Dr. Stritch's Office Connection

It the coming weeks we will be asking all of our World War Two veterans to come to school to video tape their war experiences. We will then make a compilated DVD to keep in our library for our students to use when studying that world conflict. Each veteran that volunteers to be interviewed will also receive a personal DVD for their family archives. Look in our Church Bulletin for further information.......or call my office at 425-1656. Later we plan on doing the same for Korea, Vietnam, etc....

I want to "Thank" everyone who helped make our fourth annual Veteran's Assembly a very memorable occasion indeed. In particluar, I want to say "Thanks" to all of the fifty-four veterans who were in attendance. Obviously without them, the event would not be the same. "Thanks" to all of the tachers who explained the meaning of the veterans' "Poppy" that all of the Saint Linus students were wearing and for making sure that the little ones had them securely attached to their uniforms. A big "Thanks" to Mrs. Kellam for setting up the Cardiff Center...and finally to Lt. J.J. Konstant, U.S.M.C. for his inspirational words. Look for him in the soon to be released book..."Victory Point."

Good Morning.....As of October 29th, we have eighty students from grades six and eight attending the trip to "White Pines Ranch," in Oregon, Illinois. Accompanying them will be six members of the Saint Linus staff (including myself) and six brave parents! For those of you who are unfamiliar with this program, White Pines is an outdoor education ranch where students spend three days engaged in various outdoor activities, such as: "Wilderness Survival," "Orienteering," "Horsemanship," and "Cemetary Study," just to name a few. For further information, visit the White Pines website. Students will leave at 9:00am on Wednesday, November 5, and return on Friday, November 7th.

You should have received a letter, in the famous "Brown Envelope," from me explaining the process we have implemented for Parent Conferences. Basically what we are trying to do is change the thought process from conferring only on traditionally scheduled days, to conferencing as needed. Thank you for your help in this matter and "Happy Halloween."

FYI......A reminder that we are having our annual Veteran's Day Assembly on Monday, November.10th, at 9:15am in the St. Linus Church. If you, or someone you know, are Veteran's, please complete Veteran's Registration form enclosed in this weeks "Brown Envelope,"or pick up a form in either ther rectory or the school office and return it to the School Office, by 10/22. We have a very special quest speaker this year. Marine Lt. J.J. Constance is a twice wounded veteran of the war on terror and the subject of a soon to be released book and movie....Also, Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Novemeber 13th, and as such, school will be dismissed at 11:30 am. Specific information regading conference times will be senrt home later.

Dear Parents: I'm writing to let you know that the first quarter ends on October 24th and that report cards will be sent home with students on the 31st. If you have any outstanding debts, they will need to be addressed before report cards are distributed. If not, school policy requires that I withold reports:-( If you have payment concerns etc...please contact Mr. Joseph Dillon @708 - 441 - 5026.

Parents........Just a quick reminder that as of October 1st, students in grades four through eight should wear their school uniforms to school on gym days and change prior to gym class. Your cooperation regarding this matter is deeply appreciated......Also, "White Pines" information will be passed out to all interested sixth and eighth graders next week. If you were unable to attend last night's meeting and have any questions regarding this educational opportunity, please feel free to contact me.

Dear Parents: You may or may not be familar with the popular "You Tube" website, but I can assure you, your child is familar with this site. Although there are many informative videos that can be beneficial to students for reseach purposes, etc. on this site, you need to know, as I discovered accidently, that there are videos that are very ADULT oriented and yet readily accessible by children. I therefore strongly encourage you to check out the site yourself....Do a little surfing...I think you might be surprised at what you will find.

Welcome Back! I hope that you and your family enjoyed a safe and happy summer. Many new and exciting things have happened since we ended the 2007-08 school year. In case you missed our "Orientation/Open House" on September 5th, let me recap some of the information I shared with parents at that time:

a. Over the summer, with the help of parents, several hundred, VERY old and unused books and records were purged from our Media Center and replaced with hundreds of new books:-) Our antiquated card catolog was updated to a barcoded system and twelve new PC's were added to enhance "real time" research. We have arrived at the 21st Century! Thanks all those who helped make this possible....and Mrs. Vulich in particular.

b. Our gym floor was replaced with a new wooden floor.

c. We have five new staff members......They are: Miss Carol Cotter, Kindergarten, Miss Noell Sisk, Fifth Grade, Mrs. Kelly Johnson, Middle School Literature, Miss Jessica Mossuto, Middle School Mathematics and Mrs Ginny Gallagher, Art. We are indeed fortunate to have hired such quality people and welcome them to the Saint Linus family. Two of our tenured teachers took on new roles. Mrs Minarik is now teaching fourth grade and Mrs McCann is teaching Middle School Religion.

d. Numerous positive comments on our new uniforms...The kids look sharp!

Remember, you do not have to wait until November for a Parent Teacher Conference....One can be scheduled any time you feel there is a need. Just email the teacher or call the school to make arrangements.

Regards, Mike Stritch, Ed.D.
Principal