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January 24, 2012
Lord’s Table is tomorrow. The following students have signed up: Adam, Angelena, Alex C., Quinn, Colleen, Sean, and Mikaela.Parent Volunteers:
Mrs. Salameh
Confirmation Parent/Student meeting Thursday at 7:00.
January 6, 2012
Students were given a form today regarding how names should appear on diplomas. Please sign and return by January 13.
For the March for Life, the eighth grade students wear scarves to help identify them in the large group. I have the fabric for the scarves. If anyone could help cut the fabric for the scarves, please let me know. Thanks!
January 5, 2012
Second Quarter—
The quarter ends Friday, January 13. Please encourage students to check that they are up-to-date with their work.
Students were given a Religion extra-credit opportunity in early December. It is an essay contest through the St. Martin’s Youth Minister. Erin Johnson has extended the deadline until January 12. This will serve as extra credit for the second quarter.
Exams—Exams are next week.
The schedule for exams is as follows:
Wednesday—Science and Language Arts
Thursday—Social Studies and Math
All exams will be in the morning. Students will have a break between exams so they may bring a healthy snack. Wednesday after lunch will be a study hall for students to continue to prepare for Thursday’s exams.
March for Life—In keeping with tradition at St. Martin's School, the eighth grade class will be participating in the Rally for Life and Youth Mass at the Verizon Center and the March for Life on January 23.
We will meet at St. Martin’s around 5:00 a.m. and return around 6:30 p.m. As always, chaperones are necessary to make this trip possible. Tickets are required, and they are limited. If you are interested in attending, let me know by Tuesday, January 10. This has always been a wonderful experience of faith and social justice for the students.
That day, each student will be given two scarves to wear—one color identifies them as part of the parish group and the other as part of the eighth grade group. Students are encouraged to have a cell phone, and they will be given my phone number and the number of the other adults attending. They are only allowed to use the phones in case of an emergency and to call parents once we board buses to return home. They should also dress warmly and in layers.
Permission slip and more details will be available by Monday.
Graduation Attire Reminder—Remember photos will be at thebeginningof May. Please have all clothes in order by then.
Girls
White dress of appropriate length and style for Church—NO mini-skirts, strapless dresses, halters, low-cut necklines, spaghetti straps (strapsmustbe at least 1 inch wide). Most girls wear long dresses, but this is not required. Girls should wear dress shoes.Please NO tiaras.
Boys
Suit or dress trousers and jacket, dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes.
Graduation Fee—The graduation fee is $80. This covers the cost of the class photo, graduation receptions and flowers, diplomas, DVD, etc. Please have this in by April 1.
Important Dates—
January 23—March for Life
January 26—Confirmation Parent/Student Meeting
February 2—Faculty/Eighth Grade Volleyball Game—Parents are welcome to cheer on their students
April 3—Living Stations—Parents are strongly encouraged to come and experience this moving production by the eighth grade students.
April 27 Drama Club production
April 30—Confirmation practice
May 9—Lady Maryland field trip
May 17—Spring Music Program
May 3—Confirmation (half day for 8thgrade students)
May 25—Parent/Student Communion Breakfast 10:00 a.m.—Leavers Assembly in the afternoon
May 29—Hershey Park
May 30—Graduation rehearsal
May 31—Graduation
November 27, 2011
For the day of HSPT, students may wear appropriate tag clothes. They need to bring in 3 sharpened pencils, a book to read, a snack, and a bottle of water. (Pencils should be sharpened at home; otherwise, we spend a lot of time lined up at the sharpener!) Students must arrive at school on time.
Thanks to the Lopez, D’Anna, and Salameh families for offering to drive/chaperone for bowling. We still need additional drivers. Please let me know by tomorrow afternoon if you can help. If there aren’t enough seats, students will follow the usual afternoon class schedule for Wednesday.
November 17, 2011
High School Choice forms are due no later than Tuesday, November 22. Copies of this form were given to parents at Back-to-School. This form indicates where parents want HSPT scores sent and where transcripts should be sent. For those sending scores to St. John’s Catholic Prep in Frederick, two ADW schools must be entered in order for the scanner to read SJCP’s code. If you have not selected two ADW schools, your student will be instructed to enter the code for another ADW school. This does not mean that you must apply to those schools. If your child is taking the test bun not applying to a Catholic high school, please indicate that on the form.
On November 30, the HSPT test will be administered in the morning. Students not taking the test will follow their regular class schedule. In the afternoon, the class will have a stress-reducing field trip to Bowl America on Clopper Road. Permission slips were passed out today and are due Monday. We will need parents who are in compliance with the Child Protection Policy to chaperone and to drive students to Bowl America. Please let me know if you are available and the number of students that will fit in your car. Students must be current with their class assignments to participate in this eighth-grade privilege. Any late assignments must be turned in by November 28.
I really appreciate having all these forms in on time!
Lord’s Table is Wednesday, November 23. We will meet at the school entrance at 3:15. Our volunteers are Cosette, Adam, Patrick, Angelina, Alex C., Quinn, Alex R., Colleen, Mr. Ralowicz, and Mrs. Salameh.
I will not give homework for my classes over Thanksgiving. This is a great time to finish up school and scholarship applications and prepare for the HSPT. For extra practice, students can review Section 3: Skill Review in their HSPT book.
October 30, 2011
Last week students were given information about a scholarship opportunity from the Catholic Business Network. This award can be applied to ADW high schools. If interested, students will need to write an essay and submit it by early December. St. Martin's has had multiple winners for this scholarship in the past.
I haven’t had any response for a volunteer to sign in students for the St. Elizabeth or Holy Cross dance. Please let me know by Monday if you can help.
October 26, 2011
The link http://quizlet.com/7541076/saints-gallery-ii-flash-cards/ will take students to the religion quiz they created as a guide for the religion test. I strongly urge them to use the test features set as multiple choice or matching to study for Friday’s test.
October 24, 2011
This Wednesday is Lord's Table. The following students have volunteered:
Isabelle, Max, Collin, Marta, Rebeca, Patrick, Alex R. We currently have no parent volunteers. If you are available to help, please let me know.
St. Martin’s has been invited to a St. Elizabeth’s Dance on Friday, November 4 and a Holy Cross Elementary School Dance on Friday, November 11. In order to attend either dance, we must have a parent volunteer to sign students in. Please let me know if you are interested in volunteering for this.
October 3, 2011
Quick Reminders:
· Tomorrow the 8th grade is leading the school at Mass at 1:15. Please join us.
· Interims came out today. They should be signed and returned tomorrow.
· HSPT registration form and check must be in NO later than this Friday. If your student is not taking the test, please let me know.
· Last week was our first Lord’s Table. I received several compliments from clients and kitchen volunteers about how well your students did!
· Recommendations—All teachers will fill out their portion of the ADW recommendation forms, and those forms will be sent to the schools selected on the choice form. (This form is not due until November.) If your student needs an additional recommendation for a scholarship or independent school, please have the student ask the teacher in person, provide the teacher with a list of activities or other helpful information, and supply a stamped and addressed envelope to the scholarship/school committee. Please allow two weeks for this process.
September 28, 2011
HSPT and Lord’s Table
There will be no HSPT class this week since 8th grade has Lord’s Table. The following students have volunteered for this month: Isabelle, Max, Bryan, Collin, Marta, and Rebeca. If any parent is free to volunteer for Wednesday, please let me know.
Activities
The eighth grade class has many activities during the year that require parent assistance. If everyone pitches in, we can have a very successful year. One of the highlights of the year is our annual Hershey Park trip. Once we pay for the bus, tickets, and lunch, this becomes a very expensive field trip. To ensure that everyone can afford to attend, the eighth grade traditionally holds fundraisers such as the hot dog/ice cream lunches to offset the cost. In recent years, money from these fundraisers also paid for the eighth grade parent/student communion breakfast and an expanded graduation reception. These fundraisers directly benefit all eighth grade students, and so we ask that all families help and support them. (For graduation diplomas, flowers, dvd, programs, etc., a graduation fee is due in early spring.) If you can help with shopping for hot dog supplies or with cooking/serving any of the hot dog lunches on Tuesdays, please contact Mrs. Lopez or Mrs. Ralowicz. Again, these lunches benefit all eighth grade students.
Mass
Eighth grade has been working hard to prepare the school Mass for Tuesday afternoon, October 4. If you can make the Mass, please join us. The class is doing a beautiful job with their meditation song! Please do not schedule any shadow visits for that day.
High School Information
Registration forms and checks for the High School Placement Test (HSPT) are due Friday, October 7. This purple form was in the Back-to-School packets given to parents. If your student is not taking the HSPT test, please let me know.
Fall Festival
Don’t forget, our annual fall festival is this Saturday!
September 19, 2011
This Thursday is the first bake sale of the year. Eighth grade families are asked to send in a dozen treats for the occasion. Many thanks to Mrs. Lopez for volunteering to coordinate this event. If you can help sell goodies during lunch, please contact her.
HSPT class will be held again on Wednesday. If your student missed the first class, he or she is still welcome to join us.
As was explained at the Confirmation meeting, students are expected to fill out a Mass reflection for each Sunday. These will be due each Monday. If a student is sick, he or she can refer to the Sunday readings by using the calendar at http://www.usccb.org/.
Now is the time to contact high schools to arrange for shadow visits. A calendar is posted in our room. Students should mark shadow plans on the appropriate date.
As mentioned at Back-to-School, when a student is out for any reason, it is his or her responsibility to check-in with teachers about any work, tests, or quizzes that need to be completed. Tests and quizzes may need to be completed before or after school. Students should also make arrangements to copy notes from a classmate.
If you haven’t signed your student up for two Lord’s Table slots, please check the tab on my website for available dates and e-mail me your choices.
The October 4, 1:15 Mass will be led by the 8th grade students. Please join us if your schedule permits.
St. Mary’s in Rockville is holding a dance for seventh and eighth grade students on September 30. In order for students to attend, we will need a parent volunteer to sign-in St. Martin students.
Eighth grade students will be able to volunteer for the Fall Festival. I will have a sign-up sheet in class.
September 11, 2011
As mentioned at Back-to-School, the HSPT review class will begin this Wednesday from 3-4. All students are encouraged to take this test and take advantage of the review sessions. Each student will need a copy of Kaplan Catholic High School Entrance Exams: COOP*HSPT*TACHS 6th Edition
ISBN-13: 9781419553615. (It is often easier to order this book online since there are limited quantities in bookstores.)
August 29, 2011
In order for our students to attend the St. Elizabeth dances, we need a coordinator to be a point-of-contact with St. Elizabeth. The coordinator will check-in St. Martin’s students at the dances. Please let me know if you would like to volunteer. The first dance is September 16.
August 2011
Welcome students and parents of the Class of 2012. Please enter your e-mail address on the News Flash page to receive notifications about Announcement updates.
Uniforms
All students should carefully review St. Martin’s uniform policy and make sure they are in proper uniform for the first day of school.
HSPT Test Practice
Students, if you are interested in applying to Catholic high school, try out the following websites for HSPT practice and review:
http://www.testprepreview.com/hspt_practice.htm
http://www.studyguidezone.com/pdfs/hsptteststudyguide.pdf
In the fall an HSPT review class will be offered. Participating students will need a copy of the following book:
Kaplan Catholic High School Entrance Exams: COOP*HSPT*TACHS 6th Edition
ISBN-13: 9781419553615
(It is often easier to order this book online since there are limited quantities in bookstores.)
July 2011
Confirmation is scheduled for Thursday, May 3 at 6:00 p.m. Rehearsal will be on Monday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m.
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