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St. Peter R.C.
School News
February 2015
After School Clubs
Spelling Bee
Leaders Needed
The first round of the 2015 Buffalo
News Spelling Bee was held on January
9th, in the middle school homerooms. Ten
students advanced to the next round:
 Grade 7: Ryleigh Myers, Justin
Schultz, Christopher Grenga, and
Ellie Camp
 Grade 6: Nevaeh Winston, Jeremy
Ferguson, Lydia Schultz, Sophia
Violante, Jayden DiLorenzo, and
Elise Wilsey
The ten finalists went on to the "Oral"
round held on Friday, January 16th in the
cafeteria. Students from all grades were
invited to come watch and support the
participants. Thank you to Father David
who was also in attendance to support our
spellers. We would like to congratulate all
ten of the finalists for a job well done.
As an incentive, the grade with the
highest classroom average won a dress
down day. Congratulations to Gr. 6 for a
great team effort!
Congratulations to Lydia Schultz,
the runner-up whose name was submitted
as our second place speller to the Buffalo
News. Finally, we are proud to announce
our school champion, Ellie Camp, from
Grade 7. Ellie's name was reported to the
Buffalo News as our school champion, and
she advanced to the next round of the
Bee.
~Mrs. Laurie Grenga
Do you have a passion you’d like to
share with the students? Crafts, sewing,
cooking, math, chess, LEGO, Scrabble, and
community service clubs are some of the
club ideas from the past. Clubs are a great
way to share your interests with students,
teaching them new skills while having fun.
In the past, the children have enjoyed
the after school activities. They are hoping to
have clubs reinstated this year. After school
clubs are held on Tuesdays from 3:15 to
4:15. Each session lasts eight weeks. If you
are interested in leading a club, please
contact Erin Schwenkbeck by February 20.
The next club session will begin on March 3
and run through April 28.
~Erin Schwenkbeck
946-3544 or ermieespad@aol.com
Spelling Bee Champion Ellie Camp and First
Runner-up Lydia Schultz
Basketball Instruction
Instructional basketball for boys
and girls in Kindergarten through 3rd grade
is being offered at school during March on
Mondays after school until 4:30 in the gym.
Contact Mike Elia at 628-1295.
Geography Bee
Congratulations to all participants in this
year’s Geography Bee. This year’s winner
was Ian Kasper in Grade 8.
© 2007 by Education World®.
1
Book Swap
Come Sail Away with
St. Peter R.C. School
Collecting book donations now
April 18, 2015 ~ Save the Date!
Help needed with gala preparations.
Work dates (3-hour sessions) will be
scheduled. Everyone is encouraged to sign up
for a work date.
Committee meets every other
Tuesday. Next meeting will be February 24th at
7 p.m. REMINDER: Gift card/basket donations
due Feb. 27th.
~ Briana Jegier (briana@jamus.com)
~ Jen DiPasquale (jdepo69@gmail.com)
Box Tops
Send in by February 27.
Every Box Tops label earns money for
our school. Box Tops can be found on many
items that you have in your cupboards. Clip
and send Box Tops to school in a baggie or
envelope. No gluing onto sheets required!
Next submission will be March 1. For more
information and to follow our school's
progress, go to www.boxtops4education.com.
~ Darcie Seider (Seider519@gmail.com)
Catholic High School
Acceptance Letters
SCRIPS Program &
Tops Gift Cards
SCRIPS and Tops gift cards are
easy ways to earn money towards your
mandate while doing your regular
shopping and when buying gifts. Take
advantage of these programs!
~ Marianne Dugan, SCRIPS coordinator
Middle School News
Grazie! Thank you for your
support.
th
Congratulations to 8 Grade students
who received their acceptance letters to
Catholic High Schools.
• Raymond Oliphant—St. Joe’s Collegiate
and Canisius H.S.
• Jake Wilsey—Cardinal O’Hara H.S.
• Andres Picado—Cardinal O’Hara H.S.
• Ian Kasper—Canisius H.S.
• Joey Ingwersen—Niagara Catholic H.S.
The 7th and 8th Grades have been
working hard to earn money for their trip
to Washington, D.C. A portion of their
earnings is set aside for Hope Day, a
middle school year-end tradition
celebrated in late May, and 8th grade
graduation. The middle school is very
busy this time of year.
Over 300 spaghetti dinners were
served on February 7th. The dinner,
together with the bake sale, basket
auction, meat raffle, and lottery tree,
raised over $1500. Congratulations to
the meat raffle winner, Jen Schultz, and
the many other lucky winners who took
home baskets.
The middle school would like to
thank the school, parish, and community
for their loyal support.
~ Mrs. Okoniewski
~ Miss Newman
Helping Hands
Watch for a fundraising survey coming soon.
HSA wants your opinion about fundraisers.
Next HSA meeting will be May 13, 2015.
~ Amy Reynolds
523-2294 or amy_w_reynolds@hotmail.com
Niagara Chocolates
Pick up orders March 23rd 2 to 5 p.m.
~ Marianne Dugan 297-1570
~ Erin Schwenkbeck 285-5188
© 2007 by Education World®.
Do you have books that you or
your children no longer read or have
outgrown? Bring them to school to
donate to our upcoming book swap.
Collection boxes are in the cafeteria. We
are collecting books until February 27th.
Return on March 4th to pick out
books that you would like to read. It’s a
great way to recycle books.
Love to hear a stories? Come
listen to pirate themed stories. Also visit
the science fair while at school. Two
events in one night! Food for sale, too.
~ Candy Ingwersen
791-4607 or nyhuskeri@gmail.com
2
1st Grade News
First graders learned how different
kinds of bird beaks affect what the bird eats
and how it survives. Different kinds of tools
("beaks") were used to pick up different
objects that represented foods. They
discovered some tools couldn't pick up some
things but easily picked up others. (Just like
bird beaks!) The students had a blast!
~Mrs. Carly Lauzonis
1st Grade bird beak science project
1st Grade Science project and smiles
Parish 5K Run
1st Graders using "beaks" to pick up
things
Raising funds for playground!
The Parish 5K Run will be held on May
16th. If you are willing to help plan this event,
contact co-chairs, Bernie Franjoine at
Bernadette.Franjoine@msmh.org or
Maureen Ingham at mingham@stpeterrc.org.
2nd Grade News
We are preparing for our First
Penance in March. A special retreat day
will be February 28th at school.
~ Miss Jean Rougeux
Multi-Age News
Now that it’s February, we are
officially big boys and girls—half way to
Pre-K4 or Kindergarten! We will continue
to work on writing our names, and
learning our letters and numbers. In
February, “Letters of the Week” were Vv,
Xx, and Oo. We learned about St.
Valentine and how much God loves us.
The class made special Valentine “Love
Bugs” as our community service project.
Lots of cutting practice as we made lots of
hearts! Please look for our hands-on
projects decorating the hallways.
~Mrs. Kristin Shanks
Led by Miss Rougeux, the 2nd Graders
celebrated the Epiphany and the miracle
observed by the Three Kings. During Mass,
they let their lights shine brightly for all of us
to enjoy.
© 2007 by Education World®.
3
Kindergarten News
Call to Action for
Catholic Schools
Being a cold month, the Kindergarten
Chefs made vegetable soup with all sorts of
healthy vegetables and chicken stock. We
served it with saltine crackers...MMMM it was
good.
We also made a delicious fruit salad
from all kinds of fresh and canned fruits. It
was enjoyed by all.
For Catholic Schools Week we made
Valentine door hangers for the residents at
Our Lady of Peace as our community service
project.
We have been learning about addition
and subtraction in math class and reading a
lot of winter time story books.
~ Mrs. Calandrelli
A letter from Secretariat of Catholic
Education
In a letter to Catholic schools from
Sister John Mary Fleming, O.P., Executive
Director of Catholic Education, she
requests that we take action to be
informed and show that we support
Catholic schools. Sister Fleming wants
parents, families, and supporters of
Catholic schools to join the subscriber list
for the action alert system—“CQ Engage.”
She asks that everyone join the
subscription list at
http://cqrcengage.com/catholicbishops/cat
holic-education, so that everyone can stay
informed about upcoming legislation that
affects Catholic schools like ours.
5th Grade News
Good Choices Rewarded
The fifth grade class earned a pajama
party on February 5th. They made great daily
choices as a class and earned enough red
and black links to reach across the double
chalkboard. This reward system is similar to
that of our summer reading book, "Because
of Mr. Terrupt."
My Best
Celebrating a Tradition
This past December, I hosted the
“My Best” Christmas auction, along with
Julia Latorre. I had just attended my first
“My Best” last year, and it left such a
wonderful impression that I couldn’t wait
to host it this year. There is something so
special about the community of family
members, friends, and teachers of St.
Peter R.C. School, and that is what I hope
was felt by everyone who attended this
wonderful event. Although Julia and I
hosted “My Best,” we didn’t feel
overwhelmed because we had so much
support and help, including all of the
delicious dishes and drinks brought by
everyone who attended. There were also
beautiful gifts that were brought by
everyone for auction. With all of the
donations, we were able to raise close to
$1,500.00 to benefit the school. “My Best”
has been a tradition at St. Peter R.C.
School for over thirty years, and I know it
will continue for over thirty years to come!
If you missed it this year, please consider
coming, or even hosting, next year. You
won’t be disappointed!
~ Mrs. Kristen Raimondi
DARE
Officer Penzotti is back in the swing of
things with our class after taking some time
off for a case. The fifth graders look forward
to DARE class every week. Not only are they
fully understanding the importance of making
positive choices, they are becoming experts
on weathering, erosion, deposition, and
properties of rocks and minerals.
Narrative Stories
The class finished their Narrative
Stories in ELA and shared them with the
younger kids.
~ Miss Jen Ricciuti
Land’s End
Uniforms can be purchased from
Land’s End and while shopping, you’ll earn
money for our school. Our school code is
#900165465. To order online, go to
www.landsend.com/shop/school-uniforms/.
Click on “Find My School.”
© 2007 by Education World®.
4
Cash Raffle Tuition
Voucher Winners
Mark your calendars
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For every 10 cash raffle tickets sold,
your name was entered in a tuition voucher
drawing. The following families won:
 $200 Gentz
 $300 DiFonzo
 $500 Ingwersen

Common Core
Lenten Offering Folders should be
returned to school by March 20.
Help for Parents
LearnZillion offers free common core
lesson help for parents. Gives explanations
and how-to instructions for parents. Go to
https://learnzillion.com/ and sign up for free!
World Meeting of
Families
Parish Bake Sale
Pope Francis has asked all
Catholics worldwide to use the months
ahead as a time of preparation and prayer
for the World Meeting of Families to be held
in Philadelphia in September 2015. He asks
all families to enrich and energize family life
by praying the "World Meeting of Families
Prayer" each day for their own family's
personal intentions.
Call for help!
The Parish is hosting a fish fry and
bake sale on March 13. A chairperson is
needed for the bake sale. Please contact
Amy Reynolds at 523-2294.
Prayer List and
Sunshine Committee
World Meeting of Families Prayer
God and Father of us all,
in Jesus, your Son and our Savior,
You have made us
Your sons and daughters
in the family of the Church.
May Your grace and love
help our families
in every part of the world
be united to one another
in fidelity to the Gospel.
May the example of the Holy Family,
with the aid of Your Holy Spirit,
guide all families,
especially those most troubled,
to be homes of communion and prayer
and to always seek Your truth
and live in Your love.
Prayer List
Did you know that St. Peter R.C.
School has a Prayer List? If you know of
someone in need of our prayers—family
members, friends, neighbors—please email
Rae LaNasa at lanasa1802@verizon.net.
Updates to prayer requests are welcome.
If you would like to be included in the
email Prayer Chain, please email Rae
LaNasa at lanasa1802@verizon.net.
Sunshine Committee
Rae LaNasa and Kathleen Olszewski
also chair our Sunshine Committee. They
recently had cards printed, which were
designed by some of our students. The
committee sends out notes to those in need
of a little “sunshine.”
If you know of someone that could
use our school's support, please email Rae
at lanasa1802@verizon.net or Kathleen at
kathleen.olszewski@yahoo.com.
© 2007 by Education World®.
Winter Break, February 16-20
Ash Wednesday, February 18
Middle School Dance, February 27
Science Fair, March 4
Book Swap, March 4
Parish Fish Fry and Bake Sale,
March 13
Children’s Basket Auction for
Catholic Charities, March 18
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen
Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
pray for us!
5
Congratulations to our
varsity basketball teams for a
great season, and thanks to
our Peppers for cheering.
Science Fair
March 4th
Parents, family, and friends
are invited to the Science Fair. This
year, the top three entries from each
of the following grade levels will be
awarded: 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th
grade, and the 7th and 8th grades
combined. Awards will be presented
beginning at 4:45 p.m. The fair ends
at 5:45 p.m. Dinner will be available
for sale in the cafeteria at the Book
Swap event.
~ Mrs. Nadezda Mease
Girls Varsity Basketball Team
HSA Guest
Speaker Talks
About Testing
Boys Varsity Basketball Team
St. Peter Peppers cheer squad
St. Peter's Students Interpret the Meaning
of Catholic Schools Week
We’re in the News! See the story on the
Diocese of Buffalo web page, at
http://www.wnycatholicschools.org/department-ofcatholic-education.
Niagara Chocolates
Orders will be available for pick up on
March 23rd between 2 and 5 p.m.
~ Marianne Dugan 297-1570
~ Erin Schwenkbeck 285-5188
© 2007 by Education World®.
6
At the February 11th HSA
meeting, Mrs. Patricia Trimper, the
Assistant Superintendent of
Curriculum, Instruction and
Assessment for the Catholic
Schools of the Diocese of Buffalo,
addressed the group and talked
about testing in our school. Mrs.
Trimper gave an overview of the
IOWA, CoGAT, and state tests. High
school and Regents exams were
also discussed. She explained why
the tests were important and how
the testing results are used to help
students in the classroom.
It was emphasized that these
tests should not be a reason for
students to worry. State testing is
based on common core standards,
but unlike public schools, the tests
are not used to evaluate teachers;
they are used to find areas that
need improvement. She explained
these tests are a snapshot of
students’ abilities on any given day.
At our school, the priority is children,
not the tests. The test are tools to
help our children’s learning.