10/29 Marathon Fall Family Festival 4:00-6:00pm
11/2 No School K-8 Professional Development
11/4 Regular School Day (calendar change from last spring)
11/11 Picture Day Retakes
11/15-11/19 Gratitude Week
11/17 Day of Giving
11/19 End of First Trimester
11/23 Gertens Delivery | Pick up in Back Lot 3:00-5:30pm
11/24-11/26 Thanksgiving Break
From Our Principal - Dr. Bonita Jungels
Marathon and Fall Festival Greetings,
I want to thank everyone for your extraordinary efforts to collect marathon prayer intentions and pledges. On Tuesday our students spent time with Jesus in Adoration. It was so beautiful to see students praying for their own and others’ intentions in quiet time with the Lord.
We have collected over $42,000 surpassing all of our goals! Students will have an option of chocolate milk next year as well as spirit wear days on Fridays. We will have an ice cream truck at NDA Day in the spring and Fr. John and Fr. Paul will be choosing an incentive from the suggestion box soon. Additionally, students who collected at least one pledge were put into a bucket and we pulled seven names. Each student won a $100 Target gift card. We are so grateful for your support of our fall marathon!! Students are walking their marathon with their classes throughout the day.
We look forward to seeing many of our families at our celebration after school today. We appreciate the assistance of the Home and School Committee for our Halloween parties as well as at the Festival this afternoon. We are so grateful for our NDA community!!
The Top 20 Tip for this week is to ask your child about THE ZONE. Ask if they have been in the zone this week as well as if they have ever had to say NOT NOW and put some things in the PARKING LOT to be collected later. Paul Bernabei, Director of Top 20, led our 4 and 5th grade students as well as 6th-8th grade students in retreats last Tuesday. They learned about Being the Best Version of Ourselves. We discussed belonging versus fitting in, relationships - helping others succeed and using Instant Replay, Levels of Listening/The Zone, being aware of social tornadoes, transforming false beliefs into true beliefs and the secret about confusion. We are grateful for Mr. Bernabei’s leadership and guidance for Notre Dame Academy’s social emotional learning program. Stay tuned for more Top 20 opportunities.
This weekend our volleyball and soccer teams are in playoff tournaments. We wish all of our teams a weekend of fun and success. NDA athletic teams are an amazing way to bond as a community. I have watched several volleyball and soccer games this year - the teams all enjoy each other, work together and lead with enthusiasm and joy. How beautiful!
As we close another month, I want to thank everyone for your continued support for our health and safety protocols. We have enjoyed nine weeks of school with zero COVID cases in our building. Our safety plan moving forward can be found here. Thank you again for helping our students stay in school!
The schedule for next week - Monday is All Saints Day. We will not have school Mass until our usual Wednesday afternoon time as All Saints Day is not an obligation this year due to the timing of a Monday. Tuesday is a Staff Professional Development day so there will be no school for students on Tuesday. This was scheduled based on the Hopkins busing schedule.
Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable autumn/Halloween weekend,
Dr. Bonita Jungels
The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Each moment that you spend with Jesus will deepen your union with Him and make your soul everlastingly more glorious and beautiful in Heaven, and will help bring about everlasting peace on earth. – St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
New Information
Uniform Change
Please take note that on November 1, our uniform policy requires us to cover our legs for the colder weather. Shorts and bare legs are allowed again in April. Per our uniform policy, navy leggings, navy or white tights are now required under skirts, skorts, and jumpers. Girls are welcome to wear pants as well.
Cafeteria Note
Our Lions are HUNGRY! Please check your lunch balances in Sycamore. We have seen a significant increase in extra milk purchases in the lunchroom. Extra milk is NOT covered under the free lunch program that everyone is entitled to this year due to the pandemic. On any given day we see about 25 extra milks requested, as our Lions come in from recess and head straight to lunch. They are hungry & thirty!
As a reminder, extra milk/cold lunch milk is $.60. One milk is included with hot lunch. Extra Entree costs $2.50 and Extra Side costs $1.25. Please set expectations with your hungry lion on whether they are allowed to purchase these extra items.
Negative and low balance letters are emailed daily, and were sent home in backpacks today. You can always check your lunch balances via Sycamore or email cafeteria@nda-mn.org with any questions.
Fall Sports Uniforms
Please be sure to wash your child's uniform once the season ends. Place the clean uniform in a ziplock bag with your student's name. We will need these for yearbook photos. Thank you.
Lost and Found
The pile of lost items is building quickly. Please remind your student to take a look by the school office for missing things.
Sycamore Calendar
Please note that our digital calendar is the updated version. Occasionally we need to make changes to the school calendar and those are not reflected in print. If you have a copy of the preliminary spring calendar, please disregard it and use the digital version going forward.
White Pumpkins
Mr. Kobe is putting together a display for Day of the Dead. If your family would like to send in a white pumpkin on Monday, we will add it to our display. Names of deceased family and friends can be added to the pumpkin, or you can send in a list of names you'd like him to include.
Marathon
Marathon Fall 2021
We are grateful to all of your participation for our Fall Marathon! Our three class prizes went to grades 1st, 4th and 6th.
The winning classes will have the choice of the following prizes:
Pizza party for the class
Doughnuts and juice for the class
Popcorn and movie afternoon
Out of uniform
Family Festival
Tonight's event is open to everyone in our school community. Please come even if you did not order dinner. Parent supervision is required, please pick up your student in the carline and then park in the church lot and walk to the playground lot.
Reminders
Shoot for the Stars: 5 Days of Gratitude
Gratitude, the attitude to experience life as a gift, is a priority at Notre Dame Academy. The NDA Student Council is planning daily activities the week of November 15-19 to express our appreciation to the Notre Dame Academy community. Shoot for the Stars: 5 Days of Gratitude will include the annual ICA Food Drive, special messages of kindness to our parishes, families, school friends and teachers, and the greater community. Day of Giving will be held on Wednesday, November 17, providing a special opportunity to show gratitude for our Catholic school. 24 hours of building a galaxy of financial support for our amazing students. Watch for more information in the weeks to follow.
Covid Tests Now Available
Each NDA student can request one BINAX rapid Covid test. Please contact the office.
Grand Beginnings Volunteer Opportunities
Please join the GB team by signing up for one of the committee roles. This is a great way to volunteer and meet other NDA Moms and Dads.
Recess Sign Up
Thank you to the many parents who have volunteered to help us with recess! We appreciate your time and enjoy seeing you at NDA. You may sign up to volunteer in November at NDA 2021-22 Recess Volunteer Sign Up.
Parish News
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Join us for IHM's Trunk or Treat! Event is Saturday, October 30, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm in the West Parking Lot. If you would like to participate by decorating your car and handing out treats, call the IHM Parish Office at 952-935-1432 and reserve your spot!
High School News
Holy Family Boys Basketball League Grades 1-3
Boys in grades 1-3 are invited to attend a 5-week basketball league designed to foster an enjoyment of the game of basketball through participation and skill-building. Parent volunteers are welcome. The deadline to register is November 5. League is on five Sunday afternoons and begins on November 14. Visit http://www.hfchs.org/firecamps/ for details and registration.
Benilde St. Margaret's
BSM is excited to announce the return of the BSM Knightsbridge Boutique Shopping Event, which will be held at BSM’s Haben Center on Saturday, October 30 from 10am–3pm. The event features more than 50 merchants showcasing jewelry, home goods, spa products, clothing, accessories, gourmet food and more.
Holy Angels
Holy Angels is hosting a Fall Open House on Thursday, November 4. Families will have an opportunity to meet coaches, moderators, and participants from HA extra-curricular options during the Activities Fair. Following the Activities Fair, families will tour our beautiful building, while stopping at a few locations along the way to hear from AHA faculty, staff, and students. When their tour is complete, we invite you to check out one of our domes. We are offering a variety of times to accommodate your busy schedules. Please pre-register and view more details about the evening at bit.ly/AHAOH21.
Photos
Parent Prayer
Prayer for All Saints Day They left their mark on the earth for you, for us, for our children to come. Thank you, God, for the tremendous sacrifices made by those who have gone before us. Bless the memories of your saints, God. May we learn how to walk wisely from their examples of faith, dedication, worship, and love.
Contacts & Links
Attendance
Please email the school office
or call (952) 358-3500 any time your child will be absent, late or leaving early.
