--St. Joseph Cathedral School--

October Cathedral Kids Messages

October 31, 2007

Dear friends,

The date for the next adult formation talk is the 11th of November, not the 1st as was accidentally noted in yesterday's e-newsletter.

Thank you

October 30, 2007

Dear friends,

First off, thank you to those who made the talk last night. We doubled our attendance with over a hundred participants for the Adult Faith Study. Hope to see you at the next one. On that note, we originally scheduled the next talk for this Sunday at 6:30. Instead, it will be Sunday the 1st at 6:30 in the Schwartze Catholic Center. I know this is the Christmas Bazaar, but I understand that most of that will be done by 6:30, and our alternate location will keep us out of the way of the clean-up crew.

On that note, I hope to see all of you at the Christmas Bazaar, which is on Sunday the 11th of November, from 11:30 to 6:00.

I announced that, if students change out of costumes, they may dress down tomorrow for Halloween. Just a reminder that pajama bottoms and spaghetti string tops are not part of dress down code. Please review the handbook for more details.

Catholic Bowl begins this week. Our kids have their first game at 8:00 on Friday. Keep these talented young ladies in your prayers as they represent our school in this competition.

Our Scholastic Book Fair is coming up. Here is information from the coordinator of this great event:

Our dates for the book fair are Nov 5, Nov 6 and those dates we are open from 8-4. Nov. 7 we are open from 8-6:30, Nov. 8 we are open from 8-8:30 and that night is "Family Book Night" and the "Build a Book workshop" (new this year) will have designated tables for the workshop and its time frame is 5:00 to 8:00 (this will be going on during the book fair AND I will have a parent volunteer that is designated for this area so that parents who have conferences during that time can leave their children in the gym). The cost for the book kit is $6.49 and the kits can also be purchased separately at anytime during the book fair for those wishing to make it a home project! I am sending a flyer home in Friday folders promoting it with a detachable slip of paper so that they can reserve their kits and to ensure I have allowed enough room for the children who will attend. (Hopefully, parents will use this in order for me to have the chance to order more kits if I need them throughout the fair)

Thank you,

Spencer Allen

October 27, 2007

Dear friends,

I’ll send out the regular Cathedral Kids e-newsletter on Monday. This quick note is to promote the first official talk in the series that Fr. Shetler and I are presenting on understanding and defending the teachings of Christ and his Church. This talk, which takes place on Monday night at 6:30 in the Undercroft (the basement of the Cathedral church), will answer the following questions:

How is religion like baseball?

What is the number one most effective question we should ask when someone challenges our beliefs?

Why do Catholic Bibles have extra books?

Are we meant to go by the Bible alone?

How did God give us the Bible through the Catholic Church?

Please forward this e-mail to anyone who you think might benefit from or enjoy these talks, even members of different faiths. While the content of the talks will focus on what we, as Catholics, know to be truth, they will always be done with great respect given to those who differ in faith background. One of the things that I hope you will take from these talks is the ability to have civil, loving conversations about the genuine differences that divide us as God’s children. Hopefully, through that, we can eventually realize the great unity for which Christ prayed in John 17.

In Christ,

Spencer Allen

October 22, 2007

First, remember that tomorrow is a special dress down day, whereas your child can wear a jersey, shirt, hooded sweatshirt or uniform to reflect a fall involvement, from band to a favorite sport, even those outside of school (karate, Parks and Rec). If not involved in something in the fall, he/she may wear that of a favorite team. We will do a rosary for atheletes in the morning, followed by an announcement of accomplishments (you and the kids came up with a great list), and then a short "fun" activity. I'm really hoping this can be something great as we develop it down the road. We'll do another during the winter season.

Also, a reminder that 4th and 5th grade students bring in 2 dozen cookies for the Just Say No Bake Sale tomorrow. Anyone in the school can bring in 50 cents to purchase.

All best,

Spencer Allen
Principal

October 23, 2007

Dear friends,

Three notes:

First, the "Just Say 'No'" bake sale will continue tomorrow. There are plenty of goodies left, and they'll be on sale for fifty cents. Also, remember that tomorrow is mismatched wild and colorful socks day.

Second, please remember that any contents for the Friday folder must be approved through administration before administration.

Third, our school is doing a great job with mall points. We are in second place, and this puts in the running for the $500 prize to the top three schools. Remember that the quarter ends on Oct. 31st and receipts need to be in by November 15th. A special thank you to Shelly Quinn for all her hard work with this.

All best,

S.A.

October 15, 2007

Dear parents,

My earlier list did not include Meagan Rundle, who received the TIPS and Baldwin Academy. Again, congratulations to all of these students for their hard work and determination!

October 15, 2007

Contents:

Welcome

Cathedral Parents

Student Recognition

In the Classrooms

Important Notes

Upcoming Events

Welcome

Dear Parents and Parishioners,

Still having trouble with the odd symbols. A new font today. Hopefully it helps.

McTeacher’s night was a great success! We set a new record. Apparently St. Joseph had already held the record for this type of event, but we passed up that former total by nearly two-hundred dollars. Good job! This money will be used for technology and for curriculum work and supplies.

Another note, I have nomination forms for a teacher recognition program, the Sr. Miriam Joseph Farrell, PBVM Distinguished Teacher Award (through NCEA). If you would like to nominate your child’s teacher (of former teacher) for this, please drop me an e-mail.

-Spencer Allen
Principal
St. Joseph Cathedral School

Cathedral Parents

Have you been born again?

Catholics sometimes get asked this loaded question, and often we don’t know how to respond. The correct answer is this: “Yes, I was born again when I was baptized.”

Most likely, however, this is where the conversation will get really interesting as, to have asked you this question in the first place more or less guarantees that the person does not believe that water baptism is any more than a nice symbol.

Last week we discussed the concept of sacraments, their having been established by Christ, who understood that the best way for us, as physical creatures, to interact with him is through a physical means. This week I would like to focus specifically on baptism.

First off, we need to understand that a proper reading of the New Testament requires that we remember that the Old Testament is filled with signs, or “types”, that guide us to an understanding of the revelation that came with Jesus. For instance, the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham tells us about the nature of God offering his son on the cross. Look at the various Old Testament indications of the cleansing power of water:

The flood cleans the earth of sin underneath Noah and his ark.

Naaman is cured of his leprosy, but only after dipping in the Jordan seven times.

The Israelites escaped slavery by crossing the Red Sea.

Jordan and the Israelites crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land.

Now here’s the thing: signs don’t point to signs. If you’re driving down the highway and see a sign with a railroad crossing warning, what do you expect to see somewhere ahead? Another sign? No, you expect to see an actual set of railroad tracks. Thus, when we see all of these signs of the salvific power of water in the Old Testament, we should expect to see a realization of that in the New. Not just another symbol.

In fact, the Holy Spirit comes right out and tells us this through his inspiration of Peter’s first epistle (3:21), where Peter references the great flood and says, “This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ …”

Baptism “saves you now”. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that baptism is just a symbol, but that it has a saving power. To get a more thorough look at some other verses, you may be interested in the article linked here.

Scripture comes right out and tells us that “no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (Jn. 3:5). Some try to argue the absurd proposition that “water” in this verse refers to amniotic fluid. Not only is this inconsistent with the whole of Scripture, but a study of the early Church fathers, men who learned firsthand from the apostles and their disciples, shows that not one of these men saw anything symbolic about baptism, but rather they saw the saving grace of God working through a physical instrument.

Next week we’ll look at the Biblical and logical support for infant baptism.

Student Recognition

Congratulations to several of our 7th and 8th grade students who, because of their outstanding academic achievement, received the TIPS Award from Duke University and the Baldwin Award, both of which come with optional educational opportunities.

For the Baldwin Award, these 7th and 8th grade students are Julia Asmar, Cole Baumgartner, Maria Donovan, Kyle Dorge, Cody Fischer, Cole Haugen, Taylor Luetkemeyer, Alecia Mitan, Meagan Myers, Brian Oxenhandler, Jordan Schulte, Mallory Sone, Carmen Stansbury, Christina Vignola, Brooke Wilde, Jonas Branson, Megan Green, Erica Prasad, Annie Verry, Hannah Cabalcanto, Carmen Howser, and Margaret Morris.

For the TIPS Awards, the students are Jonas Branson, Megan Green, Erica Prasad, Annie Verry, Hannah Cavalcanto, Carmen Howser, and Margaret Morris.

Also, several 8th grade students are St. Joseph Cathedral Leadership nominees, which means that they have participated in the mock legislation on the Senate floor. To complete the requirements for the award, students must be practicing Catholics, complete a service project and a school-to-work program with our business partner, Hy-Vee, and must stay on the honor roll for the year. The students who qualified for nomination are Cole Baumgartner, Kyle Dorge, Maria Donovan, Cole Haugen, Nick Kroeger, Cydney Lucio, Cortney Wolters, Allie Mitan, Brian Oxenhandler, Mallory Sone, and Becca Stokes.

In the Classroom

Here are some of the great things that have been going on in the classrooms lately:

In 7th grade religion, students will be creating posters depicting the 7 Corporal Works of Mercy.

In 7th grade math with Ms. Minor, students are participating in a scatterplots and correlation activity, while the 6th graders are being introduced to some simple, basic algebra concepts.

In art class, students in k-8 will be making Christmas ornaments over the next few weeks. These ornaments will be used to decorate trees during the Christmas Bazaar, Nov. 11th. People who go to the Bazaar will get a chance to vote on their favorite tree. Votes will be a quarter a piece, and there will be wrapped boxes in front of each tree to drop the votes in.

In Kindergarten students had fun designing sails and making sailboats to celebrate Columbus Day. They made them float across the "ocean" in big tubs of water using the power of wind (blowing). You can see pictures of these boats on the website in the photo section under student work.

Finally, both 3rd grade classes are doing a patron saint project, and they will be completing essays and portraits of their patrons.

Important Notes

· If you drop your children off in front of school after 7:50 (when the crossing guards have gone inside, please stay to the right of the driveway so that your children do not have to cross a stream of traffic.

· Mrs. Stieferman’s class is accepting donations for an adopt-a-hero program. Anyone who is willing to help should get these donations to her as soon as possible.

· At the Home and School general meeting this month, the 4th and 5th graders will be performing.

· The vocations committee would like to invite all in the community to join us for the adoration and benediction that takes place on first Fridays. It would mean a great deal for your children to see you there.

· Stuco will be selling short and long sleeve tees, and other spirit items within the next few weeks. We usually sell t-shirts every other year and this is our year. We will be doing a winter collection of clothing and accessories for Samaritan Center at the end of the month. This is one of our big service projects called PROJECT WARMTH. We also will be having our food drive in November for Samaritan Center.

· Voicemail is almost set up. Actually, it got set up over a week ago, but some technical glitches are complicating things, and the company should get things in working order soon.

Upcoming Events

10/15 Mission Carnival (8:30-3:30)

10/16 Home and School general meeting 6:30 p.m.

10/26 No school religious education institute

10/29 Adult Catechesis talk in the Undercroft (6:30)

11/16 Stuco “Can Jam Dance”

October 9, 2007

Dear friends,

This is a separate e-mail from the recently sent Cathedral Kids in order to provide you with a short e-mail about McTeacher's Night that you can forward to others in your address book if you wish. Such a grassroots approach will work wonders.

Please join us for McTeacher's Night at the McDonald's next to Orcheln's on Missouri Blvd. from 4:00-8:00 tonight (10/9). Profits from this evening will go directly to the school to be used for technology and curriculum revision. Thank you for supporting us in this worthy cause. Looking forward to seeing you there!

-Spencer Allen

October 9, 2007

Contents:

Welcome

Cathedral Parents

Two Doses of Bad News

The Votes Are In …

In the Classrooms

Important Notes

Upcoming Events

Welcome

Dear Parents and Parishioners,

First off, I’m experimenting with some different fonts to try to eliminate the odd symbols that appear for many of you when you receive this newsletter.

Tonight is McTeacher’s Night. Hope to see all of you there, anytime from 4:00 until 8:00 at the McDonalds next to Orcheln’s on Missouri Blvd. Bring lots of people with you – our school gets the profits from all purchases during that time period.

Today is also our early out day, which has typically been used for faculty meetings. As many of you are aware, I’ve restructured these meetings to keep the dissemination of information to a minimum (e-mail works just fine for that), using the time instead to break the staff into various groups in order to work on areas of school improvement and development.

This afternoon, we will have committees of teachers (and in some cases parents and students) working on curriculum development (religion and English), crisis and safety, school spirit, technology, our school retreat, library skills development, and dress code. As you can see, we are tackling a great number of projects, but by dividing our staff up into their areas of expertise and interest, each area can receive great attention. Your input, of course, is tremendously important in many of these areas, and those committees are working on plans to seek and consider your suggestions.

-Spencer Allen
Principal
St. Joseph Cathedral School

Cathedral Parents

Last week I wrote about original sin. Long-story short, we have not inherited from our original parents, Adam and Eve, the relationship with God that gives eternal life. In the next few e-newsletters, I’ll be writing about the means by which we are brought back into that relationship, which is baptism. In this piece, I’ll discuss why sacraments are necessary, and next week I’ll be focusing specifically on the sacrament of baptism, wherein we reenter into a relationship with God. In the next installments, we’ll look at the practice of infant baptism and the valid modes of baptism, sprinkling, pouring, and immersion.

When thinking about the sacraments, in general, it is important to remember the “sacramental” nature of Jesus Christ, in that God took on human form. There’s a lot that could be said about this, but one very striking thing is that, in starting his church and securing our redemption, God decided that a physical interaction with his people was necessary. After all, we are physical creatures. Our understanding of the world comes from what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell.

It seems very natural, then, that in order for Christians to interact with God, Christ established a physical means to receive his supernatural graces. Thus, the definition of a sacrament is a physical sign of the spiritual reality that God is imparting. Notice that I am not saying that sacraments are merely symbols, but that the form in which the grace is imparted is, itself, symbolic of the reality. For instance, baptism washes us clean spiritually, so Christ instituted this through an act of exterior washing. In the Eucharist, we are fed spiritually, so Christ retains the appearance of bread and wine.

Some Christians, who come from a faith alone belief system, reject sacraments because they imply that one must “do something” in order to be saved. In future installments we’ll look, not only at the reasons why a “faith alone” theology is flawed, but also why sacraments make perfect sense in terms of God’s plan for our salvation.

The short explanation, however, is that the sacraments were instituted by Christ, which means we don’t have the right to neglect them. We do not have the right, as Christians, to suggest that confession to a priest is unnecessary and that we can “confess straight to God” instead. We don’t have the right to withhold baptism from our children. To attempt to second guess what Christ has established is to act similarly to Adam and Eve, who ignored God’s warning and decided for themselves that it would be just fine to eat from the tree. The Knowledge of Good and Evil, for which that tree was named, is not a virtuous knowledge, but rather a name our attempt to decide for ourselves, independent of what God reveals, what is right and what is wrong.

There is no link this week for further, so I thought I’d link to Catholicity, where you can get free CD’s on Catholic topics, including Scott Hahn’s conversion story, which has brought countless numbers of converts to the faith. Again, these are free (after a dollar each for shipping), and the content is top notch. Visit Catholicity to order yours (click here).

Two Doses of Bad News

I just found out that the night of our next adult faith talk, October 29th, is also the night of the Winter Sports meeting for parents at Helias. Sigh. This first talk is an extremely important one, but many of you need to attend the meeting at Helias because you have older children who are involved in the athletics there. Well, for what it’s worth, for those of you who can come, the talk will be in the Undercroft at 6:30. I am arranging baby-sitting with some of the junior high kids. After this night, by the way, the remainder of our talks will be in the Catholic Center. We’ve reserved a couple conference rooms there – more details later.

The next bit of bad news is that we didn’t meet our Stewardship goal for September. The challenge from the 1st grade was to have pies thrown at me. I guess I’m in the clear there. In all fairness, there were some obstacles in September which made it more difficult to meet the goal, so hopefully we’ll get back on track in October. The challenge from the 2nd grade is to eat fried worms.

The Votes Are In …

The favorite name for the baseball field appears to be “Spartan Park”. Even though “Jesus Field” made a strong rally toward the second day, it just didn’t pull the support to catch the clear favorite among you, the students, and the faculty.

In our second poll, the majority indicated that you would like to see the Christmas program split into two parts. Assuming we go with this, it looks like the date will be December the 9th, with k-3 performing at 1:00 and 4-8 performing at 2:00.

On this musical note, the Home and School recently purchased a new keyboard for the music program. Mrs. Gier can’t stop bragging about how great this new instrument is, and the special features it has for classroom use are awesome. Thanks to all of you for your contributions!

In the Classroom

Here’s some of the great things that have been going on in the classrooms lately:

4th graders are writing “Mystery at the Manor”, where they have a main character, 3 clues, 3 suspects and a solution to who took the missing item. In Social Studies they are also creating flip books for the 3 branches of government.

8th graders are making their rosaries, which is especially important as October is the month of the rosary.

Important Notes

· Mrs. Stieferman’s class is accepting donations for an adopt-a-hero program. Anyone who is willing to help should get these donations to her as soon as possible.

· At the Home and School general meeting this month, the 4th and 5th graders will be performing.

· The vocations committee would like to invite all in the community to join us for the adoration (all day following Mass) and benediction (2:45) that takes place on first Fridays. It would mean a great deal for your children to see you there.

· We are looking for adult volunteers to help supervise some enrichment activities from around 1:00 until 3:00 on Monday, October 29th. Please let me know if you can help. We urgently need about six more adults.

Upcoming Events

10/9 Early dismissal (and Edge event)

10/9 McTeacher night (4 pm until 8) at McDonald’s next to Orscheln’s

10/13 90th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions

10/14 Samaritan Center Collection

10/15 Mission Carnival (8:30-3:30)

10/16 Home and School general meeting 6:30 p.m.

10/29 Adult Catechesis talk in the Undercroft (6:30)

*Note, I’ve decided to only post athletic or organizational events (such as boy scouts), practices, etc. if I receive an actual request to do so as my information is sometimes limited and I don’t want to give out incomplete information. Please e-mail me such notes if you would like them included in this section.

October 3, 2007

Dear parents and community,

The question came up about whether or not student athletes would be able to wear hooded sweatshirts on game days, such as tomorrow, when the volleyball team plays. While our dress code prohibits this, it has been done in the past, so some clarification was needed. As I've expressed a number of times, I do not feel it is my place to override the rules; however, we now have a dress code committee made up of teachers, parents, and students. This committee deliberated on this today and voted this afternoon. The final vote indicated that the fairest thing would be to not have a day where some could dress differently, but not others. I will respect the decision of this committee, which I think was very thoughtful and wise, especially because some student members are, themselves, athletes, but did not want to isolate others who did not make the team or were not athletically inclined.

Thank you,

Spencer Allen

October 2, 2007

October is the month of the rosary. One afternoon each week we will be praying the rosary, often in different locations. I will often invite you to show up and join if you would like, though this week we'll just be in the classrooms. Please remember to send a rosary with your son or daughter tomorrow if you have one.

Also, remember pet blessing day is on Thursday at 2:40. Bring your child's pet to the lower lot.

October 2, 2007

Dear all,

First off, I want to apologize for misspelling Fr. Secrist's name in one of my e-mails yesterday. Many of you never received this because I caught it as it was sending and stopped it to issue a corrected version.

Second, I sent off the actual Cathedral Kids e-newsletter yesterday having forgotten to include the names of the students who did well in the chalk art display. Having typed that portion Sunday evening, I meant to double-check names Monday morning. Justus Schulte and Brett Jackson took 2nd place in the middle school division of the Jazzfest chalk art competition with their work titled "Got Soul" Grace Chen and Taylor Luektemeyer took 3rd place with their work titled "Sunset".

On another art note, there are 10 5th graders currently working on 3 paper murals that will be hung in the windows of shops downtown. They are Michael Ginther, Dane Haugen, Christian Coyne, Chris Lindsey, Lizzie Burkett, Kendall Smith, Jenna Kosmotka, Gretchen Rauch, Jessie Von Gunten, and Morgan Rundle. The work will be turned in by October 18th and will be dispalyed during the "Harvest Fest" October 20th.

-S.A.

October 1, 2007

Dear friends,

I apologize about another note, but there are three things.

First off, for those of you who haven't heard, Fr. Secrist's mother passed away. The visitation and funeral are out of town, but pleaase keep her and the family in your prayers.

Second, 4th and 5th grade will be performing at the first Home and School general meeting.

Third, the basketball meeting mentioned in the e-newsletter is for parents, not students. Sorry for the confusion.

Pax

-Spencer Allen

October 1, 2007

Contents:

Welcome

Cathedral Parents

Music News

McTeacher’s Night

Chalk Art

Testing This Week

Important Notes

Upcoming Events

Welcome

Dear Parents and Parishioners,

Television stations run a lot of public service announcements, attempting to council teens and children into avoid drugs and diseases, fighting discrimination, stopping bullies, etc.

Wouldn’t it be great if this (click here) was the worst social ill they could think to address?

I haven’t run into too many other people who actually remember this particular Saturday morning treat (e-mail me to let me know if you remember it), and I can’t say it was too effective (I still drown my food, particularly with barbecue sauce or sweet Vidalia onion dressing).

To watch certain television or radio stations now and see some of the filth that Satan is attempting to work into the minds of our sons and daughters, one might form a fairly pessimistic view of the condition of our youth.

I think, however, that to work in a Catholic school – particularly our Catholic school – provides the anecdote. In the short time I have had to get to know your children, I have been awed by their innocence and spirit … the intrinsic goodness I see in so many of them. In these classrooms, sitting collectively behind so many desks, is a future brimming with faith, hope, and charity.

A man named Frank Sheed wrote a beautiful book called Theology and Sanity, the thesis of which is that our view of the world around us is grossly distorted if not viewed through the lens of what God has given in his revelation to us. You realize this, which is why many of you came to the talk last night, and why others of you take time to read and study on your faith. We have been charged with protecting and nurturing what God has placed in these young men and women.

Thank you for answering that call.

-Spencer Allen
Principal
St. Joseph Cathedral School

p.s. In my welcome, I linked to the Amazon description of Theology and Sanity in case you would like to learn more about this great book. However, I would also encourage you to consider our local Catholic bookstore, Divinity, which is located downtown. If you are not comfortable with reading philosophy and theology, Frank Sheed also has a simplified version of this book, which is called Theology for Beginners, which I am asking our religion teachers to read as part of our building-level professional development over the next couple years.

Cathedral Parents

A few years back, I was working with some confirmation students. One girl, when I asked what original sin meant, answered that little babies were born with demons inside of them.

Well … not quite.

A lot of Christian groups think they have a problem with the concept of original sin, when what they really have a problem with is the semantics. The concept, itself, is essential to a Christian theology and is Biblically sound (Romans 5:12).

As parents, my wife and I cannot give to our children what we, ourselves, do not possess. My son, Bryce, will not inherit a yacht because I will never own one. The children of Adam and Eve (us) will not inherit supernatural life from them because Adam and Eve lost that particular possession.

Original sin does not mean that infants have, themselves, committed sin. Only that, because their parents were kicked out of Eden, we are born outside of it, as well. After all, look at the consequences of original sin: pain, sickness, and death, concupiscence, a need to toil for our well-being, and a disharmony between the sexes.

Does this not describe the struggles we face? In fact, were it not for original sin, we would have no need for the public service announcements to which I alluded in the “Welcome” (and nobody would “drown” their food!).

Do we not also long for that intimacy with God that our first parents had in the Garden of Eden, when God walked and spoke to them as clearly as I can with my own children?

In the next issue we’ll look at the means by which our loving God brings us back into a relationship with him, but in the meantime, if you would like to look at this topic deeper, here is a great article with which to start.

Music News

First off, Mrs. Gier is so excited about the new keyboard that Home and School purchased. I’m not a music person myself, but she can’t stop talking about all the great features and the way it will enrich the music program here at the Cathedral. I want to publically thank Home and School for this awesome purchase. They are being excellent stewards of your contributions.

Second, we are toying with the idea of slightly reformatting the Christmas program, mostly due to comments that many of you have made. To help with overcrowding and length at this event, some have proposed breaking the program into two parts, one for students in fourth grade and below, and a second for students in fifth and above. These two parts would run consecutively, so that if you have students in both areas, you can stay for the “whole” concert. However, say a student has grandparents or other extended relatives who cannot sit through all the grade levels, the half-time break would allow some to attend either the first or the second part, helping with our numbers. There are many considerations to make here, and you can feel free to e-mail me with specific suggestions for when we look at this more closely.

This idea is something that I will ultimately bring to the Advisory School Board, but in the meantime I’ve posted a poll at the website to see where many of you are on this change (click here). Please take the time to put in your two-cents.

Finally, those of you who have come to a school Mass lately have probably heard the “Sanctuary” song the kids have learned. I caught myself singing this in the truck this weekend, and my four-year-old learned it from that (and from coming to Mass) and has been singing it non-stop. Mrs. Gier is going a great job of trying to use such repetition to get the kids excited about participation. On that note, I got copyright permission to put the lyrics for this song here. See if your kids can sing it for you this evening, and having the lyrics will help you follow along if you attend a school Mass in the near future:

SANCTUARY

Lord prepare me

To be a Sanctuary

Pure and holy,

Tried and true.

With thanksgiving

I’ll be a living

Sanctuary

For You!

McTeacher’s Night

On October the 9th, our school is having a McTeacher’s Night at the McDonald’s near Orscheln’s on Missouri Blvd. Stop by from 4-8 in the evening (and bring people with you), and profits during that time to directly to the school. Apparently, the Cathedral school holds the record for this event, and I’m confident we can pass that up.

Remember, by the way, that cookie money is due tomorrow. These orders have been rolling in, and I think you’re really going to enjoy these high-quality cookies.

The money is tentatively earmarked for technology and curricula work.

Chalk Art

If you didn’t have a chance to stop by Memorial Park a couple weeks back and see the chalk art that the kids did, I’ve had them posted at the school website (click here). What an amazing show of talent. Two of our students took second place; theirs is the jazz-themed picture with the words “Got Soul”.

Testing This Week

We are doing our Fall standardized testing this week. One of the ways we use this information is to see the areas where our instruction or curriculum might need development so that we can pin-point the most effective place to focus our energy. Over the past few weeks, our raw data has been converted into chart and graph format to make such analysis easier. This will allow teachers to analyze specific areas for focus, in addition to making it easier to show our school’s progress to groups such as the Advisory School Board.

Important Notes

· We are concluding the survey on the baseball field, and a name will be announced with next week’s e-newletter.

· For those of you who are Helias alumni, you may sign up for the “E-Sader” e-newsletter by visiting the website at www.heliashs.com and clicking on the “Foundation” tab. This page will have a box labeled, “Want to receive the E-Sader? Sign up here,” where you can enter your e-mail as many of you did to sign up for this e-newsletter.

· Note the information below regarding a basketball meeting for students in 5th – 8th grade.

Upcoming Events

10/4 Blessing of the pets at 2:40 on the lower lot

10/6-7 Scrip sold after Masses

10/7 (7:00 p.m.) Basketball meeting for students in 5th – 8th grade

10/7 Dedication of the Catholic Center (with Archbishop Burke) – 4:00 p.m.

10/8 No school – Teacher’s institute

10/9 Early dismissal (and Edge event)

10/9 McTeacher night (4 pm until 8) at McDonald’s next to Orscheln’s