Thursday, November 1, 2007

Parent Newsletter

OCTOBER 2007


A Message from the Principal—
Richard A. Spicer

Dear Wildcat Parents and Guardians:

I hope your families have had a good start to the school year. It’s been great to have your daughters return to school. These first two months of school have been full with activity. The first academic quarter is coming to an end, so you know life has been busy at Conaty-Loretto High School. I’m counting on the fact that your daughter has kept you informed of all that has been happening at school. I hope you have been checking our school website http://www.bishopconatyloretto.org/ for news, information, and teachers web pages and links to teacher blogs. If you haven’t had a chance to visit my blog, please check it out at http://bclprincipal.blogspot.com/. I invite your comments. This newsletter is a means to keep you informed of school events and policies. From time to time we will also send home with your daughters important announcements or flyers regarding specific events. Many important dates and events are printed in the Agenda. Always remember to ask your daughters what is happening at school and in their classes.

Back-to-School Night was well attended on September 13, although we did miss many of you. This was an important opportunity for parents to meet with their daughter’s teachers and to learn about the goals and expectations in the various courses. Your presence on that night and at future parent meetings is a very concrete way of letting your daughter know that her education is a priority. Your daughter will be successful in her academic studies if you are there for her every step of the way. Please avail yourself of every opportunity presented by the school to be a strong, supportive, active parent.

Thank you for all that you do in support of your daughter’s education. You are integral to your daughter’s achievement and success at Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto High School. Let’s continue to work together to make your daughter’s days at Conaty-Loretto most rewarding for her!

Be assured of our continued prayers for you and your family.

A Message from the Assistant Principal—
Lisa J. Gabriel

Attendance procedures are delineated in the Student/Parent Handbook, Agenda, pp 8-10. Please read them carefully. Each day students are absent, their parents need to call the school at 323-737-0012 ext. 107 before 9:00 AM to report the absence, and students need to bring a note the day they return to school explaining the reasons for the absence. Additionally, if a student must leave school early due to special circumstances, she needs to bring a note before homeroom; this written note must also include information about her means of transportation if she is not being met at school by a parent. Please note that no student will be permitted to leave early on any day with a scheduled class/school-wide activity for any reason whatsoever. As a parent you have two responsibilities to fulfill when your daughter is absent: (1) Call the office by 9:00 AM to inform the school of your daughter’s absence, and (2) Provide a written note explaining the absence upon your daughter’s return.

Traffic Congestion: Please respect the “rules of the road” on Ardmore Avenue while dropping off or picking up your daughter to and from school to avoid congestion and other unsafe driving practices. The safety of our students is of utmost concern, and it begins with safe driving habits and the rules of etiquette. Also, please do not use the Ardmore Gate entrance driveway to pull in and drop off or pick up your daughter. This driveway is an active driveway and must remain open at all times. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

The wearing of the school uniform identifies the student as a member of Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto School. Every student is an “ambassador” both in and outside of the school, and the larger community comes to know our school through our students. Too many students change the appearance of their uniform both when arriving and leaving school and this sends a different message to the community than the one we wish to convey. Every student should wear her uniform with pride, and she should always strive to “look her best”. Skirts must be no more than three inches above the top of the knee. Socks must be white knee socks, white knee-highs or folded white crew socks. Please refer to the section on the school uniform in Student/Parent Handbook, Agenda, pp 17-20 for details.

A Message from the President of the Parents’ Board—
Mary Richardson

First, we want to welcome Mr. Spicer on his first year as Principal! We also want to welcome our new parents to our community at Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto High School! We have a busy and exciting year planned! With work and everyday life, we understand that it can be difficult to get involved in your daughter’s school, so we have set in advance dates for future memorable events, and a “Beautification Project”, that you can get involved with and earn service hours.

We welcome new parent board members, especially parents that can translate in Spanish and Korean. We also need parents with daughters in the 9th and 10th grade to join the parent board.

Calendar of Events





  • Parent Board Meetings: Oct. 23, 2007, Jan. 15, 2008, Feb.19, 2008, March 18, 2008, April 15, 2008, and May 20, 2008; at 6pm, at the School. Service Hours opportunity~ New parent members especially in grades 9th and 10th. We also need Spanish and Korean translators.


  • Beautification Project: April 8, 2008; 8am – 4pm at the School. We will be making beautiful sitting benches. Service Hours opportunity- We need fathers/brothers/uncles with carpentry experience or donations for bolts, and two by four wood. Call school for details.


  • Mother and Daughter Tea~ All grades! March 1, 2008: 2pm- 4pm, at School. 1. Mother’s and Daughters to attend! 2.Service Hour opportunity ~Dad’s to volunteer to help.


  • Used Book Sale and Used Uniform Sale: June and Fall; At School. Service Hour opportunity to all parents.


  • We may be adding more events in the future.


Thank you from the Parent Board.

Campus Ministry

What is Service-Learning?

The roots of service are in the Hebrew Scriptures when the prophets announced God’s special love for the poor and called God’s people to a covenant of love and justice. It is also found in the life and words of Jesus Christ, who came “to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, recovery of sight to blind.” (Lk 4:18-19). As a requirement for graduation each student is to complete a minimum of 25 hours per year for each year she attends Bishop Conaty-Loretto High School.

The Service-Learning Program combines service objectives with learning objectives to foster solidarity with the poor that will lead to intellectual inquiry, moral reflection and social action. Each student at Bishop Conaty-Loretto is asked to connect her service experiences to her learning through a process of self-reflection and self-discovery in which she articulates the values, skills and knowledge she understands she has acquired through her service.

The guidelines for fulfilling her Service-Learning Experience are 1: to seek out service opportunities that focus on the essential elements of Catholic Social Teaching (at least one-fourth of each year’s hours are to be specifically given in service to the underprivileged); 2: complete a pre-service approval process with the Campus Minister; 3: prepare the proper forms and evaluations for each service organization; 4: At the end of the second semester, the student (except Seniors) completes a reflection paper that is kept in her Service-Learning Portfolio (Seniors prepare a presentation of all of their service experiences to be presented at the end of January).

Business Office

The Winter Fund-Raiser begins on November 6 and ends on November 20. Each family is responsible to sell at least $150 worth of World Finest’s candy. Our fund-raisers enable us to keep our tuition and fees at a reasonable cost, but it does require a little work on your part in support of the fund-raisers. Please note that there are two more fund-raisers that will be held during the second semester. A copy of the list of winners for the raffle that will take place at St. Agnes School on October 29 will be given to students in homeroom, the week after the event.


Guidance Department

Outreach Concern, Inc., a psychological counseling service that is utilized by our school, introduces a topic a month as part of their “Family Life” program. You can access their monthly newsletters at the following website: http://www.outreachconcern.org/. You can also access this website through a link on the school’s website: http://www.bishopconatyloretto.org/. On the home page, click on Guidance, and scroll to the end of the page where information is contained for Outreach Concern. A link is provided at the end of that section.




Useful Websites



Fall is the time for senior to apply for college, but is never too early or juniors, sophomores andfreshmen to start planning for college.·






Academics

Deficiency Reports were given to students during the week of 8-11. These notices are given to the students approximately 3 weeks before the end of each quarter of academic work. ONLY those students who are having academic difficulty in a subject receive this notification. No deficiency report is given if your daughter is performing well in her classes, but on occasion a progress report may be given. If you have reason to believe that your daughter should be receiving a deficiency report and she has not shown you this report, then call the school office and inquire about the status of these deficiency reports. Sometimes these reports may not find their way into your hands for a variety of reasons, so your follow-up is essential. A parent is required to sign these reports and your daughter needs to return the form to the subject teacher. Please be attentive to these reports and take the necessary action as requested by the teacher. Your intervention now may make the difference between a passing and failing grade for your daughter.

Report Cards will be given to the students on November 9. Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled during the week of November 13-16. If a conference is desired, parents are asked to contact teachers directly to set up an appointment during that week at a mutually convenient time. Parents, if a teacher would like to meet with you to discuss your daughter’s progress, the following comment will be listed on the report card next to the student grade: “Parent, meet with teacher.” If you see this comment, please follow through and contact the teacher. Early intervention will make all the difference in success or failure. All parents are welcome to take advantage of this time set aside for parent-teacher conferences. However, if this time is not convenient for you, an alternate time can be arranged.

Our annual fall Parent Classroom Observation Day is planned for November 28. This is a day when parents are invited to attend classes with their daughters. Many of our parents look forward to this annual event, and we hope that many of you will avail yourself of this opportunity to become "a student for the day." You may choose to come for part of the day or for the entire day. It's a great way to experience what your daughter is doing on a daily basis and to learn first hand what's happening in the classroom. You also have an opportunity to meet other parents that is a great bonus! Please try to set aside some time to participate. More information will be sent home as the day approaches.


Student Activities

Parents are reminded that 10 Service Hours to the school must be fulfilled during the 2007-2008 school year. Remember that for each service hour not earned during the year, a fee of $15 will be assessed at the end of the school year. Any money owed due to unserved hours must be paid prior to your daughter taking final exams in June 2008. Be attentive to service hour opportunities that are periodically announced throughout the school year.

In order for your daughter to remain in school for an after school activity, a permission form must be signed by a parent acknowledging the student's participation as well as indicating the manner in which she will be leaving the school campus after termination of the activity. Students must leave campus immediately after dismissal from school or at the end of an after school activity. Students will not be permitted to maintain membership in a club/activity or to participate in after hours tutoring, unless a timely departure from school occurs.

Spirit Day will take place November 2. This is a time of friendly competition among teams comprised of different grade levels. Various activities are planned. Ask your daughter about the particulars of this very spirited occasion. It’s an opportunity for our students to show their unity and pride in their school.

Athletics

The volleyball season is well underway, and our teams are having a great season! If you have an opportunity, come and see our teams in action. The Wildcats would love a parent cheering section. Special thanks to our coaches Mr. Arias (V) and Ms. Chambers (JV).

Bishop Conaty-Loretto introduced the sport of cross-country this year. The team has already placed well at some meets. Congratulations to our coach Ms. Boyle and her assistant coaches Ms. Lizarraga, Mr. Park and Mr. Delaney.

Visual and Performing Arts

Drama Club will present Salem’s Daughter this fall. Check out Ms. Corso’s webpage for details: http://www.atheneproductions.com/ .

Technology

As you are aware, this year we are integrating new technologies into all aspects of our educational program. Students are learning how to use the Internet responsibly and ethically. Our teachers blogs are examples of the proper use of blogging. These blogs can be accessed via teacher web pages on our website, http://www.bishopconatyloretto.org/. They can also be a very effective means of communication with you and your daughter’s teachers. We encourage you to visit teachers’ web pages and blogs frequently.



Important Dates







  • October 21: Raffle Drawing at St. Agnes·


  • October 22 to November 16: KAIROS Registration·


  • November 5: First Quarter Ends·


  • November 5 to November 19: House of Ruth Collection·


  • November 6 to November 20: Winter Fund-Raiser·


  • November 8: Parents’ Meeting, 6:30 PM·


  • November 9: Report Cards·


  • November 12: Veterans’ Day Holiday·


  • November 13 to November 16: Parent-Teacher Conference Week·


  • November 20: Thanksgiving Luncheon·


  • November 21: Thanksgiving Paraliturgy·


  • November 22 to November 23: Thanksgiving Holliday·


  • November 30: UC & CSU Applications Due·


  • December 2: 8th Grade Open House·


  • December 4 to December 7: Senior KAIROS Retreat·


  • December 10 to December 14: Progress Reports Week·


  • December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass·


  • December 14: Winter Dance·


  • December 24 to January 4: Christmas Vacation


THANK YOU


We would like to thank the following parents for their contributions of $10 or more to theParent Association:· Juan Arce & Maria “Lupe” Fernandez· Lorrie Benjamin· Riad & Carmen El-Khouri· Urbano & Yolanda Garcia· Manuel & Clara Islas· Hector & Johana Martinez· Mary Richardson· Patrick & Ivonne Silver



Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto High School Parent Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 2, October 2007
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