Saint Ann School Families, don't miss out on the fun and learning! Check out Mrs. Ortiz's Library Corner on her webpage and find out what's happening this month at the library: lots of Easter activities, virtual events, new book ideas, and information about our school Spring Book Fair, which will take place from April 09 to April 22, online only! Visit our website for more information and details www.saintannschool.org/pat-ortiz

Saint Ann School families, we challenge you to "Unplug to Recharge"! How do you keep your brain active when you're not plugged in? Show us something that you do that doesn't have an app for that. Starting today and throughout your Easter break, snap a picture and email your photos to afallon@st-ann-school.org

Over the last 3 weeks, Saint Ann School students from all grades have been working exceptionally hard in Technology class designing ASCII Text Art, learning about Hexidecimal Code, building, flying, and creating origami. Mrs. Meyer is so proud of her kids and misses them all terribly! Keep up the good work SAS students!

Saint Ann School Families, the Diocese of Trenton is following the NJ Governor's school closure plan and as such, any decision on when schools will reopen will be based on a directive from the state government. Our administration is in constant communication with the Diocese, the State of NJ, and local authorities and any update we receive will be immediately forwarded to you in an email.  Thank you for your support and stay healthy!

Saint Ann School families... just a small reminder to do our civic duty and fill out the 2020 Census at https://my2020census.gov/ It helps with funding for our school community but also the community you live in! it helps the community get highway planning construction, grants for public transport, special education grants, supports wildlife, provide housing for the most vulnerable! So if you haven't yet, complete your Census today!

Congratulations to Saint Ann School students who entered the Mercer County Science & Engineering Fair and brought home awards! Students submitted pictures and reports of their Science Fair Projects to participate in this year's virtual version of the Fair. For elementary and middle school, this is the breakdown of awards: Superior = 1st, Outstanding = 2nd, Meritorious = 3rd, and Honorable Mention. And the winners are... Jillian Yao- Outstanding Achievement. Project Title: "Can You Keep the Noise Down? The Effect of Soundproofing Materials on Sound Transmission." Category: General Science (Junior). William Black- Outstanding Achievement. Project Title: HOLD IT IN - The Effect of Insulation Material on the Temperature. Category: General Science (Junior). Spencer Williams- Meritorious Achievement. Project Title: Assessing Adverse Effects of Vape & Cigarette Emissions. Category: General Science (Junior). Harry Ravenel- Meritorious Achievement. Project Title: The Effect of Color on Taste Perception. Category: General Science (Junior). Neve Sirois- Meritorious Achievement. Project Title: "Stand or Sit." Category: General Science (Elementary). Congratulations on your achievements! We are proud of you!

Saint Ann School Student Council is working on a new project to connect our students and family during this long and forced break. The program is called "Kindness Rocks" and it's the perfect project to work on at home with your family! All you need is a few rocks from outside (maybe pick up some when you go on a walk) and some paint or markers to decorate your rock. Make it colorful for everyone to see and with your family use your creativity to think of a phrase or word that you think is kind. Once your rocks are ready, hold on to them! Student Council is still working on the details and how to get the rocks to school to be displayed outside. So stay tuned for updates! To learn more about the Kindness Rocks project visit www.thekindnessrocksproject.com

Dear Parents and Guardians, our prayers are with you and your families as we work together to respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19). This past week has been a learning experience for all of us. Our administrators and faculty are working to deliver a new learning platform to meet the needs of your children. The students represent the new pioneers of 2020 in this unique learning environment. With understanding, support and a gentle spirit, we work together in this unprecedented time. To mitigate further spread of the virus, the closure of all schools and religious education classes in the Diocese of Trenton has been extended through April 17, 2020...

Since NJ Governor Murphy gave a Stay at Home order beginning Saturday, 03/21 at 9 pm, it was now or never for Saint Ann School trout to be released, rather than dying due to poor water quality or not being fed since his order was indefinite in terms of time. Many of the teachers who implemented the "Trout in the Classroom" program released their trout last week before their schools closed. SAS science teacher Mrs. Daniel followed suit and released our trout last Saturday before the lock-down, with the help of some family members. For the final updates of our "Trout in the Classroom" program visit Mrs. Daniels website www.stannscience.weebly.com

Saint Ann School Families, I have been receiving questions about Friday, 03/20, originally a scheduled Professional Development Day for teachers with students off school. On Friday there will be NO e-learning. Teachers will be taking the day to prepare and plan further distance learning lessons for the students. This is necessary for the following week but also in case, this situation goes beyond the originally determined 2-week time period. Thank you and God Bless, Salvatore Chiaravalloti, Principal

Good Morning SAS Families, thank you for your patience and understanding during these unique circumstances. I wanted to share a couple of quick updates with you. Monday, 03/16 and Tuesday, 03/17 we will have a packet and book pick-up available for students who were absent on Friday. The time will be from 9 am to 11:30 am. Please come to the main office for pickup. Please note that Ms. Englander was able to mail out PreK3, Kindergarten, and 3rd-grade packets Friday, 03/13. As far as Picture Day, you may have received a reminder of the March 24th Spring picture day already, please know that we are in the process of rescheduling based on the closure. I know there are many questions, please reach out to me. As information becomes available or I get answers I will make sure to share them. God Bless and Stay Healthy! Salvatore Chiaravalloti, Principal

Saint Ann School celebrated PiDay a little early this year! Students in all grade levels were able to "Pie in the face" our principal, Mr. C, our Spanish teacher, Mrs. Laccetti, and Social Studies teacher, Ms. Shields! We had lots of fun while helping the SAS student council raise money for new picnic tables. Thank you to all who helped and contributed.

Saint Ann School Student Council members are bringing recess to the next level! Following a fundraiser the students organized and conducted in February, they used the proceeds to buy new equipment for recess. With the help of the SAS Smith family, they were also able to design and build a new equipment box to hold the new items! Ms. Shields and the rest of the staff created a system that allows all students to borrow the new equipment at recess time and return it to the box at the end of the period. We would like to extend a special thank you to Mr. Smith and the Smith Family for helping us with this project!

Lots of learning and projects going on at Saint Ann School! In Ms. Shields's middle school Social Studies class, 7th-grade students are creating their own classroom constitution based on our U. S. constitution. In 8th grade, students just presented their labor strike picket signs from Students History. And in 6th grade, students are working on an advertisement of 3 philosophies of ancient China: Taoism, Legalism, and Confucianism, as well as discussing their older religion. Meanwhile, in Ms. Liepins Art class, 8th graders earned enough points for their second art party this year: the theme was Bob Ross and the students created their own landscapes and followed along to his video tutorial to create their landscapes Artist palette. Art Club members created abstract paintings, and Preschool students worked on making sharks reproductions. They were "fin-tastic"! Great job students! keep up the good work!

To help kids better understand the Coronavirus, Malaka Gharib of the NPR blog Goats and Soda has created a comic that explains COVID-19 in simple terms for children. Read all about it with your child at https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus or visit our Library page for more information and resources.

And just like that, Mrs. Laccetti's Spanish Culture Club comes to an end. Times fly when you're having fun! The club was very successful and the students loved it! Club members and their families celebrated their last gathering with a meal at Buen Provecho Restaurant. We are looking forward to doing this again! Asta luego everyone!

Saint Ann School Middle School students have been busy at work in Ms. Shield's Social Studies class these past few days! 5th graders presented their STEAM challenge on Native American shelters! They were given a mix of natural and synesthetic materials and had to make shelters that were accurate but also strong to withstand wind and water. A mini impromptu debate in 7th grade regarding the constitutional convention had students argue on how new nations will decide on representation.

Saint Ann School Families, I wanted to provide a few updates regarding next year’s school calendar and some staffing news. The approved 2020-2021 school year calendar is now available online on our website www.saintannschool.org/sas-calendar. Next year we will be initiating a 12:00 PM Early Dismissal, this is a change from the current 12:15 PM, and also note that we will be off May 21, 2020, Ascension Thursday, for a pastoral holiday. Regarding updates to current staffing, Mr. James Jackman’s last day at Saint Ann School will be this Friday. I appreciate the work he did as the head of maintenance for the school. We will be posting the position immediately and will work with the Parish staff for any maintenance needs that we are unable to cover in-house while the search is being held. Unfortunately, we are also in need of a nurse as Mrs. Sharon Scipio is no longer with Saint Ann School. I have been in consultation with other schools and am looking to remedy this situation as soon as possible. We are working to ensure this position is filled properly to meet the needs of our student population. The reports for the STAR assessments that 2nd-8th grade has taken have been sent home with your child. Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns. God Bless, Salvatore Chiaravalloti

As part of their Dental Health study, students in Mrs. Socha's PreK-4 class painted with dental floss, pulling the floss between a sheet of paper. Mrs. Juliano's PreK3 class also worked on a project for Dental Health Month: students submerged eggs in different drinks and observed how the drink would affect the enamel on our teeth. Hands-on learning never ends at SAS!

Lent is a time to wait and grow surrounded by God's love. For their Lenten project, PreK-4 students in Mrs. Socha's class planted grass seeds and will watch them grow with the help of their love and care, as God watches them grow in faith and knowledge every day!