Ladies Afternoon Out - The Ladies Afternoon Out will take place on Sunday, November 20, 2011 from 11am - 3pm at the South Hills Country Club. The cost per tick ticket is $20.00. This price lunch, dessert, coffee, iced tea and soft drinks, cash bar and five vendor raffle tickets. The Ladies Afternoon Out is an opportunity to preview, sample and purchase the newest items from your favorite vendor. Some vendors that will be present are: 31, Silpada, PartyLite, Tastefully Simple, Tupperware, Discovery Toys and more! All tickets must be ordered by Thursday, November 10, 2011. Any questions should be directed to Karyn Reinhart (412) 303-5967 or Fara Bowen (412) 337-5310.

Mommy and Me 2 Year Old Story Time - On Saturday, October 22, 2011 the Preschool and Primary Departments are starting a new program. They will be holding their first Mommy and Me 2 Year Old Story Time! This program will be held one Saturday a month, from October to April, so spread the word to family and friends! See the attached flyer for additional information.

Grades K - 8 School Mass - The students in Grades K - 8 will attend Mass on Friday, October 14, 2011 at 8:30am in the St. Sylvester Church. The 5th grade students will minister at this Mass. Come and Celebrate with us.

St. Sylvester School Lancer Gazette Newspaper - The St. Sylvester School Newspaper is well under way! We hope to have the first edition out at the end of October. Currently we are in need of a picture or two of the Pink Out and of Johnny Appleseed day. If you have any, could you please email them to ssschoolnewspaper@gmail.com

School Choice Update "The Battle for Justice Continues" - A reminder there are two legislators in our area that are either opposed or undecided about school choice Senator Wayne Fontana, opposed (fontana@pasenate.com) 412-344-2551 and Representative Harry A. Readshaw, undecided (hreadsha@pahouse.net) 412-881-4208. Take time to email or call Senator Fontana or Representative Readshaw and let them know how you feel about School Choice and how your tax dollars should be spent in regards to educating your child. Form letters can be obtained in the school office and then returned to the school office after you sign the letters. We will forward these letters to Senator Fontana and Representative Readshaw. It is imperative that we do this today! Also see the attached School Choice Myth. We will print one myth about school choice for the next 15 weeks. Look for each one as an attachment with the weekly newsletter.

2011 - 2012 School Pictures by Interstate Studio - On Wednesday, October 26, 2011, Pre-K (4 year old) through Eighth Grade will have their school pictures taken by Interstate Studio. Students will be permitted to dress up in an appropriate manner on their picture day or wear their school uniform. This is NOT a dress down day, absolutely No JEANS or inappropriate T-SHIRTS/SWEATSHIRTS/SWEATERS etc. Pictures will be taken in the Gym. Picture order forms will be attached to the October 14th Newsletter.

Fight the Flu - Free immunizations for all Brentwood students Grades K - 12. This flu vaccine will be administered at the Brentwood Middle/High School on Thursday, October 20, 2011 from 4pm - 6pm and Saturday, October 22, 2011 from 10am - 12pm (no appointment needed - walk-ins welcome).

2011 NFL Local Punt, Pass and Kick Winners - All First Place Winners will participate in the Punt, Pass and Kick Sectional Competition this weekend to be held at Blueberry Hill Park Football Field in Franklin Park on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 10:30am. Our First Place Winners are: Taylor Davis, Alayna Ziegler, Jenna Vojtecky, Jessica Hudak, Charles Vojtecky, Dante Parente, Nolan Saitta and Nicholas Bono.

St. Sylvester School Annual Harvest Fest - On Monday, October 31, 2011, the students in Grades PreK - 8 will participate in the third annual Harvest Fest following lunch. The children will celebrate by participating in a costume parade, visit the pumpkin patch, play games and much more. Each student will receive a pumpkin and treat bag. In lieu of sending in traditional treats for your child's class, we are asking for a $3 per student donation to help defray festival expenses. Send cash or a check in an envelope marked "Harvest Fest" to the school office by Thursday, October 20, 2011. Checks should be made payable to: St. Sylvester School. See the attached volunteer and permission form for the Harvest Fest event. Please complete the attached form and return it to your child's homeroom on or before Monday, October 24th.

Middle School Faith for 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders ONLY - Looking for something exciting to do with your friends on a Friday or Saturday night? Want to meet new and exciting people from all over the area? Then join us at this year's 10th Anniversary of the Middle School Faith Rally on Friday, November 4, 2011 at St. Louise de Marillac School (7pm-9pm) or Saturday, November 5, 2011at St. Ferdinand Parish (7pm-9pm). Both nights will be filled with music, story-telling and fun! For more information contact Mr. Grgurich at 412-882-9900. Registration deadline is Monday, October 24, 2011. The cost is $10.00 per person. If received after this date the cost will be $15.00. Parents if you are interested in this program all students in 6th, 7th and 8th have already received registration information.

November Market Day Orders - November Market Day order forms are due to the school office on Thursday, October 27, 2011. Internet orders are due on Friday, October 28, 2011 by 11pm. Pick up is scheduled for Thursday, November 3, 2011 from 4:30pm - 5:30pm in the Church Hall. As always we are in need of volunteers to help on Market Day, consider giving 1or 2 hours. If you would like to volunteer, please contact our chairperson Mary Gasiorowski at (412) 884 - 7165.

St. Sylvester School "SNACK ATTACK" - For the Month of October we are selling "SNACK ATTACK" cards for $4.50. These cards will allow your child to buy 2 items at 9 bake sales this school year. This will eliminate the need of remembering money for each bake sale. Each homeroom teacher will hold onto the cards so that they will not get misplaced. Cards are on sale now in Mrs. Hart's classroom. Any questions email Mrs. Hart at ahart@saintsylvesterschool.org.

Respect Life - Month Baby Bottles were distributed in all the classrooms this past week. Your contribution provides abortion-minded women facing unplanned pregnancies with free ultrasounds. Thanks for helping.

Homeroom Box Tops Contest - Congratulations to grade 6 who are currently in first place in our box tops competition, followed closely by 7th grade. It is still anyone's game to win, however, so bring in those box tops! Thank you! The response so far has been fantastic!

St. Sylvester School Store - The St. Sylvester School Store is now open Monday - Friday from 7:50am - 8:10am in Mrs. Hart's Room. Items are priced from 0.25¢ to $1.00.

Student Council "Ronald McDonald House" Pop Tab Raffle - Bring in your pop tabs and help us support the Ronald McDonald House. This raffle begins on Monday, September 19, 2011 and continues through Monday, October 24, 2011. For every 10 pop tabs you bring in, you will receive one raffle ticket for the Student Council raffle. Raffle tickets will be drawn on Tuesday, October 25, 2011. Good luck and thank you for your support!

1st Grade Moon Watch Project - Starting on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 Ms. Orban's first grade class begins the moon watch project. It begins with a new moon and will involve making observations about the moon and recording them on a sheet of paper. The results will be returned to school after one moon cycle. The assignment is for the student to look for the moon each day and count and record how many days from one new moon until the next. Before the students begin the project they must first make a prediction of how many days they think this will take. On cloudy days two websites have been identified so the students can refer to these sites and see an image of the day's moon. I'm sure this will be a fun and fascinating learning experience. We look forward to the results.

Christ Child Society of Pittsburgh - Fall has arrived and children will soon need warm jackets. The Christ Child Society of Pittsburgh has offered to provide new winter jackets, hats and gloves to needy children 13 years of age and under. Please share this information with your family and neighbors. Call Sister Rosemary to learn the guidelines at 412-882-8593, ext. 7.

Eighth Grade Visit to Seton-La Salle Catholic High School - On Tuesday, October 25, 2011 our eighth grade students will visit Seton - La Salle Catholic High School. The eighth grade students will leave the school at 9am and return around 2:15pm. Seton-La Salle Catholic High School has made arrangements for bus transportation to and from St. Sylvester School. When the students arrive they will meet in the auditorium for a description of the day that will include touring the building, meeting with athletic coaches and activity moderators, and treated to lunch in the cafeteria at no cost. This is a great opportunity for our eighth grade students to preview High School life. Parents of eighth grade students are welcome to attend if they wish (bus transportation for parents will not be provided).

Next BAKE SALE - Our next Bake Sale will be on Thursday, October 20, 2011 hosted by the 7th Grade! All bake sale items are .25¢ with a .50¢ purchase limit! All proceeds benefit class field trips unless stated otherwise. The Bake Sale starts at 12:30pm by the big bulletin board on the main floor of the school building. If you purchased a SNACK ATTACK Card you do not need to send in any money with your child they are already paid for.

8th Grade Parent Meeting - There will be an 8th Grade Parent Meeting on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 7pm in the Teachers Lounge. The purpose is to discuss the end of the year trip along with fundraising that will be necessary to get us there. The expectation is that one parent for each student is in attendance. We look forward to seeing you there.

PreK 4 Field Trip to Simmons Farm - On Friday, October 14, 2011 Mrs. Artman's and Mrs. Pokorny's 4 year old Preschool classes will be going on a fall field trip to Simmons Farm. All parents and students should meet in your child's classroom by 8:30 AM. The bus will depart at 8:40 AM and return to St. Sylvester's at 2:00 PM. *Make sure to pack a brown bag lunch!* The children will participate in many fun activities at the farm including a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, an apple from the apple orchard and enjoying this exciting day with their friends.