Our new Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of 83 (Wow!!)  different encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for middle school students.

Unlike  hardcopy Reference books  which generally can’t be removed from the library ( because they are so expensive) these  are EBooks which means multiple students and St. Philip’s Academy  families can read these books at the same time on computers at home or school.

To use this new collection, go to the library catalog page http://destiny.stphilipsacademy.org and click on Gale Virtual Reference Library. 

Your password is: spa

 The Book of the Month Club Genre for November  is

FAIRY TALES!

Read a fairy tale, write a review

and enter to win a bookstore gift certificate!

 "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." ~Albert Einstein~

Parenting Workshop Introduction

PO Meeting, Tuesday, November 9, 6:00 PM

Parents, educators and more and more children are increasingly concerned about and affected by violence, growing social problems and lack of respect for each other and the world around them. Most parents of young children are searching for ways to help their offspring become self-confident and socially adept. Parents of older children often struggle with communication and relationships with their pre-teen or teenager.  Sometimes they do not know how to help when their children are confronting their own issues. They fear the influence of peers and would like to be an effective, positive force as their children navigate these difficult years.

            Wendy Newman, LSW, certified school social worker at the Youth Development Clinic in Newark, will introduce an educational program that offers a forum for parents to share their wisdom and challenges, to explore their own values and to enhance their knowledge of sensible, practical and positive parenting skills.

The after school specials are in full swing with less than (4) weeks to go! Most of the classes have ongoing projects and routines that they are trying to complete by the end of the (10) week session. We want your students to get the most out of their activities that you signed them up for, so we ask that you please refrain from picking up your student from his/her activity before the dismissal of the class. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation.

I’d like to share two great Thinkfinity resources, one for our younger students and one for all ages.

Our first resource comes highly recommended by kindergarten student Darius. Darius loved playing ABC match in Ms. Neary’s class so much, he went home and begged to play more! This is a great game for any young students learning to match their letter sounds to the beginning of words, or students that would like to brush up on their memory skills. You can find ABC Match by searching for it on Thinkfinity.org or at this link: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/abcmatch/

Our second resource comes from Wonderopolis.org . In response to the question “Does art always have to hang on walls?” Wonderopolis suggests an activity to encourage children to create their own masterpieces that can be hung from the ceiling. This activity is accompanied by a beautiful virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel. To find this activity, or view Michelangelo’s work close up, go to: http://wonderopolis.org and look for Wonder #23.