November 18, 2009

May each of us be thankful for all the gifts that our loving God bestows on us!

THE SEASONS UNFOLD BEFORE US As you celebrate Thanksgiving with all those special to you, we wish each of you a sense of the blessings that you do have in your lives. Too often we fixate on what we don’t have and overlook all that we have and take for granted.



Then, this coming Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent. There are so many beautiful traditions associated with this season of awaiting the Birth of the Child that help keep us mindful of the season. From Advent wreaths to Advent calendars to cribs and the like, we can make this a true time of waiting for the Christ Child, our Savior. Observing some of these traditions can provide a good balance to lists, shopping, etc.



H1N1 VACCINATIONS We are grateful to our school nurse, Mrs. Coleman-Wira for reviewing the consent forms sent in by parents wanting their children to receive the nasal spray last Thursday. That was a task, but then on Thursday, there were the more immediate tasks of transcribing information to Health Dept. forms and administering the vaccine. A number of parents volunteered to help in these capacities. We thank Mrs. Benz, Mrs. Biles, Mrs. Comas, Mrs. Heston, and Mrs. Zaremski along with Naomi from the Health Department for their hours of work that morning with the forms. Next in the process, we thank nurses Mrs. Branca (grandmother of John and Vincent Luciano), Mrs. Citrigno, Mr. Presutti, Mrs. Reinhart, and Mrs. Zuk for administering the spray to all of our cherubs. Overall the morning flowed very smoothly again in thanks to the good help we had. You may have heard that one of our students was taken to the hospital and, as the nurses here had thought, hospital testing confirmed that it was an anxiety reaction to the idea of the vaccine and not related to the vaccine itself. When we hear about the details for the administration of Round 2 in early December for students needing it, we will share them with you.



TUITION REMINDER For families on the monthly payment plan, a reminder that the November payment is now past due. For families at the stewardship rate of tuition, a reminder that the amount in the offertory collection should be $300 through November 15. For report cards to be issued on Tuesday, December 15th: Stewardship families must have at least $300 in the offertory collection (to be received by 12/7) and monthly payments must be paid through November. Please call Maryann Junod at the parish office with any questions or concerns.



MORNING TIME We thank everyone who observes the routine of bringing your children to school by car. If you are dropping students off, you should follow the carline as far toward the parish center as possible before stopping to let children out. If you are walking your children to a door, you should park in the Trainer Hall lot only. No one should be parking in front of the rectory, parish center, etc.



A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS How do your children look each day leaving for school and the work of getting prepared for their futures? It is wonderful to see that so many of you recognize the connection with appearances and potential. Here at school we wonder when parents let their students come to school looking the way that some of them do. Being dressed according to policy from head to foot is a life skill and is thus reflected on report cards.



PEOPLE AND EVENTS Our SCS Swim Team did it yet again. They won their meet against Calvary last week. This coming Sunday they will be competing against St. Jerome’s at noon. Go, team!



Please be reminded that if you are interested in applying for the Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, you can go to the website www.csfphiladelphia.org for the application. Although the timeframe is until March, only the first 7,000 applications received will be processed. Don’t miss this opportunity if it’s possible for you.



CRITICAL THINKING 101 What’s a char? It’s an amazing fish, that’s for sure. A char is both a salt water and fresh water fish and is related to both salmon and trout. How’s that for a pedigree? Congratulations to Lauren Hall (4-11) for having her correct answer drawn and to all of the entrants who had a mini-science lesson when they found the answer. Lauren will receive the $10 Gift Card of Choice certificate for this week. For the next drawing, answer the who, what, when, why regarding the establishment of an official Thanksgiving celebration in our nation.