Providence Academy

In This Issue:
Headmaster’s Notes

All School Information
     Attention Golfers!
     Changes to Family Contact Information
     Dad's Night Out
     Donald’s Winter Uniform Trade-In
     Mitten Trees
     Parent Visitors
     Parenting with Love & Logic Discussion Groups
     Share the Good "News"
     Spirit Store Hours Added for Christmas Shopping

Middle/Upper School News
     Lions' Club Meeting this Week
     London Trip Deadline Extended
     Midquarter Grade Reports
     Parent Meeting for Spain 2008

Lower School News
     1^st and 2^nd Grade Christmas Music Concert
     3^rd through 5^th Grade Christmas Program
     Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Christmas Concert
     Toy Drive for CROSS

Providence In The News

Providence Academy Parent Association (PAPA)

Headmaster’s Notes
Todd R. Flanders

The sounds of the season begin in earnest this week! The Middle School Christmas Concert takes place tomorrow and the Upper School Christmas Extravaganza will take place on Friday. Please come out and support our musicians while enjoying the beautiful sounds of Christmas. Both concerts are free of charge and begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Great Room.

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Friday night brought the first Providence Academy Sleepout, a fundraising event to aid homeless and needy in the northwest suburbs. Anchored by many stalwart 8^th graders, the Sleepout event raised nearly $12,000. Congratulations!

Also Friday, we lit the outside Christmas tree for the remainder of Advent and Christmas seasons. About 150 students and parents were on hand for the ceremony, followed by an ethereal late-night Mass in the chapel. The Holy Spirit was moving at PA Friday night.

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The Annual Fund campaign is moving at a brisk pace. Many thanks to those who have contributed thus far. Gifts made by December 31st will qualify as tax deductions for 2007, so please keep PA in mind during your year-end charitable giving!

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All School News
Attention Golfers!
Coach Mike Seiffert is offering private and group golf instruction for PA students and families during the winter months at Long Lake Golf Dome. To register, or for more details, contact Coach Seiffert at michael.seiffert@providenceacademy.org or (763) 258-2552. A flyer is also available in the Student Services office.

Changes to Family Contact Information
Please remember to advise school staff in the event any of your family’s contact information changes. Mailing address, phone number, and email address updates may be directed to Mrs. Courtney Daniel at courtney.daniel@providenceacademy.org or (763) 258-2502.

Dads’ Night Out
Mr. Ferdinandt invites you to join him as he shares a father’s and administrator’s perspective on fathering with love and logic. Come to this “dads only” event and explore together how to raise responsible, self-motivated children from cradle to college. Save the evening of Thursday, February 28^th, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. A presentation will be followed by dessert and Q&A. All men are welcome!

Donald’s Winter Uniform Trade-In
If your student has already outgrown some of his/her uniform pieces, bring the clothing to Donald’s. The used uniforms traded in will be donated to needy parochial and public schools and you will receive a credit toward the purchase of new uniform items. Winter Uniform Trade-In continues through March. Specific trade-in values are available for review on Donald’s website at www.donaldsuniform.com/wintertrade2007.cfm.

Mitten Trees
Warm hands, warm hearts! Take a peek in the Lower/Middle School Library. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The Mitten Trees are back for our seventh year of keeping little hands warm. PA families are invited to donate a new pair of mittens for our friends at Sabathani Community Center in Minneapolis. We will decorate the trees through Wednesday and deliver the mittens to Sabathani (www.sabathani.org) in time for their Christmas party on Friday. Thank you for sharing the warmth of the Christmas Season.

Parent Visitors
All parent visitors are reminded to sign in at the Welcome Desk upon entering the building. We request your cooperation for the safety of all who are in the building, most importantly, the students.

Parenting with Love & Logic Discussion Groups
The fourth book discussion group for Parenting with Love & Logic will begin in mid-January. This book is intended for parents of children ages 2 to 12. Registration is limited and currently, five spaces remain. Also in January, for the first time a discussion group will be offered on Parenting with Love & Logic for Teens. To register, or for more information, contact Lynne Frederickson at lynnefrederickson@yahoo.com.

Share the Good “News”
PA students are involved in many wonderful endeavors, both here on campus and in their free time. Won’t you share the good “news”? The Student Services office would like to know in advance if your child will be involved in a newsworthy event, participating in a distinctive extracurricular activity, or receiving special recognition. If so, please advise Mrs. Courtney Daniel at courtney.daniel@providenceacademy.org.

Spirit Store Hours Added for Christmas Shopping
The Spirit Store will be open 30 minutes prior to each of the Christmas Concerts on December 11^th,14^th,18^th and 19^th (before both Pre-K/Kindergarten and 3^rd through 5^th Grade performances). This is the perfect time to do Christmas shopping for gifts while supporting our great school and students!

Checks, cash and credit cards are accepted. Regular store hours are 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 3:15 to 3:45 p.m. on Thursdays. Thank you to all families and friends for their support so far this year.

Middle/Upper School News
Lions’ Club Meeting this Week
Attention all 7^th and 8^th Graders! You are invited to the Lions’ Club meeting this Friday from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. The Lions’ Club is a new way for Middle School students to enjoy fellowship, fun, and food with their peers and Upper School volunteers. Come to Ms. Zak's room after school and enjoy spending time with one another, watch a movie, play games, and have a short bible study while we eat pizza. The Lions' Club is directed by senior Michael George and his crew of Upper School volunteers, and will be supervised by Mrs. Semsch and Mr. Trexel. All 7^th and 8^th graders are welcome!

London Trip Deadline Extended
Registration for this Department of Fine Arts trip has been extended until December 15^th. Want the chance to see museums, concerts, plays and castles? Want to see them in London? The trip is open to any music, art, and/or theatre student who has completed their sophomore year as of June 10th, 2008. Forms and additional information are available from Ms. Zak.

Midquarter Grade Reports
Midquarter grade reports for all students in the Middle and Upper Schools were posted on-line in Net Classroom last Friday, December 7^th. If you need your Net Classroom login and password, please contact Mrs. Kelly Wilder at (763) 258-2587 or by email at kelly.wilder@providenceacademy.org. Parents whose Middle or Upper School students have a grade of C- or lower in any course will receive a paper copy of the student’s grades in all classes.

Parent Meeting for Spain 2008
Parents of students participating in the Spain 2008 trip are asked to attend a meeting from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. this evening in the Upper School Lecture Hall. Please contact Sra. Lahr at (763) 258-2540 if you have questions.

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Providence In The News

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Providence Academy Parent Association (PAPA)
Christmas Gifts for Teachers
The Christmas season is fast approaching, and with it brings the desire for many of us to thank the teaching staff for the blessing they are to our children. Teacher Christmas gifts were discussed at the last PAPA meeting and the parent community voted on a way to unify gift giving this season. Families who wish to participate may donate up to $15 per child. Contributions will be consolidated and used to purchase Visa gift cards for all Providence teaching staff (Pre-K through 12^th Grade), and presented to the staff at the faculty Holiday Breakfast.

Collection envelopes will be located in the Administration and Upper School offices through Thursday, December 13^th. Checks should be made out to “PAPA.” If you have more than one student, simply combine your contribution into one check. Thank you, and have a blessed holiday season!

Faculty Treats Request - From Allison Adducci
Please help me in showing our wonderfully talented and dedicated staff how much we appreciate all that they do. I would like help in providing a treat at each faculty meeting. It could be a baked good, chips and dip or a veggie tray—let your imagination run wild! Most meetings occur on Mondays and Wednesdays. Just have the treat to the main office by 3:30 on the day of your choice. To pick a day, please contact Allison Adducci at (763) 509-0160 or adducci@mac.com

College Counselor's Corner
Seniors
For those Seniors and their parents who could not attend the College Financial Aid Information Night last Wednesday, December 5^th, please stop by the College Counseling Office or contact Mrs. Hogan for a copy of the presentation.

December is the best time to complete those college admission and scholarship applications! Any applications with deadlines on or before January 15^th MUST be submitted to College Counseling NO LATER than December 14^th.

Juniors
PSAT score reports will be handed back to juniors before the Christmas break. If parents would like to be present to review and discuss their student’s score, Mrs. Hogan will be available during lunch periods over the next two weeks (please contact the College Counseling Office to confirm a date). With no assigned homework, the Christmas break is an excellent time to research colleges. Individual college counseling meetings with juniors will begin right after Christmas break.

Freshmen
All freshmen will take the PLAN exam on Thursday, December 20^th. The PLAN is a pre-ACT exam administered to help familiarize students with college entrance test content and format, to give them a feel for timed testing, as well as to help them identify areas of academic strength and weakness.

College Visits—Save the Date!
Please mark your calendars now for the second annual Providence Academy College Day to be held on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Invitations will go out to colleges early next semester with the expectation that many institutions will want to attend this event. A list of attending colleges will be posted and updated on the Naviance site, which our community may access by logging in as a guest (password: lions) at: https://connection.naviance.com/providenceacad.

If you are interested in volunteering to help with this event, please contact Sarah Hogan at (763) 258-5508 or sarah.hogan@providenceacademy.org.

Headmaster’s Notes Todd R. Flanders

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Headmaster’s Notes
Todd R. Flanders