Principal's Pad (10/2/22)
Updates for the St. Stan's Community
What's in this Newsletter?
***Haga clic aquí para leer el boletín en español***
Here is what's new...
A Few Words
Gentle Reminders
Leaders of the Week
Restorative Justice at Home (Part 1)
Halloween Party & Trunk-or-Treat
What's still here from last week?
Blue Mass Invitation
Home-Learning-Hub
Important Dates
A Few Words On...
As the leader of St. Stanislaus Kostka Academy, I would just like to share a few words and thoughts on several topics and happenings in our school community.
Reflection from Lockdown Drill
This past Monday we completed our Lockdown and Active Attack Drill in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department. The drill went extremely well and our students and staff did a fantastic job! The police officers even thought that we were holding the drill on a non-school day since they did not see or hear any students throughout the building. Just as a reminder, the purpose of this drill is to train our students and staff in one of the few ways they could react in the unlikely event of a building intruder. As a staff we will continue to have conversations around school and student safety and do all we feasibly can to improve. This drill was a good test for all of us and our students.
Restorative Justice & Behavior Management
Parents & Guardians who attended our "Meet the Teacher Night" in the beginning of September may recall meeting with our School Counselor, Mrs. Hunter Fox, regarding our school's implementation of Restorative Justice practices as a part of our discipline model at St. Stan's. She briefly explained our goal to use this model to better support our teachers and to better teach our students about avoiding negative behaviors and embracing positive behaviors instead. An important piece to the Restorative Justice model is the support of and partnership with parents at home.
We began these practices last school year and saw a number of successes in its implementation. I understand that these practices still might feel new to the St. Stan's community and those who have just joined us for this school year. As such, I will be using the month of October to send you more information on our practices as well as things parents can do at home to reinforce what our teachers are doing in the school. I encourage all parents to click on this link for a look at Restorative Practices at St. Stan's. This document will explain some of our approaches as well as the reasoning behind them. I welcome any questions you may have as far as how we all can work more closely together to benefit our students.
Gentle Reminders
Student Dress Code & Colder Weather
As the days begin to get colder, please keep in mind that students need to remain in proper dress code attire while also staying warm and comfortable. If they wish to be dressed warmer throughout the school day, there are plenty of appropriate options including long-sleeved polo, quarter-zip pullover, or black cardigan sweaters. Students are not to be wearing hooded sweatshirts or any other cold-weather clothing that is not affiliated with our school.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays (gym class days), students may wear cold-weather apparel from previous school-spirit clothing sales so long as the clothing has the Wildcat logo or school name on it. This clothing should not, however, be worn inside the building on informal and formal uniform days, which are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If your child has a question as to whether an article of clothing is appropriate, please have them ask their classroom teacher.
Please be sure to send your children to school with the appropriate outdoor clothing as well. Students will line up outside in the mornings and participate in outdoor recess so long as there is not inclement weather and temperatures are not below freezing. This means that students need appropriate coats, hats, and gloves when they come to school. Please ask your child if they are comfortable during these outdoor times of the day so that you can determine whether to send them with warmer clothing or not.
Booster Club & Room Parent Meeting on Thursday
St. Stan's Academy is rebranding our former Parent Association and creating a Booster Club. The Booster Club's purpose is to help build relationships among families and to increase family input into the mission of our school. The main objective of the Booster Club is to help run events, build networks with local businesses and organizations, and create opportunities for all families to be involved in the vitality of the school. If you are interested in joining the group, please come and attend our 1st meeting this Thursday, October 6th at 6:30PM in the cafeteria. Parents who signed up to be Room Parents should also be in attendance to review room assignments and go over their rolls and obligations. If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please reach out to our Booster Club parents at boosterclub@ststanschicago.org.
Leaders of the Week
Each week our grade-level teams will decide which of their students demonstrated awesome leadership in the classroom and around the school.
This week's "Leaders of the Week" are...
Ava Augustyniak
K-2nd Grade Leader
Britney Gonzalez
3rd-5th Grade Leader
Alondra Alvarenga
6th-8th Grade Leader
Restorative Justice at Home (Part 1)
One thing that I have learned over my time in education is that every child is unique and that teaching math, science, or reading a certain way might work for one student, but might be ineffective for others. Discipline and behavior management are no different as each child responds differently to consequences and correction. I encourage families to reach out to your child(ren)'s classroom teacher for ways that you can help them to implement our Restorative Justice and Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports model at home.
Respect and open conversations regarding expectations are major points of emphasis that I have tried to promote during my time at St. Stan's Academy. I encourage you to click on this link to view a lesson on how you could have similar conversations at home. This will not only reinforce the teaching we are doing at school, but it might help to improve relationships at home as well.
Halloween Fun Fair - October 28th
Mark you calendars! St. Stan's Academy will be having our annual Halloween and Trunk-or-Treat event on Friday, October 28th from 6pm to 8pm. Entrance is FREE with games and food starting at $1. We will need all hands on deck to make this event a successful one for our students. Volunteers will be needed for the following:
- 3pm-6pm - Set up and decorating in the gym
- 6pm-8pm - Running games and/or selling food
- 8pm-9pm - Breakdown and clean-up
- 15 cars to host and participate in the trunk-or-treat
Please contact the Booster Club at boosterclub@ststansacademy.org for more details or to volunteer.
St. Stan's Family Mass - "Blue" Mass on October 16
St. Stan's students and families should plan on attending a Blue Mass to honor those who serve our community. Students who attend with their families will earn a dress-down day at school.
Home-Learning Hub
Influencing a Child's Moral Development
Healthy Limits on Video Games
FSP Lunch Orders
Food Service Professionals (FSP) will again be providing our lunches. Families will need to register through the online ordering system, Boonli. This will be where lunch menus are updated as well as a platform for you to make payments. Click here to visit the Boonli platform.
Champions Enrollment for 2022-23 School Year
Contact Information:
Sam Peterson (Champions Director)
- Email - speterson@discoverchampions.com
- Phone - 630.251.4943
Upcoming Events & Important Dates at St. Stan's
Room Parent Meeting - October 6
Parents who signed-up to volunteer as room parents for the school year will meet in the cafeteria at 6:30pm on Thursday, October 6.
Fall Fest - October 12
Our Drama Club will be hosting FALL FEST on Wednesday, October 12 beginning at 3:15pm. Enjoy pumpkin decorating, games, prizes, snacks, and much more!
Blue Mass (All Families) - October 16
St. Stan's students and families should plan on attending a Blue Mass on Sunday, October 16 to honor those who serve our community. Students who attend with their families will earn a dress-down day at school.
St. Stan's High School Transition Night - October 18
Our School Counselor, Mrs. Fox, and representatives from the Big Shoulders Fund will be present to discuss important aspects of the high school application process with any middle school families who are interested. The session will begin at 5pm in the school library.
Virtual High School Transition Night - October 20
The Big Shoulders Fund High School Transition team will be hosting a virtual high school information night for any interested middle school family on Thursday, October 20th. It will start at 6:00pm and last approximately 45 minutes. Please use this Zoom link to join the session: https://bigshouldersfund-org.zoom.us/j/6977810935.
Halloween Party - October 28
Our annual school Halloween Party and Trunk-or-Treat event will be held on the evening of Friday, October 28. All St. Stan's families are invited and this year admission is free. Games and food can be purchased at the event.
Contact Us
Email: Office@StStansChicago.org
Website: https://ststanschicago.org/
Location: 1255 North Noble Street, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: (773) 278-4560