NEWSLETTER for JANUARY 12, 2007

Monday, January 15 NO SCHOOL—Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday

Wednesday, January 16 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.—Power of the Pen Workshop

Thursday, January 17 Beginning Band during Music Class

Friday, January 18 End of Second Quarter

8:15 a.m.—All-School Mass (Grade 5-E)

BILLIART HONOREE: We failed to mention last week that eighth grader Holly Gruber was also selected as a Mt. Notre Dame Billiart Scholar, having scored a 90% or above on MND’s STS Placement Test taken in November. Holly was recognized along with Kelly Davidson, Kiki Isaac, and Jenna Juillerat at a special ceremony held this past Wednesday evening. Congratulations, Holly!

NEWSPAPER CLUB: The Newspaper Club will begin this month. Paw Prints, our school newspaper, is designed, written, and edited by the fifth and sixth graders in the Club. Our goal is to publish one paper a month and sell it for a nickel. The Club will meet on Mondays from 2:30 p.m. ‘til 3:30 p.m. Our “kickoff” meeting was held on Thursday, January 11. Since we have no school on Monday, January 15, our first regular meeting will be on Monday, January 22. Please direct questions to Mrs. Gorsuch, moderator, at Gorsuch_j@olshschool.net.

KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN SCHOLARSHIP: Parents of eighth graders, your child is bringing home today an application for this scholarship to be used for his high school education. Please ask him for it; all instructions are included with the application.

YOUNG REMBRANDTS: This eight-session after-school art program is being offered again beginning January 24 and running through March 14. These are Wednesdays; if your child would be interested in taking this class with Mrs. Carpenter but cannot make it on Wednesdays, we will consider offering the class on Thursdays instead. Please fill out the form that your youngest is bringing home today and note on the form if Thursday would be a better day for your child.

CHILD PROTECTION DECREE VIDEO: The next session for viewing the Child Protection Decree video with facilitator Dan Hackett is set for Tuesday, January 23, from 7 p.m. ‘til 8 p.m. in the church Community Room. If you plan to volunteer in any capacity with our schoolchildren (or if you already do), you must view this video with Mr. Hackett. If you do not comply with this Archdiocesan ruling, you may no longer volunteer with our kids (and we would hate to lose you as a volunteer!). If you’ve not yet seen this video, plan to come on the 23^rd. You must sign in—we are required to keep records.

MARKET DAY: Congratulations to Sandy Mitsch, winner of our December $25 gift certificate! Don’t forget to place your order for January! When you order at www.marketday.com in January, you’re automatically entered in a contest to win exciting prizes, including a Disney Vacation Package for four, iPods, and $25 Best Buy gift cards. Order online until NOON on Friday, January 19. If you are not able to order online, call Lisa Schoenberger (733-4707) or Valerie Grein (891-5830) by Thursday, January 18, to place your order. (If we place your order for you, you will not be eligible for the prizes mentioned above.) We appreciate your support, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at our Market Day sale!

FUNDRAISER: Help OLSH PTO earn up to $500! PTO has been asked to participate in a market research study on Friday, February 9. The survey will be held in the cafeteria, and babysitting will be available. We will be scheduling individual times between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.; participants will spend up to 45 minutes tasting food products and filling out questionnaires, and you may be asked to do some other type of testing while you are there. We need a total of 75 people for this study. Please call Katie Leary at 563-0370 or email her at Katie.Leary@fuse.net to schedule a time. Thanks!

ONLINE ENRICHMENT: Your child may benefit from enrichment through on-line distance learning. If you feel your child needs a challenge, please check into Northwestern University’s Gifted LearningLinks on-line distance-learning program. Gifted LearningLinks classes are available for students in grades K through 12; courses for students in grades 4 through 6 last for three months. The start date for the winter session is February 1. For more information, course listings, and registration, go to www.ctd.northwestern.edu.

SPRING SPORTS REGISTRATION: Registration for spring sports (soccer, softball, and baseball, and 7^th and 8^th grade boys’ volleyball and track,) will take place on January 20/21 and January 27/28 in the Tiger Room of the Activity Center after all Masses. We will also be taking early registrations for football.

SHOWCASE NIGHT: The Mt. Notre Dame High School 2006-07 Dance Team will present a “Friends and Family Showcase Night” on Wednesday, January 24, at 7 p.m. in the MND gym. Questions? Email the Dance Team coach at vgianfagna@mndhs.org.

MENU for the WEEK of JANUARY 15

Monday…………….NO SCHOOL

Tuesday……………beef and cheese burrito with salsa, corn, mixed fruit, seasoned rice, milk

Wednesday……….cheese coneys, juice bar, peaches, Goldfish crackers, milk

Thursday…………..pizza, carrots with dip, applesauce, animal crackers, milk

Friday……………….chicken patty on bun, mashed potatoes with gravy, fruit cocktail, cookie, milk

SCHOOL CLOSINGS: Here’s a reminder of our policies/procedures regarding school closings (in case winter ever comes to the Cincinnati area!)…

Early morning closings: You will be notified via the Hotline if OLSH is closed for the day. (If you are a designated caller on the Hotline list, please follow your instructions for notifying other families on your list.) Our school closing will also be announced on both Channel 5 and Channel 9. We normally follow the lead of the Reading School District in determining whether to close school. However, the decision is ultimately up to Mrs. Adelmann; so OLSH may be closed even when other Reading schools remain open because we have students and teachers driving in from outlying school districts. For this reason, please rely on the Hotline call.

Delays: We will follow the decision made by the Reading Public School District where a delay of any length is concerned (i.e., if Reading schools are on a one-hour delay, we will also be on a one-hour delay). Please watch either Channel or Channel 9 for this information. If you live in a school district other than Reading and that school district is on a delay when Reading is not, please use your own discretion as to whether to drive your children in at our regular start time or allow them to wait for your school district’s delayed transportation to OLSH. Students who come late to school because of bus transportation delays are not considered tardy.

Early closing once students are at school: Please watch either Channel 5 or Channel 9 if the weather turns threatening enough to cause concern that school may be dismissed early. (Normally, we would not use the Hotline; however, if time permits, we will try to use the work or cell daytime numbers on the Hotline list.) We will follow your directives on the Emergency Plan for Early Dismissal form that you filled out at the beginning of the school year. If you indicated that your child is to be sent home on the bus in the event of early dismissal, he will be placed on the bus. If buses are unavailable, we will follow your directives given on the form. If you indicated that you or a relative/friend would pick up your child, you or that secondary person must come into school to sign out your child. If you indicated that you want to be notified before your child is dismissed, we will call you. Please do not call the school, as this will only tie up needed phone lines.