September 26, 2018, Newsletter #4

Communication with the heart: As we begin a new school year we experience excitement and joy as we reconnect with old friends, teachers and staff at All Saints Catholic School. We also meet new friends and share or “communicate” who we are and what we love as we make connections. According to Amoris Laetitia, “Communication is an art learned in moments of peace in order to be practiced in moments

of difficulty” (n.234). When we encounter difficult topics in our conversations, and we will, do we pay attention to what the person is saying or focus on our thoughts and emotions? Do we keep our Catholic faith at the “heart” of the conversation with our family and friends? As we learn to communicate more lovingly, with family and with friends, do we have a mentor or apprentice to support and guide us as needed? As we learn to better communicate, our relationships will deepen and grow within our family and with our friends. Pope Francis reminds us to use three powerful words when interacting with family and friends: “Please,” Thank you,” and “Sorry.” An added challenge to communication is our increased use of technology. I feel it is critical that we shut the devices off, and greatly increase our face to face communications with our loved ones. By slowing down and talking lovingly to one another each day, we can rebuild our communication skills and relationships. Meal times are a great way to deepen and practice these skills. Good luck, and God bless you and your family. 🙏Matthew Houghton, Principal Uniform update: I would like to share a few upcoming events and information with you to help plan for next week. As cold weather approaches, we are thoughtfully deciding on additional uniform sweater options for our boys and girls. We are working with Flynn and O’Hara, and Emerson’s, to provide samples and will have the choices available soon for purchase. Sweatshirts are not part of our daily school uniform. Pre-K now also has an option to wear uniforms to school each day! After School Playground Monitoring: For safety reasons, parents must remain on the playground or field with their child after school. There are many incidents of unsafe behavior due to lack of adult supervision and monitoring being reported. If parents wish to stay after school with their student on the playground or field, they must be directly with their student(s). If parents need to go to pre-K to get their student, they must bring any siblings with them for supervision and safety. Thank you for your understanding and support. We all want to keep everyone safe at All Saints Catholic School. QuickSchools: Please make sure to log into Quickschools, our school’s communication tool at: allsaints.quickschools.com to familiarize yourself so you are comfortable with its functionality and features as we post all upcoming events, schedules, activities, grades, reports, homework, lunch and other information. God bless you and your family. Enjoy the beautiful fall weather ahead. Attic Thrift Store: As you know, our school has an amazing thrift store on Center Street in Bangor, called The Attic. One hundred percent of the proceeds come directly to our school. We are expanding hours now to include

September 26, 2018, Newsletter #4 Saturdays throughout the school year. If you or an adult in your family is able to volunteer, please sign up here (please note, training is involved for this opportunity). https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Yl-c2nvt3zaeAloUskVhCdx6FsVIhzsPm63EebiT0ZA/edit?usp=sharing Art Corner: Mr. Kelley will be setting up ceramic paint and sips for parents very soon. At St. Mary's campus we could use glue sticks. Last year, we aquired a Thermofax Machine at The Attic; Supplies are needed so that we can screen-print images in class, and with the right inks, we can do t-shirts. We need approximately $300 to make this happen. If you wish to donate, please send donations to school (labeled for art). After School Art club will be starting soon, one night a week. Please contact Mr. Kelley if you would like to volunteer. Music Corner: Please reserve the date Wednesday, December 19th, at 6 PM (December 20, snow date) for annual Christmas concert at Peakes Auditorium. Be watching soon for volunteer sign up! The spring concert will be held on Wednesday, May 22nd, at 6 PM at Peakes Auditorium. Room Parents Needed (for classrooms and specials): If you would like to apply to become a room parent, please contact your child’s teacher directly. Two parents will be selected to assist the classroom teacher, help with Catholic Schools Week, coordinate fundraising, parties and attend PTFO meetings, etc. Genius Hour Project: This project is designed to allow students to choose and design a project related to one of our four core subjects (English language arts, mathematics, social studies, science) and religion. Students are encouraged to incorporate other areas of study, including any of the other three core subjects, as well as fine arts, health, physical education, and Spanish. We hope this will give students the opportunity to demonstrate integrated learning in a personal, fun and challenging way as they grow in knowledge, skills and experience. October 3rd-31st, students check in with mentors to complete agreed work. On November 5th, project is presented during Catholic Schools Week in November. Sweetser School Based Counselor services: We now have Sweetser school-based clinician Jennifer Metzger available on Fridays to collaborate with school personnel and families. These services can help reduce the barriers to school success that confront children and adolescents with social, emotional or behavioral challenges, or are at risk. She is able to provide individual, family and groups therapy in the natural setting of the school, and in the home. For information, see Mr. Houghton. Parent Teacher Conference Request Form: Due Thursday, October 4th to homeroom teachers Gr. 5-8. Upcoming Events and Activities:

● Thursday, 09/27/2018- Pumpkin Sales-September 27 @ St. Mary's campus at 2:45 pm ● Thursday, 09/27/2018- XC Meet @ Dorothea Dix Field ● Friday, 09/28/2018- Grade Checks and review for athletic standings. ● Friday, 09/28/2018- Pumpkin Sales @ St. John's Campus at 2:40 pm ● Monday, 10/01/2018- Soccer game @ VZ Community School ● Tuesday, 10/02/2018- PTFO Meeting @ St. Mary's Campus 8:30 am ● Wednesday, 10/03/2018- School Picture Day by Lifetouch Photos ● Wednesday, 10/03/2018- Soccer game @ Greenbush -early release for soccer players ● Thursday, 10/04/2018- XC Meet @ Indian Island School ● Friday, 10/05/2018-NO SCHOOL for Students (K-8)- Staff Professional Development- St. Dom's ● Monday, 10/08/2018- Columbus Day - NO SCHOOL

September 26, 2018, Newsletter #4