www.qofhschool.org Queen of Heaven School 839 Mill Road West Seneca, NY 14224

What’s New At The Q? ~We Belong to You~

Families & Friends,

Happy New Year! January is proving, as usual, to be a busy month. We have a science fair, alumni celebration, pancake

breakfast, Open House, and many more events and celebrations. I hope that you can find time to join us for one or all of these

events.

Our Family Envelope went home today with all of these events included. Also sent home were the HSG Sweepstakes Tickets

that each family is required to sell. This is a major fundraiser and a tuition requirement for each family. If you have questions,

please let us know.

Our Catholic Schools Week theme this year is 60 Years of Excellence. As the 8th graders were helping with the alumni mailing

they were amazed at the addresses of our graduates were all over the country. It is humbling to think that this school gave the

foundation to so many students to go on to do great things with their lives. God bless our alumni, current students, and our

future!

God bless us on our journey together,

Mary Damico, Principal

From My Desk

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

1/12 Dress Down with a Coupon

1/15 Martin Luther King Day—No School

1/18 Mass @ 8:30 (2V)

1/19 Dress down for $1 (Catholic Charities)

January 11, 2018

Volume 5, I ssue 6

PLEASE JOIN US

Please keep in your prayers

Mr. Texido: For a successful recovery from surgery.

The Sanita Family: For healing for the newborn

twins.

Mrs. Debbie Joseph: On the loss of her brother-in-

law.

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What’s New At The Q?

Pre-K News

Pre-K has been having a lot of fun learning about snow and winter. We learned how snow is formed and we read both fiction

and nonfiction books about snow. We made snowmen at home with our families for a wonderful hall display. Then we learned

about different animals that live in cold habitats. There are so many different ways to learn! We read books, we watch videos of

live animals, and do experiments such as coloring a picture of a penguin with crayons and then watching water bead off it to help

learn about special adaptations that some animals have to survive the cold weather. We are now also looking ahead to some fun

activities for Catholic Schools week at the end of this month.~Mrs. Hanley & Mrs. Miller

Kindergarten News

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. As we return to school the Kindergarteners are continuing to

work on reading, listening, and writing skills. We have used the big books to identify action verbs in the present tense and

synonyms. Reading skills have included cause and effect as well as identifying details to support the main topic. We are also

modeling and practicing the steps of prewriting (using a graphic organizer), writing a draft, revising, editing, and publishing to

develop a written piece. New guided reading groups are underway as well. Composing and decomposing numbers through ten

has been practiced in Math. Look for book baggies to be brought home. Please have your child read the book daily and return it

to school at the end of the week so a new one may be sent home. ~ Mrs. Bonn & Mrs. Walsh

Second Grade News

Happy New Year! As we enter 2018 we will be picking up the pace a bit in second grade and working on more independence

and responsibility. New guided reading groups are underway. In reading we are reading folktales and non-fiction stories. We

have been working on verb tenses and reviewing nouns. We have been doing a lot of writing pieces about our break and the

New Year. In math we are finishing up our unit on regrouping in addition and subtraction. We will begin to work with numbers

from 100- 1,000. In religion we will begin to talk about the sacrament of Reconciliation. Cursive writing will also begin

soon. Each second grade classroom now has a chromebook for each student:) We will begin to use those more frequently for

writing pieces and other projects.~Mrs. Vile & Miss Ode

Third Grade News

We hope everyone is enjoying the New Year!! As we get back into the swing of things, our instruction will involve more

independent work for the students. In ELA, the students will be working on reading a text and using the information to help

them answer comprehension as well as writing responses. The students will be using evidence-based terms to help them in their

responses. In Science, we have started our chapter on animals. The students will be learning about how living things inherit

traits and behaviors from their parents. The students will also be given an animal to research and teach the class about. In

Religion, we have wrapped up our work on the Christmas Season. The students are now learning about how Jesus showed

compassion and mercy towards others, by forgiving their sins and healing them. In Math we are multiplying! Hurray! The

students are learning about the meaning of multiplication and how it is a quick way to do repeated addition. We are modeling

pictures and this week will be making arrays. In Social Studies we are learning about the different types of communities. ~ Miss Doyle and Mrs. Schieber

First Grade News

Happy New Year to all our QofH families. We would like to thank everyone for the Christmas wishes and gifts we

received. We wasted no time getting back to work this new year. The students are working on opinion writing this week. In

Math the students are learning all about number sense and how to use mental math and the number chart to find 10 more and 10

less. The students are using these strategies to solve 10 above word problems. In Social Studies the students are learning about

Martin Luther King and how to spread peace and love. Please remember that our classes are participating in the Pizza Hut Book

It program. Each students brought home a reading log with a monthly goal. When they meet their monthly goal, return the

log amd the student gets recognizes with a Reading Award Certificate, good for a free one-topping Personal Pan Pizza!. The

logs are due at the end of each month.- Mrs. Rooney and Mrs. McGuire

Fourth Grade News

Happy New Year! As we come back to school we will be continuing our journey of studying New York State history. We have

started to study the American Revolution and the early start of our country becoming the United States of America. In Math we

are starting a chapter on division. Division and Multiplication go hand in hand so please keep practicing those facts. ~Ms. Dowell

and Mrs. White

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Classroom Happenings

MIDDLE SCHOOL

5th Grade Social Studies & Science: Welcome Back! The fifth graders are learning about the early NAtive American tribes

in Social Studies. We have finished our D.A.R.E. classes with Officer Coia. The students are working on their essays preparing

for graduation. The students are working on their Science Fair projects at home and will be presenting them in a few weeks. We

are finishing up plant and animal adaptations and will be starting body systems. ~Mrs. Boyd

5TH Grade Math: Happy New Year! After the break we will be studying decimals, and how to add and subtract decimal

numbers. We have taken a break from the WIP packet and started a project on creating our own carousel. We have to use all of

our multiplication skills that we have learned the past few weeks along with our other Math skills on our project along with our

imaginations. I’m excited to see how the projects turn out. ~Ms. Dowell

6th Grade Math: As the new year begins, 6th grade math will be stepping up the pace a bit as we practice mental strategies for

multi-digit whole number multiplication. I am so proud of all the students as they transitioned so well to a new teacher and new

routine. I feel very fortunate to be here at Queen of Heaven. Happy New Year! Mrs. Manley 5TH /6TH ELA: It’s an exciting time in 5th and 6th grade ELA, the 5th graders will soon begin their first novel, Hatchet, by Gary

Paulsen. The 6th graders are moving right along to their next novel, The Lightning Thief. We are now implementing our new

Social Emotional learning centers in ELA as a weekly reminder of how important managing our individual stressors is! Our focus

will also be on grammar and determining strategies for selecting “selected response” review questions. ~Mrs. Wagner

7th/8th ELA: Happy New Year! So many exciting events this month! We will be finishing up both To Kill a Mockingbird and

Lyddie this month. Also, we will going to the Theater of Youth to see The Boy at the Edge of Everything on January 24th! The

students have received their new ELA project for the months of January and February. I thought I would extend it through

February because of the break. The students will present their project when we return at the end of February. Each student will

create a website for a literary character of their choice using Google Sites. All projects are due on 2/16/18. If there are any

questions, please see me or email me!~ Ms. LaMoy Middle School Science: It’s Science Fair Time! The 7th and 8th Grades have been hard at work on their projects. We have

devoted a lot of class time to the many sections required for the final report. They have learned how to formulate an hypothesis,

design an experiment, represent results in data tables and graphs, and write an abstract. We are working on error analysis and

conclusions and will be discussing the correct display of their projects for next week. The Science Fair will run from January 17-

19. This whole process prepares the students for the NYS 8th Grade Performance Assessment and Exam. Thanks for allowing

your homes to be temporarily turned into science labs! Please encourage your child to return any materials borrowed from the

school. 7th Grade has finished their introductory unit on plants and will begin studying Seed Plants next week. 8th Grade has

finished their Chemistry portion of the 8th grade curriculum and is beginning, my personal favorite, Physics! The 6th grade has

just finished their Astronomy Unit. Last week, the students presented their Galaxy Projects. They did a terrific job! If Western

New York is currently in a glitter shortage, you now know the reason! They will be returning to Earth now, beginning their

studies of the structure of the Earth’s Interior. ~Mrs. Whelan

Middle School Religion: Happy New Year all! A heartfelt thank you for your extreme generosity at Christmas. Your

thoughtfulness was truly overwhelming! Also, thank you to my Eighth Grade parents and students that joined Voices in Praise, to

sing at Seneca Healthcare Facility. The joy on the faces of the residents was priceless! As we get back into our studies, Seventh

Grade was given a project to do on the Sacrament of Matrimony of another religion. This project will be due Jan 30th. May God

bless you with peace, joy, and happiness in 2018!~Ms. Martina

MIDDLE SCHOOL SPANISH: Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a great Christmas! The 6th grade will be taking a

test on Chapter 2 this week. We will then begin our study of chapter 3.We will begin to learn verbs that we will use with gustar

and later use to practice conjugating. The 7th Grade will be practicing food vocabulary through some role playing activities. They

will also be learning the difference between the verbs Ser and Estar. The 8th grade students will continue working on travel

vocabulary and the preterite tense. They will begin a project near the end of the week. ~Ms. Ungaro

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What’s New At The Q?

Middle Social Studies: 6th Grade: The students have just ended learning about Ancient India and will begin learning about

the history and geography of Ancient China and Japan with such topics: The Shang and the Zhou Dynasties; Chinese Ancient

Philosophies which include, Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism and the Qin and Han Dynasties along with many other

dynasties and the affect each of these dynasties played in the development of China and Japan. 7th Grade: The students are

wrapping up their studies about the founding of the American Colonies and will be starting their studies about the American

Revolution. This will include topics such as: The Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, and the English Government; the

French and Indian War; Britain’s Control Over the Colonies; The Road to Lexington and Concord; the Early Years of the

Revolutionary War, and concluding with The Path to Victory. 8th Grade: The students have wrapped up learning about the

Progressive Era of our country’s history and are moving into the Imperial Era of our country’s history and the role the U.S.

played in the Spanish American War; Expanding Interests in Asia and Latin America; and the Building of the Panama Canal.

~Mrs. Thomas in for Mrs. Kwiatkowski

Specials ART: Happy New Year - and welcome back to a busy art room! Each grade is hard at work creating their art show

masterpieces. This year, each grade will be creating a self-portrait for their Artome pieces. Self-portraits range from recreating

a famous artwork featuring a student in the scene to grid drawn self-portraits by the older grades. From oil pastels to painted

artworks, this year’s art show is sure to be a colorful and fun representation of the students at Queen of Heaven School! Save

the Date: this year’s Fine Art Night will be on April 26, 2018. ~Mrs. Gulino

Library: Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the nice break. In grades 3-5, I will be doing some extra

practice in order to prepare for the upcoming ElA assessments. In second grade, we have begun our unit on Tall Tales. In first

grade, I am doing a unit on “The Mitten”, by Jan Brett. In Kindergarten, the children will begin to practice identifying and

printing sight words. In Pre-School, I am reading winter themed stories to the children.~Mrs. Harbridge

SPANISH PK-5/GRADE 5 RELIGION: Happy New Year and welcome back! We have wasted no time in getting down to

work in 2018! In Religion class, 5th graders began the year studying the Liturgical Year. Believe me when I tell you they

were excited to learn that we were in the Christmas Season until January 8th! We also read from the Gospel of Matthew to

learn about the Feast of the Epiphany. In Spanish classes, primary grades are still focusing on colors and numbers. Second

grade students are learning a winter poem in Spanish. Fourth grade students are beginning a lesson on telling time, and fifth

grade students are learning subject pronouns and the verb ser. We are all busy!~ Mrs. D. Biggie

Technology: Happy New Year! In fourth grade, we are getting underway with a maker project. The students are using their

creativity to build a game or activity from cardboard. I can't wait to see what they come up with. In the primary grades we are

going to start to build and create with code. Last month we learned what coding is and this month we will use the robots, Dot

and Dash to explore and practice coding skills. In the middle school each grade is working on a variety of projects. The 8th

graders each wrote a script for a digital story about themselves and will start to create a movie with the script, pictures and

music. (**Reminder: next week 8th grade students will need digital copies of photos from their childhood) ~Mrs. Andros

AIS: Happy New Year to all our Q of H families! During the month of January, Kindergarten will be focusing on

initial letter-sound correspondence. You can encourage this skill with your child at home: choose a word,

emphasize the beginning sound, and then ask your child what letter the word begins with. In first grade, students

will continue on with short vowel sounds and work into distinguishing the difference between long and short

vowels. Second graders are continuing with vocabulary development and connecting it to their ELA reading

stories. Third grade students are focusing on text features, verb tenses, and synonyms. As we look to the end of

the month, Catholic Schools Week will be fast approaching. Keep reading! ~Mrs. Wach

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NEWS FROM ALL AROUND

Mrs. Katie Wagner

Mrs. Wagner has been teaching at Queen of Heaven

School for 4 years. She loves the positive outlook of

school and how staff and students strive to showcase the

love and light of our Lord. Mrs. Wagner teaches 5th and

6th grade ELA. She loves teaching figurative language

and always encourages her students to use this language

while writing. Outside of school, Mrs. Wagner enjoys

spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys

family walks and runs with her husband and son,

Harrison. Did you know that Mrs. Wagner has a twin

sister?

TEACHERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Mr. Joe Morgan

Mr. Joe Morgan

Mr. Morgan has been teaching Physical

Education at Queen of Heaven School for 14

years. His favorite thing about QofH is the

“family feel” environment. In his spare time, Mr.

Morgan enjoys technology, music, and sports.

Did you know that Mr. Morgan was a member of

the Erie County Chorus?

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What’s New At The Q?

FACES IN THE CROWD