A Message from Our Principal

Dear Families,

We just concluded our first of three rounds of MAP testing. Look for a score report to come home in the next week or two. I will send an OptionC message to you when the reports are en route. The next round of testing is in January.

I've said this before and will find opportunities to say it again: MAP scores are not "end all, be all." To be more blunt, the scores are not final judgments of whether a student is capital "S" Smart. I always think of the scene at the end of Forrest Gump when Forrest finds out he has a son. With nervous emotion he asks Jenny, "Is he smart or...?" She says that he is very smart and does not mention his MAP score report at all. I even rewatched the scene to confirm. Not a single mention of MAP scores.

So what actual value is there in the scores? They matter to the extent that we use them as one among several data points for judging whether a student's learning needs are being met. 

                                 .........

Also in the next couple weeks or so, you will be invited to sign up for fall conferences. 

Conferences are scheduled on Wednesday, 10/29, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

On Thursday, 10/30, conferences will run from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

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Monster Mash fundraising is bopping right along at a healthy clip. Thank you to all the donors out there whose gifts fill the coffers of PTC so they can continue their mission of supporting the teachers and students. What are some concrete examples of how PTC spends the money you donate?

All expenses related to...

8th Grade Graduation

Field Day

QP Golf Outing

Teacher stipends for classroom materials

Santa Breakfast (proceeds donated to 8th graders for Washington, D.C, trip)

Santa Shop

Field Trips

Guest Speakers

VIP Day

Teacher inservice lunches

Etc.

If the school year ends and PTC has some extra dollars left over, they determine if there are any other wants or needs that they can fulfill on behalf of teachers and students. This process led to the renovation of our playground and the installation of our new Gaga Ball pit. 

PTC will also turn over funds to the parish if their mission for the year is complete and there is remainder in the budget.

Thank you to PTC President Theresa Davis, Treasurer Stefanie Russo, Secretary Amber Walter, and all other PTC volunteers who give up their time so generously to make school life at QP memorable and rewarding. 

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This past Friday, we all participated in a Eucharistic Procession around our campus. If you are not familiar with this particular Catholic ritual, it literally amounts to processing along a defined route while the priest carries the Blessed Sacrament inside a monstrance (as Father Walling describes it to the students: a "trophy case for Jesus") and beneath a canopy borne by acolytes (aka servers). 

​​We held a procession on this same exact Friday last year. The purpose?

1) To show proper reverence and humility to the source and summit of our Catholic Christian lives: the Eucharist. 

2) To honor St. Francis of Assisi, who saw the hand of our Divine Maker in all creation. (This was our stop at the St. Francis statue in front of the rectory.)

3) To honor Mary, the handmaiden of the Lord and the first disciple. (This was our stop at the grotto.)

4) To remind us of our priorities in a world where it is too easy to forget them. 

Christ in Self. Christ in Other.

Sincerely,

Josh

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