For Northern Virginia group aiding Haiti, an urgent new need
By Susan Kinzie Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, January 13, 2010; 5:23 PM
Eleven years ago, the Rev. Richard Martin went to Haiti and couldn't forget the poverty he saw there, the stench of the slums. He watched a woman making the day's only meal for her children, cooking soup over charcoal with water and little disposable packets of ketchup. One little boy didn't have any, and when he asked the mother why not, she responded, "It's not his day."
He saw other women making biscuits out of clay, sifted into a fine powder and mixed with bouillon and water and left to harden in the sun, to fill their children's stomachs and stop them from crying. "We can't imagine that they have nothing to eat except for cookies made of dirt. . . . We just can't comprehend that, an hour-and-a-half plane ride from Disney World, there is this abject poverty, this destitution."
At his Catholic parish in Burke, he put a basket at the back of the church and asked the congregation, then about 2,500 people, to donate 50 cents a day during the 40 days of Lent. They raised $69,000, a sum he couldn't believe. And so began a series of projects: They built small homes for families. They bought boats for fishermen. They planted banana and breadfruit trees. They erected a two-story school.
They named it Operation Starfish, after a legend about a man walking on the beach after a bad storm: He began throwing starfish washed up on the beach back into the ocean to save them from the heat of the sun and the sand. A little boy told him it was useless, Martin said, because there were so many; he could never save them all. "The old man just picked up one, threw the starfish back in the water, turned to the boy and said, 'But I made a difference to that one.' "
They work with Florida-based Food for the Poor, and the Starfish model has now been followed at hundreds of churches, Martin said. The Church of the Nativity in Burke, now more than 5,000 families, has raised $2.2 million already. And now the phone keeps ringing, with parishioners asking about the people they have met on trips to Haiti, asking about the villages where they know the porches of the rickety shacks glow at night with candles as families sit outside in the warm air, talking.
Like so many congregations, community groups, extended families and small nonprofit groups, they wanted to find a way to respond quickly, in a heartfelt way, to the crisis. But with communications and transportation in Haiti snarled, it was difficult for many to know how best to help.
It's hard to bear the sadness of the earthquake, said Jim McDaniel, who coordinates their efforts. He set up a Facebook group and watched wrenching messages float in, as well as the occasional good news -- a missing boy found Wednesday afternoon. Volunteers will have a collection at the church Jan. 24 for food, bottled water and other emergency supplies (checks can be mailed to Church of the Nativity, 6400 Nativity Lane, Burke, Va. 22015), package 25,000 meals for families and send a shipment of building supplies.
They got an e-mail from priest Duken Augustin, whom they work with in Cap-Haitien, on the northern coast: "It is raining heavily. It is dark. The whole city is covered with water; the people of Prolonge swamp for instance don’t know what to do. . . .This is a very tragic situation. We already have so many problems that we are unable to resolve after the devastation brought by the four hurricanes of 2008, there are so much suffering waiting to be addressed that this earthquake is really too much. A total disaster.
"We hoped that we would be able to make it but no way. No brake. No chance. We will have to deal with new needs, new sufferings, new situation of hunger, new despair, new devastation."
"They say good comes of everything," Martin said. "I'm trying to think what good could come of this. So I'm questioning, too. I guess you're waiting for some pious words. But I'm just waiting -- just wondering."
hands, feet and resources. I have come to know the Haitian people as people of hope. We are called to support their spirit of hope with our prayer and material sacrifice."
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Food for the Poor in Haiti
Hi, all-
As you may know, over the past several years I have worked closely with Operation Starfish through Food For The Poor to help with their educational projects in Haiti. The people of this amazing country are near and dear to my heart.
Last night, a 7 point magnitude earthquake hit right outside of Port-au-Prince, with a couple of aftershocks of over 5 points. After this happened, I spoke on the phone with Jim McDaniel, the Director of Operation Starfish and have been in contact via email through the night. The devastation in the city is enormous. Through intermittent text contact, JIm was able to convey that the first Nativity Village for Operation Starfish that I worked with in the past was leveled. There has been damage done to other operation Starfish Projects such as their orphanage. One of the churches that went out this past week - they were caught in the middle of it all, but are alive- they conveyed through texts that they are able to see bodies in the street. The Montana Hotel that we stay at in PaP was demolished. Two of my dear friends in PaP are still not accounted for, and no immediate word as of yet from the HQ of FFP in Haiti.
My heart is grieving so much for my friends, and for all of the incredible people I have met in my journeys to Haiti. Day-to-day life in Haiti is a testament of the resilience of the Haitian people - I cannot fathom what devastation has occurred in this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and how this will test their resilience even further. This is a people of God - their faith in the Lord is unparalled - they need our prayers right now.
Blessings,
Sara
As you may know, over the past several years I have worked closely with Operation Starfish through Food For The Poor to help with their educational projects in Haiti. The people of this amazing country are near and dear to my heart.
Last night, a 7 point magnitude earthquake hit right outside of Port-au-Prince, with a couple of aftershocks of over 5 points. After this happened, I spoke on the phone with Jim McDaniel, the Director of Operation Starfish and have been in contact via email through the night. The devastation in the city is enormous. Through intermittent text contact, JIm was able to convey that the first Nativity Village for Operation Starfish that I worked with in the past was leveled. There has been damage done to other operation Starfish Projects such as their orphanage. One of the churches that went out this past week - they were caught in the middle of it all, but are alive- they conveyed through texts that they are able to see bodies in the street. The Montana Hotel that we stay at in PaP was demolished. Two of my dear friends in PaP are still not accounted for, and no immediate word as of yet from the HQ of FFP in Haiti.
My heart is grieving so much for my friends, and for all of the incredible people I have met in my journeys to Haiti. Day-to-day life in Haiti is a testament of the resilience of the Haitian people - I cannot fathom what devastation has occurred in this poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and how this will test their resilience even further. This is a people of God - their faith in the Lord is unparalled - they need our prayers right now.
Blessings,
Sara
Friday, January 8, 2010
St John the Evangelist Catholic School Chronicle
St John the Evangelist Catholic School Chronicle
January 8, 2010
Love the Learning. Build our Friendships. Live the Faith
Dear St. John’s parents:
We have some excellent news to start our new year!
In an effort to improve the quality of online communication with the parents at Saint John’s, we have completed a massive overhaul of the school website. Our goal was to improve the site’s navigability, aesthetics and overall ease of use. Our desire to revamp the website came as a result of your feedback, both from the end-of-year survey and the parent focus groups. Your input and feedback has helped guide our actions and prompted us to make our website more useful and user-friendly.
A site use manual was sent home with your child earlier this week. The purpose of this manual is to help you become more quickly acquainted with the site and to highlight all of the amazing features our new site offers. I encourage you to see the new school site for yourself at http://school.saintjohns.net. It really is fun to browse!
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank profusely our amazing webmaster, Samantha Sweeney for all of her hard work in making this website a reality – thank you!
I hope you have a wonderful start to 2010 – may the Lord continue to bless you all.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
SCRIP INFORMATION
Scrip information for the first half of the school year (7/1/09 – 12/31/09) is available for families to pick up at the school office. This report details your purchases and shows whether you have met the minimum $150 profit (a negative number under contribution indicates how much further you need to go before the 50% tuition credit is effective).
Many families have met this year’s minimum and will have the 50% tuition credit of any contribution over $150 of profit on their tuition statements.
This school year is a transition year for scrip rebate, requiring a $150 minimum before tuition credit. Next school year however, the minimum will be required of every family as part of their school commitment. Those who do not meet the minimum will see an additional charge on their tuition statements for the difference between their scrip profit contribution and the $150 minimum. The 50% scrip rebate will remain the same after meeting the minimum.
If you have any questions please contact Dorothea.boettcher@saintjohns.us
ST. JOHN’S ANNUAL SOCK HOP
January 30, 2010, 5:30-8:00 P.M., Hoying Gym
It’s that time of year to start planning our Annual Sock Hop to kick off Catholic School’s Week!
We are planning a fun-filled family event and we need your help.See the volunteer sign up sheet and log in those volunteer hours. (Remember you need 50!) the sheet is posted on the website. We need volunteers for the clean-up crew, door greeter, photo booth, and food service. Please sign up to help us make this year’s Sock Hop a fun time for all St. John’s school and parish families. For more information, contact Shannon Lotz at 635-5844 or email at lotzsh@saintjohns.net
Please help the St. John’s Booster’s Club raise money for Eagle Athletics!
Wednesday, February 3rd, 4:45-8:00 PM at Culver’s Restaurant, located at HWY 34 Next to Centerra
St. John’s will receive 10% of Wednesday night’s proceeds! Bring the family and enjoy a night out for a good cause!
LENTEN FISH FRY'S AT THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HALL
Mark your calendar for the Lenten Fish Fry's at the Knights of Columbus Hall starting Friday, February 19, and running through and including Friday, April 2 (Good Friday), from 5:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. Meal prices start at $5.00. Free meatless pasta bar for the kids.
PTO Updates:
.
v The Next PTO meeting will be January 14 at 7:00pm in the Eagle’s Nest
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ACTIVITIES!
January 30- February 4, 2010
Greetings St. John’s Families,
Catholic Schools Week is quickly approaching and we have many great events planned for your child and the whole family. The theme for the year’s celebration is “Dividends for Life”.
Each school day we will celebrate with and outreach to the many different communities that are part of Catholic Education. The following is a schedule of events for the week so please mark your calendars!
Please stop by and check out your student's art work throughout the week.
Art will be displayed throughout the hallways and in the church foyer.
Saturday, January 30th – Sock Hop!
5:30 - 8:00 pm, Hoying Gym – all families welcome!
Saturday/Sunday January 30th and 31st – Mass “In our Parish”
At each Mass Dr. Amodio will be speaking about the school and there will be a short DVD presentation. We will also be collecting prayer requests from parishioners so that our students can pray for our congregation during the week.
ACTION: 1. We will need volunteer families to collect these prayer cards at the end of each mass. Please contact Briana Lasher if you are interested in helping. brianalasher@comcast.net.
2. Please have your children to wear their uniforms to Mass.
Monday February 1st – “Our Community”
Third Annual Birthday Bag Community Service Project. Please see the list on the other side to determine what item your student(s) are to bring to add to the bag. After each class puts their items in the bags, we will donate them to local agencies who will distribute them to families who may not have the resources to celebrate a child’s birthday.
ACTION: Please have the students bring their items to school. We will also be in the loop on Friday January 29th collecting items for the bags.
Tuesday, February 2nd– “Vocation Day”
Each class will be adopting a staff member or a “feeder” church to say thank you for supporting our child’s education. The classes will be putting together thank you notes, goodies and prayers for these special people. We will be asking families to donate items for these thank you baskets.
ACTION: Please help the room parents by bringing in a few dollars to purchase items for the baskets.
Wednesday, February 3rd – “Nation Day”
**EARLY RELEASE** MASS will be held at 8:30. (Note:Mass uniforms please!) This is also Father Franks Birthday; we will be celebrating with himJ. We will be doing a LIVING ROSARY prayer service at 10:30 am for world peace. The service will be held in Hoying Gym. This is sure to be an amazing event as the students are representing the beads of the rosary. Please join us!
ACTION: Saint John’s Booster Club will be hosting a Culver’s Fund Raiser Night tonight from 5-8pm. Please come support our booster club. 10% of the proceeds go back to our school.
Thursday, February 4th – “Student Day”
To kick off student day Parents, Grandparents, Relatives and Friends are invited to come and have LUNCH WITH STUDENTS. RSVP forms will be sent home after the break, be sure to RSVP by January 22nd. RSVPs are required whether you plan on attending or not. After a fun lunch we will be cheering on the Staff VS. 8th Grade in an Olympic Games Competition. Feel free to come watch the mayhem in the Hoying Gym at 2pm!
Friday, February 5th –Teacher Appreciation Day - NO SCHOOL
The Catholic Schools Week committee will be providing a brunch for the teachers to enjoy.
BIRTHDAY BOX DONATIONS: We are asking for the following to be brought to school by Friday, January 29th. (Note: please make sure your item below will accommodate at least 8 children)
3 Year Preschool: 1 packet of birthday invitations
4 Year Preschool: boys – 1 pack paper cups girls – 1 pack cupcake papers
Junior Kindergarten: girls- Cake Mix boys-Frosting
Kindergarten- Campbell-Maher: 1 can of frosting per student
Kindergarten- Wood: 1 box of cake mix per student
1st Grade: Mertens Koolaid or Lemonade packet + 1 box of birthday candles
1st Grade - Lotz: streamers or other festive decorations
2nd Grade – Martinek: streamers or other festive decorations
3rd Grade Boney: boys – napkins girls - plates
3rd Grade Alyea: birthday napkins
4th Grade: Pigg birthday plates
4th Grade: Cunningham 1 packet of birthday invitations
5th Grade: Sgourdos balloons or other festive decorations
Middle School: girls - party favor items boys - party favor bags
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check List:
q Return your RSVP by Jan 22nd for the Luncheon. Even if you cannot make it please return the form and indicate whom your child will sit.
q Please send in your items for the birthday box January 29th.
q Bring in a few dollars for the Thank You Baskets January 29th.
q Come to the Sock Hop on Saturday January 30th!
q Make sure the kids wear their uniforms to Mass on the 30th or 31st.
q If you can help collect prayer requests at mass on Saturday the 30th or Sunday the 31st please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net.
q Students need to wear their Mass uniforms on Wednesday February 3rd.
q Join us on Wednesday for Mass and the Living Rosary.
q Attend lunch on Thursday February 4th..
q Cheer on the staff and students at the Olympic games on Thursday the 4th.
Do you want to help volunteer for any of these events? Please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net. We are specifically looking for someone to help video tape the living rosary, but there are many other opportunities to help as well.
This is a really fun-filled week of activities and we encourage as much family participation as you are able. Hope to see you there!
O God,bless our family and all its members and friends;bind us together by your love.Give us kindness and patienceto support each other;and wisdom in all we do.Let the gift of your peacecome into our heartsand remain with us.May we rejoice in your blessingsfor all our days.
v Please pray for the Jarosik, Jimenez, Kaiser, Kellogg families
v Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts he has provided us
v Especially give thanks to God for the gift of a parish school and ask his help as we continue to grow and prosper
v May Our Lord grant us all the graces we need and desire
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street Loveland, Co 80537 970.635.5830
Saint John the Evangelist School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national or ethnic origin
January 8, 2010
Love the Learning. Build our Friendships. Live the Faith
Dear St. John’s parents:
We have some excellent news to start our new year!
In an effort to improve the quality of online communication with the parents at Saint John’s, we have completed a massive overhaul of the school website. Our goal was to improve the site’s navigability, aesthetics and overall ease of use. Our desire to revamp the website came as a result of your feedback, both from the end-of-year survey and the parent focus groups. Your input and feedback has helped guide our actions and prompted us to make our website more useful and user-friendly.
A site use manual was sent home with your child earlier this week. The purpose of this manual is to help you become more quickly acquainted with the site and to highlight all of the amazing features our new site offers. I encourage you to see the new school site for yourself at http://school.saintjohns.net. It really is fun to browse!
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank profusely our amazing webmaster, Samantha Sweeney for all of her hard work in making this website a reality – thank you!
I hope you have a wonderful start to 2010 – may the Lord continue to bless you all.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
SCRIP INFORMATION
Scrip information for the first half of the school year (7/1/09 – 12/31/09) is available for families to pick up at the school office. This report details your purchases and shows whether you have met the minimum $150 profit (a negative number under contribution indicates how much further you need to go before the 50% tuition credit is effective).
Many families have met this year’s minimum and will have the 50% tuition credit of any contribution over $150 of profit on their tuition statements.
This school year is a transition year for scrip rebate, requiring a $150 minimum before tuition credit. Next school year however, the minimum will be required of every family as part of their school commitment. Those who do not meet the minimum will see an additional charge on their tuition statements for the difference between their scrip profit contribution and the $150 minimum. The 50% scrip rebate will remain the same after meeting the minimum.
If you have any questions please contact Dorothea.boettcher@saintjohns.us
ST. JOHN’S ANNUAL SOCK HOP
January 30, 2010, 5:30-8:00 P.M., Hoying Gym
It’s that time of year to start planning our Annual Sock Hop to kick off Catholic School’s Week!
We are planning a fun-filled family event and we need your help.See the volunteer sign up sheet and log in those volunteer hours. (Remember you need 50!) the sheet is posted on the website. We need volunteers for the clean-up crew, door greeter, photo booth, and food service. Please sign up to help us make this year’s Sock Hop a fun time for all St. John’s school and parish families. For more information, contact Shannon Lotz at 635-5844 or email at lotzsh@saintjohns.net
Please help the St. John’s Booster’s Club raise money for Eagle Athletics!
Wednesday, February 3rd, 4:45-8:00 PM at Culver’s Restaurant, located at HWY 34 Next to Centerra
St. John’s will receive 10% of Wednesday night’s proceeds! Bring the family and enjoy a night out for a good cause!
LENTEN FISH FRY'S AT THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HALL
Mark your calendar for the Lenten Fish Fry's at the Knights of Columbus Hall starting Friday, February 19, and running through and including Friday, April 2 (Good Friday), from 5:00p.m. to 7:00p.m. Meal prices start at $5.00. Free meatless pasta bar for the kids.
PTO Updates:
.
v The Next PTO meeting will be January 14 at 7:00pm in the Eagle’s Nest
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK ACTIVITIES!
January 30- February 4, 2010
Greetings St. John’s Families,
Catholic Schools Week is quickly approaching and we have many great events planned for your child and the whole family. The theme for the year’s celebration is “Dividends for Life”.
Each school day we will celebrate with and outreach to the many different communities that are part of Catholic Education. The following is a schedule of events for the week so please mark your calendars!
Please stop by and check out your student's art work throughout the week.
Art will be displayed throughout the hallways and in the church foyer.
Saturday, January 30th – Sock Hop!
5:30 - 8:00 pm, Hoying Gym – all families welcome!
Saturday/Sunday January 30th and 31st – Mass “In our Parish”
At each Mass Dr. Amodio will be speaking about the school and there will be a short DVD presentation. We will also be collecting prayer requests from parishioners so that our students can pray for our congregation during the week.
ACTION: 1. We will need volunteer families to collect these prayer cards at the end of each mass. Please contact Briana Lasher if you are interested in helping. brianalasher@comcast.net.
2. Please have your children to wear their uniforms to Mass.
Monday February 1st – “Our Community”
Third Annual Birthday Bag Community Service Project. Please see the list on the other side to determine what item your student(s) are to bring to add to the bag. After each class puts their items in the bags, we will donate them to local agencies who will distribute them to families who may not have the resources to celebrate a child’s birthday.
ACTION: Please have the students bring their items to school. We will also be in the loop on Friday January 29th collecting items for the bags.
Tuesday, February 2nd– “Vocation Day”
Each class will be adopting a staff member or a “feeder” church to say thank you for supporting our child’s education. The classes will be putting together thank you notes, goodies and prayers for these special people. We will be asking families to donate items for these thank you baskets.
ACTION: Please help the room parents by bringing in a few dollars to purchase items for the baskets.
Wednesday, February 3rd – “Nation Day”
**EARLY RELEASE** MASS will be held at 8:30. (Note:Mass uniforms please!) This is also Father Franks Birthday; we will be celebrating with himJ. We will be doing a LIVING ROSARY prayer service at 10:30 am for world peace. The service will be held in Hoying Gym. This is sure to be an amazing event as the students are representing the beads of the rosary. Please join us!
ACTION: Saint John’s Booster Club will be hosting a Culver’s Fund Raiser Night tonight from 5-8pm. Please come support our booster club. 10% of the proceeds go back to our school.
Thursday, February 4th – “Student Day”
To kick off student day Parents, Grandparents, Relatives and Friends are invited to come and have LUNCH WITH STUDENTS. RSVP forms will be sent home after the break, be sure to RSVP by January 22nd. RSVPs are required whether you plan on attending or not. After a fun lunch we will be cheering on the Staff VS. 8th Grade in an Olympic Games Competition. Feel free to come watch the mayhem in the Hoying Gym at 2pm!
Friday, February 5th –Teacher Appreciation Day - NO SCHOOL
The Catholic Schools Week committee will be providing a brunch for the teachers to enjoy.
BIRTHDAY BOX DONATIONS: We are asking for the following to be brought to school by Friday, January 29th. (Note: please make sure your item below will accommodate at least 8 children)
3 Year Preschool: 1 packet of birthday invitations
4 Year Preschool: boys – 1 pack paper cups girls – 1 pack cupcake papers
Junior Kindergarten: girls- Cake Mix boys-Frosting
Kindergarten- Campbell-Maher: 1 can of frosting per student
Kindergarten- Wood: 1 box of cake mix per student
1st Grade: Mertens Koolaid or Lemonade packet + 1 box of birthday candles
1st Grade - Lotz: streamers or other festive decorations
2nd Grade – Martinek: streamers or other festive decorations
3rd Grade Boney: boys – napkins girls - plates
3rd Grade Alyea: birthday napkins
4th Grade: Pigg birthday plates
4th Grade: Cunningham 1 packet of birthday invitations
5th Grade: Sgourdos balloons or other festive decorations
Middle School: girls - party favor items boys - party favor bags
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check List:
q Return your RSVP by Jan 22nd for the Luncheon. Even if you cannot make it please return the form and indicate whom your child will sit.
q Please send in your items for the birthday box January 29th.
q Bring in a few dollars for the Thank You Baskets January 29th.
q Come to the Sock Hop on Saturday January 30th!
q Make sure the kids wear their uniforms to Mass on the 30th or 31st.
q If you can help collect prayer requests at mass on Saturday the 30th or Sunday the 31st please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net.
q Students need to wear their Mass uniforms on Wednesday February 3rd.
q Join us on Wednesday for Mass and the Living Rosary.
q Attend lunch on Thursday February 4th..
q Cheer on the staff and students at the Olympic games on Thursday the 4th.
Do you want to help volunteer for any of these events? Please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net. We are specifically looking for someone to help video tape the living rosary, but there are many other opportunities to help as well.
This is a really fun-filled week of activities and we encourage as much family participation as you are able. Hope to see you there!
O God,bless our family and all its members and friends;bind us together by your love.Give us kindness and patienceto support each other;and wisdom in all we do.Let the gift of your peacecome into our heartsand remain with us.May we rejoice in your blessingsfor all our days.
v Please pray for the Jarosik, Jimenez, Kaiser, Kellogg families
v Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts he has provided us
v Especially give thanks to God for the gift of a parish school and ask his help as we continue to grow and prosper
v May Our Lord grant us all the graces we need and desire
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street Loveland, Co 80537 970.635.5830
Saint John the Evangelist School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national or ethnic origin
Monday, January 4, 2010
We have some excellent news to start off our new year!
Dear St. John’s parents:
We have some excellent news to start off our new year!
In an effort to improve the quality of online communication with the parents at Saint John’s, we have completed a massive overhaul of the school website. Our goal was to improve the site’s navigability, aesthetics and overall ease of use. Our desire to revamp the website came as a result of your feedback, both from the end-of-year survey and the parent focus groups. Your input and feedback has helped guide our actions and prompted us to make our website more useful and user-friendly.
A site use manual will be sent home with your child tomorrow, Tuesday, January 5. The purpose of this manual is to help you become more quickly acquainted with the site and to highlight all of the amazing features our new site offers. I encourage you to see the new school site for yourself at http://school.saintjohns.net. It really is fun to browse!
If you would like to learn more about the functionality of our new website, I invite you to attend the Principal’s Coffee this Friday after Mass for a website training session. I promise that you will find the session very useful.
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank profusely our amazing webmaster, Samantha Sweeney for all of her hard work in making this website a reality – thank you!
I hope you have a wonderful start to 2010 – may the Lord continue to bless you all.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
Principal, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street
Loveland, Colorado 80537
970-635-5830
“Providing Roots and Wings for over 50 years”
St. John's Mission Statement
In communion with our families, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School provides a respectful Catholic environment dedicated to developing the whole child through academic achievement, personal responsibility and the formation of faith-filled citizens in a place where Christ is ever present.
We have some excellent news to start off our new year!
In an effort to improve the quality of online communication with the parents at Saint John’s, we have completed a massive overhaul of the school website. Our goal was to improve the site’s navigability, aesthetics and overall ease of use. Our desire to revamp the website came as a result of your feedback, both from the end-of-year survey and the parent focus groups. Your input and feedback has helped guide our actions and prompted us to make our website more useful and user-friendly.
A site use manual will be sent home with your child tomorrow, Tuesday, January 5. The purpose of this manual is to help you become more quickly acquainted with the site and to highlight all of the amazing features our new site offers. I encourage you to see the new school site for yourself at http://school.saintjohns.net. It really is fun to browse!
If you would like to learn more about the functionality of our new website, I invite you to attend the Principal’s Coffee this Friday after Mass for a website training session. I promise that you will find the session very useful.
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank profusely our amazing webmaster, Samantha Sweeney for all of her hard work in making this website a reality – thank you!
I hope you have a wonderful start to 2010 – may the Lord continue to bless you all.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
Principal, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street
Loveland, Colorado 80537
970-635-5830
“Providing Roots and Wings for over 50 years”
St. John's Mission Statement
In communion with our families, St. John the Evangelist Catholic School provides a respectful Catholic environment dedicated to developing the whole child through academic achievement, personal responsibility and the formation of faith-filled citizens in a place where Christ is ever present.
Friday, December 18, 2009
St John the Evangelist Catholic School Chronicle
St John the Evangelist Catholic School Chronicle
December 18, 2009
Love the Learning. Build our Friendships. Live the Faith
Dear St. John’s Parents-
May the blessings of this Advent season be upon you and your family!
As we close out 2009, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect upon some of the amazing things that have happened at our school so far.
We have expended our academic offerings to provide a Resource program for our students. Through Title money from the Recovery Act, our school has a Thompson R2J Resource teacher who comes to our school three days a week. We have allocated some of our aide money to hire Mrs. Daws to be our in-house Resource teacher. We have also created a Tutoring Corps with school parents and parish members to help with tutoring for our students. This all came as a result of the end-of-year survey where the feedback suggested we expand our academic offerings for all children– thank you for your feedback!
We continue to expand our extra-curricular offerings to provide a “whole child” education… Battle of the Books team, our State Championship Lego Robotics Team, our choir, our newly established Strings program, our band, Speech team, Yearbook, Spelling Bee…and much, much more! Our Athletics program continues to develop and excel here at St. Johns – our Volleyball girls and Basketball boys both had amazing seasons
We are the 2009 recipients of the Group Publishing grant for youth service to our community for the service projects that each class performs. We were acknowledged by Senator Bennet for the reception of this award: “Colorado is fortunate to have organizations like St. John the Evangelist making a positive impact in communities across the state. Thank you for your exceptional service.”
I can’t thank you all enough for your continued support of St. John’s. We are blessed and honored to be with your children each day! Your children are my source of inspiration each day – and I take great joy in seeing the students grow and develop!
I pray that each of you have a very blessed Christmas and a happy new year. – all of you stay in my constant prayers, and will say special prayers for each of you this holiday season.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
We will return from Christmas vacation on January 4th. On January 6th it is early release and if you would like to use the extended day program Mrs. Haigh needs you to contact her and sign up ahead of time. January 18th is Martin Luther King Day and we will not have school.
ST. JOHN’S ANNUAL SOCK HOP
January 30, 2010, 5:30-8:00 P.M., Hoying Gym
It’s that time of year to start planning our Annual Sock Hop to kick off Catholic School’s Week!
We are planning a fun-filled family event and we need your help.See the volunteer sign up sheet and log in those volunteer hours. (Remember you need 50!) the sheet is posted on the website. We need volunteers for the clean-up crew, door greeter, photo booth, and food service. Please sign up to help us make this year’s Sock Hop a fun time for all St. John’s school and parish families. For more information, contact Shannon Lotz at 635-5844 or email at lotzsh@saintjohns.net
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK DVD
It’s that time again , when we make our annual Catholic schools week DVD. If you have pictures of school events or activities, please email them or put them on a DVD and bring them in the first week of January. We really need these ASAP to prepare the video for CSW.
PTO Updates:
.
v Just a reminder, that we will not have a PTO meeting in December. We hope to see you at the January 14th meeting.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
The school 2009 Christmas ornament is here, and we will be selling them in the loop. They will be available in the morning and afternoon loop, or you may drop by the school office.
This year’s ornament, crafted by Peyton Stroh, is a beautiful design of the Christ child under a star encircled in a twisted wreath.
Ornaments are $12.00 each, 2 or more- $10.00 each. PTO will also be taking limited orders for an ornament/cookbook combination. In addition, we have a few ornaments left from last year for $10.00 each. The 2008 ornament is a design of the Holy Family. Please consider these ornaments as a gift for friends and family when you are shopping for Holiday gifts. Thank you for supporting our school!
Greetings St. John’s Families,
Catholic Schools Week is quickly approaching and we have many great events planned for your child and the whole family. The theme for the year’s celebration is “Dividends for Life”.
Each school day we will celebrate with and outreach to the many different communities that are part of Catholic Education . The following is a schedule of events for the week so please mark your calendars!
Saturday, January 30th – Sock Hop!
5:30 - 8:00 pm, Hoying Gym – all families welcome!
Saturday/Sunday January 30th and 31st – Mass “In our Parish”
At each Mass Dr. Amodio will be speaking about the school and there will be a short DVD presentation. We will also be collecting prayer requests from parishioners so that our students can pray for our congregation during the week.
ACTION: 1. We will need volunteer families to collect these prayer cards at the end of each mass. Please contact Briana Lasher if you are interested in helping. brianalasher@comcast.net.
2. Please have your children to wear their uniforms to Mass.
Monday February 1st – “Our Community”
Third Annual Birthday Bag Community Service Project. Please see the list on the other side to determine what item your student(s) are to bring to add to the bag. After each class puts their items in the bags, we will donate them to local agencies who will distribute them to families who may not have the resources to celebrate a child’s birthday.
ACTION: Please have the students bring their items to school. We will also be in the loop on Friday January 29th collecting items for the bags.
Tuesday, February 2nd– “Vocation Day”
Each class will be adopting a staff member or a “feeder” church to say thank you for supporting our child’s education. The classes will be putting together thank you notes, goodies and prayers for these special people. We will be asking families to donate items for these thank you baskets.
ACTION: Please help the room parents by bringing in requested items – THANKS!
Wednesday, February 3rd – “Nation Day”
**EARLY RELEASE** MASS will be held at 8:30. (Note:Mass uniforms please!) This is also Father Franks Birthday; we will be celebrating with himJ. After mass we will be doing a LIVING ROSARY prayer service for world peace. The service will be held in the church. This is sure to be an amazing event as the students are representing the beads of the rosary. Please join us!
Thursday, February 4th – “Student Day”
To kick off student day Parents, Grandparents, Relatives and Friends are invited to come and have LUNCH WITH STUDENTS. RSVP forms will be sent home after the break, be sure to RSVP by January 22nd. RSVPs are required whether you plan on attending or not. After a fun lunch we will be cheering on the Staff VS. 8th Grade in an Olympic Games Competition. Feel free to come watch the mayhem in the Hoying Gym at 2pm!
Friday, February 5th –Teacher Appreciation Day - NO SCHOOL
The Catholic Schools Week committee will be providing a brunch for the teachers to enjoy.
BIRTHDAY BOX DONATIONS: We are asking for the following to be brought to school by Friday, January 29th. (Note: please make sure your item below will accommodate at least 8 children)
3 Year Preschool: 1 packet of birthday invitations
4 Year Preschool: boys – 1 pack paper cups girls – 1 pack cupcake papers
Junior Kindergarten: girls- Cake Mix boys-Frosting
Kindergarten- Campbell-Maher: 1 can of frosting per student
Kindergarten- Wood: 1 box of cake mix per student
1st Grade: Mertens Koolaid or Lemonade packet + 1 box of birthday candles
1st Grade - Lotz: streamers or other festive decorations
2nd Grade – Martinek: streamers or other festive decorations
3rd Grade Boney: boys – napkins girls - plates
3rd Grade Alyea: birthday napkins
4th Grade: Pigg birthday plates
4th Grade: Cunningham 1 packet of birthday invitations
5th Grade: Sgourdos balloons or other festive decorations
Middle School: girls - party favor items boys - party favor bags
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check List:
q Return your RSVP by Jan 22nd for the Luncheon. Even if you cannot make it please return the form and indicate whom your child will sit.
q Please send in your items for the birthday box and goody item for thank you baskets, January 29th.
q Come to the Sock Hop on Saturday January 30th!
q Make sure the kids wear their uniforms (polo shirts) to Mass on the 30th or 31st.
q If you can help collect prayer requests at mass on Saturday the 30th or Sunday the 31st please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net.
q Students need to wear their Mass uniforms on Wednesday February 3rd.
q Join us on Wednesday for Mass and the Living Rosary.
q Attend lunch on Thursday February 4th..
q Cheer on the staff and students at the Olympic games on Thursday the 4th.
Do you want to help volunteer for any of these events? Please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net. We are specifically looking for someone to help video tape the living rosary, but there are many other opportunities to help as well.
This is a really fun-filled week of activities and we encourage as much family participation as you are able.
O God,bless our family and all its members and friends;bind us together by your love.Give us kindness and patienceto support each other;and wisdom in all we do.Let the gift of your peacecome into our heartsand remain with us.May we rejoice in your blessingsfor all our days.
v Please pray for the Holas, Hutchinson, Jacobson, Janda
v Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts he has provided us
v Especially give thanks to God for the gift of a parish school and ask his help as we continue to grow and prosper
v May Our Lord grant us all the graces we need and desire
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street Loveland, Co 80537 970.635.5830
Saint John the Evangelist School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national or ethnic origin
December 18, 2009
Love the Learning. Build our Friendships. Live the Faith
Dear St. John’s Parents-
May the blessings of this Advent season be upon you and your family!
As we close out 2009, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect upon some of the amazing things that have happened at our school so far.
We have expended our academic offerings to provide a Resource program for our students. Through Title money from the Recovery Act, our school has a Thompson R2J Resource teacher who comes to our school three days a week. We have allocated some of our aide money to hire Mrs. Daws to be our in-house Resource teacher. We have also created a Tutoring Corps with school parents and parish members to help with tutoring for our students. This all came as a result of the end-of-year survey where the feedback suggested we expand our academic offerings for all children– thank you for your feedback!
We continue to expand our extra-curricular offerings to provide a “whole child” education… Battle of the Books team, our State Championship Lego Robotics Team, our choir, our newly established Strings program, our band, Speech team, Yearbook, Spelling Bee…and much, much more! Our Athletics program continues to develop and excel here at St. Johns – our Volleyball girls and Basketball boys both had amazing seasons
We are the 2009 recipients of the Group Publishing grant for youth service to our community for the service projects that each class performs. We were acknowledged by Senator Bennet for the reception of this award: “Colorado is fortunate to have organizations like St. John the Evangelist making a positive impact in communities across the state. Thank you for your exceptional service.”
I can’t thank you all enough for your continued support of St. John’s. We are blessed and honored to be with your children each day! Your children are my source of inspiration each day – and I take great joy in seeing the students grow and develop!
I pray that each of you have a very blessed Christmas and a happy new year. – all of you stay in my constant prayers, and will say special prayers for each of you this holiday season.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
We will return from Christmas vacation on January 4th. On January 6th it is early release and if you would like to use the extended day program Mrs. Haigh needs you to contact her and sign up ahead of time. January 18th is Martin Luther King Day and we will not have school.
ST. JOHN’S ANNUAL SOCK HOP
January 30, 2010, 5:30-8:00 P.M., Hoying Gym
It’s that time of year to start planning our Annual Sock Hop to kick off Catholic School’s Week!
We are planning a fun-filled family event and we need your help.See the volunteer sign up sheet and log in those volunteer hours. (Remember you need 50!) the sheet is posted on the website. We need volunteers for the clean-up crew, door greeter, photo booth, and food service. Please sign up to help us make this year’s Sock Hop a fun time for all St. John’s school and parish families. For more information, contact Shannon Lotz at 635-5844 or email at lotzsh@saintjohns.net
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK DVD
It’s that time again , when we make our annual Catholic schools week DVD. If you have pictures of school events or activities, please email them or put them on a DVD and bring them in the first week of January. We really need these ASAP to prepare the video for CSW.
PTO Updates:
.
v Just a reminder, that we will not have a PTO meeting in December. We hope to see you at the January 14th meeting.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
The school 2009 Christmas ornament is here, and we will be selling them in the loop. They will be available in the morning and afternoon loop, or you may drop by the school office.
This year’s ornament, crafted by Peyton Stroh, is a beautiful design of the Christ child under a star encircled in a twisted wreath.
Ornaments are $12.00 each, 2 or more- $10.00 each. PTO will also be taking limited orders for an ornament/cookbook combination. In addition, we have a few ornaments left from last year for $10.00 each. The 2008 ornament is a design of the Holy Family. Please consider these ornaments as a gift for friends and family when you are shopping for Holiday gifts. Thank you for supporting our school!
Greetings St. John’s Families,
Catholic Schools Week is quickly approaching and we have many great events planned for your child and the whole family. The theme for the year’s celebration is “Dividends for Life”.
Each school day we will celebrate with and outreach to the many different communities that are part of Catholic Education . The following is a schedule of events for the week so please mark your calendars!
Saturday, January 30th – Sock Hop!
5:30 - 8:00 pm, Hoying Gym – all families welcome!
Saturday/Sunday January 30th and 31st – Mass “In our Parish”
At each Mass Dr. Amodio will be speaking about the school and there will be a short DVD presentation. We will also be collecting prayer requests from parishioners so that our students can pray for our congregation during the week.
ACTION: 1. We will need volunteer families to collect these prayer cards at the end of each mass. Please contact Briana Lasher if you are interested in helping. brianalasher@comcast.net.
2. Please have your children to wear their uniforms to Mass.
Monday February 1st – “Our Community”
Third Annual Birthday Bag Community Service Project. Please see the list on the other side to determine what item your student(s) are to bring to add to the bag. After each class puts their items in the bags, we will donate them to local agencies who will distribute them to families who may not have the resources to celebrate a child’s birthday.
ACTION: Please have the students bring their items to school. We will also be in the loop on Friday January 29th collecting items for the bags.
Tuesday, February 2nd– “Vocation Day”
Each class will be adopting a staff member or a “feeder” church to say thank you for supporting our child’s education. The classes will be putting together thank you notes, goodies and prayers for these special people. We will be asking families to donate items for these thank you baskets.
ACTION: Please help the room parents by bringing in requested items – THANKS!
Wednesday, February 3rd – “Nation Day”
**EARLY RELEASE** MASS will be held at 8:30. (Note:Mass uniforms please!) This is also Father Franks Birthday; we will be celebrating with himJ. After mass we will be doing a LIVING ROSARY prayer service for world peace. The service will be held in the church. This is sure to be an amazing event as the students are representing the beads of the rosary. Please join us!
Thursday, February 4th – “Student Day”
To kick off student day Parents, Grandparents, Relatives and Friends are invited to come and have LUNCH WITH STUDENTS. RSVP forms will be sent home after the break, be sure to RSVP by January 22nd. RSVPs are required whether you plan on attending or not. After a fun lunch we will be cheering on the Staff VS. 8th Grade in an Olympic Games Competition. Feel free to come watch the mayhem in the Hoying Gym at 2pm!
Friday, February 5th –Teacher Appreciation Day - NO SCHOOL
The Catholic Schools Week committee will be providing a brunch for the teachers to enjoy.
BIRTHDAY BOX DONATIONS: We are asking for the following to be brought to school by Friday, January 29th. (Note: please make sure your item below will accommodate at least 8 children)
3 Year Preschool: 1 packet of birthday invitations
4 Year Preschool: boys – 1 pack paper cups girls – 1 pack cupcake papers
Junior Kindergarten: girls- Cake Mix boys-Frosting
Kindergarten- Campbell-Maher: 1 can of frosting per student
Kindergarten- Wood: 1 box of cake mix per student
1st Grade: Mertens Koolaid or Lemonade packet + 1 box of birthday candles
1st Grade - Lotz: streamers or other festive decorations
2nd Grade – Martinek: streamers or other festive decorations
3rd Grade Boney: boys – napkins girls - plates
3rd Grade Alyea: birthday napkins
4th Grade: Pigg birthday plates
4th Grade: Cunningham 1 packet of birthday invitations
5th Grade: Sgourdos balloons or other festive decorations
Middle School: girls - party favor items boys - party favor bags
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check List:
q Return your RSVP by Jan 22nd for the Luncheon. Even if you cannot make it please return the form and indicate whom your child will sit.
q Please send in your items for the birthday box and goody item for thank you baskets, January 29th.
q Come to the Sock Hop on Saturday January 30th!
q Make sure the kids wear their uniforms (polo shirts) to Mass on the 30th or 31st.
q If you can help collect prayer requests at mass on Saturday the 30th or Sunday the 31st please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net.
q Students need to wear their Mass uniforms on Wednesday February 3rd.
q Join us on Wednesday for Mass and the Living Rosary.
q Attend lunch on Thursday February 4th..
q Cheer on the staff and students at the Olympic games on Thursday the 4th.
Do you want to help volunteer for any of these events? Please contact Briana Lasher at brianalasher@comcast.net. We are specifically looking for someone to help video tape the living rosary, but there are many other opportunities to help as well.
This is a really fun-filled week of activities and we encourage as much family participation as you are able.
O God,bless our family and all its members and friends;bind us together by your love.Give us kindness and patienceto support each other;and wisdom in all we do.Let the gift of your peacecome into our heartsand remain with us.May we rejoice in your blessingsfor all our days.
v Please pray for the Holas, Hutchinson, Jacobson, Janda
v Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts he has provided us
v Especially give thanks to God for the gift of a parish school and ask his help as we continue to grow and prosper
v May Our Lord grant us all the graces we need and desire
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street Loveland, Co 80537 970.635.5830
Saint John the Evangelist School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national or ethnic origin
Friday, December 11, 2009
Saint Johns Chroicle December 11, 2009
St John the Evangelist Catholic School Chronicle
December 11, 2009
Love the Learning. Build our Friendships. Live the Faith
Dear St. John’s Parents-
I hope that this letter finds you joyful in the Advent season – we are prayerfully awaiting the coming of our Lord!
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the topic of an upcoming Faculty meeting that will be taking place on Monday. As a faculty, we will be discussing all the ways that we are making our mission statement come alive in our school. How can we better fulfill our mission at St. John’s? A mission statement is not a static statement that you just attach to the bottom of emails or hang up on walls in the school. It is meant to guide all of our actions at our school, and be used as the standard of excellence. In all things that we do at St. John’s, we should be asking ourselves: “Is this action supported by our mission?” or “Is this action fulfilling our mission?”
In our meeting, we will focus on the key points of our mission statement, and what they mean to us as the educators in the school:
In communion with our families
A respectful Catholic environment
Development of the whole child
Academic achievement
Personal responsibility
Formation of faith-filled citizens
Creating a Christ-filled environment
I would ask each of you, as parents, to reflect on our mission statement along with our faculty. How can the parent community play a role in supporting our mission? Are there things the parent community can do to more actively fulfill our mission? I would love to hear your comments and reflections on these questions. By engaging in this reflection, I think it serves to make our mission statement more “living” – and in turn, make us a stronger and more vibrant school community!
May the Lord continue to bless you and your families this holiday season! Please know that each and every family here at St. John’s remains in my constant prayers.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
2ND ANNUAL WINTER COAT DRIVE
National Elementary Honor Society is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Winter Coat Drive to Benefit Catholic Charities and local Catholic churches. Nov. 30th to Dec. 15th. Collection boxes are located in various locations around campus. For more information, contact Mrs. Martinek
LUNCH ACCOUNTS
Just a reminder to those families that are behind on Lunch money. We really need all accounts paid in full prior to December 18th. If your family cannot pay at this time please contact Mrs. Heeseman to make arrangements. Thanks for your help. Don't forget it's never too late to apply for Free & Reduced meals. heeseci@saintjohns.net
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
December 18th is the last day before Christmas Vacation! We will attend Mass and then dismiss at 11:50. We will not have extended that day so be sure to make arrangements for your child to be picked up. We will return from Christmas vacation on January 4th. On January 6th it is early release and if you would like to use the extended day program Mrs. Haigh needs you to contact her and sign up ahead of time. January 18th is Martin Luther King Day and we will not have school.
2010 WALK-A-THONThe Walk-A-Thon committee still needs you! We have plenty of volunteer opportunities available to help with our spring fundraiser, so if you're interested in promoting health and fitness within our school community, we urge you to join us and find out what you can do to help. This is a great opportunity for working parents to get your 50 hours of volunteer service completed, because our committee meets on weekday evenings and/or on the weekends -- and you can complete tasks on your own time. If you're interested in volunteering, we will be having our next meeting on Tuesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at the Starbucks in Eagle Plaza (next to King Soopers). If you have any questions, or if you'd like to be part of the Walk-A-Thon committee but are unable to attend our next meeting, please contact Helen Franks (hmfranks@msn.com or 532-7874) or Lexy Donnelly (lexydonnelly@gmail.com or 203-0702). We hope to see you there!
SCRIP: SPECIAL ORDER SCRIP REMINDER FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Are you traveling over the holidays? Plan ahead, and buy scrip to cover your traveling expenses! You can special order scrip for American Airlines, Avis Rental Car, Budget Rental Car, Carnival Cruise Line, Marriot Hotels and Travelocity Hotels with rebates of 8% to 12%!
Need ideas for the teenager on your holiday shopping list? GLSCRIP has gift cards for Ticketmaster, iTunes, Aeropostle, LL Bean, and Lands End in various denominations.
Do you like to give specialty food gifts? Hickory Farms, Harry & David (scrip can be used at Loveland’s outlet store), Omaha Steaks, and Williams Sonoma are available. Rebates are from 8% to 15%!
How about stocking stuffers? Baskin Robbins scrip is available in just $2 increments, and Blockbuster in $6 denominations with 15% rebate – perfect for stocking stuffers or gift exchanges!
PTO Updates:
v We are in need of volunteers to help sale ornaments at the Christmas Festival on Dec 12th and 13th. If you can help please email Kathleen Klenk at colklenk1@frii.com or call 278-1202 with the times you are available.
v Just a reminder, that we will not have a PTO meeting in December. We hope to see you at the January 14th meeting.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
The school 2009 Christmas ornament is here, and we will be selling them in the loop. They will be available in the morning and afternoon loop, or you may drop by the school office.
This year’s ornament, crafted by Peyton Stroh, is a beautiful design of the Christ child under a star encircled in a twisted wreath.
Ornaments are $12.00 each, 2 or more- $10.00 each. PTO will also be taking limited orders for an ornament/cookbook combination. In addition, we have a few ornaments left from last year for $10.00 each. The 2008 ornament is a design of the Holy Family. Please consider these ornaments as a gift for friends and family when you are shopping for Holiday gifts. Thank you for supporting our school!
O God,bless our family and all its members and friends;bind us together by your love.Give us kindness and patienceto support each other;and wisdom in all we do.Let the gift of your peacecome into our heartsand remain with us.May we rejoice in your blessingsfor all our days.
v Please pray in thanksgiving for Hailey Ann Benegas born December 3, 2009
v Please pray for the Heesacker, Heesemann, Hennessey, Hill families
v Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts he has provided us
v Especially give thanks to God for the gift of a parish school and ask his help as we continue to grow and prosper
v May Our Lord grant us all the graces we need and desire
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street Loveland, Co 80537 970.635.5830
Saint John the Evangelist School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national or ethnic origin
December 11, 2009
Love the Learning. Build our Friendships. Live the Faith
Dear St. John’s Parents-
I hope that this letter finds you joyful in the Advent season – we are prayerfully awaiting the coming of our Lord!
I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you the topic of an upcoming Faculty meeting that will be taking place on Monday. As a faculty, we will be discussing all the ways that we are making our mission statement come alive in our school. How can we better fulfill our mission at St. John’s? A mission statement is not a static statement that you just attach to the bottom of emails or hang up on walls in the school. It is meant to guide all of our actions at our school, and be used as the standard of excellence. In all things that we do at St. John’s, we should be asking ourselves: “Is this action supported by our mission?” or “Is this action fulfilling our mission?”
In our meeting, we will focus on the key points of our mission statement, and what they mean to us as the educators in the school:
In communion with our families
A respectful Catholic environment
Development of the whole child
Academic achievement
Personal responsibility
Formation of faith-filled citizens
Creating a Christ-filled environment
I would ask each of you, as parents, to reflect on our mission statement along with our faculty. How can the parent community play a role in supporting our mission? Are there things the parent community can do to more actively fulfill our mission? I would love to hear your comments and reflections on these questions. By engaging in this reflection, I think it serves to make our mission statement more “living” – and in turn, make us a stronger and more vibrant school community!
May the Lord continue to bless you and your families this holiday season! Please know that each and every family here at St. John’s remains in my constant prayers.
+Blessings,
Dr. Sara Baird Amodio
2ND ANNUAL WINTER COAT DRIVE
National Elementary Honor Society is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Winter Coat Drive to Benefit Catholic Charities and local Catholic churches. Nov. 30th to Dec. 15th. Collection boxes are located in various locations around campus. For more information, contact Mrs. Martinek
LUNCH ACCOUNTS
Just a reminder to those families that are behind on Lunch money. We really need all accounts paid in full prior to December 18th. If your family cannot pay at this time please contact Mrs. Heeseman to make arrangements. Thanks for your help. Don't forget it's never too late to apply for Free & Reduced meals. heeseci@saintjohns.net
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
December 18th is the last day before Christmas Vacation! We will attend Mass and then dismiss at 11:50. We will not have extended that day so be sure to make arrangements for your child to be picked up. We will return from Christmas vacation on January 4th. On January 6th it is early release and if you would like to use the extended day program Mrs. Haigh needs you to contact her and sign up ahead of time. January 18th is Martin Luther King Day and we will not have school.
2010 WALK-A-THONThe Walk-A-Thon committee still needs you! We have plenty of volunteer opportunities available to help with our spring fundraiser, so if you're interested in promoting health and fitness within our school community, we urge you to join us and find out what you can do to help. This is a great opportunity for working parents to get your 50 hours of volunteer service completed, because our committee meets on weekday evenings and/or on the weekends -- and you can complete tasks on your own time. If you're interested in volunteering, we will be having our next meeting on Tuesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at the Starbucks in Eagle Plaza (next to King Soopers). If you have any questions, or if you'd like to be part of the Walk-A-Thon committee but are unable to attend our next meeting, please contact Helen Franks (hmfranks@msn.com or 532-7874) or Lexy Donnelly (lexydonnelly@gmail.com or 203-0702). We hope to see you there!
SCRIP: SPECIAL ORDER SCRIP REMINDER FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Are you traveling over the holidays? Plan ahead, and buy scrip to cover your traveling expenses! You can special order scrip for American Airlines, Avis Rental Car, Budget Rental Car, Carnival Cruise Line, Marriot Hotels and Travelocity Hotels with rebates of 8% to 12%!
Need ideas for the teenager on your holiday shopping list? GLSCRIP has gift cards for Ticketmaster, iTunes, Aeropostle, LL Bean, and Lands End in various denominations.
Do you like to give specialty food gifts? Hickory Farms, Harry & David (scrip can be used at Loveland’s outlet store), Omaha Steaks, and Williams Sonoma are available. Rebates are from 8% to 15%!
How about stocking stuffers? Baskin Robbins scrip is available in just $2 increments, and Blockbuster in $6 denominations with 15% rebate – perfect for stocking stuffers or gift exchanges!
PTO Updates:
v We are in need of volunteers to help sale ornaments at the Christmas Festival on Dec 12th and 13th. If you can help please email Kathleen Klenk at colklenk1@frii.com or call 278-1202 with the times you are available.
v Just a reminder, that we will not have a PTO meeting in December. We hope to see you at the January 14th meeting.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT
The school 2009 Christmas ornament is here, and we will be selling them in the loop. They will be available in the morning and afternoon loop, or you may drop by the school office.
This year’s ornament, crafted by Peyton Stroh, is a beautiful design of the Christ child under a star encircled in a twisted wreath.
Ornaments are $12.00 each, 2 or more- $10.00 each. PTO will also be taking limited orders for an ornament/cookbook combination. In addition, we have a few ornaments left from last year for $10.00 each. The 2008 ornament is a design of the Holy Family. Please consider these ornaments as a gift for friends and family when you are shopping for Holiday gifts. Thank you for supporting our school!
O God,bless our family and all its members and friends;bind us together by your love.Give us kindness and patienceto support each other;and wisdom in all we do.Let the gift of your peacecome into our heartsand remain with us.May we rejoice in your blessingsfor all our days.
v Please pray in thanksgiving for Hailey Ann Benegas born December 3, 2009
v Please pray for the Heesacker, Heesemann, Hennessey, Hill families
v Let us give thanks to God for all the gifts he has provided us
v Especially give thanks to God for the gift of a parish school and ask his help as we continue to grow and prosper
v May Our Lord grant us all the graces we need and desire
Saint John the Evangelist Catholic School
1730 W. 12th Street Loveland, Co 80537 970.635.5830
Saint John the Evangelist School does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color or national or ethnic origin
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
2010 Walk-a-Thon
The 2010 Walk-A-Thon committee still needs you! We have plenty of volunteer opportunities available to help with our spring fundraiser, so if you're interested in promoting health and fitness within our school community, we urge you to join us and find out what you can do to help. This is a great opportunity for working parents to get your 50 hours of volunteer service completed, because our committee meets on weekday evenings and/or on the weekends -- and you can complete tasks on your own time. If you're interested in volunteering, we will be having our next meeting on Tuesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at the Starbucks in Eagle Plaza (next to King Soopers). If you have any questions, or if you'd like to be part of the Walk-A-Thon committee but are unable to attend our next meeting, please contact Helen Franks (hmfranks@msn.com or 532-7874) or Lexy Donnelly (lexydonnelly@gmail.com or 203-0702).
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