November 4 Hot Lunch – Nachos - $3.00 (W)

November 4 – 6 Parent Teacher Conferences (W – F)

November 4 School Dismissal at 2:10 pm (W)

November 5 & 6 No School for Students - Parent Teacher Conferences (TH & F)

November 10 “The Daughter of the Regiment” Opera a la Carte Performance - 1:45 pm in the Fellowship Hall (T)

November 11 No School – Holiday for Veterans Day (W)

November 12 School Board Meeting – 7:00 pm (TH)

November 15 Dave Ahlquist presents “The Case for Saint G. K. Chesterton – 7:30 pm in the Chapel (SUN)

November 16 – 18 High School progress reports will be emailed to parents (M – W)

November 18 Hot Lunch – Hamburgers - $3.00 – (W)

November 19 Piano Recital in the Fellowship Hall – 1:00pm & 7:00pm (TH)

November 25 – 27 No School – Thanksgiving Vacation (W – F)

Click HERE to view the complete calendar

Weekly Words from Miss Jaminet

November 3, 2009

We will continue to focus on our mission statement through November’s Virtue: Peace. Let us remember the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace….” and keep in mind some words of Blessed Mother Teresa, “A smile is the beginning of peace.” As well, you are invited to pray with us for the eternal peace of the souls of the departed during the month of November. If you would like to send names to be placed on our All Soul’s prayer list, please use this link to access the prayer request form.

Student Government. The entire student body participated in an election for representatives to the Student Government last week. Our student body President is Sean Thornton and our Vice President is Mary Birdsall. Sean and Mary appointed Adrian David as student body Secretary and Madeleine Perez as Treasurer. Congratulations to our new officers! We are still looking for a parent volunteer interested in helping as a Parent Advisor.

New and Improved Honor Roll Policy. Many students work hard to achieve grades that place them on the Honor Roll. The policy currently in the 2009-2010 Family Handbook is that a student is not eligible for the Honor Roll when accumulating 7 or more tardies in one quarter. Effective immediately this quarter, we are changing this policy. Tardies will no longer keep a student off Honor Roll. After listening to input from parents, looking around at other honor roll policies, and discussion about the heart of the matter, the conclusion is that the current punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Tardies are not, strictly speaking, an academic or deportment concern. Tardies can be the result of the actions and habits of a student, a parent, a sibling, your carpool, or sometimes, unavoidable situations. Withholding an individual student’s academic award as a consequence for events that may or may not be within his or her control did not seem a good fit. That does leave us with a good question… what is a proper consequence for consistent, repetitive tardies? I think we can all agree that it is important to be at school on time. The first moments of class are valuable for organization, time management, and preparation. Being late affects the well-being of the student who arrives late, is distracting to classmates, and inconveniences the teachers. Tardiness beyond the first few minutes affects understanding and learning. As a school, we must have a way to hold families accountable for timeliness. For this reason, we will continue to follow the policy of issuing detentions after the 4th tardy. We will make you aware of your child’s fourth tardy by email. In essence, this current policy requires a student and a parent to work together in order to make up the time lost by the tardies. It is important to ensure that all of our school practices and policies are thoughtful and effective; therefore I would love to hear your ideas and solutions regarding a fair and appropriate consequence for tardies – if you have ideas, please feel free to bring them to me.

Peace & Joy,

Miss Jaminet

Reminders from the Office:

Parent Teacher Conferences:

Parent-Teacher conferences are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. You will receive quarter one report cards at the conference. Hopefully, with the increased reporting over the course of the quarter, there will be fewer surprises than in the past. We are genuinely devoted to improving the quality of the education your students receive, and regular communication about their progress is a big part of that.

Please make every effort to attend your assigned conferences. These conferences are the perfect venue for discussing your children with the teachers—it’s a set time, the teacher should be prepared, there are no little (or big) ears listening in, etc. Sidewalk chats and quick e-mails are no substitute for a well-prepared, face-to-face discussion. Please know that you can always set up personal meetings with the teachers throughout the school year, too.

Also, please keep in mind that there are normal adjustments that students go through. The transition to a new grade can present new challenges. The transition to a new classroom combines the new grade aspect with new teacher(s), sometimes a more significant jump in the level of the material, new rules, etc. In particular, the jump from 6th to 7th Grade and from 8th Grade to High School can be especially challenging for students. Don’t despair about one difficult quarter, and don’t let your student despair, either. Let’s all work together—parents, students, teachers, and administration—to ensure the best possible learning experience for your children.

You may access the Parent-Teacher conference schedule on our web site by clicking here.

Dale Ahlquist presents: The Case for Saint G.K. Chesterton:

Please come to hear the President of the American Chesterton Society, Dale Ahlquist speak on the most widely quoted man in modern times, G.K. Chesterton.

Chesterton was both a profound and prolific defender of Christianity and the Church and he wrote over 100 books on subjects ranging from philosophy to fiction, poetry, theology, literature and history. Please don’t miss this opportunity to gain a new perspective on the issues of Chesterton’s time and ours.

Dale Alhquist is the author of Common Sense 101 and G.K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense and is considered to be one of the most respected Chesterton scholars in the world. Mr. Ahlquist will speak in the chapel at 7:30 pm on Sunday, November 15. There will be no charge for this event but donations are always welcome. For more information please see the flyer posted on the school website by clicking here.

See’s Candies Fundraiser:

Our See’s Candies Fundraiser will begin on Monday, November 9th. This fundraiser will benefit the Parent Guild and all the activities for which they are responsible. Detailed information will be coming home with your students soon. Please direct any questions you may have to Cymantha Erikson at 707-337-5131 or Toni Williams at 707-320-7339.

Lost and Found:

Our lost and found bin is overflowing with brand new fleece sweaters, pants, lunch boxes and shirts. If you think your children are missing some clothing items please come to the upstairs office and have a look. Many of the items are unlabelled, making identification difficult-please label all your items.

Boys' Soccer and Girls' Volleyball Update

It’s the final week of regular season fall sports at Trinity Prep with both the soccer and volleyball teams hosting contests here in Napa. First, the boys’ soccer team will complete its 2009 season with a home match against Lutheran on Tuesday, November 3 at 3:45 p.m. at Napa Valley College. The match was moved to 3:45 to try and fit the game in while we still have sunlight. On Wednesday the girls’ volleyball team takes on Freedom Christian at Crosswalk Community Church at 4 p.m. with their playoff fate squarely in their hands. Last week, the volleyball team did not have any match, while the boys’ soccer team produced a one tie and a defeat during their two-match week. On Tuesday in Marysville, goals by Brendan Quinn, Sean LaRochelle, and George Bakh propelled the Crusaders to a 3-3 of New Life Christian. LaRochelle and Bakh each posted assists for the Crusaders.

Basketball Starts November 10

The first official day of boys and girls basketball practice is Tuesday, November 10. The boys’ team and possibly the girls’ team will run conditioning Monday, November 9. For anyone interested in playing who is otherwise not familiar with the procedures and processes that take place during basketball season see Athletic Director Bob Greene. Remember, all players must have a sports physical on file with the school in order to participate in any practices or games. If you have any questions see Bob Greene. Trinity Prep physical forms can be found on the “Sports” page of the school website (www.kolbetrinity.org).

Trinity Prep Athletics Shirts for Sale!

Want to show off your school pride? Are you crazy about Trinity Prep athletics? Thanks to Bob Quinn and the Trinity Prep Sports Boosters now you can show your support all around town with one of our newly available Trinity Prep sports T-shirts.

Basketball Teams Looking for Video Camera for Games