Dear Parents and Guardians,
The holy season of Advent is here. Advent can be filled with anxiety thinking of all that we have to do and all the places we must go; however, taking time to step back from the hectic and frenzied world that surrounds us is critical for us as we prepare for the birth of Baby Jesus. Father Jim’s homily this past weekend was about just that. As we enter the season of Advent let us find peace in the darkness December brings. In the midst of the shopping sprees, let us find time to reflect on the stillness of Advent. As Fr. Jim challenged us in his homily, let us find time for quiet prayer and reflection this holy season.
Christmas Program – Join our 1st-5th grade students as they celebrate the Christmas story on Sunday at 3pm in the Ministry Center gym. Doors will not open until 2pm.
Santa’s Workshop is just one week away! But.. we are still in need of volunteers! Please sign up via School Speak. Donations of gift bags from preschool thru 4th grade and $5 gift cards from 5th-8th grade are needed. Please send to the school office. The student shopping list can be found on School Speak as well.
Red and Green Dress Down Day – Students may dress out of uniform in appropriate Red, Green, or Christmas type clothing on Friday, December 20th (jeans, leggings, and yogas are fine). Please be reminded that Friday, December 20th is a half day of school with dismissal at 11am.
School Advent Service Project – St. Isidore students are excited to help brighten the Christmas season for our PADS families. PADS is an acronym for Public Action to Deliver Shelter. Members of the PADS community (including families with children) do not have homes and travel from hosting site to hosting site to find lodging each night. St. Isidore opens our gym for PADS every Monday evening. The PADS community depends on the different hosting sites throughout the county for shelter throughout the year. Each December, St. Isidore prepares a Christmas meal for our PADS guests to eat the Monday of Christmas week. Our school students will be making the Christmas table decorations and collecting cookies (unopened) to be served at dessert. We are also collecting small personal care items to be handed out to the guests as our little Christmas gifts from the school families. We are asking our school families to donate what they are able for our PADS guests. For logistical purposes, we are asking students in grades PS-4 to bring in store-bought cookies, brownies, etc. and students in grades 5-8 to bring in travel size personal care items (toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, deodorant, body wash, pocket size Kleenex, etc.); however, please feel free to bring in anything that is easiest for you. Thank you for your participation in this service project. It is completely optional to send anything in. All students will be participating in making the decorations for the Christmas dinner, so all students will be involved regardless of sending in an item.
Immaculate Conception Mass/ Advent Reconciliation – Students in K-8 will celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Monday, December 9th with mass at 8:15am in the church. As a result, there will not be a school mass on Wednesday next week. In place of mass next Wednesday students in grades 3-8 will participate in reconciliation in the chapel.
Early Bird Raffle – Don’t forget the early bird raffle will be pulled the morning of December 20th, the last day before Christmas break! Be sure to get your raffle tickets in so that you can be eligible for this drawing!
Football Mania- This past Wednesday I was walking back to school from church with our 7th graders and kindergartners (they are buddy classes so they sit together during mass). I happened to be walking with Matt Wlodek and Eddie Hensley and joined their conversation about the Bears. I think I surprised them when I was able to talk about the Offensive Line, Kyle Long, the return of Akiem Hicks, and anything football. BUT… I wasn’t able to talk about winning at football mania, because I haven’t seem to have won anything yet. However, Congratulations are in order for our week 12 winners!!!
Congratulations to Greg Czaplewski who won $200 and to Janell Zachiac who won $50 on a ticket sold by the Juridico family. Maybe next week for me…
Catholic Schools Week Mass 2020 – Believe it or not, we are already starting to plan for our annual celebration of Catholic Schools! This year, all school families are asked to attend the 8:30am mass on Sunday, January 26th. This will be our big family mass. Our students will be the lectors, ushers, greeters, servers, the choir, and presenting the gifts. We will also have some students speaking during mass about the benefits of their Catholic education. ALL students are asked to attend IN UNIFORM. In exchange for attending mass in uniform, students will be given an out of uniform pass that day at the open house following mass and the pancake breakfast. The day will begin with mass at 8:30 (students won’t be sitting with their classrooms/they will sit with their family). After mass families can attend the pancake breakfast hosted by the Knights of Columbus. After breakfast, all families are asked to come into the school to visit your child’s classroom and enjoy our CSW open house. Your child will receive his/her dress down pass at the open house. I know its rather early to be talking about CSW, but I wanted to get this date and time on everyone’s calendars. Please plan to be there.
Advent Blessings~
Mrs. Alimento