Archived E-Bulletins

E-Bulletin

March 24, 2008

In This Issue:
Headmaster’s Notes

All School News
     Educational Outfitters - New Open
     Kitchen Position Available
     Memorial Blood Centers Blood Drive
     Middle School Science Olympiad - 4th in State!
     New Student Applications for 2008-09
     No Wayzata Bus Transportation
     PA Student Qualifies for State Geographic Bee
     Parenting Education Opportunity
     Spirit Store Hours Change
                             
Middle/Upper School News 
     12th Grade Coffee & Conversation
     Academic Letter Banquet
     All Night Senior Party
     Parent-Teacher Conferences
     Upper School Fine Arts Banquet
     Upper School Solo/Ensemble Competition
                
Lower School News
     Lower School Choir Reminder
     Save the Date for the 3rd - 5th Grade Concert
     Winter Clothing Reminder
              
Providence In The News
     Providence Academy Students Named to All-State and Regional
        Honor Bands
        
Providence Academy Parent Association (PAPA)
   
Athletics Update

College Counselor's Corner

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Headmaster’s Notes
Todd R. Flanders

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All School News
Educational Outfitters – Now Open
Education Outfitters’ new location opened on March 10^th, not April 1^st as they had previously announced.  The store is located at 5710 West 36^th Street in St. Louis Park (corner of Highway 100 and 36^th Street). 

Kitchen Position Available
Taher Food Service is currently offering a part-time position in the school kitchen.  Responsibilities include food preparation and serving.  Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.  For more information, please contact Mr. Marshall Morris at (763) 258-2535.

Memorial Blood Centers Blood Drive
The next Memorial Blood Centers Blood Drive at Providence will be Tuesday, April 1^st from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m.  Childcare is available while a family member is donating.  To make an appointment or for more information, contact Maureen Murphy at (763) 258-2507 or maureen.murphy@providenceacademy.org. 

Middle School Science Olympiad – 4^th in State!
In a field of 25 teams, representing 18 schools from all over Minnesota, PA’s Gold Science Olympiad team claimed 4^th place in state competition!  Individual medals were awarded to Elizabeth Walcher and Katherine Walls, who won silver in Food Science, and Cole Wiskow, who took home bronze in the Simple Machines category.  Look for more individual results in the April Lions’ Pride.  Congratulations team!

New Student Applications for 2008-09
Our recent decision to expand 1^st and 2^nd Grade, and possibly Kindergarten, by adding one more classroom of each, is exciting news.  In addition, we are still accepting applications for Grades 7 through 10.  Most of Providence’s new applicants tell us that they know someone who is currently attending the school, which peaks their interest to investigate the possibilities.  With openings at these grade levels, we would appreciate your help in spreading the word to your friends and neighbors.  Thank you!

No Wayzata Bus Transportation

The Wayzata School District will not be in session March 27^th through April 4^th.  Therefore, there will be no Wayzata school bus transportation available to Providence Academy students.  Providence buses will run their regular schedules.  Please make necessary arrangements for transportation on these dates.

PA Student Qualifies for State Geographic Bee
Congratulations to sixth grader J.P. Daugherty who, after winning our own school-level geography competition, has been selected to participate in the State Competition of the National Geographic Bee!  Participating schools each conducted their own contests, producing one winner who was eligible to take a written qualifying test.  From there, the top 100 students, from among more than one thousand entries, qualified to represent their schools and compete at the state level.  The Minnesota bee is an oral competition that will take place on Friday, April 8^th at Macalester College in St. Paul.  Good luck, J.P.!

Parenting Education Opportunity
Save the date of Friday, April 18^th, for “Reflections on Contemporary Brain Research and Raising Children,” presented by Mr. Ferdinandt.  Please plan to join us from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the Lecture Hall for this highly informative talk.

Spirit Store Hours Change
Please note that Thursday afternoon Spirit Store hours have changed.  The store is now open after school only on the first Thursday of the month (from 3:15 to 3:45 p.m.), rather than every week.  Regular lunchtime store hours from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will continue for the remainder of the school year.

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Middle/Upper School News
12^th Grade Coffee & Conversation
All 12th grade parents are invited to attend Coffee and Conversation with Mr. Ferdinandt this Friday, March 28^th at 2:00 p.m. in the Lecture Hall.  This is a great opportunity to meet other parents and to discuss relevant topics for parents of 12th graders; some discussion will be centered on the seniors’ upcoming graduation.  Please RSVP to Mrs. Kelly Wilder at (763) 258-2587 or kelly.wilder@providenceacademy.org.

Academic Letter Banquet
The Academic Letter Banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 26^th, at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Room.  Please call Mrs. Kelly Wilder at (763) 258-2587 as soon as possible if you would like to attend but have not RSVP'd. Thank you!

All Night Senior Party
Parents are reminded that the waiver forms and monies are due to the committee for the All Night Senior Party.  This parent-organized party traditionally follows graduation festivities and we would love to see each and every senior participate in this fun event, if possible.  If your senior does not wish to participate we would like to know that, as well.

Also, if you did not receive the mailing that went out last month please contact Janet Hendrickson Hines at janet.hhines@gmail.com or (952) 476-6924.  She will see that you are sent the appropriate informational materials.

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences for Middle and Upper School are scheduled for Thursday, April 17th, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. in Gym A.  Sign-up forms have been mailed home.  Completed forms can be returned to Mrs. Kelly Wilder through any of the administrative offices.  Registration can also be completed by contacting Mrs. Kelly Wilder directly at  (763) 258-2587 or kelly.wilder@providenceacademy.org.  

Upper School Fine Arts Banquet
Save the date of Tuesday, April 29^th for the Fine Arts Banquet.  All Upper School Fine Arts students are invited to attend the potluck dinner where letters and other awards will be presented.  The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. and more information will be distributed this week.  Parent volunteers are needed to make this a successful event.  If you would like to help, please contact Miss Peterson at joann.peterson@providenceacademy.org or (763) 258-2574.

Upper School Solo/Ensemble Competition
The Upper School solo/ensemble competition for strings and instrumentalists will be held on Thursday, April 3rd at Providence Academy from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.  Details are available from Miss Peterson, Mrs. Clark, or your Upper School band/string student.

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College Counselor's Corner
AP Exams
Upper School students, particularly juniors and seniors who have conferred with faculty members about taking AP exams, now is the time to register!  Many colleges award placement and/or credit to students who score 3+ on these exams.  Though the College Board charges $83 per exam, the cost to PA students is only $35 for each exam.  AP Exams offered at Providence in May are: AP French Language, AP Spanish Language, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, AP U.S. History, and AP Latin (Vergil).

Registration forms are available in the Upper School Office or online through Naviance/Family Connection.  Please note:  Registrations will NOT be accepted after exams are ordered on Friday, March 28^th. .

NCAA Presentation: Attention Upper School Student-Athletes and Parents!

J.T. Bruett, Associate Director of NCAA Compliance at the University of Minnesota, will present to prospective NCAA athletes and their parents on NCAA rules related to Division I and II recruiting, financial aid, and eligibility.  This event will be held on Thursday, March 27^th from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Seminar Room (across from the Lower School Library).

 
2nd Annual Providence Academy College Day: Update
We are experiencing an excellent response to our upcoming College Day, with over 80 colleges planning to attend (as of this writing).  The Second Annual Providence Academy College Day will take place on Wednesday, April 23^rd.  Please note that the College Fair portion of the program is open to all Upper School students and parents and will take place from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in the Gym A.

For the list of attending colleges, please log on to Naviance/Family Connection, our college counseling web program, by following these instructions:

1.  Go to: http://connection.naviance.com/providenceacad 
2.  Use the ‘Guest Entrance’ by typing the word ‘lions’ (no quotes) as the password.
3.  Once logged in, under the left menu ‘About College’, click on ‘Visit Schedule’ to access the list of colleges attending the College Fair.  Check back for updates!

Seniors
For those seniors needing advice on next steps in the college selection process (e.g., applying for housing, deciphering financial aid awards, what to do and not do if waitlisted, etc.), please feel free to make an appointment with Mrs. Hogan.  As a reminder to all seniors, please update Mrs. Hogan on your college admission results (e.g., acceptances, denials, wait lists, etc.) and scholarships, using Naviance/Family Connection, if possible. 

Juniors

College Entrance Testing

Providence Academy is a test site for the June 14^th exam, but registration is coordinated through ACT (not Providence!) and is on a first-come-first-served basis.  Juniors should also take the SAT exam at least once before senior year.  The SAT exam will be administered at various Twin Cities locations on May 3^rd and June 7^th.  For registration information, including deadlines, please refer to www.collegeboard.com (for the SAT) and/or www.actstudent.org (for the ACT).  Looking for test prep options?  Contact the college counseling office for suggestions.  For AP Exams, please refer to the note above.

College Counseling Meetings and In-Class Seminars

In addition to individual college counseling meetings with juniors (and their parents), during the last few months of the school year, the College Counseling Office will offer additional In-Class Seminars, including ‘Writing the College Essay’ with guest speaker from Boston College, a ‘Mock Admission Committee’ exercise, and a ‘College Planning Checklist For Rising Seniors’ seminar to ensure that each student has a strategic plan in place for applying to colleges in the fall. 

Sophomores and Freshmen
All freshmen received their PLAN exam scores on the Friday before Spring Break.  Students who were absent had their results mailed to their homes during break.  Mrs. Semsch and Mrs. Hogan will both be available by appointment for students (and parents) wishing to review individual scores in depth.  We have asked that students NOT share their scores with one another, as this can add a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress, especially since the PLAN (and PSAT) are college entrance practice tests.

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