night at our school. The thousand dollars raised will go to support the education for children of families that have lost a parent serving in the armed forces. I cannot think of a better charity for us to support. A special thank you to Clara Taveras and Kevin Vallerie for bringing this idea to us and making it happen!  Your child was given a bracelet from the Children of Fallen Patriots as a thank-you from their Foundation.
  • The Geography Bee Competition took place in our 4-8 classes and this past Tuesday, we had the final ten contestants from grades 4-8 compete for the 2017 OLF School Geography Bee Champion. After a number of very close rounds, a winner was selected and it was 6th grader Allison Edouard. This is the second year in a row that Allison has won our Geography Bee. The next step for Alison is the state competition in Hartford. Thanks to middle school social studies teacher, Mr. Angelo Tsingerliotis for organizing and leading the Geography Bee again this year.
  • The Christmas Concert will be held Friday, December 15th at 1:00. We are already looking forward to it! The dress is slightly different this year and it will be as follows. Students in Grades K-2 will be given angel costumes by the school. Third-grade students will wear Nativity costumes. In grades 4-8 the boys will wear dress uniform pants, shoes and socks with a white collared shirt.  It can be a short sleeve polo if that is what the child has, a long sleeve polo, or a dress shirt.  No T-shirts are permitted.   A white turtleneck is ok but it might be too warm so I would prefer a regular collar.  However, if that is what the child has and the parents would like that shirt to be worn that is fine. Girls will wear their uniform dress skirt, socks and shoes with a white collared shirt or blouse, long sleeve or short. Each child will be given a red scarf on the day of the show.  The boys will drape the scarf and the girls will wear scarves in various ways for variety and interest.
  • I was in the first grade class the week of Thanksgiving. In the math lesson, the students were "building" number by combining numbers in the tens place and numbers in the ones place. What were they wearing during this math lesson building numbers? Plastic hard hats, of course. Wonderful idea, Ms. Berrios.
  • The Student Government is conducting a drive next week for the less fortunate during the Holidays. Any canned good you could contribute can be left in the main lobby and will be gratefully accepted.
  • Trying to get the message out what a great school we have is always a challenge. Most schools have full-time marketing staff, we depend on volunteers from our great parent community. Monday evening, Susan Patrick, Janet Dobos, Kathryn Benedett, Michael and Courtney Paige, Gina O'Sullivan and Margaret O'Brien met to discuss our overall marketing plan. In addition, we began to assign a point person for each upcoming event. More help is needed and no experience is necessary. Our next meeting is Monday, December 11th at 5:00 and all are welcome!
  • At our faculty meeting on Wednesday, we discussed the opinion article that appeared in last Sunday's New York Times by Daniel T. Willingham entitled, "How to Get Your Mind To Read."  In the article, Mr. Willingham discussed how important background information is in the reading comprehension process. His premise is that all of us understand and can make more inferences when we have background information. Here is the link to this interesting article:
  • NY Times Article
     
  • If anyone has a used Smartphone they would like to donate to our school, the data could be wiped clean and it will be put to great use. We will use it to power the Virtual Reality headphones that have been donated by Adrian's Company.
  • What is happening in our Religious Ed classes you are wondering? Mrs. Rooney is planning a fantastic and meaningful Advent for our middle school students. The eighth grade is planning to incorporate each of the corporal works of mercy into their daily lives. They will begin by visiting the sick. Dr. George Zahrah will schedule a time for the class to visit patients at Norwalk Hospital, hopefully before Christmas. Seventh Grade will have a reverse Advent calendar---instead of taking something out of each day (window) of Advent (like chocolate), we will put something in for the less fortunate. Students will voluntarily bring in a needed item for the Open Door Shelter each school day of Advent---food, cosmetic items, etc. Sixth graders will  help tell the story from creation to Christmas by making symbols for the Jesse Tree and relating their importance in the salvation. Activities like these is what makes our school the perfect place to educate your child
  • One of the benchmark events every year at our school is the Tyler Ugolyn Basketball Tournament. This year the tournament will run from January 25th to February 9th. There are games every night and all sections of our community come to cheer and help out. The tournament is for a wonderful cause as money is donated to the Tyler Ugolyn Foundation. Tyler Ugolyn is an Our Lady of Fatima graduate who lost his life on 9/11. This week we began planning for this year's tournament. Gabriella Casole leads our committee and at our first meeting we had Karin and Joe Beggan, Clara Taveras and Gerry Davis, Chris Isaacs, Gina O'Sullivan, Jill Falvo, Amber Pace, Carmel Bowron, and Don and Jackie Bembridge.  Every night of the tournament help is needed at the front door selling tickets, working in the kitchen, and helping with the scoreboard. No experience necessary to help. Our next meeting is January 8th at 6:00 p.m. and all are welcome.
  • Important Announcement: Mrs. Galasso's chemotherapy treatment is now scheduled to continue through May.  She has been an inspiration to all of us in how she has handled her health trial. In response to Mrs. Galasso's health crisis, the outpouring of food and support for Mrs. Galasso has been nothing short of fantastic! The Mealtrain calendar has now been extended through May. I will inform you of the dates for Mrs. Galasso's chemotherapy when I am aware.  I can't thank you enough for helping Mrs. Galasso and her family during this difficult time. You can still sign-up at  Meal Train Link  
  • A great way for your child to review work they find difficult, prepare for a coming test, or get help with homework is to encourage your child to attend Extra Help. Here at our school every first through eighth-grade teacher offers extra help hours each week. A great skill to encourage in your child to help them meet their academic potential is the skill of "using their tools." Please encourage your child to take advantage of these tutoring opportunities.
  • Diane McClean, the Wilton Youth Police Officer, is going to come and speak to our middle school students about Internet Safety. Ms. McClean speaks to all Wilton public school children on this topic. The topic of internet safety can quickly get into the serious areas of cyberbullying, sexting, and predators. Because of the serious nature of this presentation, I would like to have Ms. McClean first share her presentation with parents. Ms. McClean is now scheduled to attend the December 18thth, H.S.A. meeting and speak at 7:30. All parents are encouraged to come to hear Ms. McClean share on this important topic!
  •  Feeling pressured that the Holidays are approaching? Wondering how you are going to get it all your shopping done? This Sunday, December 3rd, the H.S.A. is offering an afternoon of babysitting from 1:00 to 4:00 in our gym. The cost is $30 per child or $50 per family. It is money well spent and for a good cause.
  • Mark your calendar: the annual H.S.A. Christmas Party will take place December 10th from 5:00 to 8:00 in the school gym. I understand even Santa has been invited. Please come and join the fun.
  • The lost and Found is located near the back door of the school. It is overflowing with Fatima sweatshirts. If you are missing one in your home, please stop by and take one home. I know they all look alike, but the weather is colder and they could keep your child warm at recess.
  • On January 13th, at 6:00 we are going to kick off this year's Tyler Ugolyn Tournament with our Annual Alumni Basketball Game. All alumni are welcome to play! Please pass the word.
  • Reminder:  Any orders for Fatima Sweatshirts or fleece pants must be in by Wednesday, December 6th.  If you forgot to get your order in, this is your last chance this year.  Be sure to get your order to the office right away or contact Karin Beggan if you need more information.
  • At our Back to School Night, I handed out the results of last year's parent survey. Here is another important take away from that survey: 90% of our parents strongly agreed with the statement that "My child is comfortable asking for help in school" and 3% of our parents strongly disagreed. In the Diocese as a whole, 76% strongly agreed with this statement and 7% strongly disagreed.
"SHOUT OUT 1"
Carol Wiemer. Once again this week, Mrs. Wiemer planned, organized and led our December Book Fair. Mrs. Wiemer brings book fairs to our school twice a year as a way to support reading throughout our community. Mrs. Wiemer does this in addition to her regular duties as school librarian. On days when the school library has no classes scheduled, Mrs. Wiemer substitutes teaches as needed in classes through-out the building. This week she covered middle school English when Mrs. Mancuso was out on Monday. On Wednesdays, Mrs. Wiemer rushes out of the building to teach CCD to fifth graders at her own Parish in Stamford. Thank you for all you do for our school, Mrs. Wiemer!

"SHOUT OUT II"
Jerry Davis. Jerry once again filmed this year's Hansel and Gretel play. He then created a beautiful video that we are selling in the main office. Because of Jerry's efforts, we have raised close to $500 for our school from this play. Jerry has taken on this responsibility on for the last seven years. Over these past seven years, Jerry has raised over $10K on DVD sales and video streams for our school! Thank you, Jerry!

COMING EVENTS:
November 28th - December 1st - Book Fair in the gym from 7:30 to 4:00
December 1st - Gingerbread bake goods sale afterschool with Hide Lynch
December 3rd - H.S.A. Babysitting Event from 1-4 in the gym
December 8th - Feast of the Immaculate Conception - No School
December 10th - H.S.A. Christmas Party from 5:00 to 8:00 in the gym
December 11th - School Marketing Committee meeting at 5:00
December 12th - Teacher Appreciation Luncheon by H.S.A. beginning at 12:15 p.m.
                            6th/7th Grade field trip to the Klein Memorial Auditorium
December 13th - Bishop Caggiano visits OLF for the 10:30 a.m. Mass
December 15th - School Christmas Concert at 1:00 p.m.
December 18th - HSA Board Meeting with guest speaker
December 22nd - Noon Dismissal
December 25-29 - Christmas Vacation
January 8th - School Athletic Committee Meeting at 6:00 p.m.
January 13th - Annual Alumni Basketball Game at 6:00
January 15th - Martin Luther King Day - No School
January 23rd - State of Schools Report
January 25th through February 9th - Tyler Ugolyn Basketball Tournament
January 26th - Second marking period ends
January 28th - Open House
January 28th through February 3 - Catholic Schools Week
February 9th - Sikorsky Heliveture Presentation
February 13 - LifeTouch here for clubs and Team Photos
February 16th - No School for Winter Break
February 19th - No School for President's Day
March 12th - March 23rd - Iowa School-wide testing
March 22th - Safe Environment Training
March 29th - No School for Holy Thursday
March 30th - No School for Good Friday
April 2nd - No School for Easter Monday
April 9th- April 13th - No School for Spring Recess
 
And Finally:
 Do you know someone who would benefit from prayers during the Holidays or at any time during the year? Every morning during morning prayers, pledge to the flag, and announcements, the school prays together for specific people in need. If you would like to suggest we pray for someone you know, just have your child stop and see me or send me their name and we will add them to our list. Prayer is the most important way that we can help someone!

 
 

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