Knightly News
December 3, 2010

This Week's Headlines:

Boys' Hockey Toys for Tots
Again this year, the boys’ hockey program will be supporting Toys for Tots. You can help by bringing a new, unwrapped toy to the boys’ hockey home games on either December 4 or 7. During the 2:30 game tomorrow, you can also participate in “chuck-a-bear,” by tossing a stuffed animal onto the ice after the first period.
 
Senior Portrait Yearbook Deadline: Dec. 8
All senior pictures for the yearbook and composite are due Wednesday, December 8. Due to strict yearbook deadlines, we will not be able to accept late entries. See the Senior High Yearbook page on the BSM website for additional information and forms.
 

New News:

Mother-Son Event
Sponsored by the Parent Association, the BSM Mother-Son Event will be held on Saturday, January 22, from 5:15-10:00 p.m. at Brunswick Bowl (7545 Brooklyn Blvd) in Brooklyn Park. All senior high school boys and their mothers are invited. Tickets need to be purchased by January 10, 2011, and are $40 per person.
 
Optional Mass with Father Tim is at 5:15 p.m. Then at 6 p.m., the party begins with a hearty dinner buffet, games, senior mother/son skits, and more. We'll be drawing for tons of great prizes, so don't miss out!  Your ticket includes bowling (we have 48 lanes), laser tag, bumper cars, a huge game room and an ice cream sundae bar. Brunswick Zone XL is all ours for the evening - the venue will be closed to the public. 
 
We're putting together a slide show to play at the party. So please scan and e-mail a digital photo of your son, age 5 or younger, to kbromelkamp@aol.com  by January 10, to be included. (Sorry, we do not have pictures from prior years.)
 
More information >> 

Questions? Contact Mary Ambre at meambre@aol.com or Gina Sprenger at gina.sprenger@yahoo.com.

Junior High Activities Meeting
All parents are invited to the next junior high activities meeting, being held, December 8, 1:30-2:30 p.m,. in the library conference room.

Come meet other junior high parents and get involved with many fun parties and events! If you have questions, contact Laura Alexander lauracalexander@hotmail.com or Rose Guidinger Guidinger@mchsi.com.

Parent Association Board Positions for 2011-2012
The BSM Parent Association is accepting nominations for members of its 2011-2012 board. Positions to be filled include hospitality, junior high activities, community wellness, spirituality, social programs, student/faculty recognition, and ways and means.  In addition to these board positions, we will fill other leadership roles for some of our events such as Funky to Formal, and more.

Service in the BSMPA is a great way to get involved at the school and meet a lot of terrific people. And while we know that it’s hard to begin thinking about next year already, it’s important for us to begin planning ahead.

For questions, please contact Geri Scherer at 952-249-1566.  If you know of someone you would like to nominate or would like to nominate yourself, please complete the online nomination form on our website's Parent Association home page. If you prefer, you can mail a printed nomination form to BSM or send it electronically to gerigscherer@gmail.com no later than January 15, 2011.  You will receive a response by March 15, 2011.

Freshman Food Drive Thank You
Congratulations to the 9th grade class and parents. On Friday, November 19, the freshmen class, with the help of their parents, drove all over the west metro collecting food and items for PRISM, an organization that supports the food and transportation needs of impoverished people in Crystal, Robbinsdale, eastern Plymouth, New Hope and Golden Valley. The freshmen class delivered 3,200 pounds of food and a monetary donation of $250. Nice work freshmen, and special thanks to the parent drivers! 

Knightly News Change
The Knightly News sending day will soon move to Wednesday. You will receive next week's issue on the regular Friday schedule. The next time you will receive Knightly News will be Wednesday, December 29, to help you gear up for the post-Christmas Break activities. Then, continue to check your inbox on Wednesdays thereafter.

Also, remember that if you ever need to update your e-mail address, specifically for Knightly News, you can do so by using the "Update My Profile" link that is on the bottom of each e-newsletter.
 

Reminders:

Dance Team Jamboree
Minnesota Catholic high schools, including Benilde-St. Margaret's, Academy of the Holy Angels, Hill Murray, Holy Family Catholic, New Ulm Cathedral, St. Cloud Cathedral, and Totino Grace, are joining together in support of Autism Society of Minnesota. Historically, AHA, BSM, SCC, and TG have competed in an annual Catholic quad meet. This year, the coaches decided to raise money for a charity, allowing the teams to come together in a more special way. Rather than compete against each other, the teams get to work together as part of the larger Catholic community to help children and their families who struggle with autism. The event will be made all that more successful with the addition of the three other schools participating.

Please come support Autism Society of Minnesota and the dance teams involved on December 4 at 3 p.m. The event will take place in our own Haben Center. Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $4 for students and seniors. Children 5 years and under are free.

Senior Party Web Page
Visit the Senior Party Web Page at www.BSMschool/SeniorParty to register your student, print out the permissions slip and pay online.  Registration and the $120 payment is due December 17. Confidential scholarships are available. We want to make sure all students attend the party by removing any financial barriers.

Spirit Shop News
Are you ready for the holidays? Don’t panic! The Spirit Shop has a host of gift items ideal for teacher’s gifts, stocking stuffers, etc.  Here are just a few ideas: logo golf balls, BSM & sports charms, picture frames, hot chocolate gift packets, coffee mugs, knighthead bandanas, lip balm, "Community of Prayer" books, ice scrapers, license plate covers, neck gators, red and white bead necklaces, mini footballs, thermal bottle sleeves, back sacks, fleece blankets, teddy bears, golf umbrellas, wall clocks, bolster pillows, stadium seats, St. Margaret’s ornaments, and, of course, Spirit Shop gift cards!

The Spirit Shop will be open the evening of the choir concert, December 9, from 6-8 p.m. If you need to pick up an already purchased item or simply want to shop, we'll be glad to help!

You can now browse the Spirit Shop online at www.BSMschool.org/SpiritShop. You can order online or by phone, and pick it up at your convenience or have your student bring it home. How easy is that?!

December ordering dates for letter jackets are Tuesday and Wednesday, December 14-15. The letter jacket representative will be in the cafeteria/commons to take orders and measurements from 11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. on those days. Happy Holidays from the Spirit Shop!!!

Christmas Common Basket Project
Of the many traditions we have here at BSM, one of the most beautiful and touching of these traditions is our annual Christmas Basket Program, which becomes our Common Basket for our December liturgies. For many years now, our students and adults have worked together during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to provide a special Christmas for families in need, helping to provide a real holiday where there would be little or none without our efforts.

This year, we continue the tradition. Each senior high homeroom was introduced to the needs of its “adopted” family, and the junior high was introduced to its project with St. Philip’s Kids’ Club in North Minneapolis. The collection began on Tuesday, November 30, and will conclude on Tuesday, December 14. When your children come home and talk about the need for presents, money, or grocery/gas gift cards, you’ll understand the importance of their efforts. If you have any questions or would like to offer additional help, please contact Mary Beth Liekhus or Mike Jeremiah at 952-927-4176.

 Guidance News
Registration deadlines for upcoming SAT and ACT tests:
• January 22 SAT – regular deadline is December 23 and late deadline is January 7
• February 12 ACT – regular deadline is January 7 and late deadline is January 21
• For a complete listing of SAT and ACT deadlines for the 2010-2011 school year, go to www.collegeboard.com and www.actstudent.org, respectively.
• Remember to list BSM’s school code, 242-202, when registering for these exams.

Parents of seniors:
BSM’s Guidance Office deadlines for transcript and recommendation letter requests:
• Yellow "College Application Completion Forms" (one for each college) are due to your student’s college counselor on the following dates for the corresponding deadlines:
*****December 1 for any college deadline between December 16 and January 15 (past due)
*****January 12 for a February 1 college deadline
Please do not ask for an exception to a deadline. The guidance office processes over 1,000 applications each fall. Each application is equally important and applications are processed in the order they are received by your counselor. We cannot guarantee we will be able to send materials to colleges if the yellow forms are turned into your counselor after the above listed deadlines. Note: the Guidance Office will be closed for all of Christmas break and counselors will not be processing applications during this time. Encourage your son or daughter to meet with their college counselor if they have any questions about the process.

Ways to find out if your school materials have been sent to colleges:
SENIORS: There are two ways to find out if your transcript and other requested materials (for example: teacher letters and/or forms and counselor letters and/or forms) have been sent by BSM:
1. In your Family Connection account (http://connection.naviance.com/bsm), click on the "colleges" tab, then click on “colleges I'm applying to." You will see either “Pending” or “Initial materials submitted.” If it says the latter, that means BSM has sent your requested materials.
2. If you want to find out what date your materials were mailed, you can do so in the guidance office. There are bins with a tab for each student. Once your materials have been mailed, the yellow form will go into the bin, and you are able to find out when your materials were mailed.
PARENTS: You can look in your Family Connection account (see above for directions) to see whether materials have been sent or are pending, but please send your student to the guidance office to look in the bin for the date information was mailed, rather than calling or emailing your son or daughter’s college counselor.
***Note that it often takes colleges several weeks to process and scan students’ materials into their computer system, so if it says in Family Connection and in the bin that we have sent the materials, that means we have sent the materials, but the colleges may not have entered them into their system yet. 

The 2011-2012 FAFSA on the Web Worksheets will be available in the college and career center beginning in early December. The FAFSA on the Web Worksheets are used to help with the online submission of the FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov), which can be submitted beginning on January 1, 2011. Families must complete the FAFSA if you are applying for federal student aid. There are three categories of federal student aid: grants, work-study, and loans.