Dear Parents,

Eighth grade graduation was held on Tuesday, May 18th. Following the Mass, students received their diplomas and awards. The recipients of the top awards were:

The Christian Living Award – Victoria LeBlanc and Claire Herwehe

The Salutatorian Award – Amanda Cuevas and Jane Fiegel

The Valedictorian Award – Julia Bindewald

The St. Andrew the Apostle award, which is voted on by the members of the eighth grade class and the faculty, is awarded to the student who best exemplifies leadership, character, Christian example, service, school spirit, self-discipline and scholastic ability – Halie Ducote

The address I delivered to our graduates is posted at the end of this newsletter.

END OF YEAR INFORMATION:

FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS: All financial obligations must be met by Tuesday May 25th or all school records will be held. The school will not be able to accept payment for any delinquent accounts on Thursday May 27th . Once accounts are paid in full report cards will be available for pick up in the office beginning June 1st from 8:00am until noon.

EDLINE GRADES: Edline class reports will be closed for the year on May 20th but school information is still available for viewing.

LOST AND FOUND: The Lost and Found cabinet will be emptied on Tuesday, May 25th, and all left items will be donated. Please claim items prior to Tuesday.

USED UNIFORM SALE: If you plan to sell or buy items from the Used Uniform Sale, please follow the procedure sent home on Tuesday, May 18th. This information is also available on Edline and on our web site.

SUMMER SCHOOL: If your child will need to attend summer school, registration will be held on Friday, May 28th, from 8:00am until noon and Tuesday, June 1st, from 7:30am until 8:00am. Classes begin on Tuesday, June 1st.

PROPOSED CALENDAR FOR 2010-2011: Calendar highlights for the 2010-2011 school year are posted on Edline and our web site.

PLACES TO BE SEEN:

* Awards ceremony (1-3) 9:00am Tuesday, May 25th
* Awards ceremony (4-5) 10:30am Tuesday, May 25th
* Awards ceremony (6-7) 8:30am Thursday, May 27th
* Closing School Mass 9:00am Thursday, May 27th

Message to Graduates

If we did a word association game with the concept of school, I am sure—books,
teachers, rules, lessons, and tests would be some of the first words chosen. Everyone knows that for you to have reached this point in your education, your first graduation ceremony, you have endured years of books, teachers, rules, lessons, tests and much more.

After all why else would you go to school if it were not to learn something! As students we often realize that we learn valuable lessons that are not necessarily part of the teachers’ plans—and often these outside-the-curriculum lessons stay with us longer than those we gained from our textbooks.

Can you remember the first time a teacher gave you a test and when the test was completed announced, “Do not pass up your papers. Do not exchange your papers. You are going to check your own work.” Wow, what a different concept! You were going to self-check your own test paper. It was a big responsibility–this self checking–but it was also a lesson in itself. You and only you would determine if you had the right answer to a question.

Self-checking is one of those lessons not found in your textbook, but one that you will come to rely on throughout your future, especially in high school. You will be doing a lot of self-checking as you meet new friends, are introduced to new experiences, and gain more independence.

When will you self-check yourself? Every time you are presented with a situation that requires you to take a stand, every time you have to make a decision that goes contrary to your peers, every time your friends say it will be ok but your inner self is saying no it will not!

When your first non-classroom self-check test comes up, remember: stay true to yourself, stick with what is best for you; and you, not your friends, will know the right answer. You will know the right answer; you just need to learn to listen to yourself and believe in yourself.

The foundation you have already established within your faith and all of your experiences here at St. Andrew that have brought you closer to God will help you to know that while you may be self-checking yourself, you are never alone. He is always with you.

Graduates, you will be missed but not forgotten. Congratulations!