S A C R E D H E A R T C A T H O L I C S C H O O L E d u c a t i n g M i n d, H e a r t a n d S p i r i t - S i n c e 1 9 4 8 C r o s b y, T e x a s December 4, 2014 Heart to Heart SHCS - Mission Sacred Heart Catholic School s mission is to provide an opportunity for children to develop a commitment to church, family, and community through growth in knowledge, social skills, and Christian virtues. From the Principal For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) As a former SHCS parent, I believe the month of December in our school community truly highlights why parents choose Catholic education. As a school community, we find ourselves in the season of Advent, waiting for Christmas and remembering the birth of Jesus. Our hearts are filled with anticipation and joy. Our children use their voices to sing praise and glory to God. Our Christmas program is focused on The Mystery of Simon Shepherd. Our First Grade class collected money and provided gifts for children and families from the Jesse Tree. Our Second Grade students made Christmas Cards for the Shut in Meal program. As we reflect on our blessings, we are reminded to remember those less fortunate. Our Student Council and Beta Club helps engage our school community to reach out to needy families to make their Christmas brighter through our local Saint Vincent de Paul pantry. We are spreading Christmas cheer while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. December offers many opportunities to be thankful for being part of a Catholic school community. I hope you will join us in celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. Blessings, Mrs. Susan Harris, M.Ed. Principal Invite a Friend Thinking about a family you would like to see at SHCS? Consider inviting them to our Breakfast with Santa on Sunday, December 14! Also, invite them to our Christmas Program Monday, December 15. Dates to Remember! Dec 5 - Spirit Day - Parent Praying Group 10:30am - Poinsettia Delivery - Jr. High Art Club - Basketball Game (HOME) Dec 8 - Mass 8:30am - Basketball Game (HOME) Dec 9 - LSDM Meeting 3:30-4:30pm Dec 10 - PTG Meeting 6:30pm - Lego Club - Basketball Game (AWAY) Praying Parent Group The next meeting will be held on Friday, December 5, at 10:30am in the Parish Hall-Room A. Everyone is welcome; please bring a friend. Daycare is provided. This group prays for the School, students, faculty and staff. Personal intentions are welcomed. Christmas Poinsettia Sale THANK YOU... to everyone who purchased Poinsettias! The poinsettias will be delivered on Friday, December 5. Camp Kappe (5 th Grade) December 9-12 Breakfast with Santa December 14 Save the Dates! Christmas Program December 15 Santa s Workshop December 15-18 Christmas Break Dec 22, Jan 2, 2015
10 th Annual Steps For Students Save the Date: Saturday, February 21, 2015 It is time to start preparing for the 10 th Annual Steps For Students! This is an event that every student, parent, friend and family member can all participate in and each year we strive for 100% participation from our SHCS students. Steps for Students is an annual event where all school and parish communities can come together as one to support Catholic education and 100% of the funds raised for our team comes back to our school! Registration has begun and we are asking that you go online and register it s easy. Just follow these steps: 1. Go to www.steps4students.org and click REGISTER 2. Select # of registrants and Type of registrant (if you can t attend you can hit Snooze), click REGISTER 3. Fill out your registrant information to set up a FirstGiving account. (If you already have an account, it will recognize your email) 4. Complete the information and Join a Team Be sure you choose SACRED HEART SCHOOL CROSBY (not Conroe) 5. Create your Fundraising Page to collect your pledges 6. If your children do not have individual email addresses and more than one family member will participate, create a Family Team Page by typing your family name in the Page Title Box 7. Enter your billing information 8. Start raising funds for our school! For those who have participated in the past, they have streamlined the online registration and it is much more user friendly! So don t delay, get online and register today!!! Steps For Students is a day full of FUN that includes: A 5K USA Track and Field Association sanctioned race The David K Guite Memorial 1K Family Fun Run and Catholic School Parade Post Race Party with many local Sports celebrities Mrs. Cathi Whitworth Team Captain Coach Hill Co-Captain 2
SHCS Sports Center BASKETBALL SEASON Fri, Dec 5 St. Francis of Assisi (HOME) 4:30 at Crosby Brethren Church Mon, Dec 8 St. Mary Purification (HOME) 4:30 at Crosby Brethren Church Wed, Dec 10 St. Mary Purification (AWAY) See school website for complete schedule Feast of Immaculate Conception Holy Day of Obligation Students will attend Mass on Monday, December 8 th at 8:30am in recognition of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Students should wear their Mass uniform. Monday, December 15, at 6:30pm CROSBY HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM We are thrilled to announce that our Christmas Program will be held this year at the Crosby High School Auditorium. This change is due to the large number of parents and family who attend. We are thankful for Mr. Parisher and Mr. Blanchard with the Crosby High School Fine Arts Department for making this possible. Computer Lab The Computer Lab is open each day from 7:15-7:45am and Monday Thursday from 3:30pm - 4:00pm. Students may use the Lab for: AR testing, MathFacts or to work on projects. Little Servants of Divine Mercy LSDM will have their December meeting on Tuesday, December 9, from 3:30-4:30pm. PSAS (Private School Aid Service) Tuition Assistance 2015-2016 School Year The 2015-2016 PSAS application is now available online at http://www.choosecatholicschools.org/tuitionassistance-program/. Camp Kappe (December 9-12) Our fifth graders are looking forward to a fun and educational experience at Camp Kappe! One requirement for attending this Environmental Camp is for each student to collect 100 aluminum cans and drop them off in our recycling bin located by the paper recycling bins. We appreciate all cans donated from Sacred Heart families. Thank you! Sacred Heart will offer tutoring to students in Grades K-8 beginning Tuesday, December 2. Tutoring schedule is listed below. If you have any questions, please call the School Office. 3:30-4:30pm Monday/Wednesday Reading (Grades 3-5) Tuesday/Thursday Math (Grades 3-5) Tuesday Math (Grades K-2) Thursday Reading (Grades K-2) Tuesday/Thursday Math (Grade 6-8) 3
PTG CORNER Our next PTG meeting will be December 10 at 6:30pm in the Parish Hall Please make plans to attend We will be discussing plans for Breakfast with Santa and Santa s Shop. I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. Tracee Fowler, PTG President, 713-870-4877 Upcoming Lego Club Activity Lego Club Field Trip to FIRST LEGO League South Texas Championship Saturday, Dec. 13 This is an optional Field Trip for Lego Club members (due to chaperone availability, we are limiting to 3 rd grade and up only). Club members will have a chance to see the official Lego League Competition and have fun watching other team s robots in action. There is no fee to attend the event, but students should pack their lunch. We will not be able to purchase lunch onsite. REMINDER - Permission forms were sent home last week. They were due back by Today - Thursday, Dec 4 If you have not returned it and plan to go, please send the permission slip back the school ASAP. If you are willing to drive/chaperone, please contact the School Office. Drivers/chaperones must be Virtus trained. Location: Anthony Aguirre Junior High School, Channelview - 15726 Wallisville Rd, Houston, TX 77049 Time Depart SHCS: 10:30 AM (SHARP) Time Return SHCS: 3:45 PM Event Plans: 11:00-12:00 Team project competitions 12:00-1:00 Lunch (pack your own lunch/snacks) 1:00-3:00 Robot competitions and awards Annual Breakfast with Santa Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014 9:00am to 1:00pm in the Parish Hall This is a wonderful event for the whole family. Please plan on attending. Tickets: $5 for Adults $3 for Students & Senior Citizens We will need volunteers for the Breakfast and cleanup. Contact Paula Bell if you are interested (281-635-0970) or sign up at the PTG meeting this month. Coming Soon. The SHCS Santa Shop Students can shop for their family and friends. Parents are welcome, too! Opening Date Sunday, Dec. 14, from 9:00am - 1:00pm at Breakfast with Santa Shopping hours: Monday-Thursday Dec. 15-18 11:00am-4:00pm Volunteer parents and grandparents are needed to assist students with shopping and wrapping gifts. If you can help, please call Carla at 713-553-3016 or carla18034@comcast.net. Thanks! http://sites.tech.uh.edu/core/2014-2015-fll-seasoncalendar-of-events-greater-houston-area/ Regards, Andrea Wight 4
Support Your School Coordinator s Corner When students turn in labels (Box Tops, Community, or Tyson), I have two prize boxes for them to pick from. Large 10 Box Tops or any amount of labels adding up to a $1.00 or more Small 1 label or any amount less than a $1.00 I Pick up Labels every Thursday I would just like to say thank you to all of the teachers, parents, students, and Sacred Heart friends who are collecting and turning in labels. Everyone s participation has been amazing. Keep clipping everyone! Vanessa Noyola Contact me at 713-569-3267 or vnoyola75@gmail.com My Coke Rewards With the holidays around the corner, and all of us getting together with friends and family, don't forget to keep the coke tops or multipack codes. These will come in handy after the holidays! Scrip Gift Cards The holidays are just around the corner so get your shopping started early. Help Support the School! $100 Discover Gift Cards are now available to order. The following Cards are available in the Church Office: ITunes $15/$25 Starbucks $10/$25 Target $10/$25 WalMart $10/$25/$100 Don't stand in line at the Mall or Department Store, place your order on Tuesday and support the School. When ordering Online, use our School Enrollment Code of DF7DB1C826517. Tyson Project A+ Community Cash for Schools Participating products are Red Bag Coffee, Private Reserve Tea, Creamer, Sugar, and coffee filters which all contain an eligible UPC (bar code). UPC codes are worth $.10-$.15 each. Look for Tyson products that have the Project A+ logo. The labels can look like a black square coupon or the Simple 1, 2, 3 program steps. Each label is worth $.24 cash. Our goal this year is 125 Tyson labels. GoodSearch.com A Yahoo powered search engine that donates half of its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its user designates. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! GoodShop.com GoodShop.com is an online shopping mall, which donates up to 30% of each purchase to your favorite cause. Before you purchase online, go to GoodShop.com and follow the links to the store where you will make the purchase. Be sure to designate Sacred Heart as your charity of choice. 5
May the Good Lord Bless You! Happy Birthday! Christina R. 12 4 Chloe L. 12 5 Kolby N. 12 8 Daniel H. 12 10 Mrs. Brady 12 11 6
Sacred Heart Catholic School Cordially Invites You to Our Annual Breakfast with Santa Sunday, December 14 9:00 am 1:00 pm Donations $5 Adults $3 Children/Seniors Bring your camera for Pictures with Santa Shop early at our Santa Shop! Gifts for family and friends All donations benefit the SHCS Teachers Annual Gift Fund. For more information or tickets, call 281.328.6561.
Helping our children grow in their Catholic faith. December 2014 St. Nicholas The model for our modern-day Santa Claus, St. Nicholas was a bishop of Lycia (now Turkey) in the fourth century. He fought against heresies that threatened the Church. Legend says that when he was younger, he heard that a father needed money for his daughters, so Nicholas secretly threw bags of money down the chimney to help. We know that St. Nicholas was devoted to charity and protection of the poor and weak, and suffered for his faith. Say no for Advent To properly prepare for the Lord s coming during Advent, say no to too many parties, chores, or too many volunteer activities. Say yes to family time and prayer time. The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, (Isaiah 61:1). Copyright 2014 Success Publishing & Media, LLC Make love the center of your Christmas Through the eyes of a child, Christmas can be a magical time. What is wonderful and mystical about Christmas can t be gift-wrapped, though. When your children are grown, what they will remember most about Christmases past, is love. One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was finding a Christmas tree, remembers Reuben. We put on warm clothes, brought a thermos of hot chocolate and hunted through the woods for the perfect tree. We laughed, sang and enjoyed being together. My dad was our Christmas spirit, said Lisa. He started counting down the moment Advent began and built excitement each day. On Christmas The Jesse tree helps us to remember Jesus ancestors as we prepare for his birth. The prophet Isaiah said, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him (Isaiah 11:1-2). Isaiah said that the Holy One will come from Sacred Heart Catholic School Susan Harris, Principal morning, we ran first to wish him Merry Christmas even before we looked for our gifts. For Norma, it was about friends. Every year my parents held a big caroling party. We went to each house in our neighborhood, holding candles and singing. Everyone together seemed like one big family. Grayson said the week before Christmas was just for family. Dad would take us to visit a different church each night so we could see the nativity scenes, but really it was so we could all be together. Keisha follows her mother s tradition of reading part of the Christmas story each night at dinner. Hearing this remarkable story every year reminds me how much we are loved. Why do we make Jesse trees during Advent? Jesse s family. The ornaments that hang on the Jesse tree represent Jesus ancestors: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, Jesse, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Micah, Jonah, Joseph, and Mary.
What makes one Christmas memory stand out from the others? It s special times you share. Try these simple ways to make Christmas memories your family won t forget. Memory ornaments. Sort through your photographs from the year and each pick your favorite. Using construction paper or other craft materials you have around the house, fashion the photos into ornaments to hang on the tree. (When you unpack them next year, you can relive each memory.) Make memories for Christmas December 2014 Page 2 Homemade calendar. Paste a photograph of a favorite family moment or draw a picture on construction paper for each month of the new year. Use plain white paper for the dates. Bind them together with ribbon into a calendar for the year. Loving Letters. Write a love letter or poem for each other parents and children alike. Describe good qualities you value in each other and special memories you have shared. Use special paper, your best handwriting, and tie it up with a pretty bow. Guaranteed to be a favorite gift. Luke 2:22-40, No ordinary child Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews and did what was required by their faith to thank God for the gift of their child. They couldn t afford the customary offering of a lamb and presented a dove, instead, to thank God for their son. To the uninformed observer, Jesus birth was unremarkable and his family quite ordinary. Yet, Simeon immediately recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he prophesied that Jesus was to be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. December is the month in which we anticipate the coming of Christ and begin the celebration of his birth. It has become a time to reaffirm our respect for life from conception to natural death. Dec. 8 Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the day we celebrate that Mary was conceived in St. Anne s womb without original sin. Attend Mass today. Dec. 13 - St. Lucy (304). In the midst of pagan Sicily, St. Lucy vowed to remain chaste for Jesus. A disappointed suitor turned her in for being a Simeon was not alone in recognizing the Lord in the temple. Anna was also filled with the Holy Spirit. Her faith in God's promises gave her hope. The hope God places in our hearts gives us a desire for the kingdom of Heaven. What can a parent do? Teach children to look for Jesus in the world. Tell children that the Holy Spirit will reveal the presence of the Lord to those who want to know him, to receive him, and to be with him forever. Teach them to pray to him. Christian and she was executed as a result. December 26 St. Stephen (first century). A deacon of the early Church, St. Stephen preached that God can be found everywhere, not just in one place like the temple. He angered the Jewish authorities by pointing out that the Israelites consistently rejected God s messengers and chosen servants. For that he was stoned to death and became the first martyr. Last Christmas was the first year without my father. Christmas makes me think of Dad. Everyone loves Christmas, but Dad was a Christmas nut! He loved Christ and Christmas and passed on the love of both to me. With him gone, it wasn t the same. Kenny brought out the decorations, but I didn t touch them. I saw my girls disappointment, but it was too hard. Instead, I went to a meeting and left the girls doing homework with their dad. When I came home, the house was ablaze. Kenny and the girls put out every decoration we owned. It looked like something my dad would have done. Lights everywhere! Candles, angels, doves, sparkles My family worked together to bring the joy of Christmas back for me. Dad may be gone but his love of God and Christmas lives on in our family. I hope to tell him this when I see him again. To help parents raise faithful Catholic children Success Publishing & Media, LLC Publishers of Growing in Faith and Partners in Faith (540)662-7844 (540)662-7847 fax http://www.partnersinfaith.com (Unless noted Bible quotes and references are from the Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible.) Copyright 2014 Success Publishing & Media, LLC