The Faculty & Staff of Fatima Wish You and Your Family a Joyous Holiday Season! Be Safe

December 18, 2015

The Faculty & Staff of Fatima wish you and your family a joyous holiday season! Be safe and enjoy the company of the important people in your lives.

January begins a whole new year AND a whole new semester. Parents, please realize that the grades that will be found on the next report cards WILL be on the child’s permanent record. Christmas break marks the end of the old semester. That means, when the students come back in January, they have a clean slate. It is just like starting the year over again. No grades from before Christmas will be used.

So if your child was behind in his studies, or if the grades were not where we wanted them to be, let the child know that he has nothing holding him back now. Encourage the child to keep up with homework and ask for help if needed. The teachers at Fatima will be more than happy to help a child who wants to improve.

Log Those Volunteer Hours and Clubs: Please encourage your high school student to log the hours they have spent in any volunteer opportunities and to list all the clubs/organizations they have joined. This can be done on Missouri Connections, so the child will always know where to find it! Use the resume section. What a great project to complete over Christmas break!

Class Changes: From Now until January 5th students can make changes to their second semester schedules without permission from teachers. So if your child is in a class he or she doesn’t particularly like, and if that class is not required to graduate, encourage the child to talk to me about possible changes to the schedule.

After Jan 5 any class changes will require the permission of the teachers, the parents, and the principal.

Winter Break: Our last day of school will be Friday, Dec 18 with an 11:22 dismissal. We are scheduled to return on Jan 4. Nichols resumes on Jan 5.

NHS Eligibility Lists will be posted the end of January with deadlines. Be watching!

Fatima Homecoming Events: Fatima’s homecoming week will be from Jan 18 through 22 with the homecoming game on the 22nd and the dance on the 23rd.

Fatima and Nichols so far are scheduled to be off school Jan 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr day. If we have any snow days between now and Friday, Jan 15, we will go on that day. It is considered Snow Make-up Day #1!

Sophomores: The Jostens rep will be here to show his class rings on Jan 29. Then there will be a parent night on Feb 3. Students can order rings during lunch on Feb 3.

Not much else on the calendar this month except a lot of basketball games and wrestling matches. Come see an event and enjoy the Fatima school spirit. I’ve always been proud of the sportsmanship that our players and supporters show. We are a school with pride and respect, and that says more than anything.

Calendar of Events

Dec 18 – Jan 3Winter Break

Jan 4 – Students return and 2ndSemester Starts

Jan 8 – ACT Registration Deadline for February 6 test

Jan 18 - No school unless used as snow day make-up

Jan 20 – Board of Education Meeting

Jan 22 – Homecoming Game

Jan 23 – Homecoming Dance

Jan 29 – Sophomore Jostens class ring meeting 9:00

Feb 3 – Jostens Parent Night for class rings 3:10-6

Feb 4 – Mid-Quarter reports

Feb 6 – ACT Test

Counselor’s Corner

ACT Deadline: The deadline to sign up for the February 6 ACT is January 8. Students can go online to to register.

Juniors: Start scheduling a college visit! I have given to the juniors a packet of info about college visits. The packets will help you know how to set up a tour and what to ask when you are on one. Students should organize all the college information in one packet or folder. Lots will be coming now, especially if your child has taken the ACT. Then you will get TONS of stuff. You might want to dedicate a drawer to the information!

Sophomores – or most of them: I recently met with almost all of the sophomores to discuss future plans and class selection. It would be wonderful if they would also use their Missouri Connections account to research possible careers and find the perfect field for them, or at least an area of interest. It makes it much easier to decide on classes if we know what the student wants to do. So encourage your child to do some research over Christmas break. I will meet with my last few in January!

Senior Parents: I am working on setting up a FAFSA night here again. I will try to get some professionals from Linn State Tech who know all about the FAFSA and are willing to come to Fatima to help you fill out the form.Realize that all parents who have a child that is going to tech school or college are encouraged to complete this form. It is required to get any federal financial aid and to qualify for most scholarships!

IF YOUR CHILD PLANS TO USE THE A+ GRANT, HE OR SHE MUST COMPLETE THE FAFSA!!!

IF YOUR CHILD IS A SENIOR AND IS GOING TO TECH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE, you will want to be there or you can complete it online at home.

To speed the process, have these things ready:

1) yourcompleted tax return.

Now, I know some of you can’t have your taxes completed by this date. That’s OK. Bring in last year’s taxes.

2) Create your FSA ID for the student and at least one parent. Do this at

3) Most importantly, bring in the COMPLETED Fafsa worksheet. You can get these from Mueller’s office or download them at .

Please make sure you complete this form. I guarantee it will be easier with these experts from Linn State Tech to help us through the process!

Scholarships will now be coming in like wildfire (hopefully): It seems that a lot of scholarships seem to hit right after the Christmas season. Encourage your child to watch the bulletin and to go to Mueller’s Office often. Also, make sure you have contacted your local clubs and organizations to see if they offer a scholarship. Don’t miss out!

Junior High Through Junior Parents: There are many free seminars and summer camps that are sending information starting now. These types of things really look great on scholarship forms and sometimes separate the average students from the winners! Check out the list and see if there is anything your child might be interested in doing.

I encourage all high school students to seriously consider attending one of these camps. Go to the website of a local college or of a college you might consider attending and see what summer camps they have.

Also Encourage Volunteer Activities since many scholarships require a list. Volunteer at nursing homes or the Salvation Army or a hospital or a church or for some people in your community. Tutor a child. Do something!

Juniors who took the PSAT: The results will be returned after Christmas break. Encourage your child to use the website to find colleges, scholarship, and the perfect career!

The Joke’s On You

Since I just gave the math placement test, how about some math jokes:

With the Ark settled safely after the flood, Noah opens the doors and commands the animals, “Go forth and multiply!” All the animals depart the Ark, except for two snakes in the back. Noah proclaims again, “Go forth and multiply,” yet the snakes stay put. Perturbed, Noah finally asks them, “Why have you not followed my command?” The snakes flicker their tongues and answer, “We can’t multiply, Noah—we’re Adders.”

Q: What did Al Gore play on his guitar?

A: An Algorithm

After a talking sheepdog gets all the sheep in the pen, he reports back to the farmer: “All 40 accounted for.”

“But I only have 36 sheep,” says the farmer.

“I know,” says the sheepdog. “But I rounded them up.”