Eagle's Edge
January 5th, 2024
Happy New Year!
Dear St. Therese families,
Happy new year! I hope everyone had a joyful & reflective Advent season, and a wonderful Christmas. As much fun as the holiday season is, I dare say that there is something satisfying about returning back to school and a regular routine. I am the type of person who wouldn't know what to do with myself in retirement. At the very end of the Christmas break, I felt a twinge of anxiety, because the unstructured time reminded me a bit of the pandemic. In that sense it really was refreshing to return to school, see the kids, and get back in the groove. Now, I'll qualify that by saying that I have worked in many schools, and I have rarely, if ever, felt enthusiastic about vacation ending. This year felt different, which is just one example of how special and unique this community is.
January is also nice because it feels like the time that students hit their stride in the school year. 6th graders have adjusted to middle school routines. All students, pre-k - 8th, are familiar and more comfortable with their teachers. Everyone has a better sense of the rhythm of their school day and week. It's a very exciting time for our 8th graders who are looking forward to high school, as they work on applications and take placement exams. (Friendly reminder that nobody should panic if they have not yet received completed recommendations that they requested from teachers, myself, and our counselor. They are on the way! I promise.)
This is also the time of year that we can't avoid all the gym memberships on sale, new diet fads and subscription services for mindfulness apps. Everyone has a different opinion on New Year's resolutions. Some find them useful, whereas others might feel that the change of the calendar is arbitrary, and the pressure for self improvement is driven by big corporations.
Maybe because I grew up in the Church, maybe because of the close proximity of the beginning of the calendar year and the liturgical season of Lent, I often think of New Year's resolutions and Lenten sacrifices in a similar way. When I was a student at Central Catholic, a million years ago, we had a funny, thoughtful campus pastor, Father Ron Millican. Father Ron passed away last year which was a big loss to all who knew him. He had a unique way of connecting with young people, explaining some of the more ethereal aspects of our Faith, and the world in general. I will never forget the lesson in which he suggested that perhaps instead of giving up a certain food or drink for Lent, which really didn't have much lasting effect and in all likelihood wasn't a terribly meaningful sacrifice, to instead think of a proactive way to approach Lent. Same could be suggested for a NY resolution. Among his many suggestions, he offered ideas such as taking some extra time for prayer everyday, or giving our time to another person or group. Instead of just giving up Starbucks for 40 days, research a charity that had meaning to us, and donate half of the money that we saved on Starbucks to that organization. By reframing the approach, one feels positive about what they are doing. Instead of sacrificing chocolate just because we really like chocolate, look at ways that we can help others, deepen our spiritual practice, change the world, develop a stronger relationship with God, help the community, help our parents. When the perspective changes, so does our motivation.
That has stuck with me to this day, a million years later. Far be it from me to suggest what anyone should or shouldn't take on or give up, for a resolution, or for Lent, but I was reminded of this when chatting with a second grade student this week. The student asked me about my resolution and I admitted that I had yet to come up with a meaningful goal for myself. She shared with me that her resolution was "for poor people to have money, peace in the world, and no war." I was taken aback, then I was tempted to point out that those things are hard for us to control, but before I could, she told me that her plan was to "pray a little bit extra every day" and instead of buying Roblox tokens with her allowance from chores, she wanted to "give that money to poor people who need it more, especially poor children." If this isn't proof that we can learn from our kids, even the youngest ones, then I don't know what is. We (adults) may want to lose weight on a keto diet, or save more money, and there is nothing wrong with either of those. I'd love to do both(!!!), but those are personal aspirations, for us. The hopes and wishes for the world of a 7-year-old though, are a lot closer to what Christ and our Faith, teach us.
Every month we discuss a different virtue with all of our students, and at the end of the month, selected students are recognized for embodying the real meaning of those virtues. So far we have celebrated and learned more about: faith, charity, patience, respect, gratitude. The virtue for January is kindness. All of those virtues are foundational in how we can give back to the world, rather than what we can do for ourselves. Our St. Therese students never cease to amaze us adults, in how easily they can understand what that means. They may be younger, but when it comes to benevolence and spiritual maturity, we have so much to learn from these young people. They are our best teachers.
My resolution is to take that with me into 2024 and into Lent, to take the extra time to reflect on how I can make things better around me. Nothing wrong with taking care of ourselves, losing weight, working on self improvement, or doing away with a bad habit. But if you're having a hard time thinking of something, ask your kids. What do they think is important? What do they believe we can each do every day to make our community a little better? Is there a way that we can make someone else's day a little brighter, a little less difficult? Our kids would certainly say "yes!"
With abundant gratitude,
Chris
St. Therese School Open House
Open House & School Tours
Sunday, January 28th, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
We invite all interested parents and guardians and their children to come visit the school and learn more about St. Therese's commitment to accessible Catholic education for all families in our community. We are a faith-filled educational institution anchored in the teachings of the Catholic Church. St. Therese is the most diverse school offering rigorous academics to students from Pre-K through 8th grade. Come see what makes us different than other schools. It's quite a bit!!
Spread the word to your friends and neighbors!
- All teachers will be in their classrooms to meet prospective new parents and students
- Student Council and middle school students will be leading tours along with parents.
Lunar New Year - The Year of the Dragon will be here before we know it!
Friday February 9th 2024
If you are new to St. Therese or if you happened to miss the party last year, this is really and truly something to look forward to! The celebration will begin with Mass, followed by song and dance performances, amazing lion dancers, food and drinks, and too much more to cover in this blurb. While Lunar New Year is most typically celebrated in east Asian cultures, this is a celebration for all of our students, and the community at large. Seeing students from almost every cultural background that you can imagine was one of the highlights of last year's show, and we're going to do it again!
The Parents Club is looking for more students to participate in the fashion show. They are still in need of a few more volunteers too, so come join the party! See details below.
Many more details to come. Stay tuned!
Updates from Ms. Arnold
Schedule Changes for Choir
Ms. Arnold needs to change the day of choir practices, so from now on:
Choir - Mondays 3:30 - 4:30
Piano lessons remain the same, on Wednesdays after school. Those who are in piano should have their exact time slots for Wednesday afternoons.
There are 2 remaining spots for piano lessons, if you are interested.
Please contact Ms. Arnold if you have any questions. barnold@stmichaelsandy.org
Jesuit's Online Winter Session Math Community courses for middle school students are open for registration.
Each of the following courses meets on 10 Saturday mornings for 90-minute discussions over Zoom:
- Course #142, Problem-Solving with Algebra 2: Polynomials, Exponents, Logarithms, & Special Functions
Families can click here to register.
These courses allow students to discuss interesting math problems to strengthen performance and understanding in their current math course and offer an opportunity to look ahead at material that extends beyond their current math studies.
Ethiopian Christmas
Tomorrow, January 7th, 2024
We send our warmest holiday greetings, love, and best wishes to all of our students and families who will spend tomorrow celebrating Ethiopian Christmas. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's celebration of Christ's birth is called Ganna. It is celebrated on the 7th of January on the Gregorian calendar, or the 29th of Tahsas on the Ethiopian calendar.
Quite a large number of people across the globe celebrate Christmas on this date alongside the Russian, Greek, Eritrean and Serbian Orthodox Churches. This is the same date that Catholics and Protestants in Ethiopia celebrate Christmas as well.
(Note to our families who observe Ethiopian Christmas on January 7th: Can we learn more about this and even celebrate at school next year? As evidenced by the Lunar New Year celebration, all of our students love celebrating these different cultural traditions, even if they are not immediately familiar with them!)
Upcoming Dates and Events
- January 12th - 1/2 day, noon dismissal, teacher inservice.
- January 15th - Martin Luther King Day - no school.
- January 28th - School wide mass at 10 a.m. at St. Therese Church
- January 28th - St. Therese School Open House 11:30 - 1:30
- January 28th - February 1st - Catholic Schools Week
- February 9th - Lunar New Year Celebration
- February 13th - Class parties for Valentine's Day
- February 14th - Ash Wednesday
- February 19th - Presidents' Day - No school.
- February 20th - Archdiocese Inservice - No school
Recurring Events to Remember
****Holidays, inservice days, early release days, and other special events will affect these days.
- Choir Practice : Mondays 3:30 - 4:30
- Student lead school Masses: Wednesdays 8:30 a.m. (Holy Days of Obligation will affect these mass times)
- Student Store: Thursdays at dismissal
- Pizza Fridays: for all students, at lunchtime on the last day of the week (Friday)
- Vietnamese Enrichment Classes: Fridays after school
Staying Healthy and Caring for our Neighbors
Unfortunately Covid numbers are ticking upwards again following the Christmas break. A number of our staff, and quite a few of our families have reported testing positive for Covid over the break. This is what scientists and experts predicted, and winters might just be this way for some time. Policy and guidance from the CDC and the Oregon Health Division has not changed, and neither are we at St. Therese changing anything yet.
This is just a friendly reminder to do what we can to limit risks to others in our community. Common sense, hand washing, and wearing a mask when one feels ill, can really go a long way.
Our staff are essential to our school's operation. Goes without saying maybe, but in real terms, if multiple teachers were to get sick at the same time and have to be out for a week or more, we could be in dire straits for coverage. We don't have the resources of big public districts, and finding a sub in Portland is next to impossible it seems.
We appreciate you bearing that in mind! Let's just do what we can to think of the folks around us, even if we are young and healthy and we feel invincible! Thanks!