SEPTEMBER 2008

Welcome to all our new faculty members: Ms. Mendel, 7B; Mrs. Melko, 6A; Mrs. Zweigle, 5A; Sr. Pepita, Advanced Math; Mrs. Cotrotsos, Art and Spanish; and Michael Raspa, our Advancement Director.  I am sure you will welcome all of our new faculty and staff with open arms.

Thank you to Mr. Jerry Jones for repairing the Ark over the summer and for keeping a close eye on the cleaning crew to make sure our school was clean and ready for the first day of school.  Many areas of the school have also been painted.

Congratulations to Marina Remick who participated in the People to People program and spent twenty days in Italy and Greece.

A special thanks to several families who spent time this summer moving things around, hung bulletin boards, painted, and moved books.  In particular the Akers, Villaris, O'Sheas, Goldens, Sammartinos, Jones', Norris', Sheridans, Shorts, Greys, Smolenskis, Donahues, Kinseys and Bonders.

PTA Meeting September 24th.  This is our first PTA meeting of the year.  We cover a lot of important information and we hope as many of you will come as possible.  There will be an informative meet-the-teachers time at the end of the meeting for those who were unable to make it to the Open House on September 2nd.

Thanks to the State of New Jersey Technology Grant, we purchased four more SMART Boards for grades 2 and 3. These will be installed as soon as they arrive.  We were also able to purchase a few new laptops for Grades 7 and 8.

We are continuing our effort to go as paperless as possible.  To that extent, this is the ONLY paper newsletter you will receive this year.  We do realize not everyone has computer access, so please, if you need a paper copy, fill out the request on the last page of this newsletter and make sure it gets returned to school.  This will apply to all notices as well as newsletter, handbooks, etc.  Please make sure your child's teacher, as well as the office and the PTA has your email address.  Again please keep this first newsletter for reference for the entire school year!

Lunch Program - We are fortunate to have a daily hot lunch program which provides fresh-made meals.  Please follow the guidelines for the lunch program if you are interested in participating in the program.  Please note that our lunch program is not subsidized by the state, therefore, our prices are based on the actual cost of the program. (Public school lunches are subsidized by the state and may cost less.)

On most days lunch is eaten in the cafeteria.  There may be times when the gym is set up for another event,  in which case, students eat in their classrooms.  Lunch periods are:

Grades 5-8 11:45am-12:05pm lunch; 12:05-12:20 recess

Grades 1-4 12:10pm-12:35pm lunch; 12:35-12:50 recess

Kindergarten students eat independently in their classrooms

Peanut-Free One: We will again have our "peanut free" zone in the cafeteria.  The peanut free tables are marked in white and are always on the left side of the gym by the windows.  The students who sit at these tables have their lunches checked to make sure there are no visible nuts.  The tables are washed with clean water and towels not used on the other lunch tables.

Two percent milk is offered through the school on full days only.  The cost is 35 cents per day. To make collection of money and milk count easier, the milk is ordered twice a year.  September-January; February-June for full days only.  This year the cost of 2% milk for September to January is $29.75. This is 35 cents a day for 85 full days, even though there are actually 87 full days.  This allows for absences etc.  NB: Kindergarten and 1st grade drink their milk at snack time.  If your child will be ordering milk for September to June, please be sure to send your check into school by Friday September 5th.  The teachers will collect them in the classrooms.  Also note, this milk is separate from the lunch program drinks.

Students are permitted to bring one water bottle to school daily.  This bottle must last the entire day. ONLY WATER is permitted!

Curriculum changes: We are working to improve the quality if our Math program, and the problem-solving and calculation components of our program.  Therefore, you will notice some changes in the Math curriculum.  The new books have reduced drastically the beginning review.  Students are expected to remember what they learned last year!

Honor Roll: You may have noticed Honor Roll is not mentioned in the revised Student/Parent Handbook.  Honor Roll was intentionally removed to help parents and student realize each child must strive for his/her individual best in school, whatever form that takes.  Hopefully, this will take some pressure off of students who feel the need to cheat to do well.

Good Behavior on the other hand is required at all times.  There is NEVER any reason for a child to be mean or rude.  No amount of study produces a nice child.  This comes from good parenting and practice!

Uniforms: Please make sure your child comes to school with the proper uniform.  This includes the proper pair of socks and belt.  Yes, this year I am fixating on socks and belts, so just bear with me!  Please note, as a matter of linguistics, official does not mean mandatory.  For example, the new maroon golf shirt can be worn as part of the school uniform; however, it does not replace the white golf shirt and is NOT mandatory.

Parties: No money will be collected for class parties this year.  The head room mom/dad will split the class into thirds; one third for Halloween, one third for Christmas and one third for Grandparents' Day.  Collection of money for "group gifts: will be permitted with the understanding this is an optional giving.  All notices sent to parents must be seen by the Principal or Vice Principal so we know what is going on in case of a complaint.

Please, if you believe your child is being harassed in school, report it immediately to the Principal or Vice Principal if the Principal is out, so the situation can be remedied immediately. Fear of reporting only subjects your child to more harassment.

Sacraments/Sacramental Preparation: Please make sure you attend Mass at the parish where you registered. Sacraments are received in the parish where you are registered and the pastor of that parish must know you belong to the parish!  Please contact your parish religious education program director to make sure you are on their mailing list to receive all sacramental information!

Please be sure you are registered with the Gloucester County Alert System to receive all emergency school information including early closings and school closings due to inclement weather.  This will be our primary source of information. Go to www.gloucesteralert.com.

Homework on the website: Beginning the week of September 8, homework assignments will be posted on the St. Margaret website.  Students are still expected to copy the homework into their homework copybooks.  Please use the website ONLY to check to see if the homework has been copied correctly.  This is not to be used as a "crutch" or to enable your child not to copy his/her homework.

Absences: What is considered absent? A child who is not in school is absent; therefore, not eligible for perfect attendance.  There are two categories of absentees: (1) Excused: this is a legitimate absence; sickness, death in the family, etc.  All work is given to the child to make up. (2) Unexcused: vacation during school time, absent without a note and phone call. Teachers are not obligated to give make-up work  as a parent is accepting total responsibility for the absence.  More than ten unexcused absences can jeopardize acceptance for the following school year.  Note: A child is late if he/she arrives after the 8:05 am bell. Lateness also affects perfect attendance.

Society is beginning to demonstrate that the era of everything positive to build self-esteem has not produced more happy, self-assured, responsible citizens.  In fact, it appears our young adults are less able than ever to accept correction, admit guilt and accept consequences. It is a sad commentary; however, we can help.  Here are some hints:

1. If your child is punished at school, follow through at home. Do not blame the teacher and yell at him/her.

2. Remember that the adult is not making up a story to pick on your child. Maybe, just maybe, your child is leaving out parts or exaggerating a story to stay out of trouble.

3. Always reinforce the need to be responsible.

4. If your child forgets to bring homework to school, let him/her accept the consequences. We will not deliver it to the class even if you bring it in.

5. If your child forgets his/her lunch let him/her learn what it is to wait until last to be served and let him/her pay the bill! We will not deliver to class.

6. If your child fails a tests, do not automatically blame the teacher. Work with your child to develop better study habits.

7. Do not gossip about your child's teacher, especially in front of your child.  If you have a problem with your child's teacher, GO TO THE CHILD'S TEACHER!

8. All children can be taught to be responsible. This will only happen if we give them the chance!!

Talking about problems:

1. Always go to the teacher first to resolve an issue.

2. If the teacher does not work with you, then call the principal.

3. If the principal does not work with you, then call the pastor.

4. If you are unsuccessful with the pastor, call the diocesan education office.

Instrumental Music: We are fortunate to again welcome back Mr. Jacob Millstein as our band instructor.  Mr. Millstein will be in school on September 8 to give a band demonstration to the students.  There will be a meeting on September 9 at 7:00 pm in our ministries building for parents interested in enrolling their child in the band.  Mr. Millstein will explain the program and the cost involved.

Piano lessons: Herminia Capistrano offers piano lessons in her home.  Ms. Capistrano has taught at St. Margaret School and plays the piano at St. Margaret Church.  If interested you may call 468-9634.

Are you in need of a piano? Old piano in good condition needs a new home.  The piano needs tuning and to be picked up; otherwise it is free.  Call Maureen at 468-8030 if you are interested.

If you want to volunteer in school and have not been fingerprinted, you need to contact sr. Lorraine immediately to get the paperwork started.

Student Photographs: During the year pictures are taken for public relations brochures, TV ads and the yearbook. A Licensing Release, Hold Harmless paper will be sent home to you shortly.  If you do not want your child's picture used for anything except the yearbook, this must be clearly stated.

St. Margaret Athletic Association sells a variety of sports apparel, the proceeds of which help support the athletic association.  This year Barbara Brooks (bmbmomof3@comcast.net) and Laura Wethman (bobandlaura@verizon.net) are now heading up apparel sales.  If you have any questions, please contact them.  FYI The apparel will be on sale September 2 at the Open House from 6-8 PM and before each PTA Meeting.

Telephone answering system changes for school. We have installed a new answering machine in the school.  Here are the extensions if you want to leave a message when the phone is not answered:

101 Main Office and to report an absence

105 Nurse

106 Religious Education Office

108 Advancement

207 Latchkey

208 Maintenance

See forms attached to paper newsletter RE: Paper copy of Newsletter, And Traveling Blessed Mother Form