St.
Ambrose School, 2009-2010
Weekly
News Files
May 6, 2010
Links to This Week's New Articles
News Section
Three More Chances to Win Pre-Auction Raffle Drawings
TWB Specials
Enrollment Increase
Community Service Projects
Red Cross Presentations
Administrivia
Volunteer Section
School Picnic
In the Classroom and Community Section
Middle School
| Thursday, May 6 |
All-School Rosary Recitation, 8:45 am |
| Friday, May 7 |
May Crowning, 8:00 am Mass
Assembly with Author J. Dashner, 10:15 am
IPC Barbeque for Students and Faculty
|
| Sunday, May 9 |
Happy Mothers' Day |
| May 10-12 |
Eighth Grade Exams |
| Monday, May 10 |
House Olympics Awards, 2:20 pm, cafeteria
Middle School parents are invited to attend. |
| Tuesday, May 11 |
NCADA Internet Safety Presentation, 7:00 pm, Cafeteria |
| Wednesday, May 12 |
Abra-Kid-Abra Circus Show, 3:45 pm, gym
Teacher Appreciation Day
Teachers will attend the Cardinal Baseball Game at 7:15 pm |
| Thursday, May 13 |
Faculty Meeting, Noon Dismissal
Incoming Kindergarten Testing; No school for Kindergarten |
| Friday, May 14 |
8th Grade Mystery Trip |
| Sunday, May 16 |
Alumni Mass and Breakfast, 9:00 am |
| May 17 - 21 |
8th Grade Week |
| Monday, May 17 |
8:00 am All-School Mass
Final Mass with the 8th Grade Class of 2010 |
| Tuesday, May 18 |
School Picnic |
| Friday, May 21 |
Graduation, 6:30 pm Mass |
| Monday, May 24 |
Transition Day, House Sorting Ceremony
Noon Dismissal |
| Tuesday, May 25 |
Field Day
Noon Dismissal |
| Wednesday, May 26 |
Clean-Up Day
Noon Dismissal |
| Thursday, May 27 |
Closing Liturgy and Awards, 8:00 am |
Three More Chances to Win Pre-Auction Raffle Drawings
Time is winding down: Raffle
chairs Mimi Lordo and Cindy Patton have organized a great pre-auction
fundraiser. Raffle tickets have been sent home and the raffle drawing
to be held on May 27, 2010.
Grand Prize: $5000.00
2nd Prize: $300 Pasta House Company Gift Certificate
3rd Prize: $200 Pasta House Company Gift Certificate
Tickets are $100 each; buy two and get the third free!
As
an incentive to ticket sellers, prizes
will be awarded to the seller of tickets drawn on Friday, May 7, 14, and 21. Sell the most tickets
and win a room at the downtown Hilton and dinner for two at Kemoll's.
TWB Specials
- Best Western 2% Bonus Begins May 8: Best Western
International and Great Lakes Scrip Center are pleased to offer a 2%
bonus contribution on Best Western Travel Cards. The cards will have a
14% contribution, instead of the normal 12% contribution, between
Saturday, May 8, 2010, and Friday, May 28, 2010. The Travel Card must
be presented at check-in and may not be redeemable at all concessions
located in hotel.
- Gap 3% Bonus Begins May 8: Gap Inc. and Great Lakes Scrip Center
are pleased to offer a 3% bonus contribution from Saturday, May 8,
2010, through Friday, May 28, 2010. That means the Gap Gift Card will
have a 12% contribution instead of the normal 9% contribution, during
that time period only. The gift card can be used at all Gap, Banana
Republic and Old Navy locations in the US and Canada, and online at
oldnavy.com, gap.com, bananarepublic.com, piperlime.com and
athleta.com. So now you can use one gift card to get your favorite pair
of Gap jeans, a luxurious Banana Republic shirt, Old Navy graphic-Ts, a
fresh pair of shoes from Piperlime, or a stylish running outfit at
Athleta.
- Staples "Bonus Value" Gift Cards: Exciting news . . . When you
purchase a Staples Gift Card from Saturday, May 8, 2010, through
Friday, May 21, 2010, your card will be be loaded with a little extra
FREE money. When you purchase the $25 gift card, the card will have a
value of $26.25, and when you purchase a $100 gift card, that card will
be worth $105! The non-profit contribution remains the same at 5%, and
is based on the original face value of the gift card. For example, the
rebate earned on this $105 "Bonus Value" card will still be $5.
Staples' everyday savings, combined with the extra FREE money added to
your gift card, makes Staples a great source for not only office
products and school supplies, but also for Father's Day gifts like
computers, electronics, cameras and more. Staples = Savings!
Enrollment Increase
The number of students enrolled for the 2010-2011 school year
continues to increase. Special thanks to the Marketing Committee, which
organized two Open Houses, and to Sr. Eugenia at the Sacred Heart
Villa, who continues to direct her Kindergarteners to St. Ambrose. Please invite prospective families to tour St. Ambrose. Water bottles are
still for sale to help fund the activities of the Marketing Committee
and publicize St. Ambrose School.
Community Service Projects
- Thank you to all who helped with the toothbrush collection. Our final number is 1525 toothbrushes for Honduras. The money collected from the March casual day allowed us to purchase 363 boxes of crayons for the children in Honduras. Thanks
to Maria Foster for coordinating this effort. Students also donated
shoes for another collection organized by Mrs. Paulus.
- Through a
special collection and mission day donations, St. Ambrose raised $1000
for Haitian earthquake relief. These funds will be presented to
Archbishop Carlson on May 10.
- St.
Ambrose received a $500 mini grant to fund community service
projects. Children in Catholic, Lutheran, and private schools in the
city of St. Louis who are recipients of grant funding thank the Mental
Health Board, Incarnate Word Foundation, and the Lutheran Foundation
for the partnership which promotes Student Learning through Community Service. A showcase of student projects was presented at Cardinal Rigali Center on Wednesday, May 5.
Red Cross Presentations
Students in grades K-2 learned about tornado and road safety through
recent programs presented by the Red Cross. Did you know that the
number of children suffering head injuries each year could fill Busch
Stadium three times. Please wear your helmets!
Administrivia
- After the 7:40 bell, all students can go directly to their
classrooms to help facilitate morning attendance and lunch count in
homeroom.
- Check with Linda in the School Office to ensure you have earned
your Parent Participation Points for the year or to identify upcoming
opportunities to do so.
- The school will be painted and the door frames varnished this summer. Summer office hours will be between 9:30 and 1:30. Please use the Wilson Avenue entrance.
Special
Intentions
Contact
Debbie Hilderbrand if you wish to include any prayer intention
in the newsletter. We are a prayerful
community and wish to provide this avenue of support for any special
needs.
|
 Events
and Activities |
Top |
Author James Dashner to Visit St. Ambrose
James Dashner will visit St. Ambrose School on Friday May 7, 2010, at 10:15 am. His book series, The 13th Reality,
explores the idea of alternate realities based upon the choices that we
make. Not only will he speak to the Middle School students, but his
team will also present a live, theatrical multi-media performance to
demonstrate how:
- Using the elements of reading and writing helps create a story
- Reading strengthens the imagination and develops skills essential to learning
- The choices we make help us to achieve our dreams for the future
- Having the courage to make these choices gets us to where we want to be
Mr.
Dashner will also address the process/timeline of book publishing,
select prizes for student participants, and provide a question and
answer session.
James Dashner Titles
The publisher sending Mr. Dashner to St. Ambrose for the May 7 assembly is Shadow Mountain Press. The series they publish is The 13th Reality.
It is this series that Mr. Dashner will be featuring as he gives his
presentation to the kids about becoming a writer. The series includes: The Journal of Curious Letters (#1), The Hunt for Dark Infinity (#2), and The Blade of Shattered Hope (#3).
James Dashner has another earlier young reader series, The Jimmy Fichner Series,
published by a different publisher, Cedar Fort. Although he won’t
be focusing on this series in the assembly, these are the titles: A Door in the Woods (#1), A Gift of Ice (#2), The Tower of Air (#3), and War of the Black Curtain (#4).
Finally, there is a teen book published by Random House that’s
appropriate for older middle school and high school students. This
book, entitled The Maze Runner, may become a candidate for the short list for the Gateway Award Nominees for 2011.
NCADA Internet Safety Presentation
A
presentation on the use of Facebook, the Internet, and other ways of
cyber-bullying will be presented by the NCADA at St. Ambrose on May 11,
2010, at 7:00 pm in the Cafeteria. This is a very serious topic and one
that concerns children and adults of all ages. A letter went home to
our 5-8 grade students and parents to attend. Any parent who
would like to attend is invited to please join us.
Looking Ahead
- The Alumni Mass and Breakfast is Sunday, May 16. Eighth
grade students will be inducted into the St. Ambrose Alumni Association
at the breakfast. Please dress up for this special occasion. Eighth grade parents are invited to help serve the breakfast for participation points.
- The School
Picnic is Tuesday, May 18. This is a special day of celebration for the
entire St. Ambrose family. Ride bracelets are $20. Watch for the flyer with all the details.
|
 Volunteer
Opportunities |
Top |
School Picnic
Each
class will be responsible for staffing one booth at the school picnic.
Any parent is invited to work a shift during the picnic hours of 10 to
5, to help set up starting at 7 am or clean up starting at 4:30 pm.
Watch for a sign up sheet outside the office and send in the picnic
flyer with $20 for each ride bracelet and the name of the adult
responsible for each child on picnic day.
|
 In
the Classroom and the Community |
Top |
Middle School
In Language Arts, the 7th grade is working on persuasive
writing, creating proposals for a change in a school policy, and the
8th grade is finishing reading To Kill a Mockingbird.
In Social Studies, the 6th grade is working on PowerPoint projects for
different countries of the world. All 8th graders are preparing for
their final exams.
|
Awards
and Achievements |
Top |
|
 Miscellaneous |
Top |
Catholic Secondary and Elementary Schools in Partnership
The South City Collaborative is creating avenues through which
the Catholic secondary and elementary schools can work together in some
curriculum areas. The first project is the High School Algebra I Honors
Program. The curriculum for this course was developed and accepted by
the partner high schools in St. Louis city and county. The
goal is for each student to successfully complete a full credit of high
school Algebra I and to advance to the next level of math as a high
school freshman.
This
class is being offered to Catholic elementary school students in the
city of St. Louis and will be taught at Bishop DuBourg High School from
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm each day in the Fall. This is a high school level
course and will be taught by a high school teacher. This and other
upcoming courses will enable the elementary students taking the courses
to obtain high school credits and to get a feel for high school level
work.
Students in grade 7 will take a test on May 20 or 24 for acceptance into the course. There is no limit to how many students from any school take the entrance test if they meet the qualifications. Seventh
grade parents have received a letter with additional information. For
questions, please contact Sr. Kathleen Koenen at (314) 341-0177. The
cost of the course for elementary students is $50 and will include
books. Parents will have to provide transportation.
The Catholic Education Office Is
on the Move!
Members
of the Catholic Education Office will be moving from the Cardinal
Rigali Center at 20 Archbishop May Drive in Shrewsbury to the Catholic
Center at 4445 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis City. This move will take
place over the next several months. If you plan to visit a member of
the Catholic Education Office, please call first to make sure you know
which location to visit. (Office phone numbers and e-mails will remain
the same.) Thank you for your patience during this process.
Together We're Better
Applebee's® and Great Lakes Scrip Center are pleased to
offer a 2% bonus contribution through
Friday, May 7, 2010. That means Applebee's gift cards will have a 10%
contribution instead of the normal 8% contribution, during that time
period only.
These merchants are giving us a larger percentage from TWB certificates
temporarily.
- Dierbergs
5%
- American
Eagle 10%
- Lands
End 17%
- Fashion
Bug 8%
Please
check out the full list on the TWB link on Fastdirect and send your
order to the school office. Thanks!
Save-A-Lot is still giving St. Ambrose 2% of some of their sales. All
you need to do is send in your Save-A-Lot receipts to the school
office, we submit them, and they send us 2% of the total receipts.
Please call the office if you have any questions.
SLU Counseling Service
Again we are very fortunate to have SLU graduate student counselors who
will be doing their practicum work here at St. Ambrose. With parent
consent, they will be meeting with individual students to counsel them
in personal or social issues. We are blessed to be able to offer this
service to families for the semester at no charge. Students can be
referred by parents and/or teachers.
Lisa Horner, learning consultant
Yearbook Photos
Mrs. McQuay has set up the website for students, parents, and teachers
to submit yearbook photos online directly to Jostens. The Jostens Photo
Submission Website is images.jostens.com;
the user id is 400005642 and the password is "onthehill."
St.
Ambrose Nights at Mr. B's
Eat
at Mr. B's on the first and third Thursday of the month and St. Ambrose
receives 10% of your purchase. Be sure to mention "St. Ambrose Night"
to your server.
Check
Out These
Websites
What
if my favorite charity had a penny for every
time I searched the Internet?
Now
it can!
Search the web
with www.goodsearch.com
and money from their advertisers
will go to your favorite
charity without you spending a dime!
You can find St. Ambrose Catholic
School (St. Louis, MO) listed in WHO DO YOU GOODSEARCH FOR? You can
also view how much money has currently been raised.
Here are three keys to substantially increasing the money you earn:
1. Remind everyone to begin their holiday shopping at GoodShop.
2. Ask your local businesses to buy their office supplies on your
behalf via GoodShop. All of the top stores including Staples,
OfficeDepot and OfficeMax are on-board!
3. Ask all of your supporters to download the new GoodSearch/GoodShop
Toolbar to ensure that every search and purchase count!
While you're surfing, be sure to also
visit the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Website at www.ascjus.org.
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.
Instructions Regarding
Campbell's Labels
Please
send in the entire label, as the instructions for submitting labels
have changed. We will have homeroom parents help with the
cutting
that is required. Pass
the word to
grandparents and neighbors who may save them too. And, don't forget to
keep clipping boxtops and labels and saving them for upcoming contests!
Extended Care Enrichment Program
Golf (by First Tee), Grade levels 4 - 8
3:20 - 4:15 pm
Tuesday April 13
Thursday April 15
Monday April 19
Thursday April 22
Monday April 26
Thursday April 29
Kids Yoga (by Masterpeace), Grade levels K - 3
3:20 - 4:15 pm
Tuesday April 13
Tuesday April 20
Thursday April 22
Tuesday April 27
Tuesday May 4
Thursday May 6
Abra-Kid-Abra, Grade levels K - 3
(new tricks/magic will be taught in this class)
3:20 - 4:20 pm
Wednesday April 14
Wednesday April 21
Wednesday April 28
Monday May 3
Thursday May 5
Wednesday May 12
Science Class, Grade levels 4 - 8
3:20 - 4:20 pm
Wednesday, April 21 and 28, May 5 and 12
Click
for more information on the Extended
Care Enrichment Program.
2010-2011 School Year
Please mark your calendar with the following dates:
Sunday, August 22 - Meet, Greet, and Sit in Your Seat Open House
Wednesday, August 25 - First day of school, noon dismissal
August 26 and 27 - Noon dismissals
Monday, August 30 - First full day of school, 3:00 dismissal
Friday, May 27 - Last day of school
Tuition Rates
for 2010-2011
The Tuition Rates for the 2010-2011 School Year are posted on
the front page of FastDirect. We appreciate the
Finance Committee and Monsignor Bommarito working together to keep our
tuition rate as low as possible.
Convent to Classrooms Auction
Have you attended any great auctions lately? The auction committee
welcomes any ideas or suggestions. The next meeting is being
rescheduled for after Easter break. Watch Fast Direct for the date.
The auction will take place on November 13, 2010,
and Mr. Kim Tucci has once again agreed to be the auctioneer for the
evening. The cost for the event is $75.00 per person. Contracts for
gift donations are available in the school office and we are looking
for underwriters for various expenses for the evening. More information
will be forthcoming in the bulletin and school papers. If you have any
questions or would like to be on a committee, please contact the school
office at (314) 772-1437.
Please note the link to
the Sponsorship and Catalog Ad Contract on the front page of Fast
Direct
St. Ambrose Leadership
Please reference the following lists to identify individuals
participating in the promotion, advisory, and community building of St.
Ambrose School. Click the links for more specific descriptions of each
group.
Marketing Committee
Katie Brennan
JoAnn Buckley
Tim Curtain
Chris Felt
Sharon Gambaro
Debbie Hilderbrand
Jill Jovanovic
Maggie Nikoli
Sr. Carol Sansone
Karen Sinak
Mary Ellen Stephens
PTO Board
Lisa DiPaolo, President
Marsy Canino
Sarah Chavez
Sharon Gambaro
Tracy Hill
Michele Keller
Bernadette Mense
Ann Oliver
Peggy Pancella
Toni Paulus
School Board
Fr. Vince Bommarito, Pastor
Katie Brennan, Marketing
Joseph Colagiovanni, Vision
Derio Gambaro, Alumni
Rob Liddy, Finance
Mike Mense, President
Sr. Carol Sansone, Principal
Karen Sinak, Vice President
Jim Summers, Parent Liaison
Brian Ward, Technology
Wes Yates, Legal
PTO
Special Lunch
To
thank the neighborhood restaurants for their support and to share their
wonderful cuisine with our students, PTO invites them to provide lunch
to our students. Each month features a different restaurant and
selection. The
cost is the same as last year, $4 for grades K-4, $5 for grades 5-8 and
teachers/staff. Watch for
the order form for these lunches at home and return to the office with
your payment. Please note
that Chris' will not be served on these days.
Hot
Lunch Program Procedures
- Lunch
cards are $15.00 for 5 lunches.
- Every
child buying lunch must have a lunch card before getting in line. Money
will not be accepted in the lunch line. Please make checks payable to
Chris' Pancake
& Dining. Special envelopes are
available in the office.
- Students
who forget their lunch will be given cereal and milk that will cost
1.00. Parents will be notified through Fast Direct.
- Snacks
such as pizza, nachos, cereal will be available to buy for students in
grades 3-8.
- A
lunch count is essential in the morning, so there is no food waste and
the students who come through last have a proper lunch. We will not
prepare for extra lunches this year.
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 or consult the recent message to parents on Fast Direct.
Our
Fabulous Faculty
| Grade |
Teacher |
| K |
Maria Foster |
| |
Jennifer Smith |
| 1 |
Mary Lynne Harris |
| 2 |
Jennifer O'Toole |
|
Margaret Rotter |
| 3 |
Emily Elmore |
|
Ann Grandstaff |
| 4 |
Anne Henning |
|
Sr. Margaret Mary
Stoverink |
| 5 |
Judy King |
|
Kathy McIver |
| Brigid 301 |
Mary Scherer |
| Catherine 302 |
Kate Black |
| David 304 |
Debbie Hilderbrand |
| Thomas 303 |
Jen Ronzio |
| Vincent 305 |
Erin Schaeffer |
| Michael 306 |
Shanna Kar |
| Art |
JoAnn Dreas |
| Computer |
Debbie Hilderbrand |
| Learning Consultant, K-4 |
Michele Grellner |
| Learning Consultant, 5-8 |
Lisa Horner |
| Physical Education |
Beth Brickey |
| Italian, K-8 |
Annunciata Buzzai |
| Principal |
Sr. Carol Sansone |
| Office |
Hilma Moses |
| Office |
Linda Gambaro |
| Extended Care |
Bernadette Mense |
Middle School homerooms
are made up of our house teams. We think this will help promote
relationships within the team and with their team moderator. Houses, moderators, and
colors are:
Michael House: Mrs. Kar (red)
Brigid House: Mrs. Scherer (green)
David House: Mrs. Hilderbrand (orange)
Vincent House: Mrs. Schaeffer (yellow)
Catherine House: Mrs. Black (purple)
Thomas House: Mrs. Ronzio (blue)
Calendar
News
Reference