Principal's Notes: Monday, Dec. 12, 2011

Monday Notes
December 12, 2011

Dear Families,
Happy Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day! Early this morning, several thousand of our Brethren of Hispanic descent attending Mass and Las Mananitas! The celebration honors the appearance of Our Lady in the 16th century to a humble layman by the name of Juan Diego. She dressed as an Aztec princess and looking very much like the people she wanted to assure of God’s love.She continues to be admired and is known for her compassionate message that Jesus is our Savior and comes to be one of us so that we may become divine and live forever with God in heaven.

This week is full of activities. Tomorrow (Dec 13), we have our Christmas Program at McGuinness High School and yes, it is a program that includes all our students – 2 ½ year olds to 4th graders. The program is at 7:00 p.m. Please be there by 6:30 p.m. Someone will be directing you to holding rooms. LC 3 and LC 4 students, once completing their performance can join you in the audience. The finale however is for everyone – so the words to the very last two songs are included in your program. This fits our mission statement perfectly (serving the young child within the whole family) and allows all our families to be part of the finale. What a perfect way to involve everyone! Families are asked to donate $3.00 to cover program expenses. If you’d like to purchase DVD’s of the program, please turn in your order blanks with $15.00 to the office. Checks are made to LifeTime Videos.

We have third and fourth graders caroling Wednesday and Thursday. One very special place is the staff party of Bone and Joint Hospital. They will also sing for the Sisters on Friday during lunch. Our Mass is celebrated Friday at 9:00 a.m. with Rev. Rick Stansberry, pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church.

Don’t forget to bring your wrapped gift for a poor child by this Thursday. The tag on the gift should indicate gender and age. You may bring them at anytime before Friday. They can be stored in class.

This Friday is the end of the first semester. How fast time has flown! While I realize some of you are very busy – life leads us on a rapid journey, take time for your little ones – they only are on this part of the journey once in their life. Some of our teachers send home daily reports, most weekly. The first –fourth grade teachers post their grades on Engrade and you actually have access to this tool to watch the progress of your child – what is turned in; what is missing. Please take the opportunity to be vigilant. No grade is given; all grades are earned. We hope we are instilling within our students – responsibility. They hear often from me the importance of preparing themselves for whatever God has in mind for them to do with their lives. They must be ready. This is also the message of Advent.

Don’t forget to sign up in your building if you plan to be here for childcare during the Christmas break.
With sadness, we say farewell to our assistant cook, Emily Walsh as she leaves us to gain more experience with her culinary training to be a chef and thank her for her self-less service to Villa Teresa School. We welcome Amber Martin who will be assisting us.

Our archdiocesan information for the safety of children appear quarterly in our newsletters:
Abuse of minors: Pastoral Response Hotline (405) 720-9878. For the safety of children and healing of victims, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City provides an Abuse of Minors Pastoral Response Hotline. Calls to this number will be answered by the Archdiocesan Assistance coordinator who will offer to meet with the callers in person, if the caller so desires. Calls are confidential, with the following exceptions:
• Any allegation of sexual or physical abuse or neglect concerning those who currently are minors must be reported to Oklahoma Department of Human Services (1-800-522-3511)
• Any allegation of sexual misconduct must be shared with proper Archdiocesan authorities.
• Local law enforcement agencies may also be contacted.

Menu for December 12 – 16, 2011
Monday, Dec 12 – Crispy chicken sandwiches, corn, diced peaches and pears, milk
Tuesday, Dec 13 – Chicken noodle soup, mixed veggies, rolls, peach slices, milk
Wednesday, Dec 14 - Ham and tater tot casserole, rolls, mixed fruit, milk
Thursday, Dec 15 – Fettuccini Alfredo with diced ham, salad, fruit cocktail, milk
Friday, Dec 16 – Fish sticks, hash browns, bread, tropical fruit mix, milk

Immersed in Christ (Third Week of Advent)
Jesus Saves us from Sin

INVENTORY: What does hope have to do with joy? What role does hope play in the “joy of salvation”? What do you hope for from God? How do you expect God to fulfill that hope?
INPUT: We should always rejoice – even when things are going wrong and we are suffering because “the Lord is near.” The key is to keep ourselves aware of Jesus’ ever presence with us even when we are sad. We have, with Jesus everything we need.
Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-11; John 1:6-28; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
INSIGHT: How do I feel when I think of Christ’s love? How do I feel when I don’t?
INITIATIVE: During Advent form the habit of touching your heart frequently during the day and saying the WIT prayer: “Lord, live with me; live in me; live through me.”