Dear Parents,

Being a good listener is a characteristic we should all strive to attain. For an administrator to be effective, I believe this is one of the most important qualities they must possess. Mind you, I am not stating I am always a good listener, but at times I do surprise myself. At our Commission meeting Tuesday night, I shared with the members that I was disappointed I had only received 23 out of 86 responses from parents that they were reading my weekly letter. One member stated that it shouldn’t matter. They felt that even if only one parent responded, I should want to write a weekly letter to that parent. The point was that each of my parents is important. The bottom line is that I will continue to write my letter.

Please note that I will not be in school next week. My wife Patti and I will be taking our annual trip to North Carolina to spend the Thanksgiving week with our daughter Jen, her husband and their two sons, Hunter and Brady. I hope everyone finds time to spend with their families over the Thanksgiving holiday. You should be receiving a letter I’m sending out today concerning next year’s enrollment. If you have any questions concerning the contents of the letter, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Advent begins on Sunday, November 29th. The Catholic Identity Committee has planned some Advent activities to help prepare our children to celebrate the birth of Christ. Kate Conron has volunteered to spearhead the activities. They will include:
· Each classroom will have their own Advent wreath which they will light each morning while they say an Advent prayer
· Two children’s Masses will be held on Friday, Dec. 4 (First Friday Mass) and Friday, Dec. 18 (Christmas Mass). Children are encouraged to dress in their Sunday clothes for the Christmas Mass.
· Prior to each Mass, our children will sing “O Come, O Come Emanuel” as they proceed to church.
· The hats, gloves/mittens, and scarves on our “Giving Tree” will be donated to Catholic Charities.

I’d like to congratulate everyone on a very successful clothing drive. 232 pounds of clothing was donated to Catholic Charities and Social Services. Donations are still coming in. Thanks also go to our 5-7 graders for collecting and weighing the clothes.

The canned food drive has ended. The food that was collected will be donated to a local food bank.

Great News: The Reading Loft in the 1st grade room is almost complete. Next up is the loft for the 3rd grade.

Have a great, relaxing, family-oriented Thanksgiving vacation!

Gene


Here are the events for the upcoming weeks:

Thurs, Nov. 19 Thanksgiving Mass: 10 am
Thanksgiving Dinner:
EC – 2nd Gr. 11am
Gr. 3-7 12:15pm

Friday, Nov. 20 Report Cards sent home
Non-Uniform Day

Tuesday, Nov. 24 Last day of school prior to Thanksgiving Vacation – Normal Dismissal Time

Wednesday, Nov. 25 Kids’ Zone will be open

Thurs & Fri, Nov. 26-27 Thanksgiving Vacation: Kids’ Zone will
be closed

Monday, Nov. 30 Advent activities begin

Firday, Dec. 4 Mass: Grades 5-7 in charge

Monday, Dec. 7 Make-Up Photo Date