PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Jan. 10                    2pm Early Dismissal – Teacher In-Service

Jan. 11                    Half Payment Tuition Due

Jan. 18                    Dress Down Day - Scrip Goal Met

Jan. 21                    No School – Teacher In-service

Jan. 23                    Locks of Love & Blood Drive 1:00 – 7:00pm

Jan. 26 & 27            Catholic Schools Week kick-off at all Masses – Students wear uniforms with sweaters to church

Jan. 28 Feb 1          Catholic Schools Week

Jan. 30                    “Special Friends” Day - Schedule below

DID YOU KNOW… We are hosting our 3rd Annual Blood Drive at St. Patrick’s on January 23rd, from 1pm to 7pm.  Our very wonderful Pastor, Father Ron will have given his 80th pint on this day.  He is following in the footsteps of his own father, who donated 13 gallons of blood during his lifetime.  Here at St. Patrick’s, our students have learned that blood is like medicine, saving lives daily, and about how important it is to donate blood.  Will you consider being an empowered leader, and a lifesaving volunteer while being an excellent example for your children by donating blood? More information is below.

INFORMATION ON THE BUILDING PROGRESS – We are happy to share at this point, the addition at St. Patrick’s is 32% complete.  This week, the contractors are framing the interior walls on the second floor as well as completing the roof. Please take a moment to view the pictures at www.stpatselkhorn.org. Thank you again to all who have made out Capital Campaign successful.  This campaign is what is allowing us to build, grow and move forward. 

TRAFFIC FLOW CLARIFICATION – The opening of the turning lane off of 204th Street into the east entrance to our parking lot has caused a lot of safety concerns and a few close calls.  People who are hoping to turn in there when the traffic is busy are putting themselves and others into a potential traffic problem, possibly even an accident.  We are strongly encouraging everyone to use the north entrance as you did during the first semester.  The space from Laramie Street to our drop off lane allows for plenty of room for all cars.  Our number one concern is the safety of these students and you, so please use the north access road as your morning drop off for your children. Thank you for putting safety first.

TUITION STATEMENTS SENT HOME – Before the Christmas Vacation, statements for those families who chose the half payment option for tuition were sent home with oldest and only students.  The 2nd payment is due January 11, 2008. You may send it to school with your child in an envelope, drop it in the Sunday collection or mail it to the school office.  Please write tuition in the memo so it is properly posted to your account.  If you have questions about the statement, you may call the school office.

STUDENTS YOU COULD WIN A Wii FOR THE FAMILY OR A $10 SCRIP CARD FOR YOURSELF - St Patrick’s School and RF students, please make sure to turn in your sold tickets. These tickets will be in the drawing to win the Harley Davidson Sportster or $10,000 cash, which will be won at our annual Parish Dinner/ Auction on February 2nd. Drawings for the $10 SCRIP gift cards will be held for weeks ending Jan.11th, 18th, 25th and Feb 1st.  The drawing will include every school and RF student that has turned in sold tickets during the previous week. At the end of the raffle, for each ticket a student sells their name will be entered in a drawing for to win a Wii!  Will your name be in that drawing?

THE RAFFLE TICKET WINNER OF THE WEEK - The winner of the weekly drawing for the last week of school before Christmas break for selling Harley Davidson or $10,000 raffle tickets was Meagan Sitzmann from Mrs. Brown’s 4th grade class. Megan won a $10 Scrip Gift Card.  We currently have over 500 tickets sold.  The first all school prize happens at 750 tickets sold.  Can you help us get there?  Turn-in your tickets today!

EXTENDED CARE FYI - Due to the high volume of students attending Extended Care we need to make sure all students in need of care are registered.  Any family that needs care should have a registration form filled out, and a calendar turned in prior to having your child in the Extended Care Program.  Drop-In care is only for true emergencies, and will need prior approval.  These stipulations are enforced in accordance with Nebraska Health and Human Services Regulations.  Our student to teacher ratio must always be within the state parameters.  If your child needs to be enrolled for any future care, applications are available on the school website, or can be obtainable in the school office.  Thank you for understanding and being perceptive with this matter.  Contact Dana Gerten with any questions @ 350-7200 or dgerten@msn.com.

STUDENT COUNCIL SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE FOR ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN UGANDA -We are continuing to focus on giving to those less fortunate than us.  The Student Council is sponsoring a school supply drive for our sister school in Uganda.  These students need pencils, crayons, paper and other materials to help them in the learning process.  St. Patrick’s teachers are also donating teacher supplies to the teachers in Uganda.  The drive began Monday, December 10 and will run through Friday, January 18th. Please consider involving your child in choosing the items to donate.  Let’s all work together to make this school supply drive to be the best ever! Special thanks for the support of Mrs. DeWald and Mr. Valish -Student Council Sponsors.

LOCKS OF LOVE – Mark your calendars for St. Patrick’s School Locks of Love drive on January 23rd, 2008. Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers. Anyone donating their hair must complete the permission slip below and return it to the school office.  Please let us know by January 15th, to allow enough time to line up stylists. If you, your daughter or someone else you know would like to join this annual drive at St. Patrick’s, contact Denise Kimnach or the school office at 289-5407.

PERMISSION SLIP FOR LOCKS OF LOVE

ST. PATRICK’S ANNUAL BLOOD DRIVE ON JANUARY 23rd FROM 1 to 7 pm – Thank you in advance for your support by giving to the Third Annual St. Patrick’s Parish Blood Drive, which will be held on Wednesday, January 23rd.  St. Patrick’s is holding a parish wide blood drive to benefit the American Red Cross from 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm in the Parish Center. You may sign-up to give blood at www.givebloodgivelife.org , or by contacting the school office at 289-5407. We are also in need of volunteers to work the day of the Blood Drive.  If you are interested, please contact Kristen Panowicz at 289-4961.  Thank you in advance for your donation and/or time in supporting the American Red Cross! Please help us meet our goal of 100! We are also looking for a few volunteers to work the day of the Blood Drive. If you could give a few hours of your time please contact Kathy Moritz, in the school office, at 289-5407.  There are several shifts to choose from.

FYI - You may donate blood every 56 days; platelets every three days, up to 24 times in a 12-month period.  Any questions regarding giving blood may be directed toward the Red Cross Metro Nurses line at 341-2723.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2008 – Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated the week of January 28th – February 1st.  . There will be Masses on the weekend of January 26th and 27th to kick off the week.  If your child has a part in his/her grade’s Mass, you will be notified by your child’s teacher.  We ask that you please plan to attend that Mass time.  All St. Patrick’s students are asked to wear their school uniform with sweater to the service your family goes to.

On Wednesday, January 30th we will be celebrating “Special Friend’s Day”. This day gives the students an opportunity to show off their school to a family member or friend.  They will take their “special friend” on a short tour.  The schedules for the visits are by the student’s last name and are as follows:

   A-F - 9:30-10:15am

   G-P - 1:00-1:45

                                Q-Z - 2:00-2:45pm

MAGAZINE RENEWALS TO BENEFIT ST. PAT’S! Mark the dates: March 7-17 - St. Patrick’s School will hold a Magazine Renewal fundraiser to raise money to purchase equipment and materials for our new Library Media Center to open in the fall. (Material needed include: barcode scanner, magazine covers, book repair materials, projector, DVD player, and much more).   We are teaming up with QSP and it couldn’t be simpler.  More details are to come soon, but until then, be sure to hold off renewing those magazine subscriptions until March 7-17.

HYVEE RECEIPTS – We have reached the end of the time period for collecting HyVee receipts. Please send in all of your HyVee receipts, dated from September 10, 2007 through December 31, 2007, by Friday January 11, 2008. As soon as all the receipts have been totaled and submitted, a final report will appear in the Principal’s Notes.

SCRIP DRESS DOWN DAY - Thanks to everyone for making our HO HO HO SCRIP promotion such a HUGE SUCCESS – our sales goal was $20,000 and the reward was a DRESS DOWN DAY for the kids on Friday, January 18!  We outdid our goal with… $43,622 in SCRIP sales, making our SCRIP profit for November & December  $2671.65… which is unbelievable!  Mark your calendars for a student DRESS DOWN day for next Friday January 18th!  During November & December, here are some statistics for our biggest SCRIP vendors:

Bakers sold $5650

HyVee sold $19,300

Kohl’s sold $5850

Wal-Mart sold $6075 (new to SCRIP starting in December)

Texas Roadhouse sold $1300

Olive Garden/Red Lobster sold $775

BK sold $680

Runza sold $680

Starbucks sold $820

This is just to name a few!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who continue to buy SCRIP gift cards to the places you already go – Wal-Mart, HyVee, Bakers, Kohl’s, and all the fast food and other restaurants!  As you can see, BUYING SCRIP – PAYS!  The SCRIP box is always available at school and by the Parish Center steps after weekend Masses. Questions or comments - call Jane Chapman @ 553-6131 or email KCCJDC@cox.net.Thanks again!

8TH GRADE ENTRANCE EXAMS – Nine area Catholic high schools will administer their Scholarship and Placement Tests to all current 8th graders Saturday, January 12, 2008.  The results are used in the admission process and to determine scholarship winners.  Even if you and your 8th grader(s) have not made a decision as to their choice for high school, we strongly encourage the students to take this exam to keep their options open.  The times are different at each school that is offering the exam so watch for details to come home with your child.

FIRST EUCHARIST PARENT/CHILD RETREAT - 1st Eucharist Parent/ Child Retreats will be held on Saturday,   January 12, 2008 and January 13, 2008.  Religious Formation and 5-day school children brought home a form allowing parents to choose a time for their child to attend, if you have not returned your form, please do so as soon as possible.  There is a limit of 45 per retreat and retreat dates/times are as follows:

Saturday, January 12, 2008                    

8:00 am to 9:30 am

11:00 am to 12:30 pm

2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Sunday, January 13, 2008

2:00 pm to 3:30 pm

REGISTER NOW FOR SPRING SPORTS - Registration for YMCA Basketball has closed.  Late Registration is still open for CYSL Spring Soccer.  Register soon before teams fill-up! You may also still register for the following sports:

Micro Soccer (Spring 2008) Late charges will begin on Feb. 15th

T-Ball (Spring 2008) Late changes will begin on Feb. 15th

You will be able access the online registration from the St. Patrick’s Athletic Page via the following link: http://stpatselkhorn.org/athletics/Athleticsindex.cfm. If you have any questions regarding online registration, please contact Lynette Davis (402)496-0764.

ST. PATRICK’S FIELD OF DREAMS DINNER/AUCTION – "Field of Dreams" Dinner/Auction is only 3 weeks away so please get your reservations turned in! There are nearly 500 items to bid on this year including fantastic trips to Disney World, Puerto Vallarta, Chicago, Colorado, and Florida; sports memorabilia and tickets to games; great items for everyone in the family.  You don't want to miss out!

NEED A BABYSITTER FOR THE NIGHT - Rosewood Academy will be open the night of the auction from 4:30 until midnight.  It's a PJ Party for the kids and includes dinner, activities and a movie!  Make your reservation by 1/29/08 for ages 6 weeks to 12 years.  Contact Fran or Kelli at 496-6332.  Fees: $40 for 1 child; $60 for 2 and $20 for each additional child.  20% of the proceeds will go back to St. Pat's! Please contact Deb Gustafson at debragustafson@hotmail.com or 491-3820 if you have any questions.

MOMS MINISTRY (Ministry of Mothers Sharing - New MOMS Group To Begin JANUARY 2008  - Are you a “MOM” looking for a little soul time every week? A new session of the MOMS Ministry (Ministry of Mothers Sharing) is scheduled to begin Tuesday, January 29th  through Tuesday, March 11th.  This group will meet weekly on Tuesdays from 8:45am to 10:45am.  Take this opportunity to enhance your spirituality as a mother and to better appreciate motherhood as a ministry.  Please call Debbie Otwell at 614-4032 to register or with questions. 

Principal's Notes Deadline

Please submit all items/information in final form for Principal's Notes

by Tuesday, 8:00am to the school or email to:

ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org or kmoritz@stpatselkhorn.org

Archived Principal's Notes