January 3rd E-Bulletin

January 3, 2012

New announcements, events, and updates.

In This Issue:
Headmaster’s Notes
Dr. Flanders welcomes all back to school for the new year, reminds us of this Thursday’s Open House at PA, and congratulates varsity girls basketball on their holiday tournament championship.

All School News
Mitten Tree Thank You
NET Host Families Needed for Many Blocks this Semester

Lower School News
Lower School Strings

Middle/Upper School News
Providence Academy Club Lacrosse

Athletics News
Summer Baseball Registration Open
Spirit Squad Sign Up

PAPA
Volunteers Needed to Provide Faculty Treats

College Counselor’s Corner
Important Class Notes
Upcoming Events

What You May Have Missed
Registration for Winter Sessions of Lower School Activities
Volunteer Requirements for All Volunteers
Health Screening Volunteers Needed
Theatre Department Trip to The Lion King
Sports Information

Headmaster’s Notes

Happy new year! We are certainly happy to be back with your family after a lovely Christmas break.

* * *

There’s a big Admissions Open House this Thursday, the 5th, at 6:30. Word of mouth from PA families is always the best advertising. Invite your friends to call or go online, or simply to come on in Thursday night!

* * *

Our varsity basketball girls won a big tourney over break, the Rochester Rotary Classic. The victory was sweetened by an 8-point victory in the final over class 1AA power Lakeville North—against whom we had dropped an early season game. Congratulations, girls!

All School News
Catholic Schools Week T-shirt Order Extended to Thursday
Please fill out a Catholic School T-shirt order form and return it to the Upper School Office by Thursday, January 5^th to receive your t-shirt.

Mitten Tree Thank You
Thank you to the many families that helped bring this year’s mitten tree giving to a grand total of 607 mittens and hats! Thanks for your incredible generosity!

NET Host Families Needed for Many Blocks this Semester
Campus Ministry is still in need of many host families for the rest of the school year! Hosting Netters is an essential part of ministry at PA. Please consider supporting PA campus ministry by welcoming two Netters, male or female, into your home for 2 weeks blocks.

Host Families are needed for the Men and Women for:

Block 8, Feb 4- Feb 18
Block 9, Feb 18-March 3
Block 10, Mar 3-Mar 16
Block 11, Mar 16-Mar 24
Block 12, Mar 24-Apr 6
Block 13, Apr 9-Apr21
Block 14, Apr 21-May 6

Interested families should fill out the Host Family Info Sheet attached, or contact Miss Katie Lahti with questions or for more information. Thanks to all in advance for your hospitality and generosity!

Middle/Upper School News
Providence Academy Club Lacrosse
In the spring of 2012 the PA Boy's Club Lacrosse Team will join the Minnesota Boy's Scholastic Lacrosse Association (MBSLA) marking the school's first participation in organized competitive lacrosse.

There will be both varsity and JV level teams made up of PA boys in grades 7 through 12.
Practices will be held on weekday evenings, and games on weekends making it possible for current letter sport athletes to also play lacrosse.
No experience is necessary to join the club, and all participants will be able to play.

Middle and Upper School students interested in participating should return a completed PA Lacrosse registration form with payment to the Upper School Office by February 1^st.

Lower School News
Lower School Strings
After school and school day lessons begin as usual January 3rd! Remember to bring your instrument on the right day!

Athletics News
Summer Baseball Registration Open
Are you interested in playing competitive travel baseball this summer with your PA friends for Providence Academy Travel Baseball Association? Online registration will be open for 10U through high school on December 26, 2011 at www.providencebaseball.org. Tryouts are scheduled for January 25^th. If you have any questions, please contact Tim Fafinski by email or phone at (952) 944-9500.

Spirit Squad Winter Sign-up Open
The spirit squad will start up for winter season after final exams. Any 9^th through 12^th grade girls interested in joining should turn in the Spirit Squad Registration Form to the Upper School Office by January 6^th. If you have questions, please contact Mrs. McElroy or Mrs. Millerbernd.

PAPA
Volunteers Needed to Provide Faculty Treats
Providence Academy parents will show appreciation for our teachers by supplying treats at staff meetings. These treats can be as simple as veggie trays, fruit trays, cheese and crackers, cookies, et cetera. Each division has a separate staff meeting of approximately 25 people. Treats can be dropped off the day of the meeting at 3:00 p.m. in the main office.

Please go to the faculty treats link to sign up!

If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Nancy Ferreira.

College Counselor's Corner
Seniors
Transcript Request Reminder
Any senior not able to attend the College Financial Aid Night last Wednesday, December 1^st, should stop by the college counseling office for the presentation handouts.

Please pay attention to college financial aid deadlines, especially scholarship deadlines. Most colleges have priority deadlines for filing the FAFSA and/or CSS Profile in January and February. Any seniors interested in applying for the TwinWest Foundation Scholarship (and other local scholarships requiring transcripts and/or letters of recommendation) should notify Mrs. Walker. The TwinWest Foundation Scholarship Application is attached.

Juniors
Individual college counseling meetings with Mrs. Walker begin the week we return from Christmas Break and continue over the next six weeks. Before the meeting, please encourage your student to complete the Junior Survey found in Naviance. Each student will have a second meeting in late February or early March, at which time parents are invited to join. Additionally, Mrs. Walker will be continuing a short series of in-class web-based seminars during second semester to help juniors navigate through this process. By the end of May, every junior should have a reasonable number of colleges to which to apply next fall, based on his or her goals, grades, test scores (i.e. ACT and/or SAT), leadership activities, the ability to meet the cost of a college education, plus any other factors that may affect his or her college choices. Juniors, if your scheduled meeting time conflicts with other activities (e.g. before or after school), please contact Mrs. Wilder in the Upper School Office to reschedule.

Junior Meeting Schedule: Round 1

Junior Parents
In the coming months, you can help your student prepare for the college application process in the following ways:

Consult the College Preparation Schedule for Junior Year (sent to you in September and given to students at College Night in October) to remind your student about important activities.
Use the Providence Academy college search web-based tool, Naviance/Family Connection with your student. Each junior currently has an active account.
Ensure that your student has registered for the SAT and ACT (with Writing), as well as SAT Subject tests and AP Exams, if applicable. AP Exam registration will be available at the beginning of March for AP testing at PA (during the first two weeks of May).
Plan to attend the Sixth Annual Providence Academy College Day on Tuesday, April 17^th, 2012. This year’s program will include sessions presented by college representatives on various ‘hot topics in the college admission process, in addition to the college fair session. Parents of 9^th through 11th grade students are invited and encouraged to attend the entire event.
Give some thought to visiting colleges with your student over breaks and the summer months. It is best to visit when the college is in session, though summer visits may be the only time to travel greater distances.
Analyze your finances to see what you can afford to spend on your student’s college costs, especially if you have or will have others in college in the coming years. A comprehensive website for financial aid, www.finaid.org, includes helpful calculators that allow you to estimate your expected contribution toward your student’s first year college expenses. You may also contact the admission/financial aid offices at the colleges for assistance.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with your student in the college search and selection process. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

It is recommended that students take sign up to take the SAT and or ACT in January/February 2012. Providence is a test center for the February and June exams. Testing is available at other locations in the Twin Cities on February 11^th, April 4^th, and June 9^th. Register online for the ACT at www.actstudent.org. Register online for the SAT (and SAT Subject Tests, if applicable) at www.collegeboard.com

What You May Have Missed
Registration for Winter Sessions of Lower School Activities
Registration for the winter session of Lower School Activities is now underway. Programs for various grade levels include Abrakadoodle Art, Book Club, Chess Club, Lower School Choir, Doors of Success Etiquette, Extreme Legos: Wheels and Axles, Mad Science: Get Techno-Crazy, Service Club, and Spanish Club. New for winter session: Boys' Basketball on Saturday mornings! Information and registration forms are available at the front desk kiosk, or with your child's classroom teacher. Programs begin on January 7^th and space is limited. Registration is easy and in some cases may be completed on-line. Register today!

Volunteer Requirements for All Volunteers
This is a reminder that all Providence Academy volunteers need to complete the following components prior to their volunteer time: Virtus Training, a background check, and the Volunteer Code of Conduct.

To find and register for Virtus Training you can log on to www.virtusonline.org and click on “Registration”. From there, identify “St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese”. This will take you to all sessions currently scheduled and provide instructions for registering online. Forms for background check and Code of Conduct may be obtained from the Providence Academy office.

If you complete training at a location other than Providence Academy, please let us know so that we can record that information here.

For additional information or assistance, please feel free to contact Mrs. Ann Brown by email or phone at (763) 258-2548.

Health Screening Volunteers Needed
Health Screening for Lower and Middle School will take place Tuesday through Thursday, January 17th to 19th. Please contact Mrs. Karen Hillen to volunteer for this fun and rewarding opportunity. Thank you in advance!

Theatre Department Trip to The Lion King
Don't miss Disney's The Lion King at the historic Orpheum in downtown Minneapolis Wednesday evening January 11th. Tickets are $25 and permission slips are available on the Upper School Theatre link on Mrs. Simmons' web page. All Upper School students are invited to attend, but hurry before tickets sell out. Presented by the Department of Fine Arts and The PA Theatre Council.

2011-2012 Theatre Season

Middle School Winter Play, The Hobbit: January 27^th (Auditions November 9^th and 10^th)
Upper School MSHSL One Act: January 28^th, subject to MSHSL change (Auditions November 17^th)
Middle School Melodrama, Commin' Round the Mountain: March 16^th (Auditions February 1^st and 2^nd)
Upper School Musical, A Year With Frog and Toad: May 4^th- 6^th (Auditions February 7^th- 9^th )

Sports Information
How to Receive Sports Communication
The best way from home to receive information about upcoming events and driving direction to away games is through the Providence Academy Website on rSchool Today schedule link. Additional information can be obtained by calling the sports hotline at (763) 258-2580, which is updated with daily athletics information and happenings.

Schedules & Directions to Away Events
Both schedules and directions to away events can be found on the Providence Academy Website on the rSchool Today schedule link.

Weather Related Cancellations
The sports hotline is updated with weather-related cancellations daily by 2:00 p.m. Please call (763) 258-2580 for the most up-to-date information. The rSchool website will also be updated as soon as information is available.

Webcast America
Webcast America is the place to go this year to watch athletics online from home. For ease of access, there is a link on the Providence Academy Website to the Webcast America site. All games and events on the site remain available to view for a calendar year. Check out all the sports action you may have missed through Webcast America!

Results
Looking for results for Providence Athletics teams? Results can be found on Providence Academy Website in the rSchool link under scores and standings.