December 9, 2015 Issue 19 Our Lady of Guadalupe School In the MSJ Dominican Tradition Dear OLG Families, Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparation for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your Kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness yet seeking the light. To you we say Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. [Henri Nouwen] The Jesse Tree symbols are increasing, the Christmas program practices are improving, the Advent reflections are continuing. To be in school during this season of waiting and preparing is truly a gift for all of us! I ve been telling the little ones that I ve learned that they are on Santa s Good List. To see the wonder and hope in their eyes is truly amazing! On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, yesterday, December 8, Pope Francis pushed open the great bronze doors of St. Peter s Basilica to launch his Holy Year of Mercy, declaring that mercy trumps moralizing in his Catholic Church. This jubilee year will feature a host of special Masses and extra general audiences to accommodate the throngs of pilgrims, while Francis himself has set aside one Friday each month to slip out of the Vatican to perform an act of mercy himself, in private. [http://news.yahoo.com/pope-opens-vatican-holy-door] Our dancersdivine are already answering Pope Francis call and following his example by making Christmas favors and performing at Acacia Creek this week. Thank you Ms. Colon, Mrs. Lapp, dancersdivine and your families for living this Holy Year of Mercy. As the year unfolds, we at OLG School will continue to extend acts of Mercy in our daily living and share them with you. The blessing is that many of these outreach efforts are what we have been doing through the years. Next Thursday, December 17 is our Christmas Program. Thank you to all involved in this wonderful experience of celebrating the Birth of our Lord Mrs. Francine Zeppa, Mr. Daryl Lazaro, Mrs. Gabrielle Kopf, Mrs. Stephanie Lapp, the band and string performers and all our children who are performing! Thank you for helping us focus on why we celebrate Christmas! May these days of Advent soothe you with Mercy and Peace. S. Janice Therese, O.P. 1
~~ SCHOOL CALENDAR ~~ THUR DEC 10 1:15pm dancersdivine field trip to Acacia Creek FRI DEC 11 SUN Dec 13 3 rd Sunday of Advent TUE Dec 15 WED Dec 16 THUR Dec 17 Gr K-4 Permission Forms for Spring Musical are due today. 1:15pm School Prayer Service Celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - FULL SCHOOL UNIFORM - not PE Uniform Christian Value Awards (at morning assembly) Last day to purchase raffle tickets for fitbit (see page 4) 2pm Dismissal 5pm Auditions/Practice for Children s Mass (at Church on Blacow) 7pm Finance Meeting No Chess Club meeting today 7pm Christmas Program Parish Center FRI Dec 18 Noon Dismissal no PM Extended Care Dec 21-Jan 1 Christmas Break THUR Dec 24 6pm Children s Mass FRI Dec 25 Christmas Blessings!! Prayer Requests * Let us remember in prayer all those affected by the recent devastating floods in India. * In Thanksgiving for the graces to be received during this Jubilee Year of Mercy! *AUDITIONS * WE WILL BE HOLDING AUDITIONS FOR THE CHILDRENS CHRISTMAS MASS PLAY ON WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16 TH AT 5:00 AT THE CHURCH (ON BLACOW ROAD). PRACTICE WILL ALSO BE HELD AT THIS TIME. WE NEED READERS, ANGELS, SHEPHERDS, SHEEP, WISE MEN, INNKEEPERS AND OF COURSE, MARY AND JOSEPH. WE HAVE COSTUMES FOR ALL PARTS. THE MASS WILL BE CHRISTMAS EVE AT 6:00 PM. FOR INFORMATION CALL CHRISTINA OR DEACON MIKE AT 510-651-4966 2
THANK YOU NOTE A very special thanks to Marcus and Thomas McCallion's mom. She not only provided most of the 'antique' electronics used for the Tech-a-Thon display on 11/25, she also stayed for the entire morning to explain how everything worked. She told the students interesting stories as they visited the exhibit and worked with them patiently as they tried the manual typewriters... AND she said she had a great time! I know the students all had a great time and it was awesome seeing them interacting with 'old' technology. OLG Parish News All are invited.in Honor of our Patroness, Our Lady of Guadalupe: Thur, 12/10 1 st Anniversary of our Church Dedication; Multilingual Candlelight Rosary Procession at 6pm Fri, 12/11 6pm Rosary; 7pm Presentation of the play, La Morenita ; 9pm Spanish Mass Sat, 12/12 Mañanitas at 4:30am; Mass with Mariachi at 6:00am and 7:00pm in Spanish; English masses at 9:00am and 5:00pm Order Scrip for your own Shopping Needs and for Christmas Gifts! Purchasing gift cards is an easy way to support Our Lady of Guadalupe School. OLG receives a percentage in cash rebates for all scrip orders. Use scrip for your everyday shopping and the gift cards make great Christmas presents, too! Some Scrip is available on site in for purchase from the school Bookkeeper. For a larger selection, please go online or use the paper order form available at the school office. Donʼt have an account? No worries! Visit www.shopwithscrip.com to signup (enrollment code 935D3D9936989), shop online and place your order! Interested in even faster delivery on e-scrip and reload orders? Sign up for Prestopay! (Note: please allow a few days to complete the Prestopay account setup process.) If you have questions or need assistance, contact Lois Henry at: lois.henry@sbcglobal.net or call/text 510-396-1196. Last day to submit orders before Christmas break is Thursday, December 10 3
4 th Grade Class Coloma Fundraiser Raffle CHARGE HR Color: Plum Retail value $149.95 How fun would it be to win a fitbit CHARGE HR? With Christmas right around the corner, this would be a fabulous gift to give. Tickets can be purchased for $1.00 each or 6 tickets for $5.00. All proceeds will go to the 4 th grade Coloma Trip. Drawing will take place at the Christmas Program on December 17, 2015 We only accept cash donations. Raffle tickets will be sent back with the oldest child. Last day to purchase raffle tickets will be December 15, 2015. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to school 4 th grade classroom Oldest Child s Full Name: Grade: # of Tickets: Amount enclosed: 4
This year s OLG Christmas card and a pamphlet on the Year of Mercy will be sent home with students on Thursday, December 10 th 2015 Extended Care Statements If you will need a statement for Extended Care expenses and/or payments for calendar year 2015 please note: * For January - June expenses, contact Cynthia in Bookkeeping (colavarria@csdo.org) * For August - December payments, contact Stephanie in Extended Care (spennely@csdo.org) * All requests must be made no later than Thursday, 1/14/16 - preferred method for requests is via email * Allow up to two weeks to receive your statement(s) * Statements will be delivered by email to either the email requesting the statement or the primary email on file * If you have not received your statement by 1/29/16, please contact the appropriate staff member(s) New Lunch Time Art Club The Art Club will meet Wednesdays at lunch and is open to grades 2-8. Interested students should see Mrs. Kopf in 7th grade. For each meeting, students should bring pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, scissors, and glue to the 7th grade room. Students have the option to purchase a small sketchbook to keep their projects together. 5
* CHRISTMAS PROGRAM * This year s OLG School Christmas Program will take place in the Church at the Fremont Blvd location at 7:00pm on Thursday, December 17 th. Families and friends are invited to attend. Come and be entertained by the entire student body as they celebrate this special season! STUDENT ARRIVAL TIME FOR CHRISTMAS PROGRAM Children are asked to be in school at 6:30pm (no earlier) at which time the school will be opened. Parents may go over to the Parish Center after dropping off children at 6:30pm. All students are to report to their classroom. WHAT TO WEAR Students are to dress for the Christmas program as follows: Special occasion holiday attire in red or green (or both) If red or green are not available, then black or white clothing is acceptable. For boys, if black pants are not available, then navy school pants are okay. Dress shoes or uniform shoes. Absolutely no blue jeans/denim; no flip flops. STUDENT DEPARTURE PROCESS Children will be escorted back to their classrooms after the program as a group and parents will need to proceed to the classrooms following the program to pick up their children. NOON DISMISSAL ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18 th There will be no afternoon Extended Care on Friday. Our Christmas break starts at the noon dismissal and school will resume on Monday January 4 th. For those who are signed up for the Pizza Lunch, Monday January 4 is a pizza lunch day. CANNED FOOD DRIVE From now until December 18 th, each class will be collecting canned and boxed foods for St. Vincent de Paul. We appreciate your help with this effort. If you will be donating, please check to make sure the expiration date on each product is still in the future. Non-perishable food items only. Thank you! 6