The Halo

259 St. George Street St. Augustine, FL 32084 904-824-2861 www.thecathedralparishschool.org

The official newsletter of St. Augustine's Catholic Elementary School Serving students in grades VPK-8 and a winner of the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence

W E E K L Y

U P D A T E S

H A L O

W E E K

O F

J U L Y

1 0 , 2 0 1 7

Greetings Everyone...This is your first edition of The Halo for the 2017-18 school year. We wanted to be sure you had advanced notice of our Theme for the year and the calendar items for the month of August. We welcome our new families and invite you to the New Family Social on July 21 (see info on page 4). See you all soon! July 10-14—9:00 to 12:00 noon—2017 CPS Middle School Writing Course with Ms. DeLoach—see attached flyer July 17-21—9:00 to 12:00 noon—2017 Fraction Math Camp with Ms. Carroll—Grades 4-8—see attached flyer July 17-18-19—Cheer Conditioning Camp from 9:00 to 12:00 noon with Mrs. Ott and Mrs. Willower July 21—Friday—5:30 p.m.—New Family Social in the Parish Hall—see attached flyer August 4—Friday—10:00 to 11:00 a.m.—Kindergarten & VPK Orientation with students (classrooms)/ 11:00 a.m. New Family Orientation for Kindergarten & VPK in the Parish Hall with Mrs. Boice August 8—Tuesday—8:30 to 11:00 a.m.—Middle School Orientation for GRADE 6 and ALL NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS / 11:00 a.m. New Family Orientation in the Parish Hall with Mrs. Boice for Grades 1-8 / STUDENT & FAMILY OPEN HOUSE FOR GRADES 1--8 From 11:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. August 9—Wednesday—1st Day of School for Grades K-8...don’t be late! Parents please come and join us in the Parish Hall for Jitterbug Coffee time (Thank you PTO!) August 10—Thursday—First Day of School for VPK August 14—Monday—3:00 to 4:00 p.m.—Boys & Girls B’ball Conditioning August 15—Tuesday—3:00 to 4:00 p.m.—Boys & Girls B’ball Conditioning / Parents Grade 1 Orientation from 5:30 until 6:00 p.m. (The meeting is structured for parents only). August 16—Wednesday—2:00 to 4:30—Boys B’ball Tryouts August 17--Thursday—3:00 to 5:00—Girls B’ball Tryouts / 8th Grade Grad Info Night @ 6:30 August 22—Tuesday—5:30 p.m.—Middle School Parent Open House (This meeting is structured for parents only). August 24—Thursday—5:30—Grade 2 Parent Orientation / 6:00—Grade 3 Parent Orientation (Structured for parents only). August 29—Tuesday—5:30 — VPK & K Parent Orientation (Meeting is structured for parents only.) / School Board Meeting @ 5:30 p.m. in the Conference Room August 31—Thursday—5:30—Grade 4 Parent Orientation / 6:00—Grade 5 Parent Orientation (Meetings Structured for Parents Only)

Dear Families of CPS, Our theme for the 2017-18 school year will be “When the Saints Go Marching In.” The purpose of our theme is to call to our students’ attention men and women whose lives can provide inspiration and example for those trying to follow Christ today as best they can. The Saints had the same weaknesses we all possess as human beings but with an inner strength and purposefulness that can serve as examples to us today in the daily struggle that is life. Since we “Hope To Be in that number when the Saints Go Marching In” during our upcoming school year and realizing how I love to find an opportunity for us all to DANCE… I was reminded of an e-mail I once received. It goes something like this… “G-U-I--DANCE”. When I meditated on the word GUIDANCE, I kept seeing “Dance” at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music. When one person decides to let the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back guiding the other in one direction or another. It’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word GUIDANCE. When I saw “G,” I thought of God, followed by “u” and “I” dance! God, you and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead. My prayer for you today is that God’s blessings and mercies be upon you and your loved ones on this day and every day. May you abide in Him as He abides through each season of your life.” So, we hope you will want to be in that number during this school year…and we hope you Dance!

“I will lead you all in the dance,” said He. In the Spirit, Mrs. Boice, Principal (see attached)

HOW TO COLLECT YOUR SET OF HOLY CARDS DURING THE 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR Holy Cards of the Saints will be given to each teacher during the school year for every month according to the monthly calendar below: August: St. Augustine (August 28th)--Knowledge September: Archangel Gabriel (September 29th)--Fortitude October: St. Teresa of Avila (October 15th)--Prayer November: St. Cecilia (November 22)--Purity December: St. Nicholas (December 6)—Acts of Charity January: St. Francis De Sales (January 24th)--Peace February: St. Blaise (February 3)--Courage March: St. Patrick (March 17)--Faithfulness April: St. Mark (April 25th)--Evangelization May: Joan of Arc (Mary 30th)--Leadership Teachers will be on the look-out during the school year for many of the wonderful traits possessed by so many of our “Saints.” If they catch any student exhibiting these positive traits, they may be the lucky recipient of a Holy Card. Some students may get more than one of each monthly card. Other students may not have been fortunate enough to have received a Holy Card because a teacher might not have been around when they were acting “Saintly.” So….you may trade your cards. Your goal is to get a set of the ten Holy cards by the end of the year. A special mark will be placed on the back of each card…so it must be a Holy Card received from one of our teachers on staff. Those students collecting the full set of the 10 Holy Cards by the end of the school year will be eligible for special recognition during the end-of-year awards presentations. Good luck, everyone! Don’t forget… “You’ll want to be in that number, when the Saints go marching in!! Have a fun 2017-18…looking forward to seeing everyone in August! In the Spirit! Mrs. Boice, Principal

New Family Summer Social! All families joining CPS for the first time in 2017-18 are invited to join us! This will be a chance to meet some of the host families and to share in some great fellowship with the CPS community. We look forward to getting to know your families at this special event just for you! This will be a perfect opportunity for your children to get to know some other students before school starts and hopefully take care of any jitters they may have. We would love for your family to bring a side-dish to share with the group. When: Friday, July 21, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Where: Cathedral Parish School’s Parish Hall RSVP - Kelly Vogel [email protected]

CPS UNIFORM DROP OFF/EXCHANGE Start collecting your outgrown uniforms! We will have a uniform exchange beginning again on August 1. Bring in old uniforms and drop off on the stage in the Parish Hall. Student Council will sort and put them in the 3rd Floor Aftercare Room. Come to the 3rd Floor Aftercare Room after August 1 And pick up whatever you need for the upcoming school year. If you have questions contact Kim Forsythe 315-935-7327 or [email protected]

2017 CPS Middle School Writing Course with Ms. DeLoach

Goals: For students to strengthen their English and writing skills while focusing on the basics of MLA formatting, research skills, grammar practice, and the 6+1 Traits of Writing program!

Writing Course Dates and Hours: *July 10th – 14h (Monday – Friday) *from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

Please Pre-register! Drop off check for $125 to the office by Monday, July 10th

LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE *Once 15 spots fill up, we are full. Partial days are not available. Course Fee (includes everything) 

$125

Camp Activities Overview: Students will begin working on a persuasive essay on Monday and finish the paper Friday.

*NOTE: There will be some homework involved! Monday: Introduce persuasive writing and begin choosing topics. Talk about finding credible sources to support opinions, etc. Review basic MLA and grammar practice. Tuesday: Visit Flagler College’s Proctor Library for a tour and a talk about how to find research in the library. Students will then be able to use the library to find sources for their research paper. (permission slip to follow) Wednesday & Thursday: Continue researching and writing. Grammar games. Cooperative learning activities, etc. Finish Works Cited page and in-text citations. Friday: Finish essays in class. Print final drafts. Check MLA and review. *NOTE: Ms. DeLoach will provide a healthy snack around 10:30 every day. Feel free to also pack snacks if you’d like! We will take breaks between activities and even go outside to the playground!

2017 Fraction Math Camp July 17 – 21 9:00 – 12:00 $125 Attention all students in grades four through eight. This is a fun and awesome opportunity to practice your fraction skills before we start back to school in the fall. Whether you just want to be prepared for the skills you will need to succeed in middle school or if you are already in middle school and just want to have some fun refreshing your skills this is the place to be! We will be creating art projects, playing online games, participating in a variety of activities, and of course some drills that will help our young CPS mathematicians polish their skills. Fractions are the most significant part of our math foundation so let’s get started on our future success. If you are interested, please fill out the bottom of this form and return to your homeroom teacher. Registration information will be coming home soon. Hope to see you there! Ms. Carroll -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summer Math Camp -- Count me in! Name: ________________

Grade: _______