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A Message From Ms. Brandley

May 1, 2012

Dear Parents,

This month we celebrate the gift of the Blessed Mother to our church and our lives. Her selflessness and constant “Yes” to God is a reminder of surrender and trusting in God’s everlasting love and providence. We also celebrate our own mothers for their constant love and guidance. We have been blessed at PJPIICA with the gift of many women such as the Sisters of St. Joseph and many lay women, who may not be the biological mother of our children but certainly teach, love and serve with the heart of Mary and our mothers. Let us be comforted in the knowledge that we can leave our concerns with Mary, the mother of Jesus, knowing she will have her son lead us while we love others with the heart of our mothers. There are many persons in our world who need a mother’s touch and this season of Easter is a reminder that we are people of hope and God’s works through us. We are blessed to be the arms of Jesus each day.

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a parent and reflecting on the year. I shared with him that I did not know how we would fair going through construction, bussing and other obstacles. As I stopped and reflected, I was reminded that God has proven his power and love for us by giving us all that we needed. He has given us a beautiful new space and opportunities. Our physical space is state of the art and it has only enhanced the learning environment. Our students have room for Art and Music. They gym is no longer our art class, lunch and gym. We are proud of our school and the spirit has continued to grow. Our school is alive with God’s love and spirit and will continue to grow in His love!

Kudos to all! A few items to note!

  • We managed to surprise Ms. Breen and celebrate her 40 years of teaching and love for teaching and children! We celebrated with Mass and a dinner! Her vocation and the vocations of our teachers are a reminder of the need and value of Catholic education. Her former students spoke so eloquently and lovingly about her impact on their lives! How lucky are we!
  • We experienced a wonderful re-registration period. We are up from last year on re-registration. We still have room in PreK, Gr. 3-8.
  • Students that are leaving are going to the exam schools and local Catholic high schools.
  • We have seen improvement on all benchmarking with Math Diagnostics, First Grade readiness tests and SAT 10’s. Mr. Wilson has outlined these in further detail in his newsletter.
  • We had our first Mathematics Bee! In grade 3 to 8, each class sent a representative to compete in their multiplication tables! Lam Nguyen, Gr. 6 won but he was challenged by our third and fourth graders!! It was a battle! Thank you to Mrs. Mannion, Ms. O’Connor, Ms. Tkachuk and Mr. Sherrod for preparing our students!
  • Our PreK students have had wonderful “Secret Readers”! Some have included our local politicians, Mr. Wilson, Fr Sean, Fr. John and our fabulous parents!!! They are our true celebrities!
  • Our first graders are part of Small Talk, a show on NESN. See the website for videos and the schedule. http://www.nesn.com/red-sox-small-talk/
  • We have new gym equipment has arrived and since construction, gym has never been so fun!
  • All grades have led prayer, sang or been recognized at Morning Assembly. We are working on our public speaking skills.
  • We are almost finished with our self evaluation and our NEASC visit is scheduled for early October! Our academy has worked hard to evaluate our schools, programs and the education we are providing for our students and families.
  • Big Bucks Raffle was very successful! Thank you for your support!! Neponset families were phenomenal!
  • Our Parents have given thousands of hours in volunteering at lunch, recess, school functions, collecting box tops, organizing books fairs, meadow farms deliveries, Christmas bazaar and helping their teachers, etc. Without our parents, we would not be flourishing! Thank you for your love and dedication!

Our Spring Show will be held Wednesday May 15th at 7 p.m. for Grades 1-8 and Thursday, May 16th at 1 p.m for PreK to K2.

Upcoming events:

May 4th: Progress reports go home

May 4th: Grades 2-8 will attend the Boston Classical Orchestra at the Strand. 10 a.m.

May 5th: First Holy Communion for Grade 2 at St. Ann’s Church

May 7th, Monday: Nurse Pat appreciation day!

May 7th: Common Knowledge Quiz for Grades 2-8. Hopefully our fact of the day has helped!!

May 8th: Parent Corps Meeting

May 11th, Friday: Muffins with Mom! Coffee and goodies will be available to celebrate all moms beginning at 6:30 a.m.

May 14-18: Math Diagnostic Testing Gr. 3-8

May 18th: Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Birthday. Mass at 9 a.m. at St. Ann’s. Grade 4 will lead us with Fr. Sean.

Field Days:     May 18th: Grade 8
                        May 31st: Pre-K to 3
                        June 11th: Grade 7
                        June 12th:  Grade 6
                        June 13th:  Grade 5
                        June 14th:  Grade 4

Last day of school is official: Friday, June 15th. Dismissal at 11:30 a.m. No afterschool!
                       
Thank you for entrusting your children to us and know that you are giving them a great opportunity!!

Yours in Christ,

Kate Brandley
Principal