St. Vincent January Newsletter January s Virtue is COURAGE The Good Samaritan Jesus introduces the Samaritan as the caring person, after a priest and a Levite had refused to give the wounded man kindness or forgiveness! The Samaritan traveler doesn't move over to the other side of the road, but when he sees the wounded man he takes pity on him. The Samaritan acts with courage; he binds up the wounds of the injured man, perhaps with his own head covering or by tearing strips from his garment. The Samaritan also pours on oil and wine as healing agents. Olive oil was widely used to keep skin smooth, to soften wounds, and to heal bruises and deep cuts. Wine, perhaps, was poured on for cleansing. Wine would have had some disinfectant properties. The Samaritan's love of his neighbor proved costly. He used his own supplies to cleanse and soothe the man's wounds, his own clothing to bandage him, his own animal to carry him while the Samaritan himself walked, his own money to pay for his care, and his own reputation and credit to vouch for any further expenses the man's care would require. Love can be costly. But if we have the means to help, we are to have courage and reach out to others. The Apostle John taught, "If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God? My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action" (1 John 3:17-18). There wasn't an emergency room where the Samaritan could take the man. Instead, he took him to a "motel" and cared for the man himself that night. The next day the Samaritan pays the innkeeper to take care of the wounded man and the Samaritan promises to take care of any additional costs when he returns from his trip. The Samaritan is generous, willing to provide "whatever he needs. Now Jesus punches home his point. He asks the lawyer which of the three proved to be a neighbor to the wounded man, and the lawyer is forced to reply, "The one who was kind to him." The lawyer began by asking for a definition of "neighbour" in order to justify limiting his love to his fellow Jews only.
Our Advent Mass was celebrated by Father Maurizio on December 13th, 2016. Our readers were Andrew M, Jake K, Jenna V and Julianna B. Thank you to the Parents and Grandparents who attended our service. St. Dominic s Parish News Mass Times: Saturday 5:00pm Sunday 8:30am, 10:00am (Italian), 11:30am Weekday 7:00pm First Communion Program: Classes will begin Sunday, January 15 th at the 11:30 am Mass with the Enrolment Ceremony. All Parents and Candidates are to attend. First Parent Meeting will take place Tuesday, January 17 th at 7:30 pm in the Church Hall. At this time a Schedule will be given out to the Parents of the upcoming Classes which will take place during the 11:30am Mass on designated Sundays. First Confession Reconciliation (for all Children) Thursday, March 2 nd 7:15 pm Gathering in the Hall 7:30 pm Confessions inside the Church First Communion Dates: Sunday, May 7 th at the 11:30 am Mass Group A Sunday, May 14 th at the 11:30 am Mass Group B The groups will be designated once all registrations are in. First Communion Rehearsal Dates: (All are invited to gather in the Church Hall by 7:15 pm) Thursday, May 4 th at 7:30 pm in the Church Hall Group A Thursday, May 11 th at 7:30 pm in the Church Hall Group B Confirmation Date: Sunday, May 28 th at 4:00 pm Trashless Tuesdays Our Trashless Tuesday initiative ran during the month of November, and will continue throughout the year. Students are encouraged to find creative ways to pack litter free lunches every Tuesday. Let s all make an effort in helping to keep our planet green! Always prizes to be won!!!! Great job Hornets!
The Upward Bound Program will resume on January 12th, 2017. Huge Thank You St. Vincent School would like to thank Ms. L. Tremonti from St. Martin School for donating $400 in Gift Certificates for Metro, to 8 of our families. This generosity helped our families with Christmas groceries. God Bless Ms. Tremonti! St. Vincent School would also like to thank all the families from St. Francis School who graciously donated winter boots for our students. We are very thankful for the outpouring support! Hot Lunches pizza as an option. Friday Pizza Day will continue in 2017. Due to student requests we have added cheese only Our next Sub Day will be on Wednesday, January 18th. We have also added a vegetarian sub (lettuce, tomato, cucumber and cheese) for all those non meat eaters. Pasta Days continue at St. Vincent. Thank you to Rosie Makala who delivers the pasta order every month with a smile. :) Our next pasta day will be Tuesday, January 31st.
PA Day. There will be NO school on Friday, January 27th, 2017. Fun things happened at St. Vincent in December
Head Lice in School In order to control the spread of head lice among students during the school year, it is important to report to the school when your child has head lice. This way the proper measures can be taken in order to ensure the cycle doesn t continue. Head lice needs to be treated immediately so that it does not spread to other family members or to other students. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. When elementary students miss school, they miss out on a lot With winter break coming up, you may be planning to take your child out of school for an extra day or two. You ll just ask the teacher for advance homework. Missing a few days won t really matter, will it? Actually, those few days of absence can matter a lot. Think about the things your child may be missing that can t be made up. The class discussion about the book everyone is reading can t be captured in homework. Neither can the science demonstration or the group project for history. In some subjects, like math, learning builds on what students learned in the previous lesson. Even doing extra homework will not make up for the things your child misses when he s/she s out of school. So, instead of taking your child out of school, make an extra effort to improve his/her attendance this month. Parent Education Sessions continue at Children s Centre of Thunder Bay
When it s too cold to go outside our Recess Ambassadors take classes to the gym to enjoy games taught to them by our TBHU Nurse Mrs. Prodanyk.