Heartbeat
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From the Principal |
By Principal Bob Hamm
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May is the most beautiful month or certainly one of the most beautiful months of the year. This probably is why someone many years ago dedicated May to our Blessed Mother, why classrooms all over the country have May altars, why the month ends with the crowning of her statue. Also, in the middle of this beautiful month we celebrate Mother's Day. We Catholics regard this day as a double feast: a remembrance of our earthly mother and a remembrance of our heavenly mother. During this month our students will concentrate on learning more about the Blessed Mother. We will have Marian devotions each morning, and will have our May Crowning during this month. As a family, you might spend some time in prayer together each day. A prayer that you might use with your family is the Prayer to Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States: "Blessed Mother Mary, we turn to you in prayer for all the people in these United States. We again place ourselves in your care, in the gentle hands that cradled the Child Jesus. We ask you to make us more alive in your faith, more generous in your love, more trusting in your hope. Teach us to imitate Jesus, as you did, and always to follow Him with your courage. Mother Mary, help us to become a people who hunger for justice and who burn with compassion for those who suffer in our midst. Make us a people who cherish and defend the dignity of every human person. Free us from all selfishness and self-interest, that we truly might be the builders of the Kingdom of God. Immaculate Mary, help us to stand among the family of nations as a people of compassion, generosity, and peace. Make us a people of vision and courage who will gift this world with new life, new hope, and the unity for which your Son died. Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us to turn with confidence to you today." Amen. The office does not keep petty cash and we are not in a position to make change for students. If a student plans to buy a drink from the juice machine, please send only change (no pennies) or $1.00. Tuesday folders are a means of getting timely information to you from us. If you have more than one child at SHA, some communications are sent with the oldest child and not with all children. Please make sure you read the information in each of your student's folders. Each month, attached to the Heartbeat, is a school calendar. Please post this calendar in a visible spot. The calendar represents the most current information on free dress days, holidays, half days, school masses, etc. Check the calendar each day for information you may need (the calendar is also on our web site, www.s-h-a.org). For each contributing parishioner, don't forget to meet your goal of contributing $350 to Sacred Heart Church. This goal must be met by May 31, 2001 or you will be charged at the higher non-Catholic rate and your child's report card will not be released until it is paid. Except in an emergency, if you need to make special arrangements for after school pickup or rides for your children, please call the office before 2:15 p.m. It is hard to get to each child to inform them of changes and if messages are left on the recording machine at school, they may be missed. Several students here at Sacred Heart Academy attend school without breakfast. Several times each week students come to the office with stomach aches and or headaches because they are hungry. Some students come looking for snacks before their class leaves on a field trip. Many more students do not have a mid-morning snack, each and every day. A small basket of snacks is kept in the office for children who have forgotten their lunch. It is not intended to supply the students coming to the office daily looking for snacks. You have brought your children to Sacred Heart Academy, placing them in an optimum environment for learning; however, they are handicapped by not having adequate nourishment for their bodies. Please make sure your children eat before they come to school and that they have a snack to get them through the morning, even on hot lunch days. Don't forget to send them with food on half days too. We do not have a microwave for student use. Please do not send lunches that need to be heated or popcorn that needs to be popped. If you have been selected to drive on a field trip and you need to cancel, please do your best to find a replacement driver before contacting the school. Please try to contact the school 24 hours before the field trip. |
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STUDENTS HONORED Bob Hamm Sixteen of our junior high students were recently inducted into membership of the National Junior Honor Society in a candlelight ceremony held at Sacred Heart Church. Members were selected for meeting high standards of scholarship, service, leadership, citizenship, and character. Students who were inducted were: Adam Bussell, Erin Capistrano, Ju Young Chung, Se Young Chung, Britni Coito, Alyssa Cunanan, Jessica Flood, Demy Grubb, Laura Haviar, John Hervey, Ivo Insko, Matt Kretz, Emily Lingvall, Lauren Morse, Katie Salanger, and Monique Teixeira. The National Junior Honor Society ranks as one of the oldest and most prestigious national organizations for middle school students. Chapters exist in more than sixty percent of the nation's middle schools. NJHS is sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, which also sponsors the National Honor Society for high school students. Congratulations to these outstanding Sacred Heart Academy students. We thank them for being a very special part of the Academy.
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PRINCIPAL'S ADVISORY COMMISSION Bob Hamm We are looking for new members for the Principal's Advisory Commission for next school year. All parents of Sacred Heart Academy students are eligible to apply for membership. Membership is limited to no more than fifteen parents selected by the Principal. Parents serve for two-year terms. The purpose of the Commission is to give input and advice, on an ongoing basis, on matters relating to curriculum, extracurricular programs, educational and financial goal setting, student services, and plant management. The goals of the Commission are to enhance and facilitate input from parents in order for Sacred Heart Academy to better serve the needs of our students and families. Any parent wishing to be considered for membership on the Principal's Advisory Commission should request an application form from the school office, complete the application, and return the completed form to Mr. Hamm no later than May 25, 2001 |
PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT
Drusilla Grubb
Just as parents are asked to assess the effectiveness of Catholic school teachers, once every five years the Principal's Advisory Commission is asked to assess the effectiveness of the principal. Each member of the commission completes an assessment form and meets privately with the principal to go over what we see as his strengths and where we see room for improvement. The principal then forwards those assessments to the Diocese.
The Sacred Heart Academy Principal's Advisory Commission completed this process in March and found it so beneficial that we decided to assess the principal annually even though the results of our assessment will go to the Diocese once every five years. There is no requirement to make the results of this assessment public, but we also felt it would be useful to compile our ratings and share them with the entire school. Mr. Hamm wholeheartedly supported the idea and is committed to making improvements where necessary while capitalizing on what we collectively see as his strengths.
Anyone with questions concerning the process or about the results should feel free to contact any member of the commission. Members are always happy to meet with parents in confidence and share parental concerns with the Commission as well as with Mr. Hamm. Following are the results of the Principal's Advisory Commission Principal's Performance Report.
Rating Scale:
1 = Area of Strength
2 = Meets Expectations
3 = Area for Growth
1. The Principal demonstrates belief in the school's Catholic mission and philosophy. 1.1
2. The Principal gives evidence of lived Gospel values in his or her actions. 1.3
3. The Principal keeps the school advisory groups informed of the general operation of the school. 1.3
4. The Principal provides input for and approves the agenda for all advisory group meetings. 1.1
5. The Principal implements the school's policies and procedures. 1.2
6. The Principal helps the advisory group develop a clear school vision through short and long range goal setting. 1.8
7. The Principal relates effectively with the school advisory committee. 1.2
8. The Principal communicates effectively with parents. 2.4
9. The Principal works effectively with persons/committees responsible for the financial planning of the school budget. 1.2
10. The Principal effectively and efficiently manages the school's financial resources. 1.3
11. The Principal effectively and efficiently the school's material resources. 1.2
12. The Principal works with appropriate groups within the school and local community on development and marketing efforts. 1.6
A message from Mr. Hamm: "I want to thank all of the members of the Principal's Advisory Commission for their dedication to Sacred Heart Academy and for their honesty and candor in their assessment of me as Principal. The assessment is very clear on items which I need to work on to improve my effectiveness as Principal of Sacred Heart Academy. I will make every effort to make these improvements in order that my leadership role will be enhanced."
Bob Hamm If you would like to apply for tuition assistance for school year 2001-2002, please get a Tuition Assistance application from Ferol. Only members of Sacred Heart Parish are eligible for tuition assistance. All Tuition Assistance applications must be completed and turned in to Ferol no later than MAY 25TH. If you have any questions concerning assistance, please contact Mr. Hamm. |
Library Lines Mary Zapata, School Librarian Harry Potter Winners We had almost 100 entries in our Harry Potter contests. The winners of our poster contest were K-3 Piero Lovatto and 4-8 Kale Stiverson. Those students having the most correct answers were Erin Capistrano, Megan Depew, Kelley Kohut and Derek Snyder. The 16 books in our Harry Potter collection are continually checked out. Baseball Books There are many books on the subject of baseball in the library ready to be checked out. Some of the nonfiction titles besides those on the game itself are biographies of Gary Puckett, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gherig, Jackie Robinson, and more. Other titles in this category are Baseball at War, the Negro Leagues, and Crossing Home. Some of our fiction titles include the series by Matt Christopher, and two new books, Honus and Me, a fantasy about an early baseball player and The Journal of Biddy Owens, a Dear America book. Aluminum Can Drive At the time of this printing the sixth grade was first with the fourth grade right behind. Those students who contributed to the winning class and the top students in each class won an after Easter treat. Please keep saving aluminum cans through the month of May. Remember to crush the cans if you want them to count for the contest. Our last collection day of the year will be June 9th, but continue to save over the summer. All profits go to the school library. Thanks to everyone who participates in this effort especially to our aluminum can mom, Barbara Finkelstein. Acknowledgments A heartfelt thanks to the Veltmann family for their very generous donation of $500 to the library. It is wonderful to work at a school where the parents understand the importance of and are so supportive of their school library. We have also had wonderful response to our Birthday Book Club. BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB Joan Irvine Here are our newest Birthday Book Club members: Jacob Syage, Kindergarten, Hop on Pop and The Itsy Bitsy Spider Megan Alsheikh, grade 1, Prayers for Little Hands Cheyenne Blackford, grade 2, Make Way for Ducklings Catherine Brower, grade 2, A Treasury of Irish Stories Sierra Carini, grade 2, The Mitten Ryan Ganem, grade 3, Great Boy Stories Lauren Valdez, grade 3, Classic Bedtime Stories Gabriel Alsheikh grade 4, The Eyewitness Book of Football Brett Robinson, grade 4, Red Badge of Courage Kyle Robinson, grade 4, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Thank you for these great additions to our library! Join the fun and become a member of our Birthday Book Club soon! Don't forget to check with Mrs. Zapata if you need some suggestions when donating a book. She will be happy to help you choose something absolutely perfect! |
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BIBLE BEINGS By Deacon Schmitt I was quite happy, living a very uncomplicated life until one fateful day when the Lord spoke to me, personally. This was the last Person I wanted to hear from so I decided to split. I found a ship heading out to Tarshish and went onboard. As it turned out, this choice caused a plethora of problems for the crew and the whole ship. The Lord was highly displeased. Violent storms appeared and the ship was severely endangered. The crew suspected that someone on board was the culprit so they cast lots and found it to be me causing the trouble. Many solutions were discussed, the simplest was to throw me overboard. There was some reluctance, but I insisted, so overboard I went. Just as I hit the water, a large fish swallowed me whole. I had never been so scared, which caused me to pray. There was nothing else I could do. Know what? That fish developed one severe bellyache and spit me up on dry land three days later. At last I got the message and was convinced that I had best go with the initial prompting and to what the Lord said. To Nineveh I went and for three days crossed the city telling them to repent, expecting at any minute to be stoned or worse. Much to my surprise, they actually listened and as a consequence, their city was saved, not destroyed as previously predicted, and no one was more surprised than I was! WHO AM I? |
THE BIG EVENT |
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BIG EVENT WRAP UP Van Thaxton and Kelly Andrade With the Big Event 2000-2001 behind us, yet still in clear view, the Big Event committee met for the annual wrap up meeting and committee chair appreciation luncheon on April 9th at Kelly Andrade's home. The meeting began by thanking all of the committee chairs and cochairs who worked so diligently on making the event truly an evening to remember. Several of the committee chairs presented their reports and made suggestions for next year's Big Event to pass on to the new Chairs. All agreed that the Big Event was a splendid affair and that despite all the time and expense involved, it was well worth the effort. We do apologize for the inadequate sound system during the live auction and have no doubt learned something for next year. This year's Big Event Committee was responsible for raising $26,000. This money is necessary to help the Academy with general operating expenses and to keep tuition at a reasonable level. The Treasurer reported that at the present accounting, this year's Big Event brought in about $50,000 with $16,000 in expenses, which resulted in a net of approximately $34,000, $8,000 over our budgeted amount. Hopefully, without any further unforeseen expenses this year, we may be able to make some unbudgeted but necessary improvements to our school. We could not have raised this kind of money without such a grand affair and without the efforts of so many people. Next year's Big Event Committee will be responsible for raising $30,000. To do so will require just as much effort as went into this year's event. If this amount cannot be raised, it will be necessary to increase tuition further due to the increased operating costs of the Academy. Having said all that, we want to encourage every Academy family to get involved with and attend the Big Event next year. Everyone who did this year, enjoyed knowing that they were doing something positive to help the school, many made new friends, and all of us had a lot of fun in the process. If you were unable to attend the Big Event this year, we want to encourage you to go next year. Even if you do not feel you can participate in the auction, it is important that you still attend. To everyone who participated including all of the people who donated items and services for the auction and who gave money to underwrite many of the costs of the event, thank you. Just as important are all of you who attended the event and participated just by being there and joining in the fun. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! Please complete the Big Event survey on the last page and return it to the office to give your feedback and input for next year's event. 50/50 DRAWING Van Thaxton The 50/50 drawing began with a drawing on March 16 for the winners of the limousine trip to the Big Event. Congratulations to the Wayne Magellan family for winning this prize. A corresponding cash prize was awarded to a parishioner who bought $50 or more worth of tickets. That prize went to the McNamara family who took home $200. Now for the cash winners! The 50/50 drawing took in a total of $6,475 and was distributed as follows: o At the 5% level, the winner was Pat Siefear in the amount of $156.88. o At the 10% level, the winner was Pauline Covey in the amount of $313.75. o At the 15% level, the winner was Liz Trejo in the amount of $470.62. o At the 30% level, the winner was John Teixeira in the amount of $941.25. o And at the 40% level, the winners were Domingo and Mary Nunes in the amount of $1,255.00. The school received 50% of the take at $3,173.50. Congratulations to all the winners! |
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DIRECTORY CHANGE ADDRESS CHANGE Please make the following address and phone number change to your school directory: Chung, Se & Ju (grades 8 and 7) 4380 West Point Loma Boulevard #G San Diego, CA 225-8060 |
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COMPUTER LAB Rich Grosch I am happy to report that, because of some very generous donations, the computer lab has added several Pentium computers with Internet capabilities. Using a central IP server, we are now able to have twelve machines in the lab that are networked to the World Wide Web. We also created a firewall so getting into this network will be much more difficult for intruders. This capability will take us to a new level regarding Internet skills and research and new responsibilities as well. A special thanks to the Irvings for donating computers, the Riches for the Ethernet hubs, and Rueben Taylor and Mary Zapata for their help and assistance in making the network a reality. In the classroom, the Kindergarten and first grade classes are starting to put together small multimedia slide shows. They will be able to import sounds and use transitions. This is a precursor to using more sophisticated programs such as Hyper-Studio and Microsoft Power Point. Earlier in the year, we used interactive poetry and reading enrichment type programs. We use math enrichment programs as well. The middle grades (2&endash;5) are keyboarding and working on their word processing skills. Grades 2 and 3 are making interactive stories that they will be able to print out and display as multimedia slide shows. Some of their keyboarding scores are really remarkable. The upper grades have been working on using manual tabbing and more advanced formatting skills. In the past, they have worked on graphing, spreadsheets, database management and charting. Traditionally, the last quarter will be devoted to multimedia presentations and creating web sites with the eighth grade. As always, remind your students that we have open lab after school for projects the students are currently working on in the classroom. The after school lab is dedicated to research and assigned projects; in other words, it is not a time for games or a substitute for day care. Also, if you are planning to upgrade your computer or your equipment, consider donating your old equipment to Sacred Heart Academy Computer Lab. I maintain and fix all of the computers in the school as well as maintain the LAN within the school and the lab. I also maintain the academy's web site at www.s-h-a.org. Be sure to visit the web site, and I'll see you in the lab! |
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Friday |
Saturday |
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Attend Mass |
8am Mass-4th gr. Stand 5th gr. to Duke Royale Progress Reports $1 free dress for Childrens Hospital Cancer Run
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8am Mass-6th gr. Stand Up For Kids/hygiene collection day $1 free dress for Childrens Hospital Cancer Run |
8am Mass-7th gr. Stand Up For Kids K-5-Water Conservation Assembly $1 free dress for Childrens Hospital Cancer Run |
8am Mass-8th gr. $1 free dress for Childrens Hospital Cancer Run Noon Dismissal - free dress
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Girls Basketball teams, Mass, 5:30pm |
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PALM SUNDAY |
8am Mass-5th gr. |
8am Mass-4th gr. Royal Blazers Uniform Sale, playground, 2:30-5:30pm |
8am Mass-6th gr. Stand Up For Kids food/hygiene collection day 1st. gr. to Birch Aquarium |
Stand Up For Kids |
Good Friday Noon Dismissal All School Sock Hop/In n Out
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. Attend Mass |
8am Mass-5th gr. |
8am Mass-4th gr. |
8am Mass-6th gr. Stand Up For Kids food/hygiene collection day
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8am Mass-7th gr. All Sports Banquet - Masonic Lodge - 6:30 pm |
8am Mass-8th gr. Noon Dismissal |
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8am Mass-5th gr.
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8am Mass-4th gr |
8am Mass-6th gr.
Stand Up For Kids food/hygiene collection day |
8am Mass-7th gr |
8am Mass-8th gr.
Noon Dismissal |
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MEMORIAL DAY - NO SCHOOL |
8am Mass-4th gr. |
8am Mass-6th gr. Stand Up For Kids food/hygiene collection day |
8am Mass-7th gr. |
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Sacred Heart Academy
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