St. Theresa Catholic School
Newsletter, January 4, 2008

Dear Parents,

The ANSAA Accreditation visit went so well. The team was very complementary of the school. I will go over
their recommendations and commendations at our next PTO meeting on March 11. I was pleased that the recommendations mirrored our self-study and our strategic plan. I hope that everyone will plan to come.
I want to thank all who helped make the teams' visit more comfortable.

The St. Nicholas Festival was wonderful. The students were so cute, and I was proud of the participation
level from our families. Almost all our students participated, and the gym was full! Thank you all for coming.
The students sang a finale at the end with two songs taught to them by Mr. and Mrs. Swillum. Matthew Vogler
and Ray Schieber came and helped with the music. I want to thank all who helped make the program a success
and the PTO for furnishing the cookies and punch for the Program. I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Swillum,
Mrs. and Mr. Cox, Mrs. Blair, Mr. David Henning, Mrs. Roberson, and Mrs. Storey for decorating the Parish
Center for the dinner and the St. Nicholas Program. I want to thank Lisa Blair, Andy Prod' homme, Lori
Kirchner, and Teresa Bell for helping with different aspects of the set-up, serving of cookies and punch, and
clean-up. The help of these parents is much appreciated. This program really puts us all in the Christmas spirit.

We had our Awards Assembly on Friday, December 7. I had so many awards to announce that it took me
almost an hour and a half. So many of our students have made note-worthy achievements during the first
semester. We wanted a chance to recognize them and celebrate their accomplishments. Some of the awards
presented were for 1st Quarter Honor Roll, All Saints Day Essay and Art Contest, Accelerated Reader,
Computer Lab, National Geographic Geography Bee, Christian Behavior, Math Awards, Most improved, and to recognize  New Altar Servers. There were many other accomplishments that were recognized including those
awarded over the summer for the National Parents' Day Essay Contest. Mr. Bruce Biggin, Chairman of National Parents' Day Council of Arkansas, attended the assembly and presented an award of $250 to St. Theresa School
and a certificate recognizing the school's outstanding contribution to the 2007 National Parents' Day Essay Contest.
St. Theresa was the top contributing school in the state of Arkansas. Students from St. Theresa who won first,
second, or third place were: Chelsea Farris, Matthew Tran, Austin Klais, and Katy Rose.

Before we left for Christmas break, I rewarded the following students who met their Accelerated Reading Goal
and qualified to a pizza and soft drink lunch with me! The students who qualified and chose this reward were:
Mary Rhinehart, Daniel Witherell, Alex Kirchner, Nick Rose, Austin Board, Matthew Tran, and Justin Swillum.

The New Year is a time for making resolutions about things that we know we should do differently to help us
mentally, physically, or spiritually. One resolution that I would like to suggest for some of our families is a new
morning routine that will make sure your children arrive to school on time. Sometimes it just takes getting more organized so that backpacks are filled at night and set by the back door. Uniforms can be laid out the night before
to save time. Lunches can be packed and put in the refrigerator. Alarms can be set 15 minutes earlier. Before
the holiday break, we sent notices out to our families whose students have had excessive tardies. If you received
one of these letters, then please examine your daily routine and alter it so that this is now longer a problem.
Thank you.

Also, Father John was notified by the bank that any holds to be placed on account drafts for tuition or care have
to be processed 48 hours in advance of the day of the draft. Therefore, if you know your account will be short
on the draft date, you must call us at least two days before the draft date or we cannot stop the draft for that month.
Of course, if you hold a draft there is a $10 charge and you are still responsible for the payment of tuition for that month. Accounts not paid by the end of the month are accessed a $25 late fee.

Now, after all that, I want to wish you all a very happy and blessed new year. I pray that the Lord brings the
joy of laughter, the gift of faith, and the spirit of thanksgiving into each heart throughout this new year.

Yours in Christ,


Marguerite Olberts