Welcome Back

School started again about two weeks ago, and it has been a busy time here at Bishop Conaty-Loretto. We had a beautiful opening school Mass and a delightful Welcome Day. We hope all our new students and families have felt welcomed. We are so gratified that they have chosen our school. I know it is hard being the new kid on the block, and we at Bishop Conaty-Loretto want to make sure that everyone has a smooth transition into our school. Remember, both new families and returning families, we are here to help you with your daughters' educations. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Last night was Back-to-School Night. It was wonderful to meet new families and welcome back old friends...and it is always great to see former students--of course, now they are the mothers of new ones. I hope all parents found the night informative and rewarding. Highlights of the evening included a Parent Association/Student Council Spaghetti Dinner, the Parents Association Meeting, and the classroom visits.

Here at Bishop Conaty-Loretto, we continue to expand our programs and introduce new activities and events, all in order to provide the best quality, affordable education for young women in Los Angeles. This year we have added a music and video production courses. We also plan to guide students to take more Advanced Placement test. On the Development side, we have established an annual fund and are planning a great spring event at Santa Anita Park on March 7, 2009. Check out our web site, www.bishopconatyloretto.org, for news and details.

The Parent Association has many fun-filled activities planned for this year:

• School Beautification Day, Saturday, October 4, 2008
• Father-Daughter Picnic, Saturday, October 18, 2008
• Family Fun Night, a Friday in Spring 2009
• Mother-Daughter Tea, Saturday, May 2, 2009

Contact the school for more information.

I would like to thank the Parent Association, the Parent Association Executive Board, Student Council for the delicious spaghetti dinner they provide before Back-to-School Night. We are truly blessed to have such generous and caring parents and students. I would also like to thank the Faculty and Staff who remained late into the evening so they could meet their students' parents. We have had a great school beginning thanks to all of you.

God Bless you all.

ESLRs

As part of our accreditation self-study process for WCEA and WASC, we are reviewing Bishop Conaty-Loretto's Expected School-wide Learning Results (ESLRs) or outcomes. As part of this review, we would like to know your thoughts. What do you think a student of Bishop Conaty-Loretto should know and be able to do upon graduation? Let us know what you think.

Beautification Day

Today, the Parent Association sponsored Bishop Conaty-Loretto’s first annual Beautification Day. Several parents and their daughters came together to build benches in the courtyard for the students. It was a beautiful morning and great fun was had by all. We were able to re-assemble twenty benches using the old Conaty conrete bench-supports that had not seen the light of day since well before the reconstruction of the school in the early 1990s. Several fathers took charge sharing their expertise and talents as the rest of the parents and students pitched in to get the job done. Ms Boyle came by to lend a hand. The beautification project fostered a great sense of pride and accomplishment among all. Special thanks to The Home Depot for their generous donation of lumber and supplies for this project. The day was such a success that plans are in the works for next year… some landscaping improvements or covered storage cage. We hope to you here next fall.

Dreaded Final Exams

January is not that far off, and with January comes the end of the first semester of the school year... and the dreaded final exams. Students world-wide always welcome the end-term exams with trepidation and anxiety. And, of course, the anxiety is greater when students are not doing as well as they'd like.

But there are ways to minimize final exam anxiety if students begin to prepare for the tests early, and, now, is the time to begin studying. Here are suggestions to help prepare students for final exams.

• Review all notes for the semester (September to December) by recopying them, and reorganizing and synthesizing them into study guides. For example, in a beginning foreign language class, notes can be organized by vocabulary themes and grammar topics (like verbs and pronouns).
• When the notes are unclear or confusing, ask the teacher specific questions to clarify the notes.
• Make arrrangements to study with friends and quiz each other on the subject matter.
• Take advantage of tutoring opportunities from teachers, school organizations like NHS, and peers.
• Review old tests and quizzes. Make corrections. If a correction cannot be made, ask the teacher for help.
• Don't wait to the last minutes to start studying. Procrastination always creates great anxiety and stress.
• Finally the night before exams, get a good night's rest (go to bed early) and have a good protein-filled breakfast the morning of exams. (Protein keeps the brain alert.)

Help a Family in Need

We are now in the season of Advent, a time when we reflect on the greatest gift of love God gave to us, His Son, Jesus. Today, we are being asked to give a great give of love, too, but the gift is to the family of one of our students.

Tuesday night, December 4, 2007, the home of one of our students burned to the ground. The family lost everything in the fire. Food, furniture, clothing--everything was destroyed. This family is part of the Bishop Conaty-Our Lady of Loretto High School Community, and it is up to all of us to respond generously to their needs.

We are asking for donations of clothing for a teenage girls 15 years, a 12 year old boy, a 7 year old, and their mother. We are also seeking donations of food, household items, and money to help them rebuild their lives and start anew. Please open your hearts and be generous.
Donations may be brought to the main office. Make checks payable to Bishop Conaty-Loretto and indicate memo line "family in need." For further information, contact Mrs. Lopez in the main office at (323) 737-0012.

Thank you in advance for your generous gifts toward this family in need. May you and your family receive God's blessings.

Are you an energy vampire?

A group of senior is researching environmentalism for their senior project in an effort to help Bishop Conaty-Loretto to go more "green." Recently, after reading an article from the San Jose Mercury News about wasteful energy use, I posed the following questions to the faculty and staff: "Are you an energy vampire? Do you leave cell phone and lap top computer chargers plugged in well after the appliance is recharged? Do you leave you computer on all the time day and night?"

Read the article about wasteful appliance standby mode on line at http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7318977?source=rss and decide how you can help yourself and the school save energy.

Gloria Molina Visits Bishop Conaty-Loretto

October 10, 2007, during our Hispanic Heritage Month activities, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina came to school to speak to the student body about her experiences as a Latina political leader. Ms. Molina shared her story with the students. She spoke of how she, the daughter of immigrants and the eldest of ten children, overcame many hardships to go to college, form grass-root efforts to give a political voice to the Mexican-Americans in East Los Angeles, especially Mexican-American women, and become the first Latina to have been elected to the California State Legislature, Los Angeles City Council, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. She shared how she was a shy girl who found her voice in serving others. Her message was very meaningful to the students, because like Ms. Molina, they, too, are daugthers of immigrants. She left a lasting impression of the importance of hard work, risk-taking, and standing up for what is right. She showed the students that it is possible to succeed in life if they persevere. We thank Ms Molina for taking time out of her busy schedule to share a morning with us.