I Love to Work!

Today has been a very good day. After a non-stop work week of putting in 10 to 13 hour days, attending evening meetings, and spending a good portion of Saturday on the soccer field watching several of our St. Ann teams in action; today I got to relax. I enjoyed time with family, attended Mass, went out for lunch after Mass, finished reading The Outsiders (What a great read!), watched the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Singapore and several episodes of Barnwood Builders, cooked dinner and did laundry for the week.

Is this what I do every Sunday? I would say that's pretty close to what most of my Sundays look like. Need to throw a few English Premier League games into the mix.

What does this have to do with St. Ann? Nothing and everything. Since I spend 55-60 hours per week at St. Ann, thought you should know a little bit about what I do on my day off.

What else do I think you should know? Well, I love to work. I work 55-60 per week because I enjoy doing my job. No one requires me to put in that much time at St. Ann. I do so because I receive lots of satisfaction from a job well-done. I derive fulfillment not from helping people be happy, but from helping people be better. If I can help the students become better at everything they do, I receive fulfillment.

Do I do all this so the students can make the honor roll, achieve high test scores, and prepare them for high school and beyond? Well, those are great and admirable things to strive for. But, I do all this work to help the students obtain salvation. In working for their salvation, I hope to develop students who are well-adjusted in life, who will serve those in the community in need, and who make a positive impact on society.

How do I hope to accomplish this? Mainly through example. I want a school full of adults who set the right example of walking the talk of Christianity every day to help make the students better people.

We need to teach our students to be better people. That means teaching responsibility; pushing our students academically; expecting them to have proper behavior; teaching them about kindness, compassion and service; and most of all, developing their faith and love.

The test scores will come. The success in high school and beyond will happen. All of this will take place if we focus on making our students better people by setting the proper examples and holding them accountable. If we all follow the examples Jesus set for us, we will all be better people.


What prompted me to write this particular blog? All of today's readings: Amos, Psalms, 1 Timothy, and Luke. If you didn't hear or read today's readings, CLICK HERE to do so.

Have a great week.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

Donor Luncheon

Thank You Donors!

St. Ann family and friends are very supportive and are an extremely necessary part of our school. Because of the generosity of those who support St. Ann Catholic School, we have been able to hold steady on tuition from last year. We hope to hold steady again for next year. We won't know if this is possible until March of 2020 when we put the budget together. If we can follow the plan we put in place for each department to not go over-budget, we will probably be able to hold where we are on tuition. To me, Catholic education needs to be affordable and available to all who want to be a part of St. Ann.

St. Ann Donor Luncheon

The cost of operating a school goes up every year. So, how can we expect to hold steady on tuition? The answer to that question is that our donors make this possible. Simple. No secret formula. No magic spells. No complicated master plan. Our donors provide the school with gifts to make financial aid possible in order to help families needing tuition assistance. Our donors fulfill teacher wish lists to better help educate our students. Our donors pay for school improvements, renovations, and updates. Our donors purchase classroom furniture. Our donors enable us to improve school security. Our donors help us keep current on technology... You get the picture.

St. Ann Donor Luncheon

Because of what all our donors do for St. Ann, we are able to hold tuition steady. Donors pay for all non-budgeted items the school needs. If we add those items to the budget, the per pupil cost would increase. The per pupil increase would reflect on the tuition. The lower the per pupil cost, the lower the tuition.

We just need to continue to work hard to improve our school (Good things come to those who work hard and never quit.), stay true to our mission statement (Our mission is to provide a Catholic education through faith, service, and love.), stick to our philosophy of transparency (the reason this blog exists), include our families in day-to-day operations, continuously develop an already incredible faculty and staff, and do all this while keeping Christ and our students first.

This past Thursday, St. Ann hosted a donor luncheon. We wanted to bring our donors together to

St. Ann Donor Luncheon

simply say "Thank You" because without you, not sure St. Ann would still be here. Thank you for your faith, service, and love.

Sixty of our donors where able to break away from their busy lives to come tour St. Ann, have lunch together, and allow us the privilege of appreciating their commitment to St. Ann. It was a great day for school. For some of our donors, they had not been in the school building in decades. For others, this was their first time to visit the school.

Thank you parents, grandparents, alumni, parishioners, and friends of St. Ann Catholic School for your support. Thank you for helping to improve the lives of our students. Thank you for helping to keep our tuition affordable. Thank you for helping our teachers educate our students. Thank you for valuing a Catholic education. And, thank you for your love.

If you would like to support the students at St. Ann Catholic Schools, here are some ways you too can help.

Annual Giving

Sister Connie Passing on the Faith Scholarship

Alumni: Click Here to share your information with the school

Wish List Part 1

Wish List Part 2

If you have questions on how you can support St. Ann Catholic School, please contact Angela de Jong at angela.dejong@sascolts.org. Mrs. de Jong is our development director.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal
St. Ann Catholic School

St. Ann Wish List Part 2

This week's blog is PART 2 of the St. Ann Wish List.  PART 1 is still online. CLICK HERE to view the first wish list. Lyrics2Learn Starfall, and 10 of the 20 head phones have all been donated.

If you would like to help the students and teachers with wish list items, you can either purchase them directly and have the item(s) sent to St. Ann or you donate directly to St. Ann and specify where you want your gift directed. CLICK HERE to go to our donation page.

PK-4, Mrs. Harty’s class, would like to add a Sony CFDS7-BLK CD/MP3 Cassette Boombox Home Audio Radio. The computer is across the room from the carpet area, and is too hard to use when Mrs Harty has to keep going across the room. The religion series for PK has a lot of songs with it. The class also has a lot of books on cassette tape, which could be utilized for student learning. The cost for this radio is $60.49 through Amazon.

PK3 would like to have a SUNYAO Kids Kitchen Step Stool with Safety Rail so the students can safely reach the sink when washing their hands.  The cost of the step stool with safety rail is $79.99 through Amazon.

Ms. Scarlett, the art teacher, has added several items to the wish list.  This includes real clay, color sharpies, watercolors, crayons, and difference sizes of canvases. These items can be purchased pretty much anywhere from Knowledge Tree to Target to Michael’s. Ms. Scarlett did not specify a quantity. I’m guessing that we need whatever is given for art class.

The first item on Mrs. Wendenon’s SPARKS wish list is to develop a classroom library.  A library wish list of books for SPARKS already exists on Amazon.  CLICK HERE to access the wish list. Books range from $5 to $24. The selection is pretty extensive.

Mrs. Wendenon would also like to have a Furinno 5-Cube Reversible Open Shelf, White/Light Blue, 11069 WH/LBL to house the new SPARKS classroom library. The cost is $25.13 through Amazon.

SPARKS students would like to have a class subscription to Mystery Science https://mysteryscience.com. A class subscription is $99 per year.

 And, SPARKS students would also like to have a subscription to Generation Genius. https://www.generationgenius.com  A one year subscription is $120.

We doubled the number of students in SPARKS this year. The students are excited and so is the St. Ann staff.

Mr. Gage would like a classroom set (25 copies) of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The paperback is about $10 through Amazon.  He would like to use this book for the 8^th graders. The Alchemist is one of my favorite books. Might have to read it again the students.

PK4, Mrs. Morgan’s class, would like to have a  The Learning Journey Code and Learn! Ladybug and The Learning Journey Code and Learn! Space Ship. The cost of these is between $24 and $44 through Amazon. These two are also available through Walmart.

Mrs. Miller’s 4^th grade class would like to have 10 Webster’s Student Dictionaries. Working on reading and writing, the dictionaries will come in handy. It is important for the students to learn to look up words and definitions instead of just Googling (Google as a verb). The cost is less than $5 each through Knowledge Tree or Novel for those wanting to shop local.

 

Mrs. Miller would also like to have a yearly subscription to Flocabulary.  CLICK HERE to see how Flocabulary works to keep students engaged. If students are not engaged, learning will not take place. A yearly subscription for the 4^th grade class is $120.

Mrs. Ghio has asked for two televisions and wall mounts for the new study rooms in the libraries. Students will be able to use Apple TV when collaborating, and teachers can use them for small group instruction. The rooms in the library have been converted to study rooms for student use. Each Toshiba TV costs $230 and the Wall Mount Bracket costs $32.

We have a great school, and through your support we just keep getting better. The new school year is off to a great start. Thank you.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

2019-20 St. Ann Wish List

We have a number of very generous supporters who asked me to post a school wish list for non-budgeted items the students and teachers need. Below is a wish list the teachers have started sending my way. There will be more items to come and some items have already been gifted to us, so I have taken them off the wish list.

If you would like to contribute to one or more of the wish list items, please CLICK HERE to access our giving page. In the comment section, please designate the wish list item you would like to help purchase.

For the computer lab near the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade classrooms- Califone International CII3068AV10L Switchable Headphones Classpack of 10.  Each set of 10 is $93.13.  We need two sets for a total of $186.26. To be used for IXL and ReadWorks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013TQ7E50/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

For our growing school band: Used musical instruments in good condition.  If you have a used band instrument you no longer use, we are in need of instruments because the school band is growing, improving, and competing.

Patrick’s Press Quiz Pro Deluxe buzzer system for Knowledge Bowl competition.  The cost of the system plus shipping is $525.  $510 has been donated so for towards the purchase of the buzzer system. We are on $15 away from being able to make this purchase for the Knowledge Bowl team.  http://www.patrickspress.com/buzzers1.htm

BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. are educational websites with over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K-12, together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, and arts and music.  The cost for an annual subscription for the whole school is $2,550. An annual subscription for an individual teacher is $230 for BrainPop and $175 for BrainPop Jr.  https://www.brainpop.com

Starfall was created to teach children to read.  It includes language arts and mathematics for PK-3rd grade.  Starfall’s emphasis on phonemic awareness, systematic sequential phonics, and common sight words in conjunction with audiovisual interactivity has proven effective in teaching emergent readers.  Starfall activities are research-based and align with individual and common core state standards in English language arts and mathematics.  The cost for a school membership is $270.  The PK teachers have added Starfall to the school’s wish list.  

www.starfall.com

Jupiter JTU700 Tuba is the band director's dream. This 3/4 size tuba includes a detachable lead pipe, valve body and bell for easy cleaning and repair, plus durable construction that is perfect for the classroom. The tighter wrap and compact size will not overly tax younger players, while still offering an ample dynamic range and rich, sweet tone. The 378 tuba features stainless steel piston valves for easy action, plus a size, which makes the sound easy to control for beginning tuba player. The Jupiter JTU700 is a full-sounding 3/4 tuba any band director will enjoy hearing hold down the low end.  The cost for this tuba is $3,389.

If you have any questions regarding the wish list, please feel free to contact me at didier.aur@sascolts.org. Thank you.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal

St. Ann Catholic School

Happy :)

5th Grade Altar Servers with Fr. Bill

I wasn't planning to blog during Easter weekend because there are more important things to do during this weekend, especially to go to church and spend time with family. Between attending services at St. Ann and St. Michael and being with my family, it was a pretty full and wonderful weekend. But, I decided to take part of today to write a blog for this week. I'll take another week off some other time.

I will begin with a realization that struck me

Empty Tabernacle on Holy Thursday

like a jolt when Fr. Ernie left the tabernacle empty at the end of the Holy Thursday Mass. I was actually moved and saddened seeing the empty tabernacle. That's when I realized that when the tabernacle is empty, the tomb is not, and vice-versa; full tabernacle equals an empty tomb. I know for most people it is probably a "duh, of course it is" moment. For me, it was a very moving epiphany. If I got nothing else out of Easter this year, that realization is enough for me in appreciating even more Jesus's sacrifice for us all. Without the resurrection, Christianity would not exist. An empty tabernacle means no resurrection.

That's why the chief priests and elders "gave a large sum of money to the soldiers" to say that "His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep." This is from today's Gospel reading. (Matthew 28:8-15) If they convinced everyone that the resurrection did not take place, then there would be no risen Lord.

As for this blog, you might think that the title of this blog, Happy :), is for Happy Easter. I guess it could be since this is the most important day for all of Christendom. So, I do wish everyone a Happy Easter, and that all of you spent time in prayer giving thanks for the resurrection.

As for the title, it is for another Happy. So, I have an assignment for St. Ann families. Actually, this assignment is for anyone reading this blog. When you are looking for something to do as a family, please take the time to watch the  documentary Happy by Roko Belic on Netflix. The reason I suggest watching Happy as a family is because it is a documentary and some of the younger family members might need just a little explaining about what some of the researchers are saying about happiness. In this fast-paced, self-centered, negative leaning, materialistic world of instant gratification we live in; we many times forget the importance of happiness, compassion, caring, gratitude, love, appreciation, while thinking of things bigger than ourselves, and making the world a better place.

This documentary shows the happiest and least happiest people on earth. The producers/researchers of this documentary traveled the globe to learn more about happiness. We could all use a big dose of happiness and a lot less drama and unhappiness. It is easy to get caught up in a world of negativity. In my family, we call it negativitude. This just means having a negative attitude. Need to replace it with lots and lots of positivitude. Or as Jason Mraz says in his song Have It All, "May the best of your todays be the worst of your tomorrows." Happy is definitely worth watching. If you need some happiness, this might just be the kick start you need. It was a great reminder to me to focus more energy to just be happy.

I was able to spend half of Holy Thursday and all of Good Friday at St. Ann all by myself trying my best to make the school better for next year. We are up to date on teacher contracts for the 2019-20 school year. Still have a few more hires to make because we are growing. I have also completed a big chunk of the budget for next year. There are a few things to add but not many.

With the improvements we have made, people recognize the changes being made to make our school a better place for our students. And, these folks believe in our mission and the work we are doing so they are entrusting their children to our care. This means the number of students and families joining our school is on the rise. We have already surpassed this year's enrollment for next year, and it is still April.

No matter how much we've improved, there are a few families who believe the grass is greener somewhere else and some who don't like the fact that I'm asking the teachers to push the students to the next level. That's fine. My job is not to make everyone happy. My job is to make St. Ann the best school possible. We've made lots of improvements and plan to make even more in the future.

I was once told by a great leader that if I and my actions are universally liked, then I'm not pushing hard enough.

With that being said, my goal is to make St. Ann the best school. Another goal is to be the best principal I can possibly be. I don't show up every day to be average. I don't work hard to just get by. I don't work to bring people on board trying to be mediocre. I do all these things in striving to be the best. And, I'm going to do it through hard work, putting together a great team, and most importantly by being HAPPY! For those who are on board and happy, let's kick this pig, together! In other words, let's get started! Let's get started anew every morning in making St. Ann a better school.

Alumni Spotlight:

Ashlen Cook made the Color Guard team at SBA! SBA is starting a marching band and color guard for the first time starting next school year. Also, the SBA Rock and Soul Band went to Atlanta last weekend for a band trip and performed for the students at Hamilton Middle & High School. In addition, their last concert will be this coming Sunday, April 28th, at Neil's Music Room from 4-6 pm. Cover charge is $5. Ashlen is a vocalist for the band and there are four other St. Ann alums in the band- Jack Conway, Wyatt Packard, Matthew Li, and Andrew Mays.

If you have never been to Neil's, it is a treat. Neil Heins is a great guy and a supporter of Catholic education.

God bless you,
Didier Aur, Principal