The Titan Times
December 12, 2018
St. Andrew - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School

A 2018 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
Passionately Catholic, Academically Excellent!
I will serve joyfully, lead confidently, and inspire others through my faith in Jesus.
From Mr. Wilburn's Desk...
SASEAS families,

As shared in this morning's ParentAlert email, I am pleased to report that Mr. Nick Grieco will be stepping in to lead upon my departure. The full text of that communication is below.

There is a schedule change for next week. We will not have the regular Tuesday and Wednesday school Masses. Instead, Father Cordier has requested an All-School Mass on Thursday, December 20, 9:00 a.m. at Seton as a special Advent service and farewell for me. Grade 6-7-8 students will be bused from St. Andrew to Seton and back to St. Andrew following Mass. We will not be altering the early morning transportation as we have done for some All-School Masses in the past. A permission slip for St. Andrew campus students will be sent home tomorrow.

THANK YOU for your amazing generosity in supporting this year's Adopt-a-Family activities. Our 8th grade cake auction and bake sale and the 5th grade button/magnet sale raised over $5,000 so that 45 local children will have clothing and toys under their Christmas trees. Thank you to our local Kohl's store for their partnership and support of this great school tradition. Our 8th graders start wrapping the presents tomorrow for delivery next week. Check out the recent Facebook posts to see some awesome pictures of the effort!

Congrats to all our Seton campus Discipleship Award honorees and the two Saints of the Month , Alexia and Colin! They were honored after the Tuesday Mass.

Reminders...tonight is the St. Andrew campus Lessons and Carols service, Thursday is the 4th grade Christmas Musical , and Friday is a Spirit Day .

In Christ's peace and love,
Mark Wilburn, Principal
From Mrs. Aimee's Desk...

Preschool News

There has been a tremendous response to our St. Vincent DePaul "Giving Tree". I want to personally thank all of the families who have purchased items for our 6 families in need. We’ve even had families pool money to purchase some of the more expensive items on our tree. We were able to buy two bicycles and a Hatchimals egg. You have helped to ensure that these children will have an awesome Christmas. Thank you so much!

The preschool classes are preparing for Christmas during this second week of Advent. While they are counting the days until Christmas, the 22 children who stay at preschool all day in our PEDAL (Preschool Extended Day and Lunch) Program are participating in a Gingerbread Exchange. The children have each decorated a gingerbread boy or girl. The gingerbread people have been sent off to several preschools all across the United States with a short letter about the PEDAL class and the state of Ohio. We are now anxiously awaiting gingerbread people from the other preschools. Yesterday a gingerbread boy from Maine arrived! It was fun learning about his school and state. We look forward to more gingerbread people from California, Texas, and the Northeast.

God bless,
Aimee Limberg, Director
Important Principal Announcement
SASEAS families,

I'm writing to share with you the news that Father Cordier has made a decision on the interim principal position. Mr. Nick Grieco will be stepping in to lead following my departure at Christmas break. I'm very happy for Nick and know he will do a tremendous job. I look forward to transitioning with him in the coming days. Mr. Grieco is a faith-filled man, skilled educator, and servant leader. After thirteen years as a fifth grade teacher at our Seton campus, he has spent the past seven years at the St. Andrew campus as our assistant principal and 8th grade reading and language arts teacher. He knows the strengths and opportunities of our school very well. To learn more about Mr. Grieco, you can visit his school webpage here .

I will be posting a part-time position announcement for Nick's four 8th grade reading and language arts classes. I believe we should be able to find some excellent candidates from December graduates or former teachers who have stepped away from the classroom. If you know of any potential candidates, please have them contact Mr. Grieco at griecon@saseas.org.

As you always have for me, I know the SASEAS Titans family will rally around Mr. Grieco and our entire staff as we continue bringing the Good News to our students. We are Passionately Catholic. We are Academically Excellent.

In Christ,
Mark Wilburn
8th Grade Success on the HSPT!
We are Academically Excellent! We have received the group results of our 8th graders' recent High School Placement Test (HSPT). They rocked it! One-third of our students scored above the 90th percentile, and our group composite score was at the 80th percentile - 30 percentile points above the national average! In all three tested skills, Reading, Math, and Language, the group grade equivalency was at least 9th grade, 7th month. I am so proud of our students' academic achievements and our awesome teachers who have instructed them from preschool through 8th grade. Individual results will be provided by the local high schools directly to families in January.
Open House - Sunday, January 27, Noon to 1:30 p.m.
Invite your friends and neighbors!
Let's share our National Blue Ribbon school with others! How? You can personally invite friends and neighbors to our Open House and brag about our school on social media. With the changes to Seton Parish Mass times, both campus open houses will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on January 27.
2019-2020 Tuition Assistance Information
The financial assistance application for 2019-2020 is available via your FACTS tuition parent portal. You must complete the online application in FACTS to be eligible for local school/parish support as well as the Archdiocesan tuition grants. If online access is a challenge, please contact us and we'd be happy to help. This is due by the end of January. This past year, we awarded $26,000 in local assistance, and our families received approximately $20,000 from the Archdiocese. More information is available on our website here .

Also, K-6 students are eligible next year for the state of Ohio's EdChoice Expansion Scholarship. This pays up to $4,650 per child and is based on family income. In past years, a family of four would qualify if their annual income was under $50,200, a family of five under $58,840, a family of six under $67,480, etc. For more information, visit the state of Ohio's website here . If you are interested in the EdChoice Scholarship and think you might qualify, contact Sandy Reed at reeds@saseas.org. She can assist with the application and paperwork requirements which are due February-April.
St. Andrew Campus: Advent Lessons & Carols

The 6th, 7th and 8th graders are presenting Lessons & Carols tonight, Wednesday, December 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Andrew Church. The entire program will last about 35 minutes.

Lessons & Carols  is a beautiful Advent tradition that began in 1880 in Truro, England. It is a service in which scripture lessons pertaining to the Advent season are read and are interspersed with carols and hymns.
"Why Wednesday" Social Media Posts
Check out our past two "Why Wednesday" posts on our school Facebook page. They are awesome! Thank you to the Poirier and Kilbane families! If you don't use Facebook, you can still see our feed by visiting www.saseasschool.org and scrolling down to the bottom of our homepage.

Help us spread the good news of our school on social media by participating in our upcoming "Why Wednesday" social media postings. We are asking families interested in participating to send us a recent family picture and a 4-8 sentence paragraph describing WHY you continue to choose SASEAS Catholic School for your children. We will then post these submissions to our school Facebook page on Wednesdays leading up to our January Open House and registration period. Please send the picture and paragraph electronically to Pat Clayton at claytonp@saseas.org. Thank you!
TITAN MARDI GRAS
March 2, 2019 - Save the Date!

Please consider purchasing something that could be donated to our upcoming Titan Mardi Gras fundraiser. We are looking for anything new, exciting and useful that could bring in top dollars at our auctions and raffles that will take place on March 2. Kitchen appliances, electronics, crafting gear, home decor, jewelry, home and garden items, sporting goods, camping gear or anything else you can think of are appreciated and welcomed.

We are also asking that you consider donating gift cards, tickets, subscriptions, experiences, memberships or even becoming a sponsor of this year's event. All items will be much appreciated as they help support SASEAS Catholic School!

For more information, please contact Angela Foulks at foulksa@saseas.org or 513-575-0093, ext. 1207. Thank you for your support!
PTO News
 
As the Christmas parties are quickly approaching, Room Moms, please don’t forget to check that your snacks are allergen-free with Nurse Strayer and on the approved list.

Join us at Skyline Chili , 1055 Rt. 28, on Tuesday December 18 from 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. 15% of sales will be donated to our school. Don't forget to bring ticket !

We need you! Please visit the  Sign-Up Genius Link  for Volunteers!  Link for Volunteer Sign-Ups
Athletic Boosters News

Congratulations to our 7th grade girls basketball team for finishing 2nd place in the St. Susanna tournament!

Send us your sports pictures and news, and we'll brag about your team! You can send to Pat Clayton at claytonp@saseas.org. Thank you!
SMILE Youth Group News

Game Night at Sem Villa  is next Thursday, December 20 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Come play games or work on a craft with the residents. Please let Catherine know if you plan to attend.