JOY TO THE WORLD

Dear Saint John School Families,

Here we are in the last school day of 2013.  What a joy it is to count our many blessings that we have received here Saint John’s School during this past year.  Joyfulness abounds when one works daily with children.  The hugs, the smiles, the surprises, and best of all, love is experienced daily. 

Tuesday evening’s music concert was a testimony to the joy of our students giving of themselves as they “sang with all their hearts”.  From the preschoolers to the 8^th graders, it was truly a gift that was given to us.  Mr. Bradberry, you are amazing!  You instill in our youth a true love of music.  What talent you have to bring well over 230 + children together for a concert that they so enjoyed doing.  

I would like to take this opportunity to share some joyous and special words of Mother Teresa:      The fruit of silence is prayer,

                                  The fruit of prayer is a deepening of faith,

                                  The fruit of faith is love,

                                  The fruit of love is service and

                                 The fruit of service is peace

“Merry Christmas” Everyone!

Shalom,

Mrs. Schmitt

WHAT IS YOUR SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT?

                WHAT IS YOUR SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT?

Dear Saint John’s School Families,

“Hands on learning” --- Learning by doing”.  Saint John’s Science Fair is just that! What an impressive display to see the work of young minds in one location.  Every single student 5^th-8^th completed their assignment, that of doing a science fair project.  There was no doubt that students had been taught and understood the process needed for this accomplishment. It is very obvious how much creative thought and work it took to make this such a meaningful experience.  The  uniqueness of each study was exciting and brought smiles to the viewers of the Fair i.e. DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION-------PLEASE DON’T PASS THE SALT-----BRIDGE G-FORCE -------HOW CLEAN ARE PUBLIC POOLS----DOES MUSIC AFFECT THE GROWTH OF SEEDS?-----SLEEP DEPRIVATION----HOW ACCURATE ARE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS?    I learned how to make homemade casein glue! 

The draft of each project had to be signed by an adult sponsor and placed in a Science Fair Data Book.  The display had to address the Purpose—The Question, the Hypothesis, the Procedure and, of course, the Results, Analysis and Conclusion. The Scientific Method is no stranger to our students.

Mr. Estergard and Mrs. Rottinghaus you are to be applauded for the outstanding job you did of teaching, guiding and challenging our Saint John’s students to think scientifically.  Congratulations students on a job well done!

Shalom,

Mrs. Schmitt

THANKSGIVING BLESSINGS

Dear Saint John’s School Families,

As we close school today to celebrate the beautiful holiday of Thanksgiving, I want to take time to thank each of you for the blessing you are to Saint John’s School.  There is no way to adequately communicate my sincere appreciation for sharing your children with us.  We truly have so many, many reasons to thank the Lord for the blessings bestowed upon us as a school.   

The latest “good news” I wish to share with you is the honor that our 5^th/6^th Robotics Team received, Saturday. They, too, brought home a trophy from the  Preston Middle School competition for 2^nd overall in the Project Research Category, Research and Innovation.  They were one of the 6 highest scoring teams across all categories.  This allows them to advance to the State Tournament which will be held on Saturday, December 14.  How excited the team was , along with Coaches Crane, Rottinghaus and Miller. 

Enjoy your break and have a BLESSED THANKSGIVING.

Shalom,

Mrs. Schmitt

SAINT JOHNS COMPETES IN LEGO ROBOTIC TOURNAMENTS

  SAINT JOHNS COMPETES IN LEGO ROBOTIC TOURNAMENTS

Dear Saint John’s Families,

Competition---“A contest between rivals”.    Like any card or board game, competition can be a great motivator to learn to do one’s best.  It gives our students opportunities to give their experience the best effort they have to give.  So much is learned from competition, i.e. team work, determination, and most of all, “How to win, and how to lose.”

Among the many extracurricular offerings and opportunities to learn and compete here at school is that of our LEGO ROBOTICS.  This year we have two teams competing.  One team for 5/6^th grades and another for 7^th/8^th grades.  We are so grateful to Barrett Crane, Mike Rottinghaus and Michelle Miller who lead these teams.  The teams meet after school Friday afternoons.

Last Saturday Saint John’s 7^th and 8^th grade Robotics Team competed at Poudre High School in Fort Collins against 47 schools.  They received an Exemplary Score in the areas of GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM, TEAMWORK, INSPIRATION, PRESENTATION, INNOVATIVE SOLUTION and MECHANICAL DESIGN of their robot.  Cheers were heard when our team was called down from the bleachers to receive the TROPHY for STRATEGY AND INNOVATION.  Judges were impressed with their implementation of rack and pinion steering on a Lego robot, coupled with a steering calibration algorithm program the team downloaded into the robot, stating that it was very innovative and very well documented design. 

Saint John’s Lego Robotic Record: 

2011/2012 1^st Place overall—Poudre Tournament                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

2009/2010 1^st Place Teamwork—Poudre Tournament                                             

          1^st Place Teamwork-State of Colorado

2008/2009 4^TH Thompson Tournament

2004/2005 8th in the State of Colorado

Rookie team of the year

1^st in technical interview (State)

Tomorrow, Saturday, at Preston Middle School in Fort Collins our 5^th and 6^th graders will have their tournament.  Presently, this team and their coaches are working hard and long in preparation for tomorrow’s long day of competition.  Please join me in cheering them on.

Shalom,

Mrs. Schmitt

A+ FIRST TRIMESTER ENDS

      

Dear Saints John’s School Families,

It is hard to believe that today, Friday, November 8^th, is the end of our first trimester of this school year.  You can guess that the teachers will be spending their weekend working on assessments/grades which are due to Mrs. Sweeney on Monday.      Report cards and grades i.e. academic achievement is a high priority here at Saint Johns.  Since parents receive snapshots each Wednesday and since we recently held student, parent, teacher conferences, hopefully, there will be few surprises when your child(ren) brings home her/his report card next Friday.  Close communication between parents and teachers as to how a student is progressing is of great         importance.  Whether B’s, A’s or C’s, it isn’t a matter of how your child compares to others, is he/she working up to his/her potential?  Is there growth and             advancement?  Striving for excellence in everything we do must be our motto.

That being said, our highly respected Archdiocese of Denver Superintendent of  Catholic Schools, Mr. Richard Thompson, reminds us at our principals’ meetings, of our highest priority  that being our Catholic Identity and leading children to Christ.  The focus this year is CATHOLIC SCHOOLS:  HELPING TO          REBUILD CATHOLIC CULTURE. 

We must be committed to living out our Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School Mission Statement: 

In communion with our families, Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School provides a respectful Catholic environment  dedicated to developing the whole child through academic achievement, personal responsibility, and the          formation of faith-filled citizens in a place where Christ is ever present.

Shalom,

Mrs. Schmitt

SAINT JOHN’S FACULTY GOES TO SCHOOL

                  

Dear Saint John’s School Families,

What, no school tomorrow??  Not so!  No school for Saint John’s students that is. Yes, teachers must go to school tomorrow.  What?  When?  Where?  Why?   

Saint John’s Faculty  members are enrolled in an all day Catechetical  Class.  We will travel to Greeley to join Saint Mary’s  Catholic School Staff for a Pillars I Course.  This will be taught by an instructor from the Archdiocese of Denver Catechetical School .

Teachers in Catholic Schools  in the Archdiocese must become certified in the 4 Pillars:  A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The Catechism is an invaluable resource for learning the Catholic Faith .  In his document declaring the Year of Faith, Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted that it is in the Catechism that “we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history.  From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, the Catechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers of faith”  (Porta Fidei, 11)

The Catechism is divided into 4 sections, or pillars, upon which the Church’s teaching is based:  the Creed, the Sacraments, the Moral Life in Christ, and Prayer.  These 4 pillars come from Scripture when we are given a look into the life of the early Church:  “ And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (creed)  and fellowship (moral life), to the breaking of bread (sacraments) and the prayers (prayer)”  (Acts 2:42)  Tomorrow, we will be taking the Creed pillar which is an excellent summation of how God has revealed Himself in human history and how we respond to Him in the relationship of faith The word “Creed” comes from the Latin word, “credo” which means “I believe.” 

It is important for us here at Saint John’s School to keep current and knowledgeable in our own Catholic Faith in order for us to model and teach our students. 

Have an enjoyable long weekend.  Hopefully, we will see many of you at the Gala Saturday night.

Shalom,

Mrs. Schmitt

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE TOMORROW

                                 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE TOMORROW

Dear Saint John’s School Families,

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21.  The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.  The first Peace Day was observed in September 1982. 

“On this International Day of Peace, let us pledge to teach our children the value of tolerance and mutual respect.  Let us invest in the schools and teachers that will build a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity. Let us fight for peace and defend it with all our might.”   UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005, by two Art teachers as a way for students to express their feelings about what is going on in the world and in their lives.  Last year, 2012, over 4 million pinwheels were spinning in over 3,500 locations throughout the world.

Here at Saint John’s School Mrs. Brown makes this a part of her art program .  She teaches her students that peace isn’t only to be associated with the conflict of war, but how it relates to violence/intolerance in our daily lives, freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups, a state of mind and serenity, with no anxiety. 

In her classroom our students, too, create pinwheels, pinwheels of all shapes and sizes.  As part of the creation process, the students write on one side their thoughts about tolerance and living in harmony with others, on the other side they will draw, paint, collage etc. to visually express their feelings.  Today, the day before the International Day of Peace tomorrow, they “planted” their pinwheels here on campus as a public statement and art exhibit.  This followed Father Frank’s homily in today’s  Friday Mass, where he talked to the children about getting along with each other and living in peace.

Please observe and enjoy the pinwheels on Saint John’s campus. Ask your child(ren) about their Pinwheel for Peace.  When they bring it home let them tell you about what they learned and why. The spinning of the pinwheels in the wind will spread thoughts and feelings about peace throughout the country and the world.  IMAGINE…”Whirled Peace”!!

Peace be with you,