F.Y.I. For Your Information

St. Croix Catholic School

Educating the Whole Child — Mind, Body and Spirit

From the Principal’s Desk by Sister Mary Juliana, O.P.

Congratulation to our Fifth Grade Math Team!

On Tuesday afternoon, November 13, the SCCS 5th

Grade Math Team competed at the St. Ambrose Math

Meet and was awarded First Place School honors

among four participating Catholic schools! The team

members are: Tim Johnson, Andrew Langenberger,

Matt Murphy, Jack Sandquist and Sarah Symalla.

In addition, team members earned many individual

awards in a field of 34 students:

Fact Drill Competition: 1st Place: Jack Sandquist, 2nd

Place: Tim Johnson, 5th Place: Andrew Langenberger

Word Problems Competition: 2nd Place: Tim Johnson, tied for 3rd Place: Andrew Langenberger and Sarah Symalla

and 5th Place: Jack Sandquist

Calculator Drill Competition: Tied for 1st Place: Tim Johnson and Jack Sandquist

What a great example of teamwork these students have shown by cooperating on team goals while they also support

and challenge each other in their individual events.

November 15, 2012

On Monday, in recognition of Veteran’s Day, SGT Thomas Hilpisch came to talk with the primary students

about his time in the Marine Corps. We learned about his time spent in Afghanistan.

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Timberwolves Read to Achieve

Program at SCCS

Once again this year, SCCS is participating in the

Minnesota Timberwolves Read to Achieve Program.

The Timberwolves Foundation developed Read to

Achieve to promote at-home reading with children

and adults. Students who choose to participate re-

ceive a Timberwolves tracking sheet, take it home,

read and track 500 pages, and then return the form

to Mrs. Koenning in the library by January 8. Partici-

pants receive a Timber-

wolves poster and book-

mark, a special T-Wolves

prize, and a Buy One/Get

One Free ticket offer. If

you have any questions,

please call or email Mrs.

Koenning or Mrs. Doeksen.

Holidays are Coming, Holidays are Coming!

Wondering What to Give the Teachers and

Staff for Christmas?

by Home and School Committee

The Home and School Committee is

again sponsoring the Christmas

Wish Tree. The Wish Tree project

is an excellent opportunity for par-

ents wishing to give a Christmas

gift to their child’s teacher; to give

one that proves both beneficial to

the teacher and students. The

trees contain item tags of what the

teachers would like to have in their

classrooms. Each tree is hung out-

side the teacher’s classroom. Specialist and other

staff member trees are hung on the wall across from

the library. The Wish Trees will be up by Monday,

November 19th. You can stop by the school or have

your child select an item tag from their teacher’s or a

staff member’s Wish Tree. Please bring your Wish

Tree gift to the teacher’s classroom or staff member

location prior to the Christmas break. If you have

any questions, please contact Sandy Murphy at

sandymurphy03@yahoo.com. Thank you for your

support!

Special Services Coordinator for SCCS is

Hard at Work!

Hello all St. Croix Catholic families,

I am very happy and excited to be back at SCCS after

completing my clinical practice experience this fall for

my special education license. As the Special Services

Coordinator for St. Croix Catholic School, I will be co-

ordinating and managing the 504 plans for our stu-

dents. I will also be doing small group instruction for

students who do not qualify for special education ser-

vices through District 834, yet still need a little extra

reinforcement. I will also be working closely with the

teachers to modify instructional material, as needed,

to ensure our students are successful in the class-

room.

I am including a couple of websites that are geared

towards elementary students. Starfall (http://

www.starfall.com) is a phonics based website and

works well with Preschool through 2nd grade stu-

dents. It begins simple with learning the letters and

sounds and also has a variety of books and games

that promote phonemic awareness. ABCya (http://

www.abcya.com) is an educational computer games

website for grades K—5. There are a variety of math

and language arts games, along with learning basic

computer skills.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the

students and help them reach their fullest potential. If

you have any questions, please do not hesitate to

contact me.

Mrs. Julie Glaser

jglaser@stccs.com

THANK YOU

To all the parents who provided food and who

helped serve and clean-up for our two workshop/

conference day lunches. What a wonderful treat it

is to look forward to a time to relax and

enjoy such good food.

If you brought food and have not picked up your

dishes, you can find them in the workroom

across from the office.

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Artist of the Week by Mrs. Fioritto, Art Teacher

This week's excellent artist is Matthew Harring-

ton in fifth grade. Matthew showed great crea-

tivity, skill, and patience as he took his time

drawing his fall/nature still life in great detail

with oil pastel on colored paper. This was an

involved and lengthy project. starting with

"touch and feel" bags full of objects found in

nature. We had lots of fun reaching cautiously

into the bags and without peeking, drawing the

objects by the feel of their shapes and textures.

Next, we practiced drawing them in detail while

looking at them, then we worked in groups to

set up still lifes at our tables. We then sketched

our still life in pencil and went on to "paint"

them with oil pastels using blending techniques and adding texture, value, line and details. We heard a story about

the artist Paul Cezanne who used basic shapes in his work and also loved nature. Many concepts were experienced in

this project! Some of the students would like to enter these in the Da Vinci Fest, so parents, be sure to go online to

register any work your child wants to enter - the deadline is December 7.! The website is www.partnershipplan.org. I

am also saving this project for our annual Grandparents Day Art Show in the spring. Congratulations on a great piece

of art, Matthew!

Da Vinci Fest Information by Mrs. Fioritto

Attention 4th and 5th grade families!

The registration deadline for this year's Da Vinci Fest is quickly approaching! I have talked to

the 4th and 5th grade students about specific artwork to submit, but now I need your help in

going online to register your child. Please go to the website: www.partnershipplan.org, click

on register, click on art fair details and scroll to the bottom where you'll see Art Registration

Packet, click one more time and there you go! Please note that your child needs to fill out a 3

"x 5 " card with information for me to attach to his/her work. (Don't worry about "priority #").

When this is done, please send the card with your child to school, along with any artwork they

may want to enter that I don't already have. Also, PLEASE email and let me know that you have completed the online

registration, if this is not completed the DaVinci Fest set-up committee won't accept the work. This is a huge event

with many, many participants. I am honored that our school is a part of this and am so proud of the work the kids

have done in Art this year! Please do not hesitate to email me at pfioritto@stccs.com with any questions and to let

me know that your child's work is registered! Thanks and see you at the 2013 Da Vinci Fest!

Wendi - Lou’s Vintage Christmas Boutique

(SCCS Parent Wendi Schirvar)

1167 Old Mill Road, New Richmond, WI

Thursday, November 15th 4:00 - 8:00 pm

Weekends thru Christmas 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Vintage and handcrafted treasures and furnishings

Christmas Greenery, Holly, Mistletoe, Wreaths, Juniper, Pepperberry, and more!

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Are You Planning to Give to the Max?

Several parents and other supporters have re-

cently inquired if they can make a donation to

St. Croix Catholic School during the statewide

Nov. 15 Give to the Max donation drive,

sponsored by GiveMN.

Yes, you can. St. Croix Catholic School is reg-

istered with this online giving program. So, if you are planning to do

this as part of your family’s year-end giving and/or if your company is

matching employees’ gifts during this one-day drive, simply log on to

www.GiveMN.org and search: St. Croix Catholic School.

(Please note, a different organization is listed as “SCCS,” so please

spell out St. Croix Catholic School.) Also note, once you are on

our page, you can designate your gift to support a number of different

initiatives at the school.

GiveMN is an independent 501(c) (3) organization that is a support

organization of the Minnesota Community Foundation and an affiliate

of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners. Its mission is to transform philan-

thropy in Minnesota by growing overall giving and moving more of it

online. Each year, the organization’s Give to the Max day helps thou-

sands of Minnesotans come together to support their favorite charities

in a fun, fast-paced, one-day drive. Last year, thousands of donors

logged on to GiveMN.org and gave over $13 million to Minnesota chari-

ties in just 24 hours on Give to the Max day! This year, the one-day

giving frenzy is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15. If you’d like to join

the fun and include St. Croix Catholic School in your giving plans,

please log on: www.GiveMN.org. Thank you for your support.

Spirit Wear makes GREAT Christmas gifts!

It’s gift giving time and Spirit Wear makes great Christmas gifts for your SCCS students, as well as future SCCS stu-

dents, parents and other family members. We have something for everyone…t-shirts, sweatshirts, windshirts, flannel

pants, various styles of sweatpants, bags, blankets and caps.

REMEMBER…Spirit Wear can be worn on Fridays at school, but ANYTIME outside of school!

It’s a great way to show your school pride in the community!

Holiday orders are due Wednesday, November 28th. For each Spirit Wear item you purchase, your name will be

entered into a drawing for a free SCCS Stocking cap. We are also offering 10% off all existing

inventory (Click here for current inventory. Please note, orders will be filled on a 1st come 1st

serve basis. We will notify you if your item is no longer in stock.)

Please submit orders using the Spirit Wear order form. (Click here), and drop it off in the

School Office by November 28th. If you have any questions regarding Spirit Wear, please con-

tact Susan Schlegel (susan.schlegel@comcast.net) or Holly Corbid (hollycorbid@comcast.net).

Order forms are also available in the school office.

Spirit Wear is sponsored by the SCCS Booster Club,

which is a volunteer organization supporting all extracurricular activities.

Operation Christmas Child

SCCS families, along with help from St.

Michael’s and St. Mary’s parishioners

packed over 150 gift boxes for Operation

Christmas Child. Student Council mem-

bers organized the boxes this week and

Mr. Chuck Glaser is delivering them to a

Samaritan’s Purse drop-off location.

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SCCS Students in grades K - 5 Prepare for Advent Programs

People, Look East

Kindergarten and First Grade Advent Concert

Thursday, December 6 at 2:30 pm

in the SCCS Gym

Students in Kindergarten and first grade are asked to wear their Sunday best on Decem-

ber 6th for their concert. Girls can wear a pair of nice dress pants with a blouse or a

nice dress or skirt. Boys are Asked to wear a nice shirt (short sleeve, button down, long

sleeve, turtleneck) with a pair of nice dress pants and dress shoes.

El Nacimiento de Nuestro Salvador: The Birth of Our Savior

Grade 2 - 5 Advent Program

Tuesday, December 18 at 6:30 pm

Church of St. Michael

Students in grades 2 - 5 are asked to wear ALL black to the concert (as many will be wearing a costume or putting

on a festive head covering). Boys, please wear a logo-free black shirt (short sleeve, button down, long sleeve, turtle-

neck), and black pants with black dress shoes. Girls can wear a church appropriate black dress or black

dress pants and blouse/shirt, and black dress shoes.

We are in need of twenty-eight 2032 3 volt lithium batteries for use in tea lights for our program.

If anyone would like to donate a battery or two, the music program would be very grateful.

STEM in Action: Building a Sturdier Chair for Goldilocks

The integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is happening throughout all grade levels

at SCCS. Recently, second grade students accepted a challenge from their teachers, Sr. Perpetua and Mrs. Gag, to de-

sign and construct a sturdier chair than what the teachers had constructed. (In fact, the students didn’t think it was a

good idea for teachers to sit down and try out the chairs they had constructed!)

Like real world engineers, students followed the design process. As a design team, they:

defined the problem

discussed what would be required of the newly designed chair

explored possible solutions

selected an approach

sketched their design

built a prototype

tested their product

refined the chair to make it even

sturdier

presented their finished product

Way to go 2nd graders!

You’re well on your way to becoming the next generation of innovators!

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Upcoming Events

Wednesday, November 14

9:15 am All School Mass

Family and friends, please join us.

1:45 pm 7th Grade plays performed for students in grades 4 - 8

Thursday, November 15

7:00 pm 7th grade plays performed for family and friends in the SCCS Gym (see above)

Monday, November 19

9:30 am Information morning for prospective families

Social Hall

Wednesday, November 21

9:15 am All School Thanksgiving Mass

Family, friends, parishioners - please join us.

End of first trimester

Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23

NO SCHOOL

Thanksgiving Break

Wednesday, December 5

9:15 am All School Mass

9:00 am and 12:30 pm Open House Day for parents of students enrolled in Ark of Angels Preschool

Thursday, December 6

2:30 pm Kindergarten and First Grade Advent Program

SCCS Gym

9:00 am Open House Day for parents of students enrolled in Ark of Angels Preschool

Friday, December 7

9:00 am Open House Day for parents of students enrolled in Ark of Angels Preschool

Trimester 1 Report Cards go home

Deadline to register your artwork for Da Vinci Fest www.partnershipplan.org

Wednesday, December 12

9:15 am All School Mass

Save the Date!

Light Their Way, an annual fundraising dinner supporting the tuition assistance program at St. Croix Catholic

School is scheduled for Thursday, February 7, 2013 in St. Michael’s Social Hall. Be sure not to miss this festive

and elegant evening, celebrating the St. Croix Catholic School community. To reserve a table, contact Wally

Nelson, wally@morrowpartnersinc.com; Jackie Garofalo, jackieleeg@hotmail.com; or Mike Whisler,

mike.whisler@comcast.net.