|
|
Dear Parents,
The STM teachers and I look forward to seeing you this Thursday and Friday for annual parent-teacher conferences. Teachers are anxious to tell you how well they know your child and to share the progress they have observed in this first quarter. Take the opportunity to ask questions and help the teacher know your child even better. I do ask you to remember that the conference time is limited, so if you have concerns that can't be addressed in the 15-minute time-frame, please take time before you depart to arrange a subsequent meeting. Our goals are to partner with you to help make this a successful year for your child and a successful parent-teacher conference is a great way to ensure this partnership.
Please come and visit us this Sunday as we open our doors for the fall OPEN HOUSE from 11:00am to 1:00pm. Spread the word and bring your friends and neighbors. We enjoy the opportunity to "show off" the school and greet new and returning families.
As this school week closes, we take time to honor all Veterans and give thanks to them for their sacrifice and service to our country.
God bless,
Eleanor McCormack
|
|
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION - CONTEST WINNER
The numbers are in! October's Classroom Contest Winner
f
or collecting the most
Box Tops for Education
is;
Mrs. Coleman's class
!
And, a big Thank You to everyone who participated in this STM fundraiser last month.
Be sure to keep clipping those bright-pink
Box Tops logos, too! The
next Classroom Collection Contest will be in February. One great way to help boost your classroom's numbers is to ask family members and friends to collect
Box Tops
on your child's behalf. Clipping
Box Tops
is easy, and it supports our school without any extra cost since they are found on so many common food and household products. For full details on what to clip, visit
www.BTFE.com/earn. ###
|
REGISTRATION IS OPEN 
Believe it or not, it is time for all current STM families to re-register! Please click
here to complete the needed paperwork for the next school year of
2018-19. STM school wants to be sure to secure your child's spot in next year's classes. Thank you for your attention to this important detail.
|
|
HAVE YOU SIGNED UP?
Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, November 9 and 10. Listed below are the links to each teacher's Signup Genius page. Just click the name of your child's teacher to go directly to the Signup.
|
STM CARES - COAT DRIVE
STM is once again conducting a winter coat drive. As the weather is getting colder and we are pulling our warmer clothes out of the closet, please consider donating any extra coats, gloves, hats, scarves or boots that may no longer fit or you no longer wear. The donations will go to those in need in our community. We would be thrilled to accept your donations through Monday, November 27. Donations should be brought to Room 8, Mrs. Meehan's room. If you have any questions,
|
|
NEW CCD PARKING POLICY
Student safety is always a high priority and that also extends to the parish students who attend the Wednesday evening CCD classes. Please be aware that the Wednesday evening arrival and dismissal procedures for CCD parents have been formalized to pattern the STM students' arrival and dismissal. Anyone who comes to a Wednesday evening activity, such as basketball practice, must also follow these
new procedures and the
parking plan. Please take a moment to review them. Thank you!
|
The holidays are fast approaching so please mark your calendar now for one of the most anticipated PTO events of the year -- the STM Pancake Breakfast with Santa!
When
: Saturday, December 2nd from 9:00 am - Noon
Where
: The STM School Cafeteria and Gym
What
: Please join us for a wonderful breakfast featuring fluffy buttermilk pancakes, hot sausage, and warm beverages including hot chocolate and marshmallows! The kids will have a chance to visit with Santa, participate in an assortment of holiday crafts, win amazing raffle baskets, and shop at "The Little Elves' Christmas Shop" to pick out that perfect present to put under the tree for their Mom, Dad, or other loved ones. There will also be a photographer on-site to capture the magical moments with Santa!
Look out for registration forms coming home via backpack mail this week. Don't forget to reserve your space early to ensure your family gets a preferred time slot with Santa!
Interested in volunteering at the event? Please sign up in A to Z connect. We look forward to seeing you there!
|
|
Your Christmas Wishes expressed in beautiful cards presented by the Cathedral Council of the Knights of Columbus
Net proceeds support K of C Charitable activities at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More
Cards will be sold after the 5:30 p.m. Masses beginning Saturday November 4 and after 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Masses beginning Sunday, November 5 (while quantities last)
|
|
|
Parenting by Dr. Rene News
Parenting Workshop Schedule
2017 - 2018
|
Join Dr. Rene for an informative parenting workshop! These workshops are praised for being engaging, thorough and full of practical solutions. These workshops currently meet in McLean at Country Day School. For more information and to register, please click here.
Encouraging Honesty & Respect
Thurs. Nov. 16 9:20 - 10:20am
Kindergarten Readiness & Academic Motivation
Wed. Nov. 29 7:00 - 9:00pm
Positive Discipline 1-Day
Sat. Dec. 2 9:00am - 3:00pm
Managing Mealtimes & Picky Eaters
Wed. Dec. 6 7:00 - 9:00pm
Teaching Money, Chores & Allowance
Thurs. Dec. 7 9:20 - 10:20am
Tantrums, Whining & Backtalk
Mon. Dec. 11 7:00 - 9:00pm
|
Tips for a Better Clean Up Time
|
Your kids have been playing all afternoon, moving from one activity to the next. You realize dinner is 20 minutes away and the house is a mess. There are toys EVERYWHERE.
- Start young - I tend to think clean-up should be part of play from the beginning. Even before children can help, you can talk to them about how "we are done playing now so I am going to put these toys away." By eighteen months to two years old, give them small jobs as part of the clean up. By two and a half they should really be participating and hopefully by four years old taking ownership.
- Get organized - For kids to be able to put away toys, there should be clear places for toys to go. This means having a preferably clear bin for each type of toy, a box for puzzle pieces, a cabinet or shelf for puzzle boxes, a big basket for balls or a cabinet for dress-up clothes. It may take a few months to teach kids where and how things get put away and it is worth the effort.
- Have a consistent plan - If you find your kids do better cleaning up after each activity, make that the expectation. Better to clean up at the end of the day, that's good too. Find your plan and then stick with it.
- Everyone cleans - Everyone who gets to play, helps to clean.
- Give warnings - Clean up time is a transition. Many children benefit from having a warning before transitions. With my own kids, this is "We are done in five minutes, finish up," and "One more minute, do your last thing." It works best if you say the same things for each warning and mean the same amount of time. If sometimes when you say "five minutes" you mean two because you are in a hurry or you mean twenty because you get distracted, your warnings aren't very helpful.
- Clean-up songs - Every preschool teacher and most of the parents I know sing "Clean up time. Time to clean. Everyone is helping." That's a start. Google "clean up songs" or "clean up games," there are lots.
- Divide and conquer - Several children working together can distract each other. If this is the case, it may work best to assign each a specific job or area of the room to clean. This might also mean one cleans at a time.
- Set small goals - If there really are toys absolutely everywhere, it can be an overwhelming task to clean it all up. It may be helpful to start small and clean up the trains before snack and the legos after.
- Positive choices - Giving children choices would be saying "do you want to start with the blocks or balls?" or "Would you like to throw those in or dump truck them in the basket?" When a child makes a choices they are that much closer to doing the behavior. Here is a full blog post on how choices work in discipline.
- Challenges - Can child count all the blocks they put on the shelf? Can child pick up more blocks than you? Can child make neat stacks? Can child put all the blocks away in two minutes? Ready, go!
- Jobs - Jobs around clean up time might be the block supervisor, the doll organizer, or the art supply sorter. Give a title and a brief job description.
- Read books about it - Children's story books include:
- Pigsty by Teague
- Super, Completely and Totally the Messiest by Viorst
- The Messiest Room on the Planet by Kulling
|
|
|
BLAST SUBMISSIONS
STM Blast items
must be submitted to eblast@stmschool.org by noon on Monday
in order to be included in that week's edition.
All submissions must be in print-ready form.
Items received after this deadline will be held until the following issue.
Thank you for your cooperation.
|
|
| |
|
|
Upcoming Events
Thursday, November 9
11:30am Dismissal with Extended Day
Thursday, November 9
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Friday, November 10
11:30 am Dismissal with Extended Day
Friday, November 10
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Sunday, November 12
OPEN HOUSE
11:00am to 1:00pm
STM Lee Hall/Gym
Wed, November 15
OPEN HOUSE
9:00am to 11:00am
STM Lee Hall/Gym
Tuesday, November 21
11:30am Dismissal
with Extended Day
Wed, November 22
NO SCHOOL
THANKSGIVING VACATION BEGINS
Monday, November 27
School resumes
Thurs, November 30
High School Placement Test for 8th grade
|
|
