Dear Saint Families,
Happy Tuesday! Only two more Tuesdays to go! It is amazing how fast this school year has gone by.
I hope you all remained safe last Friday when school was closed. I was given permission that we will not need to make up this school day. Additionally, we have rescheduled our 7th/8th grade Leadership ceremony along with our PTO recognition on May 24. Thank you for your support as we close out the school year!
You might have heard some of your students sharing that we had visitors on our campus last week sharing and engaging them in lessons across many grade levels. We continue to promote life-long learning even within our staff as we are all continuing to grow. We have a dedicated staff with many years of experience; however we continue to embrace a growth mindset. This week we also recognize many of our faculty who have given their life to serve our students.
See below those teachers and staff who we honor for their significant years of service:
5 years:
Gloria Bowring, Jessi Cook, Nora Garcia, Chad Goodman, Mariangie Pagan, Bethany Yager
15 years:
Mariela Linares, Cindy Mendelson, Karin Palmer, Ronda Stieber, Mitzi McBee
20 years
: Carrie Riley, Leticia Velasco, Carol Weido
25 years:
Lucy Dao, Betty Festa, Kathy Rieder
Retiring: Karin Palmer
In Him,
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Principal
P.S.- The following homeroom teachers (Ms. Moniaci, Mrs. Denton, Ms. Quinlan, Ms. Fannin and Mrs. Bouffard) had 100% participation in FITS by the deadline and won "a free shoes day" on this Thursday, May 16. Congratulations!
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2019 StJPII Parent Survey
Please take a moment and complete the 2019 StJPII Parent Survey. Below is the survey link. Your feedback is truly important as we continue to grow as a school community. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete, it is anonymous, and your responses will provide valuable insights about how we can continuously improve and maintain excellence. The survey is scheduled to close this
Friday, May 17. We look forward to hearing from you! Thank you again for your feedback.
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Annual Fund
As the end of the year comes to a close, we would like to remind you to please send in your Annual Fund gift if you haven’t done so already! EVERY gift makes a difference. To give your gift today, click here on the button below.
Our benefactors are direct blessings from the Lord. We pray gratefully in Mass and every day that the Lord will provide for all your needs, as you are doing for us.
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Father Jerek Scherber will be here this Friday!
Friday, May 17 our celebrant for Mass is Father Jerek Scherber. If you would like to write a special note to him, there will be a journal at Mass for you to sign. His order, the Legionaries of Christ, is a non-profit organization. If you would like to make a donation in Fr. Jerek's honor, there will also be a donation box available. Cash or checks are accepted. Checks should be made out to LC Pastoral Services.
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Used Uniform Sale
Please join the Used Uniform Sale Committee at the upcoming sale on
May 20 from 7:00-10:00 a.m. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Soledad Khoury at sadrogue@hotmail.com with any questions.
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Middle School Final Exam Schedule
Please mark your calendars for the Middle School Final Exam Schedule.
6th Grade
- Tuesday, May 21- Math 1:50 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
- Wednesday, May 22- Language Arts 1:50 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
7th Grade
- Monday, May 20- Language Arts P1 9:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m. & Language Arts P2 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 21- Pre Algebra 1:50 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
- Wednesday, May 22- Texas History P1 9:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m. & Texas History P2 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
8th Grade
- Monday, May 20- Algebra 10:40 a.m. -12:15 p.m. & Literature 1:50 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 21 Language Arts 10:40 a.m. -12:15 p.m. & US History 1:50 p.m.-3:25 p.m.
- Wednesday, May 22 Theology 10:40 a.m.-12:15 p.m. & IPC 1:50-3:25 p.m.
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All School Mass Announcements- Friday, May 24
On
Friday, May 24 following the All-School Mass at 8:30 a.m., the annual
Leadership Ceremony will take place. The 8th Grade Class of 2019 will symbolically pass their leadership duties on to members of the 7th Grade Class. This is such a special tradition for the StJPII community to witness as we near the end of the school year. We will also honor the
PTO Volunteers for their service. All are welcome to attend to help recognize these honorees.
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No BASP in the afternoons of May 24 and May 30
There will be no after-school BASP on Fun in the Sun day, May 24 and on the last day of school. All students must be picked up by dismissal time. Thank you in advance.
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For 8th Grade Parents
The time is almost here! Our 8th graders are getting ready to graduate from St. John Paul II. Please find some useful information for the Graduation Ceremony and the Dinner/Dance Celebration on the StJPII's website under
Student Life/ 8th grade. Additionally, if you have not purchased your tickets for the dinner and dance yet you can do so on the link below.
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Gaming and Our Kids
Several weeks ago I was able to attend a conference with Dr. Leonard Sax – a practicing family physician, psychologist, and author of best-selling books
The Collapse of Parenting, Girls on the Edge, Why Gender Matters, and Boys Adrift. One of the topics he covered was video gaming and how we can help our children with reasonable limits. He did not start with the assumption all gaming is bad. If gaming brings the family together, such as playing Wii Tennis, then it can be fine. If gaming time is crowding out time spent with friends or doing homework, you may have a problem.
I won’t be able to cover all Dr. Sax shared with us including a lot of research on how the brain actually can change along with behavior when young people spend unhealthy amounts of time gaming. If you are interested in this, please read his books mentioned above where he supplies links to all the relevant research. For today I will just share some tidbits I found interesting as well as some common sense guidelines.
Concerning Effects of Video Gaming
- Risk-taking is rewarded in worlds that are not reality – hijacking a car, speeding, driving dangerously- can lead to better times in a video game and are often necessary to win a game. Risky behavior is often required and rewarded. Adolescents who play these “risk glorifying games” are more likely to engage in dangerous driving behavior, to be involved in accidents, and are more willing to drink and drive.
- Obesity: People who spend a lot of time gaming are more likely to be obese or to become overweight – even more so than people who spend the same amount of time watching tv. One study found a direct appetite-stimulant effect occurs when gaming… people literally get “the munchies” from excessive gaming.
- Dehumanization/changes in personality: playing violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Fortnite, and Call of Duty have effects that are qualitatively different from nonviolent games such as Madden Sports or Tetris. Violent video game play desensitizes young people’s brains to real violence. Gaming over years (with violent games) appears to cause more aggressive behavior, thoughts, and feelings as well as decreasing empathy. This is not the case with nonviolent video games. Moral inversion games (i.e. games where bad behavior rewards the player – such as stealing an officer’s gun or sleeping with a prostitute gives energy to the player) are particularly worrisome. A study of 3000 kids over 3 years (Anderson/Gentile) tracked traits such as altruism/selfishness, gentleness/hostility, impatience/patience, lying/honesty … children who play these moral inversion games physically showed brain changes in these areas making them less empathic and aware.
You must know what games your child is playing and what happens in the game. Watch them playing. There should be no expectation of privacy when your child is playing a video game. No one else can do this job for you. When your child is going to a friend’s house, you need to be aware if they will be gaming and if so, that you agree they not play violent video games.
Suggested Guidelines For Video Game Playing
- Content: Children should not play games where there is a reward for killing police officers or noncombatant civilians. Some E-rated games have been found to be more violent than some games rated T.
- Time: No more than 40 min/night on school nights and no more than 1 hour/day on other days AFTER homework and household chores are done. Minutes do NOT roll over. If your child misses a week of gaming you should not allow him or her to then play for several hours. This is called binge gaming and like other binge activities … it is unhealthy.
- Activities Displaced: Our children should be very clear on family priorities. Family comes first, schoolwork comes second as your job, friends come third and video games should be far down the list. The child’s health … getting exercise, sleep, and sitting down at the table for healthy meals should be up on the priorities too.
I hope you find this information helpful. I know it will possibly make me one very unpopular counselor recommending strict limits on games and time spent on them but I figure it’s my job to share what I am learning as it’s an ever changing world we are navigating. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
In Christ’s Love,
Betty Costantini
StJPII Middle School Counselor
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7th Grade Service Project
Thank you for your generous donation to the Rice Bowl collection this year. This year's total collected was $2,143.
-Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the Hungry
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4th Grade Girl Scout Troop Service Project
The StJPII 4th Grade Girl Scout Troop raised $300 worth of supplies and toys and donated them to Texas Children's Hospital as part of their year-long Journey Award.
- Corporal Works of Mercy: Clothe the Naked
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StJPII Gala- February 22, 2020
Plans for the 2020 Gala are underway and we are looking to someone to chair our Live Auction! If you would like to help would like to volunteer on a committee, please contact
communications@jp2.org.
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2019 FUN IN THE SUN–Friday, May 24
Be not afraid…to Stay Cool! Canopies and coolers Needed! Please drop off large coolers and canopies, labeled with your name, during morning carpool on
Wednesday, May 22 and Thursday May 23. Coolers and canopies need to be picked up after the FITS event ends on Friday. Thank you in advance!
Please donate to Fun in the Sun! Your generosity helps make StJPII a great learning space for your children. Every donation matters. Additionally, don’t forget to contribute to the Lucky Ticket Baskets! We request a $10 donation per family. Please click on the Donate Online to FITS button below to contribute to FITS for both a general donation and for Lucky Ticket Baskets.
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End of the Year Staff Gifts
The end of the school year is fast approaching and it is the PTO’s tradition to remember our faculty and staff by giving each an end of year gift. The PTO is asking families who would like to contribute to this gift to please send a suggested amount of $10 per teacher in an envelope labeled “Faculty and Staff Gift”. This envelope can be turned into the front office until
May 24. The PTO thanks you in advance for your generosity.
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Summer Enrichment Program
Children 3 years old through 8th grade are invited to the StJPII Summer Enrichment Program (SEP),
June 10-28 from 9:30-2:30, when we emphasize hands-on exploration in a fun, stimulating and supportive environment. The program features small class sizes and is taught by highly-qualified teachers. (Before and after care is available too.)
May 17 is the deadline for this year's SEP program.
Sibling discounts are also available. For more information and to register, click the button below or contact SEP Director
Kim McCurry.
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ECI Catering
Many families have balances that need to be paid. Payments can be brought to school or parents may
pay online
.
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Middle School Sports
Middle School athletes ended their entire year of sports with a fantastic Sports banquet this past Monday night! Our athletes, coaches, and parent community all came to celebrate our student athletes accomplishments and there was certainly A LOT of SAINTS spirit in the air! We would like to congratulate Clara Flessner and Zach Rocha as the recipients of our St. Sebastian Awards. This is a new award we give to an 8th grade girl and boy for not only their overall outstanding athleticism, but their Christ-like behavior, integrity, and willingness to step up and show their strong leadership qualities.
Football
We will have our 2019 Fall Football meeting on
Thursday, May 23
at 6:00 pm in the GSC as we welcome our new Head Football Coach, Richard Porth! This meeting is for rising 6th, 7th and 8th grade boys and your parents. Please come out to meet our coach and learn about our new Football program!
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Elementary Sports
Elementary sports unfortunately got rained out so we look forward to next week and hope for better weather!
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Ade Youth Soccer Academy
StJPII Coach Ade is hosting his annual soccer summer camps! Summer Soccer Camp locations are throughout Houston. For more information and all the details, please see the attached
flyer
.
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The Celebration will take place at St. John Vianney on
Saturday, May 18 at 10:00 a.m.
Registration and check-in will begin at 9:30 a.m. outside the Social Service Ministries building. In addition to the Reflection on Life and a Living Rosary led by Deacon Greg Stokes, there will be a Family Picnic this year!
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High School Summer Camps
Please click on the buttons below for additional information.
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To view events related to StJPII, please click on the school calendars below.
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St. John Paul II Catholic School
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1400 Parkway Plaza, Houston, TX 77077
281-496-1500 • 281-496-2943 (fax)
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St. John Paul II Catholic School prepares all students spiritually
and academically to succeed in life and to do God's will.
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