St. Paul Academy 1920 E. Washington Ave. Harlingen, Texas 78550 Office Phone 956-423-3926 Check us out on the Internet at www.stpaultexas.com or www.fastdir.com/stpaultexas October 28, 2016 2016-17 School Year Theme Superheroes for Jesus Hebrews 12:1-3 CALENDAR OF EVENTS Oct. 31 Grace (Luther) Fest 8:30-11:30 AM Nov. 1-15 National Young Readers Challenge Nov. 2 School Chapel Service 8:20 AM Nov. 4 Morning Coffee Club 7:45 AM Nov. 5 Harlingen Proud Fall Litter Bash 9:30 AM Nov. 7-11 PTLS Fall Book Fair Nov. 7 Campus Evacuation Drill Nov. 10 ECE Thanksgiving Luncheon 11:30 AM Nov. 11 Veterans Day Assembly & Lunch 10:30 AM PSIA Kick-Off Meeting 4:00 PM Nov. 12 St. Paul Ladies Aid Craft & Bake Sale 8AM-1:00 PM Nov. 17 Thanksgiving Parent Luncheon 11:30 AM Nov. 21-25 Thanksgiving Break Prayer Walk Families for the week of Oct. 28-Nov. 3 Joseph Johnson Caden Kirkland Caelan Kirkland From the Principal s Desk... On Reformation Day (which we will observe on October 31 st ), we celebrate God s gift to the Church through His servant Martin Luther. Luther reminds us of our freedom from the Law in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you remember the story from John 8, Jesus told the self-satisfied religious leaders of His time, Everyone who sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34). You see, they thought, We ve got it made! They believed that their birth status automatically made them free from sin. Later, in the time of Martin Luther during the 16 th century, many religious people felt much the same way. Birth and religious vocation gave them a false sense of freedom, too. Is it possible for modern folk like us, lifelong members of a church with a long list of good and charitable works behind our names, to make the same mistake and think, We ve got it made? Another tragically mistaken group says, I ve got to make it. People in Jesus day followed the Pharisees and tried to keep their numerous religious laws to the finest detail. Paul once lived by those standards, too: I ve got to make it. In the 16 th century, Luther along with many others struggled in error, wrongly attempting to gain freedom from sin and guilt through prayers, fastings, pilgrimages, and even the purchase of indulgences. Is it possible that many people today depend on church attendance, financial contributions, church work, and acts of service to make it before God? The message of the Law tells us that this is a hopeless task! But then, in the Gospel message, we realize the joy that we never could know through works of the Law. Jesus Christ, God s Son, sets us free from our sins! Jesus took on the slavery of the Law and died on a cross to atone for the sins of the whole world, all people of all times. And through Him, God our Heavenly Father declared the world righteous for Jesus sake. We are reminded in Jesus own words, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36). Martin Luther discovered the truth of God s Word that freedom from sin comes only through faith in Christ in Ephesians 2:8-9, for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. In these words, the gates of heaven were opened for Luther, and for us, too. Today and every day, we rejoice in our freedom from sin and our freedom to live lives free in Christ Jesus. We celebrate this freedom in the motto of Martin Luther which reminds us of its source: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone. In Christ s Service, James L. House, Principal
WHAT WE CELEBRATE...While the secular world celebrates witches, ghosts, and goblins Monday for Halloween, we at St. Paul Academy focus on another October 31 st happening. This event took place on Oct. 31, 1517, when a young monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses (or statements) of doctrinal belief on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This event was the start of the Protestant Reformation movement. The most important aspect of the Reformation was the purity of God s Word as the source of guidance and strength in our lives. Celebrate with as we rededicate ourselves to the study of God s Word and thank God for the bold men of faith who made it possible to read Scripture in its truth and purity. GRACEFEST 2016...The students and faculty of St. Paul will observe the 499 th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and its message of Saved by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ by participating in GraceFest 2016 next Monday, Oct. 31 st from 8:30 AM to lunch. Students will participate in a variety of fun activities that teach them about the Great Reformer, Martin Luther and the key events of his life and the GraceFest 2016 Reformation Era. Plan to celebrate with us! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED To help make our GraceFest celebration a success, we need our families to donate food items and several parent volunteers to assist the teachers with the center activities. To date, several donations have come in---but more are needed. You can still drop food items by on Monday morning. Thanks in advance for your willingness to help out with this year s event and for your support of this year s GraceFest activities. FALL LITTER BASH... Keep Harlingen Beautiful and the City of Harlingen will hold its annual Fall Litter Bash next Saturday, Nov. 5 th from 9:30-11:30 AM. The deadline for turning in permission slips and requests for t-shirts and lunches is Monday, Oct. 31 st (no exceptions)! Be Harlingen Proud plan to help keep Harlingen beautiful and join us at the Fall Litter Bash on November 5 th. READING CHALLENGE... National Young Readers Day will be celebrated again this year on November 15 th. To promote the pleasure of reading, Mr. House and the teachers are challenging the students of St. Paul Academy to read 30,000 pages during the weeks of Nov. 1 thru 15 th. We re sending home a flyer today that further explains the Challenge and encourages your participation. Are you up to the challenge? Start reading toward your 250 page goal this weekend and bring your Challenge Sheet to school next Friday for our first Sticker Check Day to receive a reading sticker for every 50 pages read so far. Keep reading reading reading as you help us celebrate National Young Readers Day. PTLS FALL BOOK FAIR...The 2016 PTLS Fall Scholastic Book Fair is just a week away, Monday thru Friday, November 7-11. The theme of this year s fair is Feelin Groovy Book Fair. With the wide selection of books and other materials being made available for purchase by our students and families, we know we ll have lots of book-loving customers throughout the week. Book Fair dates and times are: Monday thru Friday, Nov. 7-11 before and after school 7:30-8:30 AM and 3:30-4:30 PM, and all day on Wednesday, Nov. 9 th. It s still not too late to volunteer to work a shift or help with setup on Nov. 4 th. Check out the Parent Volunteer flyer coming home again today with the newsletter and sign up for a shift (or two)! If you can help, please return your flyer by next Tuesday, Nov. 1 st. We appreciate your support of this fun and exciting event! PARENT COFFEE & LUNCH... Parents, our next monthly Parent Fellowship Event will be held next Friday, Nov. 4 th. The St. Paul Morning Coffee Club will meet in the cafetorium from 7:45-8:30 AM. Come join the other parents and Mr. House for a cup of coffee and some early morning conversation! RED RIBBON WRAP-UP... Throughout this past week, our St. Paul students observed Red Ribbon Drug & Bullying Awareness Week by participating in a variety of classroom activities, including the wearing of Red Ribbons to show everyone that we Live Eternally Be Drug Free. Yesterday, we signed a giant pledge sheet, pledging our support of living a drug-free life. We encourage every student to continue wearing the ribbons to demonstrate their commitment to the goals of Red Ribbon Drug & Bullying Awareness Week!
OFFERING PROJECT... During the 2 nd quarter, our weekly chapel offerings will go to support the Samaritan Purse Operation Christmas Child project. Building on the success of last quarter, we hope to collect $400 in support of this important ministry so that we can pack 50 shoeboxes for children in Latin America this Christmas. This week s offering was $65.15, for a total after two weeks of $111.65. Please remember your chapel offerings every Wednesday during the 2 nd quarter in support of Operation Christmas Child. VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY... Veterans Day will be observed at St. Paul Academy on Friday, Nov. 11 th with a special Veterans Day Assembly featuring a special performance by our friend, Rickey Pitman. Various other activities include prayers for those who have and are presently serving our country in the Armed Forces, and the pledge to the American flag. Following the assembly, we invite our veterans to join us for lunch, too. All veterans and parents are especially invited to join us for this Veterans Day tribute as we give glory to God and honor our service men and women. HELP US INVITE THEM...Students, we need your help to invite your friends and relatives to our upcoming Veterans Day Assembly and Lunch. A flyer is coming home today to obtain information about your parents, relatives, and friends who are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Take a moment this weekend to invite that special veteran to join you at the Assembly and Lunch. If possible, let us know who s coming on Nov. 11 th by returning the information form to the school office by next Friday, Nov. 4 th. SCRIP ORDERS... Hey, St. Paul families! Are you shopping with Scrip yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Purchasing Scrip each month is a great way to stretch your shopping St. Paul Academy dollars and earn profit for St. Paul Academy at the same time! The new November Family Order Forms is available today (found on the school website or attached to the electronic newsletter). Return it to the office by 8:00 AM School Code is: Tuesday morning. Or, you can place an internet 1ALL427B37414 order online by visiting ShopWithScrip.com and use your credit card or Presto Pay account as payment. Either way, your Scrip cards will come to St. Paul Academy, and the profits will, too! When placing an online order, remember to use the school code. Discover the ease and convenience of shopping with Scrip this week. And check out the special offers for November, too! Become a Scrip shopper today! Saints Hot Lunch Menu Week of Oct. 31-Nov. 4 Monday Beef & Cheese Enchiladas Brown Rice, Refried Beans, Iceberg Lettuce & Tomatoes Tuesday Domino s Pizza, Cucumbers, Ranch Dressings, Cookie Wednesday Cheeseburger w/bun, Lettuce & Tomatoes, Chips Thursday Bar-B-Q Chicken, Rotini Pasta, Baby Carrots, Sliced Bread Friday Chili & Cheese Hot Dog, Corn, Sun Chips All meals are served with fruit and a carton of 1% white or chocolate milk Ticket prices: K-8 students $3.25 per meal and 35 per extra milk (limit 2) (meals can be purchased on a daily basis by placing funds on your Fast Direct lunch account three I.O.U. lunch limit) STOCK THE CART...Have you brought in a donation of fun pak cereals for our Stock the Cart collection? Our goal is to collect enough boxes of cereal that we can send home 2 small boxes in the Backpacks of Love with area children each weekend. Remember, our Stock the Cart and Backpacks of Love programs provide weekend meals to local children who are less fortunate than ourselves and share the love of Jesus with them! Remember to bring your donation of fun pak cereals next week for our Stock the Cart collection. Thanks for participating!
BOX TOPS NEWS...Thanks to all our Saints families who went Batty for Box Tops during October collecting box tops on the special collection sheet. It s time to turn those sheets in as the new Thanksgiving collection sheet for the month of November is coming home with today s Good News newsletter. Keep saving those box tops for St. Paul, and encourage your relatives and friends to save for St. Paul, too. Remember, each box top is worth 10 for our Saints kids. Thanks for your support of our Easy Fund Raisers General Mills Box Tops for Education program. RED RIBBON WEEK FUN... SPECIAL BOX TOPS APP...Check out the flyer attached to today s newsletter email from Box Tops for Education. There s a new app available for your phone or tablet that allows you to scan your store receipts to earn extra box tops for products you purchase. Download your Box Tops for Education Bonus App today and start earning extra box tops cash for St. Paul Academy. LOVE & LOGIC PARENTING CLASSES...We re beginning Week 3 of Love and Logic, our Sunday morning parenting classes that provide Christian parents with a variety of simple and effective strategies for parenting children birth to adulthood, as well as the tools and resources needed for stress-free parenting that will make parenting more fun again! This week s topic is: They Just Won t Listen and Four Steps of Responsibility. Come join Mr. House and the other parents in the St. Paul Church Library on Sunday mornings during the Bible Study hour, 9:15-10:15 AM. PUMPKIN FUN IN ST. PAUL KINDERGARTEN RECYCLNG NEWS...What a great way to help our environment and keep Harlingen clean! Save your plastic bottles and aluminum cans for the recycling program at St. Paul Academy. The students will also be recycling paper from their classrooms each week, too. You can add to the paper recycling by donating newspapers, magazines, and catalogs. All recyclables can be brought to the recycling bins located inside the courtyard fence (near the cafetorium door). Start saving your recyclables today and recycle weekly for St. Paul Academy. Remember, recycling pays! LADIES AID BAZAAR...Plan to attend the St. Paul Ladies Aid Bazaar on Saturday, November 12 th from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the St. Paul Lutheran Church Parish Hall. Stop by and shop our assortment of handmade crafts and baked goods! (If you would like to donate baked goods for the sale they can be dropped off in the Kitchen on Friday, Nov. 11 th ). Proceeds help support the mission projects of St. Paul Ladies Aid.