Bucks for The Brick

With two days off this week, we have shifted some of our schedule. We are hoping to take students next Thursday for bowling; I need to check on this. Next Tuesday is the spelling bee. Also this morning, we did an impromptu junior high breakfast. Some students brought in food and we also used some of our $55 to buy food. You would have been proud of your "cooks." Jacob is a master chef and Shane is a creative chef. Sarah, Emily and Maureen are masters at pancakes, Meghan and Rachel on waffle-duty, and Wes was frying up the bacon. Other students helped to set the table... thanks. We smelled like the junior high diner... and the food was the bonus! Thanks.

Tomorrow is Mass at 9 a.m. We are expecting some of our former students to join us. Also we hope to load up on some goodies to bring to The Brick for our community outreach. We will need to do some shopping, so if you have some spare change of a dollar or two, please bring it TOMORROW. We will go shopping and then bring our items to The Brick.

Students received report cards on Monday. Marco's winning essay was in The Press today. Spelling work is due Monday. Tomorrow is tie-dye colors.

Thanks be to God for we participate in His school to raise up men and women of faith and citizenship. Thanks for your support. Thank you today for a teacher appreciation luncheon, help in the gym, painting the gym, and so many others working hard to support our calling to teach your precious children.

Ice and Cold

What a surprise to be house-bound today as ice coated our landscape. And we are not sure what the morning will bring as forecasts indicate a bitter wind-chill factor....stay tuned!

But....we move forward in Catholic Schools' Week. We belong to the God of all weather and all seasons. So even in the "weather-surprises", He is with us.

Grade 6 spelling this week is: ordinary, extraordinary, appreciation, Catholic, activity, bowling, hospitality, host, servant, needy, dollars, guest. I anticipate this assignment is due Friday. There may need to be an adjustment if we miss another day of school.

Grade 7/8 spelling words are: competence, catholic, alumni, exhort, disdain, disciple, regret, agony, multitude, triumph, blush, barbaric, merit, entertain, radiant, anguish. This is due Friday... unless we miss another day.

Parents: Students at OLL were given report cards on Monday. There are many reasons to celebrate the good work of many students and there a few concerns that also should be addressed. Talk to your student about his/her work.

Thank you to Nancy (our gourmet chef) for the wonderful meal she prepared for families on Monday night. Also some trusty helpers showed up to help out the teachers. We appreciate ALL you did.

We misssed bowling today; I am sure that will be rescheduled soon. Also the junior high breakfast plan can be rescheduled. God reigns in ice and cold... and we remain grateful for our heavy jackets and warm homes. May you know inner hope and eternal warmth in the message of a God that loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son... that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life (Jn. 3: 16).

Hope to be back at school soon.

Catholic Schools Week

This is my second log today so please be sure to read the one written earlier.

Catholic Schools Week:
Next week we celebrate Catholic Schools Week: The Theme is, "Catholic Schools Light the Way."
Sunday: Please participate in the all-school mass at 9:30 and plan to attend the Knights of Columbus breakfast.
Monday: We encourage families to come to the all-school family meal at 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday: Student appreciation Day. Jr. high will cook breakfast (ask your student what he/she should bring) and go bowling after lunch. We will need permission slips for this.
Wednesday: St. Louis comes over for Mass with our students. Jr. High will go shopping with "Bucks for THE BRICK" ministry. Students should bring in change and dollars all week plus the Mass offering will be for The Brick. Along with grocery items, The Brick needs laundry soap, dish soaps, tooth brushes, etc. Please be generous to support this worthy ministry.
Thursday: Teacher Appreciation Day.... The rumor is we will have a special lunch... yes!
Friday: Former students are encouraged to come and spend the day with us... Mass and activities.
Should be a fun week. Yes, we will do some work... but less than normal... and we will celebrate US.
Hope you can join us and support our school. Thanks so much.

Bless your coming in and your going out

Psalm 121 is one of my favorite writing of Scripture. These verse were often used when we went to Pakistan as missionaries; they were spoken over us at the airport as we were ready to board with 4 kids and all the stuff it takes to sustain a family for four years. Verse 8 has such a promise: The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

This week we are "going out" of the 2nd quarter of this school year and "coming in" to the third quarter. Some students feel good about where they are at this academic year and others want to do better next quarter. We are here for their dreams and to instruct them in the ways of doing good school work and becoming good citizens of our world and citizens of our faith. Thank you for your precious children and your support to make good things happen for your student, for us, and for our school.

We are also coming into Catholic School's Week. There are extra activities and fun days; please offer to help and if you have an idea for something fun for junior high students, we want to hear from you and help you make it happen.

I am flying to Seattle this weekend for a celebration of life for a colleague that passed away Jan. 9th. Sarah had cancer and waged a fierce battle for over 3 years. Thank you for prayers for our travel (my husband is also going) and Lord willing, I will be back in the classroom Monday morning to hail the arrival of Catholic School's week.
May God bless your plans- your coming in and going out.

Winter(ordinary) Time

Life may seem rather ho-hum these days... same old... same old. Cold weather, white landscape, get up, go to bed... But with God ,even in the season of Ordinary Times, extraordinary things are happening. God is with us 24 x 7, he never feels ho-hum about His people, but rather he is working at fullspeed to infuse our lives with forgiveness, peace and resurrection joy! May we in this "huddle around the home-fires time" be excited and full of joy to be included in God's kingdom work on earth.

The exciting spelling words for Grades 7/8 this week are: accuracy, details, block, style, margin, salutation, signature, diligence, plagiarize, collage, college, indignation, exploitation, ideio, obnoxious, formidable. Also tomorrow we are going to the computer lab to type Letters of Intent (Grade 8) and PAVESO grids (GRADE 7) for our research projects and autobiographies. These are due on Wednesday.

The exciting spelling words for Grade 6 are: marvelous, brilliant, genius, emperor, pride, truth, procession, resided, swindlers, canopy, cloth, garment. 6th graders will be reading their fairy tales on Wednesday. In Class we will be also reading "The Emperor's New Suit."

IMPORTANT NEWS: This is the last week of this quarter. A small number of students are missing major work; this will affect your grades. I have notified your parents... so now it is a "family" commitment...Thursday is the DEADLINE
please.......

Catholic Schools Week next week. Please support our special activities and IF you want to do something special for our students/school, you are invited to participate. We also need more JUNIOR HIGH students for the all school Mass on Sunday and also we need baked goods for the school bake sale. If you do not have time to bake, monetary gifts also help.

FYI: I am traveling to Seattle this weekend to be one of the speakers at special Memorial Service for a dear-teacher colleague who passed on January 7th. Thaks for your prayers; I do not intend to miss any OLL school days.

Children of the Heavenly Father

Today we remembered the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. This event is also an invitation to remember our baptism. When water and word were infused with the eternal promise of God to proclaim us sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father. May we arise each day to remember and practice our inheritance as children of the Most High. We are His Beloved.

Students are busy these days as 8th graders begin their major research project. 7th graders are starting on their 5-page autobiography and 6th graders will begin planning and writing fairy tales this week. Parents of Grades 7 and 8: I hope that you saw the parent letter sent home last week. Those students who returned them on Friday received extra credit.

The Grade 7/8 spelling words for this week are: affect, effect, bibliography, introduction, body, conclusion, intend, access, synergy, enliven, gait, crumpet, essence, aura, infuse, transpire, expire, aspire, conspire, perspire Along with steps in the research process, students will read a short excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Grade 6 spelling words: prince, princess, gender, wizard, narrator, tale, tail, conflict, resolution, delight, instruction, brochure BONUS: antique, ferocious. The fairy tale project will include designing a main character, planning the conflict and resolution, and using vocabulary that is appropriate for a primary-age audience. We hope to share these stories with the students in Grade 1.

World History 6 students continue to gather information about Ancient Egypt. Students will be working on "sensory" brochures that invite a reader to see, smell, taste, touch, hear Egypt.

We have two weeks left of this quarter. The time is going quickly... and third quarter will comprise a heavy share of writing projects. Be sure also that students are reading a book outside class. Reading continues to be the vehicle that increases vocabulary and writing skills.
I hope to include some Shakespeare with Grades 7/8... and Grade 6 will focus on short stories. Also I will continue to read Bud Not Buddy aloud in class to 6th grade.

Be encouraged... we are children of the King.

May His Star Shine on You

Yesterday we celebrated the Epiphany. There are some things in this life that are a mystery but a Star (God's signpost) on the highway can make all the difference in the world. May His Star Shine for You.

Your student may have informed you that we have some schedule changes; this is true. Grades 7/8 now have English in the morning and Grade 6 in the afternoon.

The spelling words for Grade 7/8 this week are: courage, contrary, determine, research, topic, sources, extract, relevant, synthesize, process, transition, curiosity, illustrate, syllable, punctual, original, neutral, sequence, origin, trivial.
We are moving into practicing the research process as students are preparing for the 8th grade research essay and 7th grade autobiography assignments. Also a rough draft is due tomorrow for the winter essay students are writing.

Grade 6 spelling words are: choose, essay, imagination, stategy, comprehension, interpret, summarize, demonstrate, research, resources, vocabulary, writing. BONUS: pharaoh, papyrus, hieroglyphics. Grade 6 will begin writing rough draft on winter essays tomorrow.
Also with the new schedule, 6th graders will be doing some journal writing. BY next Monday, each student needs a journal notebook.

World History 6 students continue to gain information about Ancient Egypt. Today students reviewed informational books on Egypt and practiced critical thinking skills. They will give oral presentations to share IF a book is a worthy resource for the Egypt unit.

Students should continue to do outside reading to improve reading and writing skills.

Happy New Year to all of our OLL families. We are grateful for God's goodness in 2007 and we have His promise for His ongoing presence. Be watching for His Star.

We Have Seen His Star...

Happy New Years students and parents. Nice to be back at OLL and once again consider what it means to be followers of Christ. This week we are taking a fresh look at the Magi and their journey from the East to worship the Christ Child. May we also be "watching" for the signs of Jesus in our lives and those around us. He is the Morning Star... and He is the Evening rest.
An added bonus to our return was our worship, praying, and singing together at the school liturgy.

For English 6, 7 and 8 this week there will be no spelling test. Students were given a blue worksheet to complete by Friday that includes 5 words: magi, epiphany, frankincense, myrrh, and gold. They are to write each word 5x, define each word, and write a short summary of the coming of the Wise Men using all 5 words in the summary.

The New Year offers a clean slate in many ways. Today students were informed that the "missing" $55 was found so the money earned was returned to the students for a future field trip. Apologies were offered and forgiveness extended. We are learning this "faith-stuff" together. Also Mr. Eaton talked to students that there will be some schedule changes over the next few weeks as more teaching support is available in the junior high. There will be no major shifts, but mostly class times and locations will change.

I am still on jet-lag mode as I shift to Ashland time. I enjoyed telling students today about Thailand... an energetic part of Asia. Happy New Year to everyone. Be watching for the stars....