Mid-November Parent Newsletter

For the parents and families of St. Therese Chinese Catholic School

Dear Parents,

Our trip to Washington DC to attend the National Blue Ribbon Ceremony was a great experience. I was so proud to represent our school among the nation's best! Now, we begin our journey toward a third Blue Ribbon in five years when we are able to apply again!

Please do not forget to register for a parent teacher conference time. Remember parents must have an appointment scheduled through Virtual Paragon to receive their child's report card. There are no other times to pick up report cards other than Thursday, November 29.

All students are dismissed at 11:30 am on Thursday, November 29. Please be on time so our conference schedule runs on time and each parent may have their fully allotted time.

Students in grades K through 8th will be taking the iReady tests which will give us more instructional data and resources for teachers, parents, and students. Students in PK and JK will continue to take the Circle Progress Monitoring. Look for more info to come as we continue to work with these assessment programs.

I hope everyone has a safe and restful Thanksgiving. I am very thankful for our students, parents, teachers, staff, and school community.

Sincerely,

Lisa Deborah Oi

Principal

Generous Alumni Challenges Us to Raise $20,000...

and They Will Match It!

Thanks to a very generous alumnus, this year's Annual Fund Appeal has a matching gift challenge of $20,000! The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, will match the first $20,000 in gifts toward our Annual Fund.

Donations to the 2018-2019 Annual Fund will support our continued expansion of the Learning Lab concept into additional classrooms. As you may have seen first-hand at Parent Night, the student-centered, high-tech classroom facilitates more collaborative class work, improves integration of technology tools, and better reflects the students' future work environment.

We hope that all alumni and friends will be motivated to support our Annual Fund - particularly with this amazing matching gift challenge.

Parents - We encourage you to share this opportunity to make a major impact with alumni, friends, and colleagues who may be interested in joining our Blue Ribbon Award-Winning Community in support of our wonderful school. The appeal letter that has been sent to past donors and other friends can be downloaded here. Friends can also make donations online at sttheresechicago.org/AnnualFundAppeal!

NOTE: We are still working to add alumni to our database to keep them informed of school events and fundraising opportunities such as this matching gift challenge. If you have Alumni contacts to share, please direct them to Liz Fieweger. Alums can also share their contact information directly with us online here.

The Big Drawing is less than a month away! Don't get left out of the excitement - the more tickets you buy the greater the chance you have for winning! And don't forget that the seller of the winning ticket will also win $1,000! Tickets may be purchased online or at the school office.

In and Around the Classroom

7th and 8th graders visit the American Writer's Museum

8th graders "interview" Mark Twain

5th grade scientists examine plant life

JK got creative with resources as we practice the alphabet and letter identification

The St. Therese Flag Football Finishes Successful Seasons on All Levels!!

The St. Therese Flag Football Teams finished up very successful seasons. The 8th Grade Varsity Team finished in 3rd Place in the league for the second consecutive season and lost a narrow playoff game to St. Agnes in the semi-final round of the playoffs. The 7th Grade Varsity Team completed their season with a competitive playoff game with St. Catherine-St. Lucy.

The JV (6th/5th Grade) Team was able to capture the League Championship with a close, defensive victory over St. Agnes in the final game.

The 5th Grade Team was also able to capture the League Championship with a very narrow victory over the talented and always tough Cook County Bears.

The Junior (4th/3rd Grade) Team competed hard in their league and was able to win against St. Catherine-St. Lucy while narrowly losing to St. Ann.

Overall, the St. Therese Flag Football Teams competed hard provided a great experience for all involved. Read the full season wrap-up on the Athletics Home Page.

Parent -Teacher Conferences

Thursday, November 29, 2018

First trimester Parent-Teacher Conferences will be on Thursday, November 30th. Parents must make their Parent-Teacher conference appointments using the Virtual Paragon Reservation System.

The reservation system will open on Thursday, November 15th at 7am and close at 5pm on Wednesday, November 21st.

Conference appointment times will be available on Thursday, November 29th between 12:15 - 5:05pm. P arents are required to pick up their child's report card on this day.

Please make reservations for your child's homeroom teacher only - if you wish to visit with teachers in addition to your child's homeroom teacher, you may visit with those teachers on a walk-in basis on November 29th between 5:15 - 6:30pm.

Please click on the link below to reach the reservation system and register for a conference:

http://www.virtualparagon.com/sttheresechicago/conference

Password: Blue Ribbon

Note: The B and R must be capitalized and there is a space between Blue and Ribbon

Remember, the on-line registration system is the only way to make an appointment.

Report cards will be given only to parents who attend a conference

on November 29th.

ALL STUDENTS WILL BE DISMISSED AT 11:30am ON THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29th.

PLEASE BE ON TIME WHEN PICKING UP YOUR STUDENTS.

The Virtual Paragon system is very user-friendly. If, however, you feel the need for more detailed instructions, you can access a full User's Guide after you login.

If you encounter any problems or have any questions, please email the school for support at [email protected] .

Who Wore It Best?

Mr. Henties (4th grade teacher) and Mr. Howard (Director of Religious Education) found themselves in matching outfits recently!

Is this a sign of how in sync our staff is, or perhaps a hint toward a faculty uniform in the making?

Reminder

Our all school Thanksgiving Mass will be on Wednesday, November 21st at 8am. Students will be dismissed for Thanksgiving break at the usual time on Wednesday. There will be NO SCHOOL on Thursday and Friday. Classes will resume on Monday, November 26th. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend!

Check us out at:

www.sttheresechicago.org | doi @sttheresechicago.org