Thursday, January 14, 2016

ICS Newsletter: Thursday January 14, 2016

Upcoming Events
January
15 - End of Quarter 2 / Semester 1
18 - No School - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
20 - School Mass (8:30 a.m.), with Warm-up to Worship in SMH at 8:00 a.m.; Quarter 2 / Semester 1 Grades posted in Sycamore; Family Supper order forms due
21 - Family Supper with ICS Households; ICS Family Meeting, 7:00 p.m., St. Michael Hall
23 - ICS Family Meeting, 9:00 a.m., St. Michael Hall
25 - ICS - Culver's Spirit Night
26 - Quarter 2 Time on Task Free Dress Day for qualifying students in Grades 1 - 8 
27 - School Mass (8:30 a.m.), with Warm-up to Worship in SMH at 8:00 a.m.
29 - Friday Morning Assembly, 8:30 a.m., St. Michael Hall - Kick-off to Catholic School's Week 2016; Incarnation Irish Spirit Day, students permitted to wear ICS spirit shirts, jeans, and sneakers
30 - ICS Kick-off to Catholic School's Week Mass, 4:30 p.m., Incarnation Catholic Church

February
1 – 5 - CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 
2 - Spelling Bee, Grades 1 - 4, 8:30 a.m. in St. Michael Hall
3 - School Mass (8:30 a.m.), with Warm-up to Worship in SMH at 8:00 a.m.
4 - Spelling Bee, Grades 5 – 8, 8:30 a.m. in St. Michael Hall
5 - Irish Cup Activity, p.m. activity schedule; 
5 – 12 - ICS Spring Book Fair
10 - School Mass, Ash Wednesday (8:30 a.m.), with Warm-up to Worship in SMH at 8:00 a.m.
11 - ½ Day of School, ICS DeMATHlon; Conferences 1 – 7 p.m.
12 - ½ Day of School; Grandparents’ Day
15 - No School, President’s Day
17 - School Mass with ICS Households
22 - ICS - Chick-fil-A Spirit Night
23 - ICS Speech Contest; 8th grade to McDonald’s
24 - School Mass
25 - 6th Grade Focus 11 Vocations Retreat at St. Lawrence; Mid-point of Q3
26 - No School, DOSP In-service for teachers

For a comprehensive look at all of the many activities we have planned for this school year, please visit our ICS Calendar Page.


Prayers

We pray in thanksgiving for the gift of life! 

We pray for next week's "Rally in Tally" in support of Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship program, Step Up for Students. This program works toward social justice and allows ICS to faithfully serve the universal Catholic Church. May legislators recognize the importance of this and other similar programs and continue to allow it to support our children and families. #dropthesuit 

We pray for an end to abortion and euthanasia, capital punishment, and human trafficking. May we who call ourselves Christians work toward eradicating these and other injustices. 

We pray for peace in our world. May it begin in our hearts, homes and community.

We pray for the success of next week's ICS Family Meetings. May ICS families dutifully attend and may they have hearts and minds open to the messages geared toward helping our ICS students. May the ICS Administration and Faculty convey their love, support and commitment to our families and children. May the partnership between families and ICS be strengthened and galvanized through this meeting. 

We continue to pray for Flavio da Silva, Mickaella Marcal's (Gr. 2) father who is in the hospital and is starting to recover. May the Lord grant Mickaella's father full health and strength. 

We continue to pray for the Wybel and Hall families. 

Have a prayer request? Send it to icsmzele@icstampa.org.
  

Hope Will Rise
At ICS, we truly believe that we can do hard work. Furthermore, we believe that we were made for greatness and that this requires hard work!

God has chosen you. He has called you. He has loved you. You are His! You were made in His image and likeness - you were created for greatness! Work hard to achieve it!

Hope Will Rise.


ICS Family Meetings
Please note the dates above for mandatory meetings for all ICS families:

-Thursday January 21 at 7:00 p.m. in St. Michael Hall

-Saturday January 23 at 9:00 a.m. in St. Michael Hall

Two sessions are available so that you can coordinate your schedules and be sure to attend. Childcare for ICS students will also be available to help make it even easier for your family to attend.

2nd Quarter / 1st Semester report cards will be disseminated at the meetings; you will be able to pick up your child's report card at the conclusion of either meeting.

We will focus on three areas of partnership between your family and ICS. Your attendance is imperative to the success of not only our school, but also your ICS student! We look forward to seeing you there and enhancing, strengthening and galvanizing this bond between home and school!


ICS Students are AMAZING!
Congratulations to the participants in our National Geographic Geography Bee! 

Grade 8 - Alina Grillo, Mia Wybel
Grade 7 - Erik Rosario, Giancarlo Velez
Grade 6 - Kara Artz, Blake Hemsley
Grade 5 - Sophia Al-Ali, Marissa Mattingly
Grade 4 - Melissa Armas, Tristan Stavish

Congrats as well to our winner, Alina Grillo and runner-up, Blake Hemsley!

Go Irish!



ICS Alumni are AMAZING, too!
Congratulations to the following list of ICS Graduates who have earned Honors at Jesuit High School for their efforts in the first semester! Look at how long this list is - AMAZING job, gentlemen. ICS is so proud of you! Keep up the great work! Go Irish! Go Tigers!


2016
VITO HOLMES
2016
GANTT MEREDITH
2016
MATTHEW SILVA
2016
AUSTIN HERNANDEZ
2016
NICHOLAS ORTEGA
2016
DOMINIC SANTOS
2016
JACOB SHOOP
2016
DYLAN STEWART
2016
SPENCER WHIPPLE
2017
ROBERT BLAZER
2017
DONTE PHILLIPS
2017
JUAN SANCHEZ
2017
ALEJANDRO TORRES
2017
QUAN TRINH
2018
TOMMY PHAM
2018
GEORGE MORGAN
2019
MAX HERNANDEZ
2019
GENTRY BURKS
2019
CARTER CAMPBELL
2019
IAN STAHLEY
2019
SEBASTIAN TORRES



Cold Weather Gear - Reminders!
It seems that typical temperatures for winter in Florida have finally settled upon us. As such, students may need some extra layers, especially in the mornings, to help them stay warm. Please note the following guidelines for cold weather clothing as it pertains to our ICS Uniform Policy.

Pre-K 
·       Navy blue sweatpants and navy blue crewneck pullover sweatshirts for cool weather 

Boys Grades K–8 
·       Navy blue ICS sweatshirt (purchased at school), other navy blue crewneck pullover sweatshirt, or navy blue ICS fleece jacket (purchased at Sunshine Uniform Company) for cold weather 
·       An ICS jacket or other jacket may be worn outside of the classrooms in weather 73° or lower, but must be taken off when entering a classroom 

Girls Grades K–5 
·       Solid white or solid black socks, visible above the shoe, a small logo is permitted; plain white tights may be worn in cool weather
·       Tights must be plain and either cover the entire leg or extend to the sock line; capris-style leggings are not permitted  
·       Navy blue ICS sweatshirt (purchased at school), other navy blue crewneck pullover sweatshirt, or navy blue ICS fleece jacket (purchased at Sunshine Uniform Company) for cold weather 
·       An ICS jacket or other jacket may be worn outside of the classrooms in weather 73° or lower, but must be taken off when entering a classroom 

Girls Grades 6–8 
·       Navy blue ICS sweatshirt (purchased at school), other navy blue crewneck pullover sweatshirt, or navy blue ICS fleece jacket (purchased at Sunshine Uniform Company) for cold weather 
·       An ICS jacket or other jacket may be worn outside of the classrooms in weather 73° or lower, but must be taken off when entering a classroom 

Boys' and Girls’ Physical Education Cold Weather Uniform
·       Plain navy blue sweatpants (purchased at local stores) during cold weather; leggings / tights are not allowed
·       Navy blue ICS sweatshirt (purchased at school), other navy blue crewneck pullover sweatshirt, or navy blue ICS fleece jacket (purchased at Sunshine Uniform Company) for cold weather 
·       During PE class, or when students are outside of other classrooms, an ICS jacket or other jacket may be worn in weather 73° or lower, but must be taken off when entering a classroom.

If you have any questions about the ICS uniform and our cold weather policies, please contact Mrs. Gonzalez: gonzalezl@icstampa.org.


ICS Irish Athletics
Varsity Boys Basketball has started league competition and Varsity Girls Flag Football and JV Boys Basketball will do so soon! See below for their respective schedules. Go Irish!

*Varsity Boys Basketball schedule:
-Saturday January 16 vs. St. Peter Claver, 9:00 a.m. at Jesuit
-Saturday January 23 vs. St. Lawrence, 10:10 a.m. at Tampa Catholic 
-Thursday January 28 at Nativity Catholic School, 4:00 p.m.-Tuesday February 2 vs. Corpus Christi, 4:00 p.m. at Mary Help of Christians
-Saturday February 6 vs. St. Joseph, 9:00 a.m. at Tampa Catholic 
-Tuesday February 9 vs. Christ the King, 5:10 p.m. at St. Lawrence

-Saturday February 13 vs. St. Stephen, 11:20 a.m. at Jesuit
-Thursday February 18 at St. Lawrence, 4:00 p.m.-Saturday February 20 vs. St. Joseph, 9:00 a.m. at Jesuit
-Monday February 22 at Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 4:00 p.m.
-Saturday February 27 vs. Villa Madonna, 10:10 at Tampa Catholic


*JV Boys Basketball schedule:
-Thursday January 28 at Nativity (A), (game after the Varsity contest) 
-Monday February 8 vs. Corpus Christi at ICS (H), 4:00 p.m.
-Wednesday February 10 vs. St. Stephen (H), 4:00 p.m.

-Thursday February 11 at Christ the King (A), 4:00 p.m.
-Thursday February 18 at St. Lawrence (A), (game after the Varsity contest)
*Girls Flag Football schedule:
The schedule is still to be announced! We will post as soon as it is ready!

Please contact Coach Garofolo either via email: garofolov@icstampa.org, or phone: (813)884-4502 for more information about sports for our ICS student-athletes! You can also check out more details on the ICS Athletics Wiki: http://icsathletics.wikispaces.com/ICS+Athletics+Home

Go Irish!


Sycamore to Rediker
Beginning with the start of the 3rd Quarter on January 19th, 2016, Incarnation Catholic School will be switching Student Management Systems from Sycamore to Rediker. Within Rediker you will continue to be able to support your sons(s) and/or daughter(s) by communicating with their teachers, keeping track of their nightly homework, reviewing their grades throughout each quarter, and staying up to date on school news and events. 

An email regarding access to the Rediker PlusPortals login page, your username for the system, and account activation instructions has been sent to the email address we have on file for you. A letter is also being sent in the Thursday packet with information about the switch to Rediker. 

If for some reason you do not receive an email you can type the following URL into your web browser to activate your Rediker PlusPortals account.


Once your have accessed the Rediker PlusPortals login page you will prompted to activate your account by confirming your username and creating a new password for your account. Your Rediker username will be the email address that you registered in Sycamore. After setting your password, you will be able to login to PlusPortals.

To access your account in the future, store the following URL in your favorites and login using the provided username and your set password.


If you have any difficulties with activating your Rediker PlusPortals account, identifying your username, or creating a password, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Woodward via either phone: (813) 884-4502 or email: woodwardb@icstampa.org

Thank you in advance for your support and patience. We will continue to carry Sycamore through the month of February so that we can adequately archive its data and so that you can have access to first semester information on your student(s). After that you will not have access to any archived data through Sycamore. Beginning with the start of the 3rd quarter, all class information including homework, grades and other pertinent school information will be hosted on Rediker. 


ICS Dynamic Learning: Environment
Big Joe bean bag chairs have arrived in all ICS classrooms! Thank you to our generous donors who made this a reality. 

Furthermore, standing desks should also be in before the end of the month! Dry erase surfacing in classrooms is being negotiated and will hopefully be installed soon as well!

Thank you once again to all of our generous donors who made this initiative an instant reality during our 2015 Auction! We are so excited to enhance student learning with these innovative approaches to learning!

For more details about the ICS Dynamic Learning approach, visit this link: http://incarnationcsca.blogspot.com/2015/11/ics-dynamic-learning-environment.html


Catholic Schools Week 2016
Events to coincide with Incarnation's celebration of Catholic Schools Week are still being developed. Some activities, though, are already in place. Please see the list below for a preliminary look at how ICS will participate in the nationwide event:

Friday January 29 - Kick-off to Catholic Schools Week Friday Morning Assembly
*this will be our monthly morning assembly at 8:30 a.m. in St. Michael Hall
*in addition to our typical activities, we will also focus on promoting the events of Catholic Schools Week
*2nd Quarter Honor Roll Certificates will be awarded

Saturday January 30 - Kick-off to Catholic Schools Week Mass, 4:30 p.m., Incarnation Catholic Church
*plan on attending the 4:30 p.m. Mass that weekend
*ICS students and families will participate in the various ministries at Mass - choir, lectors, altar servers, gift bearers and ushers
*ICS students should wear their school uniform to Mass
*any student in attendance will earn a point for their Priory (H, O, M, E) in the Race for the Irish Cup
*any student in attendance will also earn a Free Dress Day on Tuesday February 9

Tuesday February 2 - Grades 1 - 4 Spelling Bee
*8:30 a.m. in St. Michael Hall

Wednesday February 3 - School Mass in both English and Spanish
*8:30 a.m. in Incarnation Catholic Church
*please join us for Warm-up to Worship in St. Michael Hall at 8:00 a.m.
*ICS will celebrate its Spanish program as we celebrate a bi-lingual Mass with various parts of the Mass in either English or Spanish

Thursday February 4 - Grades 5 - 8 Spelling Bee
*8:30 a.m. in St. Michael Hall

Friday February 5 - Irish Cup Activity
*Priories and Households will compete in activities to earn points toward the Irish Cup Championship

More details about other events as well as special dress opportunities for students will be published next week! God bless our Catholic Schools, and God bless ICS!


ICS Student Council
From the desk of ICS Secretary, Devon Ostrander, and on behalf of the officers and representatives of the ICS Student Council, please accept the following note of thanks to the ICS community:
Dear ICS Families,  
Thank you for your generous donations. They will be used for our new water fountains in the middle school hallway. We have been blessed with a group of parents who are willing to sacrifice for the students and for our school. The ICS students greatly appreciate each one of you for your generosity. Our school is truly blessed. Thank you for all you do.  
Sincerely,
Devon Ostrander
ICS Secretary
IN KEEPING WITH OUR TRADITION, WE AT INCARNATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL:
Inspire disciples of Christ,
Challenge each individual to be a life-long learner, and
Strive to live our Catholic faith through service to each other and the community.

No comments:

Post a Comment