OLD NEWS

2002/2003	Sept. 2003	Oct. 2003	Nov. 2003
Dec. 2003	Jan. 2004	Feb. 2004	March 2004
April 2004	May 2004

WELCOME BACK! It’s amazing to see how much our students have grown over the summer as we welcome them back to school. First days are exciting times both here and at home and we hope that you enjoy the magic of them. We’ve gotten to connect with all of you who could attend our Back to School Nights and meet this year’s homeroom teacher. Being able to picture both the teacher and the classroom setting itself helps you relate when your child is talking about the day at school.

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? This is one loaded envelope but there is so much important stuff to review—sign-ups, our new Market Day program, free ice cream, you name it! Taking the time to read through it all is well worth it as a lot is going on and we don’t want you to miss a bit of it.

OUR WEBSITE IS THE BEST …and for that we can thank Mrs. Debbie Geoghan, the mother of Joe and Mike. Not matter what or when we ask, Debbie has it on the website and accessible to all of you which is what it’s all about, right? Like our other Tech Committee members, Debbie partners with us at school for the sake of our mission of preparing students for this 21st century.

“WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE…” That was Dorothy’s famous line to Toto but here at St. Christopher School we can paraphrase that to say “We're not in need of orange cones any more.” Painted right on our newly paved lot out front are large white arrows to direct you in morning car line. We ask that you follow them even if you are bringing in a child late for the safety of any child who may be outside. We’ll use a few cones for just a bit longer until you get the routine down but then we’ll eliminate them altogether.

If you are a parent who parks in the Trainer Hall parking lot to walk cherubs over in the morning, please note that the first four spots are reserved for Parish Office staff and you need to leave them open as the times overlap.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO TO SCHOOL LOOKING LIKE THAT!” is just what you might be saying to your children if they are not looking the way they are expected to look as St. Christopher students. Expectations are just that and we expect all of our students to follow our dress code from head to toe. Students need to observe the regulations in the handbook so they do not find themselves following the consequences of their teacher or at Wednesday AM detention.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS St. Chris is off and running! During the late summer Mrs. Hohenstein (7-24) shared with us that her student William Dale had a response in the Philadelphia Inquirer KidsTalk section.

One of our Wednesday morning Senior Stuffers-- as they fondly call themselves—was featured in the last page Profile in The Catholic Standard and Times on August 21st. Mrs. Mary Pulli’s husband developed multiple sclerosis the year after their 1949 marriage but Mary’s devotion to Charlie and faith in God never wavered over the next 48 years as she cared for him. Mary Pulli is a role model for all married couples as we consider what the vows “….in sickness and in health” really mean.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Three cheers for our H & S! Once again they will support our weekly $10 Scrip of Choice certificates for the individual student or family whose correct entry to our critical thinking puzzler is drawn that week. For our first week, “Tell us the name of the most common foot-long container there is.” Just send in an index card with the answer and names and room numbers or if you put your answer in an envelope be sure to mark the envelope Critical Thinking. Students should give their entries to their teachers by the following Monday to be sent down in the daily communication envelope. Good luck!

PLEASE NOTE - VERY IMPORTANT CALENDAR CHANGES We just received word from the Archdiocese that on Tuesday, October 7th, the day of Justin Rigali’s installation as Archbishop, school will now be in session for all students so please be sure that you change your calendars. We do have school for everyone-teachers and students-Tuesday, October 7th! Please note however that there will still be no school for students on Tuesday, December 9th as faculties and staffs throughout the Archdiocese attend Mandatory Child Abuse Training sessions.

The other change is that the first SPECIAL LUNCH will now be on Friday, October 3rd. Look for more details from H & S in next week’s envelope.

MARKET DAY REMINDER There are only two ways to pay for Market Day. You can either pay ahead by credit card if/when you order on-line or pay in person when you come to pick up your order. Checks are made payable to MARKET DAY directly and not to our school. This month’s pick-up will be on Thursday, October 2nd, from 7-8 PM in Holy Family Hall. Your response has been wonderful!

DO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS MIND OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO DOES? We are looking for a core group of parents/parishioners who would be available to be part of a committee to oversee the intricacies of our very busy Scrip Program. We visualize this group getting started with a few meetings and then meeting quarterly. If you would like to be considered, please call school at 215-673-5787 and leave your name, number, and most convenient evenings. You can also e-mail me at scsprincipal@hotmail.com putting Scrip in the subject area so I’ll know your mail is safe to open. We are hoping to have an initial meeting in early October.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU The opening weeks of school are especially busy as families get back into the routine and parents find themselves with homework as well. Covering workbooks, buying forgotten items, packing lunches, making sure uniforms are in order, etc. are all things that are your homework depending on your children’s ages. Thank you for choosing us as your partners in educating your children and for the trust you put in us as we work together. Preparing our children for their futures is an awesome responsibility—one that God has entrusted to each of us. Let us pray for each other!

WE’RE NOT THE LINC AND SO… we have eliminated football games of any kind at lunch recess. If you have a child who’s groaning about the restriction, you could help by reminding them that we don’t have the gear or turf that the Linc has.

AND THE NUMBER IS… A good way to have children think outside the box and engage in critical thinking is to think of what a number might represent. For instance, the number 7 can represent several things: 6+1, 100-93, 11-4, 15-13+5, 7x1, the days in a week, the letter g in the alphabet, the number of Wonders in the Ancient World, etc. Get it? We’re going to give out numbers now and again for our cherubs to think about for the next day. That way you can get involved at home too. When they see Mrs. Forsyth or me, they can let us know what the number can represent. Later we’ll just have an in-school number some days. Try it at home—you’ll be surprised at how many things they can relate to numbers. How about student? Seven letters!

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Brian McGuire (7-21) earned another first place trophy this weekend at the Irish American Association of Northeast Jersey for his skill at playing the button accordion. His sister Kerriann McGuire (4-9) has won two third place trophies as well for her dancing. Kerri along with Kiersten Rusden (6-17) and Miranda Rusden (8-26) recently danced on QVC for their Irish special Rose of Tralee.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Rachael Foley (2-3) whose correct entry was drawn for our first week’s puzzle. The most common foot-long container is a SHOE! Rachael will receive a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate courtesy of our H & S. For next week, “How many ways can five people be posed in a line for a picture?” Send in your answer by Monday.

…AND HE’S FROM THE CIVIL WAR?” If you were around St. Chris today and saw a Civil War soldier, you weren’t seeing things. Since they are studying Civil War in Social Studies at this point in time, Mr. Eckerle has arranged for a Civil War re-enactor to make a presentation to our 8th Grade today. You can bet that the students will long remember the information presented to them in this manner.

SCRIP INFORMATION You may or may not be aware that during the month of July there was a problem with the hard drive used for the scrip program. This problem necessitates the updating of each participant’s account. To date approximately 50% of the accounts have been corrected. If you have not already done so, we would like you to stop in during scrip sales hours so your personal account can be updated. ~~ If you have a sales receipt dated on or before July 16 that shows “Outstanding Credit to Date” please bring it with you. Your account can then be immediately updated. If you do not have a recent receipt dated before July 16, please sign up to have your account researched. It would also be helpful to know the last time you redeemed your credit. ~~ If you deducted an amount from your tuition payment in anticipation of paying a part of it with Scrip, we ask that you have your account updated so you can submit your voucher to the parish office no later than September 30. We wish to thank all Scrip participants for their patience, understanding and cooperation.

TUITION REMINDER TO MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN FAMILIES Payments are due the first of each month from October through April with a ten day grace period (unless other arrangements have been made with Maryann Junod). Avoid the $10 late fee by insuring that your payment is received in the parish office before the end of this grace period. Receipt of report cards will be contingent upon payments being current as follows: 1st report card - December 11 - tuition to be paid through December~~2nd report card - March 18 - tuition to be paid through March.

CALLING ALL OUR SWIMMERS AND THOSE WHO WANT TO BE There will be Swim Team practice tomorrow, Thursday, 9/25 from 7 to 8 PM. If you have not yet signed up for the team and would like to, simply come for practice and sign up there. Call school for more information if necessary.

HIGH SCHOOL VISITATION NIGHTS Parents and 7th/8th grade students should mark these dates and places on their calendars for our District High School Nights if you’d like to see and hear about different high schools. They are: Wed., Oct. 22, at St. Matthew School and Wed., Oct. 29, at Christ the King School, Morrell Park. Both nights will begin at 7 PM.

SAXOPHONES, TRUMPETS, TROMBONES, PIANO, GUITAR, BASS, DRUMS, PERCUSSION If you have an instrumental student in Grades 5-9 who would like to audition for The Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble giving him/her opportunities to perform at the Kimmel Center as well as attend master classes with various visiting artists, then please have your child get an audition application form from Mr. Holdren, our music teacher. The application deadline is Friday, October 3rd so you need to act on this soon.

CHECK OUT THESE PRIZES! The Catholic Standard and Times annual subscription drive will begin on Monday, October 6th through Monday, November 3rd. This is your chance to make some great money for our school. The Standard will again be giving back to our school $5.00 for every new and renewing subscription. There are awesome prizes this year! Tickets to a special Philadelphia attraction, a one year scholarship, an Emerson CD/Radio Boom box, a Gameboy advance SP, and Nintendo Game Cube. This weekly paper is good reading with important Catholic news and views.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS On Sept. 13th, Colin Garber (4-9) was awarded his black belt in the martial art of Tae-Kwon Do. Over the past three years, through hard work and perseverance, Colin has dedicated himself to achieving this black belt goal while maintaining good grades in school.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Because we were at our inservice on Monday and not in school to get all the entries, last week’s puzzle will continue for next week. “How many ways can five people be posed in line for a picture?” Remember to include name(s) and room number(s) along with your answer.

JEREMIAH 2003-004 Please be sure to read the separate letter we’ve included in the envelope about bullying and our philosophy about it. As parents and educators we must continue to work together to make every child feel comfortable and confident. It is too simplistic to think that just having Jeremiah will solve all our problems but we have to give our children tools to work with and support them. See the next section to start.

TONIGHT YOU SHOULD HELP WITH HOMEWORK Today all of our students from K-8 were given bullying surveys to complete for official homework tonight and it’s homework with which you should help. The surveys may be anonymous or not. When you are finished with them, please fold them in half so that no one will see what they say. Your child’s teacher will collect this homework in the morning and then read through them to have a sense of where the children in her/his room are with this issue.

RIGHT IN OUR BACKYARD!! We are excited! Next Tuesday, October 7^th, at 1:30 PM, the Philadelphia Highway Patrol Drill Team—the very one performing at the Children’s Scholarship Thrill Show this weekend (Sat. and Sun. Oct. 4^th and 5^th) at the Convention Center—will be performing for St. Christopher School on the Lindsay Street side. Three of the team members were here to measure their spacing and determine where our student seating should be. You are welcome to come and enjoy the show which goes on as long as the sun is shining. What a pep rally this is for our Walkathon/Spirit Day!

THE WEARING OF THE GREEN is not just for St. Patrick’s Day. Our students are welcome to show their St. Chris green and gold colors in creative ways at our Walkathon/ Spirit Day festivities next Friday, the 10^th. Hair ribbons, face paints, green hair, what else? The outfit of the day is the gym uniform for everyone as we have a long walk in front of us but be creative otherwise.

IT’S ALL RELATIVE Being the winning class is all relative except for one thing—100% participation. The rest is relative—the most money pledged is relative to the number of students in the class. Pledges can be turned in for the rest of this week so that everything can be counted and tallied in time for the big day.

….AND THE WINNER IS… Philip Celona (7-24)! Phil’s tee shirt entry was the one that the most classes voted to represent this year’s Walkathon. Phil’s entry features our Jeremiah frog as part of our faith-filled future. You’ll get to see it first-hand at our Walkathon as the faculty wears the first wave of them.

WE’D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW JUST WHAT DO YOU TELL A CHILD WHEN YOU BREAK THE RULES When you drop children off in places other than the car line—on the street, in the Trainer Hall parking lot, etc. just what do you say to them? We ask again that you respect the safety of your own and all our children by making the time to drive through car line. You are teaching your own children life lessons too.

MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT Father Tom has included a ballot in the communications envelope which all our school families may fill in to create the 2003-004 CYO Advisory Board. Having the privilege of the vote is meaningless if we don’t vote.

GET IN THE SWIM OF THINGS If your child enjoys swimming, please consider joining the St. Chris Swim Team. You can still sign up this Thursday from 7-9 PM at the pool across the street from Archbishop Ryan H. S. Feel free to call either Bernadette Griffin at 215-464-3336 or Donna Nicklous at 215-676-2844 with questions.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS It’s hard to believe that we’ve got no news this week. It is a feast or famine kind of thing though. Keep us posted. We enjoy sharing good news.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Collin Wiercinski (2-4) whose correct entry was drawn for our last contest. Collin will receive a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. There are 120 ways to pose five people in a line for a picture: 5 x4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120! For Monday, “What is the sum of the first fifty odd numbers: 1 + 3+ 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 and so on?”

WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU TONIGHT! As usual because we know how hectic life can be, we are assigning no written homework tonight. We hope all of you are able to make our first Home and School meeting of the year at 7:30 in Trainer Hall. It’s a great opportunity to learn what’s happening and to socialize with the parents whose children are also in your children’s classes. We’ll see you then!

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES to our new Archbishop Justin Rigali who was installed yesterday afternoon. Our students took part in watching this piece of history unfold as Justin Rigali became the twelfth bishop and eighth archbishop of Philadelphia. The change from bishop to archbishop came about when Philadelphia became an archdiocese no longer under the umbrella of Baltimore.

WHAT A PROUD AND THRILLING TIME IT WAS! Yesterday afternoon before the installation, we gathered in our backyard to watch the Philadelphia Highway Patrol Drill Team perform for us many of the stunts and exercises they had performed at the Scholarship Thrill Show over the weekend. Just to know that these are our very own police made us so proud and we thrilled before what they dared. The life lessons of practice, trust, daring, and respect were certainly exemplified in their performance. We thank Officer Jonas father of Joseph (3-6) and Officer Lorenzo father of Marissa (8-27) especially for the opportunity of St. Chris hosting the team. Our parish is a parish of people who give of themselves for the community and yesterday was a wonderful example.

WALKATHON/SPIRIT DAY Everyone got into even more spirit at our own Thrill Show yesterday—a pep rally of sorts for Friday and all that it holds. If the weather is as glorious, we are all set but St. Chris students have a way of creating their own sunshine so we won’t worry. Please remember that gym uniforms are the order of the day and that your cherubs can be creative in expressing their spirits—green hair, face paint, etc. Have fun! Our afternoon is going to start at 1:00 this year rather than 1:30 so that we won’t be so rushed as we prepare for dismissal.

MONDAY IS A SCHOOL HOLIDAY FOR THESE SPIIRITED CHERUBS We chose this Monday as our faculty meeting time for this part of the year since so many of you do have Columbus Day off. Our planning goals always have families at the center of them and we hope that we make it as easy as possible for you.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS As hard as it is to believe we are already into the month of October. It seems like a good time to review the church attendance of our children and their families. The only way to do this is to look at the recorded offertory contributions. Families who have contributed an average of $12 per week to the collection should have reached $156 through September 28. You might be surprised by the following figures: 35% of our school families have reached that level. An additional 47% have made contributions but are not current and 18% have not contributed at all. Of the contributors 5% have placed all of their contributions in the mail or in the parish office mail slot.

Excerpt from tuition policy: Receipt of report cards and continued enrollment in school are determined by the following conditions: 1st Trimester report card: Monthly tuition payments are current through November-Offertory contributions are at required level.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Not once but twice now Ms. Tracy Holowko, our teacher in Grade 2, Room 5, has had her picture in the Catholic Standard and Times, Oct. 2nd, p. 35. Ms. Holowko and some of her friends participate in meetings for Young Adults held throughout our diocese.

This past weekend Natalie Pointkouski (3-8) won 1st Place in the Decorative Bike Contest at their Community Festival. With over thirty entries, Natalie won for Most Patriotic.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Michael Apice (6-17) whose correct entry was drawn. The sum of the first fifty odd numbers is 2500. For next Monday, “There are three sports in which the winner crosses the finish line backwards. Name at least two of them.”

CAN YOU FIND A QUIET CORNER TO SIT WITH YOUR CHILD and review the progress report brought home? Although you should be aware of how your child is faring from daily homework, assessments, etc. seeing the information in one place is helpful and the purpose of progress reports. No matter what their ages, our children can take ownership of their learning and tell you what is easy or hard for them.

ONE HUNGRY BABY? NO TWO? NO THREE? WHAT, FOUR? OH, MY! We are quite happy to announce that in another few years, St. Christopher School will have a set of quadruplets attending but in the meantime, Joe and Theresa Smith are very busy feeding and caring for Joseph, Brianne, Madeline, and Sophie. If you have time to spare, the Smiths could use help feeding these cherubs Monday to Friday while Dad is at work. The times are 10:30 to 11:30 AM and 2:30 to 3:30 PM. Erika Lynch (215-677-7629) is coordinating this effort so give her a call if you or yours can help. We are planning to have a grade a month responsible for donations to the Smiths such as appropriately-sized diapers and our homeroom mothers will coordinate this.

“I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM” However, we won’t have to this Friday since it will be served right in our lobbies. Our H & S moms will be selling this month’s ice cream treats there as we will be eating in our classrooms while the Red Cross prepares the HFH for our annual blood drive. We hope that those of you who can, will—give blood, that is!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Our first Market Day sale was a huge success thanks to all of you and our hard-working volunteers. The support of our seniors and parent/grandparent volunteers, as well as a corps of energetic and very polite 6^th graders under the able direction of Mrs. Gerry Sylvester, made the evening an unqualified success. Remember that because of Thanksgiving, our next sale will be on Thursday, Oct. 30. Paper orders need to be sent to school by tomorrow, Oct. 16, but Internet orders may be placed up until noon, Oct. 24.

UH-OH, LUNCH IS IN THE BACKSEAT OR YOU WERE RUNNING LATE! Please remember that we have a special home in the lobby for those lunches—right on the round table by the H&S bulletin board. Just be sure that your child’s name is on it so that another child does not mistake it for his/her own. As we do, please remind your children that any time they come to school without their lunches, they should ask their teachers to let them check the “lunch table” before it is their lunch period. We do not interrupt classes to make these kinds of announcements.

THESE THREE STUDENTS HAVE NO LUNCH WORRIES THOUGH …at least on October 24^th! Why? Their names were drawn for free special lunches—Billy Gibson (2-2), Katherine Wible (3-10), and Nicole Zieminski (6-19). This is a new twist from H & S to make Special Lunch days even more fun!

DO A GOOD DEED AND WIN PRIZES AT THE SAME TIME? If you sell subscriptions to The Catholic Standard and Times, that’s exactly what happens. Anyone who would like subscription order blanks for their friends and family should send a note in to Mrs. Clausz and she will send you home what you need. Who knows what prize you’ll earn as well?

THE HALLOWEEN DANCE IS EVEN CLOSER TO HALLOWEEN This CYO dance for 7^th and 8^th graders has been changed from the 24^th to the 30^th, the Eve of Halloween. Because of parent conferences on the 30^th, however, the dance will not begin until 8 PM.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS We celebrate this week all our students, parents, and faculty for making our Walkathon / Spirit Day such a special event. Philadelphia’s Finest and our own Pat Clarke did a great job in leading our two groups of walkers through the neighborhood. We were delighted to see our future students out cheering us on with their pom-poms and signs. Tim Durkin (6-20) and Brianna Dunphy (6-18) were the boy and girl bringing in the most dollar pledges and so they each earn $100. The room with the highest relative percentage was 3-7 so they win a pizza party and Mrs. Halterman $50. The following students got pledges of $100 or more and earn tee-shirts: Nicholas Bonowski Pre-K, Alyssa Solomon K-35, Noah Brakoniecki 1-30, Kerry Dunphy 1-31, Taylor Capece 1-33, Dylan Cerebe 2-2, Isabella Brown 2-3, Harley Dunphy 3-7, Peter Brennan 3-7, Maureen Brown 3-9, Emily Chow 3-10, Patrick Sidebotham 3-10, Gregory Soussa 4-11, Maria Dimascia 4-12, Kathleen Brown 5-14, Edrick Chow 5-14, Matthew Sidebotham 6-19, Edward Sacco 7-22, and Sarah Marshall 8-25. We are blessed! As soon as we have a bottom line dollar total, we will let you know. It’s looking very good!

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Connor Griffin (1-30) whose correct entry was drawn for last week’s puzzle. Connor’s entry listed all three of the sports in which the winner crosses the finish line backwards. They are the backstroke/swimming, rowing, and tug of war. Connor will receive a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate compliments of our H & S. For next Monday, and I think this really involves serious critical thinking, “The following number is the only one of its kind. Can you figure out what is so special about it?” 8,549,176, 320

“Then I said, ‘Ah, God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’”

MULTI-TASKING?? If we looked in the dictionary by the word, we’d see a picture of St. Christopher School. Next Thursday, the 30^th, is a case in point—we have evening conferences, Market Day pick-up, and our CYO Youth dance. Life is too busy not to try to combine when we can. We know that we’ll all make it work.

LISTS WORK! Last year’s conferences were very successful. Parents and teachers had the opportunity to discuss students noting their strengths and weaknesses and sharing tips that work with the students. It’s always helpful to jot down a few notes/ideas that you want to share. You know what it’s like to leave any kind of appointment and say, “Oh, I wish I’d mentioned….”

“YOU OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES…” …and you will be this coming Monday, Oct. 27^th. Please remember two things: students should wear their regular school uniforms and NOT gym uniforms even if they have it that day. Kindergarteners may wear outfits of their own choice. The second thing to remember is your Tipping envelope all ready to turn in. Of course, we know that all our students will have their wonderful smiles with them!

HELP US HELP YOUR CHILD “In an effort to improve the quality of health care to students and to decrease the number of distractions to students and teachers, the following recommendations are made regarding utilization/management of the health room (nurse): For minor illness/injuries, it is recommended that each school establish specific periods of time during the day when students will be permitted to leave their classrooms to visit the health room (nurse). These periods will be called Health Room Hours……… Emergencies will be seen at any time.”

Here at St. Christopher School, we have established hours to help you and your children. They are from 8:30 to 9:15 AM and from 11:30 to 1:30 PM. If children have some complaint of a non-emergency (Yes, vomiting, fevers, migraines, and such are emergencies), we are asking them to see the nurse at these times. Often, children want to leave a classroom or miss a test, etc. in addition to the difficulty many working parents encounter in coming for children. Many times a child feels better after a bit any way and really did not need to see the nurse. Our nurse, Mrs. Coleman, works closely with our faculty regarding your students and makes us aware of any students with special needs. Please call her if you have any particular questions.

“FALL BACK AND SPRING FORWARD” It’s that time of year again--the end of Daylight Savings Time comes this Sunday, October 26^th. When you turn all your clocks and myriad gadgets back, don’t forget the recommendation to change your smoke detector batteries. This safety tip is a good one to make a household habit.

TRICK OR TREAT AT 13305 In keeping with tradition, we invite our families to stop in our school lobby on Halloween from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. We look forward to seeing everyone in costume and sharing a treat with you. We hear it’s supposed to be a boo-tiful evening!

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Congratulations to Skylar Tabita in our Pre-K for bringing in $180 for our Walkathon. Skylar’s name had not been on the original list we received but we want to recognize the hard work she and her family put forth for St. Chris.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Although we had many entries for last week, only a small number were correct for the drawing. The number 8, 549, 176,320 does have all the numerals from 0-9 in it but they could be arranged in any order and so the answer is that these numerals which do include all from 0-9 are arranged in alphabetical order. Congratulations to the Smith Family-Amanda (7-24) and Conner (3-7). For next Monday, “If you change the last letter of each of the following words, you create new words. What letter should you change it to in order to have a whole new set of words?

CONFERENCE TIME! Tomorrow evening and Friday, a day when students do not attend school, are set aside for the opportunity of our teachers and you parents having the time to meet and discuss your children. We hope that you will bring written questions so that you won’t get home and say, “Oh, I wish I’d….” Please note that if you need more discussion time, the teacher will arrange that with you. We’re all aware that it can be frustrating to wait well beyond appointment times especially for parents who need to see more than one teacher. Conferences are fruitful times for the success of our children.

KEEP A SPECIAL NIGHT SPECIAL… …by being sure of your children’s safety on Halloween. Please be sure that their costumes are visible in the night as well as not being too long, etc. and that any masks allow for good breathing. We know that you are vitally aware of their physical safety as they travel the neighborhoods enjoying the wonderful traditions that all of us grew up with as well. Don’t forget that we’ll be looking forward to seeing anyone who can visit our main lobby from 5-7 PM.

JUST WHO WERE THOSE AMAZING PEOPLE? Did you know that the Philadelphia Highway Patrol Motorcycle Drill Team got its start on July 23, 1941? Their tradition continues into this new century as we were privileged to have them perform for us on October 7^th. We now have all their names and so we can specifically offer our thanks again to Commanding Officer Captain Thomas Nestel, Commander Lt. Jerry Green, Instructors Frank Flynn and James Trainor, and performers Ralph Lewis, Joseph Jonas, Jake Williams, Brian Lorenzo, William Devine, Charles Taylor, Joseph Wolk, Mark Howard, Harvey Davis, Tyrik Armstead, David Novak, Michael Campbell, Ubirajara Baldomero, Manuel Perez, John Allen, John Speiser, William Postowski, and Robert Kilmer. Since so many of our families have police connections, we’re sure that you recognize many of these good people.

ADULT COMPUTER CLASSES When we check over paperwork, we usually focus on grammar, etc. so this problem passed us by. The flyer for adult computer classes should have said Wednesday. All the actual dates are correct but they are all Wednesdays and that’s when the class will be held. Sorry for the confusion!

PUZZLED BY A MATH OR SCIENCE QUESTION? PCN is a nonprofit statewide television network voluntarily funded by your local cable company as a public service. You can call PCN Sunday evenings from 5-7 PM toll free at (866) PCN-LIVE and ask your math or science question live on the air. “Homework Help” is open to all PA students in grades K-12.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Congratulations to the following students who will receive free lunches on our next Special Lunch day, November 7^th. They are Nicole Weiss (1-33), Adam Wisnowski (3-6), and Julie Zitomer (8-26).

Katie Burke (2-3) was awarded two 2^nd Place trophies in the regional American Tang Soo Do Tournament in the Pee-Wee Advanced division. Daniel Burke (4-9) was awarded a 4^th Place medal for his performance in the Mini-Might Advanced division. Good job!

Our Swim Team is having its first meet this Saturday, November 1 at 3 PM at the Alberta Morris Pool across from Archbishop Ryan. We wish them luck and will look forward to hearing how they do. Meets are exciting events so if you have the opportunity to attend, you will enjoy yourself as well as support St. Chris.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Wow! We have never had as many entries—and correct ones at that—as we had for last week’s puzzle. You all easily figured out that changing the last letter of every word to a “t”. Congratulations to Lauren Eastburn (4-12) whose correct entry was the one drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next Monday, the answer will be simple but the question is tricky. “Divide thirty by one half and add ten.”

ANOTHER BUSY WEEK AHEAD We hope to see many of you and your cherubs at our Bingo Night sponsored by H & S next Thursday, the 13^th, in Holy Family Hall. We chose this night since your children have no school on Friday, the 14^th, since it is our full day Faculty Meeting. Things are always busy around here and we find that we often need to share facilities to make things work. Students have lunch in their classrooms on Mondays so that our Seniors can meet, faculty share their faculty room with evening groups to give more meeting space, SCS classrooms are used for CCD and Little Church School each week, Market Day and Campfire Girls share a monthly Thursday in HFH, etc. We are a busy place!

STUDENT COUNCIL ELECTIONS RESULTS We are proud to announce the officers elected yesterday to our SC. They are: President-Brian Wolf, Vice President-Aileen Gennell, Secretary-Maura Fox, Treasurer-Kelsey Haselbarth, Scholastic Officer-Amanda Smith, Spirit Officer-Alexa Stricker, Outreach Officer-Marcellina Hollender, and Athletics Officers-Kelly Young and Michael Leithead. We wish them all well as they begin the task of leading our student body. The students had a wonderful slate of candidates from which to choose and we know that they gave careful thought to what they heard in campaign speeches and saw on posters. I would like you to know how self-assured the candidates were as they addressed the student body and made their points. Like us, you would have been very proud. Now we begin the process of electing homeroom representatives.

“WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO EDUCATE STUDENTS TODAY SO THAT THEY WILL BE READY TO SOLVE FUTURE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN IDENTIFIED, USING TECHNOLOGIES THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN DISCOVERED.” ~ W. Grabowski Along with our faculty, our tech committee spends much time pondering and planning for SCS. We attempt to create plans incorporating equipment and budget that will indeed educate our students in the manner in which they need to be educated. Thankfully, your support of our programs here like Scrip, Market Day, and H & S opportunities, not only benefit your families individually but provide some of the resources for us. Any of you who may be interested in joining our Tech Committee or Scrip Board are welcome. Please send me your name, phone and/or e-mail address by paper or e-mail.

REMINDER FROM TUITION MANAGER Receipt of report cards and continued enrollment are determined by the following conditions at the time of the 1^st Trimester report card: monthly tuition payment should be current through November and Offertory contributions need to be at the required level.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Congratulations to our St. Chris Swim Team who won their first meet against St. Bernard’s. Keep up your hard work as you prepare for this week’s meet at 6 PM again at the pool across from Ryan.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Well, we did manage to trick some of you this past week! If you divide 30 by ½ and add 10, your answer is actually 70. Remember what you have to do when you divide by fractions. There were still a great number of correct entries and Laura Guinan (6-17) had hers drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next Monday, “Palindromes if you remember are names or words that are the same spelled forward as backward. Easy examples are dad, Otto, pop, etc. Can you name two palindromes from either professional or recreational sports?

B-17, N-38, FREE SPOT, 0-74!! Since Friday is a day off for our students as the teachers are engaged in a faculty meeting, tomorrow night is a great night for Bingo! Home & School has a good evening of fun planned so we hope to see your family in HFH to enjoy it with the rest of us.

IF YOU WERE TO WALK THROUGH OUR HALLWAYS… you’d see displays of student created simple machines outside our 3^rd grades, three dimensional models or posters of the world outside the 5^th grades, samples of Matisse-type art and family career posters showing how important math is outside the 8^th grades, displays of Pascal’s Triangle, Golden Ratios, etc. outside the Honors Math room, God’s presence in 1^st graders’ lives outside their rooms, turkeys and fall designs with leaves as their focal points outside a 6^th grade, and we can go on and on. It is wonderful to see evidence of all the learning that takes place. Being all over the building and being in and out of classrooms are parts of our administrative roles that Mrs. Forsyth and I treasure. To see all the interaction between teacher and students, teaching and learning, “Aha!” moments make our hearts and lips smile.

HOW USEFUL THE BULLYING SURVEYS ARE Do you remember them? Our teachers use them as jumping off points for Jeremiah implementation in their classrooms and refer back to them in particular instances. Please be in touch with us if you ever have concerns that your child is being bullied or is one.

THE END OF THE TRIMESTER IS IN SIGHT In fact, it will be two weeks from today. Please be aware of how your child is progressing. If you need to consider your tuition and level of Offertory contributions, this timeframe may also be important to you.

HOW THANKFUL WE ARE for all we have can be demonstrated by how we share our good fortune with others. As evidence of this, you have an enclosed letter asking for Dollar Store donations to fill stockings for area homeless children through a special request to us. As a parish community, however, we generally focus on Amigo de Jesus in Honduras, Hospitality House, and Blessed Margaret Home As we approach Advent, Lent, and other special opportunities to remember God’s blessings in our lives, your families will have joint opportunities to remember those places through church or school.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Our Swim Team did a great job but lost the meet last Saturday to Our Lady of Calvary. Because of Bingo Night tomorrow, they’ll have no practice but will be up and ready for another meet this Saturday, the 15^th, at 6 PM at the pool across from Ryan. Go St. Chris!

Congratulations to our Special Lunch winners! December lunch is on the house for Gerald Findley (2-5), Mollie Carroll (3-8), and Valerie Cerruti (4-12).

Proudly wearing your Jeremiah pin pays off! Briana Colli (1-31), Kristen Goldstein (3-8) and Mandy Styles (5-13) all received certificates to TGI Fridays for having their pins on when their numbers and rooms were called. Today we’re calling numbers to check homework books.

We are also proud to congratulate the following students who were our October Students of the Month. In ascending order from K-34 to 8-27 are: Claudia Candidi, Brittany Henderson, Elizabeth Zuk, Marikate O’Toole, Elizabeth Shrenk, Sabatino Caranci, Rachael Foley, Alana Rosado, Kristen Ciesielka, Amanda Houser, Kaitlyn Jester, Shane McCole, Matthew Freedman, Daniel Burke, Caroline Kuonen, Justin San Juan, Mariah McNally, Merrill Mittathany, Abigail Gumpper, Robert Zielinski, Andrew Sideras, Drew Haber, Colleen Boyle, Sara Szymendera, Michael Ness, Joseph Micciulla, and Holly Apeldorn

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Two sports equipment words that are palindromes are racecar and kayak. Maura Fox (8-25) had her correct entry drawn and so she will receive a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next Monday, “When Old McDonald was Young McDonald and just starting his farm, cows cost $10 each, pigs cost $3 each, and chickens cost just $.50 each. He bought at least one kind of each kind of animal. He paid $100 for 100 animals. How many chickens did he buy?”

THEIR PIES NEED BAKING, THEIR TABLES SETTING, AND SO… we’re giving our wonderful Senior Stuffers off on the day before Thanksgiving. That means that this is the last Wednesday envelope until we come back from our holiday. Check out all that’s in today’s as there’s a few things that may need saving.

21, 22—WE’LL LOOK FOR YOU! For those of you who can help out at the Children’s Bazaar on Friday, we promise you a wonderful day with our cherubs as they enjoy the bazaar. Then for all of you who can be here on Saturday, we promise you delightful crafts and family opportunities. We hope you’re able to share some part of this special time with us.

THE FIRST TRIMESTER’S A WRAP AT 12:30 NEXT WEDNESDAY It seems as if we just came back but here we are a third of the way through this year. Although it seems quick, look at all your children have accomplished in the past few months. Celebrate their learning with them—it’s a wondrous thing. Owning something like addition, reading, fractions, a scientific explanation is awesome. Can you remember when something “clicked” with you? All of a sudden, it was yours!

TIPPING PICTURES WILL BE BACK Photographers will be back at St. Chris on Wednesday. December 3rd, for absentee, re-takes, and 8th grade pictures. 8th graders will get special information and others can ask the office for another regular envelope if necessary.

DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS? / DO YOU NEED HELP WITH CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE? Fliers with information about how the School District of Philadelphia’s Non-Public Schools Program can help you or the state’s CHIP-Children’s Health Insurance Program are available for you. They are either in the main lobby, the Meeting/Scrip room, or can be sent home to you, if you wish. Let Mrs. Clausz know what you need. These are services funded by our tax dollars so take advantage of them if you have the need.

STOP, DON’T TOSS THEM! If you send your empty computer printer ink cartridges in to school, we can redeem them and put the money we earn back into buying more for the school. You can imagine our printer needs.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS In last week’s October Students of the Month listing, we omitted Alexandra Boyle in 7-23. We are proud of Alex and apologize for the omission.

Matt Hiegl (5-16) performed in Norcom Community Center’s production of Annie last week. He turned in a great performance both as President Roosevelt and the dog catcher. On Saturday, 11/15, Matt took 2nd Place in the Lego Building Contest in the 5th and 6th grade category for his construction of a crane.

Our St. Chris Swim Team won their meet against St. Matt’s this past Saturday night. The swimmers did a great job and now have a few weeks off from meets until they meet St. Tim at noon on Sunday, December 7th across from Ryan.

It’s always great to hear news about our alumni. We are proud to let you know that Megan Garvin ’96 has been accepted to Temple Medical School.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 There was lots of calculating going on last week as many of you figured out that Young MacDonald bought 94 chickens. He also bought 5 cows and 1 pig. The Wible family’s correct entry was drawn and so a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate goes home to be shared by Erin (2-5) and Katherine (3-10). For December 3rd’s prize, as you sit and digest turkey with your family, “Name ten parts of the body that are spelled with three letters each.”

REPORTING IN! Your children will be bringing home their 1st Trimester reports a week from tomorrow. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to sit with them and celebrate all their efforts. A report card is like a doctor’s diagnosis—this is what the educational health/status of the student is. Are we able to maintain good educational growth or are there things we must do to improve that health? What are they? Do we need to see teachers, etc.? We’re here for you!

WE WON’T SEE YOU NEXT WEEK UNTIL ENVELOPE DAY! Please don’t forget that next week, Monday is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and Tuesday is Mandatory Child Abuse Training and so we won’t be back in school until Wednesday. Don’t forget that you’ll only have to pack lunch on Wednesday and Thursday though because Friday the 12th is Special Lunch Day if you send in your orders. Our H & S does the best lunches too—the students enjoy them so much.

CONFIRMATION IS SET Bishop McGinnis will be here at St. Christopher to administer the sacrament of Confirmation to our 6th grade students and parishioners on Thursday, March 11th, at 5:00 PM. Our retreat days will be on the 4th and 5th of the week before. Our students have already made their commitment to prepare for this wondrous sacrament of initiation.

LOOK FOR AN ENVELOPE FROM YOUR CHILD if your family pays tuition semi-annually, please look for a envelope from Maryann Junod with your statement enclosed. It is coming home today.

ONE STOP SHOPPING THAT PAYS YOU BACK! Scrip offers a variety of gift certificates (over 100 retailers participating) for one-stop shopping, plus a built-in tuition discount you can use at any school. The following stores are now available: Build-a-Bear, Lumar Cleaners and Pauline Books and Media. The following stores are offering special bonus discounts for a limited time: Toys/Baby KidsRUS $20 @3%, Sears $25 & $100 @ 3%, Bath & Body (also good at White Barn Candle) $10 & $25 @ 10%. If you need large sums of any retailers, please let us know by Sunday at 12noon so that we have enough stock available. The following stores are by special order only: Williams & Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Amazon.com, Orvis, $25 @ 4%.

Even though school is closed on Monday 12/8 Scrip will be OPEN from 9-10 AM. In addition to our regular hours, Scrip will be open Thursday 12/11 and 12/18 from 9-10AM. On Saturdays and Sundays, consider dropping your order off before Mass and it will be ready for pick-up after Mass without having to wait. The doors of the new school lobby will be open to accommodate people who park in the Proctor Road lot.

Remember that St. Christopher School students benefit from your use of the Scrip program and we are grateful to all the families that participate. A special thank you to all of the hard working and dedicated volunteers who have made the program so successful.

“I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HEAR SOMEONE TALK ABOUT…” As H & S looks forward this year, are there specific topics that you would like addressed? Some ideas are parenting, drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, etc. There are so many topics of interest to parents—things that need to be addressed in this world of ours. Let us know a topic that you’d like us to consider.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Congratulations are in order for many of our Somerton soccer players who participated in the Holy Terrors Holiday Classic Thanksgiving Tournament held during the holiday weekend. The Under 8, Under 0, and Under 10 Girls Teams all played in a total of fifteen games, and two of the teams came home with trophies. The proud girls are as follows: Taylor Adair, Laney Coull, Katie Gumpper, Mary Harrington, Shannon Harrington, Nicole Haselbarth, Caroline McAndress, Nora McWilliams, Melissa Rizzo, Jessica Sucharski, Jenna Clavin, Bernadette Jackson, Nora Jackson, Kaitlyn Jester, Jillian McIntyre, Maura O’Donnell, Colleen Young, Nicole Zambito, Jackie Borie, Victoria DuBoe, Jackie Fuller, Ashley Magagna, Megan O’Toole, Monica Sucharski, and Alexis Vanore.

Lexi Merrigan (K-35) won her Little Miss Six Cheer and Dance Competition this past Sunday at Arcadia University. All of Lexi’s hard practice certainly paid off!

Our CYO Boys Varsity Basketball Team coached by Steve Devlin recently participated in the 2003 Collins Classic Basketball Tournament held at St. Bede’s and were the Tournament Champions. Chris Wilk, Tom Marshall, and Andrew Rogers were selected to the All-Tournament Team, and Andrew was also selected at the Tournament MVP. If that’s not enough, Andrew also won the 3-Point Contest by making an amazing 33 three-point shots in three minutes.

The following students were our latest Box Top winners: Michelle Nocitra (1-30), Michelle Smith (1-33), Michael Hiegl (Pre-K), Laura Guinan (6-17), and Dylan Singleton (5-13). Congratulations and enjoy your prizes.

Writing down homework every day pays off! Grace Cochrane (5-13), Vincent Barbadaro (1-31), and Emily Chow (4-10) had their numbers and rooms called and could proudly show their up-to-date homework books to win gift certificates.

We have more winners in the Lego Block Kids Contest sponsored by the National Association of Women in Construction! Sean Kimball (1-33) was awarded 1st Place in the 1st and 2nd Grade category for the apartment building he constructed. Also, Tim Carlin (4-9) got 1st Place in the 4th and 5th Grade category for his dungeon construction as well as 1st Place overall which gave him a $100 savings bond.

Our CYO Boys Cadet (3rd/4th Grade) Gold Soccer Team coached by Rob Stricker finished their season undefeated 7-0-1. Congratulations to Michael Adair, Andrew Amado, Sean Fitzpatrick, George Furitsch, Michael Geoghan, Kurran Keown, Eric Lane, Ryan Lees, Kevin Nelms, Jimmy Schuck, Brian Sieruc, Conner Smith, Jimmy Tyrell, and Andrew Stricker.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations go out to Courtney (4-12) and Brigid (2-5) Young whose correct family entry was drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. Ten parts of the body with only three letters are eye, ear, arm, leg, gum, toe, rib, lip, jaw, and hip. For next Monday, what color is the Advent candle for the third Sunday/week of Advent and why is it that color?

HOME AND SCHOOL ACTIVITIES JUST FOR YOU Please remember that this Friday is our Special Lunch for December so if you haven’t yet ordered, send it in by tomorrow. Also, this Saturday is our re-scheduled Lunch with Santa for all the little cherubs in your lives. We are grateful to the wonderful dedication of our H & S volunteers for giving of their time so close to the Christmas holiday for others. However, this sense of giving of self is so typical of our H & S all the time. We are truly blessed.

WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR FAMILY! In last week’s envelope you received a letter about the scholarship opportunity available specifically to St. Christopher School families from the Bravo Foundation and arranged for us by Rep. George Kenney. Mrs. Clausz has received some application requests and we hope that no one overlooks this opportunity to help with your family’s tuition. We are on a time schedule with this and so hope that you don’t put this off.

PROTECTING GOD’S CHILDREN The reason that your children did not have school today was so that our faculty and staff could attend a Protecting God’s Children Awareness Session for Adults. The Archdiocese has put in place a safe environment program that sets standards and reviews the legal, moral, and ethical obligations of reporting suspected child abuse. By our professional role in your child’s lives, we are legally mandated to report suspected child abuse. The session reviewed kinds of abuse, indicators of abuse that raise awareness, and the steps to take if abuse is suspected. All of us know how fragile these cherubs are and how responsible for them we are as parents, educators, neighbors, and just fellow passengers on the journey of life.

FREE SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING… to all 4th graders, that is. The Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association sent us paperwork that they are issuing a 4th grade Snowpass. For more information, contact Mrs. Clausz or log on to www.skipa.com or call 570-443-0963.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS We’d like you to know that the following students were the November Students of the Month. Listed in ascending order from Kindergarten to 8th grade are Jonathan Lee, Stephen Paul, Aidan Lynch, John Hall, Jillian Spicer, Jorel Aramburo, Matthew Anthony, Collin Wiercinski, Matthew DeTreux, Christopher Brown, Erik Lynch, Gabrielle Bamberski, Julie Peterson, Maureen Brown, Eric Lane, Courtney Young, Stephanie Aitken, Kaitlin Micciulla, Brianna Chiarolanza, Meghan Carroll, Colleen Boyle, Nicholas Moore, Mark Rundstrom, and Caroline Dabkowski. We are grateful to Mrs. Donna Druding, our Pre-K teacher, who coordinates this for us each month.

We were able to give gift certificates to Katie Murray (5-14), Vicki Mangoni (6-19), Krista Glenn (3-8), and Elvis Ruiz (7-22) a few weeks ago for having their homework assignment books up to date when their number and rooms were called. All of us need some incentive now and again.

How about this swim team of ours? They won again this past Sunday in their meet with St. Tim’s. Good job, swimmers!

Coached by St. Christopher parishioners/parents Nino Caranci and Maria Carroll, one of our boys Somerton soccer teams earned 2nd Place in the Emil Schillinger Turkey Bowl Tournament. The proud boys are Michael Berry, Sabatino Caranci, Anthony Del Fonso, Christopher Carroll, Joseph Fernandes, Fred Licsauer, and Raymond Rocks.

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Michael Apice (6-17) for having his correct entry drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. The color for the Advent candle for the third week is pink. It is a time of joy because Christmas is getting nearer. Our Church used to call this Sunday Gaudete Sunday—a time of joy.

For next Monday, “This is an unusual month—Santa, snow, and so on. This is an unusual paragraph too. How quickly can you find out what is uncommon about it? It looks so ordinary that you may think nothing is odd about it until you match it with most paragraphs this long. If you put your mind to it and study it you will find out, but nobody may assist you: do it without any coaching. Go to work and try your skill at figuring it out. Par on it is about half an hour. Good luck—and don’t blow your cool.”

THE MOST BLESSED OF CHRISTMASES is what we wish you and your families. As we so busily shop for gifts for others, this season is a time to reflect on all the many gifts God has given to each of us personally and through others. Here at St. Christopher we are thankful for the gift of our Senior Stuffers who so joyfully come each week to “stuff” our communication envelopes. Their happy spirits and the sound of their laughter perk up all those coming in to buy Scrip as well as our students on their way to the library or computer lab. We are thankful for the gift of our H & S Board and you, the members, who give so freely of your time to make school and the seasons delightful for our children despite the time cost to yourselves. We hope that you recognize all the many ways that God has gifted you individually and how you in turn share those gifts with others. May your Christmas be an awareness of all this—the true gifts of the season.

2004??? Enclosed is the January 2004 calendar. Can you remember when the whole world anticipated the turn of the century? Here it is nearly 2004 and we’ll be off and running! We’ll be back to school on Monday, January 5th, and ready for a week that includes Market Day pick-up and Ice Cream Day.

A BRIEF TUITION REMINDER AND REVIEW The first Wednesday in January, the 7th, is tuition night. Maryann Junod in the Parish Center has asked that you contact her with concerns as you note the following excerpts from the tuition policy for continued enrollment after February 1st: “First trimester report cards must have been released. Monthly tuition payments need to be current through January. For other payment plans, tuition must be paid in full.”

PEOPLE AND EVENTS Mrs. Reid’s class carried on their annual tradition of presenting the Bob Hope USO Show to their Senior Pen Pals. It was fun to see the talent and the love between the students and their pals. God bless Mrs. Reid for creating this opportunity!

Last Saturday Allison Wagner (7-23), Jessica Sylvester (5-16), and Marissa Sylvester (1-31), competed at The National Dance Showcase in Voorhees, NJ. Allison and Jessica won a “high gold” award for their small group ballet performance. Jessica also won a “high gold” award and the 3rd Place All-Around award for her solo ballet performance. Marissa won a “gold” award for her trio jazz performance. Great job, girls!

Also on Saturday the Somerton Boys Under-9 Soccer Team , coached by Steve Jordan, won the Phila. Dept. of Recreation Championship. St. Chris boys on the team are Mike Adair, Mike Geoghan, Kurran Keown, George Furitch, Nick Szelagowski, Brian Seiruc, Ryan McLaughlin, Joce Picozzi, and Stephen Jordan. Well done, boys!

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to all the great editors we have. So many of you correctly found the report card error! In one section the word communicate was missing its second c. Akil Kalaparambath (5-16) had his correct entry drawn for a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate.

This week’s $10 Scrip of Choice prize goes to Amanda Houser (3-6). Amanda’s correct entry told us that there were no e’s in the entire paragraph. Our next puzzle—a Christmas one, of course-- can be turned in next week or the Monday we come back in January. It’s on the back of this newsletter.

“Joy to the world, all the boys and girls, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.”

TUITION NIGHT—TONIGHT! Maryann Junod and the volunteers who assist her will be in Holy Family Hall from 6:30 to 7:45 PM tonight to collect tuition. If you are making use of your Scrip credit, please be sure that you get your credit voucher so that you have it with you.

ICE CREAM DAY TO WELCOME THE NEW YEAR This Friday is the first ice cream day of 2004. This $1.00 treat is very popular with our cherubs and we are grateful to Bobbie Ruskowski and Michelle Serrano for all they do with this popular event and our monthly special lunches. Besides Bobbie and Michelle, there are many parents who come to help at these times. If you’re ever able, feel free to join the group. It’s a happening!

E-A-G-L-E-S-----EAGLES! Our Student Council wants everyone to know that St. Chris is definitely Eagle country and so on Friday all students are invited to wear their GREEN gym uniforms and/or Eagles shirts, sweats, jerseys, etc. This is not a dress down day and not a time for face painting or green hair. We’ll talk about that for the Super Bowl!

HIS HEART WOULD HAVE GROWN TEN SIZES—THE GRINCH’S, THAT IS If the Grinch had been with our cheerleaders and peer helpers when they visited the children at Shriner’s Hospital on Dec. 12 to perform and distribute gifts, his heart would have started its growth spurt as soon as he saw St. Chris in action. Imagine what would have happened if he had then gone to the Mayo Nursing Home on the 17^th with our 5^th and 6^th grade Junior CYO members who went caroling through the hallways and distributed cards made by children in many of our grades. Thank you to all the parents who chaperoned these events and thank you Grace Giammaruti for organizing them for us. The true meaning of Christmas will shine in the world when these good things happen.

IT’S COMING! The last week of January is Catholic Schools Week and you can see from the brochure in this week’s envelope that it will be a busy one. We have much to celebrate and a week hardly covers it but…! An added bonus this year will be our Science Fair. Mrs. Bellizzie, Mrs. Dowling, Ms. McGinty, Ms. Rose, and Mrs. Delmar have been working long and hard on this as have our students. We’re excited.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS It was a wonderful phone call from Lt. Mike Carroll. He called to say that Alexandra Boyle in 7-23 won the city-wide Philadelphia Fire Department Annual Essay Contest. Alexandra will receive $200 and a personal trophy at an awards ceremony in February. In addition, St. Chris will house the perpetual trophy for the upcoming year. Good ILA skills pay off literally! We’re bursting our button about you, Alex.

We’re proud to share our December Students of the Month with you. They are from K to 8^th: Samantha D’Alfonso, Caitlyn Heston, Bridget Temple, Jillian McNamee, Brian McLaughlin, Grace Van Thuyne, Jenna Plunkett, Bernadette Jackson, Sage Russell, Nicholas Barbadora, John Zuk, Michael Nitowski, Meaghan Harrington, Jimmy Cannon, Laura Micciulla, Nicholas Foss, Brian McGuire, Edward Sacco, Allison Wagner, Amanda Smith, and Matthew Gulkis. Congratulations to each of you.

Our swimmers will be in a meet against St. Albert the Great this Sunday at 3:00 PM at the pool across from Ryan. They will look forward to anyone joining the cheering section. Go team!

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Wow! Tons of you unscramble all those Christmas carols perfectly. The correct entry drawn belonged to Clare Gervino (1-33) and so Clare will receive a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next Monday, what does deuce, zip,zip,quad mean?

May the promise and blessing of the new year be with you and yours!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE Mrs. Helene Clausz who has been an integral part of our school for the past 26 years is retiring as of Friday. She is sad to be leaving but all of us are even sadder. We thank her for making a difference. We will remember her in a special way at our Thursday liturgy and if she has touched your life in any way, you might like to remember her as well. You can send e-mails directly to her on the web page or to your children’s teachers who will print them out for her. We will also see that she gets any notes that you might send in to St. Chris. There’s a saying, “Teachers have class” and that is Mrs. Clausz.

ONE OF OUR FAMILIES NEEDS US The home of 7^th grader Brittany Parkinson was destroyed in a fire last week and the family lost all they had. As a community, people would like to reach out to the Parkinsons collectively and individually. Home and School has begun to help get Brittany ready to return to school and many people have asked how to help. Contributions may be sent to school for the family. The parents are Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Parkinson. It is good to see how our students have rallied to support the family with their own initiative.

FRIDAY AND MONDAY HOLIDAYS We know that your children haven’t forgotten that Friday and Monday are school holidays for them and we hope that you haven’t either. As you know, Friday is our faculty meeting and Monday honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“WEATHER” OR NOT WE HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW depends on if and how the snow comes to the DelawareValley. Please listen to KYW in the morning if there is any question at all. CYO has cancelled the Bingo Night they scheduled for Thursday evening no matter what and if there is no school, Friday’s CYO dance will be cancelled as well. If there is no school tomorrow, please know that Tuesday, the 20^th, will be C Day. You would then need to adjust the rest of the January letter days.

DRESSING FOR THE ELEMENTS Please remember that when conditions are exceptionally cold due to temperature and wind chill that your children are welcome to wear their gym uniforms on those days with their school turtlenecks underneath and even tights/thermal long johns. We would assume that the students are likewise prepared for coming and going with the appropriate gear not just coming in the ever-popular sweatshirts with no hats or gloves. Life in the morning can be a hassle but….

THE EAGLES WILL BE WELL REPRESENTED here tomorrow if we are in school. Again, Student Council is sponsored a Spirit Day for the Eagles and students may wear gym uniforms with Eagles sweatshirts, etc. Please note that we are celebrating a special school liturgy tomorrow and that we need to be filled with the real Spirit as well.

WE’RE NOT AS “FIRST OF THE YEAR” AS THE IRS BUT… we do need to make plans for the upcoming school year and those plans are all based on numbers. The time to apply for your children’s places for the 2004-05 school year will be the week of February 16^th. We will be sending you home a letter and an envelope for your information and $120 family application fee. Present families with new children coming into school will be able to call the office to receive application material for those children that week as well.

IT NEEDS SAYING Maryann Junod need to know any questions or concerns you have regarding tuition and/or offertory contributions. She can be reached in the Parish Center from Monday to Thursday from 9 AM to 4 PM at 215-673-5177. Our tuition policy states that for continued enrollment after February 1^st monthly tuition must be current through January and other tuition paid in full with other payment plans. In addition, offertory contributions must have reached the required level for issuance of the 1^st Trimester report card.

SPAGHETTI DINNER NEWS Please send in your ticket reservations early as there is obviously limited seating for this event. It will have to be on a “first received” basis. If the dinner turns out to be

CRITICAL THINKING 101 Congratulations to Laura Guinan (6-17) whose correct entry was drawn. Deuce, zip, zip, quad does indeed stand for 2004. Laura will receive a $10 Scrip of Choice certificate. For next Tuesday, “What happens to the area of a square if you triple the length of its sides?”

PROGRESS REPORT DAY AND TERRA NOVA TOO Today is the day that our 2nd trimester progress reports come home. Likewise, if your child is in 4th, 6th, or 8th, you can also expect to see the Terra Nova home report. Both of these tools are helpful in letting you know what your student is doing. Taking the time to review them carefully as parents and with your children is important in helping your child progress academically. Students need to take ownership of their learning. They know where they do well and where they need to grow. We need to make them aware that they should/can be in control of learning but that the adults in their lives are here to help them if they experience problems with that learning.

Please check to see if the teacher would like to confer with you and be sure to let the teacher know if you would like to confer on your end. Often this can be accomplished with a phone call.

A WEEK OF CELEBRATION As a Catholic School we have much to celebrate—our students, teachers, families, volunteers, and community. We sent you a blue brochure of what the week holds and you’ll also find the information in the Parish Bulletin insert this Sunday. H & S is kicking the week off with a Saturday evening spaghetti dinner—tickets only—and then we have our opening liturgy at the noon mass Sunday followed by an open house and science fair.

MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T GIVE UP OUR DAY JOBS BUT… you’ll have to see us to believe us. As part of Catholic Schools Week, our faculty is meeting our 8th grade basketball players on the boards at Father Judge. We are grateful to Mr. Fox for arranging this 7 PM tip-off on Monday, the 26th. It promises to be a wonderful basketball game especially with our cheerleaders pre

St. Christopher School * 13305 Proctor Road, Philadelphia, PA 19116 * 215-673-5787

OLD NEWS 2003-04

May the promise and blessing of the new year be with you and yours!