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Dear St. John Paul II Families,
Happy Tuesday! Today was a beautiful morning as our 3rd graders led us in the Living Rosary bringing peace and holiness to our Saint community.
We are looking forward to seeing all of you on campus this Thursday and Friday for Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences. This is a great opportunity to meet the teacher and learn about your child’s progress here at StJPII.
It is a big week! We will close the week with our 3rd annual Trunk or Treat, which is a night filled with fun, fellowship and costumes! Don’t forget to pick up your race day packet and share a meal with your Saint friends! Then on Saturday morning…let the race begin! Our 19th Annual Run with the Saints is going to be fantastic! I am looking forward to sharing these upcoming events with you!
Finally, please read below for some great tips from Love & Logic, now that your children have brought home their 1st report card this year.
The first thing to remember is that the child’s report card is the child’s… not ours. While it’s easy to get down on ourselves when kids perform poorly, it’s very important to our mental health and theirs to remember the following:
We can’t learn for kids.
As educators and parents we can up the odds of high achievement by modeling responsibility, establishing a safe and calm environment, providing excellent instruction and demonstrating excitement for learning.
We can’t control every action they take or decision they make.
Secondly, it’s comforting to remember that some of the world’s most successful people have struggled with grades. Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Jim Fay and Dr. Foster Cline are some notable examples. What’s most important is that our children develop good character, curiosity, and problem-solving skills.
Remember as a parent to celebrate all success in effort and hard work for each and every time your child performs.
In Him we trust,
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Parent-Teacher Conference Day Friday
Parent/Student-Teacher Conferences are this week from 1:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on October 26 and 27. All parents are required to attend the fall conference with their child present.
When are Conferences?
Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27
Will there be school on Thursday and Friday?
Yes, all students will attend school for half a day of instruction.
What are school hours on Thursday and Friday?
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Prek & Kindergarten/12:15 p.m.-Elementary/12:30 p.m.– Middle School
Will BASP be open on Thursday and Friday?
Only for morning care from 7:00 a.m. – 7:40 a.m. There will be no after school care October 26 and 27.
What about Lunch?
All students in PreK-5th grade will need to bring a sack lunch for both days.
All middle school students may pack a snack to have in the classrooms both days.
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Halloween Attire
Students may wear school-appropriate black or orange shirts with their uniform bottoms to school on Tuesday, October 31. Happy Halloween!
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High School Application Information
Parents of 8th graders: you are likely in the midst of gathering information about the various area high schools to help you decide where you would like your 8th grader to apply. As you and your child work on their high school applications, it is vitally important that you follow the procedures we have established to make this process as simple and efficient as possible. Please read and follow the guidelines on our website:
High School Application Information Process.
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Thank You for Supporting the 6th Grade Service Project
The 6th Grade students would like to thank the school for their support of the 6th grade bake sale benefiting Amigos de Jesus in Honduras. With your support, they raised $863.58. A big thank you!
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STUCO Coin Clash
The Student Council (STUCO) coin clash is coming
November 6-10.
Save your coins and support STUCO and Sacred Heart Catholic School in Rockport, Texas (the designated charity).
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Parent and Community Program
You are invited to see Sarah Ward, MS, CCC-SPL speak on executive functioning skills at Briarwood School on
October 25.
She will be speaking to parents and community members from 6:30-8:30 p.m. and there is no charge.
Sarah is an expert on executive function skills (planning; organizing; managing time, space and materials; initiating and completing assignments; etc.) She presented at the Social Thinking conference and she is a very popular speaker at the national ASHA (speech & language) conferences. Sarah's presentations are focused on teaching specific hands-on, practical strategies, and she demonstrates how to implement the strategies with students at different grade levels. Sarah's presentations are truly amazing, and this will be her first time to present in Houston!
Briarwood has generously opened this event up to the community so please take advantage of the opportunity. Below is a look at what she will present. If interested in attending,
please RSVP to
Kim Black
.
The size of the group will determine where Briarwood will set up for the evening.
Note: This is a practical strategies presentation to provide parents with tools to help children of all ages to improve their executive function skills, strengthen working memory, use better impulse control, practice cognitive flexibility, and improve organizational skills.
• Thinking and planning ahead
• Initiating and completing tasks
• Managing time, space, and materials
• Closing the homework circle
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Study Skills
Information about study skills can be found on the school website under academics tab, then parent night presentations. Look for the
study skills link.
Please take time to review the materials at your own pace. Parents will learn how to support your child(ren) in organization, listening, taking notes, test taking strategies, and many other skills and tips. StJPII has adapted the workshop normally presented each fall into a PowerPoint slideshow that parents may view at their convenience. Mrs. Lamb hopes the electronic format for this year will be beneficial to our parent community.
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Book Fair
This twice a year library fundraiser is will take place
November 13 – 17,
concluding with Grandparents & Special Friends Day. Daily hours are 7:40 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., except for Grandparents Day & Special Friends Day, when we will close at the end of the festivities. Please stop by EARLY for the best selection of great reading materials. We hope to see you at the Fair! Happy Reading – Ms. Lamb
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Moms Bible Study
This Wednesday a brand new moms bible study series starts. The series is called "Catholicism" and gives you the opportunity to go deeper into the truths of our faith with this DVD series by Bishop Robert Barron.
Fr. Eamonn hopes that many StJPII moms will take up this invitation to journey with him through this series on the Catholic faith. See you at St.Jude Hall
tomorrow at 8:15 a.m.
Check the school calendar for future dates.
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Dads Basketball
StJPII dads play men's basketball on
Wednesday Nights
in the gym at 7:00 p.m. Please contact Mark Gugliotti to be added to the distribution list and for more information:
[email protected]
or 832-301-1681. Everyone is welcome. It's a fun way to meet other dads and get some great exercise!
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Used Uniform Sale
The Used Uniform Sale will
be held during Parent / Teacher conferences this week on
October 27 and 28
in St. Jude Hall. This is a fundraiser for the 8th grade class. Stop by and stock up on uniforms to get you through the winter!
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Trunk or Treat
We are looking forward to seeing everyone this
Friday, October 27
from 6:00-8:00 p.m. for a fun Halloween
Trunk or Treat
party in our parking lot! Cars will be lined up near the Pavilion so our students can wear their costumes and "trick-or-treat" safely with their friends.
Prizes will be provided for 1) best overall decoration 2) best themed decoration 3) scariest decoration. For those who are interested, you may sign up to decorate your vehicle by visiting
SignUp Genius
.
While you are here, make it an evening for the entire family and stay for the
Run with the Saints
pre
-race dinner. This year,
Chick-Fil-A
and
Journey Ice
will be on campus selling delicious meals and treats for the entire family. Both vendors will give a portion of their proceeds back to StJPII.
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Run with the Saints
The race is 4 short days away and we can't wait for you to join us this
Friday, October 28,
for the
19
th
Annual Run with the Saints
which benefits The
Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation in memory of former StJPII student Lauren Lockard. Pre-Race Packet Pick-Up will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday in the GSC.
We need volunteers to make this the best race yet!
This is a great way to get to know other StJPII families.
On race day, WHCSA elementary soccer games will start after 11:00 a.m. to allow our parents and students to participate.
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Veneration of the Official Relic of the Blood
of St. John Paul II
On,
Wednesday, November 8
, t
he Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary invite you to participate in the Veneration of the Official Relic of the Blood of St. John Paul II during the year of the Centenary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. A special Mass will be held at 8:20 a.m. for 5th-8th grade, faculty, staff and parents. All students will participate in the Veneration of the Relic. Please see the
flyer
for the more information. If you have questions, please contact
Molly Richard
.
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Save the Date!
Grandparents & Special Friends Day: November 17
StJPII will honor Grandparents and Special Friends on the
Friday before Thanksgiving break,
November 17.
StJPII families, please share the date with your grandparents and special friends. We are looking forward to celebrating this occasion with our extended family! The format will be similar to previous years, featuring performances by elementary students, our middle school chorale and the 7th/8th grade band.
Formal invitations have been mailed. Please remember that Grandparents Day is a day for grandparents and special friends only - rest assured that every year we have children who do not have a grandparent or special friend attend, and they enjoy the day and do just fine! Our students are great about sharing their special guests with classmates whose grandparents cannot attend. Stay tuned to
Saints Weekly
for more details as the event approaches.
Please contact the Communications and Events Officer,
Kaela Lewis
with any questions you may have.
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Get Involved with the Gala Auction
We hope that everyone is as excited as we are about the upcoming
Don’t Stop Believin’ Gala!
Now more than ever, it will be a great time with friends, food, music and dancing to support and celebrate our school community. You can help make this event great by donating the following auction items:
Airfare / Miles
Sports Tickets
Vacation Homes
College Sports Tickets
Concert Tickets
Limo Service
Restaurant Dinner for 10
Services that can be offered for a year (flowers, meals, maid, lawn, etc.)
There are guidelines for donations that will be accepted, so please contact
Michelle Perez
with any questions or donations.
Great Gatherings
- Families sponsor an event (like a mother-daughter tea party, wine tasting, game night, girls slumber party, etc.) and others pay to attend that event. It can be for kids only, families, or adults only and accommodate 12 or more. For more information or to sponsor a Great Gathering, contact:
Linda Lindsey
.
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Box Tops Winners Announced
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Box Tops for Education Classroom Contest. We collected a total of 14,916 Box Tops from approximately 297 participants, which means $1,491.60 in cash for StJPII!
1st Place Winners - Pizza Party, Cupcakes, Drinks - November 2
Mrs. Campo- 1,884 Box Tops
Mrs. Condara - 1,568 Box Tops
2nd Place Winners - Cupcakes - November 2
Ms. Fama - 736 Box Tops
Ms. Fannin - 643 Box Tops
Keep clipping and saving for our next contest in February 2018. Register at
www.btfe.com to find coupons, in-store promotions and a full list of products.
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DARR October Skate Day
Our annual October Skate Day at the
Dairy Ashford Roller Rink
will be
Thursday, October 26 from 4:00-6:00 p.m.
Wear your favorite Halloween costume and enjoy the sweet treats, raffle items and prizes for best dressed. We hope to see you for this fun StJPII Halloween tradition!
Click here for more information.
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Pumpkin Patch
Please join us before or after your parent-student/teacher conferences for the 10
th
Annual PTO Pumpkin Patch! This fun tradition is taking place
Thursday, October 26 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. AND Friday, October 27 from 1:00-8:00 p.m.
We are open two days this year during the Trunk or Treat event and RWTS pre-race dinner! Pumpkins are available to purchase and we have an amazing fall photo opportunity, so please remember your cameras and smartphones to capture the moment! Click here for the
informational flyer.
Volunteers are needed for this fun event. CSign up
here
or contact Khristine at
[email protected]
.
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Spirit Store - Open Friday October 27
If you missed the Spirit Store during the Meet and Greet in August, here is your opportunity to pick up our new merchandise! The Spirit Store will be open
Friday, October 27 between 2:00-6:30 p.m.
next to the Pumpkin Patch. You can pick from exciting gadgets with the StJPII logo to great sports wear and T-shirts. Also make sure to check out our new StJPII hoodies, perfect fit for the cooler months! Hope to see you all there! You may also shop the Spirit Store online!
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Holiday on the Parkway- Booth Reservations
The PTO will once again sponsor a craft fair for parents and outside vendors on
Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2
. Last year, we had over 23 booths that filled the Bramanti Athletic Center! The students, faculty and parents are able to shop for holiday presents for family and friends on Friday, and all are welcome to shop during the annual Snacks with Santa festivities on Saturday. If you are interested in reserving a table for your business, or know someone that may be interested in having a booth,
please complete this form
and return it to the school as soon as possible with the booth reservation fee
. The form can be hand-delivered or mailed to St. John Paul II Catholic School, 1400 Parkway Plaza Drive, Houston, TX 77077,
Attention: Olga Saenz (Holiday on the Parkway)
. Space is limited and it will be handled on a first come-first serve basis. For questions, please contact
Olga Saenz.
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Thank you to our StJPII Volunteers!
The Faculty Meeting Committee would like to thank the following people for generously providing food for the October faculty meeting: Anne Davis, Victoria Forkner, Hazel Mohan, Alicia Rehfeld, Ana Parra-Esteva, Sunjuana Valdez, Danille La Londe, Denise Zaldivar, Tina Schroeder, Lizette Maya, Gail Anderson, Alicia Johnson, Machi Valcarcel, Analia Gugliotti, Rocio Morales, Martha Rupay, & Gwen Montesino.
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Elementary Athletics
Basketball Registration is now open for Kindergarten through Fifth grade.
Registration closes on
November 11.
There is a maximum of 10 players per team, so register early since teams may fill up. We are in need of volunteer-approved parents to coach. Please consider being a coach this season! If you have any questions, please email
Deanne Gordon
.
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Middle School Athletics
Last week was an incredible week for our Cross Country team! The last time we brought home a GHCAA Championship 1
st
place title was back in 2009! Our boys placed 1
st
overall, and our girls placed 3
rd
!
The following athletes placed in the top 5 of their races and won medals:
Liam Smith (1st)
David DeVaull (2nd)
Ethan Smith (3rd)
Camden O’Connor (2nd)
Diego Ramos (3rd)
Dan Garza (5th)
Averi Garrity (5th)
McKay Lawless (4th)
Alex Nabors (5th)
Our Soccer teams ended their District play last week with JV completing their season with a perfect 12-0 record beating both St. Anne Houston and St. Frances de Sales! Varsity had a tough loss to St. Anne, but came back and had a huge win defeating St. Frances de Sales ending District with a 10-2 record! Our Varsity Saints now prepare to face St. Martha of Kingwood in the GHCAA quarter final playoff game on Tuesday, October 23 right here at home at 5:00 p.m. so please come out and enjoy this beautiful weather and cheer our Saints on to victory! If we win Tuesday, then we advance to the semifinals on Thursday, but the venue and team depends on the quarter final game results! The GHCAA Championship game will be held on Saturday, October 28 at St. Pius HS at 4:00 p.m.!
Our Lady Saints Volleyball teams had a fantastic week starting off by defeating St. Cecelia in 2 games across the board! Then Tuesday at our last home game, Varsity beat St. Francis de Sales in 2 games! We then traveled to SFdS on Thursday and 6th, JV and Varsity swept the Valliant’s in 2 games each as well! Friday and Saturday our Varsity team participated in the Our Lady of Fatima tournament and Varsity took the 2nd place trophy coming up short losing to St. Jerome in an intense game. Tournament MVP was named to Clara Forbes. Varsity played in their first round of the GHCAA playoff’s on Monday and defeated St. Elizabeth Ann Seton 25-14 and 25-22! The Lady Saints now advance to the semifinals on Wednesday which will be played right here at home at 4:30 p.m.!
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NEW: Girls' Soccer Team
Please remember to sign up for the Girls’ Soccer team by this
Friday, October 27.
We need 18 players to form a team!
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St. Pius X Open House
We Believe Your Story Starts Here...You are invited to attend an Open House on
Wednesday, October 25
, at 6:30 p.m. You can view the
St. Pius X flyer for more information.
To register, please
click here
.
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All Hallows Eve Party
St. John Vianney's moms group, St. Anne's Society, is presenting their annual All Hallows Eve party on October 28 from 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.! Please join us for Catholic saints crafts and games, face painting, bounce houses, costume parade, Trunk or Treating and more! Tickets are $5 for kids (1 and under are FREE) and $5 for adults who plan to eat (FREE if not eating).
Click here for more information
.
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StJPII Stars Shine!
Five StJPII alumni have been cast to star in the St. Agnes/Strake Jesuuit Musical in the Heights. Don't miss the opportunity to see these talented Saints perfom. For more information about dates, times and tickets, please see the
StJPII Stars Shine! flyer.
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St. John XXIII Open House
You are invited to attend an Open House on
Sunday, November 5
, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.! Families and students will have the wonderful opportunity to interact with and speak to current students, parents, faculty, and staff as well as participate in an interactive safari hunt all over school! You can view the
St. John XXIII flyer
. To register, please
click here
.
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10/25 Daily Mass, All Saints Chapel, 7:10 a.m.
10/25 Parent Bible Study, SJH, 8:15 a.m.
10/26 Dairy Ashford Roller Rink PTO Fundraiser Event 4:00-6:00 p.m.
10/26 & 27 Early Dismissal (12:00/12:15/12:30 p.m.)
10/26 & 27 Afternoon Parent Teacher Conferences
10/26 & 27 PTO Pumpkin Patch 1:00 p.m.
10/26 & 27 Used Uniform Sale, 1:00 p.m., SJH
10/27 Run with the Saints Packet Pick-Up, 6:00 p.m., GSC
10/27 Trunk or Treat 6:00 p.m., School Parking Lot
10/28 Run with the Saints 7:30 a.m.
10/31 Halloween (orange or black shirts with uniform bottoms)
11/1 All Saints Day
11/1 Kindergarten Saints Parade and All School Mass 8:30 a.m.
11/1 PTO Meeting, SJH, 9:30 a.m.
11/3 PTO First Friday Lunch
11/8 Mass 5th-8th Grade
Veneration of the Official Relic of the Blood of St. John Paul II
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St. John Paul II Catholic School
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1400 Parkway Plaza, Houston, TX 77077
281-496-1500 • 281-496-2943 (fax)
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St. John Paul II Catholic School prepares all students spiritually
and academically to succeed in life and to do God's will.
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