Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on April 12, 2012, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintApril is:
- School Library Media Month
- National Library Week – April 8-14
- National D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything and Read Day) – April 12
Library classes will celebrate remaining April events by checking out books, reading quietly in the library, listening to Easter stories and taking part in The Legend of the Bluebonnet activities.
Mark Your Calendars: Hawaiian Luau Book Fair is coming April 16-19. Fair hours will be 7:30-5:00. Activities such as daily door prizes, raffles, storytelling and games are just part of the upcoming fun. Book Fairs are successful because of St, Elizabeth’s “great” bunch of students, parents, volunteers, and teachers coming together as a team to support the Fair. Once again, we’re asking for volunteers. If you can help, please email mconnelly@saintspride.com.
May is once again a very busy month. PK and Kinder students will enjoy “guest” storytellers reading book favorites. 1st and 2nd grade students take part in some fun activities when we read “Officer Buckle and Gloria”. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will share their reading experiences and reveal their favorite book and author with their respective classes. Weather permitting, all library students will visit the school courtyard for quiet reading.
As the end of the year fast approaches, the library is accepting donations of any AR, Reading Counts or Blue Bonnet books that your student has finished reading. We welcome books in good condition and appreciate all titles.
Important Dates to remember:
May 14 – end-of-year inventory begins
May 18 – all library books must be returned
May 22 – all overdue late fines must be paid
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on March 8, 2012, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintCongratulations to students who successfully read 6 hours for Six Flags tickets. The reading logs have been mailed and tickets should arrive sometime in May in time for summer fun.
Another busy month is promised in the library during the month of March. Students will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Women’s History Month. The primary grades wish Dr. Seuss “Happy Birthday” by reading his books and engaging in SmartBoard learning activities when visiting Seussville.com. In celebration of Women’s History Month all students will explore the accomplishments of famous women in history.
Important dates to remember for March are:
- Teen Tech Week – March 4-10
- Returned Borrowed Books Week – March 1-7
- National March into Literacy Month
- National Women’s History Month
- Irish American Heritage Month
The library is once again hosting Teen Tech Week March 4-10 sponsored by the American Library Association. This year’s theme is Be a Geek @the library. Teen Tech Week is a national initiative aimed at students, teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. 4th-8th grade students are invited to a Pre TTW party complete with refreshments and registration for the various activities and events to be held in celebration of Teen Tech Week. Fun activities include a Wii Dance Contest, taste test, cookie challenge, and electronic games. Prizes, ribbons and certificates will be awarded at the closing of the week.
Important dates to remember for April are:
- School Library Media Month
- National D.E.A.R. Day (Drop Everything and Read) - April 12
- National Library Week – April 8-14
- National Poetry Month
- School Library Media Month,
- International Children’s Book Day – April 2
- Scholastic Book Fair – April 15-20
PK-1st grade students will enjoy The Legend of the Bluebonnet and Easter stories. 2nd grade will participate in fun activities based on The Day Jimmie’s Boa Ate the Wash. 3rd & 4th grade students will continue their study of Non-Fiction and the Dewey Decimal classifications. 5th grade students will start an in-depth study of research sources available in the library. Weather permitting all students will enjoy reading in the school’s courtyard.
The Scholastic Spring Book Fair is coming to St. Elizabeth! Mark your calendars for the week of April 16-20. Fair hours will be M-F 7:30-5:30. As with all our book fairs, excitement is quickly building. Activities such as daily door prizes, raffles, storytelling, and games are just part of the fun. Look for Book Fair info in your student’s Thursday folders. Book fairs are successful because of St. Elizabeth’s “Great” bunch of students, parents, volunteers, and teachers pulling together as a team. Once again we will be asking for your help.
I wish all of you a wonderful Spring Break and a Blessed Easter!
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on January 27, 2012, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintHappy New Year, and welcome back to all! I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. Many thanks for all the wonderful gifts, cards, and well wishes during the holidays. Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity.
Thanks to all volunteers and shoppers who made our December Book Fair such a huge success.
Our school library will be very busy this month preparing for Catholic Schools Week. New books, including 100 newly purchased books from the recent Book Fair, are being processed and will be placed on the shelves this month for our students’ reading pleasure.
With the Science Fair coming up, students are reminded that the library is an excellent source for student’s research, including internet access for student use before school, during recess, and after school. Please encourage your student to make use of the library’s numerous books, reference materials and project ideas for students to use when setting up their science projects.
February is a short month but extremely busy. The library celebrates Groundhog Day, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Black History Month. Library activities will revolve around fairy tales, legends, fables, and tall tales. February, also known as Library Lovers Book Month, will feature the book display “Ice Cream for Books”. Students will add one ice cream scoop for each book read, creating the largest ice cream cone.
Students in Kindergarten and 1st grade will take their library books home to read. They will share their reading experience with other students in their class during library time. 2nd & 3rd grade students will study fairy tales, legends, fables, and tall tales. 4th & 5th grade students will keep a reading log when we start reading Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary and Hoot by Carl Hiaason together in the library.
Coming Soon: Six Flags and Weekly Reader are once again pleased to offer the Read-to-Succeed Six Hour Reading Program for 2011-12. The goal of the program is to support efforts to educate students and to inspire kids to read on their own. The reward for participating students is a free admission ticket to any Six Flags Park. This a great opportunity to earn a free student Six Flags ticket – 6 hours of recreational reading is the only requirement. More information, including reading logs and Program important dates to remember will follow in the Thursday folders.
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From Christina Clem, M.Ed., Principal
Posted on November 30, 2011, by Christina Clem, under Principal's Desk.
Print 
I would like to begin with a BIG APPLAUSE OF THANKS to all of our students and teachers, under the very capable and expert leadership of Mrs. Belcher, our Religion coordinator, for the fantastic St. Elizabeth of Hungary Feast Day Celebration this year. Both our saints and our students were absolutely magnificent this year! We all had a great time studying this year’s saints and seeing them in the Mass Procession and during the Saints: To Tell the Truth Game!!! Many thanks to all of you who helped dressed these little saints and also those of you who participated by attending on November 18th!!!!
This month we transition from the excitement of the changing weather and display of Autumn foliage to the more reflective season of Advent, a time of preparation. Not only are we preparing for our family celebrations of Christmas, but as individuals, we make our hearts ready for the coming of our Lord. Simple customs such as lighting an Advent Wreath in our homes can help our children understand the true meaning of the season.
Already, December looks to be a short but exciting month and will be flying by quickly! Among other things, we have the following events going on in December: The Fall Book Fair, the 1st Grade Field Trip to the Arboretum, the Kinder, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th Grade Visits to Nursing Homes, the Annual School Christmas Program, the Jesse Tree Celebration, and the Christmas Parties. This year’s Christmas vacation will be from December 19-January 2 with a NOON DISMISSAL on Friday, December 16th. Classes will resume on Tuesday, January 3rd.
Please be sure to attend our school Christmas program on Thursday, December 15th, at 7:00 pm. Your children along with Mrs. Kuterbach have been preparing diligently to provide you with an experience sure to get you into the holiday spirit!
At this point, I would like to “Toot our Horn” regarding the excellence of our academic program as well as the excellent caliber of our students. This year, as a school body, we continue to score between the 50-80 percentiles on all areas of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, although many individual students score as high as the 99 percentile on the various subtests. The Duke University Talent Identification Program invites students in grades 4,5, & 7 who score at those high levels to apply for their summer program. However, to apply the student is required to take the SAT college entrance exam! In the past we have had students receive State Recognition for their high scores on the SAT, and we have also had students participate in the summer programs at Duke University. This year 33% of our fourth grade class, 30% of our fifth grade class, and 39% of our seventh grade class qualify to take the SAT college entrance exam! This is certainly not only reflective of a quality Catholic education, but also of a very effective Partnership between home and school! Congrats to all!
Thanks to Mrs. Michele Mills’ dedication and tireless energy, we finally have an updated St. Elizabeth School Parent/Student Handbook for the 2011-2012 school year. You can view it right now by logging into Renweb, clicking on “School Info,” and “Resource Documents”. The entire handbook is available online for all of our school parents. If you have any difficulties, please contact us, and we will be happy to help you figure it out. This year, we will again publish hard copies of the handbooks to send home. Our goal is to ”Go Green” (or at least with less paper usage) by the 2012-2013 school year. Please read the entire handbook with your child, sign the back page to verify that you agree to adhere to the policies and procedures of St. Elizabeth School, and then return to your child’s homeroom teacher. You may print out the page from the online version of the Handbook, or you may cut it out from the hard copy handbook that you will be receiving to return to school.
In case of inclement weather, you will be notified by phone through our new parent notification system, School Reach. Postings will also be listed on the following: the school website (www.stelizabethofh.org and www.saintspride.com ), Channel 8 TV and Channel 5 TV. Hopefully, inclement weather will not be the issue that it was last year, God willing.
Many thanks to all of our parent volunteers for your tireless dedication & commitment this year in helping the teachers in their efforts to educate your children! All of your work in assisting with the fundraising efforts of the school has truly been TERRIFIC!!! We continue to look forward to Catholic Schools Week, the Spring Book Fairs, the World’s Finest Candy Sale, the Spring Silent Auction, Young Authors’ Day, the Spring Arts Fest, and the other events that not only help the school but also do so much to build God’s kingdom here at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic School!
In closing, I want to wish all of you a blessed Advent and a very holy holiday season! May the Christ Child of love and peace enter your hearts! God bless!
Christina Clem, M.Ed.
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on September 19, 2011, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintWelcome!
A new school year always brings excitement to the library. The first two weeks were spent welcoming all students, getting to know new students and presenting library procedures.
Once again the library will be open before school 7:30-7:50, during recess and after school 3:30-4:00 for student use. There are 8 computers with internet access, as well as access to the Dallas Public Library Periodicals for research and the Dallas Morning Newspaper. Students may take AR and Reading Counts tests on library computers, and research science articles.
During the month of September, library class activities will include checking out books, storytelling, learning how books are placed on library shelves, identifying authors, illustrators, publishers, title and copyright dates, and how to distinguish between fiction, biography, and non-fiction books.
September is:
- Library Card Sign-up Month
- September 6 – Read a Book Day
- Hispanic Heritage Month
Welcome back to returning and new library volunteers, who come and volunteer every week in the library: Amy Solis, Pilar Dominguez, Euranie Williams, and Norma Gurrola. The library is a success because of these wonderful, dedicated volunteers. If anyone is interested in helping achieve our goals in the library, have some free time, and love working with children and books, come on in and volunteer. If reading to children is your talent, we could use you as well. It’s a fun way to earn volunteer hours. Contact me at mconnelly@saintspride.com if you are interested.
Through the generosity of the Goza family and Georgine Guerrero, the library has added many new books to its collection.
Many fun-filled activities and events are planned for this Fall:
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Mrs. Connelly-Library
Posted on May 27, 2011, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintIt is unbelievable how fast the school year “whizzed by” and as it draws to a close, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to our many library supporters, St. Elizabeth organizations, students, and parents. I would especially like to thank Book Fair volunteers who contributed so much energy, endless work and invaluable time. This library school year was a success because of great teamwork and constant support; everyone working together for the good of the library.
Debbie Gleason – Thanks for the memories! All of us here at St. Elizabeth, especially me and the library, will miss seeing your smiling face. If you are ever in the neighborhood, drop by and say HI!
All library books must be returned and library fines paid by June 1st.
Also, the library is once again accepting donations of any AR or Reading Counts books that your child has finished reading. We welcome books in good condition and appreciate all titles.
This has been a fantastic year! I’m looking forward to next year already. Have a great summer!
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on March 7, 2011, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintFebruary was a short month but extremely busy. The library celebrated Groundhog Day, Chinese New Year, President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Black History Month. Library activities revolved around fairy tales, legends, fables, and tall tales. February was also known as Library Lovers Book Month. Besides checking out library books for Reading Counts and AR tests, circulation was lively with students checking out books for reading pleasure.
Six Flags and Weekly Reader once again offered the “Read to Success” Six Hour Reading Program for students in K-6th grades. Congratulations to students who successfully read 6 hours for Six Flags Tickets. The reading logs have been mailed and tickets should arrive sometime in May, just in time for summer fun.
March promises to be another busy month in the library. Among the many activities, students will celebrate Mardi Gras, St. Patrick’s Day, and Women’s History Month. March 2, students celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday with Green Eggs and Ham and Seussville learning activities featuring all of Dr. Seuss’ wonderful books. In observance of Women’s History month, 5th grade library students will research a famous “Woman who made a difference”. During weekly library lessons, 3rd and 4th grade students will begin keeping a reading diary while reading Ramona’s World by Beverly Cleary and Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli respectfully.
As always, the library welcomes donated books in good condition. We are especially in need of Reading Counts and Accelerated Reading books when your students are finished reading the book. If you and your student can help, please consider donating to the library.
Mark your calendars in April for another exciting Scholastic Book Fair. Look for promotional flyers announcing this year’s theme and all the other thrilling plans underway. Volunteers will again be needed. If interested, please contact Debbie Gleason at 972.217.2807 or Monica Connelly mconnelly@saintspride.com.
Teen Tech Week
The library is once again hosting Teen Tech Week, March 6-11 sponsored by the American Library Association. This year’s theme is “Mix & Mash @ Your Library”. Teen Tech Week is a national initiative aimed at students, teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults. The purpose is to ensure that students are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through the library, such as databases, audio books, DVDs, and video games. Week-long fun activities are planned: video contests, Solitaire, Dewey Decimal Bingo, type-off contest, Pinball Contest, and scratch projects. Prizes, ribbons and certificates will be awarded at the closing of the week, Thursday March 10, with an ice cream social.
Have a wonderful, fun-filled and restful Spring Break!
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on October 28, 2010, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
Print1. November 1st is National Author’s Day.
2. November 1st is National Family Literacy Day.
3. November 3rd is Election Day.
4. November 10th is Young Reader’s Day.
5. November 11th is Veteran’s Day.
6. November 15th through 21st is American Education Week.
7. November 26th is Thanksgiving Day.
10. November 29th is Louisa May Alcott’s birthday.
11. November 30th is Mark Twain’s birthday.
12. November is National American Indian Heritage Month.,
Excitement is building as the library prepares to host another Scholastic Book Fair, December 3-10. This year’s theme is “Read for the World Record”. 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 November’s 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 Smart Board activities, and check out library books for reading pleasure.
Teen Read Week, October 17-22 was a huge success. NJHS sponsored a “Books End” Used Book and Bake Sale in the cafeteria. The 7th annual Read-a-Thon was held in the library. Participants received a Reading Certificate and Ribbon.
Happy Birthday to the newest members of the Library Birthday Book Club: Kimberly Fontillas, Benjamin Jones, Armando Medina, Justin Mills, Kaci Mills, Faustina Ostrowski and Mia Stowe. Donate a book and celebrate your student’s birthday in the library. The library welcomes donations of books, videos, and DVDs. The only pre-requisite is that the donations are in good condition.
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Mrs. Connelly – Library
Posted on December 10, 2009, by Monica Connelly, under Library.
PrintI would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year. This month, library activities and studies will revolve around Advent and Christmas.
Thanks to all the faithful and dedicated volunteers, parents, grandparents and students, who have given of their time and talents to the Destination Book Fair. The Fair is underway as this newsletter publishes today. A full report will be given in the January Newsletter.
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