Principal’s Newsletters
August 20, 2014
August 15, 2014
April 2014
March 2014
Dear St. Ignatius School Families,
On a daily basis, our goal is to provide the very best Catholic education to your children. This goal requires 100% commitment by our faculty and staff. On a yearly basis, we critically assess our Mission Statement, Philosophy, and School Wide Learning Expectations to ensure that we are meeting our own expectations, as well as time to consider any necessary changes that need to occur.
During an Accreditation year, it is not unusual to spend a bit more time on these these documents. Feedback is sought from all shareholders, parents, parishioners, students, faculty, parish, and school staff. Keeping in mind our Catholic traditions, specifically, our Ignatian values, our academic rigor, and commitment to the “whole child” the following attachments will show our most updated documents. I hope you find that they are comprehensive and true to your child’s experience here at St. Ignatius Parish School.
I would also like to thank you once again for all your support during this accreditation process. It is key for our overall school improvement and your continued involvement is key.
Blessings,
Patty Lane
February 2014
Click here to read the February 2014 Newsletter
December 2013
Fr. Richard Tierney, S.J. says in his book, Teacher and Teaching, “….that teachers in a Jesuit School are more concerned with the formation of the soul, not the intellect alone, the formation of character.” Our mission, as parents, grandparents, administrators, and educators, is to inspire our little ones to be children that make a difference. Our goal is to model this on a daily basis…so that we all become Men and Women, Boys and Girls, for and with others!
At St. Ignatius School, we are blessed to see our mission come alive on a daily basis. Whether it is the work of our Magis Club, the volunteer efforts of our parents and grandparents, the commitment of our faculty and staff, the leadership of our pastor Fr. Mike Moynahan, all our priests, room parents, the Parish Staff, Advisory Council, Parent Club, Athletic Committee, coaches, fundraiser chairs, the list goes on and on.
This past month, I have once again been brought to tears with the generosity of all our families. Our Pajama Drive for Crisis Nursery, the Canned Food Drive for the parish food baskets, Clothing collection, gifts for twenty-five families (220 total gifts) towards Adopt a Families for those in need at Edison School, items for Mustardseed School. The joy on our student’s faces as they brought items in was priceless. Thank you for all you have done to bring happiness to others this Christmas Season.
Of course, one of the highlights of the year is our Annual Christmas Program. Do we have the cutest children in Sacramento? Love them! The beautiful sounds of Christmas that began with our pre-school class lasted for an hour as each class came forward. Loved standing in the Church last night, looking at the community and feeling such an incredible sense of faith and love.
Jesus makes this happen. Without our Lord’s birth, these magical moments would not occur. There is nothing stronger than FAITH and FAMILY. Please know how incredibly thankful we are to each of you for sharing your children with us. As we celebrate our Lord’s birth at Mass next week, you will continue to be in our prayers.
We love your children and wish all of you the most Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!!
August 2013
For the Greater Glory of God!!
Aug. 20, 2013 is almost upon us!! We look forward to the day to have your children here at St. Ignatius School. As a community, we are blessed with the leadership of Fr. Mike Moynahan as he cherishes our school and most especially your children. I have heard Fr. Mike share on numerous occasions that spending time with the children is one of the highlights in his role as pastor.
The summer months have been busy. Summer school activity has been on-going, Parent Club officers and chairs have met often, Advisory Council, Finance Council, Security Committee, Advancement Committee, Athletics, and all leadership groups have met. In addition, the faculty and staff have attended workshops, in-service training, and even met in small groups to discuss the on-going work to address the National Common Core Standards for ELA (English Language Arts) and Math curriculum. Work is in progress with the Diocese on remapping the Acuity quarterly testing, standards based report cards, and curriculum in-depth studies.
We have made the decision as a staff to provide report cards on a trimester basis. This will be a change from our quarterly report. St. Ignatius School is one of a handful of schools that was using a quarterly report card calendar. In moving to a trimester, we feel that the additional time, especially the first and last trimester, will provide a more authentic picture of how the children are progressing, more time for the children to be introduced to a content area, the time to practice, and then to be assessed. We believe strongly that communication with you, the parents and guardians is key. Parent conferences are still scheduled in early November however, report cards will not be distributed until later that month. There will be an adjustment for this new reporting system, but we feel the change is in the best interest of the students.
After nearly two years of research and a tremendous amount of time and effort, St. Ignatius Parish School presented a new website through Digital Deployment. We are extremely pleased with this new site which can be found at www.stignatiussacschool.org . Please have the site on your favorites bar and check often. We will no longer be sending daily reminders and/or emails. You will find all school information, forms, deadlines, calendar, athletics, contact information, and specific information regarding your child’s classroom activities on the site. This change in how we communicate is consistent with other schools and institutions. This change also keeps our costs down, keeping your tuition fees as low as possible.
St. Ignatius Parish School’s term for WASC/WCEA accreditation ends in 2015. Therefore, we are beginning the preparation for our accreditation team visit in the Spring of 2015. Every six years, we are required to do a self-evaluation of our entire program to ensure that we are meeting the guidelines set forth. This work will require that we reserve several additional half-days throughout the 13-14 school-year as well as the Fall of 14-15. You will notice more minimum days on the schedule. Every school that is accredited undergoes this same process. Many of you will be asked to serve on committees, to answer surveys, or attend meetings that will be held throughout the year. Your cooperation, comments, and involvement will be key to the success of this self-evaluation. Our goal is to be honest and forthright as we move forward to improve as we work to provide the best, quality, Catholic education to your children and our community.
On Aug. 19th, the faculty and staff will be meeting together. We will begin the day, led by Fr. Mike with a spiritual retreat experience. In the model of our patron, St. Ignatius, we work as companions to bring the word of The Lord to your children. These opportunities to meet as faith filled members of our Church support us on our own journey as Catholics. As part of this Jesuit ministry, we are called to grow in our own faith so that we may be models of Christ’s work on earth. This time in prayer and reflection provides us a better understanding of what it means to be “Ignatian,” and how we can find ways to better serve in our roles as Catholic educators. As our mission states, we strive to teach the whole child…but in our community, I believe we are blessed even more. Fr. Mike leads us to understand that we are here for each other as well, as we minister to each other, including faculty, staff, parents, grandparents, relatives and friends. We are “Men and Women, Boys and Girls, For and With Others.”
In preparation for the 13-14 school-year, we have had several staffing changes. Mrs. Madeline Berghoff, our 7th grade homeroom and 7th/8th ELA instructor, is taking leave for the 13-14 year to provide support and care for her mother. Mrs. Marie Liston, our 5th-8th grade Science instructor has made the decision to not return. Her commute and child care became too difficult. We have also seen a change within our classroom aides due to career moves. Below, you will find a brief introduction of our new staff members. I am sure you will join me in a warm welcome to them all.
Amanda Lantz-7th Grade Homeroom and 7th/8th ELA for 2013-14
Mrs. Lantz earned her B.A. in English from California State
University, Sacramento, where she also earned her Single Subject
Teaching Credential with English Language Authorization in the
area of Language Arts. Mrs. Lantz has taught grades 3-12 at
Sierra Christian Academy and did her student teaching at Lichen
Elementary and Mesa Verde High School/Middle School. In
addition, Mrs. Lantz has worked in the Roseville High School AVID
tutoring program and at Woodcreek High School. Mrs. Lantz
enjoys swimming, kayaking, reading, and the martial arts.
She and her husband also like playing with their 5lb, long hair
chihuahua named Thor. Mrs. Lantz is very excited to become
part of the team at St. Ignatius and work with our middle school
students.
Molly Hagen-5th-8th Grade Science
Ms. Hagen earned her B.A. from Santa Clara University and her
Credential/Masters from University of California, Davis.
Ms. Hagen has taught for the past two years at Aspire Alexander
Twilight College Preparatory. In addition, Ms. Hagen has
taught at Warner’s Granite Bay Country Day School, Capitol
Heights Academy, and Bryte Elementary School. Ms. Hagen
also worked at the Placerville Aquatics Coordinator where she was
a CPR instructor, lifeguard and swim instructor. Ms. Hagen
was a NCAA rowing athlete from 2003-07 and was named co-captain
of the rowing team.
Monica Scholtes-1st Grade Classroom Aide
Mrs. Scholtes earned her B.A. in Child Development from
California State University, Sacramento and is currently enrolled
at USF in their Masters and Credentialing Program. She has
called Sacramento home for the past eight years, but has lived in
New Jersey, Colorado, and Texas. Mrs. Scholtes enjoys the
outdoors, playing tennis, skiing, and hiking. On June 1,
2013, she married her best friend at St. John Evangelist
Church. She is looking forward to working with our
first grade students in a fun and engaging environment.
Rachael Hubbard-Preschool Aide
Mrs. Hubbard earned her B.A. in Social Work from California State
University, Sacramento. Ms. Hubbard has worked at Arden
Middle School as an Instructional Assistant. She is
currently working at Rio Del Oro Racquet Club in their child care
center. Mrs. Hubbard can’t wait to meet all the
pre-schoolers and be part of our St. Ignatius community.
Carol Nelson-4th Grade Classroom Aide
Mrs. Nelson earned her B.A. from St. Michael’s College Winnoski
Park, VT and her MA from Pace University, White Plains New
York. Mrs. Nelson has been married for nine years,
has two children, a step-son, Reese who just recently graduated
from St. Ignatius and will be attending Jesuit, and Garrett who
will be in the second grade. Mrs. Nelson loves
gardening, cooking, camping, and taking her dog down to the
river. She has also been known to participate in some
intense basketball games with her boys. Mrs. Nelson is
looking forward to working with Mrs. Herrick and the incoming
fourth grade class.
Jenny Thompson-3rd Grade Classroom Aide
Mrs. Thompson earned her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara where she
also met her husband and they have been married for eighteen
years. They have three sons, Jace-1st, Sam-4th, and
Max-9th, a recent St. Ignatius graduate who will be attending
Jesuit High School. Mrs. Thompson enjoys playing tennis,
and walking her dogs, Wallace and Brodie down by the river.
Mrs. Thompson is excited about working with Ms. Flores and our
new third graders.
Trisha Ayers-Kindergarten Classroom Aide
Ms. Ayers earned her B.A. in Child Development from California
State University at Sacramento. She is a proud
Troubie graduate from St. Francis High School. She just
celebrated her one year wedding anniversary with her fantastic
husband, Tony. They love spending time with their three
month old beagle puppy. In their free time, she and Tony
love traveling, especially to South Lake Tahoe. Recently
she has been working as a Pre-Kindergarten Enrichment Teacher and
Teacher’s Aide. She is looking forward to moving up to
Kindergarten at St. Ignatius.
