December 15, 2017

Dear St. Alphonsus Families,

We were reminded yesterday, in the Kindergarten-2nd grade Christmas program, that we are to be light carriers to others. How do we treat each other on a daily basis? Are we generous with compliments and concern or only think of ourselves and our needs? Sometimes it takes the children to remind us that we are asked to be Christ to others in many ways. It's a tall task but that's what Christians strive to do. 

​Next Friday is a "dress up" day for our annual Las Posadas. You are welcome to attend this event that begins at 11:15 in the Church. The students will be dismissed from Church and you may take them at that time. We will also have Cougar Club open for the afternoon. 

Wishing you the best for this upcoming week of Advent.​


Pat Wadzinski

INTRODUCING SRA. FLOR BENITEZ
Flor Benitez ​will join your ​our​ community as the Spanish Instructor for grades 1, 2, 4 and 5 beginning January 4th. As a veteran Futura Language Professionals instructor, Flor has garnered experience in elementary and middle school classrooms in various schools in the Milwaukee suburbs.  She is a caring educator who has a passion for fostering a love of language learning.  Flor completed her Bachelor’s degree in Education at the Universidad Autonoma in Juarez, Mexico. She brings with her a wealth of experience with children, as she was a kindergarten teacher in her native Mexico for over 20 years. She is a natural educator who builds positive rapport and communicates effectively with students and parents alike. As a native Spanish speaker, she brings a rich cultural experience to share with students. Flor is passionate about teaching her native language and looks forward to teaching at ​our​ school. Please join us in welcoming Sra. Benitez to the St. Alphonsus School Family.

Don’t Miss this Opportunity!
Our school has been selected to receive a free cognitive skills assessment for each student as part of a national grant. This test will assess a child’s seven core cognitive skills; including an attention cluster score, memory cluster, and auditory processing.  The test is valued at $100 but as part of a grant from the Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research, we can receive the test results at no cost.  We encourage you to take advantage of this free cognitive skills assessment to learn more about your child’s learning skills.

We have scheduled a parent night on January 11th with Kevin Pasqua of LearningRx to review the test, the testing process, and explain the areas being assessed.  The assessment will take place in school on Jan. 24th for any students whose parents have completed necessary paperwork and permission.  Mr. Pasqua will also host an additional session after testing in order to explain the results of the test and practical steps that you can take as parents to address any areas of concern.  Mr. Pasqua is a certified cognitive skills trainer, administers cognitive skills assessments, and holds a CBIS (Certified Brain Injury Specialist) certificate.
 
You can learn more about this amazing opportunity on Jan. 11 at 6:30 in the Community Room.  Any questions can be addressed to Marita Thiele  thiele@st-alphonsus.org.


The November 14th School Committee Minutes can be viewed by clicking the following link HERE. Our next school committee meeting is January 16th at 7pm in the Fr. Alan room. All are welcome to attend.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING
ADMISSION/ENROLLMENT FOR 2018/2019

Admissions and re-enrollment for the 2018-2019 school year will open on Monday, December 18, 2017. St. Alphonsus School will continue to partner with TADS to process the admissions and re-enrollments. 
 
RE-ENROLLMENT
Current school families may re-enroll with priority from Monday, December 18 th , to Friday, January 26 th . An e-mail from tads@support.com containing information on re-enrollment will be sent to the e-mail addresses in your TADS account. If you do not receive this e-mail by 4:00 pm on Monday, December 18 th , please contact TADS at 1-800-477-8237.

Re-enrolling by January 26th will insure your child's placement for the 2018-2019 school year. New families will be able to apply for admission and enrollment beginning Saturday, January 27th.  There is a $175.00 Tuition Deposit due for each child you re-enroll in grades 3K-8. In accordance with the enrollment policy, please re-enroll and pay the Tuition Deposit for all of the children in your family by January 26 th .

The Tuition Deposit, less a $50.00 processing fee per student, is refundable on or before April 5, 2018. Please contact the school office at 421-1760 if you wish to withdraw your enrollment. Beginning April 6, 2018, the Tuition Deposit is not refundable.

The Tuition Deposit will increase to $275.00 per student for all enrollments and re-enrollments completed on and after April 6, 2018.

SCRIP VOUCHER FOR PAYMENT OF TUITION DEPOSIT
Lori Korek, SCRIP Coordinator, will be sending SCRIP vouchers to families in late January, 2018. If you will be using all or a portion of your SCRIP voucher to pay the Tuition Deposit, you will be allowed to defer the deposit payment at the time of your re-enrollment. 


SPANISH ENROLLMENT
You will have the opportunity to enroll in Spanish class as part of your enrollment process.   For the 2018-2019 school year:

·         Spanish is mandatory for students in 5K – 7th grades.
·         Spanish is optional for students in 8 th grade.

The goal is that Spanish will be mandatory for students in 5K – 8 th grades by the 2019-2020 school year. Therefore, each school year going forward, an additional grade where Spanish is optional will become mandatory.

The tuition for Spanish is $225.00. The Spanish tuition is paid during the school year along with School tuition.

ST. ALPHONSUS COUGAR CLUB ENROLLMENT
You will also have the opportunity to enroll in the St. Alphonsus Cougar Club as part of your enrollment process. If your After-School Care needs are uncertain at this time, you can log-on to your TADS account at any time and enroll in the St. Alphonsus Cougar Club.

You will be charged the registration fee of $35.00 per child or $65.00 per family at the time of enrollment. The attendance calendar for August/September 2018 will be available on the St. Alphonsus School website on July 1, 2018 , and will be due on Tuesday, August 14, 2018.

FINANCIAL AID
We will be working with TADS to process Financial Aid applications. The Financial Aid application can be accessed by clicking on TADS Financial Aid tab located at the bottom left side of the St. Alphonsus School website at www.st-alphonsus.org/school The deadline to submit applications is April 5, 2018.  Financial Aid decisions will be made and communicated via email on May 1, 2018, for all applications received by April 5, 2018.

In order to qualify for Financial Aid you must be a parish member, your 2017-2018 TADS account must be in good standing, and your child must be enrolled full-time at St. Alphonsus. Financial Aid in not available for students in 3K, part-day 4K, or part-day 5K.
 
ADMISSIONS FOR CURRENT SCHOOL FAMILIES
Current school families with children who will be  starting school at St. Alphonsus School for the first time in fall may submit an application with priority between December 18 and January 26.  Documents you will need to apply are the Baptism certificate (if applicable), birth certificate, and immunization record. The admission application can be accessed by clicking on the TADS Admission and Enrollment bar located on the bottom left side of the St. Alphonsus School website www.st-alphonsus.org/school . You will be notified of an acceptance decision and directed to the enrollment process, if applicable. 

The admission application will be considered complete once all of the requested documents have been submitted to TADS via e-mail or USPS.

Thank you from Cookie Walk!
We had a successful 2017 Cookie Walk by all accounts! We raised more than $3,300 for Home & School, we had a lovely selection of homemade cookies to offer after all masses (even 11:00 mass!), and our customers raved about the beauty and quality of this year's cookies. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this event: the bakers who crafted beautiful cookies, the volunteers who helped us collect, organize, and sell cookies, and the buyers who helped us raise money. Several customers commented, "You guys really have the BEST Christmas cookies!" 

Bakers: Your empty reusable containers can be picked up in the room across from the school office before Christmas break. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Save the Date for Fun Fair  –  Friday, February 9, 2018, 5:30-8:30pm.
F un Fair is a family night at St. Alphonsus where the school gym, MPR and the Community Room have fun games, good food, prizes, and lots of raffle baskets. It is an event for all St. Alphonsus School families. 

REMINDER - For 3K through 5th Grade contributions: if you are sending in a cash contribution for the prize room instead of actual prizes, please have that money turned into the school office ASAP  so our volunteers can start shopping for prizes. See attached flyers for specific information. 

We will be collecting the 7th & 8th grade donations after the Holidays, as those are food related. Thank you in advance for helping make this year’s event fun for all the kids! 

For any Fun Fair questions please contact Wendy Halser,  wendybettinger@hotmail.com  or Madeline Schmidt,  madelinedahl@hotmail.com .


IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES

12/17/17 Third Sunday of Advent

12/20/17 Cousin's Night at 7700 S. Lovers Lane 4PM -7PM

12/20/17 Mass 8AM
 
12/22/17 NOON Dismissal
(note this is corrected from the previous calendar time!)

12/22/17 Las Posadas 11:15AM

12/22/17 Non-Uniform DRESS UP DAY

12/24/17 Fourth Sunday of Advent

12/25/17-12/29/17 - NO SCHOOL - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 SAFETY PATROL 
Cadets should report at 7:15 a.m. each scheduled day. They will have the privileged responsibility of assisting our parents and students during morning drop off. They are supervised by a staff member.  



Mr. Strangfeld

December 18th – 22nd
Joseph G.
Abigail G.
Annemarie G.
Josi K.
Abigail K.
Margaret K.

ST. ALPHONSUS HAPPENINGS
UGLY SWEATER DAY
Get ready, get set...

Get out those UGLY Christmas sweaters or T-Shirts to support the St. Al's food pantry!

WHEN: Monday, December 18th
WHAT: Wear your ugly Christmas sweater/T-Shirt and bring $1 for the St. Al's Food Pantry (non-uniform pants ARE allowed)

For more information see the flyer HERE or check your student's backpack folder for the flyer. Thanks for your support of this fundraiser.
MAD SCIENCE
Mad Science registration is available online for the next session beginning in January. The upcoming dates are January 8, 22, 29 and February 5, 12, **19**. Early bird discount if registered by 1/1/2018. See flyer HERE for more information.
**NOTE: change in dates from the flyer due to the January 15th early release day. February 19th is the makeup date for January 15th.**

As a reminder, registration is all done online.
Please do not send money or registration to the school.
HOME AND SCHOOL CORNER
Scholastic Ornaments are being sent home TODAY. Please watch for those in the backpacks.

Thank you for your support of Home and School!
All Scholastic Book Fair Gift Certificates that were purchased have been sent home via backpack mail this week. 

If you did not receive your purchased gift certificate, please contact Lindsay Rugg via email -  lindsay.rugg@gmail.com

Thank you for supporting Home and School's upcoming Scholastic Book Fair scheduled for the week of January 22 - 28, 2017!
UPCOMING HOME & SCHOOL MEETINGS
  • Jan 9th  (note 2nd week of Jan)
  • (tentative) Topics: Scholastic book fair, Catholic Schools week, Fun Fair, Recap of Cookie walk
  • Feb 6th
  • (tentative) Topics: Fish Fry, Recap of Jan events
  • Mar 6th 
  • (tentative) Topics: Fish Fry
  • May 1st
  • (tentative) Topics: Teacher appreciation week 

Merry Christmas! We look forward to seeing you at upcoming Home & School meetings.
SCRIP
Scrip Tips

Still Need Christmas Gifts?
Do you hate the thought of fighting crowds in the malls and parking lots? Why not take care of your last-minute shopping needs right here at St. Alphonsus! Purchase Scrip to finish up your list and earn a 2% tuition credit while making your holiday purchases. Gift cards for almost 80 merchants; including retail stores, restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations are available.
 
The “Scrip Year” is Ending
Just a reminder that Scrip purchases made through Sunday, December 31, 2017, will count toward the current credit totals (This year, Scrip WILL be available in the Community Room during the holiday weekends of Dec. 23-24 and Dec. 30-31). Beginning January 4th, a new tally will start; and all 2017 totals will be tabulated for tuition/fee vouchers to be issued in late January. Stock up to increase your family’s credit. Any questions, call Lori Korek at 421-5912
Scrip wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and a healthy & happy New Year!
 
When and where is Scrip available this week?
Sat. Dec. 16 th         4:00 - 4:30pm in the Community Room
Sun. Dec. 17 th        8:30 - 11:00am in the Community Room
Thurs. Dec. 21 st      Backpack mail (Please send orders in by Wednesday)
Fri. Dec. 22 nd          7:30-8:30 am in the School Lobby
Sat. Dec. 23 rd         4:00 - 4:30pm in the Community Room
Sun. Dec. 24 th            8:30 - 11:00am in the Community Room
 
Stay up to date with Scrip
Follow us on Facebook for the latest news. Find us at:
IN OUR COMMUNITY
Greenfield Little League
Greenfield Little League online registration is open January 1, 2018. Register between January 1-31 for a discount. To register, visit www.greenfieldll.com