The first quarter of the school year draws to a close this week; therefore, it is time for quarterly exams. Only sixth and seventh graders take exams during the fall semester. The exams are administered during the regular class periods. When the entire school takes exams in the spring, students will follow a special exam schedule on exam days – but not now. The last day of the first quarter is Friday, October 10^th. Report cards will be distributed to students by the principal on Wednesday, October 15^th. They are to be reviewed by a parent, signed, and returned to the homeroom teacher the next day, Thursday, October 16^th. Teachers will be available for conferences on Friday, October 17^th from 9:00 until noon. Should you need to meet with a teacher prior to that date, please contact that teacher through the school office.

The high school open house season gets underway next week. St. Charles Catholic High School is the first. All high school open house dates are listed on Edline. Sixth and seventh graders are encouraged to get to at least two open houses as they contemplate high school placement.

Speaking of open houses, the CBS Open House is next Thursday, October 16^th beginning at 7:00 … and we need your help! First, we recognize that word-of-mouth goes a long way in promoting Christian Brothers School. Consequently, please invite any families who may be considering CBS (especially families of fourth and third graders) to attend. Second, the teachers have each been assigned a component of the program to display. They will be inviting students to assist them with those displays. Third, we will need parents to assist us with various tasks that evening from greeting guests to assisting staff with their presentations to serving refreshments. If you can lend a hand that night, please contact Ms. Karen in the office. She will forward your name to me and I will find a place for you. In advance, I thank you for your most valuable contribution to this special evening at CBS. Last, please be reminded that we dismiss the students at 12:05 on Thursday, October 16^th in order to prepare the campus for the open house. Obviously, we will have no After Care either. Please make the necessary transportation arrangements.

The annual Christian Brothers Family Picnic is Sunday, October 19^th from 11:00-4:00 on the CBS campus. The sponsor of this event, the Christian Brothers Foundation, will provide all food and drink for the day. In addition, there will be numerous games and activities throughout the afternoon for entertainment. The highlight of the day is the Egg Toss. So, plan to get a partner and join us for this fun and funny event! All we ask is that you provide your own table and chairs for the day. We’ll do the rest!

Announcements

• Congratulations to the CBS Cross Country team for capturing 1^st place in both the 7^th/8^th grade and 5^th/6^th grade divisions in their meet this past weekend. Individual honors went to 4 CBS runners who placed 1^st-4^th overall: 1^st place – Liam Fitzgerald, 2^nd place – Brett Spansel, 3^rd place – Nathan Cusimano, 4^th place – Benjamin D’Antonio.
• Congratulations to the CBS Chess team for capturing 1^st place in the K-12 division and 2^nd place in the K-6 division of the Kickoff Classic this past weekend. Individual honors were extended to: Daniel Langteau (2^nd in K-6), Zach Adams (4^th in K-12), Matthew Monju (5^th – K-12), and Anton Derbes (5^th in K-6).
• Country Day School is sponsoring a workshop to learn more about what it feels like to have ADHD, to share experiences with parents of children with ADHD, and to learn new management strategies and the latest medical treatments for ADHD. The 5-week series is presented by Cathy Burka, M.S.W., and Andy Burka, Ph.D, on November 4, 11, 18, and December 2 and 9 from 6:00-7:15 each evening. The fee is $210 for one or both parents. For more information (including where to send the check), contact Cathy Burka at 891-2524.
• Need a flu shot? For your convenience, nurses will be on campus to administer flu shots to parents who may desire one. In addition, pneumonia shots will also be available. Simply report to the parlor between 8:00-9:00 on Friday, October 17^th (Conference Day) to get your shot(s).

Non-public schools are required to have a minimum of 330 instructional minutes x 175 instructional days each school year to maintain approval status from the state board of education. At Christian Brothers School, we build in extra emergency time and exceed the minimum number of instructional minutes every day by 30 minutes (45 minutes/class x 8 classes/day). Furthermore, we are allowed to count the 15 minutes of homeroom each day which would bring our total to 375 minutes per day. As a result of these extra instructional minutes, CBS still exceeds the minimum requirement from the state in spite of the time lost from the emergency closures in September. Therefore, it is not necessary to add additional instructional minutes to our school calendar at this time.