There will be an informational meeting for parents of 4th graders about band on Monday, April 16 at 7:00 pm in the St. Mary’s band room. At this meeting information about the process for beginning an instrument will be presented. This will include how instruments are demonstrated to the classes, the individual sign-up meeting, summer lessons, and other parent information.
You will also be checking out a copy of a wonderful parent resource book “Growing Your Musician: A Parent’s Guide to Band and Orchestra Students.” The St. Mary’s Home and School has purchased a set of these books for parents of beginning instrumental students to read. The book contains information on how to choose an instrument, practice tips, and other help for parents.
The timeline for beginning band sign-up is as follows:
If you cannot make the meeting, please contact Mrs. Kuklok at school to check out a book and sign-up for an individual meeting time. If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mrs. Kuklok at home (455-9737) or at school by phone (446-2300) or e-mail (skuklok@stmarys-owatonna.org).
Technology changes so quickly in today’s world, it is difficult for schools to keep up with the latest trends and equipment. One of the objectives in the school’s strategic plan is to provide students with technology that enhances the educational experience and supports student learning. We have been very fortunate in the last few years and have been able to acquire technology from a variety of sources. Home and School and individual donors have been generous in their donations to supplement the school’s technology budget. These extra donations have allowed us to provide interactive white boards for the classrooms, maintain two computers labs, and purchase additional devices and equipment like I-pads, I-pods, and video equipment.
We are currently dreaming about the possibility of adding equipment/tools that will help our students manage the technology/information demands of 21st Century learning. Our middle school teachers,grade 6, 7, and 8, are exploring the possibility of a 1-to 1 program where students would have access to a device, like an I-pad, for the entire school day. This tool would travel with the student to classes and teachers would utilize this tool to deliver curriculum and support learning. On Friday, March 9, 6 teachers will be visiting another Catholic School who is piloting a program. We have also been researching and attending informational sessions. We invited a few parents to a meeting in February to test the market and find out if this is a desire that parents have for the students at St. Mary’s School.
The process so far has been exciting, challenging, and thought provoking. Our list of questions is long and includes things like… How will we monitor student use? Will these tools increase student learning? How will we fund the project? And what kind of controls can we maintain to keep students safe? As we continue to research the project, we are finding many answers from schools that are already implementing programs. Our hope is to continue this process and include more of our parents in the process. We will be hosting an informal meeting on March 21, from 4:00- 5:00 at St. Mary’s School. We invite you to join us for the discussion. Please come with your questions. We don’t know that we will have the answers, but we want to include your thoughts, ideas, and questions in our process.
Registration is currently taking place at St. Mary’s School. You can register for both our k-8 program and our preschool program. Classes are filling quickly and we need to determine our staffing needs now. We would like to offer three sections at kindergarten, first, and second grade but need to know we have the students to fill those classes. If your family is in need of scholarship assistance, please register with TADS before April 1, 2012. Classroom requests will be taken for preschool through 5th grade. Please contact the office if you need a form and return it to the principal before May 1, 2012. We will be sending more information on the TADS tuition collection service in April. We are working with the company to create a flexible, friendly program to serve you better. Please contact the office if you have any questions.