05-01-08

The final drawing for the Playground Raffle will take place at the School Picnic on May 20th.

All proceeds go toward construction of a New Playground!
1st Prize - Cardinal Luxury Suite
2nd Prize - $1,000
Tickets: $25 each, or 5 for $100

Enjoy the following pictures from Sr. Laurentine's 65th Anniversary as an Apostle of the Sacred Heart, the DuBourg Swing Dancers, Earth Day, and a visit from 2 Novitiates from the Apostles of the Sacred Heart

News

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The Bells of St. Ambrose Auction
November 15, 2008
Next Committee Meeting: Wednesday, May 7, 7:00 pm in the cafeteria

If anyone would like to offer a dinner at their house, party at their house, a vacation condo/house, or anything similar, please contact Mr. Joe Canino at (314) 752-0853. The items should be available from November 15, 2008 - November 15, 2009, at a mutually agreed upon time for all parties. Let’s get creative to support our school and parish! We are concentrating in acquiring vacation homes and trips during April, and dinner certificates from restaurants in May. Please whatever you are willing to donate, bring the items into school at anytime. We thank you all for your efforts.

Alumni Phon-A-Thon
Quite a success! Over $22,000 in pledges! Approximately 3500 phone calls were made by 40 plus alumni, parents, and volunteers. A big thank you goes out to: The Gambaro Family, LoRusso’s, Favazza’s, Milo’s, and Anthonino’s for providing food; Sam Caputa for setting up the phones and logistics; Sr. Carol and Fr. Bommarito for providing the venue; Joe Barbaglia for supervision and leadership; Debbie Hilderbrand for hours of research; and everyone who participated.

Congratulations to our 4th Graders and to the rest of the school for their Recycling Efforts. Abitibi did send the $1,000 to the school for us collecting over 34 tons of paper to recycle. The 4th Graders headed up this effort to give us the push to get the amount needed. The $1,000 was given to the playground fund!

House System Road Trip
“The trip to Louisville, Kentucky with our seventh grade was a great experience. Our seventh grade students were very lively and fun, while being well-behaved. I was proud of them. They were polite, interested, and worked well with the St. Raphael’s students, participating with them in their house-wide meeting. It was gratifying to watch them interact and share thoughts (and e-mail addresses) with the St. Raphael seventh graders at breakfast. I think they learned a lot and will be ready to assume leadership positions within each of their houses next year. I learned a lot from visiting with the faculty as well. The bonus-an exciting visit to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum! What fun! Thanks to all of the seventh grade parents who gave up their time to come with us and care for all of the kids. They were wonderful. The trip would not have been possible without them.” - Lisa Horner
“It was awesome!” - All seventh grade students
“I loved it! The kids were great, the parents were great, and we learned a lot. I am so proud of these kids.” - Mrs. Debbie Hilderbrand

†South City Catholic Collaborative †

The Faith in the City insert was in the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Southwest City Journal on April 23, 2008. It was a collaborative effort of all Catholic Schools in the City to promote our schools and promote City living. Copies are available in the school office if you were not able to see one.
“I thought the insert was very well done.” - Terry Kellar
“I thought it was fantastic! Great PR!” - Sr. Margaret Mary Stoverink
“Beautiful! I hope it helps the schools in the City, especially St. Ambrose” - John Bianchi

More Opportunities to Purchase TWB
We are excited to announce that we will be selling TWB script after school. Look for us on the Primary Lot. Anyone interested in earning Parent Participation Points? We are looking for volunteers to sell before and after each weekend Mass. If interested, please contact Mary Ellen Stephens via Fast Direct. Need a graduation gift idea? Starting Monday, we will be selling iTunes, Best Buy, Circuit City, Claire's, and Blockbuster. Thanks in advance for your support of TWB.

Today & Tomorrow Foundation's Tuition Assistance Program
Check out the link to the Today & Tomorrow Education Foundation site at www.privateschoolscholarships.org. Tuition assistance scholarships for city residents desiring a private school education for their kindergarten through 4th grade child(ren) are available for the 2008-09 school year. The application deadline is May 4.

Archdiocesan Tuition Grant Applications for 2008 - 2009 are available at the rectory OR go online at www.factstuitionaid.com.

Video Streaming Update
Have you viewed the Video Clips on the St. Ambrose web site yet? More videos are in production, so check back often. Click the St. Ambrose link here or atop the upper-left column on the Fast Direct home page. Or enter www.stambroseonthehill.com/school in your web browser.

Calendar

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Please note that an updated May Calendar was sent home and is available via Fast Direct.

Thursday, May 1	4th Grade ABC Art Museum Field Trip, 12:00 - 2:30 pm
Friday, May 2	May Crowning, 2:15 pm Stages Grand Finale Show, 7:00 pm, Gym
Wednesday, May 7	4th Grade ABC Art Museum Field Trip, 12:00 - 2:30 pm
Thursday, May 8	Faculty Meeting, Noon Dismissal Casual Dress Day
Friday, May 9	8th Grade Fun Day
Sunday, May 11	Happy Mothers' Day!
Monday, May 12	House Winner Fun Day PTO Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 13	House Award Ceremony; Facilities Issues Meeting 7PM in Cafeteria
Wednesday, May 14	8th Grade Exams Quinn Uniform Fitting, 3:15 - 7:00 pm
Thursday, May 15	8th Grade Exams 4th Grade Art Museum Educational Issues Committee Meeting, 6:30 pm
Friday, May 16	5th - 8th Grades to see Prince Caspian
Sunday, May 18	Alumni Mass and Breakfast, 9:00 am
Monday, May 19	6th - 8th Grade Exams
Tuesday, May 20	School Picnic
Wednesday, May 21	Transition Day
Thursday, May 22	6th and 7th Grade Exams K,1, and 2 Parent Program on Summer Reading, 7:00 pm, Cafeteria
Friday, May 23	6th and 7th Grade Exams 8th Grade Graduation, 6:30 pm
Sunday, May 25	Corpus Christi Procession, 6:30 pm
Monday, May 26	Memorial Day Holiday
Tuesday, May 27	Field Day Noon Dismissal
Wednesday, May 28	5th Grade Introduction to House Noon Dismissal
Thursday, May 29	Last Day of School
Friday, May 30	Feast of the Sacred Heart

Events and Activities

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STAGES Finale
Please join us this Friday, May 2, in the St Ambrose gymnasium. Doors will open at 6:30, and the show will start at 7 pm. Come see the K-1 musical theatre finale, an abbreviated version of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (2-4), an abbreviated version of HONK (2-4) and an abbreviated version of Disney's smash hit High School Musical (5-8). Refreshments will be served after show. We hope you can make it.

Primary Parent Program
On May 22, Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, a reading specialist from the Clayton School District, will speak to the primary parents (children in Grades K, 1, and 2) about the importance of reading over the summer. She will speak from 7-8 pm in the cafeteria and then be available for questions, comments, and discussions. Copies of the summer reading lists and Samples of many of the books on each list will be available to view. The speaker will give ideas and suggestions for many of the books. She will also present ideas to involve the entire family in summer reading. We hope many can attend.

Band Events

Spring Concert in April (date TBD)
Band Tour in early May (date TBD)
Marching in a Parade on Memorial Day (does not apply to beginners)

In the Classroom and the Community

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Pray for Peace
The fourth grade has decided to pray each day a rosary for peace. Our Lady promised the children at Fatima that peace would come to the world if everyone would pray the rosary. We will be going to church at 2:40 each afternoon during the month of May to pray and we invite anyone and everyone to join us. It only takes about 15 minutes so please consider coming a little before dismissal and join us in prayer.
Our Speech Team is Golden!
Our St. Ambrose contestants were outstanding in both rounds of the final Bellarmine Speech Meet on Saturday, April 26, at CBC High School. They were all awarded Gold Ribbons after receiving top scores in both morning and afternoon rounds at the meet. Sam Herbig performed the humorous monologue "The 'Motor-sickle' Gang," Hannah Hildebrand recited the serious speech "Bald is Beautiful," and Rachel Pearson and Rachel Schreier presented the humorous duet "Say Good-Bye." The St. Ambrose coordinator, Judy King, and the coaches JoAnn Dreas, Cathy Griner, and Anne Henning, thank all the participants on the Speech Team this year! Thanks to all who were involved with Bellarmine Speech League this year!
St. Ambrose Art Students: Winners Again!
The Multicultural Task Force of Greater St. Louis has announced the winners of its 2008 "Celebrating Community, Honoring Diversity" art competition. We are very proud and pleased to share with you that we have FOUR student winners from our school out of a possible nine positions. Several hundred students from all across the region had their work submitted for the contest and it is quite an honor that our school placed so highly--and prominently--in the competition.

Rebecca Canino, grade six, placed first in the middle school category with a $300 prize. In the same category, Samantha LaFerla, grade eight, earned second place with a $100 prize.
Amber McQuay, grade five, won first place honors and $300 in the intermediate category.
David Beato, grade one, earned second place honors and $100 in the primary category.

Congratulations to our winners--and to all our students who participated in this annual event. They are all winners to us!

Don't forget the final 2008 Picture the Music Exhibition Dates

May 1 - May 12

Westfield South County

Kindergarten Coffee was designed to invite the parents to school to see first-hand what their child’s day is like. The parents arrived at 8:00 am and were able to see exactly what “morning jobs/activities” are. They prayed with the children, did the Pledge of Allegiance, calendar, and weather. They learned how “Magic Number” is played and what “story person” is. The children all read for their parents and then all went into Mrs. Patke’s room to view the Mimio System and how the children use interactive websites in Reading Class. Everyone then went into the cafeteria for coffee and milk and ate the muffins that the children had baked. Sr. Ruth came and the children sang in Italian for their parents. About 35 parents were able to join us.
“Today was really nice, the kids all seemed so proud to show off their routine. Thanks for putting all of this together.” Rachel Rickert
“Just a quick note to say Thank You” for the invite to see what you experience daily. You make learning fun and enjoyable for the kids.” Janet Thompson

This Week in Kindergarten
Mrs. Foster’s class planned and participated in Mass and did a superb job. Next Wednesday will be Mrs. Patke's class' turn. We hope you can join us. After Mass we did two rounds of centers with recess in between. The centers included: peg board designs, addition and subtraction puzzles, sight word and animal word searches, and an activity using scrabble letter tiles to spell hi-frequency words and then adding up the point total from the letters. We also did two more pages in our religion book and are almost done with the chapter. Next week we will talk about baptism. Their day ended with Science and Gym. In Science they began working on their own constellation books. Tomorrow is MAY and we will move tables for the final time. On Friday, the whole school will gather as a faith community in the church at 2:15 to participate in May Crowning of the Blessed Mary. You are welcome to join us. It is always a beautiful ceremony.
Creative Writing Contest Winners
Congratulations to 8th graders Gwen Calcaterra and Dominick Freeman, finalists in the Respect Life Creative Writing Contest! These students wrote pieces that expressed their beliefs about chastity and respect for human life as taught by the Catholic Church. Gwen and Dominick attended the Awards Assembly on Friday, April 25, with their parents and teachers. In addition, Ryan King, son of our own Mrs. Judy King, was also chosen as a finalist. Archbishop Raymond Burke addressed the assembly at the Cardinal Rigali Center and presented Certificates of Achievement.

Volunteer Opportunities

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Please remember that you must attend the
Protecting God's Children Workshop
and complete the paperwork in order to volunteer with the students.
The workshops are listed on the Archdiocesan website
or you may call the school office (772-1437).

Archdiocesan Mandate
All parents who wish to participate in any event (lunch duty, field trips, class parties, Breakfast with Santa, etc.) at school involving children MUST attend the Protecting God's Children Workshop. For information on times and locations of the workshops, please visit the archdiocesan website www.archstl.org and follow the link. We can arrange a Protecting God's Children session at St. Ambrose if we have sufficient interest among new and returning families.

Bernadette Mense is in charge of Lunch Room Parents and looking for more volunteers. If you would like to help with lunch duty, please contact Bernadette.

Miscellaneous

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Wehrenberg Theatres announces the return of our annual Family Summer Series Program for 2008. The Family Summer Series is a discounted movie program designed for families, daycares, preschools, YMCAs, scouts, and summer camps. Series participants have an opportunity to attend FREE movies this summer for 10 "family" films over the course of 10 weeks in June, July, and August.

Each theatre will have movies every Wednesday and Thursday (except Wed 7/2 & Thurs 7/3) for the duration of the Family Summer Series program, with doors opening at 9:00 am, and movie presentations at 10:00 am and 12:00 pm. FYI ~ contact the theatre directly regarding reserved seats for groups of 25 or more…this applies ONLY to 10:00 am presentations. All other seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Family Summer Series 2008 Movies:

* Titles subject to change based on availability *

Week #1 (6/4 – 6/5) Daddy Day Ca p PG/99 min.

Week #2 (6/11 – 6/12) Barnyard PG/92 min.

Week #3 (6/18 – 6/19) Alvin & the Chipmunks PG/102 min.

Week #4 (6/25 – 6/26) Mr. Magorium’s… G/100 min.

Week #5 (7/9 – 7/10) Charlotte’s Web G/103 min.

Week #6 (7/16 – 7/17) Veggie Tales: Pirates… PG/102 min.

Week #7 (7/23 – 7/24) Bee Movie PG/100 min.

Week #8 (7/30 – 7/31) Spiderwick Chronicles PG/102 min.

Week #9 (8/6 – 8/7) Shrek The Third PG/93 min.

Week #10 (8/13 – 8/14) Horton Hears A Who G/91 min.

FREE Family Summer Series 2008 Theatres:

Arnold 14 Cine	1912 Richardson Rd, Arnold, MO 63010	636-461-0200
Chesterfield Galaxy 14 Cine	450 THF Blvd, Chesterfield, MO 63005	636-532-8141
Des Peres 14 Cine	12701 Manchester Road, Des Peres, MO 63131	314-822-4903
Dardenne Prairie Town Square 12 Cine	7805 N. Hwy N, Dardenne Prairie, MO 63368	636-625-1209
Jamestown 14 Cine	209 Jamestown Mall, Florissant, MO 63034	314-741-9814
Mid Rivers 14 Cine	1220 Mid Rivers Mall Dr, St. Peters, MO 63376	636-279-2734
Ronnie’s 20 Cine	5320 S. Lindbergh Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63126	314-843-4336
St. Charles Stadium 18 Cine	1830 First Capitol Dr S, St. Charles, MO 63303	636-946-1862
St. Clair 10 Cine	50 Ludwig Drive, Fairview Heights, IL 62208	618-398-8385

Ticket Type	Cost	How to order?
Series Tickets	FREE	Series tickets available at the theatre box office in advance of the program.
Individual Tickets	FREE	Individual tickets are available *same day only* at the theatre box office.
Family Summer Series Concession Combos (Popcorn, soda & candy)	$3.50 advance $4.00 same day	Family Summer Series concessions combos can be pre-purchased directly at your preferred theatre location. Concession vouchers will be distributed at the time of purchase, and are redeemable at the theatre concession stand. Vouchers are valid only during Family Summer Series Times and expire 8/14/08.

Please contact our Home Office at 314-822-4520 or your theatre of choice with any additional questions or requests.
Thank you,

Wehrenberg Theatres Marketing Department

Notes to Parents

Fast Food is not acceptable for lunch; please do not deliver to school for your children.
The Handbook is a guide, but does not address all situations. When in doubt about a policy or procedure, please ask.
If your child has a special medical need, please inform Linda in the School Office.
Please don't park in the soccer lot during school hours if you are visiting school or chaperoning a field trip, as the cars block the use of the lot for recess.
Birthday treats are distributed to students in their homerooms during break time. Please follow Handbook guidelines regarding acceptable treats and also refrain from delivering special lunches to students on these days.
Party invitations may be distributed at school only if all students in the class are invited.

Reference

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Easy Ways to Show Your Support
St. Ambrose eMall: Purchase products and services from the more than 400 participating online merchants. In return, participating merchants will contribute a predetermined percentage of each purchase to 4OurCause for St. Ambrose. Click the Shop Online and Help the School link on Fast Direct.
Recycle Your Ink Jet Cartridges, Paper, and Aluminum Cans: This free program generates money for St. Ambrose and helps protect the environment. Simply drop the cartridges off in the cafeteria and the paper and cans in the bins on Hereford.
Target's Take Charge of Education Program: Apply for a Target REDcard or Visa and 1% of your purchases are returned to your designated school.
Foot Locker School Rewards and Flowers into Dollars: Present the key tags recently sent home at Foot Locker stores or shop online at footlocker.com and 1-800-flowers.com, using our School Code WL3B when checking out. Whatever your method of payment, 5% of what you spend will be donated to St. Ambrose.
Macy's Shop for Education Program: Sign up to support St. Ambrose and every time you use your Macy's card, the school earns money. Complete the flyer sent home this week and return to the office to start earning from 1 to 3 percent of your monthly charged purchases at Macy's.
Internet Search Website: Search the web with www.goodsearch.com and money from their advertisers will go to your favorite charity.