Published September 27, 2011 17:13
Download the Family EnvelopeDear School Families,
As we continue our Celebration of 50 years, we are giving Monday, October 3rd as a free dress day to all of our students. We are grateful for all their help and participation in last Saturday’s event. Many of our students helped out on National Volunteer Day at the Pleasant Hill Library and we are appreciative to them for representing CTK so well. Bishop John Cummins gave a wonderful history of Catholic schools in this area and how enriched we all are because of those who have gone before us. Father Brian welcomed former principals, faculty, staff parents and students. Mayor David Durant proclaimed September 24th as Christ the King School Day in the City of Pleasant Hill. The celebration continues…
Introducing new members of our Team:
New Faculty info: Michael Dreyfus writes….I grew up on Long Island, NY, in a town that somehow feels very close to Pleasant Hill. I attended Columbia University in New York City where I majored in Political Science and fenced on the team that won 4 straight Ivy League Championships. I started coaching fencing at The Marymount School of NY my senior year, and felt that teaching was my path. There was a need for math teachers, and since my year of college calculus qualified me, I taught Mathematics and later Technology at a Bronx middle school. During that time I picked up two more sports that I’ve come to love: rock climbing and boxing. Two years ago I became a staff developer, training hundreds of Bronx teachers in how they could use technology to improve their classes and schools. On top of being a great job, it was an excellent learning experience. I am very excited to bring that experience to Christ the King. I moved to California just this summer with my fiancé, who is attending a masters program at Cal Berkeley. So far the experience at CTK has been nothing short of spectacular. I’ve never seen such a caring staff or such enthusiastic students. Thank you all for the warm welcome!
Katie Litzenberger writes…. I am thrilled to return “home” to Christ the King School! For the last few years, my husband and I have been living in Wellington, New Zealand and Boise, ID. During that time, I taught in both Catholic and International Baccalaureate schools. Along with teaching, I have been enjoying running, biking, and swimming in different places. However, nothing beats the beauty, vibrancy and quality of life found in the Bay Area.
I am a graduate of St. Mary’s Elementary School, Carondelet High, and Gonzaga University. I have a master’s in education and I am currently working toward my master’s in educational administration at the University of Notre Dame. My husband and I met on Gonzaga’s cross-country team. We love adventures and all outdoor sports. Together, we are thrilled to be back in the area and plan on staying here a very long time! There is no place like California and certainly no place as special as CTK. It’s just great to be back.
THANK YOUS: CTK at Pleasant Hill Community Service Day: More than thirty volunteers from Christ the King School volunteered at the Pleasant Hill Library for Community Service Day. CTK students and parents cleaned and reshelved over 2,400 picture books from the library’s children’s room collection. The students were photographed and filmed for local media so you might see some familiar faces on the local TV news and in the local newspapers. Congratulations to Sixth Grade for having the most volunteers!
Many thanks to the following students and their parents, who gave up their Saturday morning to be of service: First Grade: Emily Fosker, James Williams; Second Grade: Dominic Bolla-Morris, Sutton Martin, Kylie Williamson (and her sisters, Sarah and Lauren); Third Grade: Kaisey Baker, Mia Hanecak, Lily Jansen; Fourth Grade: Carter Flannigan, Natalie Garibaldi, Gabriella Williams; Fifth Grade: Patrick Cooper, Julie Jones, Payton Martin, Erin Vola; Sixth Grade: Jack Bolla-Morris, Tom Jansen, Jeffrey Johnson, Brooklyn Martin, Kelly Ruff, Cooper Tomkovicz; Seventh Grade: Reilly Baker, Chase Martin; Eighth Grade: Anthony Cannon, Adrianna Guerrero, Hope Noonan-Stoner.
FALL FUNDRAISER WALK-A-JOG-THON: CTK’S 3rd annual WALK-A-JOG-A-THON will take place on Wednesday, October 5th. Grades 5-8 will run from 11:30 – 12:00 p.m. Grades K-4 will run from 12:05 – 12:35 p.m. Don’t forget to ask your friends and relatives to sponsor you as you participate in this fun event. Pledge sheets went home two weeks ago. All students will walk, run, jog, skip or hop as many laps as they can around our WALK-A-JOG-A-THON course. While only the students can earn prizes for their laps, it’s always fun to have company! We invite everyone to participate, students, teachers, school staff, parents and siblings, the more the merrier! If you would like to be part of this fun event to raise funds for Camp Caritas we would love your help. Please contact: Michelle Hannigan at mlhannigan1@sbcglobal or at 947-6187 or Lori Martin at 849-5105. Students wear free dress for this event. Please follow free dress guidelines in the handbook.
THE BOOK FAIR IS COMING: Our annual Scholastic Book Fair will be open during on the following dates and during our Parent Teacher Conferences. Mark your calendars with the following dates:
Sunday, October 2, 2011 8:45 am. to 2:00 p.m.
Monday, October 3, 2011 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 6, 2011 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Conferences
Friday, October 7, 2011 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Conferences
CTK SCHOOL DIRECTORY: Included in today’s envelope is the 2011-2012 Christ the King School Directory. Your first copy of this directory is free and one copy is provided per family. Additional copies are available from the school office for $5. The directory is provided for your use for school related business only. Any use of the directory for commercial, solicitation or personal mailing list purposes is strictly prohibited. It is our expectation that families will keep the directory in a secure place. Every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in the directory. However, if there are any corrections or updates that need to be made, please notify Mrs. Wilson in writing. Updates and corrections will be included in the weekly school newsletter on a monthly basis. Thanks go to Mrs. Wilson for her support and assistance as well as Elaine and Maynard Maestro, for compiling and formatting the directory information.
REQUEST FOR PRAYERS: We ask the CTK community to join with us in prayers for the following individual and their family:
• For Grace Corral as she continues chemo treatments and all those fighting cancer.
Remember to keep those who are hungry and homeless and without work in your daily prayers. Our gospel value is Trust.
SCHOOL PICTURES RE-TAKE DAY: Your child’s school pictures went home last Tuesday with the Family Envelope. Class composite pictures are not included at this time since students who were absent have not had a chance to have their pictures taken yet. ID cards are included in today’s envelope. Picture make-up day is Wednesday, October 19th. The following students will be photographed:
• Students who were not photographed due to absence – Please request an order envelope from the School Office if this is the case, you can stop by to pick one up.
• Students who were photographed, but did not turn in an order envelope to the photographer Please request an order envelope from the School Office or you can stop by to pick one up
• Students who need a photo retake due to dissatisfaction with their previous pictures must bring their photo packets with them on Wednesday, October 19th.
CLUB CTK ART ENRICHMENT CLASS: All Fired Up Mobile Art Studio is offering an after school Art Enrichment Program. This is a four week program beginning on Wednesday October 5th and runs until Wednesday October 26th. Please download the flyer for information and sign ups. This program is available to all students at Christ the King School. If your child attends CLUB CTK they will not be billed for CLUB time while attending the art program. If your child is not able to participate all four weeks you may prorate the fee, each week is $16.00. If you have any questions please contact Sue Howard 685-0995 or email showard@ctkschool.org.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP LEMONADE STAND: Student Leadership will continue our lemonade stand this Friday at lunch recess. We will be selling 8 ounce glasses of lemonade for 50 cents. Along with our "Spare Change for Change" classroom collection, we raised almost $400 for Pennies for Patients this month!! Please remember to bring 50 cents this Friday and enjoy a glass of cold lemonade at lunch recess! This weeks proceeds will go to the One for Books program which is being sponsored by the Book Fair.
SCRIP NEWS: In celebration of the School’s 50th birthday (and the Parish’s 60th) we are having a scrip raffle this week. To enter, you must purchase at least $150 of scrip this week. Your name will be automatically entered to win $50 in scrip cards (your choice). Good Luck!!
Scrip sales in the Café have started. Cards will be sold in the Café on Friday mornings until 9:15. The items consist of all the fuels-coffee, food and gas (and Target!). Due to the holiday last week, scrip was not delivered, we apologize for any inconvenience. We are attempting to deliver in between testing this week.
CONFERENCE REMINDERS: Parent-Teacher Conferences start Thursday, October 6th and Friday, October 7th. Remember that we will not have school on those two dates in order to accommodate all conferences. Students in grades 5-8 must be present for the conferences with their parents. If you find that you cannot make your conference, please contact the classroom teacher immediately via email or phone. It is important that you arrive on time since the day is fully booked by time slots that must be adhered to in order to accommodate all parents. We look forward to working with you to ensure a successful partnership in your children’s education this school year!
CONTRA COSTA FLOOD CONTROL: October is Creek and Channel Safety Awareness Month. Please read enclosed flyer regarding safety around creeks and channels. For more info visit: www.cccounty.us/creekandchannelsafety.
ST. FRANCIS PRAYER SERVICE: Blessing of the Animals will take place on Tuesday, October 4th at 2:30 p.m. students are invited to bring pictures of their pets, stuffed animals representing their pets, or parents may come with caged, leashed and under personal control, live pets. We will meet at the amphitheater.
THE GARDEN CAFÉ: The Garden Cafe celebrates Germany and Oktoberfest. We will celebrate in true German style with sausage, cheese and continental style breakfast. Come get your tickets for the annual Oktoberfest of CTK which is on Saturday Oct 1st from 5.30-9.00. All proceeds will go to buying seeds for the winter garden in the Garden of Blessings.
KINDERGARTEN GIRLS DAISY TROOP: Please join us to learn about the first level of Girl Scouts - Daisy's! We will meet to discuss what it means to be a Daisy and sign up to be part of the troop we are forming, please leave girls at home for this first meeting. Hopefully we will have all of girls in the Kindergarten class join! We will meet in the 6th grade classroom at 7 pm on Thursday, September 29th. If you cannot attend, but are still interested please contact Lori Chapman at LoriAChap@att.net or by phone at 925-934-8064.
PHBA REGISTRATION: Registration for Pleasant Hill Baseball Association (PHBA) is now open! Go to PHBA.org to register online and then attend 1 of 3 in person registration sessions at the PHBA Sports Complex on the dates listed below. The sports complex is located at 2 Santa Barbara Road in Pleasant Hill (across the street from Pleasant Hill Middle School). The registration fee for the 1st child is $160, 2nd child $140, 3rd child $100. PHBA has leagues for boys and girls from 4 - 18 years old! In person registration dates (must attend one):
• Saturday Oct 29th 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
• Saturday November 12th 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
• Wednesday November 16th 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
SAVE THE DATE FATHER/DAUGHTER HARVEST BALL: Dust off your dancing shoes and mark your calendars. This year's Harvest Ball will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5th from 5:00 - 9:00 p.m. Invitations will be coming home in the family envelope on Oct. 4th. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Janine Orr at 935-1681 or JTO26@aol.com.
IMPORTANT DATES AHEAD:
Wednesday, September 28:
ITBS Testing continues
Thursday, September 29:
ITBS Testing continues
Hot Lunch – Chicken Caesar Salad
Friday, September 30:
ITBS Testing continues
Liturgy Gr. 2 & 1
Garden Café – 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Saturday, October 1:
Octoberfest – 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. -Amphitheater and Lawn
Sunday, October 2:
Book Fair 8:45 a.m.– 2:00 p.m. – Library
Monday, October 3:
Free Dress
Wednesday, October 5:
Walk-A-Jog-A-Thon
Peace,
Kathy Gannon-Briggs