Eagle's Edge
St. Therese Weekly Newsletter - August 19, 2020
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Sometimes our children surprise us and drop wisdom bombs when we least expect it – using a meme, no less.
Gabriel, our oldest son, shared this meme with me at dinner, and that’s not even the best part. The BEST part is that he looked me in the eye after seeing my reaction and said, “you’re going to write about this in your next newsletter, aren’t you?”
If you’d like to read more about the background of the meme, click on the image above. If you’d like to find out where I’m going with all this, please, read on.
In the spring, with the school closures, we were all left to improvise; parents, students, educators, small business owners, we all just had to figure it out and do the best we could. That was a short-term solution and wasn’t sustainable. We were holding ourselves and our families together with masking tape and paper clips just trying to figure it all out and get through each day.
Throughout the summer, as COVID-19 decided to settle down and stay awhile, we had to make more permanent adjustments to our lives. We wear masks everywhere we go, give air-hugs and air-high-fives, and watch mass on livestreams. We’ve heard the phrase, “our new normal” more times than we can count – we are adapting. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wipe down all of my groceries with bleach wipes anymore, and I sure don’t hold my breath when people get too close the way I did in April. We are turning a corner; accepting the reality that is in front of us so that we can…
Overcome! That’s what this fall is going to be about. It’s embracing what is in front of us in order to thrive, not just survive. We have mourned the losses of celebrations and milestones, and we will likely mourn a few more before this is all behind us – but we are not going to dwell in that darkness. Our community will climb over it, scramble under it, shimmy around it and get past whatever obstacles COVID-19 poses. We will not settle for mediocre, or for status quo, but instead we will demand better of ourselves, of each other, for our children. In making the best of a bad situation we are going to change the way we think about teaching and learning, to deliver a product to our families that we never imagined we would have to assemble.
I’m not going to lie – I’ve had some rough moments this week. I’m an optimist because I believe. I really believe. Like, in my heart and deep in my soul, believe. I’m a terrible poker player, because I don’t like to take risks, but I also won’t give up – not even on the worst hand. However, if I were a bettin’ woman, I’d be bettin’ it all on us.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Believe.
Yours,
Rosemarie El Youssef
Principal, St. Therese School
Food Boxes Continue at St. Henry's!
Every Friday from 9 a.m. to Noon there are fresh food boxes to pick up - the only question they will ask you is "How many boxes would you like?"
what is a meme, anyway?
Bottle Drop Thursdays at St. T
Welcome Week! September 8th - 11th
Our focus that week will be a parent-teacher-student conference that will take place either in person, or via Zoom (depending on your comfort level). We will be contacting each family to schedule times that are convenient for you!
Look forward to a full week of fun community building and information sharing - a detailed schedule will be released in next week's newsletter. This schedule will be slightly modified from our normal class schedules.
We are so excited to celebrate this new year with you!
SAFE & READY SCHOOLS UPDATE
Please check out the links below, or visit our website and click on the "COVID-19 Updates" tab at the top to read the latest news about school this fall.
ODE’s Ready Schools Safe Learners Page
St. T's Summer Challenge!
Let's stay connected - will you accept the challenge?
Each St. Therese student to complete all of the weekly challenges will receive a St. T's Summer Challenge T-shirt when they return to school this fall! It's not too late to start and catch up on all the challenges.
Email photos to elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org or post on Facebook, instagram, or twitter with the hashtag #stTsummerChallenge and tag @sttherese_pdx so we can see what everyone is up to.
OUR SIXTH CHALLENGE: Meme Magic!
In the spirit of Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. make your own meme using a favorite photo from this summer. It's actually one of Mrs. El Youssef's favorite things to do! You can use a free app like Mematic and turn a regular photo into something spectacularly funny! Recreate your favorite meme, or create an original.
Share your meme on social media and use the hashtag, #stTsummerChallenge. Get the whole family involved!
Remember it's not too late to catch up on the other 5 challenges to earn your t-shirt! Only 2 challenges left!
The Toilet Paper Crisis of 2020
Mematic App for making memes
A little meme of the principal's pup!
Practice Mindfulness
This week's mindfulness practice will be to review our previous lessons.
* belly breathing
* using breathing to find a quiet place
* mindful walking
* mindful affirmations
What mindfulness practices do you prefer? How do these practices help you? Set a goal to be mindful for at least 5 minutes each day - I set a reminder for 7 o'clock each morning! The message pops up on my phone screen reminding me to take some deep breaths and repeat a positive affirmation.
You can always access previous newsletters! You can access the links on our website by clicking here.
Be well!
Eagle Athletics Survey
Today, Wednesday August 19th, is the last day to complete the athletics survey. Just click the link below - it will only take a few minutes!
Gratefully,
St. Therese Athletic Board
Parent/Families Informational Meeting
Parent's Club Meeting, August 19th - Postponed until Wednesday, August 26th.
Tonight's PC has been postponed until next Wednesday, August 26th. Please send any items for the agenda to Rosemarie at elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org by no later than Monday, 8/24 at 10 a.m. and look for the agenda and Zoom link in your email by later that afternoon.
Can't make it to the meeting? Please send any comments, concerns, or questions to Melanie Reyna (Melanie.reyna@usbank.com) Anne Herold (anneherold68@yahoo.com) or Rosemarie - we will bring your concerns to the meeting. Minutes from the meetings will be shared with all members within 2 days of the PC meeting.
Remember that we are all in this together!
SCRIP Update
Barnes & Noble $25 gift cards x 7
Hong Phat $25 gift cards x 20
Regal Cinemas $10 gift cards x 25
Land's End $25 gift card x 1
Call the school or email elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org if you'd like to come by and purchase some!
School Supplies
Each grade has their own list and it is COMPLETE. You only have to download or print the list for your child's grade.
St. Therese Catholic School
Email: elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org
Website: stthereseschool.org
Location: 1260 Northeast 132nd Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 253-9400
Facebook: Facebook.com/StThereseSchoolPortlandOrFamilyPage
Twitter: @sttherese_pdx