Saint Ann School News

Monday, March 8, 2010

Dear Parents,

This week third grade is scheduled to help with the fish fry. The fish frys are a wonderful time to get parent hours while visiting with each other! It is a great time to share in fellowship. If you haven’t signed up for a shift, the book is in the office.

The children met with Officer Agostinacchi last week to discuss the difference between legal and illegal drugs. They will meet with him again on Thursday. They enjoy spending time with Officer Agostinacchi.

Thank you for encouraging your child to join one of our third grade book clubs. Fourteen out of fifteen children agreed to read an extra chapter book…just for fun! I have been enjoying our lunchtime meetings!

We will be having Campbell’s Chicken and Rice Soup this Wednesday. Thank you for the many donations of canned goods to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank. You may also make donations of loose change for our class Rice Bowl.

Please remember to sign up for a conference. The sign-up sheet is in the office. I look forward to meeting with you at your conference time to review your child’s progress.

God bless,

Susan McDonald

Third Grade Goals This Week

Religion: We will continue to study Lent. We will study chapter 22 “God Shares His Life with Us.” Check out the website www.faithfirst.com weekly for activities for your child.

Reading: We have been reading our chapter book, The Trumpet of the Swan. We will continue to study Trumpeter swans. We will keep a journal while we read this book. In “Reader’s Workshop” we will read the first story in the unit titled Storytelling. It is called A Story A Story. Students will study sequencing.
Language: We will continue to work on the writing process. Writer’s Workshop is a time the students will work on stories they write, revise and edit. Our vocabulary words are: defenseless, descendants, tatter, flamboyant and furious.
Spelling Words: Students will have a spelling test with 15 words this week. This week’s words are words that have the consonant blends spl-, spr-, str-, sp-, st-, and sl-. The words are: splint, splash, splatter, sprinkle, sprout, spring, strap, strike, string, streak, stronger, spun, stories, sticky, and slap.
Math: We will study solid figures and volume. We will continue timed multiplication tests.
Handwriting: All students are practicing writing the letters in cursive using correct form and posture.
Social Studies: We will continue government and laws.
P.E.: We will continue track and field.

• Mrs. Theresa Gutierrez will no longer be working as Extended Day Program staff. We very much appreciate her years of service, and we will miss her gentle, smiling presence. Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Rochel Bussell, who will be filling the position left vacant by Mrs. Gutierrez. Mrs. Bussell and her husband Steve have two children attending Saint Ann School.

• I am looking for volunteers to serve on a task force to plan for the addition of a preschool here at Saint Ann. This is seen as a very important step in increasing and stabilizing enrollment and keeping costs down. You do not need experience in this field. You just need to be willing to do a little research and be a sounding board for ideas. If you are interested, please contact me. This offer is also open to parishioners, so if you know people in the parish who might be interested, please invite them to contact me also.

• Parent – Teacher Conferences are March 23-26. Please sign up for your conference by this Thursday! If you don’t sign up by Friday, we will select a conference time for you (Middle School conferences are optional). You may call the School Office to sign up, and we will check if your requested time is available and then reserve it for you.

• As you know, the Extended Day Program is open to families who need to make special arrangements for their child(ren) during the four days of Parent–Teacher Conferences, which are early dismissal days (11:30 AM). The special cost for non contracted families is $7.50/day (from 11:30 am to 2:40 pm). Please let us know in advance if you’re not already on a contract and are planning to use the EDP during our minimum days next week.

• Registration Information will be coming out in the Monday Envelope on March 22. Registration fees will be due by Tuesday, April 20 (the Tuesday after Easter vacation).

• Gesell Testing appointments for next year’s Kindergarten (and for newly incoming 1st Graders) will take place during our Parent-Teacher Conference week (March 23-26). If you have an incoming student or know a family who is interested in enrolling, please contact (or have that family contact) the School Office immediately to select an appointment time.

• Tuition Assistance Applications must be mailed to FAIR by April 6 (in order to be received by April 15) or submitted online by April 15. Please call or come by the School Office for an application form if you are mailing the application. As I mentioned in my newsletter last week, all families seeking tuition assistance for the next school year must submit an application. In order to get funds from the Diocese’s Our Faith, Our Family and Our Future capital campaign funds, our families must submit an application to FAIR—the third-party rating service – which then provides the Diocese and us with the information that we need for distributing tuition assistance funds. Please remember that Fr. Paul and I are committed to making it possible for any parish family to choose a Catholic education for their child(ren) – so even if the diocesan assistance funds do not cover your needed assistance, we will also be evaluating the applications for our local school assistance funds. With this assurance, there is no financial reason a Catholic family cannot choose Saint Ann School for their child(ren).

• Remember that tomorrow is the collection day for our Book Swap. Have your child bring in up to five new, or gently used books to “swap” out for books brought in by other students. Once the books are sorted, we will have our swap.

• We are going to try something new with the Saint Ann yearbook this year. We are going to produce a digital yearbook, which will present several advantages. The yearbook will be less expensive for families. You will be able to view it as a slide show and have the option to print it yourself.

• The Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Foundation is hosting its annual golf tournament on April 24. In the past, a Saint Ann parishioner has sponsored a hole for this golf tournament in our name which is good advertising for our school. Would any of you like to donate toward a sponsorship in Saint Ann’s name this year? The cost is $100 for a hole sponsorship. Other higher-dollar sponsoring opportunities are also available. Please contact the School Office if you are interested.

• Do you need Parent Participation Hours? May 1st is the deadline for logging all of your hours for this year. Our only big events for earning hours between now and the deadline are the three remaining Fish Frys.

• I am looking for a video that I loaned to a family. If you have the Common Sense Parenting Video #3, please return it to the School Office.

• Please join us this Friday for Mass (8:15 AM) and Stations of the Cross (2:00 PM).

• We hope to see you this Friday for the Fish Fry hosted by the Grades K, 3 and 6.

• Just a reminder that this coming weekend we set our clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time. To make it easier on your family, you might follow a suggestion from Mrs. Veit. Each day between now and the weekend, set your going to bed and waking up time ten minutes earlier. Then the change won’t be so drastic or noticeable.

• Tuition and EDP Contract Payments are due by Wednesday. Remember that payments not delivered or postmarked by the 10th of each month are subject to a $20.00 late fee.

Upcoming Events:

Tues., March 9
PTG Meeting, 7:00 PM, School Library

Fri., March 12
School Mass, 8:15 AM, 2nd Grade
Stations of the Cross, 2:00 PM
Fish Fry, 5 PM - 7 PM, Grades K, 3 and 6

Mon.-Thurs., March 23-26
Parent-Teacher Conferences, Minimum Days, 11:30 AM Dismissal

March 8, 2010

Dear Family,

We enjoyed the celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday last Tuesday. We read several of his books and invited Mrs. Rockdale to come and read Dr. Seuss books to us too. During that time, I had the treat of reading to the Kindergarten class. We saw a Dr. Seuss movie in the afternoon. Our highlight, however, was enjoying a thirty-minute skit of several Dr. Seuss stories that the students of Burroughs High School put on for our school. It was especially fun for me to see three former first graders of Saint Ann School acting in those skits!

We have had fun reading fables and learning the characteristics of a fable. We have been able to compare different versions of Aesop’s fables, which improves comprehension and noticing details. It is always fun to read stories where animals talk!

If you are eating soda crackers, graham crackers, pizza or oranges, point out the markings of those equal parts. Help your child see fractions in everyday activities. Also, keep reviewing and learning names and values of coins!! That is always difficult for many of the children.

We will continue to focus on prayer, sacrifice, and almsgiving during Lent. In addition to our Penny Friday commitment, the children have also been committed to Operation Rice Bowl to contribute monies earned by work and sacrifice. I reminded the children that each child may not be able to bring pennies each week if they are also using Operation Rice Bowl, but each child can, and should, pray daily for those in need. Remember to return the Rice Bowl offerings during Holy Week, our last week before our Easter break.

Our SLE empowers us to become responsible citizens. We are learning to compare the time in which we live with past days. We have looked at how life was long ago, how travel has changed and ways we can learn about the past. Such factors help us understand our society and appreciate God’s gifts to each of us.

Thank you for your continued support by reading, reading, and reading. Look back to the first month of school…see the progress…pat yourself on the back…and offer a prayer of thanks to God for the special days He has given each of us to enjoy these children!!!

When you come in this week to sign up for your Parent Conference time (remembering that first grade lists days Monday-Friday) , be sure to look at the bulletin board in the office for Lenten poems I posted that your child has written and illustrated! I chose to post those rather than our American symbol art, which I bound in a book and sent home with your child last week. We hope you enjoyed it! We did!

Please Note: To help each of us along our Lenten journey, the first grade will put on a Bible skit at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 19. Please help your child to memorize his/her script. NOT ALL children have speaking parts, so your child may not have a script in the Monday Envelope today.

REMINDER: Sign up for March 19 Fish Fry fun!!!

Respectfully,
Christine Simolon

Monday, March 1, 2010

Dear Parents,

The children are invited once again to take part in our Lenten Soup Lunch on Wednesday. The purpose of the lunch is to eat simply and donate food for the poor who visit our St. Vincent DePaul Food Bank. If your child can bring canned or dry goods, we will deliver them each Thursday during Lent. We will all eat Campbell’s Tomato soup in the classroom together.
We will pray the Stations of the Cross on Friday at 2:00 pm. We will sit with the first graders again and help them with their prayers. The children are such caring partners with “their” first graders. Your students look forward to this privilege each week. Please join us!
Third graders are helping with Mass this Friday. They always take this job very seriously. We hope you can join us at 8:15 am.
Please remember to sign up and earn parent hours by helping with the Fish Fry on March 12 and March 26. The “Sign Up Book” in which to sign up to help at the Fish Fry is in the school office. Thanks!
Please also remember to sign up this week for a conference time to review your child’s progress in three weeks. If you are unable to attend any of the times listed, please call me to set up a convenient time.

God bless,
Susan McDonald

P.S. Many children need to bring in more milk money if they would like to still order milk.

Third Grade Goals This Week

Religion: We will continue to study Lent. We will study chapter 15 Sacraments of Healing. Check out the website www.faithfirst.com weekly for activities for your child. We will work on our new Stations of the Cross book.
Reading: We have been reading our chapter book, The Trumpet of the Swan. We will continue to study Trumpeter swans. We will keep a journal while we read this book. In “Reader’s Workshop” we will read Uncle Jed’s Barbershop. This is the last story in the unit of stories about money. Students will focus on cause and effect.
Language: We will continue to work on the writing process. Writer’s Workshop is a time the students will work on stories they write, revise and edit. In “Writer’s Workshop” we will focus on reviewing the prepositions, subjects and predicates, periods used in abbreviations, titles, and initials, pronouns, and subject/verb agreement which we have been working on while reading the latest stories in our reading book. Our vocabulary words are: equipment, sharecroppers, exchange, examine, delayed and failing.
Spelling Words: Students will have a spelling test this week. This week’s words are words that follow the spelling patterns we have been studying the last few weeks. The patterns are: double consonant words, contractions, plurals, and -ed and –ing words. The words are: offer, winner, zipper, will, well, he’d, isn’t, taking, monkeys, stitches, used, cutting, clippers, saving, and died.
Math: We will continue to study symmetry, perimeter and area in geometry. We will continue timed multiplication tests.
Handwriting: All students are practicing writing the letters in cursive using correct form and posture.
Social Studies: We will study government and laws.
P.E.: We will continue track and field.

• Parent-Teacher Conference Sign-Ups – Please sign up for your preferred conference time in the School Office starting tomorrow. Parent-Teacher Conferences are March 23-26 and provide you with a unique opportunity to collaborate with your child’s teacher. The resulting advice, strategies, and insights can help both you and your child’s teacher enhance your child’s success in school.

• Officer Nino Agostinacci will be conducting classes for our students for the next two weeks for the C.H.A.M.P.S. program (Choosing Healthy Alternative and Methods Promoting Success). This program, which replaced D.A.R.E., helps students make healthy choices and avoid many of the dangerous substances with which our children may come into contact.

• Your H.E.A.R.T. (Scrip) Profit Detailed Report is in your Monday Envelope today. Contact Paula Welsh if you have any questions about the activity on your account.

• Although the tuition rates for next year have not yet been finalized, we do need those seeking tuition assistance for next year to fill out a tuition assistance application and submit it to FAIR, the tuition assistance management company hired by the diocese. At my recent principal’s meeting, I learned that the diocesan awards will be larger this year, and the only way to be eligible for this assistance is to fill out and submit an application. Just like last year, this will be the only tuition assistance application (there will not be a separate one for just Saint Ann School). The diocesan form has the added advantage of being available on-line. A $21 fee (payable to the tuition management company used by the diocese) and supporting documentation must accompany both paper and on-line applications. If you intend to apply for any tuition assistance for the 2010-2011 school year, you must complete and send in an application to FAIR by April 15. They will review the applications and forward the results to us. Even if you did not qualify for any aid through the diocese last year, you must submit an application again if you need any tuition assistance from Saint Ann School. Again, you may choose either of these options:
1) Pick up an application in the school office and mail it in by April 15, or
2) Fill out and submit the application on line at www.fairapp.com (use School Code 350 and password “dof350” by April 15).

A letter of explanation will be sent to all families currently receiving tuition assistance. Please remember that Fr. Paul and I are committed to making it possible for any parish family to choose a Catholic education for their child(ren) – so even if the diocesan funds do not cover your needed assistance, we will also be evaluating the application data for our local school assistance funds.

• Training for new altar servers will be held on three Saturdays during March (March 6, 13 & 27). If your child is interested in becoming an altar server, please come to the School Office or ask your teacher for a handout and permission slip. Altar servers must attend all three training dates, must have received their First Holy Communion, must be in 5th Grade or older, and must meet all the requirements of commitment/responsibility/behavior.

• Some Saint Ann students had their art on display at the “Out of the Shadows” Art Show at the Carriage Inn on February 19. Visitors were impressed by the art of Leonard W., Ryan B., Sarah A., Tyler H., Amanda C., Jacob T., Jonathan H. and Michelle P. Thank you, Mrs. Black, for arranging this opportunity for our students!

• Please join us this Friday and each Friday in Lent (except Good Friday) for the Fish Fry. This week’s Fish Fry is hosted by 2nd Grade, 5th Grade and 8th Grade.

• The Saint Ann School Advisory Council Meeting will meet this Thursday at 7:00 PM. Topics to be discussed include the budget, proposed tuition rates for next year and the progress on adding a pre-school here at Saint Ann. Please join us.

• Please join us this Friday for Mass at 8:15 AM hosted by the Third Grade and Stations of the Cross at 2:00 PM.

Upcoming Events:

Fri., March 5
Mass, 8:15 AM
Spaghetti Lunch, 12 noon
Stations of the Cross, 2:00 PM
Fish Fry, 5 PM - 7 PM

Tues.-Fri., March 23-26
Parent-Teacher Conferences, Minimum Days, 11:30 AM Dismissal

“If you have ears, listen: Be sure to put into practice what you hear.” Luke 11:13

Calendar of Events
Church Search – Thursday, Mar. 18 @ 5:30pm
Communion Retreat - Saturday, Apr. 24 @ 9am
Communion Practice – Wednesday, May 5 & Friday, May 7 @ 5:30pm
Communion Mass - Saturday, May 8 at 10am
Please mark your calendar!

Dr. Seuss Week is Here!
If you can help make us cats before school on Tuesday, please stop by. Also, we welcome any Dr. Seuss books you would like to share with the class. Please put your child’s name in them so they may be returned to you next week.

Fish Fry
Second grade is helping with Fish Fry this week. Please check out the sign up sheet to see where you can help. Thanks!

Here’s What We Are Learning This Week
Every week I highlight what I am covering in class. This will give you an opportunity to talk with your child about specific subjects that we are covering. Not all topics are covered everyday. Be sure to always check to see what we are doing in 2nd Grade!
Reading –We are reading the story Why the Dinosaurs Disappeared?
Phonics – Reviewing prefixes and suffixes.
Writing – We are working on our own version of a Dr. Seuss story this week.
Grammar - Singular and plural nouns
Health - We will be visited by the CHAMPS Officer this week to discuss safety.
Math –We are working on fractions.
Spelling – Basic words this week have bossy r sounds.
Religion – This week we are learning about the Liturgy of the Word. This week we talk about John the Baptist.
Science – We are learning about how sounds are created from vibrations.

March 1. 2010

Dear Family,

I offer my sincere thanks to all of you who were able to help at the Fish Fry. Now is a great time to mark March 19 on your calendar for the next Fish Fry for which we are responsible!

Our school-wide learning expectations work to enable each child to recognize and appreciate the dignity and worth of every individual and to help each student develop a social awareness of the world and to contribute to the building of community. The children are wonderfully aware of prayer, sacrifice and almsgiving that are at the core of Lent. It is great to journey with them during this holy season. During the liturgical season of Lent, the students of Saint Ann School will also pray the Stations of the Cross together each Friday.

I will be checking the children on how quickly they can read the sight word list given to you at the start of the school year. By now, all words have been presented. Your child should be able to read the list easily. Continue daily practice for just 5 minutes. Those minutes each night do produce results! Please continue to help your child review past spelling lists. The purpose of learning to spell words is to know how to spell them for longer than one week!!! If you have misplaced the list, just send a note and I will make you a copy.

We will continue to review tens, ones, money, greater and less than and memorizing math facts, as we learn about the world of fractions. If you are eating soda crackers, graham crackers, pizza or oranges point out the markings of those equal parts. Help your child see fractions in everyday activities. Also, keep reviewing and learning names and values of coins!! That is always difficult for many of the children.

In our health unit, we are focusing on sleep and on the importance of exercise. The children are enjoying their unit on health and exercise thus far, including a bit of yoga! We will extend our health unit by incorporating it into an art activity. I would like each child to bring in one or more LABELS or WRAPPINGS from a food item: a label from a jar of peanut butter, a label from a can of vegetables or fruit, a label from a granola bar, etc. I would like these to be brought in anytime before March 5. Thank you.

When you go into the school office this week to sign up for a parent conference time, please be aware that I am also available for conferences on Monday after my yard duty ends at 3:00 P.M. I have added MONDAY to the beginning of the sheet so be sure to look twice at the day of the week you are signing for your conference. This will allow an extra day for those who want a late afternoon conference.

Mark your calendar so that you may join us for a Lenten Prayer Program on Friday, March 19, at 11:30 A.M. in the first grade classroom. I will give you more information at a later time. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Christine Simolon

• Please consider attending the Parish Mission presented by Fr. Dominic Briese for the next three evenings. Those of you who attended Mass at Saint Ann this weekend had the opportunity to hear Fr. Dominic preach. He is able to share a powerful message in a moving yet lighthearted manner. Teachers will be lightening up some on homework to encourage families to attend and bring their children. Each evening begins a rosary at 5:30 PM, followed by the opportunity for Reconciliation and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 6:00 PM until approximately 6:45 PM. Mass will begin at 7:00 PM, and Fr. Dominic’s homily will carry the main message for that evening. At tonight’s Mass, Father will offer the Anointing of the Sick for anyone who desires it.

• Parent Hour Opportunity: We are looking for an alternative to the yearbook company that we’ve used for the last two years. Although they did a fine job, they recently contacted us saying that their publishers now require a minimum order of 150 books. We cannot meet this minimum order so we need to find someone else to publish our yearbook. One possibility is to find another company (although we would have to do this soon to get our books before school is out). Another option is to produce our yearbook in-house. We are looking for someone to step up and coordinate this for us. If you are proficient with desk-top publishing and computers and would like to help put together the yearbook digitally (plus earn tons of Parent Hours!!!), we would love to hear from you. We also would need to determine the best way to have the books printed. Please contact me if you would like to take on this project.

• Congratulations to our students who made their First Reconciliation last Friday! It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many holy people that day!

• Please join us this Friday and each Friday in Lent (except Good Friday) for our wonderful Fish Fry dinners! This week’s Fish Fry is hosted by Grades 1, 4 and 7. It is very important that every school family make the effort to work at least one Fish Fry if possible. They are the last major fundraisers of the school year.

• Please also join us this Sunday for an Egg Burrito Breakfast that the 8th Grade is having as a fundraiser for their Graduation Trip. The breakfast will be held from 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon this Sunday. The menu will be egg burritos (flour tortillas filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, sausage & hash browns), juice and coffee. Prices will be $6.00 for adults; $4.00 for children (10 years & under).

• Reminder – The Saint Ann School Advisory Council Meeting originally scheduled for tonight will meet next Thursday, March 4, at 7:00 PM so members may attend the Parish Mission. Topics to be discussed include the budget, proposed tuition rates for next year and the progress on possibly adding a pre-school here at Saint Ann. Please join us.

• Basketball – This week we will have our last Middle School games! The teams will travel to Wallace. The girls’ game begins at 3:45 PM and the boys’ game begins at 4:45 PM.

Upcoming Events:

Mon.-Wed., Feb. 22-24
Parish Mission (see above times)

Wed., Feb. 24
Mid Sch Basketball Games @ Wallace, 3:45 PM Girls, 4:45 PM Boys

Fri., Feb. 26
School Mass, 8:15 AM, 4th Grade
School Stations of the Cross, 2:00 PM
Fish Fry, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, hosted by Grades 1, 4 and 7

Sun., Feb. 28
Egg Burrito Breakfast, 8:30 AM – 12 Noon, Parish Center (8th Grade Fundraiser)

Thurs., Mar. 4
School Advisory Council, 7:00 PM, School Library

MAJOR REMINDER: Please sign up to work this week’s FISH FRY, Friday,
February 26! First grade is responsible for set up, serving and clean up!

February 22, 2010

Dear Family,

We will review a variety of math concepts as we end the BUSY month of February. We will discuss position words as we enter the chapter on geometry and fractions.

The class has enjoyed the new reading book, especially the stories written by Arnold Lobel. We will be writing our own Frog and Toad stories in the coming weeks. I am retesting the children who cannot yet read all of the sight words (star words) quickly on sight. Continue to practice those at home. Please remember to return the February reading activity paper that your child completed about his/her favorite story or book.

We will continue to work on learning new spelling words every four or five days and I will give “old” spelling words in the tests each time as well. Continue to have your child write the words in SENTENCES to practice the correct spelling.

Our science unit on food and nutrition has been fun, especially the day we examined seven different foods to look for fats in them. By the amount of grease on our papers, we determined that it would not be healthy to eat very many regular potato chips, doughnuts and candies that contain bad fats! I have had several children come to school in the morning telling me that they ate food God made (fresh fruits and vegetables). We have been comparing fresh foods to those foods that have long ingredient lists like processed foods. It is great when learning comes alive!

We began our Lenten journey in class by learning about and praying the Stations of the Cross. The children made pretzels on Tuesday and saved them for their snack on Ash Wednesday. We had our Lenten Retreat Day on Wednesday and Fr. Paul came to visit our class on Thursday. He explained the three key Lenten words: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. He gave the children great examples of each. The children were very attentive and he seemed to enjoy their comments. We thank him for his words to guide us on our Lenten journey.

Respectfully,

Christine Simolon

• Lent starts this week!

o On Wednesday we begin the liturgical season of Lent. There will be a school Mass at 8:15 AM along with the distribution of ashes. In the Gospel on Wednesday, Jesus instructs us to perform our penance in private, yet on that day Catholics flock to Mass to receive ashes on their foreheads, a visible sign to everyone. As we wear our ashes that day, let us not do so to proclaim our holiness, but to identify that we all are sinners seeking true repentance and renewal. (Reminder: To help the students understand fasting, there are no bake sales on hot lunch days and no ice cream sales during Lent.)

o One of the important aspects of our Lenten journey toward holiness is an increased awareness and effort to help those in need. Please remember to encourage your child to earn money for his or her Rice Bowl which is in this Monday Envelope. Inside the Rice Bowl you will find a Lenten calendar which will help your family understand the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. All the money collected will be sent to Catholic Relief Services to improve agriculture, get clean water, support small businesses and provide basic health and nutrition services along with educational resources and training for people in communities around the world. Parents are welcome to add their own contributions to the Rice Bowl.

o Today, the day before Lent begins, is known as Shrove Tuesday. To “shrive” is to hear confession. This refers to the reconciliation sought in preparation for the greater rigors of Lent. This day has also been known as Pancake Day during which an effort was made to use up the eggs and milk before Lent, with its strict conditions for fasting. Our High School Youth Ministry is having a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner tonight from 5:30-8:00 PM in the Parish Center. Dinner will cost $6.00 for adults (ages 11 and up) and $3.00 for children (10 and under). Support our parish high school students in their efforts to attend World Youth Day and help your family keep alive this Catholic tradition.

o Please consider attending the Parish Mission presented by Fr. Dominic Briese next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM in the Church. His homilies each evening will be enlightening.

• The Haiti Benefit Concert was very successful with our talented students raising hundreds of dollars for the earthquake victims. Together with the 5th Grade Jump-a-thon, the students’ donations and the silent auction, more than $1,000 has been collected to help in the relief efforts!

• Please join us this Friday and each Friday in Lent (except Good Friday) for our wonderful Fish Fry dinners! This week’s Fish Fry is hosted by families with students in Grades 2, 5 and 8. It is very important that every school family make the effort to work at least one Fish Fry for their child’s class if possible. These are the last major fundraisers for the school year. The sign-up sheets are in the School Office – we need help with set-up, serving, and clean-up. You do not need to have Safe Environment clearance to work at the Fish Frys. If you cannot work the dates hosted by your child’s class, you may still sign up for another date. I also encourage all of you to join us for dinner that evening. The delicious dinner is worth the wait – especially if you’re having fun visiting with the folks around you.

• The Advisory Council Meeting scheduled for next Monday will be rescheduled due to the Parish Mission. Please check next week’s newsletter for the new date. Topics to be discussed include the budget and proposed tuition rates for next year. Please join us.

• Enclosed in your Monday Envelope is a Ziploc with a P.R.A.Y. card. Feel free to use this card for your personal family devotions. These cards were prepared by our 8th Grade so any voluntary donations received from the cards will be used towards their 8th Grade class trip.

• Middle School basketball teams play this week. Come cheer them on! See the schedule below.

Upcoming Events:

Tues., Feb. 16
Middle School Basketball vs. ICS at Kerr-McGee, Girls 3:00 PM, Boys 4:00 PM

Wed., Feb. 17
School Ash Wednesday Mass, 8:15 AM

Fri., Feb. 19
School Mass, 5th Grade, 8:15 AM
Stations of the Cross (School), 2:00 PM
Fish Fry, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM, hosted by Grades 2, 5 and 8

Mon-Wed, Feb. 22-24
Parish Mission; 7:00 PM Mass