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News for the Parents of Saint Andrew Catholic School
August 23, 2016
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Many thanks to all of you who attended the Parent Form on Cyber Safety last night hosted by our Advisory Council last night. It was a packed house with very interesting and thought-provoking information shared. A big thank you to Shannon Berndt for all her work in planning and promoting this educational parent event. 

Only by His Grace,
Veronica Tucker

GENTLE REMINDERS
 
  • All students (boys and girls) in 4th - 8th grades must wear the white button-down Oxford to Mass. 
  • All boys (4th - 8th grade) must wear the new Saint Andrew tie to Mass.  (We do realize some of these are on back-order. If this is the case, please just let the teacher know.)
  • Please be kind in the parking lot - especially at pick-up. 
  • PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be sure your RenWeb is updated with Emergency Contacts, Pick-Ups, and current e-mail addresses. In an emergency, it will be difficult to reach you if this is not current. Also, we will be printing our directory in the next few weeks and we need current addresses and phone numbers.

LIVING THE WORD - TRADITION
Saint  Andrew Catholic School opened Monday morning, September 13, 1954, with 270 students, first through eighth grades. The school was staffed by the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur, from Our Lady of Victory Provincial House a few miles away, along with a few lay teachers.
 
The Order of Saint Mary of Namur traces its roots back to the early 1800s in Namur, Belgium.  There, in 1819, Father Nicholas Joseph Minsart of the Saint Loup Parish  brought together two young women, Josephine Sara and Elizabeth Berger and opened up a sewing room.  The first night they were together, they shared potatoes and apples for dinner. To this workshop came the poor children of the area to learn this trade and also to be catechized by Father Minsart himself. Throughout the ensuing years, filled with tribulations but also with a passionate love of God and neighbor and a desire to fulfill the will of God, Father Minsart guided this band of young girls, afterwards to be known as the Sisters of St. Mary until his death in 1837.
 
Mother Claire of Jesus, born Rosalie Niset in 1811, joined the Sisters of St. Mary in 1831 and in 1835 at the age of 24 became leader of the community.  She is considered to be the co-founder of the Order. Mother Claire guided this fledgling community for 36 years and when she died in 1871, she left behind a group of sisters already establishing schools for the poor throughout Belgium and reaching out as missionaries to the children of Catholic immigrants in Lockport, NY.
 
In 1873, the Order made its way to Waco, TX where they founded Sacred Heart Academy.  Between 1893 and 1912 the sisters spread out around Texas.  Our Lady of Victory Academy and College was founded during this time with an elementary school to be added in 1956.
 
Today, Saint Andrew Catholic School has adopted the Sisters of Saint Mary and has set up visits to their home on the campus of OLV.  We celebrate their Founder's Day on November 11th.  The school has potatoes and baked apples available in the cafeteria to commemorate that first evening when Josephine and Elizabeth were together. We have reconnected with our Sisters who have been such an important part of our history and have helped to establish the Saint Andrew legacy in Fort Worth. 
 
Excerpts from:  Sisters of St. Mary of Namur
241 Lafayette Ave. 
Buffalo, New York 14213
Texas State Historical Association

JUMPERS BEING DELIVERED

Parker School  Uniforms will be at Saint Andrew on Wednesday, August 24th at 2:30pm, in the gym, to deliver jumpers that were ordered before July 25th. 
Jumpers ordered on or after July 25th are still being manufactured.

Any jumpers not picked up on Wednesday will be available for pick up at Parker. (1125 Oakland Blvd.) We will not be sending any  uniforms home with students.

PARENT-TEACHER PRAYER PARTNERS
Have you ever visited the school lunchroom or looked around at dismissal and thought, "I don't know how these teachers do it!" They are a true Godsend and praying for them is one of the simplest ways to fortify them in their work. Sign up to be a parent-teacher prayer partner and they will also be praying for you! 

Many more prayer enthusiasts are needed for this special ministry and parents (moms  and dads), grandparents and friends are strongly encouraged to volunteer. Who doesn't need a few extra prayers? Plus it only takes a minute of your day. 

We will partner you with a member of the school team, provide a prayer card as a visual reminder and send occasional tips for new ways to pray and deepen your faith. If you are called to volunteer, please email  Michelle Stavens.

SPIRIT SHOP HOURS

T his week the Spirit shop will be open Thursday morning at 7:30pm and Friday afternoon at 2:30pm.  

The Preschool "Lil Wildcat" shirts, PE shirts, Full Zipper Black Fleece and some of the new 1/4 Fleece that were pre-ordered are in.  The XXS spirit shirts and the remaining 1/4 zipper will possibly be in by Thursday. We will keep you informed.


COFFEE & FELLOWSHIP FOR MOMS
Join fellow moms in the Saint Andrew community as we learn how to receive and respond to Divine Mercy in our own lives!  This is a fantastic opportunity to nurture your heart and connect with other mothers.  We will spend six weeks discussing the book Divine Mercy for Moms: Sharing the Lessons of St. Faustina by Michele Faehnle and Emily Jaminet.  These engaging Catholic mothers will help us to share our faith and mercy with others through word, deed and prayer. You can order the book for $10 from Amazon.

Meetings will start on Friday, Sept 2nd in Room 147 of the Parish Hall.  The sessions will be on Fridays from 8:00-8:45am over a course of six weeks.  If you have questions or are interested in participating, please email Deb Boehmler or Summer Riney.

WE ARE SO PROUD!!!
Some of our 5th grade Girl Scouts from Troop 3025 purchased 12 pairs of shoes for boys & girls in FWISD who do not have the chance to buy new school shoes. 

They used proceeds from the Cookie Sale to purchase children's shoes. Thank you to everyone who purchased Girl Scout cookies!

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME
Please click here to print out an order form for Ranger tickets.
SAVE THE DATE TO HEAR DR. SCOTT HAHN
CAMPBELL'S GRAND STAND FOR SCHOOLS
Time for you to win $10,000 for your school by entering for free every day at  GrandStandForSchools.com .

PLUS, earn 5 bonus entries when you upload your receipt of an eligible purchase. AND you can even win yourself a $175 Visa® Prepaid Card.

There's no more clipping or submitting to enter, so what are you waiting for? Get started!

FALL FESTIVAL

It will take every family at Saint Andrew Catholic School to make the Fall Festival a big success!! Please click here to sign up for your shift at the festival. 

Remember, each family is responsible for signing up for ONE two hour shift. 

SURVEY RESULTS 2015 - 2016
As we report the percentage responses on the survey, the majority of the responses were on the positive side of the scale.  This would be very satisfied(VS), satisfied(S), and somewhat satisfied(SS).  The other side of the scale would be somewhat dissatisfied(SD) and not satisfied(NS) and non-applicable(NA).
 
Academics:
Appropriate and challenging academic program      
39.8%VS          30.85%S          20.9%SS          2.99%SD          5.47%NS
 
Clearly communicated academic expectations/goals
35.82%VS        29.35%S          22.39%SS        5.47%SD          4.98%NS
 
Effective teaching practices
32.34%VS        29.35%S          22.39%SS        8.46%SD          7.46%NS
 
Appropriate amount of homework and level of difficulty
30.65%VS        28.64%S          24.62%                        6.53%SD          8.04%NS         1.51%NA
 
Smooth transition between grade levels
40.8%VS          26.37%S          16.92%SS        3.48%SD          2.49%NS         9.95%NA
 
Adequate communication with teachers
39.8%VS          24.38%S          18.91%SS        8.96%SD          7.96%NS
 
Level of satisfaction with teacher
41.5%VS          26.0%S                        20.0%SS          6.0%SD            6.5%NS
 
Child(ren) experience academic success
40.5%VS          36.0%S                        16.0%SS          4.0%SD            3.50%NS
 
Child(ren) academic progress meets your expectations
36.82%VS        33.83%S          20.40%SS        3.98%SD          3.98%SD          1.0%NA
 
Academic program meets your expectations
36.5%VS          30.5%S                        21.5%SS          3.5%SD            7.50%SD          .50%NA
 
Integration of technology in the classroom
36.18%VS        31.16%S          23.62%SS        .50%SD            5.53%SD          3.02%NA
 
Respondents were able to add comments in each section of the survey.  A summary of topics for the comments will be listed.  Discussions are taking place administratively as well as with the faculty to address the survey results and comments.  We thank you for your responses as we seek to continually improve.
 
Comments for this section were related to:
Continued instruction on handwriting
Rigor in the curriculum and instruction/high academic standards
Monitoring issues with iPads in 7 th and 8 th grade
Increase efforts in math instruction
New math curriculum implemented last year
The need for geometry
More writing
Transitioning academically to the next grade level
Consistency in communication across grade levels
Parent/teacher conferences
Quality homework
Consistency in the Accelerated Reading program
Class sizes

In His Service,

Charles Llewellyn
President


UPCOMING EVENTS
Please click here for a look at the latest upcoming events on our school calendar.
SAINT ANDREW PARISH NEWS
WOMEN OF SAINT ANDREW
Calling ALL ladies of Saint Andrew!

Mark your calendar to join us for our inaugural LADIES NIGHT!!
We will have only 5 this year!!  We expect to have a full house so you won't want to miss!  This is the best way to meet fellow moms in our awesome community!

Wednesday September 7th, 2016 
 6:00pm-10:00pm
Mass@6:00pm

Dinner, fellowship, fun & cocktails immediately following Mass, in the Parish Hall.  Bring your friends.   Door prizes will be given.  $25 donation is requested.

Please click here to RSVP to  Jaclyn Booth or you may call the church office at
817-927-5383.

SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION FOR
RECONCILIATION AND EUCHARIST

If   you are a registered parishioner of Saint Andrew Parish and your child is in second grade or above, has been baptized and is ready to prepare for the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, the deadline to register for the fall cycle is September 2, 2016.  

Please click here for the dates and time of all sessions and please click here to register.

If you have questions you may  email  Kathy Lawson in the Pastoral Center.


LITURGICAL TRAININGS 

Please click here for training dates for:

Altar Servers (4th Grade & Up)
Extraordinary Ministers of Communion (8th Grade & Up)
Reader Training (6th Grade & Up)
Hospitality Ministers

SAINT ANDREW YOUTH MUSIC MINISTRY
Click on the photo to go to the registration form.
AROUND THE SCHOOL
 
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Stay informed about the great things happening at Saint Andrew Catholic School!  Follow us on Instagram (saintandrewcatholicschool), twitter (@SASFortWorth) and like us on Facebook.

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Saint Andrew Catholic School is a Christ-centered community working in partnership with families to instill our Catholic faith, to nurture a sense of service, and to academically challenge the next generation of leaders in our global society.

Saint Andrew Catholic School | | [email protected] | http://www.standrewsch.org