St. Matthew Elementary Jaguar Journal

October 25, 2019

St. Matthew Elementary
Jaguar Journal

This week's to-do list:

Make a SCRIP purchase by Monday at 10AM - doing so gives you an entry into our October contest! THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE CONTEST!
Make sure to send warm outdoor gear to school...we go out for recess every day if the temperature (real feel or windchill) is more than 10 degrees!
Next week is Drug Free Week - make sure you check out the crazy dress days!
Join us for the Halloween Parade in the gym next Thursday at 2:30PM
Reminder there is no school next Friday, November 1st!

"Paws"itive Students

Lucas Harken Jackson Owens
Saylor Wilson Kiley Kauder
Eben Rivera Jacob Osterhaus
Abby Driscoll Andrew Renner
Riley Pence Jack Lammers
Hannah Feller Maddie Maxwell
Emerson Steffen Mason Chadima
Bella Miranda Lindzey Jeffrey
Sam Evans Elsie Paricka
Clara Cunningham Kaylea Matyas
Violet Vedepo Keelan McEnany
Anthony Tursi Gavin Ireland
Madyson Livingston Oliver Wood
Preston Duehr Jeffrey Barton
Cael Stutzman Emmett Lyon
Reagan Rosteck Blake Schmelzer
Lennox Shovein Mrs. Moser's Class
Sam Gilliland Emiliano Baez-Perez Addison Marraback
Ms. Wareham's Class

Important Upcoming Events

Tues, Oct 29 - Parent-Teacher Conferences 3:30-7PM

Wed, Oct 30 - 8:35AM Mass - 3rd Grade

Thur, Oct 31 - 2:30PM Halloween Parade in the gym - all are welcome to join us!

Thur, Oct 31 - 3rd/4th grade to Manor Care

Fri, Nov 1 - No School

Fri, Nov 1 - All Saints Day

Mon, Nov 4 - Picture re-take day

Wed, Nov 6 - 8:35AM Mass - 2nd Grade (Ohde)

Wed, Nov 13 - 8:35AM Mass - 2nd Grade (Nepola)

Mon, Nov 18 - Parent Association Meeting 5:30PM

Wed, Nov 20 - 8:35AM Mass - 1st Grade (Sitter)

Wed, Nov 27 - No Mass

Wed, Nov 27-Fri, Nov 29 - No School - Thanksgiving

Mon, Dec 1 - St. Matts Bookfair at Barnes & Noble

Thur, Dec 5 - Christmas Concert (JK-2: 6:00-6:30 and 3-5: 7:00-8:00PM)

SCRIP News

During the month of October, make a

SCRIP purchase to be entered into a drawing to win one of two $25 SCRIP gift cards of your choice!

Also the class that has the greatest percentage of families that place an order in October will win a dress down day in November.

Enrollment Code: 6DA5ACAD63825

Shop Here!

STANDINGS UPDATE!!!!!

One more week to go!

1st place: 2nd (31% of class participating
2nd place: 1st (29% of class participating)
3rd place: 5th (22% of class participating)
4th place: 3rd (20% of class participating)
5th place: TIE: JK and 4th (15% of class participating)
7th place: K (13% of class participating)

Monster Hands and Witches' Brooms
The fourth graders will be selling Monster Hands and Witches’ Brooms as a fundraiser for a service learning project. The proceeds will benefit the Community Health Free Clinic. Monster Hands will sell for $0.50 and the Witches’ Brooms for $0.75. Each will be filled with popcorn and candy corn. We will be selling to the classrooms on Monday, Oct. 28 and Wednesday, Oct. 30. Bring your quarters and we will be happy to exchange them for Monster Hands and Witches’ Brooms. Thank you for supporting the fourth grade fundraiser.

Red Ribbon Week October 28-October 31
As we celebrate Red Ribbon Week next week, the students are allowed (but not required) to dress in something special to match the theme for the day. Dress code is always acceptable.

Monday, Oct. 28 - I Rock Drug Free- students can wear 50's attire or rock t-shirts and jeans.
Tuesday, Oct. 29 - Be All You Can Be- students can dress as their future profession or in camouflage.
Wednesday, Oct. 30 - From Head to Toe I am "Red"y to Be Drug Free- Students should wear a red shirt with dress code pants. They may also wear a hat and crazy socks.
Thursday, Oct. 31 - I "Mustache" You to Say Boo to Drugs- Students can wear Halloween shirts or orange/black tops with comfy pants.

Crazy 8's Math Club
Xavier High School students would like to offer a math club opportunity to JK-2nd graders on the following Wednesday's after school from 3:15PM to 4:15PM. The Crazy 8s program is an over-the-top recreational after-school club that gets kids excited about math. You'll build glow-in-the-dark structures, crack secret spy codes and play get-up-and-move games like Toilet Paper Olympics. The dates for the club are as follows:

October 30 (next week!)
November 6
November 13
November 20
December 4
December 11
December 18

Please complete the form below to indicate your interest; we will provide notification of enrolled students on Tuesday, October 29th. There is a max of 16 spots in the program which means we will use a first come-first serve approach to select students.

Sign Up Here

Virtual Reality

We are excited to be able to use virtual reality with our students. One of the components we need to finalize our virtual reality experience gathering any old iPhone or iPods that can be used with the googles. If you have any of these devices that you are no longer using and would like to donate to school, please send them in and we will take care of wiping them of old content and re-purposing them with the app we need.

Thank you to Nick and Genie Maybanks for the donation of virtual reality goggles for our school.

Looking for an iPad or Laptop?
St. Matthew will be selling some of our old technology inventory on a first come-first served basis. Please complete the form below to indicate your interest in either or both of the options below:

Apple iPad 2 - These devices are over 5 years old but are still in working order. We cannot enroll these iPads in our device managing tool due to their age which is why we are offering them to our families. We have approximately 25 iPads and the cost for purchase is $20
HP Laptops - These devices were purchased in June of 2015 for our computer lab and technology class. We have since upgraded the lab to Chromebooks and are selling these devices. These devices will NOT include a Microsoft Office license but this can be purchased on your own for approximately $129. We have 25 laptops available and the cost for purchase is $50.

Please complete the form by Friday, November 8th. At that point we will provide you the details of the process, payment and pick-up location.

Sign Up Here

November Menus
Attached are the November breakfast and lunch menus.

Consider signing up to volunteer in the lunchroom: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d49a5ae22a0fb6-november5

November 2019 - Breakfast

November 2019 - Lunch

Thank you to H&H Fun Rides and to Todd Ostwinkle for the use of the haunted house on Wednesday.

This is one of the students' most fun activities. Here is a picture of the 1st grade class in front of the inflatable with their scary faces.

Nov

12

Parent Association Zio Johno's Fundraiser

The annual Parent Association Zio Johno's fundraiser will be on Tuesday, November 12th from 5-7PM at the location in Marion. More info to come.

Are you going?

Yes

No

Maybe

going.

not going.

might be going.

2019 Fall Conferences
Fall conferences are under way; the last day for conferences is:

Tuesday, October 29th from 3:45-7PM

You will also be provided the results of your students fall literacy and math FAST testing at this visit. We look forward to meeting and talking with you.

From the Archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Dubuque takes seriously its call to provide the safest possible environment for all of our young people. As part of that call, we provide information to parents to help them and all of us to be more informed of the issues and topics related to the abuse of children. It is our sincere hope that by partnering together we can continually provide the safest possible environment for all our young people to grow into healthy, Christ-filled adults.

We invite you to view the Catholic Mutual Group Training “Safe Haven - It's Up to You” videos that all employees and volunteers in the Archdiocese are required to complete.

As a parent you are invited to access these videos by following these steps:

Go to https://dubuque.cmgconnect.org
Register for a new account
Select your school or parish location
Select Role of “Volunteer”
Select Participation as “Parent”
Start the Training, “Safe Haven Training for Parents - Dubuque”
Register you account

Parents who view the videos through the “Parent” section will not be required to have a background check. Parents who wish to be a parish/school volunteer, averaging over an hour a week, are asked to participate as “Volunteer” (step 5 above) as this will automatically prompt you through the initial background check process.

Using Your IRA to Contribute to Our Faith STO, Parish or Catholic School.
If you are 70 ½ or older you are required to take a minimum distribution from your IRA, whether you need the income or not. If you are in this situation, you can gift that required withdrawal to the Our Faith STO or any Catholic parish or school. This IRA distribution must be given directly to the STO, parish or school by the financial institution managing the IRA in order to qualify. To learn more visit www.ourfaithsto.org, call the parish or school office or call the Archdiocese of Dubuque at 800-876-3546 ext. 219 or 307.

STO Fall Flyer Final

Conlon's Crew
Oh, what a crew! We sold almost 200 shirts! If you placed an order, you can expect the shirts to be delivered by the end of next week or early the following week. Thanks to all who purchased them to support Mrs. Conlon and her family!

Writing Contest
The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature will host the One Book Two Book Children's Literature Festival on Feb. 21-23, 2020. As in year's past, we encourage every student in grades 1-8 in to submit one piece of original writing for the competition that is a part of the festival. Grade-level winners will be selected by ACT and will be recognized at a special ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 23. Attached is writing prompt information and a flyer. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 6.
For more information, visit http://www.onebooktwobook.org/student-writing-guidelines/

2020 Writing Contest - Student Submission Form

Coalition for Life of Iowa 2019 Billboard Contest
This is completely optional, but wanted to pass on the opportunity for you students response to "Life is ______" on a local billboard. Please see the form below for the requirements and submission details. There is an envelope in the main office to submit your students work.

Coalition for Life of Iowa 2019 Billboard Contest

Human Trafficking Educational Event
There is an upcoming human trafficking educational event that will be held at the Jefferson High School main auditorium on Tuesday, November 5, at 6:30PM. We hope to educate and equip parents, students, and community members regarding this growing and disturbing issue. Many may be unaware of the impact of human trafficking right here in our Iowa communities. The event is free and open to the public and will be presented by Chains Interrupted. Speakers will include local law enforcement. We wish to invite Cedar Rapids area Catholic school parents, students, and faculty/staff to this event. If you would like to speak to a representative of Chains Interrupted, please contact co-founder Lenchen Raeside at 319-361-1077 or email info@ChainsInterrupted.com. Please share this information with anyone who would be interested or who could help get the word out.

Flyer - Human Trafficking presentation by Chains Interrupted

Tired of Cutting Box Tops

1. Simply download the app
2. Select St. Matthew School
3. Scan your receipt within 2 weeks of purchase
The school will automatically get a check twice a year!

Download the Box Tops App

St. Matthew Parish News

We are now using Flocknote to sign up for bringing food (salads and desserts) to funeral luncheons hosted here at St. Matthew Church. If you would like to be a volunteer in this capacity and receive notifications when we need contributions, please sign up here.

Funeral Luncheon Volunteers

Regis Middle School News

Position Opening at Regis Middle School: Director of Maintenance
Regis Middle School is in search of a full-time Director of Maintenance. Benefits are available with this position. A pre-employment physical and exam are required prior to job offer. Qualifications include, but are not limited to: high school diploma (associates or bachelor’s recommended); effective leadership, communication and problem-solving skills; knowledge of electrical, plumbing, basic carpentry, and HVAC (including steam boiler); basic computer skills. Experience in maintenance preferred. Those interested should forward a resume and letter of interest to Dianne at dclarke@regisroyals.org or Regis Middle School, 735 Prairie Dr NE, Cedar Rapids, 52402. Applications must be submitted by Oct. 31st.

Xavier High School News

X-Men Wrestling Club (PK-8): We'd love to have your families join us. There is still time to sign up. Practices start Mon., Nov. 11th. Contact Ben Hoover bhoover@holmesmurphy.com or 319-929-5575 for more information. or check us out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/XMenWrestling/

Message from the Principal

Flu and cold season are upon us already, seems hard to believe. Walking pneumonia has hit us hard so please be on the lookout for symptoms that would indicate this and we will keep you informed at school. The cold temperatures have definitely returned as well; this is not a favorite of mine!

Just some helpful tips as we try to get through another season:

Get plenty of rest
Wash hands with soap often
Drink plenty of fluids
Enjoy some warm soups
Lots and lots of Kleenex and cough drops!

Let us know if there is anything we an do to help your child(ren) at school.

--Mrs. Conlon

Essentials Team Highlight

P.E.: Skating is wrapping up! But we are still accepting volunteers for the last few days. Have fun and get your sweat on!
Art: In the Art room we have been working on our spooky Halloween projects. Take a walk past the Art room during conferences to check them out! Next Art Club will be Wednesday Nov. 6th for 3rd and 4th graders.
Music: If anyone has access to a video camera (at least 1080p quality) that we can borrow for the Christmas concerts on December 5, we would greatly appreciate it! Also, if anyone has information or access to sound equipment (speakers, wireless mics, a sound board) for the concerts, please let us know! Thank you for any help you can provide! Keep working on those parts 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders!

--from your Essentials teachers

Next Week's Birthdays

October 29--Blake Schmelzer

October 31--Mrs. Kane

Make sure to follow us on social media:

Twitter - @StMattsJags

Facebook - @StMatthewCedarRapids