We Are St. Ann School
8/22/2016 Principal's Newsletter By: Mrs. Bonnie Hall
ALL of YOU are the Light!
We join all of the schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago in celebrating the theme "You Are The Light of the World." That light is felt at St. Ann School; this year we'll share it with the world!
Madison C. was the first student to arrive to school this year. I loved catching up with her about her summer and visit to the water park. We took a selfie and wished each other a happy school year. I wish everyone the same: a happy school year!
Prayers, Please.
- Mrs. Chris Hutter's father-in-law, Mr. Albert Hutter passed away. Please keep Mrs. Hutter and her family in your prayers. She will be out of the office this week. (Mrs. Hutter is our school secretary.)
- Prayers for our former music teacher Mrs. Oosterbaan and her family. Mrs. Oosterbaan's daughter passed away in July.
We'll See You All At Our Back to School Night (Open House) - Thursday, August 25th, 7 p.m.
Water Testing
I placed a call in to the Archdiocese as soon as I heard the news that lead was found in a school in Chicago. Indeed, our water was tested immediately. We await the results. Here's a statement from the Archdiocese:
In the early summer, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced its intention to test the water in all Archdiocesan-sponsored Catholic schools for possible lead content. This initiative emerged from lead issues facing other school systems and communities around our country. The Archdiocese of Chicago engaged an environmental consulting firm that collected water samples from all Archdiocesan schools. The water samples are currently being tested and evaluated by an independent laboratory. We expect to have completed results for our school in the next few weeks. We will share the results with you as soon as they are available from our consultants. Please know the safety and well-being of our students, faculty and staff is our most important priority.
Hot dog! Frankfest Will Be Here Soon!
We need your help! A Frankfest planning meeting will be hosted by HSA on Monday, August 22nd at 7 p.m. in the Extended Day Room (door C3). Get your volunteer hours in, make great friends, and help a grateful school. Many of the volunteer spots are filled with "worker bees" already (including all the teachers and me). Help with planning, set-up, tear down, supervision, etc. is always most appreciated.
Fr. Bill and I have one request, please: no ketchup on hotdogs!
What's New? PLENTY!
- We opened our doors with 179 students. Welcome to all of our new families, and welcome back to our returning families.
- Kindergarten is our largest class. Go Kindergarten! Mrs. Zackavec will have a teacher's aide assisting her. We borrowed Mrs. Rivas from Pre-K to assist; Mrs. Simmons will be helping out on Wednesdays, and Mrs. Wylie (retired kindergarten teacher extraordinaire) will also be assisting as an aide.
- On Friday, we welcomed St. Ann's Class of 2026 and Class of 2027, our Pre-Kindergarten Class! We also welcomed their teacher, Mrs. Kelly Baxter to St. Ann's. Mrs. Alderfer will again be helping us in pre-K along with Mrs. Rivas and Mrs. Lomeli (each Wednesday). Pre-K's first full day will be on Monday, August 22. Their pre-k 'buddies" from the Class of 2017 will be there to greet the students and help them to their locker, etc. Our early childhood program is growing, and we couldn't be happier. We'll continue to work hard to provide our students with a faith-filled education in all grades.
- We are utilizing a new reading series in grades 3, 4, and 5, and a new math series in grades 1, 2, and 3. This is part of our targeted goal of achieving a 90% in reading and math test scores. Each year we update materials and examine curriculum, making adjustments as necessary.
- ACT Aspire Test Scores (from April) will go home the week of August 29th to grades 4-7. The Archdiocese will be releasing an informational letter, and I'll include that with your child's scores. The teachers and I will dedicate faculty meeting time to take a very close look at the ACT Aspire data in order to improve instruction and curriculum.
- We will also be utilizing MAP, (Measuring Academic Progress), another testing instrument which will give us a snapshot on how our students are progressing. MAP will also be valuable in assessing in-coming students who transfer into the school to provide us with data on where the student is academically, and where we need to take him/her in his/her learning journey.
- I would like to thank the maintenance super team for their assistance in getting the building ready for "Opening Day." I know firsthand how hot the building is over the summer months; they never complained, not even once. There is still work in progress around the building. I'm sure you've noticed the parapet (a defensive wall on the school wall) being repaired. Also, the parking lot has been re-paved. We thank our parish for investing in us and keeping us safe.
- A Promethean Board was added to Pre-K and the grade 7 homeroom. We also now have seven Chromebooks in the building for student use. This was paid for by the grant I received last spring.
- HSA purchased new safety cones for us and a new (very durable) lunch bin for each of our classrooms. Funds were also utilized for an outdoor volleyball set and to purchase a gift card for use at a teacher's store (for each teacher). Thank you, HSA!
- We officially launched "Roughrider University." Roughrider U will feature after school activities from 2:30-3:30 p.m. daily. Classes are offered in Mandarin Chinese, Art and Drawing, Chess Wizards, Robotics/Stem/Legos, and Yoga. For more information or to sign-up, please call the school office.
- Mr. Scheppe upgraded all of our PC's in the lab to Windows 10. He is also updating the teachers' computers' software.
- Gray polos or no gray polos: that's the question! Thank you for complying with our uniform policy. There has been a lot of discussion about gray polos for the boys. Some of these polos were sold by Dennis Uniforms prior to Tuition Days in July. I was also made aware that various answers were provided to our school families in this matter. In all fairness to our families, I will allow the boys who have these gray polos to wear them during this school year. Quite honestly, when I introduced the gray polo piece for the girls as an opaque option for undergarments a few years ago, I didn't expect it to affect the boys' polo uniform piece. However, many parents have expressed their preference for a grey shirt for the boys simply for the fact that the color white is so hard to keep white. Please allow me to further fact-find, talk to all my stakeholders including our students, and make the best future decision for the school uniform policy, as I can. Allowing the grey polos this year is the right thing to do for our families who have invested a lot of money in a uniform piece they believed could be worn. We apologize for the uniform snafu and any inconvenience it has caused.
- In addition, I am very aware that Dennis Uniform Company wasn't able to deliver several girls' jumpers in time for the first day of school. They have apologized and explained a quality control event delayed the shipment. I'm working with Dennis Uniforms to rectify this problem and prevent it from happening again.
- Thank you to Sgt. Gabe Barajas from the Lansing PD who conducted important safety training with our teachers and staff last Monday. We will continue to practice our hard and soft lockdown drills and do whatever it takes to keep your/our children safe.
- On Friday we had our first fire drill complete with fire alarm; the children did well. We'll continue to drill to evacuate the building quickly and quietly.
- Our first Supper Club of the year is on Thursday, September 15th at Five Guys in Munster. Take the night off of cooking, and let's have dinner together!
Volunteer Sign-Up (At Your Fingertips)
You'll have your 10 volunteer hours in no time!
(Never fear! This link is always on our school's webpage, too.)
School Calendar (Online)
Nice to Meet You...
Please allow me to introduce myself (or re-introduce myself). I am your proud principal, Mrs. Bonnie Hall. I started working at St. Ann's in 1991. This is my fourth year as principal of the school. Prior to that, I was the assistant principal for six years and taught here at the school for 21 years. I have a Bachelor of Science Degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and two Masters of Arts Degrees (Computer Education from Governors State University and Leadership/Supervision PreK-12 Administration from St. Xavier University). A Lansing resident, St. Ann Church is also my parish, where I'm honored to be a lector and Eucharistic minister. My husband and I (pictured below) will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in October. He is a Sergeant Major in the U.S. Army Reserves; we're a proud military family! I grew up in South Chicago and Thornton; I love to read, play Chess, and watch the Chicago Blackhawks.
I look forward to serving you, our faculty/staff, pastor, and most of all the students of St. Ann School. My prayer has always been for God to use my life to make a difference in others' lives. You'll find my contact information at the bottom of all my newsletters.
Together, we are St. Ann School!
Contact Me...
Email: bonniehall@saintannschool.com
Website: www.saintannschool.com
Location: 3014 Ridge Road, Lansing, IL, United States
Phone: 708-895-1661