St. Mary s Catholic School 1019 South 7 th Street, Temple, Texas 76504 254-778-8141 St Mary s, Moving Forward and Renewing Our Commitment to Quality Catholic Education Falcon s Pride A weekly newsletter of the current events at St. Mary s Catholic School February 23, 2016 Issue 64 www.stmarys-temple.org Dear Parents and Guardians, Thank you to those students who helped with the Fish Fry on Friday night: Kevin Mottram, Gavin Brook, Abby Cantu, Cate Barkis, Nelle Summers, Savannah Turner and Volodymyr Ploskanych. You were appreciated! There are still a few spots open on the Fish Frys in March. Please check in the office for an opening. Thank you to all who joined us this past Sunday at St Luke Parish for our Family Mass. It was wonderful to see so many there showing support for our school. As well, this past Sunday, students read at all Masses, in conjunction with pulpit talks on the importance of Catholic education. Thank you to Gavin Brook, Paloma Navarro, Faith Young, Cate Barkis and Margaret Linz for your wonderful preparation. All in attendance were proud of you. Please join us this Saturday for the Temple Daily Telegram Spelling Bee at the Temple Civic Center at 2413 S. 13th Street, Temple. Contest will begin at 8:30 a.m. Francesca Higgins, Reagan Smith, Aidan Atkins and Veronica Basile will be representing our school. Please attend and help us cheer them on. Enrollment packets were sent home yesterday with your oldest child. Please check those backpacks and call if you have questions. Early registration ends March 31 st. Have you checked the lost and found cart lately???? There is so much there from books to coats to backpacks. Please stop and look when you are in the building. The cart is located right by the office. It is a shame that you may end up buying coats when the lost one is really here. Have a wonderful week and thank you for your commitment to St. Mary s. Please keep our PSIA students in your prayers as they compete in Giddings this Friday. There will be no choir this Thursday.
Sincerely, Mrs. Wyles NEWS AND INFORMATION Science Fair Dear Parents and Guardians, We are excited to INVITE you all for our "Annual Science Fair-2016" (March 1st; Venue- Parish Hall; Timings- 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM). Please come and view the amazing collection of innovative scientific projects where you will also get an excellent opportunity to interact with our young scientific minds. The fair is divided into 2 rounds. The 1st round is the Judges round (10:00 AM to 12:00 PM) and the 2nd round is the Parents/Guardians round (1:30 PM to 2:30 PM); followed by the award presentation ceremony. We are looking forward to meet you all!!! Thanks! Mrs. Guleria Thanks from the Pre-K The Pre-K students and I would like to give a huge and heartfelt thank you to everybody, who made our second Cupcake Fundraiser a big success again. First we would like to thank you, Mrs. Wyles and Father Steve for your continuing support and allowing us to do this Fundraiser. Next a big Thank you to everybody, who baked, donated and helped to sell all the goodies. Also a big Thank You to the wonderful St. Mary's Parishioners and Parents, who gave so generously. God Bless you, Angie Stolp and St.Mary's Pre-K students Change in date for pictures of Clubs and Ministries March 4th for Ministries: Church Choir, Lectors, and Altar servers after Mass March 11th for clubs: NJHS, Student Council, after Mass, PSIA will be in the afternoon, Please bring metals and ribbons. PTC News Wednesday, February 24 - SPIRIT "NIGHT" at Pizza Wings and Things in Temple, all you have to do is mention St.Mary's! They are kindly allowing us to have all day from 11a-11p!! Wednesday March 16 - Spirit Night at Bush's from 12-6 on 31st st only!
There will be no popcorn sale in March due to spring break. The PTC wants to wish safe travels and best wishes to everyone traveling for PSIA this Friday. GOOD LUCK!! As always, thank you for your continued support! St Mary's PTC Teaching Positions: 2016-2017 School Year at Holy Trinity English honors/pap/ap teacher & Drama/Speech/Debate: full time Spanish instructor: part time Latin instructor: part time Theology: part time Spanish & Latin instructor: full time www.holytrinitychs.org/employment for details Dr. Veronica Alonzo Principal 254-771-0787 Parish Festival News We are only 7 weeks away from the St. Mary's Church Festival! Please mark it on your calendar for April 10th! It will be a day full of fun and fellowship! The funds raised at the festival support the insurance payment on the entire St. Mary's campus. St. Mary's School will be supporting the event by providing classroom baskets that will be part of the live auction. If you haven't received information from your teacher yet, you should be hearing from them soon. Thank you for your support on this. There are also raffle tickets in the office for purchase. They are $20 each. The prizes include: - 5 drawings for $250 Visa Gift cards - 3 drawings for $500 Visa Gift cards - 1 drawing for $1,000 Visa Gift card and the grand prize:1 drawing for a $5,000 Visa Gift card! The drawing will happen at the Festival and you do not need to be present to win. We will also need junior high volunteers for activities on the day of the event including face painting and clean up. This is a great way to get your volunteer hours! Thank you for your support on this important event for our parish! Save The Date April 23 rd
St. Mary s Catholic School Drama Club will be performing Sherlock Holmes Dinner Theater on Saturday, April 23 rd, in the Parish Hall. If you interested in volunteering please contact: Lana Shadburn: lshadburn@stmarys-temple.org More details coming soon. Amazon Smile Please do your online shopping at smile.amazon.com and choose St. Mary's Catholic School as your charity. Thank you :) Yearbook pictures for band and choir: Pictures for band will be taken on Wednesday February 24th for the 4& 5th grade, and for jr. high during reg. class times. Choir pictures will be taken on Thursday February 25th during their regular class time. Christian Service Hours Available Parish and local organizations count on our help. I ask that you talk with your child about the following service hours. The faculty and staff participate in these events as well. 1. Fish Fry Dinners: Every Friday during Lent: The sign-up sheet is in the office. 2. Friends of the Temple Public Library: (See attached flyer) They especially need help on the set-up day, Saturday, February 20 th from 10:00-3:00, and pack up day, Saturday, February 27 th, at 4:00. There are also after-school shifts on Tuesday the 23 rd and Wednesday the 24 th from 4:00-6:00 and 6:00-8:00. Let Mrs. Wyles know if you will be volunteering or call Carol Hodge (771-3846) or Pat Pole (254-220-9097). Important Dates to Remember Tues. Feb 23 rd *Noon Dismissal: PD Wed. Feb 24 th *Wings and Things (see attached flyer) Fri. Feb 26 th *PSIA in Giddings Sat. Feb. 27 th *Spelling Bee: Temple Civic Center 8:30 a.m. Sat. and Sun. 27 th and 28 th *Lana and I will be speaking at all Masses at OLG Tues. March 1 st *Science Fair viewing and awards 1:30 Wed. March 2 nd *Principal s Meeting on campus *Grades 2 and 4 to Holy Doors 10:15-3:00 Thurs. March 3 rd *Spirit Day *Confessions 9:00 a.m. Fri. March 4 th *All School Mass 8:15 a.m. *Ministry pictures after Mass *Stations of the Cross 2:30 *Fish Fry 5:00-7:00 Knights of Columbus Hall Wed. March 9 th *Feed My Sheep Gr. 4: 10:00-2:00 Thurs. March 10 th *Parent Information Meeting 6:00 p.m. in the gym
Fri. March 11 th Sun. March 13 th Mon. March 14 th Wed. March 16 th *Club Pictures after Mass *3 rd Quarter ends *Stations of the Cross 2:30 * Fish Fry 5:00-7:00 *Family Mass at St. Mary s 11:00 and pulpit talks *4 th Quarter begins *Grade 3 to Mayborn: 9:30-2:00 * Noon Dismissal: Spring Break begins *AR parties for 3 rd quarter *Report Cards issued Fri. March 18 th *Last Fish Fry 5:00-7:00 Tues. March 29 th *School reopens Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle C February 28, 2016 This Sunday's Readings Year A RCIA Scrutinies First Reading Exodus 3:1-8a,13-15 God speaks to Moses from the burning bush and sends him to the Israelites. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 103:1-4,6-7,8,11 A prayer in praise of God's mercy Second Reading 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12 Paul teaches that the Scriptures were written to set an example for us. Gospel Reading Luke 13:1-9 Jesus preaches a lesson on repentance. Background on the Gospel Reading Now into the third week of the Season of Lent, our Sunday Gospel prepares us to hear Lent's call to conversion and repentance. Today's reading is found in the chapters of Luke's Gospel that describe Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. During this journey, Jesus teaches and heals. He must also respond to those who question and challenge his authority and actions. There is no parallel in Mark's or Matthew's Gospels for today's reading from Luke. While Mark and Matthew describe an incident in which Jesus curses the fig tree, today's reading makes the barren fig tree the subject of a parable.
Luke tells us that some among the crowds report to Jesus a massacre of Galileans by Pilate. The intention of the crowd seems to be to ask Jesus to explain why these people suffered. It was commonplace to render people's suffering as evidence of their sinfulness. Jesus challenges this interpretation. Those who were massacred were no more or less sinful than the ones who report the situation to Jesus. Jesus replies that even a fatal accident, a natural disaster, ought not to be interpreted as punishment for sin. Jesus' words at first appear to have a fire-and-brimstone quality. Jesus says in essence, Repent or perish as these people did; all are sinful before God and deserving of God's punishment. The tone changes, however, in the parable that follows. The parable of the barren fig tree contrasts the patience and hopefulness of the gardener with the practicality of the property owner. When told to cut down the fig tree because it is not producing fruit, the gardener counsels patience. If properly tended, the barren fig tree may yet bear fruit. Throughout his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus has been teaching about the Kingdom of God. In this parable, we find an image of God's patience and hopefulness as he prepares his Kingdom. God calls us to repent, and it is within his power to punish us for our failure to turn from our sinfulness. And yet God is merciful. He delays punishment and tends to us so that we may yet bear the fruit he desires from us. This, then, is our reason for hope: Not only does God refuse to abandon us, he chooses to attend to us even when we show no evidence of his efforts. Next week's Gospel will give an even clearer picture of the kind of mercy that God shows to us.