Portae (newsletter) for 28 August 2013

Click here to download a one-page copy of this week's newsletter, including the Day 1 all school photo.

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The contents of the newsletter are copied below for faster reading.
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Fan Bus! Friday, 30 August 2013, 4:30 p.m. to varsity football game in Austin
We will be running a fan bus up to the game in Austin this week Friday. Students were invited on Tuesday to begin signing up for the bus. It will run up to Austin at 4:30, arriving for the 7 p.m. game by 6:00-6:15. We will order a few pizzas to arrive after school so that students can get something to eat. We will not be stopping for food on the way there or back. We should arrive back to campus around 11:30 p.m. Students can leave their backpacks here on campus.

Student IDs: Last week Friday, all students were issued an ID for use in the cafeteria, in the media center, and for free admission to all school events (games, etc.). Students who lose them will be charged $5 to replace the ID. They should talk with Ms. Otero to get the ID replaced.

Hot lunch program: For the last three years, and now into the fourth, Fiesta Catering/A+ School Lunches has leased the kitchen from us with the agreement to provide lunches to our students. This has proved to be a good relationship for us. We have been able to offer daily hot lunch service to our students, and for occasional special events, Fiesta Catering has helped us out. Each year, Ms. Melinda Miniel and I have met to discuss prices. The first three years, the standard meal charge was $4.00; this year, she requested an increase, and we agreed on $4.25. Now that the ID’s have been distributed, you should see lunch charges on your RenWeb account. Please do your best to check that account weekly. That is the best way to make sure the point-of-sale scanning is correct (and to see if the lunch you sent was eaten). We request that families send in money to the front office labeled for lunch to keep that part of the account current.

Quarterly All-Parent Meeting: All Parent Meeting: Tuesday, 3 September 2013 – 6:45 p.m. Guardian Chapel. Parents in attendance will receive a Blue & Gold Pass for the students in their family. We will be reviewing a lot of important calendar information, and prepping for the first semester.

Travis Days & Blue & Gold Days - Thursday, 29 August 2013: This week Thursday, will be our first Travis Day for this school year. Students and teachers will be allowed to wear their red Travis Tribute t-shirt along with jeans and tennis shoes. (This is similar to Blue & Gold Days when students can wear a JPII t-shirt and jeans with tennis shoes. We ask that jeans not be ripped or torn, and not be tight-fitting.) For those new to our community, Michael Travis was one of our beloved teachers here at JPII; he passed away last spring. This shirt and these days have been our way to commemorate his life and his special place in our hearts. He had a great devotion to our students and teachers. We miss him and know he’s praying for us each day.