It is hard to believe we are already at the Thanksgiving

Dear St. Mary's Families,

It is hard to believe we are already at the Thanksgiving Holiday break. Our students have excelled in many activities during the first part of this school year including football, volleyball, mock trial, NVC choral clinic, and one acts. When you combine these activities with our excellent academic program it is easy to see why St. Mary's is the best educational choice in the region. As we move forward to Christmas and the spring semester we want to make you aware of the following information.

Progress Reports ("Downs") / School Announcements ORBUND / St. Mary's School Website

Please be reminded, we are utilizing Orbund (http://server2.orbund.com/oen/index.jsp) and the new St. Mary's School website (http://www.stmarysoneill.org/) as our main means of communication. Please check these sources daily for important school information including your child's grades, the school calendar, and school announcements.

We are no longer sending progress reports ("downs") by mail. Parents are asked to keep up with their child's academic progress by checking grades on Orbund, the school's electronic grade book software. We believe this system is better, because it will provide you with more current information about your child's academic progress, e questions concerning Orbund or your child's grades please do not hesitate to call the school.

Grades

With so many students being involved in co-curricular activities, one concern that has arisen is students falling behind in their school work. Students must understand that participating in school activities is a privilege that is earned by being academically responsible. We have had an issue with students failing to get or complete assignments for foreseen absences. Today's students in the modem world are confronted with so many distractions that sometimes school and academics gets lost in the shuffle. Please remind your students to take care of their school work in order to remain academically eligible to participate in all school activities.

High School Tardies

A continuing concern in the high school is the number of tardies students are accumulating, which is now leading to a growing number of after school detentions. We will definitely re-examine the school's tardy policy for next school year. In the meantime, please help us impress upon your children the importance of being on time for school and class. Tardies are disruptive to the educational process and may have a detrimental effect on grades.

Exams

Beginning with the spring semester all high school students will be required to take semester exams at the end of the spring and fall semesters. We have a two-fold purpose for enacting this change. First, we want to better prepare our students for the rigors of college academic life. Second, some teachers currently give exams and we wanted to standardize our high school grading procedures for determining semester grades. Exams will definitely be given in all core subject areas in grades 9-12 and will be introduced in selected classes for 7 - 8 grades. We wanted to make parents and students aware of this change as early as possible; however, we will provide more specific details in the spring semester after we finalize our plan.

Classroom/Mass Dress Code

As many of you are aware, the Junior class has designed and sold a new CARDINAL NATION T-shirt and hoodie. At the request of many students, we have decided to allow the Junior class to offer the design in a regular crew sweatshirt. This sweatshirt will be accepted as appropriate dress for the classroom. Please note, this ONLY applies to the sweatshirt, NOT THE HOODIE. The Juniors will be selling the sweatshirts the week we return from the Thanksgiving Holidays. The cost of the sweatshirt is $18.00.

As we return from the Thanksgiving Holidays we will emphasize this dress policy. Please remember students are allowed to wear a plain red sweater, the official school sweatshirt, the Cardinal Nation sweatshirt, or the school cardigan (Juniors and Seniors only); no other outer garments are to be worn in class or in church. Cheerleaders may wear their pullovers in class on varsity game days only. No other items are considered appropriate, unless it is a school dress-down day.

Students in Restricted Areas after School Hours

St. Mary's has worked hard in recent years to insure the security of our buildings. However, we have recently discovered that some students have circumvented these measures after normal school hours by forcing some of the locked doors open. To date two doors have been broken by students forcing them open; the exterior door by the weight room which was replaced in the summer and an interior hallway door on the first floor of the high school which will be replaced soon.

To discourage this practice, students found unsupervised in restricted areas of the building after school hours will receive a minimum consequence of an after school detention. These area of the building are locked at 4:00 pm every day. If students need to get into these areas after school they must find a staff member to go with them, wait till the following school day, or plan and prepare better during the school day.

School Ambassadors

As many schools throughout rural Nebraska are getting smaller, consolidating, or co-oping; St. Mary's is hoping to grow. The parents, staff, and alumni of St. Mary's know that we are the best educational choice in the area. We need to "get the word out" to encourage other individuals from O'Neill and the surrounding communities to come to St. Mary's.

We need you to be ambassadors for St. Mary's. There are several simple ways you can help. First, "talk up" our school and openly discuss all of the good things that are happening here. Second, wear our school colors and proudly display other school symbols in your yard or vehicle. Third, be good hosts. When other schools visit treat their parents and students with respect. Finally, when we are attending events at other schools, be good role models. We want to plant the seed in other people's minds that St. Mary's must be a great place to be and not think negatively - "Here come those St. Mary's folks again".

Please keep this in mind as basketball season rolls around. This is high school, purchasing a ticket only buys you the privilege of positively encouraging our students; not fussing and arguing with coaches, officials, or the other team. We want to kill them all with kindness. Nebraska Husker fans are known for this throughout the nation. We should strive to garner that same reputation at St. Mary's. Furthermore, we owe it to our children to model appropriate behavior. When things are not going our way, we need to teach our students how to cope, adjust, and persevere and not be bitter, argue, or complain. If we want that for our children, we must be willing to do it ourselves.

These remarks are not directed at any individual; but instead represent the school's expectations. There were some issues that came out of the last volleyball game, but investigating the situation has confirmed that the individual asked to leave the contest, in no way, did anything to warrant that response. Please note, we have addressed the NSAA with our concerns about the volleyball playoffs.

Thank you for taking the time to read this information. It is important that we work together to make our students responsible individuals. If you have any questions or comments my door is always open.

Sincerely,

Walt Dupre

Principal - St. Mary's School