Dear Parents,
Today and tomorrow are special days in the Church: All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. On the Feast of All Saints, a holy day of obligation, we honor those who have lived lives faithful to God. On the Feast of All Souls, we remember and pray for our loved ones who have passed away, and honor them through prayer, or even by making special altars in their memory.
As we honor the Saints, let us remember how they lived out the Beatitudes—Jesus’ teachings on how to live as a Christian and to find true happiness. During this time of Parent-Teacher Conferences, the Beatitudes can also help us to reflect on how to be role models for our children. We can lead our children by example and live out our faith!
The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
--Mrs. Sandra Jimenez
PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES
Wednesday, November 1 – Friday, November 3 are Parent-Teacher Conference days. Your child is encouraged to attend the conference with you. Please ensure that you keep this appointment, as it will be key to strengthen the home-school connection, and will help to nurture your child’s intellectual, spiritual, social, and emotional development.
APPOINTMENTS WITH TEACHERS
Besides Parent-Teacher Conferences, feel free to make additional appointments with teachers when you have a question or concern. Please avoid last-minute morning meeting with teachers, as teachers use this morning time to prepare their materials for the day so that they can best meet your child’s needs. If you would like a morning meeting, notify the teacher ahead of time by email or by calling the office a day in advance. Thank you for your cooperation on this matter.
THANK YOU!
Thank you to all the parents and volunteers who contributed to the Halloween celebration! I would especially like to thank Vanessa Espinoza and Myra Santos of the Community Builders parent group for their support in planning the event.
Special Thanks also to the following parent volunteers who have given countless hours to helping our school: Olga Vasquez, who has been helping to keep the front of our school building clean; to Angel Carvajal for regularly helping the cafeteria; to Julio Estrada and Alfredo Leon Orea of the Campus Care parent group for assisting with school building maintenance; and to Monica Leonor and Isabel Diaz for leading our Madrinas parent group, in marketing our school and welcoming new families.
We depend on parent volunteer support throughout the school year! If you would like to help plan future events and fundraisers, or would like to join one of our parent groups, please contact Mrs. Jimenez at sjimenez@sanpedro.org or leave your name and number at the office.
ALUMNI MEMORIAL MASS AND RECEPTION
Sunday, November 5 at 2:30 PM is our annual Alumni Memorial Mass. If you are able to help with set-up, directing parking, or clean-up, please contact the office or fill out a volunteer form. You are also very welcome to connect with others and celebrate mass with St. Peter’s Alumni on this special day!
IN THE CLASSROOM
KINDER - This week in KA, we will make a book! We will work in partners to make a page for a school rule book. We will have a discussion about why rules are necessary in the classroom, the hallways, the schoolyard, and on the bus. Students will work in partners and choose a school rule. Students will draw pictures of the rules and write words to describe the rules. Lastly, we will add the book to our classroom library and take turns reading it.
1A - This week in reading we are learning what jobs need to be done in a community. In religion we are discussing the importance of the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. We are also learning about the meaning of All Saints Day and reading stories about Dia de los Muertos.
2A - We will be reading poems about animals, counting forwards/backwards by 1,10 and 100, telling time, looking at number patterns; continue using our mapping skills; celebrating All Souls Day, working on mass responses; and exploring (hopefully) puddles.
3A – This week is a very full and busy week. We will celebrate 3 days beginning with Halloween on Tuesday, All Saints Day on Wednesday (Mass is at 8:15), and All Souls Day on Thursday. Please be on time for your Parent-Teacher Conference either on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Your son/daughter was given your appointment date and time last week. Academically, In Religion class, we are beginning to learn about the saints of our church. A saint will be assigned to your son/daughter with instructions for the report, poster and due date. This project will help us to grow in our Catholic faith by learning about saints who followed God courageously.
4A - This week we will be having Parent-Teacher Conferences; I look forward to meeting with you and your student to discuss their progress in class. Additionally, I would like to thank you for your donations and your time recently while we collected items for the people of Puerto Rico and our Halloween festival on Tuesday. Students in 4A will continue to live out our "KEYS" by finding sums of three or more addends with regrouping, understanding story characters' behavior and relationships, and defining region and describing California's major geographic regions.
6A Religion – 6th Graders will be preparing for their class retreat that will take place on Friday, November 3rd. Language Arts – 6th grade is continuing the drafting stages of their fictional narratives. Students will continue focusing on building suspense in the rising action of their stories, while practicing the writing technique of Show Not Tell to create rich, descriptive sentences. Math – 6th grade will be wrapping up greatest common factors, exponents and Multiples, before we take a slight detour into mean, median, and mode. Then onto FRACTIONS! Social Studies – 6th Graders will continue to learn about life in Ancient Egypt.
7A/7B Religion - In Religion this week, we will be wrapping up Baptism and onto Jesus in the temple, and a discussion of conscience, Morals, and free will. Language Arts - Students will present their Walk Two Moons Enrichment Projects this week. They will also begin the preparation for their unit test, which will conclude their novel study. Next up, Drama! Students will begin the introduction to drama, the specific characteristics and elements. Math – 7th grade will be continuing their adventures into Equations this week focusing on distributive Property and combining Like Terms. Social Studies – Students had a great 1st quarter learning about Arabia and Africa. They will spin the globe over to Asia for the majority of 2nd quarter. Science - Students have wrapped up talking about cells and are now moving onto bigger organizational units: tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms!
8A Religion – 8th Graders will enjoy a visit from Paula Pardini and they will make cards for Veterans at the Veteran's Hospital. Language Arts - Students have ended their unit on Mockingbird with a Debate, should Caitlin attend a mainstream school or should she attend a school with students of similar conditions, syndromes like herself, Asperger Syndrome? They are also working on their woodworking project-chest due in 2 weeks. Math - The 8th grade is learning about square Roots and Perfect Squares, then we get to have some fun with the Pythagorean Theorem! Social Studies - 8th Graders will finish the American Revolution and begin asking questions about the U.S. Constitution. Science - Students will move deeper into studies of chemical reactions and soon begin preparations for their first physical science project.
REMINDERS
Nov. 1-3 12:30 PM dismissal for Parent-Teacher
Conferences
Nov. 1 8:15 AM All Saints’ Day School Mass
Nov. 2 Free Dress for No Tardies in October
Nov. 3 6th Grade Retreat
Nov. 5 2:30 PM Alumni Memorial Mass and
Reception
Nov. 7 8:15 AM School Mass honoring Veterans
Nov. 10 No School—Veterans Day holiday
observed
