Volume 19 Issue No. 5 March 2017

The Spirit!

St. Francis de Sales School

1111 Michael Way Las Vegas, NV 89108

Telephone: (702) 647-2828 FAX (702) 647-0284

Web-site: www.sfdslv.org Office Hours: Monday - Friday

7:45 AM - 3:30 PM

Ministerial Staff

Fr. Bruno Mauricci, Pastor Fr. Michael Conway, Assoc. Pastor Fr. James J. Bevan, Jr., Special Assistant

Administrative Staff

Principal Mrs. Manfredi Administrative Asst. Mrs. O’Connor

Teaching Staff

Kindergarten Mrs. Hensley Mrs. Larson First Grade Mrs. Thomas Second Grade Miss Aveni Third Grade Mrs. Cooper Fourth Grade Mrs. Tully Fifth Grade Mrs. Oddo Sixth Grade Mrs. Bochenczak Seventh Grade Mrs. Antos Eighth Grade Mrs.Studdard Math Specialist Mrs. Sposato Religion Specialist Mrs. Wilson Librarian Mrs. Wilson Teaching Asst. Mrs. Iorii Technology Director Miss Botti School Counselor Mrs. Pepperman Music Teacher Mrs. Taubert Physical Education & Spanish Instructor Mrs. Villanueva Drama Ministry Mr. Blaskey Before and After School Staff:

Mrs. Taubert, Mrs. Gorski, Mrs. Wattenbarger, Mrs. Villanueva

St. Francis de Sales

Newspaper Staff:

Kennedy Crear, Alaina Herrera, Anisha Silva, and Freedom Washington

This month’s classroom news was

compiled and formatted by Mrs. Smith!

Thank you!

A Prayer For Lent

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your generosity. We are grateful

for Your compassion and the peace that You bring us. We ask for Your blessings as we work to be light to

all we meet.

Amen.

FROM

THE PRINCIPAL

It is so hard to believe it is already March! So many wonderful things have been happening here at St. Francis de Sales! Spring is definitely in the air!

With Spring coming soon, our minds and hearts turned to Lent, which began this year on the first day of March, Ash

Wednesday. The students also were blessed with the opportunity to go to Confession, as well as attend The Stations of the Cross on each Friday during Lent. The Second graders were so thrilled to have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation this month as well. It was a beautiful ceremony, with families present to experience their joy! White balloons were released as a sign of the children’s own light now being carried by them and lifted up to glorify God. Nevada Reading Week was filled with exciting activities all centered on our favorite books and authors. The theme this year was extra special, as it was “Camp Read” giving all of the students a chance to imagine they were camping, complete with outdoor reading while eating Smores! The students also enjoyed reading with the Saints- our Saint Bernard friends that is! The students were given a chance to dress up during the week in their favorite Dr. Seuss hats and/or Disney garb! All in all, it was a fun-filled week for all! Our schools’ participants in the Geography Bee met with great success, leaving with the trophy for placing third in the overall bee! As I write this, we are looking forward to the Forensics Tournament. The students have been visiting the classrooms to perform their pieces and have been so entertaining to watch! The participants’ ability to use language to convey emotions and to keep their audience riveted is amazing! We are so proud of them!

The entire school is looking forward to and preparing for Multi-Cultural Week by researching, reporting, as well as practicing songs and dances! I can’t wait to see the fruition of all their efforts! Before you know it will be time for graduations and summer…but there will still be many more wonderful things about which to report next month! Have a blessed April!

-Mrs. Janet Manfredi Principal

KINDERGARTEN

As we journey through this Holy Season of Lent, the Kindergarteners have been prayerfully remembering their Lenten promises, earnestly striving to make Jesus happy in all they do and say. Each morning we discuss the ways in which

they are trying to be closer to the Good Shepherd through our Life Skills of prayer and caring with loving thoughts and good works. The Catechesis of

the Good Shepherd and our time spent in the Atrium is perfectly aligned with the Church calendar, so during these weeks before Easter, the boys and girls work in the Atrium continues to guide them to more fully understand the love of Jesus; coupled with our participation in the Stations of the Cross each Friday. The Superkids reading series continues to fully engage the students, the boys and girls are so excited to be utilizing their skills to read, write, and spell. In Math we are ordering objects by size, weight, and liquid capacity. During our recent Science studies, each student successfully planted corn seeds in plastic bag “windows” to closely view and chart how seeds root and grow. Nevada Reading Week was the best ever! The boys and girls enthusiastically enjoyed every activity surrounding the theme of “Camp Read”. Each morning

while listening to the mystery reader the students would work their way through a variety of guesses—hoping to be quick enough to be the first to identify the reader, they never really cared if they won, the fun was in the trying. We want to sincerely thank retired CCSD elementary teacher, Mrs.

Lunt, for once again taking the time to enthusiastically read to the class, she is a gifted story teller--the children and their teachers were enthralled! And, a million thanks also to Mrs. Atiyeh and the “saints” for

sharing a story that not only emphasized the blessing of having a pet, but reminded us of God’s gift of animals in all of our lives. We have already begun learning about the history, food, and traditions of our own United States of America as part of our Multi-Cultural studies. The boys and girls are excitedly looking forward to sharing all that they have learned with the student body during Multi-Cultural Week. Feb Students of the Month:

Amina Baghdadi Nayara Pineda-Leon

Birthdays

March Seanpatrick Dill Nayara Pineda-Leon April Colton Brown

SCRIP Purchases:

Treasure Box Goodies Classroom Supplies Blessings to all during this Holy Season of Renewal and all good wishes for a Glorious Easter!

-Mrs. Hensley & Mrs. Larson

FIRST GRADE Weekly experiences in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium are

remarkable! It is amazing to witness the growing faith of our first graders! Life Skills and Ethics Across the Curriculum lessons continue to remind us of the examples Christ taught us. Scripture and literature stories are

some of the ways we make connections to our Life Skills. Some of our favorite books that make life skills real to us are: Curious George (curiosity), The Great Kapok Tree (caring), and Green Eggs and Ham (effort). We are also illustrating and writing about life skills in our journals. Everyone enjoyed Nevada Reading Week! Thank you to our special guests and guest readers: Mrs. Lunt, Mrs. Liz Archuleta, and Mrs. Atiyeh and the Saints. We loved eating green eggs and ham prepared by Mrs. Wattenbarger! In Math we are learning about time, money, and problem solving. We are finishing our books for the “Reading Rainbow Go Writers Contest.” First Graders are awesome readers! We have passed more than 1200 A.R. quizzes this year! The Accelerated Reading is helping us improve comprehension and fluency! The following awards have been attained: Independent Reader (10 points): Cameron Feely, Dylan Fontanilla, Joy Gamble, Melanie Garcia, Moni Luevano, Keeahna Martin, Bella-Clair Nguyen, Sydnie Owens, Parker Parrish, Elijah Perez, Daniel Ramos, and London Ramos, Super Reader (15 points): Avery Crammer, Carter Cullum, Zachary Haile, John Hazard, Raven Kruger, Keeahna Martin, Bella-Clair Nguyen, Sydnie Owens, Parker Parrish, Aiyanna Sarmiento, Kylee Scott Advanced Reader (20 points): Anthony Arce, Sachiko Bradford, Avery Crammer, Carter Cullum, Kaitlyn Doucet, Zachary Haile, Lazaro Ibarra, Elise Owens,

Danielle Rickert, Aiyanna Sarmiento, Kylee Scott, and Kaitlyn Spaulding Star Reader (50 points): Classic Reader (100 points): Chelsea Verry and Chloe Verry Above 150 points: Chelsea Verry and Chloe Verry Congratulations! Keep reading. Thank you for your donations to our Mission Project, Cam Tam Children of Peace International. Thanks for all of

the books for our book drive. We collected 170 books!! What

wonderful ways for us to live the Gospel message (Matthew 25)! We are grateful for your continued support, assistance, and dedication. God bless all of you.

Students of the Week

Sachiko Bradford, Joy Gamble, Zachary Haile, Saya Mariani, Kaitlyn Spaulding

Students of the Month

Chelsea Verry Danielle Rickert

March Birthdays

Lazaro Ibarra Joy Gamble Kaitlyn Spaulding

SCRIP Purchases:

Classroom supplies literature books SAY IT TO THE SAINTS

According to our furry friends our reading is truly amazing. Our

weekly visit with Mrs. Atiyeh and a Saint Bernard is enjoyed by all of us! This terrific program continues to assist us in becoming “Paw-some Readers”! Occasionally, we even get to hear Mrs. Atiyeh read to us.

-Mrs. Kelly Thomas

SECOND GRADE

March has been such a pleasure in Second grade. We are de“light”fully learning how to carry our own lights.

In Math, we just finished our chapter on fractions! We loved learning how to color in fractions and finding sets of

different objects in our classroom. We are now learning about triple digit addition and subtraction! We have been anxiously awaiting this chapter! In Reading, we just finished Unit 5 of Superkids which means we are more than halfway through our series! We cannot wait to see what’s in store for the Superkids as we read more throughout! In Writing, we just finished writing on how we would catch a leprechaun! We loved using our RoundRobin strategy to gather ideas of items to use! We love writing with our new Jane Schaffer method where we color code each part of our paragraph! We love one chunk paragraphs. In Science, we just finished our chapter on dinosaurs. We loved learning about the past and what fossils actually means for paleontologists. Our current chapter is on solids, liquids, and gases. In Social Studies, we just finished our unit theme on ancestors of our past and famous people who helped contribute to today’s living. Currently, we are studying all about our country of France! We are practicing our song and working hard on our booklets! In our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, we just received the Sacrament of Reconciliation! Our baptismal garments are ever so pure white and ready for us to begin preparation for First Holy Communion. We are going to focus on the Mystery of Life and Death and the Mystery of Faith closely as well as begin practicing for our Communion!

In Accelerated Reading, we are just flourishing with books! I have never seen so many students who love to read! To date, we have taken and passed 2, 336 quizzes. We awarded some OWL’s with AR awards: Independent Readers: Keana Cobb, Elias Dils, Maximo Gutierrez, Jameson Murray, Olivia Roberts Super Readers: Jasolynn Burkhardt, Kaylie Cornman, Trenton Howard,

Maxyne Francisco, Maleah Mee, , Kylee Pfiefer, Aiyanna Wong

Advanced Readers: Jayden Anaya, Jacob Fernandez, Gabriella La Spina, Sebastian Gutierrez, Michael Iniquez, Benjamin Martinez, Chloe Ontiveros, Alejandro Rivera, , Catlyn Walztoni, Amartya Robinson, Gabriela Whitehead Star Readers: Anastasia Ryan, Lucas Sabbadini Classic Readers: Skylar Goldyn Here are some whooo-riffic highlights for the coming months: Green and White day, First Holy Communion, Easter Break

February to March

Owls of the Week

Jameson Murray, Olivia Roberts, Trenton Howard, Kylee Pfeifer

March Birthdays

Sebastian Gutierrez, Jeremiah Buen, Jasolynn Burkhardt, Elle Doud, Gabriella La Spina

SCRIP Purchases:

Classroom Supplies

Owl-ways hooting, -Miss Olivia Aveni

THIRD GRADE

March has been a very busy month. This month we are focusing on the holy season of Lent. As a reminder of Jesus’s love

for each and every one of us the students made beautiful string art crosses. Also during a special prayer service we reminded ourselves of the sacrifices we could make during this holy season of Lent. We are also attending the Stations of the Cross each week with our school family. Reviewing the Maxims gives us time to reflect on what we should be doing for ourselves and each other. Ash Wednesday Mass was followed by a lovely salad bar luncheon. Parents, thank you for providing all the delicious and nutritious food. Thank you also for the volunteers who helped serve the students! Currently we are working on our PBS Go Writers Contest. Future authors and illustrators are in the making! Nevada Reading Week was very enjoyable! We enjoyed literary lounging, designing book marks, and making circle maps of one of our favorite books. Many students had a difficult time choosing which book to illustrate. I am so proud of how much the students are enjoying reading. The winner of the bookmark contest was Riev Angeles. Thank you to all students for participating! Currently we are studying all about Peru. We have also been practicing our dance for Multi-Cultural Day. We thank Mrs. Kijanka Thompson (Cassandra’s mom) who has been working very hard teaching us a lovely Peruvian dance. She has also provided all the beautiful costumes for the girls and a lovely waistband for the boys. The book we are reading together this month is The Cricket in Times Square by George Seldon. It is a wonderful story of friendship and caring.

Accelerated Readers Update: Star Readers (50+ points): Breanna Cross, Christian Doucet, Lucille Jaynes, Makenzie Medford, and Cassandra Thompson ; Classic Readers (100+ points) Riev Angeles, Zachary Owens, and Gabrielle Pabustan. Keep up the great work!

Students of the Month:

Alexa Carambas Rome Ramos

March Birthdays

Lucille Jaynes Hailey Wells Melou Wendelboe Connor Gardiner

We wish everyone a Blessed Easter!

-Mrs. Mary Cooper

FOURTH GRADE Nevada Reading Week was wonderful! We had lots of extra time to read our favorite books and everyone enjoyed all the special events and presentations by guest readers and the daily mystery readers. We enjoyed the stories they all shared with us and appreciate their commitment to reading. Our class did a tremendous job donating to the book drive with 600 books donated! Thank you for all of your support for this worthy cause.

In Math we are really enjoying Fractions! Learning about how to compare, order, add and subtract fractions is fun, and understanding equivalent fractions is challenging! Changing improper fractions into mixed numbers is easier than it sounds and we enjoy that the most. It is exciting to realize just how often we use fractions in our everyday lives. We will soon be enjoying Geometry and all the fun that lines and angels offer! In Science we started bringing in Spring with animal classification and our 100 frog embryos have survived the transformation to tadpoles. We will continue to watch them grow until the end of the year when they will hopefully show us the metamorphosis to frogs. We will continue to investigate life cycles of other animals with butterflies and chicken eggs after Easter. Meanwhile we are completing a unit on rocks and minerals including testing classroom rocks to determine hardness, streak, luster, and composition. Maybe we have a future geologist in the making! We are also looking forward to Multicultural Week and all that we will experience during this time. Our class is studying the country of Hungary! We have learned many new things, and are looking forward to our class projects so that we can all share our knowledge. On Multicultural Day, we will perform a song and present some information to the whole school, and we will learn about many other countries, too. Finally, we have been discussing all our life skills and finding examples of how we use them in our daily lives. We recently finished Because of Winn-Dixie and are now beginning The 13th Floor. Both novels teach us to be tolerant of others who have ideas that are different than ours. We are also learning the important lesson to not judge people based on how they look, or based on the possessions they may or may not have.

Especially during this Lenten season, everyone has been trying to grow in faith and charity. We created Lenten crosses and wrote promises to Jesus about what we wanted to accomplish during this special time of preparation for the Easter mystery. Each Friday we share the Stations of the Cross led by the Seventh Grade class which is a special time for us. Atrium is teaching us about the history of the world so we are seeing first-hand how different cultures interactions increase the number of discoveries and inventions to make our world a better place due to the exchange of ideas. We continue to pray for our special intentions each morning and we are always thankful for our families and friends. I wish each of you a productive Lent and a blessed Easter. New AR Award Winners These students have earned enough points to move up to the next level, Congratulations! Advanced Readers (20 Points) Aviana Francisco Philip Melancon CLASSIC READERS 100 Points! Jeremy Baker Claire Barr Hall of Fame Readers 300 Points!!! Jason Le

Students of the Month

Eleana Locatelli Jeremy Baker

Birthdays

Abigayle & Annika Laning March 27

SCRIP Purchases

Classroom supplies

-Mrs. Nancy Tully

FIFTH GRADE It is hard to believe that March is already here, February just flew right by! During Lent, we reflect on how we can improve ourselves by helping others through cooperation, taking responsibility to be accountable for our actions and words, and always try to do our best with Jesus as our example. These are ways we are actively using

our life skills every day. In Social Studies we have been learning about the

Revolutionary War. The Revolutionary War was when the colonists of the thirteen colonies wanted independence and freedom from Britain. So they declared war on the biggest and toughest army in the world, Great Britain! We are now learning about Australia, as that is our country for Multicultural Week! Did you know that Australia has six states and two territories? Or that the koala is not a bear? We have been learning so much and brining in extra information in from home.

In Science we have learned about some of the deadliest forces on Earth- storms. Did you know what every day there is

an earthquake somewhere in the world? We saw a live seismograph and were amazed to know that there are tremors (small earthquakes) that happen in Las Vegas all the time! We are now learning about different types of minerals including how to describe them as prisms or pyramids. In English we learned about pronouns and even got to learn about antecedents. We have especially loved that the Voyages book has the examples from Greek Mythology, which we learned about last year. In Journey’s we noticed that there was a theme with our 4th unit which was all about publications (also one of our vocabulary words)! We have completed the 4th unit and are on to our benchmark test. Now that we are

writing the vocabulary words into sentences, it is becoming easier for us to see what that word really means. Math was fantastic during the month of February and so far in March! We have learned how to multiply and divide fractions. Did you know, depending on the divisor or the dividend that the number will be smaller or larger? We have done a lot of modeling- but our favorite thing we have learned so far is reciprocals- the inverse of a fraction. “Dividing fractions by fractions has been really fun!”

- Annabella Cross Nevada Reading Week was all fired up- camp fire that is! During the week we listened to mystery readers (and won two of them- we have some great ears!), had a book mark contest and a book drive. We even got to enjoy the outside air as we read s’more. We enjoyed all of the wonderful activities. Thank you Mrs. Thomas for a fabulous Reading Week! Lent is celebrated during springtime. We celebrate by preparing for Easter through the Stations of the Cross.

Stations of the Cross serve as a reminder of how Jesus felt before his death. In following the path we witness the suffering and death of

Jesus. Let us follow Jesus on our journey this Lenten Season. In Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we have learned about The Mystery of Faith and the Memorial. Through the practice of the Catechesis we have enriched our faith. Mrs. Silva does such an amazing job not only when she leads us to a new discovery, but with our questions!

A/R Awards Advanced: Nicole Banyai Carlo Daigdigan Miranda Emery Jade Storey Demi Gronauer* Star: Sofia Lara Tristan Molnar Demi Gronauer* Classic: Andrea Ponce de Leon

Alex Zapanta

*Received two certifications in one grading period! Great job!

Students of the Month

Mia Lopez Christian Castro

Birthdays Annabell Cross Emily Sabbdini, Jade Storey Nicole Banyai, Anabelle Ramos

SCRIP Purchases

None, thank you for your continued support!

-Mrs. Oddo

SIXTH GRADE

The Sixth Grade cannot believe it! It is already past halfway in the 2016-2017 School Year.

Though becoming Seventh Graders sounds amazing, we are happy to finish our Sixth Grade year first. Here are some of the things we have been doing. In Mrs. Sposato's Math class we have just completed integers. We are now learning number theory and fractions. In Mrs. Studdard's class we are finishing expressions and equations. We are studying the excretory and nervous systems in Science. God's Gift of Life is the topic we are studying in Religion class. This includes learning about the mixed feelings of new parents. Ancient Rome and Byzantium are our newest Social Studies lessons. We just completed our Adjective Unit Test and are beginning a new Jane

Schaeffer Essay writing topic that ties in with the Titanic story we are reading in Reading class. Our Oral Book Report presentations went well. These reports are very interesting because we get to hear everyone's report and learn about many different people. The School Book Fair and Nevada Reading Week were fun to attend. Grade 6 is starting March off right! Katie Clevidence

Students Of The Month

Gabriel Bacani Marina Munoz

Our Life Skills topics of Perseverance, Initiative, and Caring were discussed as we read our latest folktale" Yeh Shen" A Chinese Cinderella story. We enjoyed all the fun activities during Reading Week and are looking forward to starting our projects and practicing our England Multicultural Week presentation. Remember to Keep Reading! See me to redeem your points for incentive coupons!

Ava Junker, Stephen Landaz, and Sabella Schwarz recently achieved AR Star Certification!

SCRIP Purchases

None used

-Mrs. Bochenczak

SEVENTH GRADE

This trimester has gone by so fast, and with it, we have gained new knowledge. Our life skills continue to be a part of our everyday lessons.

Through Social Studies curriculum, we have been discussing questions such as, “How can we use personal responsibility to help us be our best?” and “Does using your best effort always mean you will succeed?” Now with the third trimester upon us, we are looking forward to putting our final stamp on our 7th grade year. In Math, we are learning about rational numbers. We are adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying rational fractions. In Science, we have just finished learning about the different planets in our solar system. We are currently learning about the evolution of stars. In Social Studies, we just finished learning about the constitution, written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in the 1780’s, and the Bill of Rights. In English, we are still working on writing using the Jane Schafer writing program. Students enjoy the collaboration of working together to talk and discuss what they are thinking. We also learned to compare and use verbs in different moods, along with choosing the right that agrees with the subject of the sentence in person and number. AR Update Keep Reading! Keep up your great efforts in maintaining your goal for this year! Remember to see me to redeem your points for incentive coupons. The following students have achieved Certification recently. Advanced: Thomas Brascia Serene Gronauer Kaden Hufford Hailey and Holly Lynn Alex Sabbadini Star: Riley Baker Samantha Beck Aidan Bonn Jack Gallob Kiarra Osotio

Students of the Month

Serene Gronauer Michael Betke

Birthdays

SCRIP

Classroom supplies I am so amazed by the pace at which the year has passed. We are doing really well with Stations of the Cross, we take our responsibility very seriously! Multi-cultural week is almost here, and we are looking forward to seeing all the different countries. Thank you, Mrs. Thomas for a fabulous Reading Week. We enjoyed the literary lounge reading to our prayer pals.

-Mrs. Desiree Antos

EIGHTH GRADE

Eighth grade cannot believe that February is over and March is considerably here. With the beginning of March, we know that we are into the Lenten

Season and will soon be preparing for the Passion of Our Lord. It is a time to reflect on our Lenten promises. It is not always necessary to “give up” something but rather to try to become a better individual. Looking at our weekly life skills, it is easy to find certain skills that we can try to improve on, especially during the Lenten Season. Eighth grade has been preparing for their last drama ministry presentation under the direction of Mr. Blaskey. We are honored to present The Last Supper and The Living Passion to the school as we prepare ourselves for the Easter Season. The All Catholic Schools Science Fair on February 16 was held at Saint Francis de Sales. Thank you to all the students who participated in seventh and eighth grades. The projects were excellent and the hard work of the students is sincerely appreciated by Ms. Studdard. Good luck to all

the UNLV Science and Engineering Fair participants. The fair takes place on March 30-April 2 at UNLV. Our SFDS Diocese of Las Vegas Science Fair winners were in 7th grade: Erica Fish (2nd place physical science) Dominic Villanueva (2nd place physical science) and Caitlyn Goode/Hailey Lynn (1st place life science). In 8th grade the winners were: Alina Langit (3rd place life science), Jules Sinobio/Matthew Muyot (2nd place physical science) and Anisha Silva (1st place physical science). Also, thank you to all our judges: Dr. Cross, Mr. Doucet, Mr. Whitehead, Mrs. Sales-Mensch, and Mr. Studdard. There were

also numerous other teachers from our Catholic Diocese who also judged. In science class we have just completed a unit on the

structure of the Periodic Table of Elements. We will begin a unit on bonding and balancing equations. Both Ms. Studdard and Ms. Sposato are working on factoring polynomials in math class. In social studies we have just completed studying about World War I. We will be beginning a unit on peace throughout the world after WW I. We continue to write in English and work on our grammar weekly. We are working on adverbial phrases and clauses. In reading we are reading excerpts from Tom Sawyer. In Spanish we are preparing our state report and focusing on our multi-cultural state of Argentina. AR Update: Keep Reading! Keep up your great efforts in maintaining your goal for this year! Remember to see me to redeem your points for incentive coupons. Always, Mrs. Bochenczak The following students have achieved AR Certification recently. Keep up the good reading-Mrs. Bochenczak

Advanced: Michael Farley and Sebastian Macias Star: Alaina Herrera

Students of the Month

Samantha Premas Katherine Owens

Birthdays February Alissa Madrigal Feb3 John Sullivan Feb 9 Alina Langit Feb 26 Alaina Herrera Feb 28 March Aiden Emery Mar 1 Freedom Washington Mar 6 Ayden Ybarra Mar 21 April: Lillie Martin Apr 1

SCRIP Purchases: None

-Mrs. Linda Studdard

STUDENT COUNCIL NEWS

Thursday March 2, the Saint Francis Student Council joined all the other Student Councils from Catholic Schools on a field trip to Three Square. Three Square is an organization that delivers food to the hungry and homeless of Southern Nevada. While there, all of our students helped package nonperishable food items for the needy. In total, we packaged 96 bags of food in huge boxes. We formed an assembly line packaging the food into bags, and tying the bags and placing them into the boxes. We worked for two hours and really enjoyed our time there. While we were having fun we also stayed focused on the work at hand.

After all the hard work we all felt happy that we participated in doing something good for those less fortunate.

Written By Matthew Muyot John Sullivan

NJHS We are busy with our service jobs

around school and recently had a Donut Sale. We look forward to two more sales before this school year ends. Please remember to keep

your service records up-to-date for reporting your hours at our meetings. We look forward to our continued service to our school and are proud to help out where we can.

Jacqueline Kulin

NJHS Historian

N

MUSIC March finds all of us hoping for more lovely spring weather. The Music Room is too as we sing about the spring and

St. Patrick. Many classes enjoyed “playing” the piano while learning about intervals on www.Apronus.com. The

Eighth Grade chose their Graduation songs while continuing a unit on Rock ‘ n Roll. Eighth Grade just finished one of my favorite units - Elvis and The Beatles. Choir is looking ahead to all of our fun activities coming up soon. They are very excited to once again be singing at the 51s game on April 29th at 7 pm. Be

sure to purchase your tickets early as it is another Jersey night!

-Mrs. Carol Taubert

Computer

Bits Spring has sprung!

This past month we finished up our unit on Excel. Third and fourth grade completed a two week treasure hunt helping Captain Calico Jack crate a treasure map and following it to the buried treasure! Fifth, sixth and seventh grade spent two weeks creating a Pet Paradise making a list of animals and supplies needed while sticking to a $500 budget. They then used Excel formulas to calculate their costs for their Pet Paradise ensuring they did not go over budget. Last week the second through seventh grade classes used Excel to create Saint Patrick's Day pixel art!

-Mrs. Angela Botti

PHYSICAL EDUCATION In March we have started our volleyball

unit. Students have been learning the fundamentals and the rules of volleyball. We have been working on passing, serving, and

setting. We will continue to work on these fundamentals throughout March. We also have started our Volleyball season and are working to get in the play-offs. Both teams are playing hard and looking forward to a good season. Play-offs will begin at the end of March and finals will be April 3rd and 4th. Please come and show your school spirit and support our teams. This month has also led us to beginning track training. Students are doing the long jump, the shot put, and other running events. We will continue to prepare for our track meet, which will be held April 6th. This month we will also have our softball tryouts. The softball tournaments are scheduled to be held, April 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th for the Varsity team, and May 16th, 17th, and 18th and 19th for the Junior Varsity team. I am really looking forward to the tournaments, as they will be held here at St. Francis. Students are looking forward to all three of these events. It looks like we will have a busy month ahead of us. Have a great month everyone!!

-Mrs. Susie Villanueva

LIBRARY NEWS Happy Spring 2017 Here’s my top ten list of Spring Books. I hope you enjoy them! The Girl Who Drank the Moon

By Kelly Barnhill Rosie Revere, Engineer

By Andrea Beaty The Arrival

ByShaun Tan Ellie’s Story

By W. Bruce Cameron

The Shack By William Paul Young

Spring Song

By Barbara Seuling The Penderwicks in Spring

By Jeanne Birdsall

Spring Fever By Peter Lerangis

The Velveteen Rabbit By Margery Williams

North Country

By Reeve Lindbergh Happy Reading!

-Mrs. Carol Wilson

St. Francis de Sales Catholic School 2nd Trimester Awards

Scholarship

Effort Achievement Courtesy Service

Kindergarten Grace Medford Colton Brown Thomas Ryan Christopher Miles Timothy Neal

1st Grade

Aiyanna Sarmiento

Keeahna Martin Chloe Verry

Zachary Haile Kaitlyn Doucet

2nd Grade

Caeleb Espinosa Jameson Murray Kaylie Cornman Trenton Howard Gabriella La Spina

3rd Grade

Emma Mariani Zachary Owens

Danielle Marrero Breanna Cross Avi De Remer Devin Vidrios

4th Grade

Riley Cornman Philip Melancon Cara Ontiveros Sebastian Szydlo Scarlett Schwarz

5th Grade

Kelly Nguyen Sebastian Peck Andrea Ponce de Leon Claire Gallob Alex Zapanta

6th Grade

Kaitlyn Clevidence Bea Verry

Julia Wattenbarger Wyatt Dorsey Abraham Colunga Katelyn Sims

7th Grade Kiarra Osotio Kaden Hufford Erica Fish Don Tabigo-on Logan Conway

8th Grade Juliana Sinobio John Sullivan

Victoria Legaspina Matthew Muyot Katherine Owens Samantha Premas

St. Francis de Sales Catholic School

2nd Trimester Awards

High Honors

Sixth Grade: Briane Angeles, Kaitlyn Clevidence, Stephen Landaz, Bea Verry

Seventh Grade: Kiarra Osotio

Eighth Grade: Victoria Legaspina, Matthew Muyot, Juliana Sinobio, John Sullivan

Honors

Sixth Grade: Noah Allen, Gabriel Bacani, Abraham Colunga, Wyatt Dorsey,

Baylee Farrington, Noah Fortez, Mia Madrigal, Marina Munoz, Albert Ogutu,

Sabella Schwarz, Katelyn Sims, Paris Sotelo, Lauren Ticsay, Julia Wattenbarger

Seventh Grade: Sumi Akoh, Riley Baker, Michael Betke, Kennedy Crear,

Erica Fish, Caitlyn Goode, Ethan Langit, Augustine McCrea, Louis Sposato,

Dominic Villanueva

Eighth Grade: Michael Caliz, Alaina Herrera, Alina Langit, Lillie Martin,

Jeffrey McEachern, Matthew Naples, Xavier Perez, Samantha Premas,

Cristian Ramirez, Anisha Silva, Freedom Washington

March 31, 2017 – Trimester Awards

Perfect Attendance for the Second Trimester

Kindergarten: Anthony Chaney, Thomas Ryan

First Grade: Kaitlyn Doucet, Joy Gamble, John Hazard, Keeahna Martin,

Elise Owens, Daniel Ramos

Second Grade: Jeremiah Buen, Kaylie Cornman, Maxyne Francisco,

Nicolas Munoz, Jameson Murray, Alejandro Rivera, Aiyanna Wong

Third Grade: Breanna Cross, Christian Doucet, Danielle Marrero,

Zachary Owens, Gabrielle Pabustan

Fourth Grade: Abigayle Laning, Jason Le

Fifth Grade: Christian Castro, Caelynn Corcoran, Annabella Cross,

Carlo Daigdigan, Vince Daigdigan, Sebastien Peck, Anabelle Ramos,

Sixth Grade: Noah Allen, Wyatt Dorsey, Noah Fortez, Anacidalia Rivera

Seventh Grade: Sumi Akoh, Michael Betke, Erica Fish, Ethan Langit,

Sarah Ogutu, Kiarra Osotio, Dominic Pryor, Don Tabigo-On

Eighth Grade: Alaina Herrera, Alina Langit, Victoria Legaspina,

Matthew Muyot, Xavier Perez, Juliana Sinobio

Got Spirit! Got

Spirit! V

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2017

Student Reporters: Kennedy Crear, Alaina Herrera, Anisha Silva,

and Freedom Washington

St. Francis de Sales Celebrates Multicultural Week!

During the last week of March we are celebrating Multi-Cultural Week at St. Francis! Our students have been learning about

new countries through reading, research, art, technology, and social studies lessons. At the end of the week, our students will

enjoy many cultures during our special assembly. We are looking forward to performances, sharing class projects, and all that we have learned with the entire school community! This

year our classes are studying the following countries:

Kindergarten U.S.A.

First Grade China

Second Grade France

Third Grade Peru

Fourth Grade Hungary

Fifth Grade Australia

Sixth Grade England

Seventh Grade Brazil

Eighth Grade Argentina

February Articles: Page #

Multicultural Week 1

St. Patrick 2

St. Patrick Day Treats 3

I’m a Little Shamrock I’m a little shamrock

See my leaves

Count my petals,

If you please.

If you give me water

And lots of sun

I’ll bring you good luck

And lots of fun!

St. Patrick of Ireland By: Alaina Herrera

St. Patrick’s real name is Maewyn Succat. He was born in Britannia in 385 A.D. Although at the age of 16 he was captured in by pirates and taken to Ireland. When

he arrived in Ireland he was sold into slavery in Dalriada. His master was a high priest of Dalriada. Patrick thought of his enslavement as a test from God. During his six years of captivity he was deeply devoted to Christianity through constant prayer. He felt like God was calling him to help convert Ireland to Christianity.

Roughly 408 the idea of escaping slavery came in a dream. Patrick convinced some sailors to let him board their ship. After three days of sailing Patrick and the crew abandoned the ship. In France they wandered lost for 28 days. Eventually Patrick found his family once and for all. Later Patrick went to Auxerre, France to study and apprentice in priesthood under the guidance of St. Germain. Even though he left Ireland he still was devoted to converting them to Christianity. In about 431, Pope St. Celestine consecrated St. Patrick Bishop of the Irish and was sent to

Ireland to spread The Good News. St. Patrick died near 461 in Saul, Ireland and is said to have been buried in Downpatrick, County Down. Now his feast day is

known St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th.

Source: http://www.biography.com/people/st-patrick-9434729#death-and-legacy-st-

patricks-day

Page 2 Reporter News Got Spirit!

St. Patrick’s Day Treats By: Anisha Silva

Valentine’s Day has passed and coming our way is the wonderful St. Patrick’s

Day. With this easy treat you can make, you’ll be eating these all day long.

Shamrock Pretzels

Ingredients

12 oz green candy coating

About 90 mini twist pretzels (3-4 cups)

Procedure

Place the green candy coating in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second

increments, stirring well after every 30 seconds, until the coating is melted and

smooth. Cover several baking sheets with waxed paper or parchment paper

Dunk a pretzel in the melted coating until it's completely covered. Take it out of the

coating using a fork or dipping tools, and let the excess drip back into the bowl for a

few minutes

Place the pretzel on the baking sheet. Repeats with a second pretzel, and when you

place it on the baking sheet, position it so that the bottom of the second pretzel is

touching the bottom of the first. Repeat a third time, and this time, place the pretzel at

the top of the other two, so that they form a shamrock shape

Break a pretzel twist in pieces, so that you have a few short segments that can be the

stems. Dip one stem piece in the coating, and then position it at the bottom of the

shamrock. Dip a small spoon in the coating, and use it to add a dollop of coating in the

center of the shamrock, just so that it has a smooth, even surface

Repeat with the remaining pretzels and coating, until you've made 24 shamrock

shapes. Refrigerate the trays to set the shamrocks, for about 15 minutes