October 2019 Parent Newsletter

The Amat Lancer Parent Newsletter

Volume 36 Issue 2

www.bishopamat.org

October 2019

Dates to Remember: October 1 Picture Make Up Day 2 Jostens Senior Parent Night 3-4 Jostens Grad Announcements Orders @ Lunch 4 End of Grading Period 7 No School 8 FR Class Officer Campaign Day 9 Counselors & Coffee, CC Dining Room

8:00 a.m.

10 Progress Reports Available Online, School

Mass 11:30 a.m.

12 San Gabriel Valley Religious Ed Congress 14 Eligibility Day – Athletics , Activities

Kairos 78 leaves 15 Minimum Day – 12:40 p.m. Dismissal

Kairos 78 Parents Mass 7:00 p.m.

16 Special Minimum 1:00 p.m. Dismissal

PSAT Testing – Gr. 9, 10, 11

College Visits – Gr. 12 17 Last Day to purchase Homecoming Dance tickets

Kairos 78 returns (Lib) 21 College Night – 7:00 p.m., CC 25 Homecoming – Alumni BBQ (CC) 5:00 p.m.,

Football game 7:00 p.m.

26 Homecoming Dance, (CC) 7:00 p.m.

28 Fall Blood Drive (CC) 8:00 a.m.

Parent Teacher Conferences 5:00 p.m. –

7:30 p.m. (CC)

STUDENT SERVICES Please remind your student if he/she is not feeling well during the school day, he/she should go to the Infirmary or Attendance Office to call from the school phone instead of using his/her personal device. This way, we know that the student is ill and will be better able to tend to his/her needs and check him/her out of school quickly when someone arrives to pick him/her up.

ATTENDANCE OFFICE Please note that students arriving to campus after 8:15 a.m., should always check into school at the Attendance Office. If possible, please provide him/her with a signed absent note, as well. Students that do not check in are subject to a Saturday Detention.

FALL BLOOD DRIVE Our annual Fall Blood Drive, sponsored by The City of Hope, will take place on Monday, October 28 from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the Carroll Center. Parents wishing to donate blood should remember to bring an ID to check-in at the office and receive a visitor’s pass before heading to the Carroll Center. Parents who donate blood will receive ONE parent volunteer hour.

If your son or daughter is planning to donate blood, be sure to remind him/her to bring an ID and to eat a healthy breakfast the morning of the Blood Drive.

FROM THE STUDIES OFFICE Progress Report Cards will be available online on October 10. Please note that parents and guardians can access their child’s grades by logging onto the Parent Portal, following the instructions on pages 51- 52 of the Lancer Life. If a parent or guardian does not have their account information to view grades online, please contact Registrar, Mrs. Monica Leon (ext. 7449) for access.

PROGRESS REPORTS Parent Teacher Conferences will take place on Monday, October 28 from 5:00 – 7:30 p.m. in the Carroll Center. This event offers parents an opportunity to briefly meet individually with teachers to discuss the student’s academic progress. Arrangements for longer meetings outside of the parent-teacher conference event should be made by contacting each directly via email.

FROM THE COUNSELING DEPARTMENT Counselors recently attended University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) Conferences. They also visited senior homerooms on Wednesday, September 25, to share information regarding college applications. They are currently meeting with seniors individually to offer assistance with the college application process. The deadline for both the UC and CSU systems is November 30 – private college deadlines vary. College representatives have begun visiting Bishop Amat to talk with students about their campuses – students should be sure to listen to announcements and check posted information about these visits. Students interested in meeting with admissions evaluators must make appointments in advance with Mr. Scott, the College Counselor. He is available at break and after school in the College Center in the Faculty House.

PSAT The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) will be administered to all freshmen, sophomores, and juniors on Wednesday, October 16. Freshmen take the PSAT 8/9 and sophomores and juniors take the PSAT/ NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test).

Sophomores take it as practice for the PSAT/NMSQT they will take during the junior year; juniors take it to see how best to prepare for the SAT and be considered for the prestigious National Merit Corporation scholarships. Test information and study materials were distributed to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in September. We encourage students to use these materials to prepare for the test on the 16th. Results of this test will be distributed in January. Please note that students will be dismissed at 1 p.m. this day.

COUNSELORS & COFFEE Counselors & Coffee resumes on October 9th. The topic: The College Application Process. Parents of all grade levels are invited to meet in the Faculty Dining Room in the Carroll Center at 8 a.m. Meetings typically last between 60-90 minutes, and Amat’s school counselors will be present to answer individual questions that parents may have.

COLLEGE NIGHT All Bishop Amat students and parents are encouraged to attend our annual College Night event scheduled for Monday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m. on the main floor of the Carroll Center. Representatives from over 75 public and private colleges and universities located in California and across the country will be available to provide information to our parents and students from all grade levels. Additionally, a college financial aid presentation will take place in the library at 7:00 p.m. and again at 8:00 p.m. for parents interested in learning more about this important part of the college admissions process.

FROM THE STUDENT ACTIVITIES OFFICE Homecoming Dance The 2019 Homecoming Dance will take place on campus on Saturday, October 26. This is a semi-formal dance that is open only to Bishop Amat students. The theme is “Once Upon A Homecoming”. Check-in and pictures will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Carroll Center with the dance starting at 7:00 p.m. and concluding at 11:00 p.m. Food and refreshments will be served.

Parents are reminded to arrive promptly by 11:00 p.m. to pick their student up from the dance to avoid incurring a late fee.

Dress approval for all female students attending the Homecoming Dance is mandatory. All females attending will need to bring their dress to campus to try on and show to a female dean. Dress approval will take place at lunch and after school. A color copy of the dress must also be submitted to the dean at the time of approval. Dress approval is currently underway and will continue until Friday, October 18. That is the absolute last day! When selecting your attire for the dance, please refer to the dress code guidelines that were emailed to all students and are posted on the Seniors are encouraged to visit local colleges and school website.

Dates to Remember universities that day and therefore do not have school 10/9- Freshman Class ASB Elections on October 16.

10/17- Last Day to Purchase Homecoming Tickets 10/26- Homecoming Dance

SENIOR ADS/DEDICATIONS - YEARBOOK Information regarding the sale of Senior Ads have been mailed out. The same information, the order form and layout choices can be found at: https://sites.google.com/bishopamat.org/ amatyearbook/home Senior Ads purchased before the deadline of November 1, 2019 will be guaranteed, while ads purchased after will be sold based upon availability.

FROM THE CAMPUS MINISTRY OFFICE Kairos Retreat Blessings to the members of the senior class who will be attending Kairos 78 from October 14 – 17. A few openings remain for this retreat. The deadline to register is Wednesday, October 9. To register or for more information, please contact our Campus Minister, Mr. Christopher De Vera at cdevera@bishopamat.org or extension 7420.

School Mass The student body will celebrate Mass on Thursday, October 10 at 11:20 a.m. Students are reminded to come to school in formal Mass attire (ties/white dress shirts for gentleman, khaki skirts for ladies).

As always, parents and guardians are welcome and encouraged to join us. Please be sure to check-in as a campus visitor (ID required) before joining us for Mass in the Carroll Center.

FROM THE FINANCE OFFICE Thank you to all parents who are up to date with their student’s tuition accounts. Unbelievably, October signifies the midpoint in the first semester. This is an early reminder that tuition accounts must be current in order for a student to sit for semester exams and to participate in extracurricular activities (ie: performance groups, pep squad, athletic teams, etc.).

Please ensure that financial obligations to the school are met and please communicate with our tuition office (ext. 7414) if there are any questions, challenges, or concerns.

FROM THE PARENT VOLUNTEER DESK SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS Parents who are credentialed with prior teaching experience and Virtus-trained may earn volunteer hours by serving as daily substitutes here on campus.

Assistance in this area is most needed when our teachers are accompanying students on overnight retreats and other select times during the school year. Parents who meet the necessary criteria and whose availability lends itself to serving as a substitute teacher are encouraged to email Ms. Dana Vasquez, Assistant Principal, at dvasquez@bishopamat.org for more information.

INFIRMARY MONITORS Parent volunteers are also needed to work in our Infirmary. If you would like to earn parent hours in this way and are Virtus-trained, please call the Attendance Office (extension 7440) to check availability and signup. No prior “nursing” experience is required.

SENIOR INTERVIEWS Students currently enrolled in English IV will participate in Senior Interview days on October 22, 23, and 24.

This activity provides students with the opportunity to participate in a mock professional interview experience conducted by a panel of three adults (composed of Bishop Amat faculty and professionals from the community).

Parents whose schedules permit participating on any of the scheduled dates are asked to contact Ms. Dana Vasquez at dvasquez@bishopamat.org or at extension 7451 for more information. Parent volunteer hours may be earned by participating.

FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE Bishop Amat will be hosting the school’s biggest fund raising event of the school year, the 2019 EXTRAVAGANZA, on November 16 at 5:30 p.m. to midnight in the Carroll Center. This year’s theme is “A Magical Moroccan Evening”. Don’t miss this most exciting evening. Pre-sale tickets are $65 through Friday, October 18; $75 beginning October 19 and can be purchased online via the school website or directly from the Development Office. Each ticket includes dinner, dancing, and silent and live auctions. Bishop Amat parents who attend the event will receive five (5) Regular parent hours per family with the purchase of two event tickets and those who purchase five Hawaii raffle tickets will be credited five (5) Development hours.

For more information, contact Lucy Rios at lrios@ bishopamat.org.