Dear Parents, Families and Friends of SJVS,

 

As I turned my calendar to October, I quickly realized what an exciting month of teaching was ahead of us.  The month of October is quite a celebration of several important feast days.  On October 1st, we celebrate the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, also known as the Little Flower.  She developed a “Little Way” of loving God, and promised to send down a shower of roses from heaven, her way of saying that she would offer her prayers for us.  The next day, October 2, we celebrate the feast of Guardian Angels, those angels who carried out God’s will in their specific duties as “guardians.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him/her to life” (n. 336).  Remember to thank your guardian angel for their love, guidance and protection each day of our lives.

Other important feast days to note are:  St. Francis of Assisi, October 4th, who had a very special love for all creatures.  He is sometimes pictured with a dove to symbolize not only his love for animals, but also his dedication to peace.  Msgr. Gallagher will have his annual “Blessing of Animals” on Sunday, October 5th at 2:00PM in church.  You are invited to bring your pets for a very special blessing in honor of St. Francis.   We continue with Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7th), Teresa of Avila (also known as Teresa of Jesus, October 15th), Ignatius of Antioch (the 17th), St. Luke (the 18th), St. Anthony Claret (the 24th) and Saints Simon and Jude (the 28th).  If you are unfamiliar with any of these names, I encourage you to do some research and share their stories with your children.  They may even quiz you as they discuss the lives of the saints during October and throughout the year.  This is one way our students will be learning how to be the “hands and feet of Christ” by emulating the lives of the saints.

With the celebration of Red Ribbon Week, students will learn and be reminded of how to stay drug free throughout their lives by making good choices everyday.  Age appropriate lessons will be taught in their health classes.  We invite everyone to join us for the Hills Brothers, a musical duo who will present a concert program entitled “Healthy and Drug-Free Schools” on Thursday, October 23 at 10:30AM in our gym.  Students may red (nice casual wear, no jeans or T-shirts) on this day. 

Finally, with a presidential election upon us, students will take part in the Kids Voting program to teach them about the election process.  A number of learning experiences are planned including a school election with students “casting” ballots for their presidential pick.  Activities and lessons will run for approximately three weeks, culminating on Election Day.

As always, we appreciate your support of everything we do here at St. John Vianney School.   Enjoy this beautiful season of autumn!

God’s peace & love,

 

Mrs. Terry Siuta

 

“Brothers (and Sisters) while we have time, let us do good!”

- St. Francis of Assisi

SJV Tidbits

 

Ice Cream Social:  It was good to see so many of you at the Ice Cream Social on last Friday.  It was a wonderful family event with great ice cream sundaes, fun entertainment provided by magician Mike Baron and terrific socializing all around.  Many thanks to the committee for all their hard work in planning this social and to all those who joined us for the evening.

 

Middle States Six Year Review:  Our six year review for Middle States Accreditation was completed in July.  If you are interested in reading it, you may go to http://ces-msa.org to access it.

 

Wednesday Envelope:  In an attempt to cut down on the number of times we send home notices as well as the number of extra forms we give out in the office, we ask that you carefully read and return items in a timely fashion.  If you set something aside until a due date, please put it in a place where it will be safe from being tossed out or will not be forgotten.  Your cooperation and help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as we try to decrease the amount of paper that is consumed.  I know H.S.A. and club moderators would also be grateful if things were returned in a timely manner.  Thank you for your anticipated assistance.

 

End of Day Calls:  In an emergency we are always available for your phone calls.  However, to avoid an influx of calls at the end of the day for things such as private transportation or after school care, whenever possible, please take care of this through a note to your child’s teacher in the morning or a phone call to the office as early in the day as possible, but before 2:00PM.  This will cut down on phone calls at a very busy time of the day.  In regard to e-mails, please do not rely on them for emergency or deadline situations as Mrs. Sue only checks it in the morning, early afternoon and at the end of the day.  If you send something in the afternoon, she does not always get it in a timely manner.

 

Fitness for Kids Challenge:  Please see information about this program in the envelope.  Our school will be taking part in this fitness endeavor and we ask you to encourage your child to participate.  We are hopeful that this will be an important tool in improving healthy habits.  Please read and follow the directions for participation.

 

Target’s Take Charge of Education:  Our school has been a member of this program for a number of years and has earned several hundred dollars through the participation of families, teachers and members of the community.  Recently we received a check for $194.31 from Target which will go toward a Catholic Schools Week assembly.  This was a direct result of “Take Charge of Education.”  Please see further details in this envelope if you would like to sign up for participation.  Target also has a number of other educational support programs that you may like to learn about by visiting Target.com/community.