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November 25, 2014
Dear Parents,
What are you thankful for? Other than my family, I have much to be thankful for, and it is because of all of you I can feel that way.
To the Students - I have been pleased with their attitude, manners and behavior so far this year. I can always count on them saying hi as well as making me smile or laugh. Watching some of the middle school students help the pre school students get ready in the cold is priceless.
To the Parents - I definitely have gotten the feeling you care passionately for Notre Dame School. I have appreciated your communication and conferences with me. I have found them positive, constructive and educational.
To the Teachers and Staff - They have bought into my ideas and views in curriculum, management, discipline, organization and procedure. They are truly dedicated individuals who have been a pleasure to work with.
To Various School/Parish Organizations - SAC, The Booster Club, Home and School and the Total Catholic Education Team of the two parishes. These groups have been of great assistance to me in what I am trying to do at Notre Dame.
There is only one other thing I can say, and that is THANK YOU.
It is a tremendous accomplishment that over 2,462 pounds of food was collected for Christian Outreach in De Pere. This is incredible! Thank you for your generous donations. There are more requests for food at the pantries than ever. This outpouring of love and care will feed many people Thanksgiving Day and beyond.
Please look at the Parent Handbook as it pertains to excused and unexcused absences. Mrs. Nance and Mrs. Lamers will be asking parents the reason for your child's absence. If a student is deemed to have an unexcused absence, he/she will have a note put in indicating the day of the unexcused absence. Work missed will not be given the usual time extensions that is given for excused absences. Thank you in advance for your understanding.
It is that time of year when we think of bad weather and whether it will affect school hours. I would again ask you to check the Parent Handbook to see what procedures are followed should bad weather arise.
If you would like to have school information put in our weekly letter, please get that to us by noon Wednesdays if not sooner. This gives both Mrs. Nance time to insert this material into the letter and communication that regularly goes out on Thursday. There are times either one or both of us may have to attend to unanticipated events.
The elementary students are already practicing their parts for the Christmas Concert on December 11. If you have not put this on your calendar, please do so. It is very impressive that several middle school students have expressed their desire to attend.
As we near Thanksgiving, I would like to finish by citing a THANKSGIVING TABLE PRAYER by Mary Cronk Farrell:
O Gracious God, we give you thanks for your overflowing generosity to us. Thank
your for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank
you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank you for our health, our work and our play. Please send help
to those who are hungry, alone, sick, and suffering war and violence. Open our
hearts to your love. We ask your blessing through Christ your son. Amen.
May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving!
God Bless,
James A. (Jim) Clark, Principal
"May All of Us Preach The Gospel, And If Necessary Use Words."
A Message From Our Religion Teacher
Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday with a focus on recognizing, or remembering how truly blessed we are. Read more 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
De Pere Youth Wrestling
Youth wrestling is for any student in grades 4K-5. For more information 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
Teachers Wish List is Up and Running
Would you like to do something special for the school or an individual teacher? Notre Dame of De Pere is in need of so many items for our school. Items that would make things easier, better or simply more effective for the staff and students. If you would like to look through the list please check our website out. At the top of the website click on My Teacher you will get a drop down then click on Teacher Wishlists or just click here
Parent Education
Mr. Clark has set up a Education Post on our webpage. 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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