FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT O Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, come and dwell with us. Desire of all nations.
Gift to every generation, come, make your home with us. All nations, everybody, is waiting for you. Jesus, come to us.
Dec 4 Student Council “$1 Dress Down Day” for COPE
Dec 7 No Hot Lunch Served Due to a Funeral Luncheon
Dec 8 Immaculate Conception - 8:30 & 11:30 School Masses
Dec 102pm Dismissal – Teacher In-Service
Dec 15 7th & 8th Grade Christmas Program in Parish Center at 6:30pm
Dec 17 2nd Grade Christmas Program in Parish Center at 6:30pm
3rd Grade Christmas Program in Parish Center at 7:30pm
Dec 21 PreK Christmas Programs – 9:30 & 1:30
Dec 22 PreS Christmas Programs – 9:30 & 1:30
Dec 22 “Dress Down Day” - Students may wear St. Patrick’s Apparel
K- 8th Christmas Parties in the Classrooms at 2:15
1st Semester Ends
Dec 23-Jan 4Christmas Break – No School
Jan 5 School Resumes
HOT LUNCH WILL NOT BE SERVED ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 – There is a funeral luncheon in the Parish Center on Monday, December 7th, therefore, there will not be school lunch served! Please plan to send your child with a sack lunch on that day, where students will enjoy lunch in their homerooms. Milk will be made available. Since this “No Hot Lunch” falls on a Monday, please make an extra effort to remember to send your child with a cold lunch that day.
$1 DRESS DOWN DAY TOMORROW - Student Council is sponsoring a $1 “Dress Down Day” on Friday, December 4th to support the needs of COPE. COPE stands for Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn. This charitable organization works with St. Patrick’s and other area churches to meet the needs of the citizens of Western Douglas County. An 8th grade confirmation group will use the money to buy socks, gloves, hats, diapers and other necessities that COPE families need.
MASS SWEATERS – Please return uniform sweaters, if you have not done so already, to school. Students are required to wear them to school masses.
DECEMBER 10th IS OUR NEXT 2PM DISMISSAL. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR ALL MONTHLY 2PM DISMISSALS- On the 2nd Thursday of each month, our school dismisses at 2:00pm to allow for Teacher’s In-Services. All students must be picked up on time on those days. The remaining 2009-2010 early dismissals are listed as follows: January 14th, February 11th, March 11th, April 8th, and May 13th! Please plan accordingly with these early pickups, and make proper arrangements so all teachers may get to their meetings promptly. Late pickups will incur a $5 late fee. Thank you for your cooperation.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS WITH THIS CHANGE – The 7th – 8th Grade Christmas Music Program is scheduled for December 15th, at 6:30pm in the Parish Center. The 6th Grade Winter Music Program moved to Thursday, January 28th at 6:30pm in the Parish Center.
ITBS (IOWA TEST OF BASIC SKILLS) SCORES ARRIVED - Results of the 2009-2010 ITBS are in, will be returned to students in a sealed envelope on Friday, December 4th. At St. Patrick’s School, teachers administer the ITBS to all 2nd – 8th grade students in the fall. Our numbers continue to improve each year and have done so since the opening of St. Patrick’s School in 2001. We anticipate scores to continue to rise as the students go through the rigorous academic curriculum at St. Patrick’s School.
CANNED FOOD DRIVE TOMORROW - Student Council in conjunction with the Religious Formation program is sponsoring a canned food drive from November 30th to December 4th. The canned goods will be used to make Christmas food baskets for the families in need in our area. We are collecting cans of soup, vegetables, fruit, etc.
YOU TOO CAN HELP SANTA’S ELVES - The holiday shopping season is right around the corner. But not to worry, your St. Patrick’s Home & School Elves are here to help! It is time for the annual H&S Elf program to begin. H&S will again present a gift to all teachers, aides and school staff who work hard to make our school a wonderful, learning environment. A letter and envelope went home with each student Monday, November 30th. We invite each family to donate to the Elf fund. Our Elves will use the money to purchase SCRIP gift certificates and deliver them to each staff member before the Christmas break. Each participating family will be recognized on the attached gift tag. All donations will bedue December 11th. This is an optional program offered by H&S to save families shopping time during this busy season. If you have any questions, please contact Michele Zadalis 965-8449 or Jenn Copenhaver 964-1313.
BUY ST. PATRICK'S APPAREL ONLINE - Through the generosity of one of our parents, an online web store has been set up. You may now buy St. Patrick's apparel online, anytime, in any quantity! It will be shipped directly to your home. Even better--you design your own item(choose from shirts, blankets, mugs anything)! Don't like what you see? Upload your own artwork. Create a St. Pat's item or a shirt for your next family reunion and the profits go back to St. Patricks! Go to www.stpatshs.gigabitprint.com , create a login and go! Happy with what we have? Give Joan Quinn a call and see what is in stock and we will get it to you this week! Questions, call or e-mail Joan at 658-0120 or jquinn26@cox.net.
OUR ANNUAL SPRING MAGAZINE FUNDRAISER IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER - Each spring, we kick-off our Magazine Subscription Fundraiser to benefit our students. The success of the program depends on your participation. We will be kicking off our fundraiser on March 3, 2010. However, you can get started right now! This is a great way to start your Christmas Shopping and support our school at the same time, especially if you plan on giving the gift of reading! Save Time. Go Online. Go to www.qsp.com. Enter account number 425052783. Renew your current magazine subscriptions and/or order new subscriptions on-line. While at www.qsp.com you can also spread the word to further support St. Patrick’s School, by emailing friends and family anywhere in the country and inviting them to take advantage of our special offers. Although the kickoff is not until March, starting TODAY, all internet orders will count towards our school goal!!! St. Patrick’s School earns 40% profit on your purchases. The funds raised will help support educational, academic and extracurricular programs for our students. Your support is met with much gratitude and appreciation.
LUNCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - So far this year over 500 volunteer hours have been shared in serving the lunch program at St. Patrick's. Whether your child enjoys the hot lunch provided or brings a cold lunch, every child utilizes the lunch room. In addition to lunch trays being filled, tables and chairs need to be wiped and cleaned in between each of our three lunch shifts, and the floors need to be swept at the end. As St. Pat's grows so does our need for helping hands. The shift runs from 10:45 AM - 1:00 PM. Whether you can volunteer once a quarter, a month, or every week - we would welcome your help - and the students enjoy seeing their moms and dads in action! Please contact Kathy Mingo (mikemingo@cox.net) or Kris Morrissey (krismorrissey@cox.net) if you have any questions and/or would like to volunteer.
A HO! HO! HO! PROMOTIONIS UNDERWAY – From now until December 11th, for every $50 you spend with SCRIP you will be entered into a drawing for a $20 gift certificate to Sam & Louie’s! PLUS, if we reach our goal of $25,000, the kids will earn a Dress Down Day on Friday, January 8th. Everyone loves a gift card! This is a great way to get a lot of your Christmas shopping done and help St. Pat’s at the same time. If you have any questions, contact Deb Gustafson at 491-3820 or debragustafson@hotmail.com. Also, don’t forget to stop by MATERIAL GIRL for some of your gifts. Mention St. Pat’s and 20% of your sale will be donated back to the school! You can find something special for every gal on your list. Shop at Oakview (just east of the mall near Verizon) or at 117th & Stonegate (behind the DC Centre).
RESCHEDULED CONFIRMATION CANDIDATE/SPONSOR RETREAT - The reflection will be held on Wednesday, December 9, 2009, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Parents, if your child’s sponsor is not able to attend, please plan to attend this evening of reflection with your child.
KIDS SPRING SOCCER REGISTRATION - Registration is currently open for the spring season of CYSL soccer. Register soon to avoid late fees. To register your children please go to the Athletics Page on the school website. For questions regarding online registration please contact Renee Shotkoski at: mjsshots@yahoo.com or 763-9133. For questions regarding CYSL Soccer please contact Mike Meyer at: mrmomm@cox.net.
BREAKFAST WITH SANTA IN THE ST. PATRICK’S PARISH CENTER ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12TH 9:30 to 11:00 AM - Bring your camera to take a picture with Santa and enjoy some holiday fun. We will have donuts, juice, coffee, and activities for the kids. The cost is $12 per family. Registration forms are available in the Church entrance and the Parish Office. Please make checks payable to St. Patrick’s Church and return it and registration to the school or parish office by Dec. 9th. Call Cecilia Grigsby for any questions cgrigsby10@cox.net or 991-5604.Sponsored by Families with Children. Please bring a new toy to donate to COPE.
IRA GIFTS CAN HELP PARISHES, SCHOOLS & YOUR TAX BURDEN - During this month of giving thanks for our many blessings, we are grateful for all of the ways so many people have helped St. Patrick’s through the years. Again this year you, your parents or grandparents may have a unique opportunity to make a charitable gift to St. Patrick’s without paying additional taxes on income from their IRA’s.One small part of the 700+ Billion Bailout Bill can directly help our parish, school, RF programs, and individuals over the age of 70 ½! Under this bill, a regular or Roth IRA owner age 70 ½ or older may make a direct transfer from their IRA to a qualified charity without declaring additional income from the transfer. This transfer may be up to $100,000 per year and is tax-free to charity, but at this time this option exists only until December 31, 2009. This may* allow you to make your charitable gift without paying income taxes on your annual required IRA distribution (*Dependent on your unique personal tax situation.) A few important rules: 1. Your IRA administrator needs to cut a check directly to St. Patrick’s. 2. Married couples can each make a gift from their IRA. 3. You do not receive a tax deduction for your gift. We can supply you with any additional information you may need, but you need to act quickly. This law currently expires December 31, 2009.
There are limitations on the type of charity that qualifies for such a direct transfer/gift, but your parish does qualify. Please prayerfully consider contacting your IRA custodian and/or accountant to see if this new charitable tool will help you save on income taxes. Or please contact family members over the age of 70 ½ to see if they would be willing to consider such a wonderful opportunity. Thank you for your past and future support of St. Patrick’s!
COME PRAY THE ROSARY - All are invited to join us in the church on Fridays @ 3:00 to pray the rosary. This is a great way to start your weekend! Any questions contact Jen Cordes 289-4380 or cordes6@cox.net
THAT’S AMORE...SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13th, 2010 - Items are still being collected for this year’s dinner/auction; however, the deadline is quickly approaching! Solicitors should be turning in items collected to the Development office as soon as possible. Many wonderful packages come from our generous families here at St. Pat’s. Please consider donating something for the auction. If you would like more information on donating an item, please contact Dana Bird, Auction Chair, at 315-9689.
THANK YOU for your generosity!
40 FEET OF FUN, HERE WE COME - Would you like to be one of three lucky families to win a HOLIDAY LIGHTS BUS TOUR with refreshments on December 20th? Make sure to turn in your tickets by December 13th to be entered into the drawing for this fabulous family night out! If you need additional tickets, they are available from the Welcome Desk, Development Office, or after weekend masses. Good Luck!
Thank you for your support of St. Patricks! If you have any questions about the raffle or would like to volunteer on the 2010 Raffle Committee, please contact:
Nicole Vossen at 763-9534 or nicolevossen@cox.net
Gigi Jensen at 679-2333 or gigijensen@msn.com
Kerrie Tabaka at 445-0409 or ted_tabaka@yahoo.com
Principal's Notes Deadline:
Please submit all items/information in final form.
Principal's Notes deadline is Tuesday by 8:00am to the school or email to
