Week of January 26, 2015 - Catholic Schools Week

Catholic School Week - January 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30th.
Tuesday - Open House & Touring Tuesday. Parents may visit their child's classroom and sit in on classes from 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM



Wednesday - Mass at 11:00 AM celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart - sisters who founded OLQM School.
Grade 4 will lead Mass and all parents are welcome as we celebrate Catholic Schools Week and the Year of Consecrated Life.

Friday- Speech Contest 9:00 AM Grades 5-8.Parents Welcome.

School Evaluation - January 29th has been cancelled. will be rescheduled by the Manhattan Catholic School Regional Board


National Handwriting Day Winners

“Now we just need your John Hancock.”

That phrase you often hear when you have to sign a document is a celebration of one of history’s most famous signatures.
And last Friday January 23rd, National Handwriting Day, commemorates the birthday of Mr. Hancock (1737), the first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
(As president of the Continental Congress, he got first dibs.)
With a blank space, he made sure to make his name large, legible and ornate. It stands out among the 56 signatures.
Hancock apparently did it as a defiant message to the British king, and so that British ministers could read his name “without spectacles.”
The prominence he achieved for just a few moments’ work may be a reminder for us to dot our I’s, cross our T’s and make proper loops.
At least for today, anyway.
The following students won the Handwriting Contest for their grade and will receive a nice gift certificate for their hard work in making sure we can read what they write:
Grade 3-Ashley Smith
Grade 4-Joseph Alvarado
Grade 5-Chelsea Rivera
Grade 6-Angelica Arias
Grade 7-Nelsy Concepcion
Grade 8-Ambar Rosario

Interim Assessment #2
On Tuesday and Wednesday February 2nd and 3rd children in grades K-8 will be administered the second Interim Assessment coordinated by the Archdiocese of New York in ELA (English Language Arts) and Mathematics.
The skills that are tested will show strengths and weaknesses for the upcoming New York State Tests in April based on the Common Core Standards. In this way the teachers may plan lessons based on the results.
Next week Mr. Woods will copy an article onto this blog for parent review on how parents may assist their child be a more successful student merely by engaging them in conversation beginning at birth.
Vocabulary weakness at present is the common thread that many students at OLQM are deficient. Beginning next week the teachers will be posting on their opening blog page the vocabulary for the week along with the definitions so that parents may take an active part with the teachers in assisting their child to be a successful reader.

Report Card Day - February 4, 2015
The mid year report card will be distributed by Fr. Antonio to students on Wednesday February 4th. Parent Teacher conferences will be held from 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM in the school auditorium.
The new uniform company (Ideal) will be present in the lunchroom with a display of uniforms - the style remains the same.
A reminder that students will not receive a report card if there is a balance due on the tuition -0 as of this writing --today Sunday January 25th the outstanding balance of past due tuition is $147,026.93
It will be on this report card that the indication will be noted that your child may not be meeting standards for promotion as listed in the Parents Handbook. There is ample time for your child to improve their academic skills and study in order to avoid Summer School or Retention.
At the Parent Teacher Conferences the recently administered mid-terms will be available for your review. They will be kept in your child's file until the end of the year wherein you will receive the hard copy.
The Honors Assembly for this report card will be held in church following the school Mass for Ash Wednesday on February 18th at 11:00 AM- parents are welcome.

Monday - January 26, 2015 Feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus
Second Quarter Ends
School Choice Week scarves will be given to students today.
Reading coach will work with students today.

Tuesday- January 27, 2015 Feast of St. Angela Merici
Open House and Touring Tuesday
8:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Wednesday January 28, 2015 Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas
11:00 AM --Mass in Celebration of Catholic Schools Week and the Year of Consecrated Life
Celebration will also commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart arriving in America.
The Franciscan Sisters would open OLQM school in 1932.

Thursday January 29, 2015
Mid Term - Biology Regents Class

Friday - January 30, 2015
Speech Contest 9:00 AM Grades 5-8

Sunday February 2nd--Super Bowl Sunday
12:00 noon Reconciliation Class
1:00 PM Mass for all students

Week of January 18, 2015 Announcements

Updates on Article 43 - Pre-K and Kindergarten Classes
Students in PreK and Kindergarten have been assigned a cubby outside the classroom for their coat and book bag. Parents when dropping off their child should look at the names printed at the bottom of the cubby in order to have their child's coat placed on the proper hook. The book bags are to left outside the classroom also and the children will retrieve their belongings after school has started for the day. In this way they will learn the skill of self-reliance.

Also a number of parents have complained to the teachers that the children have been brought outside for 5 (five) minutes daily for fresh air and then return to the auditorium for gross motor play. As per Article 43 and ECERS-R (Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale) the children are to receive outdoor gross motor play each and every day excluding inclement weather (rain and snow). The temperature guidelines are 25 degrees to 90 degrees. Five minutes with their coats, scarves and gloves for children to run will not harm a child but may assist in developing a healthy lifestyle - a constant conversation that is happening concerning childhood growth.
The students return to the lunchroom after the five minutes and then engage in hoola hoops, ball throwing etc as recommended by ECERS-R.
Parents who have any questions may see Mr. Woods and he will explain regulations that guide the curriculum along with the social, physical environment that is part of early education.

School Evaluation
The school evaluation by the Catholic School Regional Board has been scheduled for Thursday January 29, 2015. Sister June Clare Tracy, OP the regional superintendent will be here to visit classrooms, talk to parents and teachers and make recommendations.

Report Cards - February 4, 2015
Report Cards will be distributed to students by Father Antonio on Wednesday February 4, 2015. Parent- teacher conferences will be held from 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM. The new uniform company IDEAL will also be here with a display.
A reminder that tuition must be up to date for students to receive their report card.

Catholic School Week - January 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30th.
Tuesday - Open House & Turing Tuesday. Parents may visit the classroom and sit in on classes from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Wednesday - Mass at 11:00 AM celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart - sisters who founded OLQM School.
Thursday - School Evaluation
Friday- Speech Contest 9:00 AM Grades 5-8.

Auditorium Renovations
The auditorium continues to move forward with the renovations to the ceiling. New lights should start to be installed this week which may cause a disruption to breakfast. Parents are requested to be patient as we move forward in opening up the auditorium space for gym classes.

Tuesday January 20th
Math coach will work with students

Wednesday January 21st - Feast of Our Lady of Altagracia
Mid-Term exams in Mathematics and Science

Thursday January 22nd
Mid Term exams Reading and Religion

Friday January 23rd
Mid Term Exams Social Studies and ELA
National Handwriting Day - contest will be judged by Mr. Woods

Sunday January 25th
1:00 PM Mass for all students
No Classes.

Week of January 12, 2015 Announcements

Celebration of the Year of 150th Anniversary of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart
As mentioned on the monthly calendar -- Wednesday January 28th there will be a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart's arrival in the United States.
The Sisters in 1932 would open Our Lady Queen of Martyrs School and remained here until 1980. The Franciscan Sisters along with dozens of other religious sisters would be paramount in opening Catholic Schools all across America. This Year Pope Francis I requests us to celebrate the great work that religious sisters and brothers have done for centuries all across the world. Mass on January 28th will be at 11:00 AM and Sister Ann, the provincial of the Franciscan Sisters of Peekskill will speak to the school children during Mass. A number of students and teachers went to see the Sisters on Saturday, December 6th for the opening Mass of their anniversary. If parents are available they are asked to join the school community in celebrating the founding order of sisters of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs School.

Progress Reports
Progress Reports were distributed by Fr. Antonio to all, all means all students on Friday January 9th. They should be reviewed by parents, signed and returned to the child's teacher. They will be returned to the student after the teachers ascertain that the parent has reviewed the grades. It is important before we move into mid-terms that parents know the status of their child's current academic standing so that they will make sure that their child is studying if they are failing a subject. Mid-terms will begin on January 21st as listed on the monthly calendar. Parents who wish to see teachers should make an appointment with Alba. Parents who wish to see Mr. Woods may do so on Sundays or before 7:30 AM on weekdays. A note regarding the Progress Reports- conduct marks did not appear on the Progress Report for students in grades 1-8, PreK and K the conduct mark is there. Alan will be calling the Cornerstone group on Monday to check why the grades did not transfer. If Mr. Woods gets a reasonable answer from Cornerstone he will let parents know.

Cornerstone Link on web page.
There is a link on the school web page of www.olqmnyc.org for easy access to Cornerstone. The link is under the tab labeled academics.

Monday January 12, 2015
Mid Term review sheets will be sent home. A hard copy is being sent home because a number of parents are indicating they do not have computer access.

Tuesday January 13, 2015 - Feast of St. Hilary
Anti-bullying curriculum will be covered this week.
Math coach will be working with students today.

Wednesday January 14, 2015
Catholic High School notices will be sent to students in the mail.

Thursday January 15, 2015 - can you believe that half of January is already over.
Map A Month due.

Friday January 16, 2015 - School Closed
Teacher Conference Day regarding the Common Core State Standards

Sunday - January 18, 2015
SCHOOL OFFICE CLOSED
NO CLASSES
Mass at 1:00 PM for all students

Monday January 19, 2015 SCHOOL CLOSED
Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Week of January 5, 2015 Announcements

An Article for Parents on the Importance of Handwriting

“Desirable Difficulty” With Handwriting
“Does handwriting matter?” asks Maria Konnikova in this New York Times article. Not very much, seems to be the consensus in many schools, with keyboard proficiency getting much more emphasis and no Common Core penmanship mandate beyond first grade. But new psychological and neurological evidence suggests that handwriting is directly linked to deeper learning. “Children not only learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand,” says Konnikova, “but they also remain better able to generate ideas and retain information.”
This was demonstrated in a 2012 study by Karin James of Indiana University. Pre-literate children were asked to reproduce a letter in one of three ways: typing it on a computer; tracing the letter guided by a dotted outline; and drawing it on a blank paper. Each child was then put in a brain scanner and shown the letter again. Those who had drawn the letter freehand showed lots of activity in three areas of the brain that are activated when adults read and write. Children who had traced or typed the letter showed almost no activity in these areas.
James believes the difference has to do with the messiness inherent in free-form handwriting. “This is one of the first demonstrations of the brain being changed because of that practice,” she says. “When a kid produces a messy letter, that might help him learn it.” Striving to imperfectly reproduce the letter is much more helpful than merely seeing it or seeing others write it. James’s research suggests that the effort and perceived imperfections of writing by hand engage the brain’s motor pathways – hence the learning benefits.
Research on older children by Virginia Berninger of the University of Washington produced similar results: those who wrote by hand showed more neural activity in the key areas, produced more words more quickly, and expressed more ideas. And research by Pam Mueller of Princeton and Daniel Oppenheimer of UCLA has shown that college students learn better when they take notes by hand than when they use a laptop. It appears that writing by hand allows them to process a lecture’s ideas and reframe them – “a process of reflection and manipulation that can lead to better understanding and memory encoding,” says Konnikova.

“What’s Lost As Handwriting Fades” by Maria Konnikova in The New York Times, June 3, 2014, http://nyti.ms/1t3cmsY

Auditorium Renovations
As the auditorium continues to be renovated Mr. Woods requests that parents are patient with the the limited space that will be available due to the scaffolding etc. Hopefully the new LED lights will be in place by the end of January.If you have passed the school at night you will have noticed the new LED lights that were installed in the front of the building and the backyard. We are grateful to Fr. Antonio, the alumni and the Archdiocese of New York for assisting in this project so that gym classes will no longer be impeded by the drop ceiling and also to restore the original luster of the building when it was first constructed.

Fund Raising Money for candy bars
As a reminder the money for fund raising should be given to Mrs. Resto in the tuition office. It will then be credited on the Smart Tuition account.

Progress Reports
Progress Reports will be sent home with ALL children on Friday January 9, 2015. In this way parents will see what subjects their child needs to study in depth before the administration of mid-terms. As a reminder mid-terms begin for all students in grades K-8 on January 21st and will cover all material from September - January. Again should parents wish to see their child's teacher about a specific deficiency they should schedule an appointment with Alba in the office.

After School Program
Parents are reminded that pick up for the After School Program will be on the first floor of the school (the school office).
Parents should now call the school's main number of 212-567-3190 after 3:00 PM if they wish to speak to Mr. Marcial and/or Eric.The old number will be disconnected this week.

Monday January 5, 2015
School resumes after Christmas break.
January calendars will be sent home today with students.
Calendar Correction - Sunday January 18th - NO COMMUNION CLASS at 12:00 noon

Tuesday January 6, 2015
Feast of the Epiphany
Math Coach will work with students today.

Wednesday January 7, 2015
Reading Coach will work with students today.

Thursday January 8, 2015
Happy Birthday Ransel

Friday January 9, 2015
Early Dismissal Day - 1200 noon Faculty meeting.
After School Program will be in session.

Sunday January 11, 2015
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
12:00 noon - Reconciliation Class
1:00 PM - Mass for all students
3:00 PM - Biology Class