Blog Archives

May 25, 2016

5/25/2016

A Very Busy Friday last week with Miss Gale as our teacher, Miss Black as our principal, a beautiful 4th grade mass and variety show prep!

We are so excited for the VARIETY SHOW this Friday! Costumes were checked off during music today, so please have your child come to school in costume on Friday ready for the show. I have their t-shirts at school, so they can wear a tank top or t-shirt on Friday and their "graffiti shirt" can go over it.

The open dress rehearsal is at 10:00 AM and the official show starts at 1:00 PM. You won't want to miss it! :)

Book Reports are due next Friday! Information about the "free choice" book report went home a month ago and there is also information on my website. If students have an idea other than the options listed, they need to talk to me ASAP about their proposal. All reports will be presented to the class next Friday. Students should be finished reading their Newberry Award winner novels and start working on the report this week.

Family Life- Information on family life is going home with your child today. This is a part of our religion program. Please review the material and sign the permission slip. If you have any questions or are not comfortable with your child participating in family life, please contact me so that we can discuss an alternate assignment. We will start the program on Monday. This program is very introductory, FYI. - 5th grade is when they learn the anatomy, etc.

Speaking of family life... it is that time of year to start talking to your kids about wearing deodorant. I've been getting some whiffs of blossoming adolescents the past few weeks - especially after PE :)

No Homework Club next Thursday- The students have earned their third and final class reward... they voted on "No homework for a week" so that will start next week. They don't know that they earned it yet, so keep it a secret :)

Walk Through California- this is an awesome program that SJA participates in each year. It is like an "in school field trip" where the students recap everything they've learned in social studies this year. Each child will have an assigned "role" that they need to prepare for. Information about this role will go home next week. Please help your child to memorize their lines before the program on June 8th. Parents are welcome to come watch - it will start at 8:30 AM in the parish hall on 6/8. It is very entertaining.

Publishing Party- We have been working hard on our last big writing project of the year. It is always a favorite: creative story writing. Students will finish publishing and illustrating their stories next week and we will celebrate all of their hard work with a publishing party. Parents are welcome to join us from 2:00-2:45 next Thursday, June 2nd.
If any parent would like to volunteer to provide beverages and treats, that would be very much appreciated!! Please let me know :)

No School Monday for Memorial Day

Coming Up
Chapter 11 math test this Friday
Act of Faith Prayer quiz next Thursday 6/2
Book Reports due Friday

Sign up for Summer Camp at SJA with Miss Williams, Mrs. T and Myself!!
Writing & Math Camp ~ June 27-30 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. ~ Cost $225
Writing & Math Camp ~ July 5 - 8 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. ~ Cost $225

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May 18, 2016

5/18/2016

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Feeling Spirited for Spirit Week!

Variety Show Costumes!
Several students have not brought white shirts in to graffiti paint for the Variety Show. We will be doing the art in class tomorrow. If you know you will not be able to send a clean white t-shirt in for your child please e-mail me and CC Lisa Ronco tonight so that we can make sure there are enough.

Other Variety Show Costume Details:
The 4th Grade is excited about their "Stay Tuned" variety show song-the theme from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air! Student will wear their Graffiti t-shirts made in class with jeans (any color), sneakers and a colorful solid or multi-color ball cap for a 1990's Fresh Prince look (appropriate logos ok). Students will wear their costume for a full school day (May 27). Families are responsible for purchasing their own hats. (SEE IMAGES BELOW)

Each student needs to leave his or her costume in the 4th Grade classroom in a bag with their name on it by Wednesday, May 25th for a costume check. Bringing the costume on time is a huge support to the success of the show and greatly helps reduces everyone's stress :-) Also....late costumes may impact your student's Music participation grade. Please contact Mrs Ronco lronco531@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Thank you, Anne Marie Oldham

4th Grade Mass is this Friday 5/20. This is going to be a very special mass dedicated to Mrs. Sobieski that will wrap up our Kindness theme for the week. All families are welcome and encouraged to join for the mass and for a celebration with Mrs. Sobieski in the Parish Hall directly following mass.

4th Grade has their last visit to the Nursing Home for the year this Friday, 5/20. Thank you parent chaperones: Lisa Black, Angie Sciarrino, Adrienne Schulman, Pam Liebig, Sandra VanGilder, Tatiana Walton and Melissa Kuhn.

STAR Renassiance Testing is taking place this week and next. Please make sure your child is rested and has a healthy breakfast before school each day.

Star of the Week Presentations- there are several students who have not presented their star of the week presentations. Earlier this week I assigned them a new date if they missed their original one. Talk to them about preparing for this, we only have a few weeks of school left! (Directions for the presentation are on my website under the Star of the Week tab).

Kindness Challenge Week- this week the entire school is participating in a kindness challenge. Its been beautiful to see the students involved in kind acts all week long. We've had a spirit week to go along with our kindness theme where students have had the opportunity to dress up. There are two more days!
Thursday- Powered by Kindness (wear super hero accessories over your uniform)
Friday- SJA students are KIND Kids (wear SJA spirit wear)

The St. James Vocal Academy will be performing at Fiesta Del Sol on Saturday, May 21 from 9:30-9:50. And we are hosting a booth at Fiesta Del Sol this year! It is a wonderful opportunity to share our school and parish with the greater community. Please sign up for a shift or two! May 21st and 22nd-it should be fun! Sign-Up for SJA Fiesta Del Sol Volunteers

Sign up for Summer Camp at SJA with Miss Williams, Mrs. T and Myself!!
Writing & Math Camp ~ June 27-30 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. ~ Cost $225
Writing & Math Camp ~ July 5 - 8 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. ~ Cost $225

Miss Georgia Gale will be our teacher for the day this Friday! :) And Miss Black will be the principal!

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May 11,2015

5/11/2016

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Designing & Building Electromagnets

We Teamed Up With 3rd Grade for Some Awesome Science Labs During Our Study of Electricity & Magnetism!

Thank you again, so much, for all everything you did for teacher appreciation week last week. I felt so loved and appreciated! I am going to miss this class!!

Chapter 10 Math test is this Friday 10/13
"Geo Dictionaries" are also due on this day.
This is a project/quiz grade for math. Students can use them to study.
A rubric for this project is going home on Monday - but it should have been primarily completed in class unless the student has been out.

Kindness Challenge - May 16-20
St. James students and teachers will be participating in the Great Kindness Challenge, which ties so nicely to our school theme: Be Kind. The Challenge is dedicated to performing acts of kindness to create a bully-free, safe and caring school environment. Students accept the challenge with the understanding that bullying is weak and kindness is strength. They will work towards completing 50 kind acts individually, in their class and with other students. In addition to classroom activities, there are some fun, school-wide activities planned:

Illustration Contest for 50 Ways to Create a Kinder World SJA Book, Kind Quotes, Recess Kindness Station to complete kind acts, songs, Buddy Bench and Kindness chains. Please see the additional Kindness Spirit Days listed below!
Monday, May 16th
Kick-off Assembly/Video
Tuesday, May 17th
CRAZY FOR KINDNESS- wear crazy socks and shoes
Wednesday, May 18th
SCORE POINTS BY HELPING OTHERS- wear sports attire
Thursday, May 19th
POWERED BY KINDNESS- add superhero accessories to your school uniform
Friday: May 20th
SJA KIDS ARE KIND KIDS- wear spirit wear

4th Grade Mass is on May 20th- there has been a date switch so please double check your calendar. All parents are welcome and encouraged to join us for this beautiful liturgy put on by the 4th grade. (Our last of the year!)

We are headed to the Nursing Home on Friday, May 20th. Thank you to my parent volunteers: Lisa Ronco, Lisa Black, Angie Sciarrino, Adrienne Schulman, Pam Liebig, Sandra VanGilder, Tatiana Walton and Melissa Kuhn.

Sign up for Math & Writing Camp to brush up on important skills and have a blast with friends from SJA!
Writing & Math Camp ~ June 27-30 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. Led by Ms. Williams, Mrs. Tavassoli & Ms. Nielsen ~ Cost $225
Writing & Math Camp ~ July 5 - 8 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. Led by Ms. Williams, Mrs. Tavassoli & Ms. Nielsen ~ Cost $225

We will be having a surprise retirement party for Mrs. Sobieski on Friday, May 20th after mass. Please join us for a reception to celebrate our amazing office manager. Shhh it's a secret!

Our class is about to finish reading The Ballad of Lucy Whipple,  by Karen Cushman. The students absolutely loved this novel about a girl who moved out west to a mining town during the Gold Rush. It was so fun to see how the students connected the text to their learning about California history. We will be watching the film of the novel next week and doing a comparison of the two. Because of the setting of the novel, there are a few scenes that are inappropriate for the students (violence, alcohol) and they will be skipped.

Science Extra Credit- I was so please by how many students did the extra credit generator building opportunity. I know it was a difficult project and not everyone had success, but I think the process was definitely worth while and strengthened the students understanding of electricity and magnetism. The students had an opportunity to share the process with the class this week. We are now on to another fun one: Force and Motion! :)

Star of the Week - We are very behind on our star of the week presentations. And we only have 5 weeks of school left! Please check in with your child and if they have not presented we need to schedule a date for them to do so in the coming weeks.

Our annual Saint James Academy variety show "Stay Tuned" will be performed by students from Kindergarten through 8th Grade on Friday, May 27th in the Parish Hall at 1:00 p.m. Families may also attend the open dress rehearsal at 10 a.m. This year's show will feature music selections from television through the decades. Students should be working on memorizing their lyrics everyday! They have a test in music tomorrow.
Costumes!  Please have your child bring in a white t-shirt by Monday. The students will be doing "graffiti art" on their t-shirts to go along with their song this year "The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire".
A formal letter on costumes will be coming home soon.

We are hosting a booth at Fiesta Del Sol this year! It is a wonderful opportunity to share our school and parish with the greater community. Please sign up for a shift or two! May 21st and 22nd-it should be fun! Sign-Up for SJA Fiesta Del Sol Volunteers

1st Annual SJA Mother Son Bowling Night – Saturday, May 21st from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Kearney Mesa Bowl. Prizes awarded! Please see flier that went home today for more information and to make your reservation! Form and payment due in to the office by Wednesday, May 18th! Hope to see you there!

News from Coach Bohman
Fit to Lead Newsletter ~ Nutrition
"Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Most Important Thing
God has blessed each of us with an amazing body to live this life in. He has also called us to take special care of it. The past two weeks, we have focused on the importance of taking care of our bodies, in particular the kinds of food and drinks we put into them. The most important thing our body needs is water. We can go weeks without food, but only 3 days without water. So during PE last week, students were not able to get water until the very end of class. As they exercised, the momentarily parched feeling reminded students of just how important it is to drink water throughout the day, not just when they feel thirsty. I recommend starting the day off right, with a water bottle by your bed and before putting your feet on the ground, drink as much water as possible!

Clean Water
Water is crucial for life. Here in the U.S. clean water is easily accessible at any time for all people and is free. But across the globe, especially in developing countries, water is a treasure.  "663 million people in the world live without clean water. That’s nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide, or twice the population of the United States. The majority live in isolated rural areas and spend hours every day walking to collect water for their family. Not only does walking for water keep kids out of school or take up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick. But access to clean water means education, income and health - especially for women and kids."www.charitywater.org/whywater As students were reminded of the importance of water in their own bodies, they also became aware of the importance of clean water across the globe, and the little things they can do to make a big difference in someone's life!

Balanced Nutrition
There are so many philosophies about nutrition, so in PE we focus on the basics. Think of a stop light - green light, yellow light & red light foods. Green light foods are all-natural. Yellow light foods are slightly processed but still possess some nutritional value. Red light foods are the foods that have very little or no nutritional value. For example, an apple is green light, apple sauce is yellow light and apple pie is a red light food. All green-light foods help keep our bodies healthy. Every food group has important nutrients, vitamins and minerals that our body needs. Carbs provide us with energy, protein helps with healing and muscle building, and fats help protect our vital organs and help us to absorb and metabolize certain vitamins and minerals. Thus a balanced diet is key.

Pre & Post Exercise Meals

We need energy to exercise. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our bodies, so it’s important to include some carbs in our pre-workout snacks and meals. Before, during and after exercise hydrate!! After exercise, our bodies need to rebuild and replenish what was lost, so protein and some carbs are important to eat. Drinking chocolate milk 20-30 minutes after exercise is an easy and tasty way to refuel :)

Bouncy Eggs
One important food that helps our body become stronger, is good for our eyes and brain is an egg. Did you know that eggs can bounce? While there are many ways to cook an egg, if you place it in vinegar for 3-4 days the membrane becomes rubbery and can actually bounce! This week, students competed in activities with their teams using their bouncy egg :)

Recipes
Amanda Mascia, the director and creator of The Good Food Factory, has graciously shared with us some of her favorite recipes! She also offers numerous camps, parties and classes right here in Encinitas for kids ages 5-14!! Check out the website for more info & healthy recipes thegoodfoodfactory.com

Family Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think God desires for us to take special care of our bodies?
2. What are 3 little changes you can make to take better care of your body?
3. Choose a new recipe you can make this week and enjoy your healthy meal!

Campus Drinking Water Quality
In connection with eliminating single use plastic water bottles on campus, please note that we do have an outdoor water fountain on campus if students need to fill their bottle or forget to bring one. The Santa Fe Irrigation District reports that Solana Beach public treated water "consistently exceeds all federal and state standards for quality and safety."
http://www.sfidwater.org/index.aspx?page=158

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May 4, 2016 - May the Fourth be With You!

5/4/2016

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(my boys informed me it is officially Star Wars Day - I love that they teach me something new every day!)

Thank You Thank You Thank You!

I am feeling so loved and appreciated this week - thank you so much for all of the kind words, notes, flowers and gifts. It means so much to me. I am truly blessed to be a part of this beautiful community.

May is the Month of Mary - We have our May Crowning Mass this Friday and we will be celebrating with a living Rosary next Tuesday, May 10th in the Parish Hall.

Friday is a Half Day

Science Test has been postponed to tomorrow.

Science Extra Credit Opportunity due Friday. (let me know if you need more time on this)

4th Grade Mass is on May 20th- there has been a date switch so please double check your calendar. All parents are welcome and encouraged to join us for this beautiful liturgy put on by the 4th grade. (Our last of the year!)

We are headed to the Nursing Home on Friday, May 20th. Thank you to my parent volunteers: Lisa Ronco, Lisa Black, Angie Sciarrino, Adrienne Schulman, Pam Liebig, Sandra VanGilder, Tatiana Walton and Melissa Kuhn.

Chapter 10 Math test next Friday 10/13
"Geo Dictionaries" are also due on this day.
This is a project/quiz grade for math. Students can use them to study.
A rubric for this project is going home on Monday - but it should have been primarily completed in class unless the student has been out.

Kindness Challenge - May 16-20
St. James students and teachers will be participating in the Great Kindness Challenge, which ties so nicely to our school theme: Be Kind. The Challenge is dedicated to performing acts of kindness to create a bully-free, safe and caring school environment. Students accept the challenge with the understanding that bullying is weak and kindness is strength. They will work towards completing 50 kind acts individually, in their class and with other students. In addition to classroom activities, there are some fun, school-wide activities planned:

Illustration Contest for 50 Ways to Create a Kinder World SJA Book, Kind Quotes, Recess Kindness Station to complete kind acts, songs, Buddy Bench and Kindness chains. Please see the additional Kindness Spirit Days listed below!
Monday, May 16th
Kick-off Assembly/Video
Tuesday, May 17th
CRAZY FOR KINDNESS- wear crazy socks and shoes
Wednesday, May 18th
SCORE POINTS BY HELPING OTHERS- wear sports attire
Thursday, May 19th
POWERED BY KINDNESS- add superhero accessories to your school uniform
Friday: May 20th
SJA KIDS ARE KIND KIDS- wear spirit wear

Sign up for Math & Writing Camp to brush up on important skills and have a blast with friends from SJA!
Writing & Math Camp ~ June 27-30 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. Led by Ms. Williams, Mrs. Tavassoli & Ms. Nielsen ~ Cost $225
Writing & Math Camp ~ July 5 - 8 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. Led by Ms. Williams, Mrs. Tavassoli & Ms. Nielsen ~ Cost $225

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there! You are all amazing!

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Weekly News

May 25, 2016

A Very Busy Friday last week with Miss Gale as our teacher, Miss Black as our principal, a beautiful 4th grade mass and variety show prep!

May 18, 2016

Feeling Spirited for Spirit Week!

May 11,2015

Designing & Building Electromagnets

We Teamed Up With 3rd Grade for Some Awesome Science Labs During Our Study of Electricity & Magnetism!

May 4, 2016 - May the Fourth be With You!

(my boys informed me it is officially Star Wars Day - I love that they teach me something new every day!)

Thank You Thank You Thank You!

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