Congratulations to all young men & women who committed to serve the Church of Saint Ann's community as altar servers during the Altar Server Commissioning ceremony last week. Among them a few Saint Ann School students from grades 4-8. We are very proud of them and thank them for their service and dedication.

Saint Ann School students officially kicked off the Prayer Buddies program last week. Once again, students in grades 4-8 were paired with students in grades PreK-3rd to be their role models and help them during the school year. Prayer Buddies meet on a regular basis during events like the monthly school liturgy, PTA assemblies, days of service and other special activities. The Prayer Buddies program has been a Saint Ann School tradition for many years. It brings all students together, creates a sense of family, and it's the first step for all our students toward active citizenship that contributes to the local community.

On Monday, 11/11, Veterans Day, Saint Ann School gathered in the gym to pray and remember all the veterans of our Armed Forces. Students and staff celebrated Veterans Day with a prayer service that included the Pledge of Allegiance, the National Anthem & a special prayer for all men & women who served our country. Thank you for your service & God bless America!

Saint Ann School Families, this is a reminder that Thursday, 11/07, and Friday, 11/08, we will be holding Parent-Teacher Conferences. Thursday, November 7th, is an early dismissal (12:15 pm). After School Program IS available. Friday, 11/08 there is no school for students. Conferences are being held all day.

Saint Ann School Fall Open House for prospective families will be held on Wednesday, 11/13 at 9 am and 7 pm. Families considering Saint Ann School for their children's education are invited to attend one of the two sessions. The Open House will begin with a brief presentation in the school cafeteria followed right after with the tour of our school during which parents and guardians will have a peek of what life is at SAS and will have the chance to meet our faculty and staff.

Saint Ann School is full STREAM ahead! On Halloween Mrs. Meyer kicked off the SAS STREAM program with a series of activities for grades PreK-4 including building with Lego, reading, experimenting with balloons and building a spiderweb. Stay tuned for more STREAM instruction during our Thanksgiving STREAM Day!

October is Cancer Awareness Month and Saint Ann School students and staff showed their support with a Pink & Emerald Green Dress Down Day for $1. Everyone came to school in their best pink and green to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness and Liver Cancer Awareness. All donations will go to support the fight against cancer as we celebrate all survivors and remember all victims and their families.

It's of-fish-al! The rainbow trout eyed eggs have arrived! Saint Ann School once again is participating in the Trout in the Classroom Program. Mrs. Daniel & her Trout Team Club, along with all middle school students are ready to care for hundreds of trout from eggs to fingerlings. A total of 266 eggs were received & students in the Trout Team Club helped Mrs. Daniel to separate the good eggs (251) from the dead ones (15). Students will care & monitor the eggs learning about trout & their ecosystem. To follow SAS Trout in the Classroom program visit Mrs. Daniel's blog https://stannscience.weebly.com/2019-2020-trout-in-the-classroom

Saint Ann School Families, I am excited to announce that the final permits for the kitchen renovation project have been issued. Today, Tue. 10/22, following dismissal, the lunch provider and kitchen contractor will be meeting to set-up a temporary food service area in the cafeteria. Gretalia Hospitality is going to be bringing in the hot lunch each day during the construction. We are in communication with the health department to ensure we are following all health codes for the duration of the project. The demolition and construction will begin Wednesday, October 23rd. The project is estimated to take 3 to 4 weeks. Following the completion of the project, we will need to wait for final inspection prior to opening it back up for service. This would put us in line for a reopening of the kitchen around Thanksgiving if everything goes as planned. The project will be an inconvenience but is necessary to meet current health code requirements as well as provide us with a fully functioning kitchen. Please reach out to me with any questions and/or concerns you may have regarding the renovation. Thank you, Salvatore Chiaravalloti Principal

Congratulations to our very own Ms. Shields for winning the DeSimone Orthodontics Teacher Wish List contest! With this prize, Ms. Shields was able to purchase extra material for her classroom. Thank you, Dr. DeSimone, for helping Ms. Shields and Saint Ann School to bring flexible seating to our 8th-grade classroom!

During Ms. Liepins' art class, our students create many beautiful artworks every day! 5th grade is learning about El Dia de Los Muertos and creating Calaveras de azúcar or sugar skulls out of paper. 6th & 7th grade had a still life demo class inspired by the catacombs in Paris. Kindergarten learned about warm & cold colors while making sun creations. These are only a few of the creative artwork and techniques Ms. Liepins is teaching our students. Check out her Twitter account @SASartroom and the school Instagram for more! @st.annschool_nj

El Dia de Los Muertos is coming to Saint Ann! The Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico between October 31st and November 2nd. It's a time to remember deceased loved ones and honor them. The Day of the Dead is a festive occasion, a time to celebrate, much like a family reunion. Making an altar (or ofrenda as it's sometimes called in Spanish) for the occasion can be a way for you to honor the life of someone who was important to you or remembers your ancestors. Mrs. Laccetti and her Spanish class students will be making an Altar or Ofrenda table and displaying it at the entrance of our school. Anyone at Saint Ann School who would like to remember a special person will be able to contribute to the Ofrenda with a picture, a small candle, or a note remembering something special about their loved ones who passed.

It's Dress Down Wednesday for staff & faculty at Saint Ann School! In appreciation to the PTA, we will be having a dress down day on Wednesdays when staff & faculty are invited to wear jeans & the new PTA gift: the SAS polo shirt. Thank You to our PTA for all the wonderful things you do for us and to all SAS families for your constant support!

Saint Ann School families: the Crusader Corner School Store is open for business and will be selling in the cafeteria at all lunch periods the following Mondays: 10/21, 11/4, 11/17, 12/2, and 12/16. Show your school spirit! Please send cash with your child on those days if they wish to make a purchase.

Saint Ann School is happy to announce a new after school club: the Readers-R-Leaders Book Club. The club is open to students grades 3 through 8 and meets every Tuesday from 2:30 pm to 3:45 pm under the supervision of Mrs. Meyer. The first session of this club will run from 10/15/19 to 12/03/19. Students will be reading an assigned chapter of the book "The Christmas Genie" by Dan Gutman each week and participate in fun & engaging activities related to the book. With this club, we hope children will develop a love of reading and show their creative side. For more information visit our website https://saintannschool.org/clubs-activities-1

Students in 2 & 3 grade are starting a new unit in Mrs. Moya's Music class. Based on the grade, all students were given a Precorder, Recorder, and Method book and started to make some noise that will turn soon into beautiful music with the guidance of our wonderful music director Mrs. Moya!

Saint Ann School 3rd-grade students visited Howell Living History Farm for their field trip this week. They traveled back in time and experienced what life used to be in 1700. 1800, and 1900. They tasted food from those time periods in the newly renovated Pleasant Valley Kitchen, visited a 1900s schoolroom, and had homemade ice cream. No need for a time machine though for this great experience, just a quick ride on a school bus!

The 2nd-grade students learned about being good, safe digital citizens while being online. In Mrs. Meyer's Technology class, they read the book The Tweeting Galah by Kim Maslin. Little Galah was learning how to fly and his teacher told him not to use his phone as it could be quite dangerous. He decided he wanted to take a selfie with his friends while they were flying and then post it on social media. Of course, his teacher saw the post because we learned that what you put online can be seen by lots and lots of people so we must always be careful what we post. The class made wonderful Gabo’s, the tweeting Galah. They loved being a part of the book using augmented reality. It was a fun and creative lesson.

Saint Ann Schools students are exposed to service every day. Some of them took it a step further last weekend when they participated in the 2019 Walk to End Alzheimer's. Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide, the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. One of our 7th graders lost his grandmother last year to Alzheimer's and to honor her he decided to form a team and participate in the walk, raising not only awareness but also almost $3,000 to donate to research. The team's name is Forever Young and has 16 members, 7 of whom were St Ann students. Our 7th grader effort made an impression on the Executive Director of the walk who asked him to step on stage and address the crowd with a few words at the opening of the event. Finding the walk to be very rewarding, he plans to put together a team again next year and hopes that more of his school mates will join him. To know more about the association and his effort, visit https://act.alz.org/site/TR?pg=personal&px=16655579&fr_id=12544

“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. Today Saint Ann School will gather outside for the Blessing of the Animals to celebrate St. Francis of Assisi day (10/03). Mrs. Socha's preschool class learned all about St Francis and how to be good to the animals. Students brought in stuffed animals and prayed for them. Then they made bird feeders to take care of our friends outside.