Dear CAS Parent Community:

As we head into the WASC accreditation process, it is important that we speak to all members of the CAS community. As parents of CAS students, you play a significant part in your child's education. We feel that your opinion is important.

Please take a few minutes to complete this anonymous online survey. The results will guide CAS Administration in making decisions to enrich student learning.

Please click the following link:

Thank you in advance,

Catholic Academy of Sunnyvale

No School

Friday, April 29th-Teacher In Service

Preschool through Eighth Grade

Farewell Fr. Mike

Please join us at St. Cyprian Church for Fr. Mikes last mass Sunday, April 17th at 8:30 A.M.

We thank Fr. Mike for his service and dedication to both St. Cyprian Parish and the Catholic Academy of Sunnyvale.

Free Dress to students who attend in full formal uniform.

PTG Meeting!

All parents are welcome. Please join us for a meeting with the Parent Teacher Group.

Thursday, April 21st at 5:30 P. M.

A Letter from the Principal...

Dear Parent,

This week has been a busy one as we wrap up this year and prepare for the next. We are thrilled to be working with Shea Family Charities on the upcoming renovations and preparing ourselves for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges visit the first week in May. There is much to be done and much to be hopeful about in the near future.

There are a few things that have come to my attention in the last weeks with questions about roles, responsibilities and how we might better foster healthier middle school student relationships. While I truthfully share that all of the above are works in progress, I will share a little here for the sake of clarity on the process and the work at hand.

First, let me address the role of the principal. There has been a shift and some have expressed confusion over the change, and I would like to clarify. Prior to my leadership at CAS, the principal seemed more hands on, more present in the day to day activities and interactions than may be apparent now. True. The role of the former administration was to heal any division in the merging of the two schools and put the Drexel program in place, and in that, the last principal served both goals. However, the fiscal planning, curriculum development and strategic planning were put on the back burner. As you can imagine, those areas are critical and I was hired specifically to take CAS to a viable, Drexel model, and to address these areas. In doing so, some of the "presence" has been transformed from the high touch relationships to meetings, planning and relationships beyond the immediate school community. This work is just coming into play with the multiple investments from outside the school community going into the facility including the new lock system, the professional cleaning of the storage areas and the upcoming refresh of the WiFi system and the extensive renovation scheduled for the summer.

In looking at this model early on, it was clear that there would be needs on the administration that could not be met with only my time, and I was given the green light to appoint Breigh Finnerty as a part-time vice principal to address more of the day to day operations. She is bright, dedicated and has a passion for high quality education and the success of Catholic Academy. But, as one of our strongest language arts teachers, we could not entirely spare her from the classroom either. One of our greatest challenges this year in the office has been to find the balance in these responsibilities. And, while we have come a long way, we have more to do on this front. Over the summer, we will be working as a team and with SAC and Drexel leadership to create a clear organizational chart to help with delineation of duties and clarity in the school community.

In the meantime, we are also working on an affordable staffing model to best meet the known needs.

Secondly, I want to let you know that we have been working through some issues of bullying in the middle school especially in sixth and seventh grade. It has come to our attention over the last few months that some of our students are struggling with some unhealthy relationship patterns which seem, at least in seventh grade, to be exacerbated by the complex feelings about Mr. Williams' leave that begins on Wednesday.

We have talked to students on a few occasions - both as a group and privately. We will be looking more closely at this issue, and will consider adopting a formal program to alleviate the issue if our intervention strategies this spring do not yield results. CAS kids are good kids, and we know that they may just need a bit more guidance on how to negotiate the social dynamics that all middle schools bring. Just as "bullying" habits are not formed overnight, neither is the solution. But it is on our radar and we are taking aggressive steps to address the known issues.

I am so grateful for the kindness and support of my colleagues, friends and parents in negotiating the complexities of the principal role at CAS. And I ask for your continued help in communication and problem solving as we prepare for

2016-17. Our plans are impressive, and it is only together that they can be achieved.

Please join me if you are free tomorrow morning at 8:30 for Father Mike's last Mass as pastor of St. Cyprian's. He will be missed by many. (And those students who come in uniform have free dress on Monday.)

May God bless us all.

Warm Regards,

Susan Morrissey

Principal

This week in the classroom...

Preschool

This week in the toddler classroom we welcomed a new friend! We are reviewing the letters "A, B, and C" as well as the sounds that they make.

PRESCHOOL CONFERENCES are coming up! Sign ups are in the classroom:

Monday, April 25th, Tuesday April 26th, and Wednesday April 27th

TODDLER CONFERENCES are coming up! Sign ups are in the classroom:

Monday, May 5th; Tuesday May 6th, and Thursday May 7th

Kindergarten

This week, we extended our lesson on plants as students began to make their own flowers. With the help of Mr. Silvestre, the Kindergarteners worked diligently to create their leaves, petals, stem and center of their flower. Students also recalled vocabulary in labeling each part of the flower and the parts of its environment.

First Grade

This week during 1st grade English Language Arts, students learned about comparing and contrasting two texts. They were able to identify and write about key similarities and differences in learning about birdbaths. This station rotation model also involved the students working on individualized lessons on their iPads.

Second Grade

The continuing journey into research for the biography reports. Second graders are using a trade book, the encyclopedia, biography for kids websites, and biography for kids videos.

Third Grade

This week, the 3rd students learn about measuring length to the nearest half and quarter inch. We start with reviewing fractions. Students find that a ruler is no different from a number line and that fractions are between numbers. To measure the length of something, students align one end of the item with the zero mark on the ruler. Where the tip of the item ends mark its length. When an item is too long, a different unit of measure can also be used such as by feet and yards.

Fourth Grade

The 4th grade class exhibits their station rotation model during their math lesson. Students are practicing concepts of decimals in relation to money. The class is divided into groups and have 20 minutes per station. Students learn more about money concept at one station as they work with money. At the next station, students solve word problems and check their answer using QR codes specific to each problem. Finally, students work one-on-one with the teacher to better understand the concepts of the day.

Language Arts

To Be Or Not To Be...

The 8th grade Language Arts class is beginning to explore the world of William Shakespeare. The class was asked to create KWL posters on what they KNOW about Shakespeare, what they WANT to know about Shakespeare, and what do they want to LEARN about Shakespeare. We used research tools to answer some of our questions and found some pretty interesting answers! For instance, did you know his wife's name was Anne Hathaway?

Science

The sixth grade class is learning about hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones.

Seventh grade life science is studying fungi and the benefits that humanity receives from them.

The eighth grade class is learning about speed and velocity. They are also building chemical propelled race cars.

STEM is discovering how air resistance works by building parachutes.

Art

Students are having fun creating stained glass art work. Artist Marc Chagall produced a number of paintings in glass with colorful, dream-like images symbolizing peace, love, tolerance and faith. In light of this fact, students can begin to understand an artist’s ability to share healing, inspiration and encouragement, using “peace” as a theme.​​

Although the stained glass projects were inspired by Marc Chagall, the students were able to choose their own themes. Some chose Star Wars, island, animal, and nature themes.

Physical Education

Our volleyball unit is marching right along. This week has been focused on bumping and serving techniques in preparations for upcoming scrimmages. The popularity of this sport has even crossed over into recess and lunch activities (not to mention our winning after-school teams). Next week, the 4th and 5th grade can look forward to a special training session by Coach Eiian Reyes, winner of our "PE Coach for a day" auction prize.

REMINDER TO PARENTS: PE Uniform shoes for Boys and Girls (Dress Code)

* Shoe are to be solid black, closed-toe with a rubber sole

* Shoes must tie, Velcro, or buckle

Athletic shoes worn on PE days are to be sturdy and of standard color (mostly white, black gray or navy) free from sparkles, lights, wheels, or characters (such as Batman or Hello Kitty). Shoelaces must be white or black (no neon). Canvas shoes, neon shoes, or slip-on shoes are not permitted for PE.

--From CAS Parent/Student Handbook

Extended Care

Color has been a big theme this week at Extended Care as we have had some wonderful city-scape creations using pastel chalks, giant letter name designs and bright expanding star projects. Special "thank you" goes to the Sherwood family for their wonderful snack donation on Wednesday. A sneak peek from future PE coach Eiian as he helped us create a very special snack for his classmates which we have simply called, "The Eiian."

While the sun is out longer and parents are in a hurry to get all their little ones home, please help us to help you better by having your child take an extra moment or two to make sure that all of their belongings are going home as well. From the cold mornings to the warm afternoons sweaters are coming off, and not always ending up in backpacks. Please make assurances to get any missing items returned by writing/labeling your child's name on all possessions that might slip or peel off.

Babysitter or an uncle from out of town picking up your child? Please make sure these persons are on your child's Emergency pick up/Student information sheet. Not sure? Contact the director via phone or email at 'glee@catholicacademysun.org'. The sooner the information, the better.

Athletics

CAS sports has been very exciting this week with volleyball and soccer!

Junior sports had a great time this week learning how to pass and dribble in soccer. They are all becoming awesome soccer players and enjoy scoring goals!

To end the week we have JVB playing tonight at 4:45pm here at CAS.

Also this Saturday April 16th at st. Francis high school Jenna Aldover will be representing CAS in the annual track meet. Her first heat is at 2:00pm. Please come and show her how much support and school spirit she has behind her! Good Luck Jenna!