Principal's Corner
First I would like to thank those who showed up on a rather dreary May 3rd for our first Green Day! Despite the wet weather we accomplished a lot and found good homes for salvageable plantings. We were blessed with about 50 willing workers who were amazed how tired one can get in two hours. Thanks again to all.
Technology is a blessing for us as educators and I expect it is for you in your jobs and lives. The internet is a tremendous resource for us all, but it is susceptible to misuse. My message today is intended to raise our awareness of these dangers and to, once again, invite a partnership between school and home.
St. Thomas has adopted a variety of systems to ensure you and your child safe and secure access to course content, assignments, and grades. We have provided every student with a secure email address and a unique log-in to his/her own student account. We have also afforded all staff with email accounts and a variety of on-line and in-house technologies which can facilitate teaching and student learning.
In the interests of security, we ask students and teachers to use these school accounts as the means by which they communicate. Please encourage your students to check their "stalux.org" email address daily and to use it as the means of interacting with staff.
An even more significant topic is the Facebook/My Space phenomenon. Our teachers have been asked to find other means by which to communicate with groups of students because these social networking services have become, at the present, unreliable as sources of correct and appropriate information. The school recognizes these venues as "personal" and, therefore, potentially not appropriate to our school's mission.
In a global sense we seek to make communications with you and your child professional and private. We ask for your support and effort in making that the standard by which we all use the miraculous technologies available to us.
In the meantime we look forward to an exciting Graduation season for the Class of 2008 and a successful end to the school year.
God bless you,
Jeffrey A. Quinn
May Parent eNotes
Upcoming Events and News
Important Dates
- Friday, May 16- Great East Music Festival
- Monday, May 19- French/Spanish Honor Society Induction
- Tuesday, May 20- 9th Grade SAB Speeches
- Wednesday, May 21- 10th Grade SAB Speeches
- Wednesday, May 21- Late Start
- Thursday, May 22- 11th Grade SAB Speeches
- Friday, May 23- Senior Class Retreat
- Friday, May 23- Coffeehouse 7:00pm
- Monday, May 26- Memorial Day, No School
- Tuesday, May 27- Drama Banquet
- Wednesday, May 28- Late Start
- Wednesday, May 28- Spring Concert, 7:00pm
- Thursday, May 29- Grandparent's Day
- Thursday, May 29- Spring Concert Assembly
- Thursday, May 29- Alumni Reception for Class of 2008
- Thursday, May 29- STA Art Exhibit, 2:30-4:00
- Friday, May 30- Senior Classes End
- Monday, June 2- 2008-9 Tuition Due
- Tuesday, June 3- 9th Grade Prayer service and Awards 10:13am
- Wednesday, June 4- 10th Grade Prayer service and Awards 10:13am
- Thursday, June 5- 11th Grade Prayer service and Awards 10:13am
- Thursday, June 5- Senior Night, 6:00pm
- Friday, June 6- Baccalaureate Mass and Senior Awards 6:00pm
- Sunday, June 8- Graduation 12:00pm
- Tuesday, June 10- Class of 2012 Orientation II 7:00pm
- Wednesday, June 11- Class of 2012 Orientation II 7:00pm
- Friday, June 13- End of Year Dance 7-11pm
- Monday, June 16- 8 period schedule, locker cleanout, 2:00pm dismissal
- Tuesday, June 17- Final Assessments 8:00am-12:00pm
- Wednesday, June 18- Final Assessments 8:00am-12:00pm
- Thursday, June 19- Final Assessments 8:00am-12:00pm
- Friday, June 20- Final Assessments 8:00am-12:00pm
- Friday, June 20- End of School Barbeque
- Saturday, June 21- Reunion Day
St. Thomas Class of 2012 Welcome to the parents of the Class of 2012! Our monthly e-notes will keep you informed of the happenings at St. Thomas. The Class of 2012 has already completed the course selection process and will have several more opportunities to meet at St. Thomas before the 2008-2009 school year begins. You will receive a letter regarding our June Orientation soon.
Enrollment Contracts Enrollment contracts were due on May 1st. If you have not sent yours in, please send it in to the main office as soon as possible.
End of the Year Policies and Schedules Parents should take a look at the online documents regarding end of the year and assessment week policies as well. Click here for the policies document and click here for the schedules document.
Cafeteria Balance Chartwells, your food service provider at STA would like to notify you that your child's remaining account balance will carry over to next year. For graduating or transferring students it is requested that balances be run to zero and cash should be utilized for the remainder of the school year
Art News The STA Art classes are putting on a show! Actually, several shows! Works by 13 of our honors students were part of the recent 1st annual Dover Arts Festival, and several other classes will be featured at the STA Annual Art Exhibit, which will be on Thursday May 29 from 2:30-4:00 as well as in conjunction with Grandparent's Day.
Coffeehouse The Spring Coffeehouse is right around the corner. Students are busy rehearsing their acts, and it looks like we'll have a spectacular program of song, dance, music and comedy, as well as a few farewells from seniors. Please join us on the evening of May 23rd for the final coffeehouse of the year. If the weather is fine, Coffeehouse will take place outdoors in the back parking lot, so bring your lawn chairs. The festivities begin at 7:30. Be there!
Film Festival On Friday, May 30th St. Thomas will hold its very first STA Film Festival. The idea came from two juniors, Brennan Callahan and Dan Covert, who approached the administration with the idea of a student film festival. Student filmmakers have been encouraged to create a short film, under ten minutes in length, and submit it for the event. A panel of judges has been formed, and awards will be given, but the festival is mostly for fun and recognition of the many talents in our school community. Join us in the gym at 7 p.m. on Friday the 30th for another STA "First!"
Drama Banquet The Drama Awards Banquet will be held on Tuesday May 27 at 6 p.m. in the cafe. All students who participated in either play are invited to attend with their parents. There will be a short ceremony to recognize all participants, and Letter Awards will be given to those who have completed four STA Drama productions. Following the awards, food will be available, as well as time to relax, reminisce and enjoy the videos of the shows. Drama students are asked to be in dress code, and to bring either an appetizer, a beverage or a dessert for the buffet.
Model U.N. Members of the Model UN, under the guidance of Mrs. Carmichael,are traveling to New York City May 15th-May 17th for the annual Model UN Conference. The students have been working extremely hard all year long to present their position papers to other high school delegates from around the country in a simulation of a United Nations proceeding. The students were given the task of researching the countries of Andorra, Bolivia, and Zambia, and examining pertinent issues such as global warming, women's rights, and healthcare, as they relate to these three countries. Mrs. Mann has also worked with the students in the development of their papers. The conference is packed everyday with meetings, but the students will also have the opportunity to spend their evenings touring New York City.
Guidance
Progress Reports Please remember there are no conferences planned for the fourth quarter. Each of our teachers, however, is happy to discuss any concerns that you may have. Please contact them with questions.
Final Assessment Schedule The final exam/alternative assessment and end of year schedules and policies are here and need to be understood and adhered to. Parent assistance is appreciated. Please download the pdfs and make them available to your students. End of year schedule and policies
Class of 2008 Last day of classes for seniors will be Friday, May 30. All grades will be final on that day. Seniors have been given a Senior Plans handout that must be completed and returned to guidance ASAP. If your student received a merit scholarship to the college they plan to attend we must have a copy of the award letter in order to announce it at Senior Awards Night.
Class of 2009 Any junior considering ROTC scholarships, academy nominations or other summer opportunities must request recommendations and transcript by June 2.
Class of 2010 and 2012A small adjustment in student-counselor assignment has been made. In both classes, students with last names A-J will be assigned to Mrs. Granger and students K-Z will be assigned to Mrs. Karwowski.
Advanced Placement Exams AP students will complete their AP exams shortly. We are proud of them for this extra commitment to higher-level studies and we wish them high scores! Students took AP Exams in 14 different academic disciplines this spring.
2007 PSAT/NMSQT High Scorers Congratulations to the following high scorers: Samuel Attaya, Michael Ernsting, Benjamin Hogan, William Matern, Zachary Puffer and Michael Tran. More than one million students took the 2007 PSAT/NMSQT last October and these students were among the 50,000 highest scorers. They will be notified in September 2008 of their commended or semifinalist standing.
SAT/ACT Reminder SAT I and Subject Tests are Saturday, June 7. ACT tests are Saturday, June 14. St. Thomas is not a test center. For the most accurate test location information please check on-line at www.collegeboard.org or www.act.org.
Summer Plans Parents or students in grades 9, 10 & 11 are encouraged to check the guidance page of the St. Thomas website for summer opportunities. Community service, academic programs, leadership camps and other options are available.
Advancement
Aquinas Fund To date our Aquinas Fund is at $245,082.39 toward our budgeted goal of $440,000. Later this month a preview of the annual report will be mailed to you. We hope you will consider making a gift to our annual appeal, if you have not done so already. Our Aquinas Fund has been impacted by the economic climate and gifts are needed to bring us to our goal. You can make your gift today by check or online at the St. Thomas web site. by June 30.
Senior Gift I just want to personally thank the members of the senior class for participating in the Senior Gift Program. Led by senior members of the Student Advisory Board, the senior class raised over $750, plus had over $400 in additional gifts come in from outside sources. 61% of the senior class gave towards their gift- an outstanding accomplishment. Their gift, a new yardarm for the flagpole and new St. Thomas school flag, will be presented to the School at Baccalaureate. Congratulations Class of 2008 and thank you. ~ Sarah Scheffer, Alumni Relations Director
St. Thomas Reunion Day Save June 21st on your calendars! The St. Thomas Reunion Day promises to be a lot of fun and have something for everyone. Festivities begin at 10:30am with a Mass that all St. Thomas families are welcome to attend. At 11:30am, St. Thomas student ambassadors will lead school tours. At 12:30pm the Alumni Softball Tournament kicks off - open to all St. Thomas alumni and their families. All ages welcome! There will be a picnic lunch and games for the kids! Softball will be slow pitch, "one pitch" per at-bat, teams will be coed, and all games will be played in good fun! Sign up as a team or individually by calling or registering online. For more information contact the Alumni Office.
CAST (Community Association of St. Thomas)
Faculty Appreciation Luncheon The Faculty Appreciation Luncheon is Thursday, May 22. The annual Staff Luncheon, put on by parents, is an expression of their appreciation for all the hard work and dedication the STA Staff share daily with our children. For the past two years, the theme has been a Caribbean Cafe! The staff were supplied with leis and chances to win raffles while enjoying their lunch in a Tropical Paradise! We have a new theme this year! If you would like to help on the committee or provide food, please contact Janet Carroll.
23rd Annual Golf Open Friday, September 19th, 2008 at the Portsmouth Country Club. Although is seems a long way off, the Golf Committee has been meeting in preparation of this much-anticipated fall golf event. We are pleased to announce our presenting sponsors AllianceCore, Cisco Systems and API of New England. The committee is looking for tee and hole sponsors at this time. If you are interested in this opportunity please contact the golf committee or Golf Chairman, Mike Bergeron '76. Deadline to be printed in our golfer invitation is July 30th.