November 9, 2011

Dear Parents,

Today, the Church celebrates the dedication of a church--the Church of St. John Lateran in Rome. There are only three such feast days in the Church Year. So why celebrate a Church Dedication? We are constantly saying the Church is really the people of God--not the buildings. In this case, the building is a rather important one--it is the Pope’s Church. Many think St. Peter’s is the main Church of the Catholic Faith, but it is the Church of St. John Lateran where many popes have been consecrated and which today stands as the spiritual home of all the people who form the Church. This particular Church is a very imposing building, with statues of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and the twelve Doctors of the Church adorning its main facade. It has been rebuilt several times, with the current structure in place since the Seventeenth Century. It speaks of the love and dedication of many who worked to build it, many who continue to maintain it until this present day, and many who come to worship there as an expression of their Faith. It can also serve as a reminder that we are the people of God, and as such, we should be aware of how we treat one another. The love and respect that went into the building of this magnificent Church should remind us to show that same love and respect to one another for the Living God is present in each of us as it is in that Church. Let this be one of the reasons for our celebration this day.

I would like to thank all the parents who came to the Conferences last week and kept to time slots so well. It is a great help to our teachers to meet with you and learn a little more about your child, and for you to meet with the teachers to share how your child is doing in school.

I would also like to congratulate our Fourth Grade Students and their parents for all their work on the Architectural Projects. This is the first year the students have worked on a project and they all did a fabulous job.

Congratulations are also due to Ana-Kate Phillips who sold the most pies for the last Market Day Order. She will choose a $50.00 Scrip Card (with her parents) as her prize for this feat. Justin Kanzler is also congratulated for coming in second place and may come for a $25.00 Scrip Card with his parents. The Second Grade Class sold the most pies based on percentage of children and pies sold, and they will receive a pizza and ice cream party in the near future. Many thanks to all who ordered as it brought in a grand total of $1,067.14, bringing our Market Day total to $1,916.37-- over one third of the year’s goal in just three months.

This Thursday, November 10th, at 10:00 A.M., our children will be putting on a program for Veterans’ Day, followed by our annual Turkey Dinner. We have invited the veterans who come to stay for dinner with our children. Invitations were sent to the VFW, the American Legion, the Armory and in our parish bulletin so it is hoped that many will come to celebrate with us as we honor them. Parents are very welcome to come for the program also, but we are hoping a video will also be made so it can be viewed by others. We are planning to feed the veterans, but we cannot feed all parents--sorry!

Several weeks ago, each family received their set of 50/50 tickets. We thank those who have turned them in so quickly as we really want this drawing to be a great sum! If you have not yet sold your tickets, or tried to sell them, please try to do so as soon as possible. You will find a note form Mrs. Helfrich, chairperson of this event, in this Envelope. Please do not wait until the last minute to sell these tickets.

Statements are also in this week’s Envelope. We ask each family to please make every attempt to keep your payments up to date. This is a great help to our School Budget.

Other enclosures include the following:

1. Permission Slip for Grade 3 to go to the Nursing Homes for Mass with Father Mike

2. Notice about Pertussis (Whooping Cough) from the Health Dept.

3. Important News Flyer from the SCRIP Program

4. Newman Catholic High School Flyer--Newman Catholic High School is sponsoring an Open House and Breakfast on Sunday, November 20th from 7:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. A flyer is enclosed with more information. St. Anne School has been invited to have a booth at this event as a means of advertising our school also. Please come and support the cause of Catholic Education.


PRINCIPAL’S POINTS:

The Band Program will begin this Thursday at St. Anne School. If you intend to have your child participate, please make arrangements with Program Coordinator Becky Ryerson at 815-626-4278. It is hoped that parents will take advantage of this program. As promised, every effort will be made to place students for their lessons during the music or lunch periods. This is the last call for the program. If there is no response, it is possible the program will be dropped at our school for this year.

Just a reminder that Newman Catholic High School is sponsoring its annual Ladies Luncheon on Sunday, November 13th, at the Post House.

In closing, on behalf of the Dixon Food Pantry, may God reward you for the very generous donations given for our annual Food Mass. It filled the front and back seat of the Chairperson’s car plus the entire trunk. Thank you for sharing your blessings!

Have a week of many blessings!

Sincerely,



Sister Marcianne, S.S.N.D.