Thursday, February 26, 2015

ICS Newsletter: Thursday February 26, 2015

Upcoming Events
2/26 - ICS Family Supper
Kindergarteners and 8th Graders pair up to promote literacy.
2/27 - 1/2 day of school, Mid-Point of Quarter 3
3/2 - 3/6 - Iowa Assessment, Grades 2 - 8
3/2 - Read Across America

3/4 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
3/2 - 4/1 - Payday Sweepstakes Drawing
3/10 - Open House for Prospective Students - 9:00 a.m.
3/11 - Household Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
3/13 - Friday Morning Assembly, 8:30 a.m., St. Michael Hall
3/17 - St. Patrick's Day Celebration, green shirts with jeans and sneakers, class celebrations during lunch / recess
3/19 - Family Supper, Feast of St. Joseph
3/20 - NO SCHOOL, ICS teacher in-service 
3/25 - National Junior Honor Society Inductions after Mass
3/27 - End of the 3rd Quarter
4/1 - Household Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
4/2 - 1/2 day of school, Holy Thursday
4/3 - 4/10 - Easter Break, NO SCHOOL
4/16 - 4/19 - Incarnation Carnival


Prayers
We pray for the Allegra family (Rachel, grade 8) as they mourn the loss of Mrs. Allegra's father (Rachel's grandfather). May God surround the Allegra family with his love, strength and peace during this difficult time. 

We continue to pray for Sophia Castro, a 10 year old battling leukemia. She is recovering from surgery and is in need of extra prayers of healing. May God be with Sophia and her family during this difficult time.


We also continue to pray for the Saavedra family (Mia Cora, Grade 4) as they mourn the loss of Mrs. Saavedra's grandmother. May God's loving arms surround the Saavedra family during this difficult time.

The Straughn family (Ashlyn, Gr. 6; Anthony Gr. 3) is also still in our hearts in prayer as they mourn the loss of Mrs. Straughn's step-father. We pray for comfort and strength for the Straughn family.

We pray for students in Grades 2 - 8 as they prepare for next week's Iowa Assessment. May students take full advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. 


Have a prayer request? Send it to: icsmzele@icstampa.org. Prayers will run for two weeks unless otherwise specified.


Thank You

Thank you to Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Stevens, and Mrs. Rosario and all those who helped with the Scrapbooking Day last Saturday! We appreciate your help and support of this event and our AMAZING school! 


ICS Athletics

For more information about the Irish Athletics Program, especially for a list of the upcoming schedule, please visit Coach Garofolo's Coach's Corner website. Go IRISH!

Varsity Boys' Basketball:
Thursday February 26 vs. St. Stevens at Nativity CS
Friday February 27 vs. St. Peter Claver at St. Peter Claver Boys' and Girls' Club
March 2 - 7 - Playoffs

Girls' Flag Football:
Congratulations to the Girls' Flag Football team for an outstanding season. Thank you to Coach Smith and Coach Phipps for their efforts with our young ladies! 

Up next for boys are both Flag Football and Baseball. For the girls, the next sport is Softball. Check with Coach Garofolo for details!


Good luck and GO IRISH!


Iowa Assessment

Next week, March 2nd - March 6th, grades 2 - 8 will begin the Iowa Assessment. Testing will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m on the four testing days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursdy and Friday). We will not test on Wednesday so as to maintain our weekly Celebration of the Eucharist. Any 2nd - 8th grade student that is not at school by 8:00 a.m will need to make-up the test(s) they missed the following week (March 9 - 13).  Please make sure your students are on-time to school but especially next week!
Some simple ways you can support your son(s) and/or daughter(s) duirng thier Iowa Assessment include:
  • ​​Making sure they get plently of rest the night before the test 
  • Eating a good breakfast 
  • Bring a snack to school 
  • Keeping a positive attitide by reminding students to tell themselves, "I can do it!"

If you have any questions about Iowa testing please contact the School Counslor Mr. Woodward at woodwardb@icstampa.org.


ICS Family Challenge


-Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Believe that the love you model, show, and give within your families can and does change the world! If we can love it is because we have first been loved! Show love to grow love!


Box Tops for Education

Today is the deadline for the next period of turning in Box Tops for Education! If you get this and still have them - bring them into school today! Thank you for help and support!


Congratulations
Last week, ICS hosted its annual Speech Contest for grades 4 and 5. Congratulations to the following classroom level winners who participated in the event and special recognition to the two winners from 4th and 5th grades, respectively! The topic of each speech is listed after each contestant.

*Grade 4:
Isabel Bequer - Peer Pressure
Marissa Mattingly (1st Place) - My Dance Life
Shane Oliva - Snakes
Ximena Sanchez - My Great Grandfather

*Grade 5:
Jay Anastasia (1st Place) - Carpool Kidz
Hannah Dinh - The History of Chocolate
Nadia Falcone - Why Not Sell My Siblings?
Julianna Marquinez - Behind the Scenes of Kids and Their Love of Electronics

Special thanks to Mrs. Lazaris for organizing the event and for our panel of faculty judges!


Payday Sweepstakes

The ICS Payday Sweepstakes Drawing starts unofficially tomorrow (with our bonus drawing for anyone able to sell all 15 tickets). Tickets were sent home with students yesterday (Wednesday 2/5). The first official pull is next Monday March 2 - get ready for the MADNESS to begin! Participation in this fundraising event is part of the Family Fundraising Commitment ($150 between the Auction and / or Payday Sweepstakes), so if you weren't able to attend the Auction, this is your chance to fulfill this obligation. 

In other words, between the Auction and Payday Sweepstakes your family is expected to generate $150 for the school - $75 for the Auction and sell 8 tickets ($80 dollars); $150 for the Auction or $150 for Payday Sweepstakes.

Drawings will take place Monday - Friday from March 2 - April 1. 


Mondays - Thursdays = $100 prize

Fridays = $250
Grand prize (April 1) = $1000

Tickets are $10 each and families have been  given 15 tickets. Should you need more tickets, please just let us know. Tickets can be sold to anyone - we do not necessarily expect families to incur the cost of the tickets. Consider co-workers, neighbors, friends and relatives in this event that offers the chance of a big ROI (return on investment)!


Thank you in advance for your participation! Thanks as well to Mrs. Julie Padron who is leading this initiative once again this year!


If you have questions, please contact the school office. 


Matching Gift
ICS grandparents joined students at our annual Grandparents' Breakfast.
At our annual Grandparents' Breakfast, a very generous donor offered to match any amount of money that was donated to the school up to $5,000. As a way to continue to enhance our integration of technology, Fr. Michael asked for grandparents to donate funds for the purchase of a mobile tablet cart that could be used by individual classes. 

After the event, our total toward the $5,000 was $2,104.57. Our donor has said that the period for us to garner matching funds can be extended. If you are able to help us take full advantage of this gift, please contact Mr. Zelenka (icsmzele@icstampa.org) or send a check, payable to ICS, to the office (memo: tablet cart). 

Parents, you may consider following up with the grandparents of our ICS students to help with this cause. 

In advance, we thank you for your consideration and generosity!


State of Incarnation and Re-registration
We are in the process of scheduling out two State of Incarnation meetings in the month of March. These annual events are opportunities for parents and families to more fully understand ICS's current state and future vision. All families are asked to attend.

Sessions will be planned so as to make it as convenient as possible for families to attend. As we have done in the past, one will be on a weeknight and the other on a Saturday. For both dates, childcare for ICS students will be available. As always, anyone unable to attend either event is more than welcome to contact Mr. Zelenka individually. 

Re-registration for the 2015 - 16 school year will follow these informational sessions as that is when tuition rates will be announced. 

Furthermore, we will be hosting an Open House for prospective families on Tuesday March 10 at 9:00 a.m. Please help spread the word about the AMAZING things happening at ICS and encourage any family you think may be interested to attend. 


Read Across America

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn, the more places you'll GO!." ~Dr. Seuss


ICS is building a nation of readers by participating in NEA’s Read Across America on Dr. Seuss's birthday, Monday, March 2nd! Elementary readers will gather together in St. Michael Hall for a Read-In that focuses on motivating children to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources. Students will read independently as well as spending some time reading with buddies. Students and classes will tally each page read to compile class totals that are translated to miles (1 page= 1 mile). Middle school students will work toward the ICS reading travel goals in class. We look to 5th grade to do our final school tabulations and share the places we will GO as we Read Across America!








Be blessed. Be bold. Fight for JOY!


IN KEEPING WITH OUR TRADITION, WE AT INCARNATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL:
Inspire life-long learners,
Challenge each individual to be a disciple of Christ, and
Strive to live our Catholic faith through service to each other and the community.

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