HOLY FAMILY REGIONAL SCHOOL JESUS CHRIST IS THE REASON FOR OUR SCHOOL Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Dear Parents, With the school year under way, the faculty and staff of Holy Family Regional School welcome you back to an exciting year! As a staff, we are blessed and honored to get to know you and your child. We are eager to help your child understand that they are beautiful children of God. This year s theme, Every Move I Make, I Make In You, Jesus is a powerful statement which calls every child to recognize the love of Christ in every thought, every word spoken, and every gesture made. In these challenging times, our school children are provided the opportunity to learn about their Catholic faith and traditions, increase their relationship with God, and recognize how they can make a difference in the lives of others through their faith-filled interactions and compassion for one another. In a special way this year, we plan to partner with our parents to increase positive relationships in our children. To do this we must identify and address mean behaviors. With the assistance of professional psychologist, Dr. Marcia McEvoy, we are approaching this topic with a threefold approach. In August, our entire faculty and staff participated in an intense training session in which we learned special skills and protocol to identify and address mean behaviors. In order to address these behaviors, we are anticipating support and reinforcement from our parent community. A special parent information night has been planned for September 25. We would like to see full participation from our parent community at this meeting. During that same week, grade level presentations will be held to teach the students skills for reinforcing positive behaviors, understand what are unacceptable behaviors, and discuss the consequences for behaviors that do not support our mission. Please click on the link below to register for the evening so that we can plan accordingly for the presentation. Helping Kids Get Along Presentation On, Friday, September 15 we will celebrate our All School Opening Mass. The entire school community gathers at our North Campus where the students will meet and interact with our buddy classes. After spending time together in the school building at the North Campus all of the students will enter St. Andrew Church for the Opening Mass which begins at 10:00am. Parents and guests are invited to join us for this beautiful liturgical celebration. In the evening we invite everyone back to our Annual Fall Festival at the South Campus. The Fall Festival begins at 4:00pm and offers the opportunity for our families to enjoy games, inflatables, dancing, food and fellowship. Our parent groups will be available in the evening to share information about volunteer opportunities and information about joining extracurricular activities such as scouts. It is a great way to kick off the school year! May the love of Jesus Christ be with you and your family as we begin the adventure of a new school year. Know that you are always in my prayers! Sincerely in Christ, Mr. Jon Myers
Service to Others Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to our Catholic school families and all affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. The National Catholic Educational Association has established a campaign entitled "Student to Student: A Catholic School Response to Hurricane Relief". 100% of these funds will be distributed to the dioceses in the affected areas for their Catholic schools in vital need of support due to the impact of these hurricanes. On August 31, we held our first jean day which raised $4,287.47 for Catholic Charities USA. These donations were most appreciated and will help all victims of both hurricanes through this organization. On Tuesday, September 19, we will sponsor a second jean day to support the NCEA s campaign. NCEA will distribute 100 percent of the funds collected to dioceses in the affected areas for their Catholic school communities in vital need of support due to the impact of the hurricanes. Checks can be made to: NCEA Student to Student Campaign. Our Campus Ministry Department has also been in contact with the Catholic Schools Office of Houston to learn more about how we can assist a needy school with prayers and encouragement. Thank you and blessings to all who are assisting with these efforts! Support Our Children 25th Annual Golf Outing Great Oaks Country Club Monday, October 2, 2017 Click on the link for sponsorship opportunities and the online registration: 2017 HFRS Golf Outing
Campus Ministry News Opening Mass We look forward to having you join us as we gather for our first Mass together Friday, September 15 at 10 AM in St. Andrew Church at the North campus. Jesus Christ is the Reason for our School and so we gather to worship, thank and praise Him. We are blessed to know that we are brought together as one body in Christ when we gather and receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Our school theme this year is Every Move I Make, I Make In You, Jesus. Together we will celebrate and share God s love! Visit this YouTube address to sing along with our theme song! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pifgcvcdxow Family Time I would like to encourage all families to take two important things we are doing in school into your home. One is our promise that accompanies our theme. Your child has made the following promise that will be a tool in monitoring his/her behavior. I promise to allow the Holy Spirit to guide me always. I promise that every move I make, will reflect Jesus. I promise that every word I speak, will reflect Jesus. I promise that every decision I make, will be made after I ask the help of the Holy Spirit. I promise that every move I make, I make in you, Jesus. Then, at the end of each day your child will take a quick check on how they acted throughout the day with this Examination of Conscience: Did the things I do today look like things Jesus would have done? Did the words I spoke today sound like words Jesus would have said? How did I help someone today? When did I ask for the help of the Holy Spirit? How did the Holy Spirit help me today? To partner with us, we are asking that you make this promise too as a family together and each evening do the Examination of Conscience your responses may stay confidential, but have each family member reflect on their day and end with prayer such as this: Dear Lord, You know how my day was today. You know if I tried my hardest to be the person you want me to be. Please forgive me for the things I did wrong, and forgive me for the times I avoided to do good. Help me to be better tomorrow. Thank you for loving me! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Fr. Solanus Casey on his way to Sainthood As you may know, Fr. Solanus Casey, from right here in Detroit, will be Beatified at a special Mass on November 18 th. This will be the 60 th anniversary of his passing. He is the second, American born man, to be honored with this distinction. Are you familiar with the steps to sainthood? Are you aware that we are all saints in the making sainthood should be our goal! Fr. Casey s people he served, and ministered with, felt that he should be considered for sainthood and so they submitted this request to our Archbishop and after agreeing that he lived a holy virtuous life devoted to intercessory prayer, the request traveled to the Vatican and a special tribunal took place. People who witnessed Fr. Casey s humble ministry and life were asked to testify on his behalf. The Vatican approved the request and Fr. Casey was named Servant of God. This usually happens at least five years past the persons death but can happen earlier. The second step toward canonization is the Determination, where a great scrutiny takes place and people dig deep to make sure the person, and in this case Fr. Casey, is virtuous and heroic in their faith worthy of the next title, Venerable. Fr. Casey received this title in 1995. At this point people were encouraged to ask for him to interceded for them and ask for blessings upon their lives and their loved ones. The next step is where Fr. Solanus Casey will be named Blessed. People are named Blessed if they have died a martyr, or if a miracle can be proven to have been made by the person s intercession. A healing was reported to Rome and was confirmed being from the intercession of Fr. Casey. The naming of Blessed will happen at the Beatification November Mass. The final step that would name Fr. Solanus Casey a Saint would be another miracle. You can read more about this holy man at http://www.solanuscenter.org/portal.php OR http://www.themichigancatholic.org/2017/06/fr-solanus-casey-beatified-nov-18-ford-field/ OR http://www.aod.org/our-archdiocese/newsroom/news-releases/2017/june/father- Solanus-Casey-Beatification-Ceremony-Date-Announced/ Only Catholic High Schools and Parishes were allotted reserved tickets to the Mass. You are encouraged to travel with your parish to the Mass Saturday, November 18 th being held at Ford Field at 4pm. You may, however, attain tickets which are free at the Ford Field Ticket Office beginning October 9 th or visit http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/08/28/solanus-caseybeatification-tickets/607697001/. May God s Blessings be upon you, Fr. Solanus Casey pray for us!
An important opportunity for parents! Dear Holy Family parents: I am writing you to encourage you to take advantage of a program sponsored by PTG. Dr. Marcia McEvoy is providing a workshop for parents on the evening of September 25th at 7:00. Coffee and desserts are provided and available as early as 6:30. Dr. McEvoy will present information about how to work collaboratively with Holy Family to reduce mean behavior. Strategies for addressing mean teasing, exclusion, name calling, bullying, ridiculing, threatening, intimidation and harassment will be shared.. What better program could reinforce our theme this year, Every Move I Make I Make in You, Jesus. This is a one time event for the parents. During that school week, Dr. McEvoy will also meet with your children, everyone twice. She will help them, at all grade levels, gain insight to mean behavior. By the end of the week your children will be better equipped to handle such behavior, directed at themselves or others. Dr. McEvoy has already presented to the staff. Not only did we feel we had gotten to know a dedicated and passionate person, we all walked away with new insights, tools, and understandings. I can easily speak for the staff in saying we all felt fortunate to have had the experience. The HFRS website has the signup genius for this event. You must register to attend. Our deadline is September 22nd. Again, I strongly encourage you to attend and look forward to seeing you. Blessings to you always, Anne McClain, School Counselor
PTG Connection Connecting Parents, Teachers, and Students Welcome Back Families! The start of the school has been a busy time! We would like to say Thank you to many of our volunteers who helped with our August events! School Pak: Lisa Grems Mom 2 Mom Sale: Barb Lantzy, Kelly Maritczak, Melissa Rumminger, Lisa Giovannini Hospitality for the Staff Breakfast: Marie Soma and Jessica Cossette Issue #1, 9/13/17 IN THIS ISSUE Thank you Fall Festival flyer Helping Kids Get Along Flyer Box Tops Scrip UPCOMING EVENTS 9/15 Fall Festival SC 4-8 pm 9/25 Helping Kids Get Along Workshop Volunteers are still needed for Fall Festival. Please use the link below to sign up! http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080d44a5ac2ca57-2017 2017-2018 PTG Executive Board Tara Haener, Co-President Erin Malick, Co-President Claudia Morreale, Vice President Liz Plummer, Treasurer Renee Smith, Secretary "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love" Mother Teresa SCRIP Dates Other news PTG Website Check out our PTG page at 09/18 SCRIP Orders Due 09/21 SCRIP Distribution http://www.holyfam.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?urec_id=770564&type=d &prec_id=1172210 for the most current information and calendar. Also check for upcoming VIP signups for PTG and other school events! Notices for event publications or for FOFTY items should be sent to Renee Smith, Secretary at smithr2679@gmail.com. 1-2 day advance notice.
PTG Connection Issue #1 September 13, 2017 2
PTG Connection Issue #1 September 13, 2017 3
PTG Connection Issue #1 September 13, 2017 4
PTG Connection Issue #1 September 13, 2017 5
PTG Connection Issue #1 September 13, 2017 6
PTG Connection Issue #1 September 13, 2017 7
Kindergarten Families 30-Day Prayer Challenge At the North Campus Meet the Teacher Night, every Kindergarten family received an issue of The Word Among Us magazine. This resource offers meditations on the daily readings for the month of September and is a prayer companion. You are invited to read the Readings of the day from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and then share the reflection/meditation in The Word Among Us with their family. We are calling upon our youngest families to be our Prayer Leaders. After reading and reflecting each day we are asking you to pray for our church, our world, our country, our school, and your family. We are asking you to pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon us all and allow us to be led. Imagine what a 30-day Prayer Challenge can do for OUR school! You are also invited to go to the Word Among Us website https://wau.org and see all the resources for YOU. Be encouraged to receive The Word Among Us for your family as well. See below where you will find the Readings that you will look up in your Bible. God bless you! <------
Girl Scout Troop #70738 Bronze Award Event!! Sunday Sept.17th 10:30am 12:30pm Drop off items at Holy Family South Parking Lot We are partnering with Holy Spokes, a non-profit organization, to help us fix up a few bikes and scooters to donate to another non-profit company called, The Power Company Kids Club in Pontiac. They will help us gift a needy child with a bike or a scooter. WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are looking for donations to achieve the Bronze Award. If you are cleaning out the garage for the fall we will take any bikes/scooters, accessories, bike parts etc. We thank you for all your support!! If you cannot make the time above feel free to drop off before September 17th to : 1020 Rivermist Drive Rochester