I want to begin by saying a huge THANK YOU!!!!! for all the thoughtful gifts, food in the teacher's lounge, Panera lunch on Wednesday, and the awesome laminator that was given to all of us!!  It is my pleasure to be with your children each day and watch them grow.  I want you to know how much YOU'RE appreciated as well!  Without all of you, we could not function the way we do.  May God bless each and every one of you.  :)

As you know, our K5 graduation and parent breakfast mass are coming up pretty quickly!  Tuesday, June 3rd, to be exact.  Mass parts will be coming home soon for the kids to practice.

I also need each student to decorate an adult sized shoe box to be used as a time capsule.  This shoe box may be decorated any way your child wants.  Please have the completed box turned into school by Wednesday, May 28th.  Inside this box, you will need to include a letter written to your child and some small item(s) that remind your child of something they did or were really into while in K5.  It could be something like a trophy, special erasers or pencil, article of clothing, or jewelry they always wore.  These are just a few examples.  It could be one thing or several things.  You and your child can decide.

Your letter should contain things you remember about when they were in K5, or something you wish for them, etc.  Anything that you see fit.  Please put the letters into a sealed envelope with their name on it.

I will be adding a few items as well.  The sealed time capsules will be returned to your child during our graduation ceremony.  I'm going to tell the kids about this project next week, but feel free to share it with them earlier if you wish.  The point of this time capsule is for them to hang on to it and not open it until their 8th grade graduation!  I wish I could be there to see their faces when they open them again.  :)

After the parent mass and graduation ceremony on June 3rd, we will head into the parish hall for refreshments.  Please plan on this morning lasting until approximately 9:30 or so.  Mass will begin at 8:00 am in the Day Chapel.  Please note that this will NOT be our last day of school.  The kindergartners will remain at school that day and attend until June 12th.

Another little side note, our last book order form went home on Monday.  It is due this coming Monday, May 12th.  I will not be sending one home for June.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend everyone and thank you again for your generosity!!  :)

The end of the school year is quickly approaching!  There are so many things to get done before then.  :)

This week we finished up our science unit on rocks/sand.  We know that sand is really VERY TINY rocks.  We watched as the sand took the shape of any container it was in.  It didn't matter if it was wet or dry, it still filled in all of the empty spaces.  Our classes also learned that sand needs to be wet to maintain its shape of the container after its been removed.  Larger rocks cannot do that.

While we were on spring break, Earth Day was celebrated.  The K4 and K5 classes talked about the different ways to take care of the Earth.  We all agreed that not littering, picking up trash, planting trees (or other plants), and using less water and electricity were great ways to preserve our planet!  Some of the kids even took bags outside during recess and collected trash.  :)

For social studies today, we talked about Stranger Danger.  We watched a video called "The Safe Side".  It discussed what a stranger is and what kids should do during certain situations.  In the video they called them "Don't Know's" because a stranger is anyone we don't know.  Mrs. Cullinane and I spoke to the kids about what they could do if they were ever in a situation where they were separated from their safe adult.  We pointed out how to identify someone that could help them if they were lost.  For example, a worker at a store wearing a uniform, or go to the cashier or service desk.  I'm sure you've already had many talks about these things at home, but it can't hurt to go over it again.

This afternoon we got to enjoy a movie ("Up!") with juice and popcorn provided to us from Home and School.  What a fun way to spend Friday afternoon!  Thank you Home and School!!  Monday we get a Dress Down day as well for collecting all those Box Tops!

Important dates to remember:

Monday, May 26th - No School for Memorial Day
Tuesday, June 3rd - K5 Breakfast Mass and Graduation (8:00 am)  MORE INFO TO FOLLOW AT A LATER DATE
Thursday, June 12th - Last day of school (Early release at 9:30)

Spring Break has finally arrived!  Take some time to sit and reflect about what this time of year means to us.  :)

There is no homework calendar for when we return from break, so....your child's homework is to READ, READ, READ!!!!  I've been sitting down with each of the kids and reading with them.  It is so important to practice every night.  It makes a huge difference.

The K5 class tied the first graders in the Box Top contest for 2nd place!!  This means we get a popcorn and movie afternoon.  :)  This will take place on Friday, May 2nd.  Thank you for turning in all those box tops.  Our school earned over $2,100!!!!

Some dates to remember...

Spring Break - April 18th-April 27th.
Open House- Sunday, April 27th

Enjoy your days off and have a blessed Easter!

The spring warmth finally reached us today!!  Too bad it's short-lived, but I'll take it.  :)  I'm not sure snow bags will be needed anymore.  (Let's hope not!)  However, you may still want to send in boots.  The grass is still very wet and muddy.

Don't forget to turn in your 1 dozen plastic Easter eggs.  We will be using them for a project in the next week or so.  Please have them here by Friday, April 4th.

This Thursday, April 3rd, is Spirit Wear day.  The kids can either wear St. Joe's spirit wear or Wisconsin Badger spirit wear with uniform pants.

If you're participating in the Book It! promotion for the free personal pan pizza, please turn in your March calendar.  This is the last month for this offer.

Have a wonderful week!

Today the K4 and K5 classes walked through the Stations of the Cross in the Day Chapel.  The students were all very respectful and were really moved by the things that Jesus endured for us.  It was nice to see how much background knowledge the kids had regarding the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion.

Next week we will be studying rocks for our science unit.  If you have any collections you would be willing to loan our classes for a bit, please send them in clearly labeled with your child's name so they can be returned.

There will be no school on Thursday, March 27th and Friday, March 28th, due to teacher in service.

For one of our Easter projects coming up, each student will need to bring in 1 dozen plastic Easter eggs.  Not the jumbo variety, just a regular size that would fit into an average egg carton.  Please have them in by Monday, March 31st.  Thank you!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!