CKS Roars!

Typically when we think about the roar of a lion, we think of the sound produced by its voice. One other way we would like our students to think about their roar and voice is in their writing.

CKS has a long tradition of producing students who are strong writers, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that one of our school-wide projects this year is the implementation of a new writing program we call CKS Lions Roar.  This standards-based curriculum provides a strong, age-appropriate foundation on which to build each year and gives us an opportunity to prepare all of our students for continued success with the rigor and challenge of timed-writing tasks.

Why an emphasis on writing?  Here are three main reasons:

1. Preparation for High School--8th grade students wishing to go to area private schools or public magnet or IB schools must submit a writing sample as part of the admissions process.
2. Preparation for the SAT and ACT--You can see a sample SAT prompt here and a sample ACT prompt here. These sample prompts indicate the type of writing expected of college students, hence their inclusion on these college readiness exams--a type of writing that focuses on students compiling and evaluating information on a topic, forming their own ideas, and being able to articulate those ideas to others.
3. Preparation for College--Most universities require an essay to be submitted as part of the application process. Other universities strongly encourage it--which we all know really means "if you want to be accepted you better submit it." An example of the writing prompts for UF can be found here.

I know high school and college may seem like a long way off, especially for students like the writer pictured here:

Writing, though, like any skill, should start with an early foundation and be built upon with continued practice. Plus, if you ask Mrs. Fogarty in KB, everything worth learning is learned in kindergarten anyway!

   

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Joy in Others

As I am sure most of you know, this past Sunday Pope Francis canonized a new saint: Mother Teresa. This morning at assembly, Father Bill shared a few of her more famous quotes with our students:

"If you spend time to judge people, you have no time to love them."

"I am a little pencil in the hand of God who is sending a love letter to the world."

"If you can't feed 100 people then just feed one." 

When I think about the different components of our Lion Joy this school year, I can think of no better patron saint for "Joy in Others" than Saint Theresa of Calcutta. In fact, I am sure she must have whispered in the ear of one of our 1st grade students last week. 

The student, pictured below, teamed up with his brother to sell lemonade. Unlike most children, who look to turn a profit for a new toy or video game, the boys donated half of their money, $22, to our mission collection, which we take up during school mass on Wednesdays. 

This money will go to our sister parish in Sainte-Suzanne, Haiti for the purchase of Christmas presents for children of the parish. These students, and I am sure there are many more in our community like them, are living Joy for others and making sure God's "love letter to the world" is being sent. 

Undercover Carline

Last week, I conducted an experiment. Much like the CBS show Undercover Boss, where the head of a large company puts on a disguise and works in different departments of company to see the "real" way a company behaves, I went undercover in the carline to find an opportunities for improvement.

While I won't be giving anyone a life changing promotion (like they do in the show) to the front of the carline, I do have some SPOT-on tips to help improve carline life for all of us:

S--Safety is the most important part of carline

Despite our love of Gasparilla and the pageantry of a good parade, the carline is not an opportunity to practice.  Children should not lean out of windows or sunroofs; instead, they should remain inside the vehicle at all times and wave from the safety of their seats.

P--Pull-up all the way

Getting children safely from the vehicle and into school is the main goal. The secondary goal is to keep traffic moving and avoid congestion on Morrison. The two or three foot gap each car leaves adds up and causes frustrating congestion. Friday afternoon, I asked four cars in the front of the stack to pull up several feet each and was able to bring in 6 other cars from the road. Pull up today because tomorrow you might be the one stopped on the street.

O--Observe good carline etiquette and share with other caregivers

Although we communicate our carline procedures to all of our parents through RenWeb and the Handbook, many of our carline patrons are nannies, grandparents or other care-givers. It can be intimidating to pull through our carline and not be certain of your child's dismissal location or pick-up area. Please share the procedures in this link.

T-- Timing is everything

In the morning, if you arrive anytime before 7:35 am you will breeze through the line with no problems. The closer you creep towards 7:40 am (the official time cars need to be in the lot), the more congestion you'll encounter, so be prepared to be calm.

Most of these SPOT-on tips refer to procedures in the morning carline.  Stay tuned for another expose' on the afternoon pick-up procedures. Until then, remember to keep the JOY in the carline by thinking in this order: Jesus, Others, then Your car.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

This school year, Mrs. Lowrey and I have been visiting classrooms and spreading the Lion Joy (see last week's post for the presentation). 

At Morning Assembly today, we showed the students how they can spread joy this year using the rosary bracelets pictured below, and we also used a little magic. Click the link below the picture for video from assembly. 

Though the video is a little grainy, the message is clear! Lions Roar!

Click Here for the Video

The Lions' Code

This week Mrs. Lowrey and I are visiting with all of the classes to explain in more detail the Lions' Code. If you would like to review the presentation, they are embedded below. Simply enter a name in the appropriate box and click "send" for the specific presentation you would like to view within the blog.

5th through 8th Grade

EC4 through 4th Grade

Feel free to use this presentation to review the Code of Student Conduct with your child. The signature page is required for each family, so please submit yours by this Wednesday, August 17. Throughout the school year, we will continue to challenge our students by asking the question "Who are you?" and following up with the question "Who do you want to be?"

Finally, if you are still struggling to get information out of your child about the school day, check out my featured post from last year.  

Ready or Not, Here it Comes!

The 2016-2017 school year is here--signifying the end of summer for our students and the end of finding ways to entertain your children for our parents. Whether you are lamenting the end of summer or cheering it, these are five essential points to make the start of your CKS school year a success: 

1) Check the dress code AND your child's uniform. Make sure your child's school uniform is in good condition, complete and fits properly. Also, new this year, every Friday is a spirit day, so make sure you check the dress code for spirit day rules. As much as our children want to stand out, trust me, they do not want to stand out because they are not compliant in the dress code. Stop by the Used Uniform Sale at our Open House on Monday. 

2) Make a plan AND a back-up plan for pick-up in the afternoon. The most stressful event the first two weeks of school is afternoon dismissal--students don't know if they are going to aftercare, going to an after school activity, getting picked up by a parent or grandparent, going home with a sibling, or going home with a friend. Make a chart for your child at home so they can check each day where they should be going at the end of school. 

3) Don't panic if you haven't purchased every supply on the list by the first day. The first few days of school are an adjustment period for all of us--students, parents AND teachers. We will not let your child go without the first few days. As long as they have their backpacks and lunch, they will be just fine.

4) Practice your morning routine BEFORE the first day of school. Few things can be as flustering on the first day of school for your child than being late. All students must be in the Pavilion by 7:45 a.m. for the start of assembly, so your car should be in line by 7:40 a.m.

5) Know the arrival and dismissal procedures. No one wants to be "that car" in the carline who goes out of turn, cuts off another driver or causes a long delay. Mistakes will happen, but review your procedures to lessen that possibility of being "that car." 

For some carline reminders, see the videos below from our teachers. 

 

EC4 through 1st Grade

Click Here

2nd through 4th Grade

Click Here

5th Grade

Click Here

 

 

6th Grade

Click Here

 

7th and 8th Grade

Click Here

I don't think James Corden of the Late Late Show has anything to worry about, but our teachers are surely destined for fame! Speaking of celebrity, check out the video below to see an interview with CKS celebrity, Mrs. Lowrey. 

 

Click Here

 

 

How Was Your Day?

"How was your day?"

This is a question I get from time to time...mostly from my wife, but sometimes from my colleagues and even students. As you might imagine, so many things happen during the course of a school day that it's not always easy to give a short answer.  Rather than give a detailed account of my last week, I thought I'd give you a snapshot...they are worth a thousand words, or so I'm told:

Eating Lunch with 1st Grade

In 1st grade, students earn "buckets" for positive behavior. This is based on the Carol McCloud book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? The premise being that each interaction we have with a person either adds happiness to someone's bucket or takes it away from it. The girls in the above picture saved up 40 buckets to earn the special treat of eating lunch with the Principal. Having three young boys, it was the quietest and most peaceful lunch I have had in a long time!

These students told me about summer plans, American Girl dolls and favorite foods. I would recommend that anyone who needs to have their buckets filled eat lunch with 1st graders.  We can all learn a lesson from them, especially about relationships with people. If we view each of our interactions with a person as a transaction, one in which we make either a withdrawal or a deposit, it can change our perspective. Personally, I would rather be considered a bucket filler than a bucket dipper.

Have a great final week of school and get to work filling those buckets.