March 6, 2013

Dear Parents,

The halfway point of Lent is almost near. This Sunday is sometimes called Laetare Sunday as this word means Rejoice in Latin and the first word of the Mass Entrance Antiphon is Rejoice. The antiphon continues to remind us to put aside mourning and to exult in God’s saving power. In some parishes the priest may wear pink or lighter colored violet vestments, and some parishes may include flowers on the altar. The purpose of the rejoicing is not just that Lent is half over, but more importantly, that our salvation has been won for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and we are a bit closer to celebrating that important fact. It is a good time to check up on the progress each of us has made in preparing our hearts to celebrate this wonderful gift from God. Perhaps this Sunday, you and your family can find a pink dessert to share and some family time to have fun together before returning to the rigors of the Lenten Season.

This week brings another Student Council Bake Sale on Thursday and perhaps pink would be the color of the day to prepare students to celebrate the mid point of Lent. There will probably be a few items up for raffle also and it may be that the money raised this month will go towards our Haiti House. Thus far, the children have collected $129.00 as of last Friday, which is pretty good since most years, during Lent, we usually raise only about $100.00. Please continue to encourage your children to sacrifice for this special cause. And, if you don’t know what I am talking about, please ask your child.

Eighth Grade Families will find a letter regarding Graduation in this Brown Envelope. Please read it carefully and keep track of the dates. Since families may look for graduation clothing over the break, it is hoped this information is helpful to you.

Grade Six will find a Permission Form for the Nursing Home Masses this month.

All families will find the Home Connection for the month of March. These come to us through Title I Funds, and there are always good suggestions on a number of topics in these notes.

Families will also find a flyer on the Newman Play—Guys and Dolls. Several of our students who attend Newman are in the play and it is good family fun. 

A FEW NEW SPINS:

The Auction Committee has wrapped up this year’s Auction and this fundraiser is currently looking for new Chairpersons. There are four places allotted for this event due to its importance. It is possible that two of those are filled, so if anyone is interested in chairing this event, please call the office.

The Market Day Program also has the chairperson positions open. If interested in chairing either of these fundraising events. please call the office. Remember that if you chair a major fundraiser, that is the only fundraiser you do, plus the SCRIP Program.

These fundraising programs are very important to our school.  They enable us to keep our tuition costs down as much as possible. If any one of these fundraisers have to be dropped due to lack of a chairperson, the tuition rate would experience a major increase. Therefore, I ask every family to consider your abilities and willingness to give of your service.

Mrs. Crowson has posted some of our students’ art work at the Woodlawn Arts Academy Art Show. You may want to take a ride over to Sterling and see/vote for our children’s work.

We also want to congratulate David Swegle, winner of our school Geography Bee. We just learned that David has qualified to participate at the state level of the National Geography Bee. This will take place at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn on April 5^th. Great job, David! We will keep you in our prayers for success at the next level!

May the rejoicing you do as this Fourth Sunday of Lent rolls around be only a hint of the joy you will experience at Easter! Have a blessed week!

Sincerely,

Sister Marcianne, S.S.N.D.