Watch for monthly SOS notices coming home in the student's book bag. Insert them into the family folder. Please read and review often.

May

Dear Parents,

This is our final newsletter of the year.  It is really hard to believe that the school year is winding down.  Just a few FYI’S:

Confirmation –  Sacred Heart & Christ the King                                                                                                                  May 9, 7:00 PM @ Sacred Heart Church

Confirmation –  St. Mary’s, May 10 @ 10:30 AM

 Recognition Mass –  May 23, 8:30 AM Mass.  We encourage any family members to attend.

 Class Picnic –  May 23, 10:00 AM @ Riverside Park.  Parent drivers are needed.

 8^th Grade Graduation –  May 27   Students should be at the Middle School no later than 5:30 PM.                                                    DON’T FORGET YOUR CAP & GOWN! 

We hope that you and your family have a safe and enjoyable summer vacation.  Good luck to you and your children so they begin the next phase of their education.

April

Happy spring!  We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter break.  There are two months left of busy and fun activities for our eighth grade.

Tuesday April 1, report cards will come home.  Please help your student stay focused with school work by regularly checking the homework assignment book.  If you’re ever curious about your student’s grade in any subject, your student can simply check the board in each classroom.

Our two homerooms will need their caps and gowns soon!  The students will receive instructions for bringing them back to school for their class picture on Wednesday April 23. We appreciate your help in keeping track of the caps, tassels and collars (girls only).

Next week is the kick off assembly for the Seton Walkathon.  It’s a great opportunity for the eighth graders to be leaders for the younger children.

We really enjoyed our March trip to the County Courthouse and jail.  All three groups were well behaved and asked great questions.  The next big event for us is the 7^th and 8^th grade Spring Dance on Thursday April 17.  Staying caught up with school work will ensure the privilege of attending. Also, we mentioned a small problem with gum chewing in the March newsletter. It has not decreased; it has actually increased.  Thanks for any help you can give us on that.

As we look toward the end of our year, we’d both like to thank you again for all you’ve done to help the kids have a successful eighth grade.

March

March is finally here, and we hope warm weather is coming with it!  This letter comes at our busiest time of year.  On Friday, February 29, 8M prepared the liturgy for the Middle school Mass and next Friday is 8V’s turn.  We always welcome you to attend 8:30 Mass with us on any Friday.

We thought you’d be interested in knowing the variety of outside activities our students have been involved in recently:

• Twenty students are working during lunch periods to prepare for the Current Events contest.

• Sixteen have entered the Optimist Speech Contest.

• Four are rehearsing acting parts for the school play.

• Nine girls and twelve boys have been working hard with busy basketball schedules, culminating last weekend in Peoria.

• Four musicians are preparing for their spring band concert.

• Four students worked at lunch and after school with Mrs. Meersman and Mr. Andrews for the Math Counts Competition.

• Two boys have worked through a tough wrestling season.

• Six are doing research for the 2008 Science Fair with Mr. Herbert.

• Sixteen have sung at our weekly Mass all year with Mrs. Keller and Mrs. Meersman and are now getting ready for their spring program.

• And the entire class is doing a Lent community service project.  We will be going in small groups to the Food Bank, helping to sort food and put together “weekend backpacks” for needy kids to take home on Friday afternoons.  We really appreciate the transportation and supervision volunteered by Mr. Polito and Mrs. Cross.  We couldn’t do this without you!

In light of all these wonderful things going on, we ask you to be sure the students are resting enough and organizing their time.  It’s not easy to balance school work, volunteering, and relaxing!

Brief reminder: We encourage students to bring healthy snacks to eat around 10:30 each day. However, some students are eating and drinking at their lockers after each period…and passing food to their friends. We can stop it at that moment, and we ask you to help us by preventing any large bags of candy, caffeine drinks, and boxes of cookies from coming to school in the morning.  We are trying to promote good eating habits and want to prevent frequent snacking on junk food. 

Also, please help us keep gum out of school.  It’s not allowed and it causes more work for the custodial staff.  Thank you!

February

It is hard to believe that that we are already halfway through the school year.  Let us take this time to re-evaluate your child’s progress so far.

In the area of late slips issued to 8^th Graders:

     1^st Quarter -  103

     2^nd Quarter - 154

In the area of discipline (Number of referrals to office):

     1^st Quarter – 29

     2^nd Quarter – 16

In this last semester before high school, there is still room for improvement.  Remember to continue to:

     1.  Check your child’s assignment notebook. Make sure that it is being used.                   

     2.  Make sure your child’s is using the take  home folder for notes and tests to be signed.

     3.  Remind your child to use appropriate classroom behavior:

          A.  Control unnecessary talking in class

          B.   Respect others and their possessions

UPCOMING EVENTS

     1.  Ash Wednesday Mass February 6 planned by 8^th Grade. Hope to see you there.

     2.  Warning Letters go home February 15

     3.  Winter Break February 18-20

     4.  Job Shadow Day February 28

January

Happy New Year, everyone!  After a nice long Christmas vacation, we’re ready to get back to lots of learning and activities.  The eighth grade in particular has so much going on this month. We’ll be taking the Diocesan NCEA ACRE assessment, and on Saturday January 26^th, our students will be taking the Alleman Placement Test.

Along with that, the boys are wrapping up their basketball season and the girls are beginning theirs.  We’d like to remind parents to check student homework assignment books regularly.  It will help them plan their time efficiently so they can keep up with all they have going on especially with third quarter beginning next week. Look for report cards to be coming home soon.

Assisting your student in keeping up with studying and assignments is especially important for them at this time of year.  The eighth grade has field trips coming up such as Job Shadow Day, a visit to the courthouse and jail and Circa 21.  These are great activities they all enjoy…and they’re good incentives to help students keep up with their academic work.  We appreciate your time and support in helping them.  

December

On Thursday, December 6^th, our homerooms will be visited by local veterans of WWII.  They will be speaking to us about Pearl Harbor Day.  On Friday, we will walk to the American Legion to participate in a special flag ceremony.  

Thank you for your assistance in helping us with the talking problem.  It has greatly improved…and given us more time for learning and fun activities J

With winter sports in full swing, time management is more important than ever.  Please help your son or daughter plan ahead so that study and practice can both be accomplished.

We hope you have a blessed Advent and a wonderful Christmas.

November

Our class trip to Springfield was great!  Along with visiting Lincoln’s tomb, New Salem, and the famous Lincoln Museum, we had great weather.  Thanks to the parents who accompanied us as chaperones: Mrs. Morrisey, Mrs. Zmuda, Mr. Polito and Mr. Barrett.

During October we celebrated the Rosary, and our two classes planned a prayer service for the whole school; they did a great job. Our homerooms will also be planning two of the November liturgies.  8M is Nov. 6^th, and 8V is Nov. 16th.  Parents and grandparents are always welcome to come to our 8:30 Masses.

In religion classes, we have begun learning and memorizing Confirmation questions and answers.  They will be assigned a week ahead of the test. We encourage the students to learn them as if they are learning a new prayer.  It takes study and we discourage ad-libbing.  Assisting your student by quizzing him/her would be helpful.  One of our mantras here at school is to “take the test before you take the test.”  It allows that extra step ahead of time to see what needs extra study.  Thank you J

Our September and October concentration on “listening” is going well.  Most of the students are making great progress.  If you see a ‘needs improvement’ mark on your child’s report card, you might have a conversation about inappropriate talking during teaching or giving of directions.

The eighth grade class topped off Red Ribbon Week with a volleyball game (including faculty!).  Fifth through eighth grades attended, and we all had fun.  Mrs. Cornelis and the Student Council worked hard to organize several events for us that were educational and enjoyable.  The middle school students have also done a super job contributing to Alleman’s food drive.  Thanks to you, parents, for helping. 

If you have been signing more than one or two green slips recently, you may need to double check the assignment notebook and be sure your student’s back pack is emptied every two weeks or so. Thank you again for checking manila folders each night for notes and tests that need to be signed.

November has a unique schedule this year.  We’ll have conferences Wednesday Nov. 7^th and Thursday Nov.8^th.  We look forward to seeing you.   Happy Thanksgiving on the 22^nd!

October

Our 2007 ’08 eighth grade class is off to a great start.  We’ve been talking about and doing lots of organizing.  The teachers have purchased sets of mailboxes for each homeroom, and that has helped the students know exactly what needs to go home: PE clothes, notes from the office, permission slips.  It’s all there.  We’re finding the boxes especially helpful for the students who have been out a day or so. When they return, they simply check their mailbox, and they’re back on track.  We ask that you continue to check the manila folders each student carries.  It contains materials you may read, tests to be signed, homework etc.  If that’s reviewed each night, the students can begin the next day ready to go.

Being an involved parent takes time and energy, and we’re grateful that you’re helping us.   The students can only benefit from us working together. J

There are a couple issues that have been recurring and we could use your help.  Cell phones are obviously popular with 8^th graders, and we recognize they use them after school to call you for various reasons.  However, carrying them in their pockets or binders during the school day is against the rules.  Students have been texting each other and people outside the building.  That’s a distraction that brings multiple problems, not the least of which is sending test answers to students in other classrooms.   We’d appreciate your help in this matter.   Homework assignment books help students know what they need to do each night as well as long term projects.  Could you take a look at those a couple times a week?  We’re noticing some students have assignments written down and return the next day without any homework.  Again, thanks for your help.

The next project we’re working on is creating a big calendar for recording all a student’s activities (to visualize time management).  We’ve realized small ones don’t work too well, so we’re trying again. 

Our eighth grade field trip to Springfield is coming up soon! Students should have brought home their permission slips for you to look at and sign.  It will be an early departure on Oct. 5.  We will let students have cell phones in their backpacks to call you as we get close to Moline Friday evening.  We’re looking forward to a great day!

September

Welcome to 8^th grade!  We, Pat Voss and Sheila Moreno, are looking forward to a successful year with your students.  This monthly newsletter is one way we plan to keep you informed about what we’re doing with academics, behavior and fun activities.

In our first two weeks of homeroom, we have begun to concentrate on ORGANIZATION of the students' time and materials. It involves discussions about homework assignment books, backpacks and lockers. We will also be working on LISTENING skills.

* WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP *

That’s the big bonus of the 8^th grade monthly newsletter. With your support, we can work together toward the same positive goals for our students’ education.

~ IDEAS TO THINK ABOUT ~

Provide necessary MATERIALS at home (pens, pencils, paper, folders) and SPACE (desk, table) for your child to do homework. He can help you organize this "go to" area. Having this routine space, without distractions, will maximize his homework time and help him be more productive, and having your child be a part of planning his study site will increase his willingness to use it for homework.

Create or buy a large CALENDAR. Record with your child all her school, family, music, sports and social activities for the next two weeks. This will help her to SEE the need for TIME MANAGEMENT.

Create a regular SLEEP routine. We all have days when it's difficult to maintain, but you as parents can be a big factor in helping your student be well rested and ready for a good day at school.

*** UPCOMING ACTIVITIES ***

We're looking forward to our first field trip of the year! We'll be traveling to Springfield to visit Illinois historical sites and the Lincoln Museum on Friday October 5th. More details about that coming soon.

Wednesday September 5th is Parent Night at the Middle School. We hope to see your there!