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Pay It Forward I was in Oakland this past weekend on a "boys weekend" with my son, brother and two nephews. One of my nephews dates a woman who works for the Raiders Football team so it was a sports trip with Warriors basketball and the Raiders on the agenda. On the way to the basketball game, on my first Uber ride, the driver opened his window and offered a bottle of water to a man on the corner with a sign asking, HELP, I'm a Vet. When I mentioned that was a nice thing to do, the driver responded, "I read that street folks get dehydrated that leads to other health issues. Maybe, he will remember what I did and offer some help to someone else on the street tonight. It's that pay it forward thing." Prior to the football game the next day, we were able to stand on the sidelines. I found myself next to a young family with a dad holding a little girl. They were up against a rope as close to the field as you could get and I inched closer in anticipation of getting a view of the oncoming players. My nephew's friend came up and told me that the little girl I was standing by was there as a Make a Wish Foundation kid. Stage 4 cancer. The sideline crowd was getting larger in anticipation of the team coming onto the field. "Excuse me, can my son squeeze past you so he can see the players?" I turned, a man and his son were trying to get past me and the Make a Wish father. I moved to let the boy take my place when the two dads looked at each other and one asked, "You in the military?" "Army." "Me too, reserves now". At that moment, the dad handed his girl to his wife and turned to the little boy and offered him an army camouflage bucket hat with a Raider logo on it saying, "They gave it to my girl but it won't fit her and I would like you to have it if you promise you will take care of it or give it to someone else who could use it." His eyes were wide open as he took the hat . I moved over and patted the boy on the shoulder and said, "It was a special hat." A minute later, as players stopped to say hi to the little girl or give her a hug, the boy's dad asked me, "What's going on?" I told him the story about the girl after which he knelt down and said something to his son. I imagined he told him about the girl who was now back in her Dad's arms. The little boy who just minutes before had wide eyes in excitement now had tears in his eyes as he looked both at the girl and his new hat. He quietly said to his Dad, "I will pray for her tonight." I thought of the Uber driver; pay it forward! In this past weekend that started so tragically in Paris, God placed me in moments of simple kindness, gentleness and grace. I hope I can repay the favor. peace, Chris
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Upcoming Events
November 19: All School Mass of Thanksgiving
November 20: Free Dress, Pajama Day
November 25-27: Thanksgiving Holiday
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From the School Office
Attendance: we've been tracking absences and tardies and are pleased with the numbers so far this year. Thanks for your efforts in getting your children to school on time -- keep up the good work!
It's cold out there! Please make sure your children are prepared for the weather with warm coats, hats, and gloves. We go outside everyday -- rain or shine!
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Community Ministry
Question of the Week:
"How are we directed to pray this Thanksgiving season?"
St. Patrick School Students are preparing their hearts for Thanksgiving by gathering inspirations, memories, and prayers of thankfulness. They have rejoiced with the saints and have honored the souls of those gone before us over the past two weeks. These prayers and projects will continue through the month of November.
Please join us for our All School Mass of Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 19, at 8:45. All are welcome as we give thanks for our many blessings!
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Scrip for Black Friday
Don't forget to use Scrip for your Black Friday shopping! We are able to order cards for most national retailers and would love to get you prepared for your shopping this Christmas.
Click here for a list of national vendors and click here for a list of our local merchants. For Black Friday shopping, the ordering deadline is November 17. The cards will be available for pick up on November 24.
While you are preparing your order, don't forget to include grocery scrip for Thanksgiving dinner. Please click here for our convenient online order form.
Thank you for supporting the school by purchasing Scrip! Contact scrip@saintpats.org with any questions.
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Amazon Smile
When you do your online shopping, please take a moment to support the school.
Simply begin your Amazon.com purchases from the following link:
Thank you!
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Food Drive
St. Patrick Catholic School is partnering with the St. Leo Food Connection on a monthly food drive, with a different focus each month.For the November food drive, we ask students and their families to donate individual serving sizes of cold cereal to be included in the Backpack Program. The Backpack Program provides two days worth of food to more than 800 low-income students and their families from 30 Tacoma and Clover Park schools. The Food Connection was recently able to purchase a significant amount of 8 oz packages of shelf stable milk, and the individual cereals will be included for weekend breakfast for the children.
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Operation Keep 'Em Warm and Fed
Our faculty and students joined the celebration on Saturday at Operation Keep 'Em Warm and Fed's 19th Anniversary at St. Leo Parish. They donated socks, sang the songs of Bix, and served soup at the event. Our middle school students have the opportunity to serve with Operation Keep 'Em Warm and Fed on the streets of Tacoma on a regular basis.
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Fulcrum Tuition Assistance
Fulcrum Foundation Hossfled Tuition Assistance Program
We Are Currently Accepting Applications For 2016-2017
It's our mission to make Catholic schools accessible for families and students. For the 2016-2017 school year, a Fulcrum Foundation Hossfeld Tuition Assistance grant will provide $1,100 towards elementary tuition and $1,250 towards high school tuition. Grants are distributed annually to students in grades K-12 and are awarded on the basis of financial need.
Beginning this fall, Fulcrum is partnering with FACTS to manage the collection and processing of tuition assistance applications. Award decisions will still be made by Fulcrum and will still be based on financial need.
It costs $24 per family (no matter how many students) to apply for a Fulcrum Foundation tuition assistance grant. You will be reimbursed for the full $24 even if you do not receive an award, but your student must be enrolled in a Catholic school for the 2016-2017 school year.
Important: Please read the Frequently Asked Questions prior to applying! The FAQ contains important information about who should apply and gives financial guidelines that are helpful for determining your eligibility. St. Patrick Catholic School will also be offering financial aid for the 2016/17 school year as usual. The applications will be available December 1, 2015. We would like any family in need of assistance to please complete this application. It is not necessary to also apply for the Hossfeld Tuition Assistance program as in years past. Since the Archdiocese is reimbursing the application fee they ask that only families that meet the eligibility guidlines apply. If you have any questions about this change please contact Bonnie Viafore in the school office at (253)272-2297 or bviafore@saintpats.org. Thank you!
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CYO
Basketball
Our 7th and 8th grade teams start play this coming weekend, November 21st. Good luck teams! Here is the schedule:
8th boys green team plays at St. Pats at 10:15 am vs. St. Francis.
8th boys white team plays at St. Pats at 11:45 am vs. St. Francis.
7th boys team plays at St. Pats at 3:30 pm versus Visitation.
8th girls play at St. Charles at 1:30 pm versus St. Charles 8th.
7th girls play at St. Charles at 3:00 pm versus St. Charles 8th.
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Photo Reminder
A reminder to 8th grade parents to get their student's pre-k or kindergarten pictures in by November 30th to Mindi Marsh at swampclan@hotmail.com.
Also, if anyone has photos of students playing non- CYO sports but are on teams with class/school mates, please email them to Mindi Marsh at swampclan@hotmail.com.
Thank you for your help in making the yearbook an accurate reflection of the school year!
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From the Parish
Youth Group
Saint Patrick Youth group meets every other Sunday from 4-5:30 PM in the Parish Center. We have fun, great fellowship, games, food, and grow in our faith. Come every time we meet or whenever you can make it. Bring a friend and join us. Host Families Needed:
A National Evangelization Team (NET) is facilitating a Confirmation Retreat at Saint Patrick Catholic Church the weekend after Thanksgiving, November 27 - 29, 2015 and host families are needed for the NET Retreat members! Click here for more information.
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The mission of St. Patrick Catholic School is to nurture in its students an abiding Catholic faith while pursuing academic excellence and modeling honesty, respect, and service as dynamic members of our world community.
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