January 31, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Happy Friday, everyone! We have had a wonderful Catholic Schools Week, and I am so thankful for all of our blessings. Thank you to my teachers for making this week an exciting one for our students. I received several compliments from students about how much fun they had. We took 215 students to the movies and bowling, and they were so respectful and polite. Parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents should be very proud of their students. I certainly was!
Today at Mass, Father Wrightson spoke of the image of the Kingdom of God. He reminded us that we have multiple opportunities every single day to do good deeds and plant seeds of goodness (like the farmer). Just as a farmer is often surprised by what a tiny seed can produce, we can spread tiny seeds of goodness that will lead to great things. We all make mistakes at times. We do some things well and other things very wrong. Father challenged us to try to do more things well so the Kingdom of God can grow all around us and make our world a better and brighter place for all. He asked us to be the best we can be, which is something we pray and say several times a day here at St. Anthony’s. Our teachers and students do strive to “be who they are and be that well,” in the spirit of St. Francis de Sales. Just as the farmer doesn’t know how exactly it is that all things happen with a simple seed, we do not know the endless possibilities of doing good deeds and simply being kind. A small kindness can make a tremendous difference in the life of someone who is struggling. So, help us to continue to appreciate all of our blessings, smile, and be the face of Jesus. It seems so simple, but it is a beautiful tribute to God. Father urged us all to take a step back and see where God is helping us. Let’s create God’s kingdom together. It is not our kingdom but God’s and we are all a part of it. Let God show you the way. Together we can do and say things to build up God’s Kingdom and make our community an ever better place.
February is here! We are already preparing for the season of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 26th. Students chose this year’s theme. It is a theme that all age levels (3-14) can understand. Our Lenten theme is “Walk with Jesus.” You will see this message throughout the building. I think we do an excellent job here at St. Anthony’s when it comes to walking with Jesus and following Him on His journey through the Stations of the Cross. Our students have Stations every Friday at 2:00 P.M. during Lent. Come out and join us. It is a peaceful and reverent way to start your weekend. Via Crucis is in full swing with practices on Sunday. If you have never seen these beautiful living stations, with student performers of all ages, be sure to plan on that for your Friday nights during Lent.
Our Diocesan monthly theme for February is “Jesus Walks on Water” (John 6:16-21). We continue to discuss Jesus’ miracles every month. Our lesson/challenge for the month of February will be “Facing challenges without Fear.”
Catholic Schools Week – We had an excellent week of activities to celebrate Catholic Schools Week!
- On Monday, we celebrated our teachers! Home and School provided some breakfast treats and a delicious lunch for our teachers. All the teachers enjoyed their day.
- On Tuesday, we saw a majority of both students and staff decked out in as much orange as they could wear! Some of our students even colored their hair and painted their faces! We also had our School Spelling Bee. Congratulations to our school winner, 6th Grader Lena Padovani!
- Our classroom Spelling Bee winners are: Sara Barker – 1st; Jeremiah Robinson – 2nd; Celeste Scarpato – 3rd; Tristen Clinton – 4th; Faith Jah – 5th; Lena Padovani – 6th; Andres Lorenzo – 7th; and Diana Lorenzo – 8th. Way to go!
- Wednesday saw Mrs. Orensky and some of our 8th Graders helping all the students run through different activities in the Gym for Spirit Day. The students had a fantastic time playing different relay games in the Gym. Student Council provided Chick-fil-a lunches for all our teachers and staff in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day on Monday. This was a fantastic treat for our teachers.
- Thursday was Student Appreciation Day and all the students enjoyed some time out of school for a special treat.
- Grade PK-5 went to the movies where they saw “Dolittle.” They also enjoyed some popcorn and fruit snacks while there. I was amazed to see even our littlest Tigers carrying their snacks without spilling them. I was impressed! The students enjoyed the movie and kept sharing their favorite parts with each other.
- Grades 6-8 went bowling at Main Event. They enjoyed some cosmic bowling and time with friends.
- Thank you to Home and School for paying for our movie and snacks! All of us, students and adults, enjoyed their trip!
- Friday was the traditional 8th Grade vs. Parents Volleyball Game. Both teams played their hearts out, but the parents were victorious. It was a well-played game by both teams!
I want to thank you once again for choosing to send your child to our school. We value the decision you have made and take the educating of your child seriously. It is our privilege to teach, love, and nurture your precious gifts.
Bishop Malooly’s visit: Bishop Malooly visited our school and met with all three grade levels. Third Grade did a song presentation in sign language. Preschool showed Bishop Malooly and Dr. DeAngelo how to pray before meals. Most surprisingly, Middle School was silent. I am not sure what happened that day, but nobody spoke. Our normally very chatty middle school was the most quiet I have ever seen them. When asked what they were learning, you could hear a pin drop in the room. Thankfully a couple students stopped by to greet Bishop Malooly personally before he left. It is so nice that he takes the time to go visit every single school in his diocese. For those of you who do not know this, Bishop Malooly submitted his retirement to Pope Francis last year on his 75th birthday. We will be sad to see him move on. He loves our diocese, and I have a feeling he will not go too far. We await the news of a new Bishop in the upcoming months. Pray for our diocese that we may be blessed again to have a Bishop who loves Catholic schools and works tirelessly to keep them running.
Diocesan School Site Visit: We had the pleasure of hosting Ms. Carol Ripken, our Assistant Superintendent. Ms. Ripken did a thorough review of our school, observed all classrooms, met with administration, the pastor, business manager, Home and School Board president, Advisory Board members, and our parish trustee, Anthony Albence. She complimented us on our strong Catholic identity, our service projects, our all-inclusive school, our technology integration, our hospitable students, our credentialed teachers, and much more. I look forward to sharing the report in greater detail with you in the near future. Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to be here and talk about why they love St. Anthony’s. It really is a special place. Let’s continue to “be who we are and be that well” as a school family.
Renaissance Testing: We will be doing our next round of Renaissance Testing from February 3rd – February 14th. Please be sure students arrive on time. For purposes of test validity and a quiet testing environment, once a test has started, students are not permitted to enter the computer lab.
Reminder about morning drop-off: Please use the front of the building, pulling up as far as possible, and have your child exit on the curbside. Do not park on the school side if you will exit your car for any reason. Please do not park in the bus zone across the street or double-park in the street. If you need to walk your child into school, please park across the street in the parking lot. All children must cross at the corner with the crossing guard (this also applies for dismissal). If you park on Scott Street (the side of the school), children can exit safely on the curb when they get out on the passenger side of the vehicle. This is a better, safer option. We do have before care as an option for parents who need to drop their students off early. There is no supervision outside school until the doors open at 7:30 A.M.
Health and Safety Reminders from our School Nurse:
When to Keep Your Child Home from School
- Fever – temperature of 100 degrees in the last 24 hours. Please do not medicate your child with Tylenol or Ibuprofen and then send him/her to school. The fever may come down, but your child is still contagious and won’t feel well.
- Vomiting or Diarrhea in the last 24 hours
- Conjunctivitis/Pink Eye – white part of the eye or eyelid is red with thick drainage. Your child must have started treatment before returning to school.
- Headache/Cough/Sore throat/Congestion severe enough to interfere with the ability to perform schoolwork.
If your child is sent home from school with a fever/vomiting/diarrhea, they are not to return to school the next day per the 24 hour policy. Your child does not feel well enough to perform school work and they are contagious to their classmates.
Thank you for keeping our school healthy!
Congratulations to our Knights of Columbus Vocation Essay Contest Winners! The Knights of Columbus hold a yearly vocation essay contest where students in grades 5 -8 are given a specific topic to write on. The following students won for their class: Gideon Keen – 5th; Michael Vadden – 6th; Natalia Alfieri – 7th; Chastity Lam – 8th. Each winner received a gift card and their essay will be entered in the statewide competition. Excellent job!
Financial Aid for the 2020-2021 School Year – Financial aid packets are now available in the main office. All parents applying for financial aid to our school MUST apply to the Diocese first. Please be aware that without a completed application to the Diocese, a family will not be considered for financial aid through our parish education fund. Please contact Mr. Shields or Mrs. Serio with any questions.
*Reminder – Financial aid packets have to be completed and submitted by March 4th.
Yearbooks – Yearbooks are on sale! They are $30. Please use the following link to purchase a yearbook. There will be limited yearbooks available for sale after the online sales. If you have any questions please contact Mrs. Seehusen at cseehusen@stanthonynet.org.
http://jostensyearbooks.com/?
From Home and School:
- Home and School Blood Drive – We hope you will consider supporting the blood drive St. Anthony’s Home & School is hosting at school on Friday, February 14th. The Blood Drive will run from 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. Please click on the link (https://donate.bbd.org/donor/
schedules/sponsor_code) and enter code SAGS to schedule an appointment for that day. A flyer will be going home next week. Thank you very much.
From YAC:
- Spring Sports Registration – Spring is in the air! We are now registering athletes for track and baseball for St. Anthony’s Grade School. Track is open to athletes in K-8th grade and baseball is open to athletes in 6th-8th grade. Practices are twice a week with games/meets on the weekends. The season runs from March 2nd (practice begins) through May 17th. To register go to: http://www.stanthonyyac.
com. Be Tiger Proud!
From the Parish:
- February Parish Monthly Socials – The February parish socials will be held on Sunday, February 2nd, in the Ballad Room of the Grade School following the 9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. Masses. Stop by for food, fun, and socializing with fellow parishioners and friends. The social, as always, will feature a variety of great donuts and tomato pie from Serpe’s Bakery, delicious breakfast pizzas from Degnars Greenhill Deli, and more! Hope you can join us!
Please be sure to follow us on Facebook! See all of the exciting things that are happening with your children on a daily basis. We post many (adorable) photos. If you haven’t followed us yet, look for St. Anthony of Padua Grade School Families, Alumni & Friends.
Winter Blessings,
Mrs. White
“Kindness is the natural fruit of goodness of the heart.” ~ St. Katherine Drexel