WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR’S

AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL NEXT WEDNESDAY!

PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

MR. RIDDER’S REMINDERS

Dec 21-Jan 3    Christmas Break – No School
Jan 4                School Resumes
Jan 5                Report Cards Sent Home
Jan 12              2:00 Dismissal – Teacher In-Service
                        Current Families Registration Forms Sent Home
Jan 13              Uganda Dress Down Day
Jan 14               Catholic High School Entrance Exam
Jan 15              Half Payment Tuition Due
Jan 16              No School – Archdiocese Teacher In-Service
                        Home & School Meeting 7:00pm Staff Lounge
Jan 19              Current Families Registration Forms Due with Registration Fee
Jan 25              January & July Birthday Dress Down Day
Jan 26              2:00 Dismissal – Teacher In-Service
Jan 28/29          Catholic Schools Week Masses – Wear School Sweaters
Jan 30-Feb 3    Catholic Schools Week

THANKS FOR THE NEW BOOKROOM AND HELP BY VOLUNTEERING -We are thrilled to inform you that St. Patrick's School now has a book room thanks tothe generosity of parent, Joe Martinec, along with a sizable contribution from Home & School. Without these two donations, we would not have been able to open up this option to students and staff. A book room provides leveled reading books and will serve students in all grades. This room is a wonderful addition for our teachers to use and allows more flexibility in teaching your student at their reading level. This added resource creates a need for additional volunteers. If you are interested in helping with the coordination and upkeep of this book room, please contact, Mr. Ridder at
ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org.

PRESCHOOL(PRES) & PREKINDERGARTEN(PREK) PROGRAM ENHANCED WITH MORE TIME – The School Board has recently approved a policy to that will provide more options and time for our PreS and PreK programs. Over the last several years, parents have inquired about the options that they have for their child as they look for a preschool program that will meet their needs.  A survey was conducted of all parishioners with children that could potentially attend our PreS program. The survey results showed that there was a need for more options that will better serve our PreS students in preparing for our PreK and then our PreK students for our kindergarten programs.

Students enrolling in PreS must be three years of age by June 1^st.  The program consists of three options.

• PreS AM – Students attend all five days in the morning from 8:05 to 11:00.
• PreS 3 PM– Students attend Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:30 to 3:10.
• PreS 2 PM – Students attend Tuesday & Thursday from 12:30 to 3:10.

The maximum number of students in the morning is 24 and afternoon is 24 with a total of 48 students in PreS program. 

Students enrolling in the PreK Program must be four years of age by July 31^st.  This program will run every Monday through Friday morning from 8:05 to 11:00 or in the afternoon from 12:30 to 3:10.  The maximum number of students enrolled in the morning will be 30 and the same maximum in the afternoon is 30 with a total of 60 students in PreK program. Therefore, Mrs. Andersen will be teaching all the PreS students and we will be hiring a full-time elementary teacher for the PreK program. We will also be in need of more teacher assistants as well. We will be advertising for all teacher assistant positions in the spring.
The 2012-2013 Registration for current students and their siblings will begin on January 12^th, 2012.  These forms will be due January 19^th to hold a spot for the following school year.

STAFFING CHANGES IN 2012-2013 AT ST. PATRICK'S SCHOOL - I'm sorry to inform you that our two Spanish teachers; Ms. Alena Keene and Mrs. Sally Johnson,will not be returning for 2012-13 school year. Ms. Keene plans to move to Texas and Mrs. Johnson plans to return to school full time. They are both doing a tremendous job and they will be missed. Unfortunately, our Middle School Math teacher, Mrs. Propheter will be leaving us as well.Her husband has accepted a job that will require her to move.

We all know and have experienced situations when God seems to close doors to us; however we also know that He often opens more doors than he closes. Therefore, I am confident thatwe will be able to find and hiretalented and compassionateteachers to fill those positions. We are continually receiving resumesfrom countless teachers who want to teach at St. Patrick's School.

REGISTRATION FEE INCREASE FOR 2012-2013 – All families are required to pay a $125.00 non-refundable registration fee per child for the 2012-13 school year to hold a position in St. Patrick’s School.  This reflects a $25 increase adopted last spring by the Parish Finance Committee and addressed in this year’s Family Handbook, to go into effect for the 2012-2013 school year registration process.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK DATES - Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated nationally on January  28^th - February 3rd, 2012. On Saturday, January 28^th and Sunday, January 29^th, there will be masses celebrating Catholic Education with our parish community.  All St. Patrick’s School students are asked to wear their uniforms and sweaters to the Saturday and Sunday Masses. Please mark your calendar and make a point to having your child show his/her school pride as a Parish.  In addition, please join us for our Pancake Feed on Sunday, January 29^th from 9:00-1:00.

• 5:00PM Mass-planned by 8^th grade classroom teachers
• 8:00AM Mass-planned by 7^th grade classroom teachers
• 9:30AM Mass- planned by 6^th grade classroom teachers
• 11:00AM Mass-planned by 5^th grade classroom teachers
• 12:30PM Mass-planned by 4^th grade classroom teachers

Wednesday, February 1st - Special Friends Day open to Kindergarten - 4^th graders only will be held in the afternoon. Please keep this date open. An invite is attached to below with more information.

LINK TO SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY SIGN-UP

Tuesday, January 10^th – Talent show tryouts will be held after school on January 10^th.  The talent show is open to 4^th and 8^th grade students only!  The talent show will be held on Friday, February 3^rd from 1:00-3:00.LINK TO TALENT SHOW SIGN-UP

WELLNESS COMMITTEE HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK: Check out "The World's Healthiest Food" website (http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php) to find out which foods are considered the healthiest and why! Here is a list of the criteria used to choose the foods that made the list: 1.They are the Most Nutrient Dense;2. They are Whole Foods;3. They are Familiar Foods;4. They are Readily Available;5. They are Affordable; and 6. They Taste Good.

HEY ST. PATRICK'S FRIENDS - LET’S GO FOR #1! Donate your Hy-Vee Smart points to St. Patrick's. St. Pat's, as of today, is in 2nd place behind Bennington Elementary! Here is how it works:  For every $20 of Procter & Gamble products you purchase at Hy-Vee from October 1, 2011– December 30, 2011 you earn 100 SMART Points to donate to the school of your choice. Get 100 additional points when you purchase two (2) or more Sara Lee Fresh Bakery products in the same transaction as your qualifying $20 Procter & Gamble purchase. Find the promotional code printed on your receipt of purchase, and enter it by clicking on the "Donate Points" button. From there, select the school for which you would like to make a donation. More than 200 schools with the most points will win! Win a $1500 SMART Board™ for your child's school. Just go to: www.hy-veesmartpoints.comto donate your points today!  We have added to the link to the school website. 

ST. PATRICK’S ELKHORN CHESS TOURNAMENT – St. Patrick’s is hosting a chess tournament on Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 9:00 am- 1:00 pm.  Please see the attached flyer for more information!

LINK TO CHESS CLUB TOURNAMENT

MICRO SOCCER REGISTRATION OPEN– Registration for micro soccer is now open.  Registration begins now and will run until February 11^th and then late registration goes from February 12^th to March 3^rd.  Registrations will not be accepted after March 3^rd.  Please visit the athletic website for more information on registering!

SPRING SOCCER REGISTRATION OPENS - Registration is now open for thespring season of CYSL soccer. CYSL soccer is open to all parishioners from 1st grade - 8th grade. You can register online at:http://leagueusa.com/registration/index.jsp?SportsOrganizationId=240. Register today to avoid late registration complications and fees. For questions, please contactJulie Wigdahl njwig@cox.net. For questions about online registration contact Katie & Brent L'Heureux at lheureux03@yahoo.com.

RAFFLE INCENTIVE WINNER - St. Pat's raffle tickets make a great last-minute gift--that could be the best present ever! For more information on the 2012 SPIRT Raffle, please visit https://stpatrickselkhorn.ejoinme.org/raffle.

SPIRIT - The SPIRIT 2012 team would like to thank you forsupporting SPIRIT...on the wild side! We wish you and your families a Healthy and Happy New Year!Continue to watch the SPIRIT website for updates, volunteer opportunities and event information. https://stpatrickselkhorn.ejoinme.org/home.

ADVERTISE WITH SPIRIT - Need a great way to advertise your business? How about the SPIRIT catalog? Purchase ad space for $30, $50, or $100. Support SPIRIT while getting your name out there! Also available this year are “SPIRIT Notes” for $20! Show your love for St. Patrick’s by purchasing a personalized note, psalm, or saying… that will be randomly inserted into the SPIRIT catalog.From “Love the fish fries”, “St. Patrick’s Rules”, “Thanks for keeping the grounds clean”, notes of support, gratitude, and love for our community are welcome from all parishioners and friends. Contact Jenn Copenhaver at jennkfly@yahoo.com or 964-1313 for more information.

SPIRIT - Ever receive a bottle of wine or spirits for a gift and know you'll never drink it? We are taking donations of wine or spirits valued at $20 or more for our Bar of Spirits. Donated items will be placed in gift bags and auctioned off to raise money for St. Patrick's. Donate a bottle you've received or bought to help fill our Bar of Spirits today! Contact Christina Diers at acediers@cox.net for more details.

CATHOLICS COME HOME - Have you drifted away from the Church? Would you like to feel at home in the Catholic Church again? OR Are you a practicing Catholic but would like a refresher on the Catholic Church? We invite you to consider renewing your relationship with the Catholic Church whether you’ve been away for years or have never really left but desire a better understanding of the Church.  Come to listen and share with others seeking a renewed relationship with the Catholic faith. Please join us for a five-week series on Tuesday evenings at 6:45pm to 8:00pm in the Media Center beginning on January 10.  For more information on this program or to register contact Beth Kathol at bkathol@stpatselkhorn.org or call 289-4289 ext. 1525. Reconnect with your Catholic Faith!

Discover Your God-given Gifts with this Fun Program for Adults!

Living Your Strengths is a series in which participants join a small faith-sharing group.  You’ll discover their unique God-given gifts and how to use those gifts in service to the Church and Community.  Understanding your unique top-five strengths will also have a profound effect on your home and work life.  This is a great program to do with your friends, spouse and adult family members!
TWO sessions are being offered this January:
Wednesdays, January 18 – February 15

• 10:00 – 11:30am in the Parish Conference Room
• 5 Consecutive Weeks

Saturdays, January 14 & January 28

• 9:00 – 12:00noon in Boland Hall
• 2 Saturdays

The cost is $20 for the book and supplies.  Contact Beth Kathol in the Adult Formation Office at 289-4289 ext.1525 or bkathol@stpatselkhorn.org to register or for more information. 

Principal's Notes Deadline:

Please submit all items/information in final form.

Principal's Notes deadline is Tuesday by 8:00am to the school or email to

ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org or kmoritz@stpatselkhorn.org

Archived Principal's Notes