Grades K - 8 School Mass - The students in Grades K - 8 will attend Mass on Friday, October 7, 2011 at 8:30am in the St. Sylvester Church. The 6th grade students will minister at this Mass. Come and Celebrate with us.

St. Sylvester Sports Club Meeting - The St. Sylvester's Sports Club will meet on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 7pm in the Church Hall. Board members are asked to make this meeting date a priority. We look forward to seeing you there.

Activities Committee / Marketing Meeting Plan on attending our Activities / Marketing Committee meeting on Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 7pm in the School Teachers Lounge (Room 211). Once again the Activities Committee will be responsible for many activities & fundraisers throughout the academic year. If you have any questions contact Deneen Skalniak, Committee Chairperson @ 412-885-2263 or email at dskalniak2@gmail.com. Focus of the meeting will be on the HarvestFest event.

St. Sylvester School Lancer Gazette Newspaper = Starting up again this year is the St. Sylvester School newspaper. The Lancer Gazette's Editor-in-Chief, Maria Cerro, and staff: Trent Uhlemann, Hannah Pribanic, Alayna Ziegler, Anna Betz, Jessica Darkowski, Amber Jones, Jessica Schneider, Ella Adams, Griffin O'Leary and Olinda Zusinas. If anyone else would like to join, please let Maria know. We are also looking for original poems from student's preK-8. Please give your poems to Maria throughout the year. We are very excited to bring the school news.

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 to Senator Fontana and Representative Readshaw. It is imperative that we do this today! Also see 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 NFL Local Punt, Pass and Kick Winners - Congratulations to all participants and winners of the 2011 NFL Local Punt, Pass and Kick Competition that was held on Thursday, September 22, 2011. Thank you to Mrs. Brown & our 7th and 8th grade for helping and officiating at the NFL Local Punt, Pass and Kick Competition. All First Place Winners now move on to the Punt, Pass and Kick Sectional Competition to be held at Blueberry Hill Park Football Field in Franklin Park on Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 10am. Our First Place Winners are: Taylor Davis, Alayna Ziegler, Jenna Vojtecky, Jessica Hudak, Charles Vojtecky, Dante Parente, Nolan Saitta and Nicholas Bono.

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). See the attached flyer.

Student Council Breast Cancer Awareness Dress Down Day - On Monday, October 3, 2011 the administration, faculty, staff and students in PreK - 8 will have a $1.00 jeans, sweatpants or shorts (no words on the backside), gym shoe and Pink Shirt Dress Down Day. Any shirt (absolutely no sleeveless shirts / crop tops / tank tops etc.) that is Pink may be worn with exception to GORY decals, sayings or symbols that go against the Catholic nature of our school. As always Mr. Grgurich reserves the right to deem what is appropriate and what is not. If you are not sure if something you might wear would be considered inappropriate call the school office. It's always better to be safe than sorry. Keep it fun and simple. Reminder phone calls will be made to parents in order to resolve any inappropriate clothing issues. All proceeds will go toward the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Make note of the $1 donation in order to participate.

It's a PINK OUT Friends and Family please join our JV and Varsity Girls' Volleyball Teams Monday, October 3, 2011 for their 2nd Annual PINK OUT - Volley For The Cure! We want you to help to "PINK OUT" the Lancer Gym. The Girls will be hosting their 2nd annual Volley for the Cure and hope to continue their efforts in raising awareness! All proceeds to benefit the American Cancer Society and The National Breast Cancer Foundation. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Great Volleyball Matches - Good Food - Basket Raffles - 50/50 - Try your Luck for a Buck Serving. Any questions or if you would like to make a food item (concession), donate basket items or make a monetary donation please contact Tricia @ 412 315-8040 or tricia-cerro@comcast.net Thank you for your support and THINK PINK!

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.

October Market Day Pick-up - Pick up is scheduled for Thursday, October 6, 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" - This year we are selling "SNACK ATTACK" cards for $5.00. These cards will allow your child to buy 2 items at 10 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.

2011 Enjoy Book - St. Sylvester School is selling the 2011 Enjoy Book for $27.00. They are available right now for purchase in the school office. Call in your order or stop by the school office, make your payment and pick up your Enjoy Book. Don't forget for every Enjoy Book you sell you receive 10 points.

Student Council "Hats on Day" - On Friday, October 7, 2011 the Student Council will sponsor a "Hats on Day" and Dress Down Day for students in Grades PreK - 8. This special day and event will cost $1. All proceeds will benefit the Foundation for Children with Cancer. This national foundation provides financial and emotional assistance to young people with cancer and to their families. Also, this will be a casual dress down day (jeans, sweat pants, Capri's, shorts of the appropriate length, and gym shoes). Any type of long or short sleeve shirt (absolutely no sleeveless shirts/tank tops/crop tops/ etc.) may be worn with exception to decals, sayings or symbols that go against the Catholic nature of our school. As always Mr. Grgurich reserves the right to deem what is appropriate attire. If you are not sure if something you might wear would be considered inappropriate call the school office. Keep it simple. Reminder phone calls will be made to parents for inappropriate clothing.

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!

Giant Eagle Apples for the Students Program - The Giant Eagle Apples for the Students Program began on Saturday October 1, 2011 and continues until Saturday, March 17, 2012. Again this year, you will not need to send in receipts from Giant Eagle. All you need to do is be a registered supporter. If you registered last year, you are automatically registered for this year. If you are not a registered supporter, it's very easy to become one. Take a moment to register. You will need your Giant Eagle Advantage card handy then call 1-800-474-4777. An automated system will talk you through the process. Our school ID number is 1176. You can also register by visiting the Giant Eagle website at www.gianteagle.com/about/apples-for-students and click on the Apples for Students icon. Each time registered supporters shop at Giant Eagle using their Giant Eagle Advantage Card; they earn points for our school. These points are redeemed for great educational tools. The points are automatically credited to our school through the Giant Eagle Advantage Card.

Homeroom Box Tops Contest - Bring in your Box Tops for Education labels! The homeroom that submits the most Box Tops from Monday, Sept. 19, 2011 through Monday, Oct. 24, 2011 will receive a free dress down day. Please give your Box Tops to your homeroom teacher. They will be collected weekly and updates will be given as to which class is in the lead each week. This is a yearlong program that earns valuable merchandise from athletic & playground equipment to academic materials for our school. Good Luck and thank you for your support!

AIU-NPSP 8th Grade Transition to High School Program - Our students in 8th will be participating in the transition to high school sessions under the direction of Anna Marie Dicesare, School Counselor for the AIU-NPSP. The purpose of the program is to begin helping the students form a realistic expectation of high school and to provide a positive first impression about the high school experience. General topics to be discussed will include: self-awareness, career planning, stress management and transitioning to High School. Students are given recommended reading after each session. During their sessions they are working on positive affirmation exercises, filling out interest surveys and questionnaires, responding to self-awareness statements and completing an activity called "what makes me unique". Throughout the next several months there will be periodic updates explaining other exercises and activities our 8th grade will be participating in to help with their transition to high school.