October 12, 2014
Dear St. Raphael School Families and Parishioners,

We are nearing the end of the 1 ^st Quarter of the school year, which is pretty difficult to believe! Report Cards and Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner, and it is helpful if you start thinking about those conferences now. You only have 15 minutes with the teacher, and he/she will want to go over your child’s report card and Iowa Assessment results where applicable. These conferences do not allow time to get into lengthy questions and discussions, so please think ahead of time about any critical questions you have for the teacher. We always encourage parents to contact teachers outside of the “official” conference time to discuss issues that deserve more time than we can give at Parent Teacher Conferences. I will also be on hand during conferences to meet informally with parents and answer any questions you may have.

A number of our most serious students in Grades 6-8 joined 27 other Catholic Schools and participated in the Vianney Academic Decathlon this week, and they all did very well. However one student’s performance was so spectacular that we are pretty sure she broke a record! Congratulations to 8 ^th Grader, Noelle Hogrebe, for achieving a PERFECT SCORE in the English competition at Vianney, and taking 1 ^st Place! (I’m told that no one has ever achieved a perfect score J) We are very proud of her! Special thanks goes to all of our teachers for such impressive preparation, and to Mrs. Berns and Dr. Schisler for accompanying our students to Vianney.

We had a special visitor this week to some PE Classes, and she has been here before to work her magic. Ask any 1 ^st Grader and he or she can tell you all about their Yoga Class with Mrs. Trachsel, mother of Hannah and Adam. The gym is transformed into a peaceful place of stretching young muscles and calming young minds during these special Yoga Classes. Thanks to Mrs. Trachsel for providing these unusual and wonderful lessons!

Our featured teacher this week is Mrs. Tammy Wahle in First Grade. Mrs. Wahle holds a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education from Ohio Northern University, and Teacher Certification in PreK-3, as well as Reading K-12. When you walk into the First Grade classroom, you see bright colors, lots of activity spaces, and books and books and books! Our First Grade students are very proud to be learning to read well, and to be learning their foundational math. Mrs. Wahle has a special giraffe whom the children feed with marbles every time they do something well, and let me tell you, that giraffe eats a lot of marbles! One of my favorite things about First Grade is how holy and reverent the children are at daily mass. This happens with lots of preparation by Mrs. Wahle. She can be heard coaching the children as they are walking across the parking lot for mass in the morning saying things like, “How do we prepare our hearts for Jesus?” and “What do we mean when we say ‘Amen?’” The children follow her example and fold their hands with fingers pointed towards heaven; they proudly recite the responses and prayers throughout mass; and they can be seen looking to Mrs. Wahle often during mass for encouragement and approval. Next time you see Mrs. Wahle, please thank her for preparing these bright and holy children!

As always, I ask you to p lease continue to keep our students and teachers in your prayers.

Peace and Blessings,

Kim Vangel

Principal