March 25, 2015

Welcome to spring! It’s always great to see the seasons change, but please realize that this season often brings students with “Spring Fever”! I know how hard it is to keep kids motivated when the sun is shining and the day is warm.

Encourage your child to keep grades up for just ONE MORE TERM!

The End Of The Third Quarter was Tuesday, March 10, and grade cards were distributed Friday, March 11. Please remember that these are not the grades that go on the permanent record – only the grades rights after Christmas break and at the end of the year are permanent. These are just meant to help you determine the progress that your student is making.

But do remember that if a grade is not at the level it needs to be, it can be very difficult to bring it up when there are a lot of points in the class.

If your child is struggling, remember to contact the teachers. Most of our teachers stay after school and are available before school to help. Also, we still offer the free after-school tutoring. Encourage your child to take advantage of this if needed.

ACT for all juniors: All juniors will be taking the ACT test here at Fatima on Tuesday, April 28. You do not have to register for this AND you do not have to pay for this! This test can be used as the entrance test for colleges and for scholarship applications. The results will go on the student’s transcript. It is REAL! So encourage your child to do his or her best. Be rested and ready.

End Of The Year Testing Is Coming Soon: End of Course testing is upon us! Students will take these tests to prove their knowledge in specific subjects. First on Mon. May 4students will take EOC’s for Algebra I and English I. Then on Tues the sophomores will take the English II exam.On May 6 the Algebra I and Geometry tests will be administered. Biology I and civics students will test on May 7.

Please help us to encourage our students to do their best. I know our kids are some of the smartest around, but they sometimes don’t seem to be motivated to do well on this assessment. We need to let the world know how well we can do.

How Can I Help?

  • Encourage your child to do well
  • Make sure the child gets a good night’s sleep the night before
  • Encourage the child to eat a good breakfast – preferably something with carbohydrates –which is breads or cereals.

Senior Walk-Out Video will be Monday, March 30. Remind the seniors to wear their senior shirts for the pictures.

Spring Play: The Fatima High School Drama Club will be presenting “The Assortment. April 10, 2015 at 1:00 in the gymnasium. Entrance to the play will be $2 for students and $3 for adults. Senior citizens 60+ are free.

Career Day at Fatima: On Wednesday, March 25 (today) a variety of people from various occupations were at Fatima. Students rotated through their chosen presentations to hear about different occupations. This always helps our students think about their futures and what they want to do in life. So if you remember, ask them about the presentations and what they learned.

Awards Assembly: On April 29 at 6:30 Fatima will host its academic awards assembly. This is the time that we honor the students who go the extra mile towards academic excellence. It’s always great to see our kids all dressed up and receiving honors for their hard work and dedication for the year. So come on out and support our local recipients.

Shine the shoes and get out the pretty dresses. Prom will be held on April 18th. It’s always fun to see the students in their finest garbs acting like such ladies and gentlemen. This year the prom will be held at the Lions Field.

Graduation Announcement Delivery: – last week the graduation announcements were delivered to the Fatima Seniors. So seniors – get ready to lick some envelopes!

Schwartze Interviews: All seniors who are eligible for the Schwartze scholarship will have interviews either on April 14 or 15. Ms. Rolwes is going to discuss with them interview etiquette and help them get over a few jitters. Remember, to be eligible for the Trust I all expense paid scholarship, a student must be in the top 20% of the class. To be eligible for the Trust II Scholarships (3500/year) the student must be in the top 33%.

Spring Concert: Come to the high school gym on Sunday, April 26 at 6:30 to hear the bands and choirs showcase their talents.

Order your 2014-2015 Yearbook now. The cost is $30.00. Order forms are in the High School Office and Mrs. Peters’ classroom. The deadline to order is March 31st.

Senior Parents: Yearbook Public Display of Affection Ad orders are due before April 1st. If you need another order form or have questions, please contact Melanie Peters. We look forward to creating a lasting memory for your Senior.

2015-2016 Yearbook Staff Applications: If you are going to be a Junior or Senior next school year and you would like to apply for a position on the Sketcher Yearbook Staff, applications are available outside Mrs. Peters’ classroom. Deadline for submission is Friday, April 3, 2015.

Random Acts of Kindness members:

  • Applications are available for Senior members for the 2nd Annual Random Acts of Kindness Academic Scholarship. This is a $250.00 Scholarship that is awarded to one of our Senior members. Deadline for submission is April 1, 2015. Application packets are on the R.A.K. bulletin board outside Mrs. Peters’ classroom.
  • R.A.K. meetings: Thursday, April 9th 3:10 – 4:00 p.m.
  • R.A.K. will be sponsoring Penny Wars April 17-24. Proceeds will benefit Good Shepherd Food Pantry and Camp Wonderland.

NHS Sponsors a Blood Drive: Fatima will be hosting a blood drive on April 2 from 12:30-6:30 in the gym. Hope to see you there!

NHS Induction Ceremony: The induction ceremony will be held Sunday, March 29 at 6:00 in the multipurpose room.

Calendar of Events

March 25 – Career Day and Sketcher Assembly

March 26 – Senior Citizens Day

March 27 – Freshman Orientation

March 29 – NHS Induction Ceremony

March 30-April 3 Nichols Spring Break

March 30 – Senior Walk-out Video

April 3 and 6 Fatima Spring Break. Nichols attends on the 6th.

April 10– Spring Play

April 14 – Mid-quarter; reports will be sent the end of the week.

April 15 – Board of Education meeting

April 14 & 15 – Schwartze interviews

April 18 – Prom

April 22 – Job Shadows for students in Personal Finance

April 26 – Spring Concert

April 28 – ACT for Juniors

April 29 – Awards Banquet

May 7 – Senior Last Day

May 8 – Senior mass, breakfast, and practice

May 10 - Graduation

May 12 – Finals hours 1,3, and 5

May 13 – Finals hours 2,4, and 6

May 14 –Finals for 7th and 8th hour; dismiss at 11:22

May 15 and 18 – snow make-up days

The Counselor’s Corner

Seniors: If you are getting a scholarship and want it to be recognized at the awards banquet, you must let Mueller know. A form will be put on all lockers. Fill it out and return it to Mueller.

What are your children doing this summer? Please note the many camps and programs that are available to students this summer. These look GREAT on resumes!

Juniors Need To Be Completing Tours of Colleges: By the time a senior enters his or her first day of senior year, he or she should know the 2-5 schools he or she would like to apply for. The only way to know what a school is REALLY like is to do a campus visit. These should be set up during the junior year. It is best to attend when the school is in session so you can see the student body and the professors and get a feel for the real school environment. Please realize that most colleges are out of session the first part of May, so if you still want to visit a school, you should do this in April. You can go to any website and find the admissions office to call and set up a visit, or you can email me and I have a list of phone numbers. I also have a packet of papers that tells you what to do and ask on a visit.

College Rep Visits:

Columbia College March 31

College of the Ozarks April 2

Truman April 7

Scheduling: All students have put their schedule requests in the computer and most have turned in their signed 5 year plans. Most have seen their rough draft schedule, and we have made a lot of changes. Now we will tweak a little more.

Hopefully before the end of the year I will be able to give the students their schedules for next year along with their locker assignments. If they have any questions, they can talk to me then. If a student likes his or her schedule, he or she will NOT need to come in before the first day of school. If a student changes his or her mind over the summer and wants to change a schedule, there will be two days before school to come in and see what we can do. We can also change schedules on the first days of school. Students or parents can also email me at or call (573) 455-2375 to talk about schedules.

Schwartze Scholarship Interviews: The Schwartze scholarship packets were handed directly to the students who qualified. FYI – to receive a Trust I scholarship application, a student must be in the upper 20% of the class. For the Trust II scholarship application, a student must be in the top 33.3% of the class.

The interview days are April 14 & 15. Students will have an interview schedule on their locker. Ms. Rolwes is going to practice some interviewing strategies to help them feel more prepared.

AP Tests – Fatima’s AP Tests for Calculus will be May 5 at 8:00 sharp. It will be held in the board of education room and will take about 3-4 hours.

The Joke’s On You

My Three Sons

Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back
together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly
mother.

The first said, "I built a big house for our mother."
The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."
The third smiled and said, "I've got you both beat. Remember how mom
enjoyed reading the Bible? And you know she can't see very well. I sent her a
remarkable parrot that recites the entire Bible. It took elders in the church
12 years to teach him. He's one of a kind. Mama just has to name the
chapter and verse, and the parrot recites it."

Soon thereafter, mom sent a letter to each son. "Milton," she wrote one son,
"the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the
whole house."

"Gerald," she wrote to another, "I am too old to travel. I stay most of the
time at home, so I rarely use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!"

"Dearest Donald," she wrote to her third son, "you have the good sense to
know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious."