Archive for November, 2009
From the Principal’s Desk
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Christina Clem, under Principal's Desk.
The time has been flying by and it is almost time for the Thanksgiving holidays! There is much to be thankful for: Our community, our families, our faith! It has been wonderful to witness our community pulling together so beautifully to support the Rosales family and the Davis-Hale families through their terrible losses this year. Please continue to keep these families in your prayers.
I am also thankful for the wonderful work done by all of our families to make this year’s Booster-thon and Halloween Carnival huge successes. I especially wish to acknowledge the outstanding leadership of our carnival chairpersons, Marybeth Jones, Anna Burciaga, and Bea Brown, as well as our Advisory Council chairpersons, Michele Mills and Dana Choate, and the incredible contributions made by Katy Barrilleaux and Andy Goza in marketing and facilities improvements.
Many, many thanks, as well, to Boy Scout Troop 788, scouts and their families, who so generously gave of their Sunday to plant shrubs and other landscaping along the car pick up line and also to the NJHS members for their generous donation and sponsorship of the area. Our scouts also did a terrific job cleaning out the area underneath the stage in the cafeteria.
I’d like to extend a very heartfelt thanks to our scouts in Pack 788: Benjamin Jones, Antonio Barrientos, Logan Edelmann, Dylan Choate, Michael Green, Julian Reyes, Demetrius Hinojosa Rowland, Roberto Burciaga, their parents, and Webelos II Leader, Demetrius Rowland for their participation in a Veterans Day event to honor veterans residing at the Windsor Senior Living Center in North Dallas. These scouts presented a first-class, very dignified and patriotic opening and closing flag ceremony for this 3-hour dinner event on November 10th, where they heard the personal stories of former military men and women who valiantly served our country.
Please join me in congratulating our assistant principal, Rachel Robb! She was chosen as a Teacher of the Month to be recognized on a large LCD screen billboard for the Access Self-Storage Company on the west side of Hwy. 67 just past Kiest Blvd. Please drive by and see her beautiful picture and the name of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School displayed!
This year’s Parent/Teacher Conference Day is scheduled for Friday, November 13, from 7:30 am – 12:00 noon and again from 1-4 pm. There will be a discussion for 7th grade parents from 8 – 9 am. Parents of students in grades PK-5 may call Mrs. Walkley in the school office to schedule an appointment with the grade level homeroom teachers. Parents of students in grades 6-8 may conference with the individual teachers on a first come/first serve basis. Parents who are unable to make a conference for that day may schedule an appointment directly with any individual teacher through email. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the school office.
All parents of students in grades 1-8 are invited to attend a special meeting on Thursday, November 19, at 7 pm, where we will give you an overview of how to interpret the results of the recent standardized achievement test, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and the Cognitive Abilities Test. We hope that we will have received the students’ test results by that time.
Included in this newsletter are the results of the Parent Satisfaction Survey that was sent out prior to the beginning of this school year. We greatly appreciate those of you who took the time to complete and return this survey. We were very pleased with the overwhelming number of positive comments about St. Elizabeth of Hungary School, its faculty and staff, and the high quality of Catholic education that your children are receiving here. We are also appreciative of the suggestions for improvement that we received as well. We began last year to address many of your suggestions and have continued this year in making improvements based on your input. Another survey will be sent out in February, and we would love to get 100% response.
We are looking forward to the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary on November 17th. On that day we will be singing Happy Feast Day to our patron saint with cake at all the lunchtimes. On Friday, November 20, we will honor St. Elizabeth of Hungary during our Children’s Liturgy with a procession of saints. On Friday afternoon, we will hold our annual “Saints: To Tell the Truth Game” in the school gym. Please be sure to read Mrs. Belcher’s column for more information regarding Saints’ activities during the month of November.
Many thanks for your continued support of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School this year! Let us continue to pray for one another and for the needs of our community.
God bless!
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Important Dates in November and December
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Admin, under Events.
- November 12 – Faculty Meeting @ 3:30 pm – No Tutoring
- November 13 – Parent/Teacher Conference Day – No School
- November 17 – St. Elizabeth of Hungary Feast Day
- November 19 – 8th Grade Snack Sale
- November 19 – Parent Meeting – ITBS @ 7:00 pm
- November 19 – Buck-A-Jean Day
- November 20 – Diocesan Librarian’s Meeting
- November 20 – Celebration of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Feast Day – Saints To Tell the Truth Game
- November 21-22 – St. Elizabeth Altar Guild Bazaar
- November 24 – NOON DISMISSAL
- November 25-29 – Thanksgiving Vacation
- November 29 – First Sunday of Advent
- December 3 – Diocesan Principal’s Meeting
- December 3 – Second Quarter Progress Reports
- December 3 – Booster Club Meeting @ 6:30 pm
- December 7 – Coordinator’s Meeting @ 3:00 pm
- December 7-11 – Fall Book Fair
- December 8 – Feast of Immaculate Conception 8:00 am Mass
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From Beth Belcher, Director of Religious Education
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Religious Education.
Hello, St Elizabeth families! Happy November!
This is the month of All Saints, and All Souls. We ask everyone to continue to pray for those in our lives who are sick, are adversely affected by our economy, have some kind of special need, or those who have died. We especially remember Phillip Davis, dad of Trey Davis-Hale, and ask you to continue to keep him and his family in your prayers as they face this difficult time.
This month also ushers in our Saint’s Game, to be held on Friday, November 20 at 2pm in the gym. All of the classes will take part in the saint’s procession to be held on that same morning, at the 8:00 am Mass. We hope that as many of you, who are able, will join us to celebrate those who have officially been recognized as saints in the Catholic Church! It is always a wonderful procession and game! Be sure to mark your calendars for these great events.
A few other dates to remember would be the followingTuesday, November 17, the feast of St Elizabeth of Hungary – students will receive a free piece of ‘feast day’ cake at lunch
- Friday, November 20, Saint’s Mass procession (8am) and Saint’s Game (2pm)
- Tuesday, November 24, Thanksgiving Prayer Service, 9 am, 2nd grade leads the school
- Monday, November 30, The Giving Tree begins for the school community – please bring new unwrapped toys to Mass on Fridays and your child will bring these gifts up and place them under the tree in the sanctuary.
We encourage families to write their special intentions on the slips of paper outside of the front office and place them in the basket to be brought up to the altar during each Mass. We consider your intentions to be private and will be prayed for silently; however, people for whom you’d like prayers should be directed to me or your child’s Religion teacher. The ‘basket’ intentions will eventually be used as kindling for the Easter fire during the Triduum.
As we move closer to the end of the month, to Thanksgiving and to Advent, I wish you and your families a blessed and peace-filled holiday season.
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School Development
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Elizabeth Belew, under School Development.
Roof Fund
Your generosity in last year’s drive helped St. Elizabeth make a dent in the total we are raising to replace our aged roof! Our goal for this year’s drive is to finish what we started last year and raise the additional funds for our roof project. We’ve received several bids for our roof replacement and they range from $278,000 to $360,800. Currently, we have more than $38,000 raised for this task and have one grant request to the Dallas Foundation pending and two more requests to other foundations in the works. Think about what we could accomplish if every one of the 219 families at St. Elizabeth School participated at whatever level that was possible for each family. Whether you are able to donate $25 or $2,500, every gift is greatly appreciated. Everyone in the St. Elizabeth School Community benefits from your support and remember that every single tax deductible dollar you give goes directly to the school and the students. Watch your mailboxes towards the middle of November for your pledge card and thank you for your continued support!
Grocery Store Fundraiser
Did you know that Tom Thumb donates a portion of your purchases to St. Elizabeth School? Tom Thumb has community programs to donate 1% of every dollar you spend at their store back to St. Elizabeth School.
But, they do not donate to St. Elizabeth unless you sign up for their program and designate St. Elizabeth as your beneficiary. Here’s how to designate St. Elizabeth’s:
St. Elizabeth’s number is #648. Turn in a completed application at your Tom Thumb store; they will give you a Reward Card, present that card to the cashier during your transaction. To change or verify the designated beneficiary of your current Reward Card, ask the cashier during your transaction.
The more people that designate St. Elizabeth as their beneficiary school the more dollars St. Elizabeth earns to help defray the costs of tuition.
Thank you for participating in this fundraiser.
Campbell Labels & General Mills
Don’t forget to send in your labels. A box is in the front of the school for your children to drop off any labels. Also a flyer will be sent out with all the labels that we can collect.
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Mrs. Strunk and Ms. Martinez – Pre-Kindergarten
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Kathy Strunk, under Pre-kindergarten.
Pre-K is already looking forward to all the activities we will be doing in the month of November.
Religion
November is Saints Month! We will learn about saints and what it means to be a saint.
Math
We will be working with numbers 1 – 10. We will also be working with more and less, first, last and in between.
Language Arts
We are finishing up our unit on ‘All Kinds of Friends” and we will begin another unit “Helping Hands”.
Science
The Food Pyramid is our focus and we will begin an experiment with water.
Social Studies
We will be learning about the first Thanksgiving. We will be reading about the Pilgrims and Indians. We will be doing arts and crafts on these subjects.
Thank you to our parents who helped make the carnival a big success. PREK won the pizza party!!!!!
We want to take this time to wish all our families a very happy blessed Thanksgiving!!!!!
REMINDERS:
November 13, 2009 Parent Conferences
November 24, 2009 Half Day (noon dismissal)
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Mrs. Guerrero and Mrs. Burns – Kindergarten
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Melissa Guerrero, under Kindergarten.
We want to thank all of the Kindergarten families for their hard work and time in preparing for the Halloween Carnival. The children had a wonderful time! The children also enjoyed our field trip to the Native Lands at Green Meadows. The children experienced animals from the land, saw falcons and hawks sweep over their heads, learned about music and dance from Native Americans and Africa. The kids had a great time and we truly appreciate all of your help on the field trip! This is what we will be doing this month:
Religion – We will learn about the saints and make a book about them. We will also discuss what we are thankful for in our lives.
Language Arts – We will complete our unit on Shadows and move on to our next unit, Finding Friends. Students will use pictures, print, and people to gather information about friendship, identify similarities and differences in literary elements (characters, problems, theme), retell and summarize stories, and regularly read picture stories in groups and independently. We will learn about the following letters: Ss, Mm, Dd, Aa, Hh, Tt, and Oo. We will work in our Handwriting Without Tears book on these letters. We will also continue to work in our SRA Open Court book on segmenting letters, sounding out words, letter sounds, reading decodable books, spelling words, and reviewing our tricky (sight) words. The kids are also enjoying working on letter mats on placing letters in alphabetical order, playing games with letters such as “Simon Says”, echoing letter sounds, and finding missing letters.
Math – We will work on numbers 0 – 20 – identifying numerals, rote and rational count to 20, trace and write to 20, and ordering numerals. The children will identify a penny and dime and learn the value of each coin. We have been working with ten sticks and cubes to understand the place value of numerals 0 – 20 and your kids are doing a great job! We will work with these shapes: rectangle, oval, and triangle. Every 5 lessons, we work on a problem solving activity which involves graphing. We will learn vocabulary for next, after, last, first, second, third, plus, equal, and add.
Social Studies – We will learn about the First Thanksgiving. On the week of Nov. 9, we will learn about pilgrims and their way of life. On the week of Nov. 16, we will learn about the Native Americans. Parents, please send 1 large brown paper grocery sack. The children will be making Indian vests. We need these bags on or before Thursday, November 8. Thank you! We will have a Thanksgiving feast on Tuesday, Nov. 24. You will receive a letter asking you to bring one item for the feast. We will be making friendship soup!
Science – We will continue to graph our daily weather and discover objects in our Can you Guess? box. We will also conduct various experiments related to our letters we are learning about.
Have a great month!
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Mrs. Fabian and Mrs. Patton – First Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Betty Fabian, under First Grade.
Important Information for November
- Field trip money and form must be returned by November 12th
- Pow Wow – November 24th at 11:00 in the cafeteria – all families are welcome
Social Studies – Native Americans will be the topic for the month. This will include: customs, clothing, and symbols.
Science – Deciduous and evergreen trees, seasons, conifer, cones, and fruit that is produced by trees.
Math – Subtraction will continue throughout the month. Practice addition and subtraction facts to sums of 12.
Religion – November is the month of saints. We will pick a boy and a girl to represent our classroom saints for the Mass on November 20th (8:00am). Teachers will supply the costumes.
English – Nouns, pronouns and sentence types will be tested on November 18th.
Language Arts – We will continue with oral reading tests on Thursdays or Fridays but will not tell you what book of the week will be testing on, so practice all books. We are starting to blend more sounds – these blends are all part of your decodable and spelling words.
Spelling – Added to your list of words is now a sentence. It is made up of spelling words and frequency words. Your child will have to practice writing this sentence at home and it will be read during the test.
We wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving.
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Mrs. Clack – Second Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Bea Clack, under Second Grade.
Religion
We will be discussing the Corporal Works of Mercy. We will be visiting St. Joseph’s Nursing Home. We will continue to learn the Act of Contrition. We will end the month by discussing how we should be thankful for God’s goodness and have a Thanksgiving Prayer Service.
Math
We will continue to work on word problems. We will be learning to read and use a graph to retrieve information.
Language Arts
We will continue to work on our jingles, and completing our preposition books. We will learn about topics and supporting sentences.
Social Studies
In Social Studies we will continue to study Native Americans, and continue on our Indian projects. Come visit our hallway outside our class. Don’t forget Indian projects/reports are due November 23rd.
Science
We will continue to study the physical properties of matter. We will identify matter attracted to magnets, exploring magnetic attraction and identifying different types of magnets.
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Ms. Bright and Mrs. Price – Third Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Thelma Bright, under Third Grade.
The year is flying by us as we continue learning and enjoying expanding our friendships. We have been reviewing and learning many new concepts, too.
In English we have begun learning how to diagram sentences. This will be an on-going process. We are also reviewing the use of apostrophes and we will be working on some creative writing in anticipation of the holidays and writing our individual books in the Spring. We finished our second and third class novels, Bunnicula, and Molly’s Pilgrim, and we will be doing some comprehension tasks for Molly’s Pilgrim. We will soon begin reading Stone Fox, a novel by John Reynolds Gardiner. We are well on our way to reading the required 30 novels for the school year. Be sure to help your child keep up with their Reading Counts books, too. Remember that we have requested that the students NOT read the Goosebumps series books for the Reading Counts/AR quizzes.
In Math we are continuing with addition and after the Christmas holidays we will begin multiplication. We have also started giving the students daily timed tests, in both addition and subtraction. The students have 1 minute to complete as many problems as possible out of 20, (soon to be 30 problems), as accurately as possible. We will not grade these, but rather chart them to gauge the students’ progress. We are also going to the Tech Lab each Tuesday to work on Math Score on the computers; we have seen a lot of improvement already.
In Science we completed presenting our Solar System projects and… WOW! We were impressed! We will now finish the Astronomy unit and then move on to our Chemistry unit.
In Social Studies we have finished our overview of geography, including the regions of the United States. We are now beginning a study of celebrations that we recognize in America (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Kwanzaa, etc…). The students will be working on a project about one of these celebrations in early December. More information will follow concerning this project.
In Religion we are discussing the lives of the saints in anticipation of our Saints game on Nov. 20th. 3B did an outstanding job with the Mass on Nov. 6th and 3A will be leading the Mass on Nov. 20th. We will be going to a nursing home in Duncanville in December to sing and visit. Look for more information to come home concerning this work of mercy field trip.
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Mrs. McClure – Fourth Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Alexis McClure, under Fourth Grade.
English Literature Arts
We will continue working on the 3-point persuasive paragraphs in English as well as Shurley Method labeling. In Reading we will be finishing up our current novel Henry on the Paper Route. The upcoming test date for this novel will be coming home along with your student’s study guide. We will begin Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz-Ryan following the test. Please make sure you have a copy for your student. Please make sure your student is reading daily for 20 minutes and logging their times daily.
Social Studies
We will complete our lapbooks for the chapter “New Settlers in Texas” this week and we will be moving on to discuss “Colonies and Independence.” We will have a chapter test over the material in our lapbook. Students are asked to study this material as well as their quizzes for Chapter 4. This chapter test will be held next Tuesday, November 16, 2009. We do have weekly vocab and key concept quizzes at the end of each week. Please make sure your student is studying their lapbook nightly.
We are planning our trip to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home this year as a Corporal Work of Mercy. Please check with Mrs. Campos in the office to make sure you are up-to-date with your Safe Environment. We would love for all of you to attend. Have a very warm and blessed Thanksgiving filled with many colorful memories.
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Mrs. Schmitz – Fourth Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Maria Schmitz, under Fourth Grade.
Religion
We have been working to learn the Ten Commandments and how they apply to our daily lives. We are now working on Saint Projects and learning about the saints. We will reflect on the lives of the saints and how we should model our lives after them. As we enter the Thanksgiving season we will also take time to reflect on the blessings in our lives and what we are thankful for in our daily lives.
Math
We are working on our multiplication facts and working multiplication problems each day. The student’s have been working on knowing their multiplication facts by memory. We are now working on double digit multiplication and will soon be moving on to division problems.
Science
We are finishing up our unit on the food pyramid, healthy eating and hygiene. We will be introduced to the science article process. Each student will be required to complete a science article per month beginning in December. The articles will be due the second Friday of each month.
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Ms. Vercillo – Fifth Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Beth Vercillo, under Fifth Grade.
I would like to thank everyone that donated items and their precious time for the fall carnival! St. Elizabeth parents are the best! A good time was had by all. It’s hard to believe the holidays are just around the corner. Just a few reminders:
Students need a binder to keep all their papers. This will help them be ready for middle school.
Mad minute tests are every week. We will begin fractions in a few weeks and students must know their facts cold!
All announcements, tests, projects, homework, and more are on my web site. Please check it with your child daily!
Reading logs need to be signed nightly. Reading Counts tests begin 3rd quarter.
Language Arts
We are in the middle of our second novel, Loser by Jerry Spinelli. The students have really been enjoying it! We will do a three dimensional book report when we finish the book. Watch for details on the web site. We learned the 49 prepositions and are moving on to the 23 helping verbs. We have also studied the correct use of quotation marks, article adjectives and the use of me and I in a sentence. Our next novel will be Where the Red Fern Grows.
Math
We are finishing up our unit on division and will be moving on to fractions! Remember tutoring is on Tuesdays and Thursdays if your child needs help in Math or Language Arts. Parents are always welcome to attend tutoring sessions in order to better assist the kids at home. A few kids are still having a difficult time with their multiplication facts. Please use flashcards at home!
Religion
November is the moth we study saints. By now all of you have seen the Saint Project directions. I included a rubric so that my grading procedures would be clear. The kids are enthusiastic about learning as much as they can about their saint. I can’t wait to see projects and hear the children’s presentations. In December, the fifth grade will host The Jesse Tree Service. It is scheduled on Dec.18th at 9:00 am. Please arrange your schedule early you won’t want to miss it.
I look forward to visiting with you at parent conferences!
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Mrs. Shelton – Fifth and Sixth Grade
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Anne Shelton, under Fifth Grade, Sixth Grade.
In Science, the 5th graders are wrapping up Their Unit on Earth Science. We will begin learning about “The Solar System and Beyond.”
In Social Studies we are continuing to learn about our Native Americans. The 5th graders are enjoying learning their current events in their Scholastic News!
The 6th graders have begun learning about Physical Science. We are learning how to apply the Scientific Method as a way of problem solving. The metric system will be used to make calculations, applying concepts, identifying relationships, and interpreting information. The students are also learning the working knowledge of prefixes and suffixes used in science vocabulary.
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Ms. Johnson – Middle School English and Literature
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Susan Johnson, under Middle School Notes.
6th Grade English—We are continuing our study of pronouns which will include the possessive case, person, number, gender, interrogatives, contractions, distributive, indefinite, and agreement. The test is scheduled for November 17. We will then start a unit on adjectives which will continue into December. Spelling for the month of November includes lessons 11, 13, and 14.
6th Grade Literature—The sixth grade has begun their journey into Narnia. We are reading two chapters from the novel every other day and discussing the great amount of Christian symbolism the following day. Along with the symbolism, the students will complete comprehension questions, vocabulary, and pop quizzes. Along the journey, the students will also do research on beavers, lions, and evil rulers. Hopefully you received the information about the AR program. I will check the first AR book on November 11, so students need to either bring the book to class that day or have the title and author written down. The first AR test is due by 3:30 pm on Wednesday, November 18.
8th Grade English—The eighth grade is working on their rough draft of the research paper during class. They are required to write one paragraph per day. The typed copy is due November 17. We will return to grammar on November 16 with a study of nouns. This will include collective, compound, common, proper, concrete, abstract, plurals, person, and gender. Spelling for November includes lessons 11,13, and 14.
FYI…turnitin.com
This is the second year that the middle school students will use turnitin.com. They will submit their research papers to this web site as well as turn in a hard copy to the teacher. The English teacher (Ms. Johnson for 6th and 8th grades and Mrs. Borth for 7th grade) will be notified when their paper has been received. This web site gives the student and teacher a report that includes the word count and percentage of plagiarism.
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Mrs. Borth – Middle School English and Literature
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Jennifer Borth, under Middle School Notes.
7th Grade ELA
We are currently working on our research paper which coordinates with your child’s science fair project. Instead of writing a research paper in English class and again for science, Ms. Robb and I have combined these assignments into one paper. Students will receive a content grade in science for their paper and a grammar grade in English for the same paper.
In literature we are currently acting out the play Twelve Angry Men. However, 7A like to call it Twelve Angry Women. They are doing a wonderful job. Please remind your student that their questions that accompany each act are turned in for grading at the completion of the act.
8th Grade Literature
At the request of the 8th grade, we are currently reading Murder on the Orient Express. This murder mystery has the students quite perplexed. We have also begun working in our ISEE book once a week. I believe that most of the 8th graders will be taking their ISEE exam in January. If you have not yet reserved a date, please visit http://www.iseetest.org to reserve your location and time. These tests will fill up quickly.
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Mr. Dettmer – Middle School Math
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Ted Dettmer, under Middle School Notes.
One of the Algebra classes will be working with polynomials, the other class will continue with inequalities and then percents. Seventh grade will be working with fractions. Sixth grade will evaluate variable expression, solve simple equations and then negative and positive integers.
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Mrs. Belcher – Middle School Religion
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Middle School Notes.
8th Grade- SAINT PRESENTATIONS!!! These students did a fantastic job depicting their Confirmation saints and presenting their information to the students of the school. We got lots of great comments for their amazing presentations!! BRAVO! We will move onto The Model’s of the Church, as was instituted by Vatican II, through the late Avery Cardinal Dulles.
7th Grade just finished their colorful and accurate Holy Land maps. Ask them questions about the different cities on the map! We will move forward with the Infancy Narratives and the two different depictions of Nativity scenes in Luke and Matthew’s gospels.
6th Grade is studying Creation – both Biblical stories. They have just learned about the Ladder of Creation- ask them what they learned. Next we will focus on sin, how it came into the world, and the biblical stories that show us this and the love and mercy of God which has redeemed us.
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Mrs. Robb – Middle School Science
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Rachel Robb, under Middle School Notes.
Science Articles due November 12 and December 3. All students should be working on their science fair projects. Please make sure the topic has been approved before you start working on the project.
7th Grade
Genetics is the next unit of study. Students will be doing a variety of activities dealing with Punnett Squares, DNA, and RNA.
8th Grade
Students finished their food log project for science and PE. Students will continue their study of the human body. Next, students will study circulation and then the nervous system.
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Mrs. Powell – Middle School Social Studies
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Tai Powell, under Middle School Notes.
6th Grade World History
We are currently at the beginning of Unit 3; this unit covers classical civilizations in Greece and Rome. In chapters 6 and 7, students will analyze the cultural contributions of classical Greece including contributions in politics, science, arts and architecture, and intellectual life. They will also learn about daily life, culture, religion, government, and economy in ancient Greece.
7th Grade Texas History
We are currently in the last two chapters of Unit 3, which deals with the Mexican government attempting to persuade Americans to settle in Texas and live as Mexican citizens. These settlers soon rebel against Mexico’s authority. Next, we will be in Unit 4 and we will be discussing how Texas fights for its Independence. We will be doing a huge project during the unit. More information will come home during that particular lesson.
8th Grade American History
We are currently in Unit 2, this unit deals with the American Revolutionary era beginning with the French and Indian War in 1754. It culminated in the first presidential election under the new Constitution of the United States in 1789. This unit discusses the crises that led to conflict in the Colonies, the Revolutionary War, and the republic and government that followed. Chapter 6 presents an overview of the American Revolution; including the regional battles, the Declaration of Independence, and the final campaigns and alliances that ultimately defeated the British and created a new nation. Chapter 7 explains the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention, and the ideas that shaped the United States Constitution.
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Art Department
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Admin, under Art.
I try to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.
Joan Miro, November Artist-of-the-month
PK & Kinder – Mrs. Barrientos
Our rainbow fish are very cute! We are currently working on a tissue paper collage. They are practicing gluing squares of different colors of tissue paper into a printed elephant.
We will be talking about fall colors and working on our fine skills by tearing pieces of construction paper and putting together a collage of different colors in our cornucopias for Thanksgiving.
I hope you are enjoying your children’s art project as I am enjoying working with them.
3rd & 4th Grade – Mrs. Connelly
After discussing Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism and looking at artwork by Joan Miro and Wassily Kandinsky, students practiced drawing images in the style of Miro and Kandinsky. Students will also put the finishing touches on their ancient coins. Thanksgiving is just around the corner so students will be starting projects that have a Thanksgiving theme.
1st, 2nd, 5th-8th Grade – Mrs. Shelton
The 1st and 2nd graders are weaving place mats.
The 5th and 6th graders are completing their charcoal still life.
The 6th and 7th graders are putting the finishing touches on their stain glass project and will began still-life painting.
Mrs. Barrientos, Mrs. Connelly and Ms. Shelton are looking forward to meeting parents this Friday at Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Mrs. Barrientos – Spanish
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Rosa Barrientos, under Spanish.
En la clase de Espanol estamos aprendiendo a:
All of the grades practice the sign of the cross and a prayer in Spanish.
Pre-K and Kinder: All the Spanish basics with songs and body movements. Pre-K is concentrating on learning the colors. We take a color per week and we pronounce it, decode it, and color with it. We are using beads to practice counting up to 20. I will be using some cereal to identify color as well as practice our counting and our sense of touch and taste. Kinder is concentrating on the alphabet and phonics as well as counting with beads from 1-20 and will also be having cereal to identify our senses: sight, touch, taste.
1st Grade: We finished our unit of shapes and we did have lots of fun. We are now on our Family unit learning the family names of our immediate families. We will move on to the days of the week, and three very important words: Hoy (today), Manana (tomorrow) and Ayer (yesterday).
2nd Grade: Second grade has been busy learning the personal pronouns and pretty soon we will start using certain verbs with our pronouns. We will actually be conjugating but it will be done thru games using a verb chart and rewards.
3rd Grade: PETS is one of our favorite subjects in third grade because we have the opportunity to learn the adjectives to describe our pets or our imaginary pets. The first step is to learn the adjectives and sentence structure in Spanish. 2nd step is to learn to translate the introduction sentences. 3rd step is to write sentences describing our pets by color, by shape, and by describing their movements, their emotions and their qualities. The 4th step is to put it all together in a paragraph. The 5th step is to read our paragraph to the class and show our pet’s pictures. We are currently in step three, so we should be finished just before Thanksgiving vacation.
4th Grade: We have been reviewing our AR verbs and making a chart on sixteen different verbs which will be used during our next lessons in our books. This gives us practice on writing, pronouncing and the different conjugations of the verb with all the personal pronouns.
5th Grade: We are also using our AR verb chart as well as the verb “to go” IR and all the places that we go to.
6th Grade: AR verb conjugation in the present is intense in this grade, so we will be using AR, ER and IR verbs for the rest of the year used in many different ways. Writing sentences using correct grammar and sentence structure can be a little challenging.
7th Grade: We are reviewing our verbs and sentence grammar by writing different types of sentences using all kinds of nouns, articles, using two verbs in a sentence and new vocabulary.
8th Grade: We have been practicing our verbs with sentence creativity and verb conjugation in the present. Our next step is to use the correct form of verb conjugation in a paragraph and than we will be moving on to AR verbs in the PAST.
It is so very rewarding to see shining eyes and big smiles at any grade level when they are confident of themselves in using a new language!
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Mrs. Kuterbach – Music
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Mary Kuterbach, under Music.
As we leave October, we have spent the month singing scary songs but we are now off to preparing for Christmas! Mark your calendars for December 17, 2009. The St. Elizabeth annual Christmas program will be here before we know it! The evening will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the church. Further direction for the students will follow in December. We will be hard at work preparing all this month. This is a major part of the 2nd quarter grade for students in grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8th grade.
7th graders have been working diligently on their Bach technology based projects. It will be exciting to see all of their finished products. 6th grade is focusing on reading, writing, and playing rhythm patterns.
Parents and students, remember to visit the St. Elizabeth website to access my web page. Here you can find links to some great music websites plus information concerning our class.
Our students help to lead the singing at our weekly masses, so please join us each Friday for this wonderful celebration of the Eucharist.
As always, thank you for supporting the fine arts programs here at St. Elizabeth.
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Mrs. Stepniewski – Fourth-Eighth Grade Computer
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Maureen Stepniewski, under Computer.
Fourth Grade continues to practice keyboarding from home row. Most are progressing through capitalization. Please remind them that the opposite pinky finger clicks on shift when typing a letter with the other hand. So, if St. Elizabeth had learned to type, 
she would hold down her right-hand pinky then click the E, with her left hand. Fourth Grade has also learned Find/Replace in Word and is preparing for a quiz on toolbar functions.
Fifth Grade has finished typing their book review on No Talking. Their forms were well done right down to the extra lines and circles around their specific choices. They worked patiently and meticulously to finish this assignment. They have been researching their favorite saint and will use Word to finalize their report.
They will be reviewing their programming skills with LOGO and will create animations with MIT’s SCRATCH program.
Sixth Grade is well into their Computer History Unit. They have uploaded their work to “Edmodo” to save the cost of printing each page. They will next create PowerPoint slides about Computer Generations.
Seventh Grade has completed a review unit about Computer Generations and Binary Numbers. They will be working on a unit about Computer Crime and Abuse shortly.
Eighth Grade has finished their Tech Terms Dictionary and has been diligently finding good prices for the various parts of a virtual computer they are building. They are starting out “bare bones” with a tower that has no more than a power supply and building up from the motherboard, while staying under $1500.00 in total cost.
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Mrs. Connelly – Library and PK-Third Grade Computer
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Monica Connelly, under Computer, Library.
Library News
Excitement is building as the library prepares to host another Scholastic Book Fair, December 6-11. This year’s theme is Destination Book Fair, reading around the world! Activities such as door prizes, raffles, contests, guessing games, and book scavenger hunts are planned. The fair is a great opportunity for the library to add to its collection, grant teacher’s book wishes and serves as a fundraiser for our library.
It’s about children, it’s about books and it’s about having fun. From award winners and bestsellers to picture books and favorite series, the Book Fair is filled with hundreds of books that will take your student on adventures they will never forget. Shop the fair for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. Look in Thursday folders for Book Fair flyers which will include all the information you will need.
If interested in volunteering your time and energy, we’d love to have you join in on the fun. It’s a great fun way to earn those volunteer hours and get a 10% discount on your purchases. Please call Debbie Gleason (972-217-2807) or e-mail Monica Connelly at mconnelly@saintspride.com to volunteer for the Book Fair. The children would love to have you.
In November all students will continue learning essential library skills, participate in SmartBoard activities, and check out library books for reading pleasure.
Please check the library web site for library information, upcoming activities, reference information available through the school web page. Look for the link with my name. My web page also includes links to homework help, Dallas Public Library, reference and educational game links. This year all overdue library notices will be sent to parents via RenWeb. This procedure should expedite taking care of student overdue library books and fines.
I’m looking forward to meeting all parents this Friday at Parent-Teacher conferences.
PK-3 Computer
PK & Kinder students continue practicing mouse techniques while learning different programs. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students are working on holiday stories, using WORD, and original drawings, using PAINT. Students saved their work on the computer desktops, will print, and display their projects by the downstairs lab.
PK-3rd Grade Computer Students are AMAZING!
Happy Thanksgiving!
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Internet Safety – Using Technology Wisely
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Maureen Stepniewski, under Computer.
In our last newsletter we mentioned techniques that online predators use to persuade young girls and boys to listen to them, and ultimately, meet them. Here are the last three typical stages used by online predators:
- In Stage 4, they typically talk more about adult experiences and sexual topics, gradually introduce more sexual photos and pictures into conversations, encourage you to be sexually curious, and to believe that sex between adults and minors is normal.
- In Stage 5, they typically use threats of violence or public humiliation if you stop communicating or refuse to meet in person.
- In the Final Stage of the grooming process, Internet predators achieve their ultimate goal of arranging a face-to-face meeting with you. The text was taken from the website: http://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/safety_teens.html
Has your child ever:
- Communicated online privately with someone you’ve never met face-to-face?
- Talked about meeting someone you only know from email, IM or online chat?
- Used acronyms like PIR (Parent In Room) or POS (Parent Over Shoulder) to let someone know your parents are in the room so you can hide conversations from them?
- Found out that someone you were talking to online was an adult pretending to be much younger?
- Pretended to be older or younger than you really are in email, IM or online chat?
- Answered personal questions about your age, sex or location in email, IM or online chat?
- Sent a picture of yourself to someone you’ve never met face-to-face?
- Created a profile that others can see or link to from your screen name?
- Created a private email account with passwords that your parents don’t know about?
- Opened email and attachments from strangers?
- Talked online about sexual topics or received sexually explicit links in email, IM or online chats?
- Been solicited by an adult online and not told your parents?
“If you answered YES to any of the questions above, then you are definitely taking risks online.”
We have heard about online predators for some years now, and often feel it happens to someone else who is more naïve and less aware, but we still need to watch what our children do online to keep them safe. As always, be aware of changes in their attitude and “be there” for them. When asked, many of our students say their parents are their heroes. They will listen to you and are grateful that you care enough to safeguard what they do online.
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National Junior Honor Society
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Monica Connelly, under NJHS.
Once again it’s that time of year when NJHS sponsors the teacher Turkey-For-A-Day Contest. NJHS members will be selling turkey feathers during lunch/recess for 25 cents. The teacher with the most feathers wins the distinguished honor of 2009 Turkey-For-A-Day.
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November Student Birthdays
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Admin, under Student Birthdays.
The following students will be celebrating a birthday in the month of November. Happy Birthday to:
| Jordan Kinney | Giselle Rivera |
| Armando Medina | Ethan Paulsen |
| Damian Corona | Malachi Cervantes |
| Orion Salters | Joshua Gleason |
| Francisco Posada | Christina Brieno |
| Andrew Rivas | Katie Thomas |
| Alyssa Baez | Marco Pina |
| Garrett Brown | Jesse Vela |
| Arlene Elizondo | Carina Villarreal |
| Brandon Delgado |
If your name is missing from this list, please contact the front office and fill out a media release form.
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Principal’s Honor Roll for First Quarter 2009
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Admin, under Principal's Honor Roll.
1A
Justin Burns II
Michelle Ramirez
1B
Alyssa Baez
Viviana Chapa
Promise Cohen
Austin Fontillas
Mia Hernandez
Ethan Manalansan
Gabriel Vega
Blaine Wells
2B
Mia Feaster
Joanna West
3A
Alyson Cruz
Faustina Ostrowski
Elizabeth Stratton
3B
Kaci Mills
4A
Kimberly Fontillas
4B
Sophia Duarte
Miranda Gonzales
Georgine Guerrero
Julian Reyes
5A
Demetrius Hinojosa-Rowland
Sydney Swayzer
6A
Kennedy Powell
7A
Rosa Araiza
Marcella Barrilleaux
8B
Jeffrey Cervenka
If your name is missing from this list, please contact the front office and fill out a media release form.
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A-B Honor Roll for First Quarter 2009
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Admin, under AB Honor Roll.
1A
Frank Aguilar
Darrell Bagayna
Miranda Byrd
Albert Gonzalez
Elizabeth LaCaze
Taylar LaCoste
Jorge Rodriguez
Tomas Salazar
Lucy Tamez
Reagyn Walker
1B
Jonathan Arellano
Anthony Gonzales
Michael Gonzalez
Nathan Navejas
Cecilia Torres
2B
Stephen Andres
Isaias Curiel
Arlene Elizondo
Maximus Hinojosa-Rowland
Erin Ledesma
Isa Lozano
Samuel Lucio
Malik Phillips
Giselle Rivera
Fernando Ventura
3A
Anacelia Aguilar
Alessandro Alfaro
Gabe Fajardo
Michael Gutierrez
Andre Lambert
Katie Thomas
Angel Vargas
3B
Gabriel Betancourt
Mario Chapa
Brandon Delgado
Nicole Fischer
SheDarriea Griffin
Abel Hernandez
Andrew Lopez
Arturo Pozo
Anissa Rangel
Jenna Rosales
4A
Allison Alva
Emily Aranda
Audrey Blackburn
Logan Edelmann
Natalie Ensey
Michael Green
Benjamin Jones
Gabriella Lopez
Katie Marquez
Christian Vega
4B
Stephanie Aranda
Antonio Barrientos
Dylan Choate
Natalie Escanuela
Lindsey Facen
Benny Hernandez
Christian Ledesma
Dominique Weaver
5A
Landon Beach
Fernanda Corona
Steven Delgado
Robert Elizondo
Anthony Fischer
Mark Hernandez
Hailey Hunt
Gabriel Lucio
Cherish Vaughn
6A
Johana Alvarado
Avra Salters
Sydney Solis
Carina Villarreal
6B
Josef Barrilleaux
Hank Crone
Nathan Escanuela
Zachary Jaffe
Matthew Martinez
Travis Robb
7A
Angela de la Llana
Krystal Garcia
Victoria Glasco
Regina Kier
Brittany Pierce
7B
Dustin Bagayna
Michael Javier
Justin Mills
8A
Christina Brieno
Alicia Echavarria
Kayla Feaster
Hannah Johnson
Monique McCullum
Margarita Padilla
Katy Price
Nichole Romero
Dallas Swayzer
8B
Michael Benjamin
Ben Chavez
Harrison Cruz
Ryan Dooley
Miggy Fajardo
Cole Gentry
Cody Robb
Orion Salters
If your name is missing from this list, please contact the front office and fill out a media release form.
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Fall 2009 Parent Satisfaction Survey Results
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Admin, under Parent Satisfaction Survey.
Number of returned surveys: 89
Average Rating: 8.85
The survey used was developed by the Institute of School and Parish Development, and is an instrument used by Catholic school administrators across the nation. A rating of 7 out of 10 is considered an ideal score.
Comments:
- Quality Catholic Education with high level of Excellence/Excellent teaching/Well rounded Education, students are academically challenged and well prepared for high school (30)
- Great teachers, administration, & staff who really care about their students (19)
- Close knit family atmosphere with parent involvement/Nurturing, supportive, safe environment (16)
- Strong Catholic tradition & values (6)
- Excellent communication between school and home/School is well organized and structured (5)
There was no overwhelming issue, or concern, presented by a significant number of families. All other comments and suggestions appeared only once or twice, with the exception of five comments dealing with the cost of tuition.
All suggestions have been taken into serious consideration in making improvements to our educational program here at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School.
Our school administration and Advisory Council are continuing to explore ways to try to keep tuition costs as reasonable as possible for our families.
Thank you for your participation in our Summer/Fall Parent Satisfaction Survey!
The next survey will be conducted in February 2010.
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Environmental Club
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Melissa Guerrero, under Environmental Club.
The Environmental Club has decorated and labeled our recycling cans for aluminum and plastic. These containers are located in the cafeteria! Containers will also be available during St. Elizabeth game events by the concession stand.
This month we will work on melting our old, unwanted crayons into new dazzling, different colored crayons!
Our meetings for November will be on Tuesday, November 10th from 3:30 – 4:00 pm in Mrs. Strunk’s Pre-K room.
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