The Principal's Office

"You Get Out Of It What You Put Into It"

2010-03-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

DARE graduates with Officer Dan Mosher

of the Proctor Police Department

5th/6th Graders got to make Ice Cream
during their visit to St. James last week

Kitchen Manager, Kim Dalton

Resource Room Aid, Lisa Telando

As I was growing up my parents often told me, "You get out of it what you put into it." Usually when they said this it was in the context of schoolwork, sports, 4-H projects, or music practice. I'm sure I rolled my eyes when I heard these words because I knew my parents were implying that I probably wasn't working hard enough on whatever the task may have been at the time. I've been so thankful for that wisdom as I've aged because I can apply it to nearly all aspects of my life: faith, marriage, parenting, work. How reasonable is it to expect success at something for which we haven't worked very hard? It's not. When any part of my life seems to be on the wrong track or not working out very well it almost always is a direct result of my lack of real effort. It really is true that the things about life (and death) that are most worthwhile do not come easily. And it's that experience of having to work really hard that helps us become the people God meant us to be. This is the message everyone at St. Rose is trying to model and teach our students. Recently a 5th grader was whining to me that he couldn't do his school work because it was just too hard. I told him, "Good. That means your teacher is doing his job and you're really going to learn something. Now get to work."

Be sure to take a close look at all of the important information coming home in folders today. We're getting to that time of year when we're cruising down the hill and there is a lot going on. There will be several appeals for help with various projects and it is the duty of all of us to pitch in on something. Those of you I haven't seen yet this year will be getting phone calls and I promise you that what I ask you to do probably won't sound fun and it will most likely infringe on some other activity you'd rather be doing. But, I can also promise that it will mean a lot to your child to know that you helped to make St. Rose a better place and you'll almost certainly have a great time.

A correction from my last post: The Spaghetti Feed will be held on Friday, April 30th, not May 14th- sorry about that.

Have a great break and blessed Easter!

Has It Really Been 3 Weeks?

2010-03-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

Sam Gannucci (2) with his broken arm

and Hendrick Hicks (K) with his broken leg.

Both have soft casts now and are on the mend!

Emily Hendrickson (5) with her marble maze.

Thank you to Eric Olson (Hugh's dad) for bringing

local storyteller, Lise Lunge-Larsen, to St. Rose on March 8th.

We arrived this morning to quite a mess in the chapel- water everywhere.
Thank you to everyone who helped with clean-up!

March Student of the Month

Matthew Paulson, Grade 1

I can't believe three weeks have gone by since my last post! As you can see from the pictures, things have been as busy as ever around here. Here are just a few things that have been keeping us busy:

Re-Accreditation: I have to turn in our completed self-study to MNSAA by June 1. When it's ready I will let you all know in case anyone wants to take a look at it. Feel free to visit MNSAA's website at http://www.mnsaa.org/ to see a complete list of the accreditation standards for which we are held accountable. This is just one of many things that sets us apart from other education options in our area.
Round Up: Kindergarten was last week and PreK is next week on Tuesday at 12:30 and 6:30. Our best advertising is word of mouth and thanks to all who have been getting the word out about the terrific program we offer here at St. Rose!

Now for some of the things we have coming up:

St. Patrick's Day 3/17: Since it's a Mass day, students need to wear their uniforms. We will welcome any and all green accessories, though. Students can also expect several green food options for lunch that day!
5th/6th Graders will visit St. James next week on Friday, 3/19 to get a taste of what it's like to be in middle school (we will offer the same kind of opportunity at Proctor Middle School). Fliers about the visit will be sent home today. There will be a parent question/answer session and tour at 2:05. It should be a fun day!
Easter Craft Night 3/24, 2:30-4:30: The Christmas Craft Night was such a big hit that Home and School has decided to do another one for Easter. Information will go home next week.
Bishop Sirba Visit 4/16: We have a lot to do to get ready for this big day!
Grandparent's Day and Talent Show 4/28
Run for the Bus 5K 5/1
Spring Concert 5/13, 6:30
Spaghetti Feed 5/14: This is an important fund raiser for Religious Education. Becky Kubat and I are hoping to take a group to Catholic Youth Camp this summer and the money we make will also help families pay for camp.
Carnival 5/15: Home and School is going to need about 50 volunteers to make this event a success. It's an important fund raiser for us and a great way to bring the community together.
Piano Recital 5/23, 2:00

I'm sure I forgot some things, but that's okay. This is enough for now. I've been getting so much great feedback from parents lately and I really appreciate it, so keep it coming! The only way we are going to learn and grow together is by keeping the lines of communication open. Have a terrific weekend!

Why I Love St. Rose

2010-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

Hunter, Benjamin, and Daniel after receiving ashes on Wednesday.

During Catholic Schools Week I asked each student to write an essay about why they like being at St. Rose School. The following are the top essays, chosen by the teachers, from each grade. Enjoy!

Anthony Katzmarek, Grade 1
I like going to St. Rose School because I like Catholic Schools' Week. The teachers are nice and I like learning about Jesus. And I like my friends and I like to read.

Niklas Harju, Grade 1
I like going to St. Rose School because the teachers are nice. St. Rose is cool. I like the things we do. I have fun. I make friends. The principal is nice. The School is nice.

Zach Kubat, Grade 2
I like going to St. Rose School because the teachers are very nice to the children. The teachers also teach us about God and Jesus. We get to wear a special uniform. We have new cooks. Sometimes they make good food. We learn to read and write. We learn to help each other and care for them.

Chloe Oakland, Grade 2
I like going to St. Rose School because the teachers are nice. I like to learn about God. And I like Catholic Schools Week. I like the food here. We get to go outside for recess. I get to make dioramas in Science. We get to do DOL, and we get to do Fast Facts. We get to go to Music.

Rachel Parmeter, Grade 3
Why I attend St. Rose
The following reasons are why I attend St. Rose.
One of the reasons is I get to go to Mass on Wednesdays. I like to go because we get to receive the body of Christ. I get to listen to readings. I get to sing in choir. I get to have the subject Religion. I like Religion because we get to talk about God. We get to learn about saints. We get to learn about the old testament.
Second of all I get to have good lunches. We get to have home meade pizza. We get to have cookies. We get to have pears a lot.
Third I get to have nice teachers. They help you with your reports. They help you with math. They help you with Reading.
Those are some of the reasons why I attend St. Rose.

Emily Del Zotto, Grade 3
Why I attend St. Rose
First I like going to St. Rose because when I wake up in the morning I can put on a uniform. I do not have to dig through my closet and wonder what to wear. It is tough enough to find shoes to wear.
Second I like going to mass and singing in the choir. I like learning about God, the saints, and the Apostles. My favorite song is On a Eagles Wing.
Third it is fun to have book buddies. I like to read to them. My book buddies are funny.
Forth I like lunch. The pizza is really good. The chicken is good too.
Those are the reasons I go to St. Rose.

Hugh Olson, Grade 4
St. Rose School Essay
The following is why I attend St. Rose School:
1. I like coming here because we have mass every Wednesday except for when we have two hour late starts or any other activity.
2. I like how we have different lunches every week. Some schools have the same lunches on the same days on the same weeks, but St. Rose does not do that.
3. I like how St. Rose has a reasonable amount of work in one day. We don't have too much work, and we don't have to little work.
These are the reasons why I like going to St. Rose School. I think it is the best school I will ever have been to, and I never want to leave.

Willie Del Zotto, Grade 4
Why I Like St. Rose
It is a small school and everyone is friendly. I don't have to worry about bullys.
I like going to mass. I like to listen to the readings. It is fun to sing the hymns.
I like phy ed. It is fun to play four square. I also enjoy floor hockey.
The teachers are nice, they help me when I need it. I achieve goals with my classmates. My book buddies are very nice and funny.
My friends are very nice. We learn about God together.
This is why I like St. Rose.

Michael Michelizzi, Grade 5
St. Rose: The School We Love
Some memorable moments I've had at St. Rose include my first home-run, my first touchdown in football, and my first save in boot hockey. I realize that these are "sporty" memories, but this truly is one of my favorite things about life and St. Rose School.
Another thing I like about St. Rose is the faith-based education. We have weekly children's masses while at school. We also participate in our First Communion and First Reconciliation classes while in second grade. In my future time at St. Rose, I plan to train to become a server for weekly masses.
With the small classes at St. Rose, I am able to maintain close friendships. One benefit of this is that my friends and I can hang out at lunch and recess. I have know my best friend, Nick, and Emily since before I even started school since they both attended church here. Some days during recess, I have a friendly competition playing goalie during boot hockey with my friend Skyler, who I met in kindergarten. I have known Brodie since third grade, but have gotten to know him much better this year. Also, because of the small class sizes, we are able to go on more field trips than children in public schools.
Something else I like about St. Rose is the good teachers, who along with the benefit of small classes, they are available to help me right away.
One final thing I like about St. Rose is that the entire staff works to make us better people . I am very thankful that my parents have decided to send me to such a great school. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Lacey Skluzacek, Grade 6
My Memories at St. Rose
St. Rose is the school that I have gone to ever since I was in Pre-school. Now I'm in 6th grade. At St. Rose the teachers are very nice and help you learn new things. We have fun activities outside of school such as going on field trips and being invited to go to the Proctor Area Community Center. A few days a week we have Phy. Ed. These are just some of the things I like about St. Rose.
When I was in 2nd grade we went to a corn maze. It was a big corn field and some of the corn was cut down and made inside was the shape of a horses head. One of the field trips we went on in 5th grade was the Sudan Mine. It was an underground mine. We rode on something kind of like a small railroad car. There were a few bats flying around. After that we had lunch and went back to school. We also went on a ski trip to Spirit Mountain during Catholic Schools Week. I didn't know how to ski, but by the end of the day I knew how.
Some of the things about the classrooms are that there are small classes. You can get more help from your teacher. The teachers are very nice. You have closer friends and everybody gets along. In 5th and 6th grade you can get a classroom party if your class gets 50 points. We get to decorate the boards in the back of the classroom depending on what season it is. If one of the kids gets hurt, the teachers help them and make us feel better. Father Hastings comes in our classroom every Friday and teaches us new things about our faith.
Outside of the classroom we have mass downstairs in the church every Wednesday at 8:30. Fr. Hastings, our priest, is very nice. For recess and Phy. Ed., in the winter, we play boot hockey. In autumn and spring we play soccer, baseball, kickball and many more sports where no one should get hurt. On Friday, or the last day of school for the week we have "Fun Friday." On some of the Fridays we go to our friends' houses after school. Some of the kids go to the P.A.C.C. after school. In the winter you can sign up for the after school ski program. We get to go to Spirit Mountain and ski for three hours.
In 2nd grade we have our First Reconciliation. I was scared at first, but Father help me though. Also in 2nd grade we have our First Communion. The girls wear a white dress and the boys wear something kind of like a tux and everyone looks nice. After you have your First Communion you can receive the body and blood at the masses on Wednesday. In kindergarten through 6th grade you can host mass. At a public school you are not allowed to talk about God. At a catholic school you can talk about God as much as you want to. Those are some of the things that are different from a public school.
These are the things that I love about St. Rose. I am very sad that it is my last year at St. Rose. I am going to miss the teachers, my friends, and many other people that I know here. I hope that the other kids will enjoy St. Rose and all of the teachers as much as I did with all of my other friends. St. Rose is the best school ever and I will miss it very much.

100th Day

2010-02-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

February Student of the Month

Zach Kubat, Grade 2

Happy 100th day of school! It was pretty crazy around here today with that and the Valentine's parties. We also had 3 birthdays in the building today- I think all of the teachers are ready for a long weekend!

Congratulations to all of the students who made Honor Roll for the 2nd Quarter:

A Honor Roll

Myrandah Thrun 4.14

Emily Hendrickson 4.0

Michael Michelizzi 3.81

Lacy Skluzacek 3.81

B Honor Roll

Hugh Olson3.71

Maria Parmeter 3.71

Shanelle Oakland 3.48

Willie Delzotto 3.38

Rachel Parmeter 3.33

Nicholas Sundstrom 3.24

Hunter Herstad 3.14

Emily Delzotto 3.09

We are very proud of you!

We are busy planning Kindergarten (3/2) and PreKindergarten Round-Up (3/16) and the annual Rummage Sale (2/27). I'm also trying hard to find time to work on the new web site. Chuck Kramer (Mrs. Kramer's husband) and I are reformatting all of the computers in the lab and installing Windows XP and Microsoft Office- a project that is long overdue. I also have a volunteer appeal. We need help in 2 areas:

Kitchen Help

M, W, TH from 11:30am-1:00pm

Call Kim Dalton at 624-0818, ext. 112

from 8am-1pm, M-F

Sell Scrip

We just need 4 people to rotate Saturdays.

Mass is at 5:00pm and all you need to do is

sell gift cards after- it's very easy. Please

call Amy Skluzacek if you can help at 729-6963

Take Care and God Bless!

Catholic Schools Week 2010

2010-02-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Nerd Day

Noah Hendrickson, Chloe Oakland (Best Girl Nerd), Riley Kowalczak, Sam Gannucci (Best Boy Nerd), Therese Gannucci, and Mathew Martinson

Book Buddies

Joseph Kubat and Shanelle Oakland

Michael Michelizzi and Bailey Evers

Blake Imhoff and Brodie McArthur

Snow Fun

Jesse Kowalczak

Travis Thrun

We had a great Catholic Schools Week! Thank you to the staff, parents, and students for helping us highlight all of the terrific things about Catholic Education and St. Rose School. My favorite part of the week was the Parent Appreciation Mass and Reception on Friday. It's such a treat to see families together here at school. The students liked Robi Meyerson's visit, classroom olympics, and playing outside in the snow the best. They gave me a lot of great ideas for next year. Sleeping over with the 5th and 6th graders was an experience I'll never forget! We'll definitely do it again next year, but with a few modifications- one being bedtime at midnight. Overall I'm just really proud of our students for always being flexible, working hard, and for being generally awesome all of the time. They make all of the hard work worthwhile!

Coming soon:

Next time I'll have pictures of staff members you may not know- Kirsten Coder (Title One and Piano), Lisa Telando (Resource Room Aid), and Kim Dalton (Kitchen Manager). I'll also congratulate our 2nd Quarter Honor Roll.

FYI: We know the voicemail isn't working properly and we're trying to fix it. Mine usually works, so you can leave messages with me until we figure out the problem. Also, I'm in the process of building a new St. Rose web site. As soon as it's ready I will let you all know. (It's kind of a slow process for me since this is the first one I've done all by myself.)

Keep in touch!

Mrs. Paulson

Change Happens

2010-02-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

New PreK Aid: Melodie Helquist (Ms. Melodie)

New Secretary: Kelly Okstad (Ms. Kelly)

I was hoping to avoid staff changes my first year simply because I wanted to be surrounded by people who always know what's going on. Whether I like it or not, the changes continue. Mary Martinson, our Kitchen Manager, has decided to leave to focus more of her time and energy on foster parenting. Even though her last day was this past Friday, it really doesn't feel as though she's left. She was in today (and promises to be only a phone call away) helping our new Kitchen Manager, Kim Dalton, learn the ropes, and she continues to be our Home and School Treasurer. With three children in the building, I'm certain we'll still see Ms. Mary around quite a bit.

Luckily, with each staff change, we get the opportunity to work with someone new. I'm sure that Ms. Kim will do a great job. She also has three children at St. Rose and is dedicated to making our school the best it can be. Those of you planning to attend our Parent Appreciation Mass and Reception on Friday will get a chance to meet her. We recently had an inspection from the Minnesota Department of Education Food and Nutrition Service and found out we have several deficiencies because those of us who are here now were taught the wrong procedures. Luckily, the state is giving us a lot of help in making corrections, but the process is lengthy and laborious. Kim and I will be working together to provide the best possible meals to our students and staff following current state and federal guidelines. As we make changes and move forward, we'll keep you posted. I'm particularly excited about the Wellness Policy we need to develop. Healthy minds, bodies, and spirits: all of the things we want for our St. Rose students.

We have one other staff addition I want to mention before I get back to the many other things I should be working on right now: Lisa Telando is our new Resource Room Aid. She will be working one-on-one with students, whether they need extra help or enrichment opportunities, on Monday-Friday mornings. This is just one more way St. Rose is different from most schools. Students do not have to be labeled or go through any special testing to go to the Resource Room. Classroom teachers will determine who needs to spend time with Ms. Telando and will partner with her on student progress. Some students will see her daily for most of the year, some will see her off and on as the need arises, some may never work with her at all. It just depends on each student's needs as determined by her/his teacher and parents. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.

Nice job to Hugh Olson, Hunter and Lacey Skluzacek, and Myrandah Thrun on doing a terrific job of representing St. Rose today at the Diocesan Spelling Bee at St. James. Also, it is Catholic Schools Week and everyone here is fired up! This is our chance to highlight all of the great things happening in Catholic Education, especially here at St. Rose. Be sure to ask your children about each day's activities. Have a great week!

It's Finally Come

2010-01-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

My Family

We've been really lucky at my house. We haven't gotten any of the major illnesses that have been running amok since the start of school. Unfortunately, our luck has changed. It started with my husband catching a nasty cold last weekend that is still plaguing him. On Wednesday night, my youngest son, Wesley, started throwing up and I stayed home with him yesterday. Today he is better, but now I have it. Normally I love to have a day at home, but not under these circumstances!

Since I haven't been at school since Wednesday, I feel really out of the loop. The sixth graders took some terrific pictures for me that I'd planned to put on here, but the camera is at school and I am at home. Bummer. I can tell you that there is a lot going on, like always. I have been pretty consumed with planning Catholic Schools Week and everything is coming together nicely. It will be the first week of February, and the information that I'd planned to send home today will hopefully get out early next week. Our new secretary, Kelly, is learning the ropes and doing a great job so far. I also have pictures of her and the new PreK aid, Melodie, to post for you but that will also have to wait until next week. Their profiles will also be in next week's Proctor Journal. The milder temperatures were great for recess and I think all of the students received some much needed fresh air. The first-fourth grades went to see Robin Hood at the Duluth Playhouse on Thursday and it sounds like they had a great time!

Home and School met last week and School Board meets this week. We'll be delving heavily into the school budget, in particular collecting unpaid tuition. I can tell you that if every family paid the full tuition we'd be able to run our school without any fundraisers and still have money left over. That being said, I understand there are families who are really struggling right now. We need to achieve a balance so that we can still pay our bills. I need those who are behind in tuition payments or who haven't payed anything at all to really dig deep and try to find a way to give something. No amount is too small. Providing a faith-based education for our children means sacrifice. I hope we all understand that.

Have a nice weekend! I hope each family gets some quality time together. Keep our brothers and sisters of Haiti in your prayers.

Still Crazy

2010-01-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

January Student of the Month: Rachel Parmeter

Look for her picture in the Proctor Journal next week.

3rd and 4th Grade Spellers

5th and 6th Grade Spellers

The Winners: Hugh Olson, Lacey Skluzacek, Myrandah Thrun, Hunter Skluzacek

I thought that January would be pretty quiet around here and I'd be able to gain some ground on my ever growing "To Do" list. I was wrong. This week we started piano lessons and had our school spelling bee. We're making plans for Catholic Schools Week (1/31 through 2/6) and already thinking about Kindergarten Round-Up in March. I've come to the conclusion that there is no quiet time of year at St. Rose School. There is always a lot to do, but because it is such good and rewarding work, there is nowhere else any of us would rather be.

Remember that downhill ski and snowboarding registrations are due next week, and on Thursday grades K-4 will be going to Robin Hood at the Duluth Playhouse. Also, next week I'll profile our two new staff members. Melodie Helquist is our new PreK aid and Kelly Okstad is our new secretary. Although it isn't the same without Ms. Cheryl around here, we're happy to have two great additions to our team.

Have a great weekend!

Flying By

2009-12-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Can it really be nearly Christmas? I set up this blog in early November as a means of better communicating with St. Rose families, and I'm just now writing my first post. Time has flown by faster than ever before since I started this job. I was just looking at pictures from the first week of school, which seems like yesterday, and the students have all grown and changed so much since then. We see very few tears from the PreK students anymore, and the fifth graders already act like middle schoolers. All the more reason to take time out each day to enjoy who they are right now.

I saw many families last week at the Christmas Program. I am so proud of our students for all of their hard work and their terrific performance. Thank you to JC Curtis for making sure the students were prepared, Mary Martinson for making cookies to serve after the program, Paula Castleman and Kelly Kowalczak for running the Book Fair, and all of the dads for putting away chairs. Many people ordered DVD's and they should be here by mid-January at the latest.

The teachers and I are continuing to work hard on re-accreditation. As many of you already know, we are currently accredited with MNSAA (Minnesota Nonpublic School Accrediting Association). The purpose of our partnership with MNSAA is to enhance the quality of our program at St. Rose for the benefit of our children. The process is laborious and lengthy, but in the end it is worth all of the time and energy. Our site visit isn't until next spring, but there is much to do before then. One part is a parent survey, which will be available on Survey Monkey in January. I'll put out a reminder at that time.

The staff here at St. Rose School hopes all of you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year with family and friends. I will be here off and on over break so please feel free to leave me a voicemail (624-0818 ext. 110) or an email (nicolepaulson@msn.com) if you have any questions or concerns during that time. Have a nice break!