St. Pat's Out in the Community

 Parade of Lights
  Thanks to the team of Katie Hall and Sara Venenga, St. Patrick school participated in the annual Anamosa  Parade of Lights on Friday, November 23rd.    The ladies and other parents built a manger scene  at the back of a wagon and used  a generator to light up strings of lights and a spotlight. Seven families in all participated in the project.
  The children, dressed in costumes, sat on the straw and rode the wagon, driven by Jon Scranton.  Sarah C. dressed as Mary and Alex C. played the role of Joseph.  Shepards were played by Jason H. and Josie B.  The wisemen were Aaron C. and Annelise B.  Angels were Cecilia V., Savanna V. and Tori H.  The parents walked along the wagon as it went down main street from the Farm Bureau building to the Dollar General Store. 

  Christmas Tree Walk

 In keeping with the theme of caring for God's creation, St. Pat's students made ornaments from recycled materials for the tree we we put up at the annual  Anamosa  Chrismas Tree Walk, held December 7th, 8th and 9th. 
  The preschool made ornaments by cutting out circles from old Christmas cards and gluing them to obsolete CD's.
  The kindergarten and 1st grades made adorable Angels out of pine cones, cotton balls and feathers.
  The second grade cut snowflakes out of newspaper and covered them with glitter.
 The 3rd, 4th and 5th grades did a combination of things using old drink bottles.  They made bells by cutting off the tops, applying glitter and stringing bells through the lids.  Then they also make icicles by melting the strips of plastic bottle and twisting it.
  The students also colored Christmas scenes on panels of plastic milk jug.

After the Tree Walk our tree will be put up in the school.  You can look forward to your student bringing home their ornaments the last week before Christmas break.







 

Fall Recap - Ready for Advent

November has ended and  things are getting busier.  This is what has happened over the last two months.

October / November recap

  The fire safety poster contest in October had two winners:  Ava S. won for the K-2 grades division and Sarah C. won in the 3rd - 6th grade division.  Each girl was given a ride in the front seat of the fire truck after the classes were given a presentation on the parts of the fire truck and how it works.  Mrs. Green ran the contest.

    Our Halloween festival was a great success.  The students paraded in their costumes from room to room until all were in line and they then proceeded  outside in the mild weather.  Parent volunteers were ready to guide students through a rotation of a spooky craft, a haunting game of musical chairs, a game of bocce ball with pumpkin buckets and a game of Halloween Bingo.  At the end of the day the students returned to their respective rooms for treats. 

  Conferences in November were well attended.  Our friends at F&M Band provided  lunch for the teachers.   A book fair was run at the same time and sold  almost $700 worth of books which translates to a  book credit.  Our next book fair is scheduled for January 28 through February 1st during Catholic Schools week.   Help running the book fair will be needed. 

PTO Meets
  The PTO met on November 19th.  Items discussed included rebates, room mothers and fundraisers.  We discussed the entertainment for the Spring Gala, which is scheduled for March 9th, 2013.  We would like to interview a piano entertainer who does a name that tune/ trivia act.  This person performs each Wednesday evening at the Longbranch.  Anyone who is available Wednesday, December 5th is welcome to join us and view this performance.

Events of October

  Autumn is here for sure.   Colorful leaves, cooler temperatures and a calendar full of activities.  Here is a summary of just what's going on:

 Saturday, October 6:  Anamosa Pumpkinfest.  Our town's claim to fame event complete with a parade, games and the country's largest pumpkins.  Unfortunately, our school will not be entering a parade float this year. 

 October 8th to 12th.  Fire Safety Week.  Upper classes have made posters to promote fire safety. Those posters will be entered into the poster contest.  On Thursday the fire truck will visit the school.

 Tuesday, October 9:  PTO meeting at 6:15 in the rectory.  We have much to discuss.  Our individual committees will be making arrangements to meet. Come join us.  Let us know if you would like childcare provided. 

 Wednesday, October 10:  Mass. The second grade class will be leading the 8:30 mass.  All are invited.

 Sunday, October 14:   St. Patrick's Fall Festival.  Serving dinner from 11am to 2pm. Children's games, cake walk, bingo, country store and auction round out the day.  This is our church's largest event and our school families need to support it.  The PTO has agreed to tear down and clean up after the fall festival.  Come join us between 2:00 and 4:00ish. Many hands make light work and a good impression.

 Monday, October 15: Morning field trips.  PreK through 2nd are going to Honey Creek acres near Swisher and the 3rd through 5th are taking a tour of the landfill in Marion.  All will be back for school lunch.

Tuesday, October 23:  Picture retake day

Wednesday, October 24:  8:30 mass with the 5th grade leading. 

Wednesday, October 24:  Youth group grades 6 and up will be taking a field trip to Kroul Corn Maze, leaving at 5:30 and returning about 8:30

Before Monday, October 29:  The fall fundraiser will be delivered.  Watch 'The Weekly Word' for more information as it comes.

Wednesday, October 31:  Classes will have their Halloween parties.  Ask your teacher for details.


October is also Respect Life Month and the month of the Holy Rosary.  Events coming in November include parent teacher conferences and the fall book fair.  And all too soon the holidays will be upon us.  Enjoy the Fall.





 

Scrip specials - Save money

   I have been using scrip regularly for almost a year and I love having the cards ready to use for making my regular purchases.  Today I want to share with you some ways I have been using scrip to save myself some money. 

  Walmart:  The Marion Walmart gas station has a special of 10 cents off the price IF you use a gift card.  Pick up your gift card from scrip and the school gets 3% back.   That's a win/win!  This offer is until December 31, 2012.

 Subway:  During the month of October, Subway has a special of buy one 6 inch before 9AM and get the second free.  Get your $10 card from scrip and the school gets 4% back.  Good food equals easy fundraising!

 HyVee:  The HyVee coupon book reaps an 80% profit.  That's $4 back on a $5 purchase.  I recently ordered one and found the expiration date on the coupons to be June 30, 2013.  Ask for a coupon book now and you'll have plenty of  time to redeem those coupons.

 Staples:  If you need office supplies, get yourself a Staples reward card and sign up to get their emails.  They have regular specials on inks and paper and the rewards really add up.  Then, order Staples scrip to buy your discounted supplies and the school reaps a 5% reward.  That was Easy!

Pick up a scrip order form today and do some planning for your holiday shopping.  If you already visit these businesses, it's just as easy to shop with scrip.  And volunteers are always welcome to help sell scrip after church on the weekends.  Contact Charlotte Scheckel if you have questions.

 *Scrip is an ongoing fundraiser that benefits St. Patrick school though it is  not  run through the PTO.

Keeping Cool

  After the excessive heat sent students home early a number of days, a group of people came forward and offered to purchase a window air conditioner for each classroom at St. Patrick school.  
  Those units arrived Tuesday, September 4th, another day that the school sent the kids home early.   Chris Frimml, John Machart and David Machart set to work to install the air conditioners, starting in the kindergarten, preschool and first grade rooms.  By the end of the week all but one of the seven units was installed.
  The teachers were very grateful as the heat gradually left and their rooms cooled down.  The students were just as happy and able to get back on task.
  We would like to thank those who made the donation for the purchase of the window air conditioners.  Some have said that they don't want to be recognized.  There has also been a parishioner who said they would like to help make sure the electric bill is covered.
  The units will need to be taken out of the windows for the winter season and stored somewhere in the classrooms.  Ideally they can be put in the walls for the next season.
  Thank you again, to those who donated toward the purchase and to John Machart, David Machart and Chris Frimml for the labor.

Let's Get in the Spirit!

  Spirit wear is now on sale.  Check your email for the order form that Mr. Frimml sent out or stop by the front desk at school and Christi can help you make an order.

    Orders are due prepaid by Friday, September 14th.  We would love for everyone to take this opportunity to buy a shirt or sweatshirt to show your pride in St. Patrick school. 
   

New school year to be the best version yet

   Typical of most first days of school, the classes meet outside by the stone sign and get their group picture taken.  Mr. Frimml then leads in the morning prayer sequence that our school follows every morning of the year. So far, so good.
  This year, instead of doing a "pizza hut dance" to show that school can also be fun, Mr. Frimml announced that he was going to read a story.  Not just any story.  This story is called "Why am I here" by Matthew Kelly.  If you recall, Matthew Kelly is the author of the book called "Rediscover Catholicism" that was handed out to our parish members for free two Christmases ago. 
   In this nicely illustrated children's story, a school age boy named Max has a conversation with his grandfather during which Max asks, 'Why am I here?'  After some simple talk and comparisons of fish and birds, the answer is decidedly "to be the best version of yourself".  The rest of the story takes Max through his days where he has to make choices to be the best version of himself.
  Mr. Frimml told the children that the theme of this story, to be the best version of yourself, was going to be a theme that we work on throughout the school year.  I have read of other schools using this theme with very good results.  If you read "Rediscover Catholicism", you know that Matthew Kelly is a very good writer with a passion for promoting and improving the catholic faith. 
  To be the best version of yourself is a simple yet direct motto we can all adopt.  I encourage you to ask your children if they have been making the right choices that leads them to be the best version of themselves.

  "Why am I here?" is available for order from dynamiccatholic.com.


 
 

New playground going up Saturday

  After many months of planning and site prepping, it's finally time to put up the new playground equipment in St. Patrick Park.
  This Saturday, August 11th, many hands and borrowed tools will begin the work about 8:00 a.m.  Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us. 
  Our preschool teacher, Mrs. Peggy Goltz, has been working hard on this project and sent out the following message last week:

Dear Families,

As you’ve read and may have heard we will be installing a new preschool playground on August 11^th beginning at 8:00am.  We would love some help with this project not only for our preschoolers but also for our community.  It is a wonderful project for all the children of Anamosa.  Along with labor we will need hardware.  If you can not help us with installation but have any of the below listed tools that you’d be willing to lend to the installation team it would be greatly appreciated.  If you can come over and help please bring some of the below tools to make our job as easy and fluent as possible.

 

1.     Hammer Drill

2.     Heavy duty extention cords/generator

3.     String line and stakes

4.     Saw horses

5.     Levels: (2) 9” magnetic torpedo levels and (1) 4” carpenter’s level

6.     Tape measures 25’ and (2) or more 100’

7.     Open ended wrench set

8.     Allen wrenches or hex keys

9.     Sockets sets (we will be needing these for several pieces of equipment.)

10. Screwdrivers of various sizes

11. Drift pins

12. Box Knife or utility knives

13. C-clamps and vice grips

14. Electric Drills with various sized drill bits (and extra batteries/chargers)

15. Impact wrench (optional; need extreme caution w/ this to avoid damaging parts)

16. Hammers: Standard and Rubber mallets

17. Wooden stakes and moving strapes

18. S hook pliers for closing S hooks on swimgs

19. Jacks, or blocks to mechanically suspend components while concrete sets.

20. Hand-held grinder

21. 4” cut-off wheel

22. Tap & die set: 5/6”, 3/8”, ½”, 7/16”, 5/8”, etc.

23. Bolt Cutter, 24”

24. Tech screwdriver – 5amp, 2000 RPM optimum

25. 12-15 Mechanically-inclined adult volunteers and helpers.

If you can help in anyway with this project either with tools or man power please email Peggy Goltz <pgoltz@stpat-anamosa.pvt.k12.ia.us> as she will be collaboration a list of tools and help.  Thank you so much!!

 

 

  The purpose of the new playground is to provide a safe environment for the preschool age children and  give them more options for the kind of play that helps with development.  St. Patrick preschool currently rates 5  out of 5 stars on the state rating system and the new playground will help keep this level of quality.   The funding for the playground comes from the state  grant for preschool programs.

  Members of the St. Pat's PTO will be providing lunch for the workers about noon.  Hope to see you Saturday!

 

 

 

Welcome Back Swim and Open House

St. Pat's is giving you one last chance to cool off this summer.  You are invited to join us at the Anamosa Pool for a welcome back swim social hour.  Please plan to join us August 17th at 5:00 p.m. to 6:00p.m..  All family members welcome - no pencils and paper, please.

 We are hosting an open house at St. Patrick School on Tuesday, August 21st.  Bring in your school supplies, look around the school and get ready for the new school year.   The hours are from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

Welcome to our School

    My name is Geri Conley and I am a proud member of St. Pat's parent's group.  If all  things work out this will be the blog where I post all things going on in and around St. Patrick school.  I hope you will be able to join me once in a while.
  The first meeting of the St. Pat's parent's group (often referred to as the PTO) will be Tuesday, July 31st.  We are meeting at 6:30 at the T&D eatery.  I hope many of our members will be able to join us.
Thanks,
Geri