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December 4, 2014
Dear Parents,
I like a good joke, but I don't tell them very well because sometimes I don't get the punchline correct. I would like to write a joke I heard in church last Sunday. It pertains to Advent.
There was a man named John who owned a talking parrot. The parrot used nothing but obscene language. John was so mad at the parrot when he had people over at his house. John decided to throw his parrot into his kitchen freezer in the hope that it would stop using bad language. Ten minutes later John took the parrot out of the freezer. He was amazed that the parrot told him that it was very sorry for the foul language and it would not happen anymore. John asked the parrot why he had such a change. The parrot said he did not want the same thing happening to him that happened to the turkey that was in wrapping paper in the freezer.
I hope the punchline came out right. Like the parrot, we should want to change something during Advent. Whether it is spending more time in prayer, reflecting upon the true meaning of Advent or Christmas, attending Reconciliation, or something else to buy during Christmas, we need to see if we can change one thing in our life. Change is never easy, but during Advent we can "want" to change in a way that we serve God and others. If you are unsure about what to change during Advent, think of the parrot.
This Monday December 8 marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mary is the patron saint of our school. The students will be attending Mass at 9 am. at St. Mary Parish. Please come and celebrate this Holy Day of Obligation with our students. There will be no Mass on Wednesday next week. It is always appreciated that many of you come to Mass on Wednesdays.
A word of thanks is owed to those second grade parents who contacted me as to receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation at other sites. Second graders from St. Francis Xavier and St. Mary will receive the sacrament for the first time at 6:30 pm. on Wednesday, December 10th at St. Mary Church. I know that Ms. Halverson and Ms. Korinek have prepared the children well for receiving the sacrament. Fr. Getchel informed me that there will be seven or eight priests present to hear confessions. Parents and other adults are encouraged to receive the sacrament as well. The fifth and sixth grade students had the opportunity to receive Reconciliation yesterday. The seventh and eighth graders will receive the sacrament on December 10 at 8:15 am., and the third and fourth graders will receive the sacrament on December 17 after the school Mass.
There has been an addition to the Parent Handbook. The addition pertains to movies that teachers show in class and the procedure involved when teachers decide to show movies. As a teacher, I have always had a difficult time determining what movies can and cannot be shown. I hope the paragraph in the handbook under movies will help you. I will continue to work on this procedure to show a more Catholic element to it.
Speaking of the handbook, the teachers and I are beginning to work on a procedure for students who have unexcused tardies. Implementing procedures such as these are common practice in just about every school. This subject is not currently part of the Parent Handbook, so we want to get that in before Christmas. All of us (teachers, parents, students, and I ) need to refer to the handbook regularly.
Your child will receive his/her report card Friday. One thing I wish to stress is that teachers do not give children grades. Children earn or don't earn them. One thing I we will do this year is to recognize students in grades 4 through 8 who made one of two honor rolls this trimester.
It is great that teachers are taking field trips with the students. Mrs. Hoeppner and Mrs. Gilson went to Lambeau Field Monday. The kindergarten students told me Tuesday how excited they were and that it was neat they were going to be on television. The kindergarten trip was one example of the special places our students at ND go during the school year.
You may want to check the lost and found at both campuses to check whether your child has items that have not been claimed. Both administrative assistants have told me that there are many items that need to be claimed.
I hope this does not come out unkindly, but if you have a question about something school related, please check out the Notre Dame Website. Not only does the website contain a great deal of important information, but both Mrs. Lamers and Mrs. Nance would appreciate it.
Please also check out the information below in the News and Events section of my newsletter. Valuable information is down there for you to keep you updated as to what is going on at school and the community. This week take special notice to the Staff Christmas Tree Wish List.
Not that I save the best for last, but next Thursday December 11 marks the presentation of the annual Christmas Concert, featuring the elementary students. The title of the presentation is A Play In A Manger. The times of the productions are 1 pm. and 6:30 pm. A special thank you goes to Miss Freeman, Mr. Risch, Mrs. Olson, and the many parents who helped with the costumes, props and other items needed to make the production so successful. All of you are invited to attend either production on December 11. Both productions will be held in the middle school gym
I would be remiss if I did not mention that today marks the feast of St.Francis Xavier. Francis took great risks in his life by spreading the Gospel throughout the Far East. People of the Far East persecuted Europeans for doing what Francis did. Perhaps we can think about this question: Would we risk our health and life like Francis did when he spread the Good News to the people of China and Japan? Remembering both St.Francis Xavier and the Blessed Virgin Mary can be an inspiration to all of us.
The church readings on Sunday center around Moses and the Burning Bush. Your children should be able to tell you all about it. You may want to quiz them before or after Mass.
Have a great weekend and try not to get overly stressed with thinking of your Christmas work list.
God Bless,
James A. (Jim) Clark, Principal
"May All of Us Preach The Gospel, And If Necessary Use Words."
Staff Christmas Tree Wish List
The teachers and staff of Notre Dame dedicate so much time and talent to the students and Christmas is the perfect time to recognize their efforts. In addition to the gifts of Scrip available, please consider helping them out with gifts for their classroom to assist with their teaching and to enrich your child's Notre Dame experience. A Christmas tree has been decorated in the middle school office that includes information on how you can help. This tree will also be made available for you to get an ornament off of at the elementary Christmas Concert on December 11th. To go directly to the wish list please click: Staff Wish List
Notre Dame of De Pere Just Launched Facebook
Yes its true!! We have arrived!! Check us out and like us on Facebook. Don't expect too much yet it is new but keep in touch with us in the future through Facebook and keep up with what is going on. Check us out here https://www.facebook.com/notredameofdepere
Basketball Wear
Have a basketball player in your family?
Now is the time to order official Notre a Dame Basketball clothing for your basketball player. Also great for fans and family to show your spirit.
Orders will be accepted until December 19 and will arrive in January.
Any questions, please contact Tricia Blomquist at 264-6428
St. Matt's Youth Mass
St. Matthew will be celebrating a youth Mass on Sunday December 7th at 5:30 P.M. All middle school, high school and college students are invited to join us. Fr. Jim Baraniak O. Praem will be presiding. Refreshments will be served following the Mass. This is an event that should not be missed. If you have never been to a youth Mass now is the time. This place will be all inspiring. All are Welcome!!
Christmas Cut-Out Cookie Sale
Too busy to bake? Want to do something nice for a friend? Check out this sale and let Carrie Zehms do the baking for you. You won't be sorry! She is fantastic and the presentation is fabulous. Think about ordering your cut out cookies and gingerbread cookies today. For more information and the form please click here
Fundraing Event - Bouncing for the Byrne's
There will be a special fundraising event on Thursday, December 18 from 3-5:30 pm. in the elementary school gym. Mrs. Byrne, one of our fine preschool aids, could use a little help from her and other school families. Her husband has had multiple surgeries this year and is in line for further treatment. Although life has deal a difficult hand right now, she still comes to school each day with the most amazing smile and helps our little ones. In addition there is not a day that goes by in which she makes me laugh at something the pre schoolers say and do. For more information and to sign up for this worthy event please click here
Adopt-A-Family Christmas Program
This Christmas Season, Notre Dame of De Pere School community has the opportunity to share its blessings with local De Pere families. Mr. Clark along with the Christian Outreach Program have identified families that would benefit from this wonderful program. For more information and to sign up for this event please click here
Winter Skate with Campus Ministry
For more information on this fun event for 5th -8th graders and to sign up or volunteer please click here
Catholic Schools Week
Catholic Schools Week is the last week in January but it is not too soon to sign up to volunteer for the Kick Off Mass as well as the Open House. It is a great opportunity for us to spread the word of how awesome our school is. To sign up for either/both of these events, look under the Catholic Schools Week title, click here
SCRIP News for the Holidays
St. Mary's is looking for SCRIP sellers before and after Mass on Saturdays and Sundays. Just one Mass a month and you will be able to get volunteer hours for it. You will need to contact Sherry Karcz 920-336-2838.
Please plan ahead for the holidays. The week of Christmas (Dec. 21) we will be placing our SCRIP orders on Sunday sometime before 1:00. Make sure your online and paper orders are in before this time.
If you haven't signed up online to order scrip, now is the time to do it. You can do that at shopwithscrip.com The Notre Dame Code is AACE48DA4728. For more information on this and some great bargains click here
For SCRIP hours click here
Parent Education
Mr. Clark has set up a Education Post on our webpage. New this week is an article on Saturday Enrichment Program at UW-Madison. This site is updated constantly. There are many valuable tools in which parents can educate themselves in different aspects of their children's education. Very helpful information. Check it out here.
Prayer Support New to the Notre Dame Website
Do you know someone who is sick? Pregnant? Having surgery? Being challenged in life in another way? If so, would you like a few extra prayers sent their way? Now you can anonymously submit a prayer request, and multiply the power of prayer!!
The Campus Ministry and Spirituality teams of Notre Dame of De Pere invite you to participate in the spiritual formation of our community. Our school community provides many opportunities for prayer: through school liturgies, the Rosary, our classrooms and prayer groups. If you have a special intention that you would like us to pray for, please feel free to submit your request and we will join with many others in our community praying for you. Submitted prayer requests are anonymous unless you choose to include your name. To submit a prayer, go to the "Faith" tab on the ND website, and select "Prayer Requests" or click here
Battle of the Books
This year our battle will be February 2. For a list of the books and the letter that went home click here
VIRTUS Training/Background Checks
All volunteers MUST have VIRTUS training and a background check. For more information click here
Check out what is happening at Notre Dame
There is always a lot going on at Notre Dame of De Pere. You can stay in the know by checking out our website. We update our website front page with fun, useful and interesting informational posts on a regular basis. Don't be the only one that doesn't know what is going on. Check the website as often as you check your email (maybe more). For a quick link to our website calendar click here
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