September September September September 18, 200818, 200818, 200818, 2008 Upcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming EventsUpcoming Events

Friday, September 19, Grades 7 & 8 returns from Leadership Trip Monday, September 22, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., ECD Curriculum Night Wednesday, September 24, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Lower School Curriculum Night Thursday, September 25, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Upper School Curriculum Night Friday, September 26, Eisenhower Fellows visit St. Peter’s School Friday, September 26, 2:30 p.m., Upper School Declamation Monday & Tuesday, October 6th & 7th, Elizabeth Reade Photography will be at School to take your child’s picture. Please check your red envelope for additional details and order forms. *********************************************************************** Harvest Festival is Coming Soon!

St. Peter's Ghosts and Goblins are planning a Halloween Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 25th! A Haunted House, Pumpkin Patch, and traditional Harvest Festival fun activities for you and your family to enjoy! Please support this wonderful St. Peter's tradition by coming to the Harvest Festival on October 25th. If you are interested in helping plan or run this event, please contact Jim King (jking@stradley.com) or Tania Rorke (trorke@aol.com). Our next planning meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 1st at 8:30 a.m. in the Library.

UpUpUpUpper School Students and Familiesper School Students and Familiesper School Students and Familiesper School Students and Families

On Saturday, October 25th, the Upper School students will perform at the Harvest Festival. Following the Morris and Garland Dancing, the chorus will sing. The dress requirement for the boys is white pants, white shirt, and no tie. Dress for the girls will be the Spring/Fall kilt (preferably blue) and a white blouse. Both the boys and girls must bring their blazers. All Upper School students are required to attend this event. Please complete the permission slip and return to Ms. Mazza no later than Tuesday, October 9. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I give my permission for ___________________________________________ (Student’s name) to perform at the Harvest Festival. I will have my child at school in the theater by 10:00 a.m. in proper uniform. ************************************************************************

Friendly Reminder: Please turn in your summer math packets

to Mrs. Carnecchia by

Monday, September 22nd. Thank you!

Dear Parents, Music Recitals are one of the exciting traditions at St. Peter’s School. Music Recitals are offered three times a year to both the Upper and Lower Schools. They are wonderful opportunities for students to share their individual musical talents with the School community. If your child is interested in performing in the upcoming recital (Upper School Friday, October 10th at 2:30 pm and Lower School Tuesday, October 14th at 1:20 pm), please help him or her to prepare by sending the following note back to me by Friday, September 12th. I believe that students will be best prepared for recitals when they have chosen their music with their teachers and are performance-ready approximately one month in advance. When they return this form, I will listen to them and select them for the program if they are ready. Please note:

- It is best for both the children and me that they audition as far in advance of the recital date as possible. Please do not wait until the last minute.

- This form must be completed in its entirely by you, so that I have enough information to help Miss Alderfer compile a correct program.

- Students must have a private music teacher who will be assisting them in preparation for the recital.

- If your child is in Grade 1, Mr. Silver can hear their audition. Thank you for your help and I look forward to hearing your child. Sincerely, Ms. Cathy Mazza

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ____ Lower School Music Recital ____ Upper School Recital My child,________________________________________________________________ Name Grade Instrument would like to perform the following piece: ___________________________________by__________________________________. He/she will bring his/her instrument to music class or at 8 am in mid-September to perform for Ms. Mazza. You may make an appointment with me during school hours if you wish.

Culinary Arts Tuesdays 3:45 – 4:45 p.m. $90.00 with Ms. Stewart for Grades PK, K & 1st Put on your apron and step into the kitchen. What’s on the menu? A generous portion of learning served

with a side of fun! Soccer Fridays 3:30 – 4:15 p.m. $75.00 with Mr. B for Grade 2 and up Girls’ Lacrosse Fridays 4:15 – 5:00 p.m. $75.00 With Mr. B Martial Arts Fridays 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. $80.00 with Mr. Tue Grade 1 and up Art Wednesdays 3:45 – 5:00 p.m. $80.00 with Ms. Elena for Grades 1 – 3 Theater Class Mondays 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. $165.00 With Mrs. Church Grades 3 and up Come join Melissa Church, the Director of St. Peter's Summer Theater Program, for a fun and enriching theater class. Play improvisation games, rehearse parts for a short play, learn directing techniques, and put on

a performance for parents and friends on the last day! Acting builds confidence and is loads of fun.

All Classes begin the first week of October!

Please contact Mr. Stewart with any questions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name________________________________ Grade_________________ Class_________________________________Cost__________________ ���� Cash ���� Check ���� Credit Card

Credit Card #________________________________Exp. Date_______

PIZZA LUNCHES ARE BACK By Popular Demand!

Pizza lunch will be available for all students (K-8) who would like it. Pizza will be served on the following Dates:

Friday, September 19 Friday, September 26 Friday, October 3 Friday, October 10 Friday, October 17 Friday, October 24 Friday, October 31 Friday, November 7 Friday, November 14 Friday, November 21 Friday, December 5 Friday, December 12 Friday, January 9 Friday, January 16 Friday, January 23 Friday, January 30 Friday, February 6 Friday, February 20 Friday, February 27 Friday, March 6 Friday, March 20 Friday, March 27 Friday, April 3 Friday, April 24 Friday, May 1 Friday, May 8 Friday, May 15 Friday, May 29 Friday, June 5 Wednesday, June 10

Lunch will consist of two slices of Pizza and a juice, water or milk. Cost will be $5.00 per lunch. We are happy to accept your payment for the entire year or for a portion of it! If you are interested in paying for the entire year, please turn your check, made out to St. Peter’s School or cash in the amount of $145.00, and this form to Miss Alderfer by Wednesday, September 17. You also have the option to pay for just the first half of the year (September-December), that amount will be $55. (January – June will be $90.) If you are interested in one or a few dates but not all, please circle the dates you wish your child to have a Pizza Lunch, and turn in your payment and form to Miss Alderfer by Wednesday, September 24. Cost is $5.00 per lunch date. Miss Alderfer must receive payment by Wednesday of the lunch week or your child will not receive pizza on that Friday. If you have any questions, please contact Tania Rorke at 215.370.6485 or TRorke@aol.com.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please circle your drink preference:

Bottled Water Milk Juice Box Child’s Name: _______________________________________ Your Child’s Teacher: _________________________________ Your Phone No.: _____________________________________

St. Peter’s School Parents’ Association Meeting Agenda

Friday, September 12, 2008 St. Peter’s School Library

1. Welcome and Introductions (All) 2. The role of the Parents’ Association at St. Peter’s School (David Costello) In his 9th year as school headmaster, Mr. Costello thanked families for choosing St. Peter’s School in light of the fact there are so many school choices in Philadelphia. He told families that “We could not do this without you.” To him, the mission of the Parents’ Association is to support the School and its activities. Without your help and support, we could not make the things that occur at St. Peter’s School happen. When he discussed the participation of our parents with other school heads, it is evident we get more support from the parents than any other school in the area. This is a remarkable testament to the families and it also comes back to you. Parents who volunteer really get a sense of who their childrens’ teachers and friends are and what the school is really like. Furthermore, the children love seeing you here. He closed by reading a letter he received 3 days prior to the meeting sent to him by the parents of a recent graduate of St. Peter’s School “because sometimes it is difficult to see where this is going” in particular if you have children in ECD or the LS. The letter stated “This is the first day of school since forever that we didn't drop Billy off at your front door . Instead, today he

had his first train ride out to the mainline to begin the wonderful adventure of

high school. The love that Billy has for St. Peter's School , and the deep bond

shared with his classmates(6 of them had lunch together on Tuesday)are wonderful

gifts that he will cherish forever. As parents , we cherish the gift of childhood that

lies at the heart of a St. Peter's education. In our hearts, Billy will continue to

shake your hand each morning, one of the happy, lucky children anxious to enter

their beloved school. We extend thanks and kind regards to you and the entire

St. Peter's School family.” David closed by thanking parents for contributing to our School because it does make a difference in making St. Peter’s School unlike any other school. 3. Parents’ Association officers, class parents (Carmen Guerra) Carmen again thanked the parents for being so involved in the School, especially those who took on the role of class parent. She reported she was “honored to lead the group again for a second year and incredibly grateful to all the parents for their efforts.” Carmen distributed and reviewed the list of Parents’ Association officers and class parents as it stands so far (see attachment). She pointed out that one of the duties of class parents is to “facilitate communication between the Parents’ Association and the families and that the direction of communication is often two ways, from the families to us and from the Parents’ Association to the families.” There will be additions as we aim to have at least two class parents per class. A list of the responsibilities of class parents and officers was also distributed and is included below:

Grade Teacher Class Parents

Preschool Wood Juliet Englander, Cindy Towers, Claudia Miller Preschool Stewart Laura Rosa, Alex Haines, Alex Murphy PK Moore Jessie Burns, Shaun & Katrin Antram PK Behler Kate Donato, Jennifer Raphael K Lewin Nuriye Uygur K Harris Susanne Lenz, Anne King K Michiels Jennifer Brown, Nancy Klinghoffer 1st Christmas Kathleen Margay, Nuriye Uygur 1st Obrien Bobbie Turner, Marica Angelides 2nd Kulick Julianna Pang, Oya Garonski, Robin Boucher 2nd McKeown Marianne Lipson and Marta Driscoll 3rd Banhck Lizzy Chiaravalli, Michelle Platcher 3rd Rentschler Jessie Burns, Nikki Luciano 4th Van Nesse Kathleen Margay, Keri White 4th Thorell Janet Charlton 5th Patel 6th Girardi Dana Hall 7th Adame Marica Angelides, Sunshine Ivers 8th Kreider Alberta Blum and Frances Beckley SPS PA officers President Carmen Guerra Secretary Lisa Young VP, ECD Alec Siegel VP, LS Kathleen Margay VP, US

4. Parents’ Association events for the 2008-9 academic year (Carmen Guerra) Carmen reviewed the events planned for the year and added that most of the events do not have chairs or co-chairs. The exceptions are the Harvest Festival (co-chairs are Tania Rorke and Jim King) and Pizza Lunches (Tania Rorke). In addition, it is unclear at this point whether we will have a Plant Sale since this was the least efficient fundraiser in the past. Further discussions at future Parents’ Association meetings and with the administration will help determine the fate of the Plant Sale and whether it will be replaced by a more efficient fundraiser. If parents have an interest or a special affinity for any of the events, they should email Carmen at Guerra.viswanath@gmail.com or note so on the Parents In Action form as soon as possible because many of these events require planning many months in advance.

a. Cocktail Party (Fri, Sept 12, 2008) b. Harvest Festival (Sat, Oct 25, 2008) c. Grandparents’ and Special Friends’ Day (Wed, Nov 26, 2008) d. Holiday Sale (Fri and Sat, December 5 and 6, 2008 e. Campfest and Teen Expo (Sun, Jan 25, 2008) f. Book Fair (Mon, May 18- Thurs May 21, 2009) g. Auction (date TBA) h. Plant Sale (date TBA)

i. Faculty Appreciation Luncheon (Fri, June 12, 2009) j. Pizza Lunches (every Friday) k. Speaker Series (dates TBA)

5. Parents’ Association Cocktail Party (Carmen Guerra) Given the weather, Carmen announced the Cocktail Party would likely be held in the theater and reviewed that families will provide the food and that Susan and Greg Moore will provide the wine. Carmen asked class parents to encourage families to sign up for set up, clean up, greeting and bartending. 6. Harvest Festival (Jim King and Tania Rorke) Jim King reported that “planning for the Harvest Festival has been underway over the summer with Marcy Leader’s and Dorie Clayman’s help in getting all of our permits ready. We are set for October 25th which you will note is later than it has been in the past and for that reason we will have a Halloween theme. We will have a haunted house theme down in the ECD area and on the west lawn we will have a pumpkin patch.” Jim also noted that, as all these events, the Harvest Festival is very “people intensive and time intensive and so we depend on your time and help and your support so as you see the sign up sheet on the Parents’ Association board, please help us as you can. More importantly, we need ideas.” The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 17th at 8:30 am in the library at which point the co-chairs welcome your ideas, discuss the Harvest Festival class project, the raffle tickets and will divide the group into subcommittees. 7. Curriculum Nights (Carmen Guerra) Carmen reported that we will have ECD curriculum night on Monday, September 22nd, LS on Wednesday, September 24th and US on Thursday, Sept 26th. The format for ECD will be the same, but there will be changes for the LS and US in that there will minimal food because it is distracting and the focus should be on the curriculum. In addition, we didn’t want to add another social event to an already busy September. There will be water and pretzels provided by the Parents’ Association. The programs will begin promptly at 6:00 pm with remarks by Mr. Costello and the Division Director and will move to the classrooms by 6:20 pm in ECD and the LS where the parents will hear about their child’s curriculum from their teacher. In the upper school, Mr. Weymouth will provide the opportunity to rotate to each of their child’s classrooms, a format that was very popular last year. 8. Eisenhower Fellows (Wendye Carnecchia) St. Peter’s is very privileged to host the Eisenhower Fellows once again this year and Mrs. Carchecchia announced that the School will host two fellows from Argentina, one from Chile and one from Peru on September 26th. That weekend, six families will host dinners for these fellows. She asked parents to review the list of fellows that was mailed to them and if anyone has any suggestions that would facilitate networking for any of the fellows, to contact the program officer directly. Mrs. Carnecchia wants to continue to nurture the School’s relationship with the Eisenhower Fellowship because this is such a wonderful, exciting and unique opportunity for our kids to meet world leaders. She reported that because of the relationship between the Eisenhower Fellowship and our school, our children will be the only children that will hear Colin Powell speak.

9. Pizza Lunches (Tania Rorke) Tania reported that it would be very much appreciated if families paid for the entire year or half the year instead of paying for pizza on a weekly basis. This will simplify recordkeeping and accounting. She also pointed out one mistake in the form which is in an attempt to make the School more green there no longer is any bottled water, only filtered tap water with the filters that the Parents’ Association donated last year. In addition, she asked for help in approaching SuperFresh or another donor to donate juice boxes like they did last year and picking up the juice boxes on a weekly or monthly basis and bringing them to the School. She also invited any parents that want to come in and help deliver pizza to do so on Fridays at 12:15 pm. 10. Development Committee (Tania Rorke) Tania also announced that she and Jim King are heading the Development Committee this year and if anyone is interested in serving on the committee, they welcome involvement. Tania can be reached at TRorke@aol.com and Jim at jking@stradley.com. The committee will be looking at annual giving, planned giving and development issues with Marcy Leader and Dorie Clayman. In addition, she thanked Alex and Chris Haines for chairing annual giving this year. 11. Speaker Series (Valerie Piper) Valerie Piper plans to send out a web-based survey to all families to better understand topics of interest and preferred times for a speaker series. In addition, she announced two upcoming lectures that may be of interest. The Association of the Delaware Valley Independent Schools will host an annual parent program titled “Beyond ranking: Calming the School and College Admissions Frenzy” featuring Lloyd Thatcher, Executive Director of the Education Conservancy on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008, 7:30-9:00pm at the Agnes Irwin School. In addition, St. Peter’s Church will initiate its Parenting Café this Sunday with a lecture on “Restoring Balance to Overscheduled Lives” by Dr. Sara Corse of the Council for Relationships. The lecture will take place on Sunday Sept. 14th at 10 am in the theater of St. Peter’s School. Free childcare at the School is available to attendees. Marianne Lipson pointed out the Parenting Café lectures are non-denominational. 12. Rita’s Water Ice (Marcy Leader) Marcy Leader placed the call for a volunteer who could give 1 hour of their time to sell Rita’s water ice in the parking lot at the 3:15 pm dismissal on nice weather days. The volunteer would pick up the water ice, bring it to the lot and sell each water ice for $1. This volunteer is quite popular with the children. If interested, please email Marcy at mleader@st-peters-school.org. 13. Campfest and Teen Expo (Marcy Leader) In addition, Marcy is looking for a Campfest and Teen Expo chair or co-chairs. This event draws many summer camp representatives and many families. Planning for the Campfest will need to begin in the next 2-3 weeks with engaging the interest and

commitment of camps. If interested, please email Marcy at mleader@st-peters-school.org. 14. West Lawn Rules (Carmen Guerra) In an effort to start the year off right, Carmen distributed the West Lawn Rules and they are also listed below. She informed families that the school takes these rules very seriously and encouraged families, especially new families, to read and enforce the rules with the children and discuss the rules with their caregivers. She said that the rules are followed at school and inconsistencies between what the children do when under teacher supervision and parental supervision undermines teacher credibility and more importantly, school safety.

The West Lawn Rules a. The children are not permitted to:

• play with sticks or throw stones • climb on the picnic tables, the graveyard wall, or the fence • hang or climb from the branches of the trees • pick leaves from the trees • throw anything into the graveyard

b. Rough physical play is not acceptable. c. The Lombard Street gate must be closed at all times to prevent children from

wandering out of the West Lawn. c. When there is a sports class on the West Lawn at Lunch Bunch and Kindergarten

dismissal times (3 pm), we ask that you and your child promptly leave the West Lawn area. While it is understood that the Kindergartners and Lunch Bunchers enjoy running and playing on the West Lawn when they come out of school, the school does not want them to get hurt by baseballs, softballs, or other sports equipment.

Playground Rules for the Early Childhood Division

Sliding Boards Children must go down the two sliding boards feet first, one child at a time. Children are not permitted to walk up the sliding board.

Monkey Bars Children are not permitted to sit on top of the monkey bars. Only one-way traffic is allowed on the monkey bars.

Parallel Sliding Pole Only one child at a time is allowed on the parallel sliding pole. Children must slide down the parallel sliding pole facing forward, using their arms.

Tire Swing Children must sit on the tire swing with their feet facing inwards. Children are not permitted to stand on the tire swing. Only teachers may push the tire swing.

All children must freeze/stop when teacher blows the whistle. No child may leave the play area without a teacher’s permission.

15. Nomination of PA president 2009-10 (Carmen Guerra) Carmen suggested that the School nominate next year’s PA president earlier than in previous years so that the president elect can familiarize him/herself with the responsibilities of the position. Carmen will place a nominations box in the parlor near the Parents’ Association board for parents to anonymously nominate parents for president. Self-nominations are also welcome. 16. Google Calendar (Carmen Guerra) Thanks to Camille Focarino who suggested the idea and to Mr. Lucek and Diane Scirrotto who nicely executed it, the School calendar is now available on a Google Calendar that can be electronically shared. Parents can just click on the events that they would like transferred to your Outlook or Google Calendar and the event is automatically copied. 17. Used Uniform Sale (Dahlia Osman) Dahlia Osman placed a call for a volunteer who wants to chair the Used Uniform Sale. The event is held during three midweek days in September and the proceeds go the Parents’ Association. The chair will organize volunteers to set up the sale which entails bringing up the boxes of uniforms from the basement to the parlor and hanging the uniforms on hangers and to repack everything when the sale is complete. Once the dates of the sale have been chosen, Diane Scirrotto will place a volunteer sign up sheet on the Parents’ Association board listing the shifts available. If anyone is interested, please email Carmen.guerra@guerra.viswanath@gmail.com. 18. Smart Tuition Bobbie Turner asked if anyone has had problems with Smart Tuition. She and other families have had repeat automated calls and bills for balances that have been paid. The suggestion was made to inform Debbie Fluehr of any erroneous billing issues. 19. Future Meeting Dates (all held on Friday mornings between 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the

St. Peter’s School Library) a. October 10, 2008 b. November 21, 2008 c. December 12, 2008 d. January 16, 2009 e. February 20, 2009 f. March 20, 2009 g. April 24, 2009 h. May 8, 2009

Smart Tuition and Tuition Insurance Smart Tuition and Tuition Insurance Smart Tuition and Tuition Insurance Smart Tuition and Tuition Insurance ----How Do I Opt Out?How Do I Opt Out?How Do I Opt Out?How Do I Opt Out? Dear Families, Some of you have raised the question of how to remove the tuition insurance fee from your tuition bill. Please note that by removing this, you are not covered by tuition insurance. The easiest and most reliable way is to contact Debbie Fluehr, Business Manager, 215-925-3963 or dfluehr@st-peters-school.org and ask her to contact Smart Tuition and have the fee removed from your bill. This is something that the School must do, you cannot do it yourself. The second option is, if Smart Tuition calls you before you can reach Debbie; tell them you want to have it removed. While they cannot do it they will make a note of your request and Debbie checks these logs every day and will make the necessary arrangements. We apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstanding this may have caused. We are looking for ways to correct the situation for the year to come. Sincerely, David Costello Head of School

Rainy Day Dismissal for the Lower School

On rainy days, Lower School students will be dismissed from their homerooms.

Teachers will check off names as a parent or authorized person picks up the child. Please

do not have someone arrive for your child without prior arrangement. Dismissal will

continue to be 3:15 - 3:30 p.m. and we ask that you do not arrive before this time.

Thank you,

Wendye Carnecchia

Three Bears Park

Fall Festival!

At Three Bears Park

Delancey Street, between 3rd and 4th

Saturday, September 20, 2008

11 am to 3 pm

Join us for Family Fun and Fundraising to improve our park!

Featuring: Moon Bounce, Pony Rides, Fire Truck,

Police Car, Games and Prizes, Gently Used Item

Swap, Food and Bake Sale, Face Painting, Balloons,

School and Community Information Fair, and Raffle.

To Donate: Please Bring Bake Sale Items and Gently

Used Items (Children’s Toys, clothes, books, etc) to

the Festival at 10:30. Direct Donations are 100% tax

deductible and can be made out to: Friends of Three

Bears Park, 324 Delancey Street, Philadelphia, PA

19106.

VOLUNTEERS

ARE NEEDED

To volunteer or donate items,

contact Catherine Signorello at

csignorello23@msn.com