Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic School
Crusader
Connection
March, 2015
Principal’s Desk: Families Matter
Last October in
Miami, I had the privilege
of attending a Scholastic
literacy conference that
featured some of the
brightest minds in education. One of the featured
presenters, Harvardeducated Karen Mapp
EdD, spoke about the
impact of family on education. The following
were a few bullet points
regarding the benefits of
students who were part
of engaged families:

Reach literacy faster

Higher grades and
test scores

Enroll in higher level
programs

Promoted more and
earn more credits

Adapt better to
school and have
higher attendance

Have better social
skills and behavior

Graduate and attend
higher education at
higher rates
While some of these
facts seem common
sense, it is worthwhile for
society to continually reflect on the importance of
maintaining engagement
in our families.
year increase in reading
level, regardless of socioeconomic levels. And if
you have a teenager at
home, it’s not too late.
Reading with your teen
still provides benefits to
him or her, as well.
I hope you enjoy
this inaugural edition of
the Crusader Connection.
If you do, please let us
know!
Furthermore, Dr.
Mapp strongly suggested
reading with students
during their first year of
primary school—a boost
that could provide a half
corrections are needed,
it is always best to tell
the student which problem is incorrect and see
if the student can find
the answer. If the correct solution is not
found, work through the
problem with the stu-
Inside this
issue:
Principal’s Office 1
1st Grade: GO Math! Homework
GO Math!
homework, like any
homework, should be
attempted by the student independently. Parents or guardians
should check the student’s homework before
it is turned in. When
Volume 1, Issue 1
dent step by step to
help him/her understand
why the answer was
incorrect. This is supported by research from
OneToughJob.org, an
online resource for parents.
1st Grade
1
2nd Grade
2
Technology
2
4th Grade
2
MPK
3
3rd Grade
3
6th Grade
3
PE
4
K
4
5th Grade
5
Page 2
Crusader Connection
2nd Grade: A Great Beginning to 2015
It was such a blessing
to start the year 2015 out at
St. Anthony’s. I have had a
blast teaching here thus far
and cannot wait for the rest
of the year to play out. Over
the course of my time here,
my class has researched all
the different St. John’s for
our Seminarian. St. Valentine
was a main focus during the
first few weeks of February.
We learned all about the history of St. Valentine and St.
Valentine’s Day. We even
made our own St. Valentine!
We studied Chinese
New Year and compared the
differences between our New
Year’s celebrations vs. theirs.
We joined in with first grade
and learned some Chinese
from Mrs. Vermedahl , who
was also kind enough to
share her paintings and other
artifacts from her 2 ½ years
as a missionary in Taiwan.
We then feasted on a Chinese lunch where the kids
had to try and use chopsticks
to eat.
I hope to continue adding fun
activities in with our learning
throughout the course of the
year wherever I can. Even
when working on our weekly
work in class, I always strive
to tie it back to the real world
and experiences they have
had. I have loved hearing all
their stories and getting to
know them. It is such a
blessing to start out my career in such a wonderful
school with wonderful students, parents, and staff.
Technology: Brain Hive
We are currently using
Brain Hive to supplement our
online library. This library allows
the student to check out books on
iPads, tablets, laptops or home
computers at any time. Many of
these books are AR books, and
quizzes can be taken from Brain
Hive. There are 1000's of books
available to our students. St. Anthony's does not have to purchase these books; we just pay
$1 for each book checked out.
This expense will come out of our
library budget, so there is no cost
to parents.
To access Brain Hive go to
http://www.mybrainhive.com/2565
487629/login
Your child's username is
the 1st letter of his/her first name
and the 1st 4 letters of his/her last
name (i.e. dbror for Donna Brorman) and his/her password is
reader. If there is more than one
child with that username, please
call the office so that I can clarify
his/her username. Your child can
only check out 1 book at a time,
and the books will expire after
one week.
This is a great way for
your child to access library books
during the holidays and summer
vacation.
Thanks and Happy Reading!
4th Grade: Common Errors Multiplying Two-Digit Numbers
Students may not
align the partial products
on the ones place. Give
students ruled notebook
paper turned sideways or
grid paper to help them
align the partial products
correctly.
Student did not remember to write the 0 in the
ones place.
EXAMPLE: 15X25=
Remind students that 15
= 1 ten and 5 ones, and
they are multiplying by 10
not 1. To find the partial
product, students find 10
x 5 ones = 50 ones.
They need to regroup 50
ones as 5 tens 0 ones to
record correctly. Then,
they can find and record
10 x 2 tens to complete
the partial product.
Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 3
MPK: The Process of Normalization
In Montessori education, the term "normalization"
has a specialized meaning.
"Normal" does not refer to
what is considered to be
"typical" or "average" or even
"usual." "Normalization" does
not refer to a process of being forced to conform. Instead, Maria Montessori
used the terms "normal" and
"normalization" to describe a
unique process she observed
in child development.
Montessori observed
that when children are allowed freedom in an environment suited to their
needs, they blossom. After a
period of intense concentration, working with materials
that fully engage their interest, children appear to be
refreshed and contented.
Through continued concentrated work of their own
choice, children grow in inner
discipline and peace. She
called this process
"normalization" and cited it
as "the most important single
result of our whole work"
(The Absorbent Mind, 1949).
3rd Grade: The Shape of Things to Come
The third grade
is busy getting into the
“shape of things.” We
have begun our geometry unit this week.
We just discovered
that all this time we
thought we were draw-
ing lines, we were really drawing segments!
So many discoveries
to be made this year!
The math program has been challenging for us but also
has given us the
6th Grade: Global Studies Weekly
As you may have noticed, we have been using
newspapers rather than
books during our history lesson this year. Not only can
the students read and learn
from the newspaper in class,
but they can also find and
work with the information on
the internet. Your child has a
username and password that
will allow him or her to access the website. Once on
the website, your child can
either read or have the information read to him/her. Also,
students will be able to access a test and to absorb the
information better.
chance to show how
well we can think
things through. This
skill will last us a lifetime!
Page 4
Crusader Connection
PE: Upcoming Fitness Testing
Fitness testing will
begin the last two weeks
of March. We have been
working on our sit ups an d
push ups. Please have
your child(ren) work on
them at home.
Perfect push up:

Performs movement to
cadence

Elbows reach 90 degrees during downward
phase
Performs movement to
cadence

Back remains straight
Knees bent to 140 degrees

Arms return to straight
position during upward
phase
Correct sit up:



Feet and bottom remain on the floor

Head returns to floor
DID YOU KNOW?
Research shows
that students who skip
breakfast have shorter attention spans and don’t do
as well on tests. Make
sure your youngster gets
up in time to have a nutritious breakfast at home.
Tip: If he or she is having
trouble waking up, move
bedtime back.
Kindergarten: A New Addition!
Mrs. Riley
students’ handjoined the kinder- writing papers will
garten class a few come from the
weeks ago, and
learning centers
she will continue
reinforcing skills
to be with us in
that they have
the mornings. The been taught. Mrs.
Riley monitors the
learning centers
while Mrs. Graff
teaches new skills
with small groups
of students.
Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 5
5th Grade: Shapes Are All Around Us
Learning
about shapes is
easier whenever
you visualize
them. There are
shapes all
around you.
Play a game:
Have each player see how
many shapes
he/she can identify in the room.
Put them in order by how
many sides they
have. Then discuss how many
sides, angles,
and points
(called vertices)
each one has.