2023
It's almost that time!
The Advent Journey and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Dear St. Therese families,
We had a busy week at school, full of seasonal festivities, a visit from the man himself on St. Nicholas Day, with the week culminating in a beautiful school mass to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the day on which we honor Our Sacred Mother Mary. One of my favorite parts about our Catholic schools, our faith, and our community, is that they remind us of the real reasons for the seasons. It can be all too easy to get caught up in the secular trappings of Christmas, the pressure of gift giving, Christmas trees, carols, hot cocoa and decorating our homes.
Those elements and traditions bring us joy, especially our children and students. Believe me, I am not demonizing them; I spent much of this week decorating my home with my children and had a great time. Any parent can tell you that children change one's entire existence, and how we approach the month of December is a great example. We want to give our children the joy and magic of Christmas. Sometimes though, the cultural trappings that are based more on the demands of shareholders of toy corporations can become a stressor to us. But if we as Catholics take the time to slow down, reflect and pray on our beliefs around Christ, God, the Holy Spirit, and Our Immaculate Mother, it is a comforting reminder and can even be a relief.
We are fortunate to be in Catholic schools and communities, because we are reminded, and re-focused on what's important, what Advent really means: patience, reflection, and hope as we look forward to Christmas, the time when we celebrate the birth of our Lord. On Friday, Father Gabriele did just that, by explaining why we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is easy for some to be confused in thinking that the Immaculate Conception celebrates Mary saying yes to God, and the conception of Jesus. I have to be honest that this is something that I know, and I have even taught to middle school students in the past years as a religion teacher in our parochial schools, yet still, it seems to remind me every year, "oh yeah! We are celebrating the conception of our Blessed Mother, within her mother, St. Anne." The adjective "immaculate," is appropriate because Mary was conceived and born without the burden of original sin.
As Father Gabriele explained better than I can, "God's Grace touched our Lady at a very special moment. As soon as the embryo of Mary began to grow in Anne's womb, Mary was without original sin and the effects of original sin." Father Gabriele noted that faith is belief, which is rarely easy. God calls each of us to imitate Mary, to strive to be like her. It was a great explanation of the many mysteries of the Lord, Mary, and the first reasons for the Feast of the Immaculate conception, which without, we would not have Advent nor Christmas.
As a parent myself, I would just encourage other parents and families to remember that more presents, bigger stockings, more candy, and more expensive presents do not equal more love, peace, or closeness to God. They are great fun to give and receive, and there is nothing inherently wrong with toys, dollhouses, and RC cars, of course, but they do not compare to God's love for us, or our children. Remember that nobody who has children also has a living room that looks like the ones in the TV commercials. Holidays can be stressful, and that doesn't make you a bad person. In my experience that stress comes from keeping up with the Joneses, and self imposed expectations that our home has to look like a J. Crew Christmas catalog.
If you can't get everything on every wish list, it's not your fault that you're not born into wealth--and if your kids' lists are anything like my kids' lists, it would be financially irresponsible to get every last item, and very likely have a negative effect on the kids if they woke up to a living room that looks like that pesky Amazon toy catalog they deliver each year. Unless you are very sure, and very financially solvent, don't surprise your spouse with a new luxury automobile with a red bow on it, just because the fictional people in the advertisement do so. Remember that those people are underpaid actors who probably hopped on the bus after they finished playing rich and beautiful fantasy people who wake up in a $3 million dollar vacation home high in the Rocky Mountains where everything is as perfect as their jawlines and matching pajamas. It's fiction. As my wife reminds me, making that kind of purchase without consulting the other person in the partnership would be grounds for marriage counseling at best, and possibly shopping for attorneys at worst.
Go easy on yourselves and each other. Pull your family tight. Think of a fun way to give back to others. Perhaps that's pulling a gift tag from a tree and sponsoring another family's Christmas, or making sack lunches for folks without a home, or going through closets to purge all the old toys and clothes that could brighten the holidays for another family.Those little experiences to help others are the ones that we remember years later, long after we've forgotten about the toy. Most importantly (in my humble opinion), remind yourselves and your family what we are really celebrating during the Advent and Christmas seasons. Hope, reflection, adoration, prayer, and introspection during Advent bring us to the joy of Christ's birth, the sacrifices of Mary, and Jesus, which are the real reasons, even if we can get distracted by advertising campaigns and comparisons to our neighbors.
I am working on reminding myself of that, and that the number of gifts under the tree does not matter nearly as much as our love for our families and our community. The sacrifices of Mary, and her son Jesus are the gifts that should bring us greater gratitude than anything else.
Please feel free to join us for our school masses any time! Invite family and friends. You're welcome to sit with your children at those masses. This week, we are celebrating our school mass on Tuesday (instead of Wednesday) at 8:30 a.m.
I wish everyone a blessed Advent, and a very merry Christmas. I am so grateful to you all, and to be part of this St. Therese School and Parish community. Thanks for reading a long note, if you have gotten to this point. Take my suggestions, or leave them. (If, by chance, you have insider knowledge that my wife had intentions of buying me a classic car, or a new Rivian truck, please don't share this newsletter with her. Only kidding...kind of. She does not, I am certain.)
First Day of Advent
On Monday, the first day of Advent, Father Gabriele joined us at the school to lead us in prayer, to bless us, the school and the Avent wreath. In pictures below you can see him on the mic (phone) so that he was heard throughout campus. Student representatives from each grade congregated in our main hallway with Father Gabriele and they lit the beautiful Advent wreath, created by Sister Paula Jean. Thank you Father G, for joining us on your day off, and thank you Sister Paula Jean for the wreath. Thank you all!
Applications for Financial Aid Now Open - Apply Early!
FACTS financial aid applications were open effective November 1st. There are various sources of grants and other funding from the Archdiocese. They have advised us to get our applications in as early as possible, in hopes of securing more assistance for our community. Sooner the better! At the very least, you get it finished and it's one less thing to worry about!
What's Happening in Art Class
Upcoming Dates and Events
One more week until Christmas break!
- December 11th - 15th - Spirit Week- see flyer below for daily themes.
- December 12th - School mass @ 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday - NO mass on Wednesday.
- December 12th - No extended care after school. Please pick up students at our normal dismissal time, 3:15.
- December 14th - Christmas Concert @ 6:00 p.m. in St. Therese Church, followed by a reception in the Parish Social Center. Please have students at school in their homeroom classrooms before 5:45.
- December 15th - Last day of school for students. 12p.m. noon dismissal for students.
- December 15th - No extended care after school. Please pick up your student at dismissal time at noon.
- December 15th - Vietnamese language class at 12:30 - 1:30. Please tell your students to pack a lunch.
- December 4th - December 15th - STAR testing window.
- December 16th - January 2nd -Christmas Break, no school.
- December 19th - Parish Reconciliation Service @ 6 p.m. in St. Therese Church
- January 3rd - School resumes for students.
St. Nick Came to Visit Last Wednesday
Friendly Reminders
- Some students are still coming to school without jackets or coats. We know this is very likely their decision, but please do what you can at home to remind them that a sweatshirt is almost never adequate to keep them warm at recess in Oregon in December.
- Keep those coats! Mrs. Barnett spends more time than she should going through the Lost and Found, attempting to return coats, jackets, sweatshirts and water bottles to students. Eventually we clean and donate them to charity. If you can help us by checking that your child goes home with everything they were dropped off with, that would really help! Thank you in advance.
- IMPORTANT: Please be patient and follow the other cars in the morning for drop-off. We are all busy in the morning, but please follow the line, do not cut the line by cruising towards the church, dropping off, and then scooting out. In reality, the folks who do that end up slowing the process down for everyone. We're pretty relaxed about late students within the first 5 or 10 minutes of school in the morning. We ask you to slow down and follow the guidelines for the sake of student safety. +++++++Throughout the week, we have students out and about on our large school property, whether that is picking up litter, exploring nature, or just getting some fresh air. Please GO SLOWLY on campus at all times. There are some blind corners and God forbid, anyone get hurt. Don't be the person going 35 mph towards the church. If you know who that person is, there is a $3 reward for their identity.
Free tickets to University of Portland Basketball Games, for St. T. families
A few weeks ago, the 6th Grade and Mr. Rymer attended a day on campus at U of P which included a tech and STEM fair and attending a U of P basketball game. I am very proud to tell you that I received an email from the Athletic Department at U of P, personally thanking St. Therese for the way that our students conducted themselves. Our students stood out, among the hundreds of other students that day as interested, engaged, and polite. If you've ever been on a field trip, you know that such a compliment is a big deal. U of P followed up by offering us FREE tickets to 2 more basketball games at the Chiles Center. U of P is a great school, one of the few Catholic Universities in Oregon, and who knows? Maybe your student will attend there someday!
If you are interested in taking your family and/or your child and a group of their friends, perhaps their basketball team, please come to the school office and we can give you as many tickets as you need. We want to honor the generosity of the U of P, by making sure the tickets get used. I'd hate for them to have a whole empty section, after picking St. Therese especially. Otherwise, we would hand them out to students, but we know that most kids can't make their way to North Portland to attend a basketball game alone.
So, as many as you can put to good use, are all yours. Both games are being played at the Chiles Center on U of P's campus. 5000 N. Willamette Blvd, Portland, OR 97203. Come to the school office before we run out. U of P provided 100 tickets each to the following 2 games:
Students Hard at Work Making Christmas Ornaments in Tech Class!
Spirit Week Themes
Note: We have mass on Tuesday and Reconciliation on Wednesday, so all students must be in regular school uniforms. Accessories will be removed and left in classrooms before students go to mass, and they can be put back on following mass, at the discretion of their homeroom teacher, but for certain, students will not be attending mass in hats or mittens. Please do us a favor by reminding your student and checking at home that their holiday accessories are easily removable on Tuesday and Wednesday. On the other days, they can go all out! Thank you for our help at home.
Thank You Again!
In only 3 days, students brought in dozens and dozens of brand new stuffed animals of all shapes and sizes, which will all go to children who are receiving treatment at Doernbecher's Children's Hospital at OHSU.
If you ask almost any child what they are looking forward to for Christmas, the overwhelming answer will likely be presents on Christmas morning. There is nothing wrong with that, at all. All the while, those same St. Therese students give generously and with excitement. From cash donations on free dress days, to the food drive, and benefits for various charities, our kids are learning by doing, that it is important to think of others. If we are in the position to donate toys, food, and attend expensive private school that parents work hard to afford, our students are increasingly aware that they are fortunate to be in the position to help others.
Thank you for your support at home, and being the first teachers of your children about the importance of taking care of others, living Jesus' message of helping the least of us, and caring for the less fortunate. Our students are not blind to the Catholic morals on social justice. They are modeling them, even if they couldn't tell you what the term "Catholic social justice" means. That's the best kind of learning, by living and doing good, modeled by those closest to us.
Join us Thursday evening!
8th Grade Recommendations for High Schools
Following the Christmas break, I will meet with teachers so that we make sure we are on the same page about students. Please remind your student not to be frustrated by the delay, and I assure you that it is to their advantage to be patient. I don't want to, and we won't, write those letters hastily, without a more holistic view of the student. Good things take time! Thanks for understanding.
We couldn't do it without the help of everyone! THANK YOU, Mr. Ginez!
I try to do a safety walk of our campus daily, just to see what needs attention on campus, pick up litter, and observe anything else that needs attention. On Monday I noticed that the bottom half of our sign facing Halsey Street was in the state you see in the above picture, likely hit by a car.
I want to send a special THANK YOU to Mr. Martin Ginez, who is a St. Therese dad to students Millie and Mia, who promptly repaired the sign and rehung it, even in the torrential rain that we had last week. THANK YOU!
On that note, we have countless opportunities to get your Fair Share Hours. Just call the office!
Kindergarten Angel Art
Get in touch with us.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Mrs. Barnett, our registrar and office manager knows all! Call, email, or drop by and just say hello.