Middle School Archives - St. Alphonsus Parish School

Question of the Week – Responses

We love to hear your thoughts or feedback on what happens at St. Al’s. Every week (or so) we’ll ask questions to our school community about curriculum, activities, policies, etc.

Last week we asked, “Would your prefer middle school students to have electives or a set middle school curriculum?” and 29 members of our community responded. Here’s a breakdown of your answers.

Do you have questions you’d love to ask the school community? Let us know – they could become the “Question of the Week”! Send your question to [email protected].

Please note: These questions are just to gather feedback and initiate dialogue and do not indicate any immediate policy changes. Your feedback is anonymous.

January 24, 2019

Question of the Week!

Introducing our Question of the Week!

We would love to hear your thoughts or feedback on what happens at St. Al’s. Every week (or so) we’ll ask questions to our school community about curriculum, activities, policies, etc.

Do you have questions you’d love to ask the school community? Let us know – they could become the “Question of the Week”!

Just click the button below to answer this week’s question.

Please note: These questions are just to gather feedback and initiate dialogue and do not indicate any immediate policy changes. Your feedback is anonymous.

[button url=”https://goo.gl/forms/M7ivjHTcRZG0YgkW2″ target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#084c9e” size=”10″ center=”yes” text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #000000″]Answer our Question of the Week![/button]

January 17, 2019

Principal’s Corner – October 29, 2018

Hello St. Al’s Families,

Thank you all for a wonderful Family Fun Night on Friday and a special thank you to everyone who helped us run games, serve food, set up, and clean up. Also, I would like to extend a special thank you to the Parent Club Board. This community is truly one of support and service.

Announcements:

Middle school instrumental music is staring November 1. I have only received a small handful of music forms so far. Please submit your music forms to the school office ASAP. Also,
I am looking to start an elementary guitar group. The school currently owns several guitars that are begging to be used. I would love to offer elementary school this instrumental option, but I need a teacher. If you know anyone who would be interested in teaching guitar to K-4^th, please let me know.

Events:

Tuesday, Oct 30: NO SCHOOL MASS (It will be on Nov 1 for All Saints Day)

Wednesday, Oct 31: Non-uniform day (no costumes)

–students can wear black, orange, and pumpkins

Thursday, Nov 1: Saints Month begins with mass for All Saints Day!

Thursday, Nov 1: Middle School Band from 7:30-8:20am

–Make sure you have a signed registration form turned in prior to this first meeting

–Bring your own instrument and remember to get the music books described in the info letter that went out last week.

In anticipation of our Saints Month festivities, I would like to share a quote by St. Therese of Lisieux: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” May we all remember to live the example of St. Therese of Lisieux as we look for ways to serve, to sacrifice, and to spread joy.

October 31, 2018

Principal’s Corner – October 15, 2018

Hello St. Al Families,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and you found a moment to enjoy some of the fabulous sunshine we have been having. This week, I wanted to send out a school wide announcement that Ms. Brain is no longer an employee at St. Alphonsus. We are currently looking for her replacement and would encourage anyone who is interested, to apply through the Archdiocese by clicking here or by visiting the Office for Catholic Schools website for open positions. We have also placed ads on three other job sites, two specifically geared toward Montessori education. Feel free to spread the word and I will keep you posted on our progress.

Events

Tuesday, October 16: Middle School Instrumental Music Open House

–Middle school students can join us at lunch recess to get information about a new instrumental music group starting at St. Al’s. Students can take a flyer and stay for a demonstration of several instruments. The group will be run by Michael White, former music teacher at Bishop Blanchet.

Wednesday, October 17: GRACE Teacher Leader Conference

–St. Al’s will be hosting our regional GRACE leadership conference. All events will be in the Wilson Room and should not impact the students as they go about the normal school day. The one change you will notice will be the orange cones on the playground. We will need to move those in to accommodate parking for our guests.

Thursday & Friday: Conferences for K-8 Parents

–The schedule is ready and you will receive your time(s) soon. Teachers will be notifying families and Charleen Sweet has the master list in the office. If you are not able to meet during our typical conference days, please contact your student’s teacher.

–Preschool: due to the recent changes in personnel, we will not be able to schedule conferences in time for the end of the week. However, we will be sending out progress reports for each student by the end of next week. Feel free to reach out to Ms. Beard and Mrs. Wittbold if you have specific questions or concerns.

Friday, October 19: St. Anne’s Dance for 7th/8th grade students

–Permission slips available from Mrs. Pollack or through the office

Tuesday, October 23: Middle School Open House for prospective families

–We are having an open house event for prospective middle school families. Invite your friends and reach out to families in your neighborhood. If you refer a family for a tour of our school you will get 2 volunteer hours and if they officially sign-up you will get 4 volunteer hours.

Thank you to everyone who donated time and items to the auction thus far. We have been working hard on our end to make it a truly fantastic evening for all. If you have not already done so, please RSVP. Remember, you can reserve a table of ten as well as individual seats. Contact Lena Anderson if you have any questions.

October 16, 2018

Middle School Open House – Tuesday, Oct. 23

Join us as for our Middle School (Grades 5-8) Open House!

Tuesday, October 23
6 – 7:30 pm

Families will have an opportunity to meet our Principal and faculty, learn about our curriculum, and our single-gender learning environment. We look forward to meeting you!

St. Alphonsus Parish School is an accredited Catholic School that welcomes families of all backgrounds. For over 100 years St. Als has been offering the families of Ballard and the surrounding community an excellent Catholic education for Preschool through 8th Grade by developing the whole student in a caring environment enriched by the faith of the Church and commitment of families. Our deep sense of community is fostered by our dedicated staff along with committed parents resulting in a safe, nurturing environment for our students.

October 14, 2018

Welcome our new Middle School Math Teacher!

We are happy to welcome our new middle school math teacher, Jamie Walker. Mrs. Walker comes to us with a background in technology, electrical engineering, and mathematics. She has worked as both a math teacher and math specialist for several years in the archdiocese, even serving under our very own Mrs. Foisy for a time at St. Pius X.

Mrs. Walker brings a mix of hands-on project-based learning as well as more traditional methods, making math acquisition fun and accessible for a variety of learning styles. In addition to Math, Mrs. Walker will also teach 7/8 Boys Religion and Homeroom. She is a St. Al’s parishioner and lector for Sunday morning mass, so she is an excellent fit for this new role.

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Walker to St. Alphonsus Parish School.

Kathleen Cifu
Principal

August 16, 2018