THE OFFICIAL NEWS MAGAZINE OF HOLY SPIRIT CATHOLIC SCHOOL

January 2011

A Note From Our President

Sister Elaine Sebera, R.S.M.

Dear Family, A blessed and happy new year to all. I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and had some quality time with family members. On behalf of the administration, faculty, and staff, I want to thank you for your commitment and dedication to our wonderful school. Your overwhelming support, love, and generosity are so appreciated by all of us. We pray daily in gratitude for all you do to help us provide the best education for your children. We are looking forward to a very successful second semester. The teachers and students are so enjoying the Promethean boards. They will have additional in-service training during this month. In April, they will be able to attend several different technology sessions at the National Catholic Educational Association convention. We will have a campus Mass at 8:15 AM on Thursday, January 13. Sharing Mass together is a wonderful experience for our school family. We do hope you will be able to arrange your schedule so that you can share Mass with us. On Friday, January 28, our sixth graders and high school representatives will attend the bishop‘s Catholic Schools Week Mass at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham. This year we will celebrate Catholic School Week January 30 - February 4. We will send more information home later in the month. The general PTO meeting originally schedule for January 26 has been changed to Tuesday, February 15 at 6:30 PM. Please watch for more forthcoming information. Sincerely,

Sr. Elaine

Around Campus

Campus Ministry

Preschool…Their future begins here!

Elementary…..Together We Can

Middle School….The Magic Begins

High School….On Higher Ground

Something To Talk About

Calendar….January Campus

Schedule of Events

In T

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Elementary/Preschool

711 James I. Harrison, Jr. Parkway East

Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 (ES) 205-553-9630

(PS) 205-556-6086

Middle/High School

601 James I. Harrison, Jr. Parkway East

Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 205-553-5606

Fax: 205-556-7103

www.holyspirit-al.com

Our Mission The Holy Spirit Catholic School Family honors the dignity of each person and

provides a strong foundation for life-long learning in the framework of a

Catholic faith community

www.holyspirit-al.com

All-State Choir We are proud to announce that seven Holy Spirit Students made ALL-STATE CHOIR THIS YEAR! This is a tremendous testament to our music program! The Alabama All-State Chorus is an extremely prestigious, auditioned group. Thousands of students from across the entire state of Alabama audition for a coveted spot in one of the five choirs. If a student auditions and makes the chorus, he/she as one of the top singers in the whole state of Alabama. Those selected will attend the AMEA All-State Festival which will be held at Samford University March 24-26, 2011. Zan Jones (7) and Nicole Louw (8) made the middle school mixed choir. Christine Sisson (10), Tori Lowery (10), and Maggie McGuire (9) made the High School SSA Choir. Avery Berry (12) and Jake Calhoun (11) made the High School TTBB Choir.

Green Thumbs Abound Students in Mr. Spikes' Environmental Science class have been gardening all semester and had a "fall harvest" Friday, November 19, before leaving for Thanksgiving break. Students were able to take home turnips, radishes, mustard greens, kale, lettuce and golden chard. Environmental Science wishes a Happy New Year to all and especially to the families who have helped make the garden a success!

Scrip Tuition Incentive Program For all families not participating in our current Tuition Incentive Program, please consider enrolling now. We are in our 3rd year and have had great success! Several families have surpassed the $1000 earnings mark for the past two years. This means that families have reduced their tuition total by the amounts they have earned simply by ordering the prepaid gift cards to do their grocery shopping, clothing shopping, gas purchases, traveling expenses, etc. Please visit the Holy Spirit website for complete information of how to enroll and the details for this program. Any questions should be sent to Alisa

Kincaid at holyspiritscrip@bellsouth.net.

Holy Spirit Spelling Bee Congratulations to Roeder McNair, Grade 6, who won our school Spelling Bee on Friday, December 10. He will go on to represent Holy Spirit in the county Spelling Bee in January. Congratulations also to all of the students who represented their classes in the bee: Grade 4—Thomas Harrison and Holly McDonough Grade 5—Daniel Fonseca and Madison Sears Grade 6—Sydney Cicatiello and Roeder McNair (Champion) Grade 7—David Fonseca and Kameron Swift (Runner-Up) Grade 8—Lauren Neary and Haley Thompson We are proud of all of our spellers!!

1/4 Anna Sella

Kameron Swift

Ian Perry

Jessica Crownover

Lauren Fuller

1/12 Leah White

Tatianna Zambrono

Kellie Ramdeen

Gary Chilcutt

Hadley Christian

1/19 Phinesse Ash

Alex Bushery

Noah Sutton

Courtney Shows

Gloria Yi

1/26 Madison Carabin

Marian Cook

Rachel Taylor

Ian Prado

Kathryn Raley

Teacher Snack Assignments

A Shepherd, a Sheep, and a Savior The elementary school and music department presented their annual winter concert on December 17. Students from all grades sang songs and dressed as angels and shepherds to tell the story of shepherds keeping watch over their sheep in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.

Bring the entire family and come be a part of the Titan Spirit! Our athletic teams‘ schedules are listed on the website. Holy Spirit student athletes always appreciate our great fan support. Boy‘s and Girl‘s Basketball teams are now playing. Please come and support the Titans!

Holy Spirit Athletic Sign Sponsorships for Athletic Fields

Please take a look at our brand new 8 foot by 10 foot Wall

of Sponsors at the football/soccer field!!! Our Booster

Club has begun a new program of showcasing our local

businesses who have offered their support of our student

athletes. The individual signs are stainless steel with vinyl

logos. If you are interested in selling the signs to local

sponsors, each sign is $200 per year, OR for $300 the

business can elect to have signs placed on 2 different

fields for the year! We will have signs located at the

football/soccer field, baseball field, and softball field. Be

sure to patronize and thank our local sponsors! For more

information or forms, please contact Alisa Kincaid or

Cheri Sisson.

Child Safety The school does not provide supervision during athletic events. Parents are responsible for their children during these events.

Holy Spirit Elementary Library Website Did you know that our Elementary Library has a great new website. Check it out! The website will help keep you informed of all the library's activities and book clubs. Students can find research and citation help as well as a netiquette guide, and our NEW *student-created* Audio Book talks just might help your child find their next book to read! Visit us often to see all the great things going on in the library: http://holy-spirit-elementary-library.wikispaces.com (You can also access the site from the Elementary Library page on the Holy Spirit Website.)

Mayor Visits Elementary

Mayor Walt Maddox visited the elementary students and read to them during Young Author‘s Week. He talked with the children about the many blessings he has received in his life and answered questions about his responsibilities. ―Thank you, Mayor Maddox, for filling our bucket.‖

Holy Spirit Students Prepared For Christmas By Praying During Advent The first week of Advent we blessed the Advent Wreath and had a prayer service to bring in the light of the season. Throughout the month of December, God Squad members have been leading the afternoon prayers with Advent readings and reflections and Advent themed ―spiritual practices.‖ For example, the students were asked, ―How‘s your prayer life?‖ and then they were encouraged to spend a little extra time, by possibly lighting a candle and reflecting on the mysteries of Christmas. Another practice they were asked to consider doing was writing a gratitude note to someone they needed to thank, or telling someone in their life they were sorry for something they had done that they shouldn‘t have or not done that they should have. Connected with these spiritual practices, the middle/high school students and faculty participated in a Reconciliation Service focusing on the theme of light and darkness. Then, Fr. Rick Chenault (the vocations coordinator for the diocese, the Spanish ministries chaplain here at Holy Spirit and the associate pastor at St. Francis Parish) and our very own Fr. Deasy made themselves available for private confessions. Students said that they felt ―lighter‖ after having seen them. Thank you both, Fr. Rick and Fr. Deasy, for your generous availability to us for this important sacrament. As an outreach project, the students of the High School adopted the Consolata Sisters of Eutaw to help them grant the wishes of the people with whom they minister. Their wish was for Wal-Mart gift cards to give to those in need this holiday season. As always our students are very generous, and freely gave of their time, talents, and treasures.

The God Squad wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

The Twelve Days of Christmas People often think of the Twelve Days of Christmas as the days preceding Christmas. Actually, Christmas is a season of the Christian Year that lasts for days beginning December 25 and lasting until January 6 – the Day of Epiphany – when the Church celebrates the revelation of Christ as the light of the world and recalls the journey of the Magi. From 1558 until 1829 people in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. During this era someone wrote ‗The Twelve Days of Christmas‘ as a kind of secret catechism that could be sung in public without risk of persecution. The song has two levels of interpretation: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church at that time for a religious reality. 1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ. 2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments. 3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love. 4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels. 5. The five gold rings recall the torah (Law) the first five books of the Old Testament. 6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation. 7. Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit. 8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes. 9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the spirit (Gal.5). 10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments. 11. Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples. 12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the 12 points of belief in the ApostlesCreed.

www.holyspirit-al.com

Their future begins here!

We hope that the Christmas Break was a blessed time for all. We had numerous compliments on the Preschool‘s Advent/Christmas Program. A special thanks goes to Anne McClendon and the teachers for their hard work in preparing for the program. The children did a wonderful job. You must be very proud of your little ones! The classes enjoyed their Christmas pizza party. Thank you to the parents who were responsible for the party and the goody bags. You are appreciated so much for your dedica-tion to your children and the preschool. Dates to Remember: January 4- School Re-opens January 17-MLK, Jr. Holiday-No school January 30-Beginning of Catholic Schools Week

In January and February, we occasionally get a weather forecast predicting snow for our area. (It usually ends up being a tease!) However, as a reminder, when emergency con-ditions do exist, such as inclement weather, Holy Spirit School closings follow the decision of the Tuscaloosa City School System. Clos-ings or early dismissals will be communicated on radio and TV.

May God bless you

and your family with a happy

and prosperous new year!

Parking Lot Safety Quiz: 1. Are you driving too fast because you are

running late? 2. Are you texting or talking on your cell phone

while driving? 3. Are you parking in an area that is not a

designated parking space? 4. Are you leaving your car running while you

drop off or pick up your child? 5. Are you allowing your child to run ahead of

you as you walk to and from your vehicle? If you answered ―yes‖ to any of these questions, please review the Parent/Student Handbook regarding safety. If someone other than yourself brings or picks up your child, please review these safety measures with them. The protection and safety of our preschoolers is of utmost importance. Thank you for your cooperation in this serious matter.

Bucket Tip #4

“Make Best

Friends” ―The only way to have a friend is to be one.‖ These famous words from Ralph Waldo Emerson still ring true today. Great relationships matter. This month, students explore the nature of f r i endsh ip and app ly bucket-filling strategies to support the friendships they have. Never underestimate the effects of filling others‘

buckets!

--Together with the middle/high school, we celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving liturgy. All of the students did an outstanding job bringing in food items, which were presented during the offertory of the Mass and then delivered to Catholic Family Services. We also celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception together at liturgy. --Here at school, we celebrated the season of Advent as we prepared our hearts for the birth of Jesus at Christmas. Each class began the day with morning Advent devotions, and we welcomed each new week of Advent with a prayer service for the entire school on Monday mornings. -As we begin the third quarter of school, please keep up your good work in helping us help your child succeed. It has been a wonderful year and it is the result of the cooperative partnership between home and school. Together, let us continue to work for the success of our children.

Promethean Boards Our teachers are still enjoying their Promethean Boards. We have had four training meetings and informal sharing sessions. Teachers are also mapping out their plans for integration of technology into the curriculum. What a wonderful boost for our program!

Advent Service Projects Several of our classes and teachers participated in two service projects for Advent: Santa’s Elves- A non-profit organization whose mission is to furnish toys for the needy children of Tuscaloosa City and County Schools during the holidays. Our children and their families helped to stock the store by bringing new, unwrapped toys that were distributed to those families with the greatest need. Christmas help for a family in need- We were given a family with several children who needed assistance this Christmas. Many of our teachers and classes helped to provide a nice Christmas for these children.

Emergency call buttons have been installed in each classroom. These buttons are connected to our intercom system and enable our teachers to signal the office if they need assistance.

Congratulations Debbie Brinster, 4th grade teacher, who graduated from the University of West Alabama on December 11 with a Master‘s Degree in Education/School Library Media Specialist Bea Nichols, 2nd Grade teacher, and Lisa Whitley, Resource teacher, who graduated from the University of Alabama on December 11 with a Master‘s Degree in Special Education and Multiple Abilities.

The Magic Begins!

Come Lord Jesus…Lord, as we wait for you…we will try to make this world great for you….working together to build a

world of love.

Students in the middle school were challenged to live this message by working together to share their blessings with children who are in need. They were challenged to prepare for the coming of the Lord by being generous with their own material blessings. The middle school planned to support 20 children through Catholic Social Services. The generosity of the students was quite impressive. Students (and their families) contributed over $1300 and they were able to go shopping with parent chaperones. Each group of four students shopped for one child…many of whom were in their early teens. The gifts were wrapped and delivered to Sister Carol before exams began.

Sweet Science! This has been a busy month in the 8th grade, both in Mrs. Burke‘s social studies class, and Mrs. Sam‘s

science classes. After experiencing the chemical reaction was fire, the students were eager to try their

hands at another chemical reaction. Students were given milk, vanilla and sugar. They put the ingre-

dients in small zip-lock bags and then placed it inside larger zip-lock bag that contained ice and rock

salt. Then the fun began. Students began to shake the bags. About 10

minutes later, they were eating homemade ice cream. Most of them

thought it was better than the ice cream they bought at the store. By the

end of this chapter they were surprised to find not only did you not have to

have matches to make a fire…they did not need a freezer to make ice

cream!

On Higher Ground It seems like the first semester passed so very quickly – we hope that you have seen growth in your students. There are many ways that they have grown during these past months – academically, socially, physically and spiritually. Each student grows at his/her own pace, guided by family, teachers, friends, and most importantly, by the Holy Spirit. Students have been busy at the end of the semester preparing for final semester exams. Teachers have conducted review sessions and students have been working to finish semester projects. Report cards will be distributed on Friday, January 7. The nine week grade, the exam grade, and the semester grade will be reported. Our athletic teams have been busy during the month of December. The middle school basketball teams finish their seasons in December. The varsity and junior varsity teams have had a successful month; their seasons continue in January and February. The cross country team was recognized at a pep rally on December 3. The basketball teams were introduced, and the varsity boys‘ basketball team led the students in a cheer. It was a very entertaining pep rally! As a school family, we have tried to use the season of Advent season as a time of prayerful reflection and preparation for the coming of the Christ Child at Christmas. As a campus family, we attended Mass on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The middle and high school students participated in a penance service on December 9. Led by members of the God Squad, students reflected on how they could bring God‘s light to the world. We are grateful to Father Rick Chenault who was with us for the penance service and was available for private confessions. Father Deasy also came to the school to give students the opportunity to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas. Each day, we have had special Advent prayers to remind us of the meaning of the season and to suggest positive ways that we could make this Advent a time of spiritual growth. Students in both the middle and the high school were generous in helping those less fortunate during this season. Middle school students ―adopted‖ families from Catholic Social Services and shopped for gifts for the family members. Students in the high school provided gift cards which were requested by the Consolata Sisters in Eutaw. We hope that these activities helped our students focus on the real meaning of the Advent and Christmas season Please mark your calendars now for a very special presentation. On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, Sister Kieran Sawyer will visit Tuscaloosa to speak to our parents about the L.I.F.E. program. Sister Kieran, the author of the program, is a nationally known speaker and we are very pleased that she will be able to share her experiences with our Holy Spirit families.

Learning Is Fun The 8th grade began a study of ancient history in October. The study began with a consideration of the earliest ―cave people.‖ Some students made derogatory remarks about the intelligence of these early people. This prompted Mrs. Burke to say ―So you think you could start a fire with nothing but natural materials?‖ Some eager students replied ―Yeah, all you have to do is rub two sticks together!‖ And so the challenge was on. Mrs. Burke kindly gave the students two weeks to perfect their fire making skills….no matches, mirrors, or lighters allowed. One student returned from a weekend with the news that she had started a fire in her backyard…but it didn‘t count because she did it with a mirror. But she also reported that the same idea could have been used by the cave people because, she reported, you could make a lens out of ice. Sounds like a science project! To investigate this yourself you can consult the following web sites: http://www.primitiveways.com/ice-fire.html or http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/ice/rb/rbfirefromice1.html

On the day of show and tell, the entire 8th grade gathered in the back

parking lot to watch Jackson Colburn and Blake Meyer as they attempted to use their methods to start a fire. Mrs. Burke was on hand with the fire extinguisher which turned out, surprisingly enough not to be needed. Jackson got smoke and a burned smell with his homemade ―bow drill‖ and Blake was successful in getting sparks with his magnesium rock and flint striker. The boys decided to work together and share ideas! Several days later the entire 8th grade once more gathered and this time the boys had a rather large pile of magnesium. They used a tissue (ok so that would not have been available to the cave people!) and a striker rock….lo and behold they actually started a fire! We were still not able to roast marshmallows but it was impressive nevertheless.

The students thought this was all great fun…but they quickly found out that Mrs. Burke and Mrs. Sam never do anything ―just for fun‖! In Mrs. Sam‘s science classes they discovered that what they were actually causing to happen was a chemical reaction. The striker being the catalyst and the new substance that was formed was magnesium oxide. The fire was the result of the energy being released in this reaction.

Although the ancient people would not have had that understanding, the 8th grade came to appreciate that they were great thinkers and were able to solve problems (like keeping warm and cooking food) in ingenious ways!

Isn‘t learning fun at Holy Spirit Middle School?

Academic Team Gets Invited To Another National Championship Tournament Earlier this year the varsity Academic Team qualified for the National Academic Quiz National Championship Tournament to be held in May in Atlanta . The Holy Spirit Varsity Academic team consists of Captain Joseph Latham, Ian Ramdeen, Jonathan Hess and Satchell Watts-Kerr. The team was recently notified that due to their excellent performance at the Hoover Invitational Tournament earlier this year, they have also been invited to the 2011 Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence National Scholastics Championship. This tournament will be held on June 4 and 5, 2011 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and will crown the national quiz bowl champion. In the past, PACE has attracted many of the top teams from across the nation to participate in this event. At the 2010 tournament, 64 teams represented 46 schools from 19 states and the District of Columbia .

Sharing The Spirit In Song Congratulations to the Holy Spirit Students that participated in the Alabama Choir School Winter Concert. Marissa Swindle Avery Wyatt Christian Giggie Samuel Pointon Juliana Davis Madison Dunton Avery Lake Sarah Martin Mary Grace Wyatt Bennett Diano Morgan Gamble Spike Howard Katie Lanier Kellie Ramdeen Sarah Williamson Sigrid Ezell Candice Keogh Sydney Lake Trinity Odongo Mary Catherine Chambliss Caitlin Diano Heather Rose Hampton Maria Jo Phelps

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Where Family Matters!

JANUARY