Dear parents, teachers, parishioners, and friends of SSP School,

Happy Friday. What a week! And it is not over yet… PTO Movie Night is tonight, and of course, Sunset Family Mass and Sacred Sparks will be on Sunday.  We had a variety of activities this week, from standardized testing in kindergarten through Grade 6 (NWEA and STAR testing through Renaissance) to Safe Touch presentations given by our school counselor.

Next week, grades 7 & 8 (only) will be taking the traditional IOWA tests. The following window for Kindergarten through Grade 6 assessment will be Dec. 2024 – February 2025.
The following “new” initiative is the Friendzy program. Our PreK-Grade eight teachers are completing their training, and some have begun the first lessons of this SEL (social-emotional learning) curriculum. Friendzy's curriculum is rooted in Christianity, which teaches us to treat each other with respect and dignity. All people should know they are loved and have value.

Speaking of “value,” we have this “thing” going on at recess that generates much enthusiasm and exasperation at the same time. This thing I’m referencing is Pokemon trading cards, and the motto is you've got to catch them all. Pokemon cards have evolved since the early days; today, I am seeing gold cards and tokens, etc. There are standard trades and special trades for legendary Pokemon like Articuno or Zapados, etc.

Each trader has their interpretation of value. My quick assessment of value is to ask Siri how much a Crystal Charizard is worth! You might be surprised. For my son, when he was in grade school, he valued cards with special powers or a card he didn’t already have in his possession. Those 1975 Tops George Brett Rookie cards I spread throughout my bike spokes today go from $350 to $1500. At the time, it was a status symbol for me to ride my Schwinn with those cards flapping in the wind! So, I am not an expert on "value in trading cards!"

I know it is too late to keep this short, but if your child is a novice trader, I don’t want them taken advantage of. The easy solution would be to have a Pokemon Card hiatus. But I’d hate to put a pause on what brings joy to many students. But a conversation with your child about what they value in their collections might be worthwhile. If your child has a black diamond/asterisk star on their card or a first edition Mewtwo, they might want to keep that card at home. In 2023, a 1st edition Holofoil Mewtwo card was sold for $12,912.

Please know that we value you and your family and never take for granted how blessed we are to be in an outstanding school community with you and your children. Please keep each other in your prayers as we navigate this thing called Life!