Charger Check-In
December 1, 2022
A Note from Ms. Owens
I hope you were able to enjoy a Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family who are dear to your heart. I am grateful to have made a trip out to California to see my parents and to celebrate my father's 80th birthday! We've had a busy week at St. Catherine and these next weeks will also have lots of activity. On Wednesday, our PK4 students went on a Gingerbread Hunt. They were eagerly trying to catch that sneaky gingerbread man as he stayed just ahead of the students while they followed his path through the halls. In phonics, our 1st grade students are working on words with the long a and a sneaky e. In 3rd grade, students are learning about the season of Advent. Our 5th graders are demonstrating their mastery of complex long division and order of operations. Our 8th graders are finishing up their reading of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders.
This Saturday, many of our 8th graders will be taking their high school entrance exams. These students have worked hard to reach this milestone, and it is a big day. We are confident that they will do well! Go Class of 2023! You've got this!
Thank you to Mrs. Malburg, Mrs. Gawron, Mrs. Otto, Mrs. Withers and the huge number of additional volunteers who made this year's Holiday Wishes' Vendor Fair so successful. It was an excellent evening of shopping. It did my heart so much good to see so many school parents enjoying the evening, and it was fun to talk with students about the neat items they saw for sale.
I also need to give an absolutely huge thank you to Mr. Donahue for his time and expertise in resolving a heating issue in the Alexandria Center. He went up to the north side to get a needed part and then came back SCA in the late evening to install it. We are both blessed and grateful for his presence in this community!
Mrs. Kehoe and I are both thrilled to share that Mrs. Shannon O'Connor will be joining the SCA community as our reading intervention teacher for 4th-8th grades. She brings eight years of experience working in special education. Mrs. O'Connor will be at school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She will begin her work getting set up with 4th-8th grade students in reading and eventually provide additional assistance as her schedule allows.
Our asbestos abatement work over Thanksgiving break went extremely smoothly. The air quality tests confirmed that we were able to return to Kane Hall on Monday. Thank you to Joan Strainis for organizining this project. Thank you to Mr. Notter, Mr. Chesna and Mr. Barajas for all the furniture movement required by this project. Thank you to Ms. Smith, Mrs. Ivers, Mrs. Hennessy and Mrs. Benos for their flexibility as this project was close to their classrooms. The next phase is to replace the tiles that were removed. We anticipate this will happen over Christmas break - but the reality of supply chains and labor availability will affect completion dates.
Please note that extended care will not be available the afternoon of Wednesday, December 14 to allow the extended care to attend our Christmas celebration that afternoon.
A Bit More News...
- SCA's Toy Drive continues this weekend. Please consider bringing a new, unwrapped gift in it's original packaging to mass this weekend or to school on Monday. Catholic Charities will distribute these gifts to families in need throughout the Chicago Archdiocese.
- December order forms for S & T pizza set ups went home in today's White Envelope. Forms are due back to school by Tuesday, December 13. Vouchers will go home Thursday, December 15.
- Information for Santa's Secret Shop went home in today's White Envelope. The shop will be open for students from Tuesday, December 6 through Thursday, December 8. Students will visit the shop with their homerooms.
- Several weeks ago, materials for the Knights of Columbus' Keep Christ in Christmas Art Contest went home with students. Entries should be returned to school by Tuesday, December 13.
- Back in October, students in Grades K-4 took home a Fire and Public Safety Color Book. which included the annual coloring contest. If your child has completed an entry, please send it into school ASAP. Entries will be collected early next week.
- Students can also earn service hours by participating in the 2022 Christmas Decoration work to prepare our church for Advent and Christmas. Decorating will happen Sunday, December 4 from 1-4PM and Sunday, December 11, from 1-5PM.
- Breakfast with Santa is set for Sunday, December 4. While the second seating is closed, walk-ins are still welcome for the first seating at 8AM.
- On Friday, December 9, Santa will visit our Toddling Chargers! Toddling Chargers runs in the gym on Fridays from 8:20-9:20AM.
- Families with students in K-4th grades are welcome to participate in a School Advisory Board-sponsored raffle for preferred seating for the Christmas Concert.
- If you know of an SCA family who owns a small business that we can publicize here to help support them, please reach out to me via email. Scroll down to see local businesses we can support.
Peace,
Kristine Owens
Girls Volleyball and Boys Basketball - IMPORTANT INFORMATION
We are partnering with St. Xavier University's Health Center to help facilitate this process. SXU is reserving times on Wednesday, December 14 specifically for SCA families. Of course, families can also visit their regular healthcare provider and most urgent care centers, Walgreens and CVS locations can also provide this service.
St. Xavier no longer needs SCA families to sign up electronically prior to the December 14 date. However, if you plan to utilize their services, you MUST CALL THEM directly at 773-298-3712 to make an appointment.
Support SCA with Amazon Smile
Through Amazon Smile, you can earn money for our school simply by shopping through Amazon! There is no cost to you for participating and all benefits of Amazon, including Amazon Prime, still apply to your Amazon Smile purchases.
Each qualifying purchase earns money for St. Catherine.
Simply bookmark https://smile.amazon.com/ch/36-2392504 for all of your Amazon shopping.
FSA Sponsorship Opportunities
Covid Vaccination Information
If you or someone you know wants to get a vaccine, you will find a button below with easy-to-navigate information for Chicago, Cook County and surrounding counties.
The Sunday Collection
Visit the link below to set up your recurring contribution. Donors can change the amount of the contribution or pause it at any time.
Ways to Support Our Local Small Businesses
If you know of an SCA family who owns a small business that we can publicize here to help support them, please reach out to me via email.
So Many On-going Ways to Support St. Catherine!
Upcoming Events
Friday, December 2
- All-School Liturgy at 8:30AM
- Toddling Chargers in the gym at 8:20AM
Saturday, December 3
- High School Entrance Exam for 8th Grade
Sunday, December 4
- All-Parish Family Mass at 9:30AM - hosted by 5th grade
- Breakfast with Santa at 8AM and 10AM (walk-ins welcome at 8AM seating)
Tuesday, December 6
- Santa's Secret Shop begins
- Reconciliation for Grades 3-8
- Body, Mind and Spirit Evening for Women at 7PM in the library
- FSA Meeting at 7PM in Kane Hall
Wednesday, December 7
- Santa's Secret Shop continues
- PK Christmas Program at 8AM in the gym
Thursday, December 8
- Santa's Secret Shop (last day)
- Feast of the Immaculate Conception All-School Liturygy at 10AM
Friday, December 9
- All-School Liturgy at 8:30AM
- Toddling Chargers in the gym at 8:20AM
- 6th Grade Field Trip
Sunday, December 11
- All-Parish Family Mass at 9:30AM - hosted by 7th grade
Monday, December 12
- SCA Band Concert at 7PM in church
Tuesday, December 13
- S & T order forms due back
- K-4 Christmas Concert at 7PM in church
Wednesday, December 14
- Early Dismissal Wednesday at 1PM (extended care NOT available)
- All-School Spirit Wear Day (no donation needed)
Thursday, December 15
- 7th and 8th Grade Field Trip
Friday, December 16
- All-School Liturgy at 8:30AM
- Toddling Chargers at 8:20AM in gym
Wednesday, December 21
- Last Day of School - 1PM dismissal (extended care NOT available)
Thursday, January 5
- School resumes
About us
Website: www.scaoaklawn.org
Location: 10621 South Kedvale Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL, USA
Phone: 708-425-5547
Facebook: facebook.com/scaoaklawn/