St. Edmund Parish School

Principal's Corner

Do not forget to look at my "Principal's Letters" page- Just follow the link on the left.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK, SUNDAY, JANUARY 29 – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Of the educational programs available to the Catholic community, Catholic schools afford the fullest and best opportunity to realize the threefold purpose of Christian education among children and young people
To Teach As Jesus Did, USCC, #101, 1972

As we mark the beginning of Catholic Schools week, I would like to offer my sincere appreciation to the parents who make significant sacrifices to allow their children to attend a Catholic school and to the teachers who further the mission of St. Edmund Parish School. Catholic schools play a vital role in the formation of future leaders in the Church, future priests and religious as well as educated laity. The burden of supporting Catholic schools cannot be met entirely by the parishes with schools and parents who pay tuition. As generations past and present have done, I join with other Catholic educators and the entire Catholic community to continue to offer support for our schools. Certainly, St. Edmund Parish School would not exist without the generous support of our parishioners.

Today’s liturgies mark the beginning of National Catholic Schools Week. Current and prospective students and families are invited to join the St. Edmund Parish Community in celebrating Catholic education. St. Edmund students and faculty will take part in the liturgy. As part of this liturgy, St. Edmund students will reflect upon the impact of Catholic education on their lives. Parishioners as well as current and prospective parents and students are cordially invited to the school Open House immediately following 9:30Mass. Refreshments will be served. All staff will be on-hand and classrooms will be open for attendees to visit. Student work will be on display and teachers will be available to answer your questions. The Scholastic Book will be open in the school’s conference room during the Open House. Thanks to our Development Director, Maria Allori, members of the St. Edmund School Board, teachers, and students for organizing Catholic Schools Week Open House.

As we look to the future, we have a sense of prospective and hope when we note that in 2006, only the direct intervention by Fr. John McGivern saved St. Edmund Parish School from closing its doors due to low enrollment. Now, six years later, St. Edmund has an enrollment of nearly160 students. A flourishing Pre-Kindergarten program at St. Edmund provides the foundation on which to build an even more successful school!

Thank You for Supporting Catholic Education,

Michael Sweeney
Principal St. Edmund Parish School

http://www.4shared.com/video/fV-vL30O/100_4240.html A WARM THANK YOU GOES OUT TO MATT WILHELM BMX TRICK SUPERSTAR WHO VISITED OUR SCHOOL ON MONDAY. WE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME! WE ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR TEACHERS WHO HELPED MAKE MATT'S PERFORMANCE SO FANTASTIC. CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO SEE THREE ST EDMUND PARISH SCHOOL TEACHERS HELP IN ONE OF MATT'S TRICKS.

BULLDOG EXPRESSS-WINTER EDITION READ ALL ABOUT IT ! Click on the link to read about all the wonderful events and happenings around St. Edmund Parish school this year!!

What a fantastic turn out for our Book Fair Luau! It's a Reading Celebration! Mr. Sweeney has agreed to host gym time for all students if we increase our book sales from last year by 10%. We will need to sell 720 books, gym time will be offered to every class. With just a little effort we can easily purchase the 35 additional books neede to reach our goal of 720 total books.

All students in grades 1st through 8th are welcome to come to Mrs. Krem's classroom, ROOM 151, on Fridays after school from 3:15PM - 4:00PM. You will need to bring your knitting needles and yarn. Materials can be purchased for a cost of $12.00(give her about two weeks)

INK/TONER CARTRIDGES & OLD CELL PHONES Please remember that we are still collecting used ink / toner cartridges and cell phones. Ask your families, friends and co-workers to donate their used ink cartridges. We receive credit for these cartridges which helps us purchase supplies for school.

Click here to see BIG Idea Team
The grand prize BIG Idea was to build a “Rooftop Playground" for kids at a school with no outside play area and came from Andrea de Avila and her team, from Oak Park, Illinois. Their BIG idea involved transforming a window-level rooftop into an eco-friendly, garden playground for students. This idea was so BIG and impressed the judges so much that it was awarded the grand prize so that Andrea and her team could make the idea into a reality. Now the team will work with Chicago Cares, an affiliate of the HandsOn Network, Scholastic’s BE BIG partner, to build her students an eco-friendly outdoor playground where they can learn AND play!
Thank you Andrea!

If you have questions or concerns that you would like to share with your child’s teacher(s), there are a number of options including our regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences in the fall and spring. Email works well if you have a question that requires a brief response from the teacher. For example, if you have a question about a project or need to inform a teacher about a planned absence, email is an effective means of communication. However, you may well have concerns that require a face-to-face meeting with a teacher. It is school policy to contact a teacher and arrange for a conference at a mutually agreed upon time. Following this procedure allows time for all parties to prepare for a conference and to reflect upon the issue(s) to be discussed and possible solutions. This process is described in some detail in the Family Handbook.

If your child(ren) will be out of school for any reason, PLEASE CALL THE SCHOOL OFFICE AT 708/386-5131 TO REPORT THE ABSENCE. When the student(s) return to school, a written, dated notice from the parent/guardian is required.(See pg. 12 of the Family Handbook under ATTENDANCE number 1.)

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