OLD MISSION MONTESSORI SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 office@omms.org

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St. Martin de Porres

Martins father was a wealthy Spanish noble. But Lima, Peru, where Martin was born, was a segregated city. The Spanish had enslaved native Indians and kidnapped blacks from Africa to work in the mines and plantations. The city of Lima was composed of the homes of the rich (conquerors), surrounded by slums crowded with poor people, including blacks and native Indians. Martins mother was black. Martins father, a wealthy Spanish noble, abandoned his wife and children. So Martin and his sister, Juana, lived in poverty for the early years of their lives. By the time Martin was 12, he had become the apprentice of a local barber. In those days, barbers did not only cut hair. They also set broken bones, dressed wounds, prescribed healing herbs for the sick, and listened to peoples troubles. Martin soon earned the trust of his patients. At 15, he volunteered to be a donado or lay helper at a Dominican monastery in Lima. He was given responsibility for jobs no one else wanted. Some of the priests thought that, because Martin was black, he shouldnt be there at all. Others, noticing his talent and goodness, tried to talk him into advancing to the priesthood. At age 24, Martin became a brother. But he continued to do the simplest tasks. He cared for sick members of the monastery, scrubbed floors, fed the horses and donkeys, tended the gardens, and cleaned the toilets. He also gave guidance, often showing a puzzling knowledge of peoples secret concerns, and made peace between people in conflict. Brother Martin fed many needy people each day with the monasterys leftovers. He began to lodge the sick and the homeless there too, until every vacant room and even the halls were filled. When his fellow Dominicans complained, he found other places for people. Martin began a home for abandoned street children. The home was the first place of its kind in the Americas. It was open to all, regardless of race. Martin planted orchards for the poor on unused land. This made figs, olives, and oranges available to people who couldnt afford them otherwise. Then he showed poor people how to care for the trees. Martins closeness to God gave him a reverence for all creation. Martin died of a fever at age 60. People of every race considered him their hero. He is the patron saint of interracial justice.

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St. Martin de Porres, pray for us.

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Friday, November 8th, Sock Hop themed free dress day Friday, November 8th, PTG Sock Hop, McKeon Center, 5:30 8:00 pm Monday, November 11th, Veterans Day, NO SCHOOL Friday, November 15th, 11:00 am All school Mass, 12:30/12:45 pm dismissal Wednesday, November 27th Friday, November 29th, Thanksgiving vacation, NO SCHOOL

DATES TO REMEMBER!

Notes from our Principal:

CORNER ........

THANKSGIVING IS RIGHT AROUND THE

One of our ongoing goals is to encourage all students no matter how young to think about assisting others; it does not matter what they do

to assist, but to understand that even small gestures can be of benefit. Anyone and everyone can reach out to help others. Every year OMMS is involved in numerous stewardship projects, but two occur during the holidays, one at Thanksgiving and another one at Christmas. During these holidays classrooms adopt at least one family, a family who is in need of assistance. The students then prepare a beautiful basket (decorated box) of food or necessities that can be given as a gift to help their adopted family celebrate the holiday! Consider discussing the term sacrifice with your child; encourage them to give up (sacrifice) something such as a trip to McDonalds and use that money to shop for an item of food for their adopted family basket. Remember no matter how small the act it can have significant impact! Please look for additional information from your childs class as the holidays approach, but it never is too early to begin thinking about what we can do to help those in need! We are indeed blessed and may God continue to bless you and your family!

Reminder.

Do you have a question or concern?

In being parents we sometimes hear of situations that happen within our childs life at school and perhaps have questions or concerns about the circumstances. Please listen and ask your child about the details surrounding the situation, ask how it was resolved and then if you have questions or concerns please contact the teacher. Teachers are known for the eyes in the back of their head, but in reality it is impossible to see everything. Teachers are there to assist every child, but can only do so if they are aware of the incident in a timely fashion. They are made aware through personal observation or communication by either the student and/or the parent. Teachers have a desire to assist all students in developing strategies to not only resolve conflicts, but empower them to stand up for what is right. Therefore to assist your child and adhere to the protocol discussed during classroom orientations encourage your child to communicate with the teacher verbally or via a written note and we request that you communicate with your childs teacher(s) and if necessary the teacher will then communicate with the other parents. Focusing on this strategy will ensure timely assistance, help eliminate misunderstandings, encourage confidence and growth within each student plus provide opportunities for all students to discuss conflict resolution strategies during their classroom community meetings. Remember

Information for Catholic Schools Management

FYI
Some families will be receiving an invitation to assist the team from Catholic Schools Management by composing a one or two page narrative following an outline provided by this group. Other families at the school may be invited to participate in an onsite interview responding to questions or sharing their perspective and experience at the school. These groups will not be the same. On behalf of our Pastor, Father David we would like to extend our gratitude in advance for your time, assistance and response to these invitations.

DRIVING SPEED on SCHOOL and PARISH GROUNDS

Safety is everyones concern and remains our priority. REMEMBER children are present and all are reminded to drive accordingly. Often children do not look in their eagerness to enter or exit a vehicle; as adults it is our responsibility to focus on this reality especially when arriving or leaving school. Most of us are always in a HURRY and we recognize that all have schedules to keep, but children and their safety remains the PRIORITY. Thank you in advance for your attention to this ongoing concern and REMEMBER to SLOW DOWN, children are present!

education is continuous and an essential component to education is social development.

PARENT- TEACHER CONFERENCES

Hopefully everyone has now had an opportunity to meet with their childs teacher(s) to discuss growth and goals for the upcoming year. Please also note that this is an open invitation during the school year not just at specific times on the calendar. Communication and collaboration is essential to the every childs success so please make every effort to COMMUNICATE. You are welcome to email or leave a message in the office and the teacher will contact you to establish a time to meet.

PTG NEWS CORNER

SOCK HOP November 8th

Dont miss our annual Sock Hop, this Friday, November 8th, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm in the McKeon Center. There will be plenty of music and dancing, plus lots of free activities, contests, games, and crafts. We will also have raffles, a Cake Walk, a Photo Booth, and more for a minimal cost. Be sure to place your dinner order using the attached flyer. Dinner will be provided by Mo Betta Bar-B-Q. Dinner tickets purchased in advance are $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for children. The price goes up at the door! Please contact your room parent if you would like to volunteer for this event. We are in need of volunteers and donated baked goods for the cake walk. You can earn one half hour toward your Parent Participation hours! (Maximum 1 hour). You may start bringing in your baked goods (cakes, 1 dozen cookies, plate of cupcakes, etc.) as early as Thursday. SEE YOU THERE!

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Dont forget to check your calendars to see if you saved the date to help us celebrate Catholic Schools Week, January 26 through February 1. Our celebration begins with our Parish Community at the 10:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, January 26, with a special focus on Old Mission Montessori School as the Parish School. PLEASE, DONT FORGET TO JOIN US! PLANS are also underway for our OMMS Choir to lend their voices to celebrate this mass, so warm up those vocal cords! Further information will follow later, but please SAVE the DATE to be a visible presence and help promote our delight in

being part of the parish school!

6th and 8th Grade Fundraiser

Feeling chilly or looking for a Christmas gift? Please visit our hand-knitted scarves and accessories table at the Sock Hop. Help th th support 6 grade camp and 8 grade graduation

ART ENRICHMENT CLASS

The second session of the After School Art Enrichment class with Ms. Jenn begins tomorrow! We will have some extra fun with holiday themed crafts. Please see attached sign-up sheet. The session dates are November 6th through December 18th. Ms. Jenn

OMMS SPORTS NEWS

P.E. NEWS OMMS students are on their 5th
week of our Turkey Trot Training Program. Each P.E. day, the students combine 20-30 minutes of running and walking, while increasing the running time each week. Students are learning to pace themselves, focus on a goal, and draw that extra effort from within themselves. Those students who are participating in the Turkey Trot Run on Thanksgiving morning will be in great shape for the event. All of our OMMS P.E. students will be in much better cardiovascular condition even if they are not able to participate in the Turkey Trot. There is still plenty of time to sign up for this event and when you participate and name our school, OMMS will receive a portion of your entry fee! Best of luck to those who run Thanksgiving morning!!

WINTER SPORTS Winter sports will begin

the week of January 13th. The winter sports schedule will be as follows: Varsity soccer games are on Tuesdays. J.V. games are on Thursdays. Varsity and JV basketball games are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Permission slips were handed out today to those who are interested in playing. Extra permission slips are available in the office. Please complete and return them to the school office as soon as possible.

Prayer Corner Please keep the following members our school family in your prayers: ~ 10 year old Zach, who will be undergoing major surgery on Thursday ~ Joseph Cierzan ~ Marilyn Clark, Brooke Bs cousin ~ Fabio Perez ~ Vanessa & Andres Grandfather ~ Christina Ruiz ~ Jacob Donahue (7 months old) and his family ~ Mrs. Bush ~ Ms. Lida ~ Ms. Suzanne ~The Varrichio Family ~ The Golina Family for health and healing ~ Joan Satterfield & family ~ All of our military families

Kings vs. Knights

By

Romy L. th On October 30 , OMMS Kings beat the Knights in our first game. The score for the first period was 15 25 and the second period the score was 13 25. We will need to win two more games to be in the volleyball playoffs. We have great team work. The team consists of: Romy, Malia, Mona, Piper, and Sophia. Our coach is amazing and our team is the best. fundraising!