October 14-18

We would like to welcome Head of School candidate Andrew Myler to St. Paul's!  He will be with us this Tuesday and Wednesday.

Upcoming Events
Monday, October 14 ~ No School, Professional Development Day

Tuesday, October 15 ~ Meet & Greet with Andrew Myler for Parents 2:25-3:15

Wednesday, October 16 ~ Cookies for Cancer for grades 3-8

Thursday, October 17 ~ 4th Grade Math Club at 7:20, ABC Sale 4-8
Friday, October 18 ~ First Quarter Ends, Spirit Day, ABC Sale 9-4, & 3rd Grade to Mahaffee Stage Coach & Farm

Saturday, October 19 ~ ABC Sale 12-5

Monday, October 21 ~ Meet & Greet with Byron Lawson for Parents 2:25-3:15

Tuesday, October 22 ~ Kindergarten-8 New Student Lunch

Wednesday, October 23 ~ 1st Grade Program at 9 A.M.
Thursday, October 24 ~ Parent Teacher Conferences 12 P.M. - 8 P.M.
Friday, October 25 ~ Parent Teacher Conferences 7:30 A.M.- 12 P.M.
Monday, October 28 ~ Mrs. Cowan Returns, Meet & Greet with Dr. Gray Smith for Parents at 2:25-3:15, Lower School Pumpkin Parade Begins
Thursday, October 31 ~ Toddler - 2nd Halloween Ball at 9 A.M., 2nd Grade to Bishop Spencer Place, & 1st-5th Halloween Parties from 2:30-3:15

 

Cookies for Cancer

Chartwells and Ms. Gina are helping raise funds for Breast Cancer Awareness.  Students in third through eighth grade are invited to purchase cookies at lunch on Wednesday, October 16.  Cookies will be two for one dollar and benefits will go to fund cancer research.
 

1st Grade Music Program 

If you have a child in 1st grade please join us at 9 A.M. on Wednesday, October 23 to see your child's grade level musical performance.  We look forward to seeing these students share their gifts and hard work with us.

3rd Grade Oregon Trail Days
Third graders will celebrate the culmination of their Westward Expansion unit on Wednesday, October 23 from 9-11.  This will take place in the second floor commons and will be followed by lunch.  Please see the third grade blog for more information.


Fire, Lock Down, & Tornado Drills
Part of getting back into the school routine is knowing how to handle emergency situations.  Though we never anticipate having a fire or being in a lock down or tornado situation, we always want to make sure that our students would know how to handle these events.  In order to prepare students and teachers we practice these drills throughout the school year.  Last week we had a fire drill which we'll continue to do monthly. We will also practice a lock down drill later this month and a tornado drill by the end of the calendar year. 
 

Lower School Pumpkin Parade

Students in first through fifth grade are invited to participate in the annual Lower School Pumpkin Parade.  They may bring decorated, uncarved pumpkins Monday, October 28 - Thursday, October 31.  Students may bring carved pumpkins on Wednesday, October 30 or Thursday, October 31.  All students will bring their pumpkins home Thursday evening so they can be used for Halloween evening.  Every child who participates will receive a small Halloween trinket.  We can't wait to see all of the creative ideas the students come up with!

 

Halloween Costumes

Students are invited to wear their costumes to school on Thursday, October 31.  We ask that students not wear anything scary, bloody, or gory in order to avoid frightening our younger students.  We also ask that students not bring any weapons that serve as accessories to their costumes.  Thanks for your help with these endeavors.  Students will be attending all school chapel and sitting with their buddies this day.  Students are always welcome to bring a change of clothes in case their costumes become uncomfortable or interfere with learning.

 

Halloween Class Parties

Thanks to our hardworking room parents and all the parent volunteers they recruit, class parties will be Thursday, October 31 from 2:30-3:15.  You're welcome to come enjoy the festivities with your child.  We ask that parents refrain from bringing younger siblings to the parties. Thanks again to all who are helping with these preparations.  The students truly enjoy and appreciate these events.

 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Teachers are looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's growth this school year.   Parent Teacher Conferences are Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25.  Please see the "Upcoming Events" section above for specific times.  Teachers have asked all parents to sign up for a time slot using the Sign-up Genius for their classroom.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher.

 

Grit: An Essential Ingredient for Success

This past week I had the opportunity to watch a webinar conducted by Angela Duckworth titled "Will Power: Grit, Self-Control, and Achievement."  This webinar was hosted by Independent School Association of the Central States (ISACS) and was purchased for teachers, administrators, and parents in our community who might be interested in this topic.  If you would like to view this webinar please visit http://www.isacs.org/page/472128_Learning_Bridge_Webinar_Login.asp. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, select “10/9/13 Will Power: Grit, Self-Control & Achievement” and use the password humid.  The webinar is one hour long, will be available until November 7, and provides information on what grit and self-control are and how these two variables affect achievement even more than intelligence or academic ability.  Helping our students to develop grit and self control are two of the most important things we can do as their role models, educators, and parents.  If you're interested in learning more about Mrs. Duckworth's research you can visit her website at https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth/pages/educators and even take a survey to see your personal grit score.

Community Learning Events

We hope you've enjoyed the recent community learning events.  Just this past week we had our second Love and Logic session and then had a social event at Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch.  Our next event will be a book discussion on Tuesday, November 12 at 6 P.M.  We'll be discussing Bully Nation: How America's Approach to Childhood Aggression is Bad for Everyone by Dr. Susan Eva Porter.  If you are interested in checking out a copy of this book please see Linda Van Thullenar.  You can also register with her if you plan to attend the book discussion.  The November Love and Logic session will be Thursday, November 14 at 4 P.M.  Thanks to Cristi Williams for helping make these events possible!