Calendar

This week

October 14th, Hello in another language: In commemoration of Indigenous People’s Day we used for our Monday greeting Qa’pai 

October 15th, Tunes Tuesday, Titan Time: Assembly

October 16th, Picture Day (Link to order), Late start collaboration time, Music at Midweek, Mass Host: 3rd

October 17th, Thumbs Up Thursday, Gradebooks Update, PTO Meeting 7:00pm, 5th grade classroom

October 18th, Middle School Dance at St. John Fisher 6:30-8:30pm (Link)

October 19th, Binky Patrol–service opportunity in the cafeteria 9:00-2:00

Looking forward

October 21-23, Book Fair (sign up to volunteer here)

October 23rd, Late start collaboration time, Music at Midweek, Mass Host: 2nd

October 24th, Early Dismissal 12:15pm - EC available

October 25th, Parent/Teacher Conferences - No EC

Principal's Message

Strong communities know who they are, where they are going, and how to get there. They establish clear beliefs, have a set of goals they set for themselves, and a purposeful course of action toward achieving those goals. So far this year we’ve worked diligently on our shared beliefs. The banners along the front entrance capture these beliefs, and students are engaged in activities to clarify these beliefs with their ideas and examples. Parents will have a chance to add their ideas during conferences later this month.

This year Holy Trinity staff drafted two school goals for the year. These goals guide our collective efforts as a staff, as families, and our students.

• Goal: Inspired by our faith we will cultivate a community in which every person is welcomed, seen, respected, supported, and loved.

• Goal: Guided by our mission we will foster a culture of excellence in teaching and learning.

Throughout the year I will keep you updated on our efforts, learnings, and progress. We ask you to join us in pursuit of these goals, and we welcome your ideas, support, and prayers. 

Attendance



This year we will report to families about how we are doing in the area of attendance. It is expected that students will be ill and we appreciate when families keep students home when they are sick. For the year so far our attendance average is 93%. Anything above 90% is considered strong attendance. Last week’s attendance was 96%. Keep it up. 

Faculty and Staff In-service

Last Friday Holy Trinity staff spent time together in the morning for professional learning. There were two presentations, one about dyslexia and another about executive functioning. The staff appreciated the time to be together and learn. Here are some key takeaways from the sessions.

Dyslexia -

Definition: The International Dyslexia Association defines the term as specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding.  

Some misconceptions

• It is not a vision problem
• It is not seeing words or letters backwards
• It is NOT the result of lack of intelligence
• It is not something that will improve if students just “try harder."

Some facts:

• Dyslexia is present in 10-15% of the population.
• It affects individuals throughout life.
• A family history of reading problems can indicate at risk students

Executive Functioning–

The staff heard an in-person presentation from Maryde Sklar from Executive Functioning Success, a local group that provides training for schools and families. 

Ms. Sklar outlined Executive Functioning Skills and the ways that each was vital to student academic success.

1. Metacognition - Self-awareness, problem solving, purposeful action
2. Goal Directed Persistence - finishing things
3. Flexibility - go with the flow
4. Sustained Attention - focus, ability to stay focused for a duration
5. Response Inhibition - self-control
6. Working Memory - the pathway all other Executive Functioning Skills use
7. Planning & Prioritation - future thinking
8. Time Management - making good choices
9. Organization - ability to organize oneself
10. Task Initiation - starting work
11. Controlling Emotions - part of the Lymbic System

These are skills that develop over time as shown in this chart (Link to chart)

Next steps: Teachers will incorporate lessons they learned at the in-service training to support student growth across all areas of our school day and with appropriate expectations by grade.

We will host a parent information session later this fall for families to learn more.

Virtue for the Week - Prudence

Prayer for Prudence

Dear Lord,

Please help me to know what is right. Guide me on when and how to do what is good. Teach me to think before I act. You are my Rock and I trust you will lead me to make decisions that are pleasing to you.

Amen

Gratitudes

Holy Trinity PTO and the planning team for the Fall Festival

Servers from last weekend Anthony, Andrew, Aiden, Shannon, Ellie, Finn, Eva 

Last Wednesday’s music at midweek Grayson and Kevin.

The Learning Resource teachers for organizing the in-service on Friday

Thank you to Columbia Pediatric Therapy who conducted speech and language screenings last week.  They screened 120 (mostly PreK-3rd graders) last week.  Families of students who were tested received a report with the results and next steps in evaluation, if recommended.  We appreciate the support from families, the flexibility of our teachers, and the efforts of our friends at Columbia Pediatric Therapy.

Last week during the school mass the fourth grade class performed a brand new song. The song "At Your Table" was written by Holy Trinity Teacher and parish music director Ken Canedo. 

Correction: We published this song under the incorrect title last week - "At Your Table" is correct. Thank you, Mr. Canedo!

CYO Cross County

The Cross Country season wrapped up with the Meet of Champions at Camp Howard at which Andrew, Emily, Marcus, Maxwell, Hayden and Claire participated. Max took 3rd place in the Boys Roadrunner 3000 m. and Claire took 2nd place in the Girls Roadrunner 1500 m. All our athletes had a great meet showing major improvement over the season.