Sept. & Oct. Parent Newsletter

The school year has begun and our students have started the year off strong! Adjusting to new schedules, classes, teachers, and even a new principal can be a challenge. Our students have met that challenge “head-on”. We have already had our first mass, our first rally, our first Volleyball and Football games and the St. Anthony spirit is alive and well. Thanks to all of you for your warm welcome to St. Anthony’s!

This mailing includes some important upcoming information. With the launch of our new website, www.longbeachsaints.org , and in order to be environmentally and financially responsible, this will be the last newsletter mailing . We will be constantly updating our website with important, ongoing information. IT IS VITAL THAT YOU VISIT OUR WEBSITE ON A REGULAR BASIS. Our website will be used to maintain communication with you about important information and upcoming events. I invite you to “bookmark” or add our website to your “favorites” list, perhaps making it your homepage.

I look forward to meeting all of you at our upcoming Back to School Night on Thursday September 25th at 6pm, a required meeting you MUST attend.

Our Back to School Night is scheduled for Thursday September 25th at 6pm in the school courtyard. This night will give you an opportunity to meet the new Principal, Mr. Schabert, to get information about PEP (Parents and Educators in Partnership), our Parent Group, to get general school information, and visit your son/daughters classes and teachers. You also receive parent hours for attending. Remember, this is a required meeting for at least one parent/guardian. We look forward to seeing you!

A redesign of our website has taken place and it was launched on September 15th. There are a few minor adjustments still to be made. However, the calendar and news items are up and running. It is very important that you visit the website regularly as this will be our way to communicate and transmit information to you. Other features of the site include or will include the following; parent service hours log, online registration, online application for new students, online alumni database, handbooks and forms used etc. During the months of September and October, each week we will be randomly selecting parents to receive a bonus of $100 off tuition. On our scrolling text, if you see your name, you will have 24 hours to call Mr. Schabert to collect your prize. So, get in a habit of visiting our site and you may be a lucky winner!

All parents are invited to visit www.yourhomework.com to access up-to-date homework assignments for your son/daughter in each class. Teachers post homework by Monday at 10am for that particular week. The service is free, all you need to do is register with the site to access the information. This is particularly handy to verify whether students have homework or not or if your student is absent and you wish to find out their assignments. Beginning in January, you will be able to access homework and student grades at our website.

Students were given a small form to request parent e-mail addresses in order to update our records and facilitate further communication between the school. They were asked to return the form on Monday September 22nd. If we do not receive a form, we will be calling you during the week to secure this information. It is vital that all parents have an active e-mail address for communication.

Progress Reports will be distributed on Friday September 19th in all classes. Students should be bringing home 6 reports, one for each class. They must be signed and returned on Monday September 22nd. Students who have a “D” or “F” grade in a class will have an additional copy of the progress report sent home to parents.

It is that time of the year. Students will be receiving soon their annual $200 in raffle tickets which must be sold by the deadline specified. A reminder: THIS IS A REQUIRED FUNDRAISER per the enrollment agreement. Unsold tickets will be billed to your account.

Congratulations to our St. Anthony Choir who were selected to sing at the Annual Los Angeles Catholic Prayer Breakfast. Our students sang beautifully in the Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in front of 1300 people during Mass. Thanks go out to all of our students and Mr. Garcia for all their time and effort!

All students and parents are invited to attend College Fair 2008. Students who attend this college fair must sign-up with Ms. Rodriguez in the College Center. WE HOPE ALL SA STUDENTS ATTEND! Students who attend will be allowed Dress Code Privilege on Wed Oct. 15 and Thu. Oct 16th as incentive for attending. Please see enclosed flyer for more info!

On Wed. October 15th, all Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors will be taking the PSAT exam and Seniors should take the day to visit a local college or two. The day will end at 12:30pm and we will be on a modified schedule. The PSAT is a very important test that acquaints the student with the all-important SAT needed for college acceptance. It not only measures verbal reasoning, critical reading, math problem-solving and writing skills, but also is a qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship Program, which is funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, whose sponsors include corporations and businesses, company foundations, professional associations, and colleges and universities. Although Freshmen and Sophomores are not eligible for Merit Scholarship consideration, the PSAT is still invaluable in that it gives students more chances to get acquainted with taking the SAT. And the more a student is familiar with the testing, the better his/her chances of scoring well. So, PLEASE be sure that you are here (i.e., not absent) on the test date.