The Defender
February 3, 2023
Important Upcoming Dates
- February 5, 2023 New Family Meeting 1:00 PM in school library
- February 10, 2023 NO SCHOOL Parent Teacher Conferences 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
- February 10, 2023 Professional Development 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM
- February 17, 2023 NO SCHOOL Faith Formation
- February 20, 2023 NO SCHOOL President's Day
- February 22, 2023 Ash Wednesday All School Mass 8:15 AM
A Message from Mrs. Tate
Dear St. Michael Families,
What a WONDERFUL week we had celebrating Catholic Schools Week! From our praise party on Monday to the crazy volleyball matches, we had so much fun celebrating Jesus’ light, our faith community and each other! Near and Dear Day was a HUGE success! It was especially beautiful to have our Near and Dears here on the Feast of St. Blaise so they were able to participate in the blessing of the throats. Thank you to the many volunteers who made this week such a success. Our VSL continues to astound me in their generosity of time, talent, and treasure.
We’ve met a couple of times in the past week and a half with our Faith Families. These families continue to grow deeper in friendship and love for one another. During our lesson last Thursday, we learned about St. Blaise, a saint who changed the world. St. Blaise was a doctor before he was ordained a priest, and he later became the bishop of Sebaste (now in central Turkey).
Many stories were told about Blaise, and he became a popular saint. One legend says that while Blaise was in prison, a mother brought him her small boy, who was choking on a fishbone stuck in his throat. Blaise prayed over the child, and he was healed. Every year on St. Blaise’s feast, two candles tied with ribbon in the shape of an X are used to bless throats. In the prayer the Church prays that those blessed may be delivered from diseases of the throat and from every other illness.
Jesus calls his followers to change the world. That’s a big ask—there are innumerable problems in the world today, most of them far too big for any one person to make a difference. But God hasn’t called us to undertake this task by ourselves. At St. Michael the Archangel, we work together as a community to let God’s light shine through our students to care for our friends in Honduras.
Because Catholic Schools Week was so busy and because our mission in Honduras is so important, we moved our collection to this coming week. We are collecting money for the Hope for Honduras Education Drive from February 6-13. We ask that students/parents bring donations to school. There will be bins outside each classroom. Or, if you prefer, you can donate through our parish website at: https://stmichaelcp.org/donations-payments.
Our goal is to raise $9,375. This provides half of the high school tuition needed for the year. We shared some examples with the kids that opened their eyes to the needs in Honduras. For example, $10 will buy enough pencils for all the girls to start the new school year. This got some shocked looks from kids. $25 will help pay for 1 complete school uniform for an elementary student. $100 will fund 2 weeks of the music teacher’s salary.
Please consider donating to this worthy ministry. We feel extremely connected to our sister school in Honduras, and this is just one way we can share our gifts with them to support their Catholic education! What a wonderful way to pay it forward as we celebrate the gifts of our Catholic schools!
“Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:16
Sincerely,
Diana Tate, Principal
Presidential Service Award Program
For the past several years, St. Michael the Archangel School has participated in the President’s Volunteer Service Award Program. The award recognizes US citizens who have achieved minimum hours of service over a 12-month period. For SMA, this period is from April 1, 2022-March 31, 2023.
It is an amazingly simple process - just keep track of service hours. Forms can be found on the SMA Website. Hours must be submitted to the front office by MONDAY, April 3, 2023.
For student service and community outreach ideas, check out SMA VSL - Student Volunteers.
If you have any questions, email Megan Morris
VSL Highlights
Hope for Honduras Education Drive
Please bring your monetary donations to school February 6-13 or donate online! Your donation helps provide funds for tuition, educational resources, and school supplies/computer maintenance for the girls at the Hogar de Ninas in Honduras. We are also setting up an annual Linda Hopfinger Memorial Scholarship to support post-secondary scholarships.
CYO Track & Field 2023 – REGISTRATION OPEN!
Registration for the CYO 2023 Track Season is now open for grades 3 through 8. Speed on over to https://cyojwa.org/current-programs to sign up!
No tryouts are required and all students are welcome! Joining the track team is a terrific way to get some exercise, have fun with friends and develop a love for running, jumping and throwing. All you need is a pair of shoes (or track spike shoes for more competitive runners) and a little bit of determination.
EVENTS
The 5th-8th grade races include distances of 60m, 100m, 120m, 220m, 440m, 880m and 1 mile. There are multiple relay races, too! Field events are high jump, long jump, ball throw (football for boys, softball for girls), and shot put. The 5th-8th grade athletes may compete in four events per meet.
The 3rd-4th grade races are 60m, 100m, 120m, 200m and 400m. Each runner can participate in two races per meet. Participants in 3rd-4th grade do not compete in any field events.
PRACTICE & MEETS
· For 5th through 8th graders only, practices will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 PM-7:15 pm at Prairie Star Middle School, starting Monday, March 20th, and going through Wednesday, May 3rd.
· The 3rd and 4th graders practice Tuesday nights only, and they are from 6:00-7:00 PM at Prairie Star Middle School. The first practice will be Tuesday, March 21st, and the final practice will be Tuesday, April 25th in advance to their third and final meet.
Track meets are scheduled for the following Saturdays: April 15 @ Miege HS, April 22 @ TBD, April 29 @ Miege HS, and then City Finals (for 5th through 8th only) are on Saturday, May 6 @ Miege HS.
FEES & REGISTRATION
Register online now at https://cyojwa.org/current-programs to get the Early Bird pricing. Fees go up $25 as of March 27th for late sign-up.
· $90 for grades 5-8
· $65 for grades 3-4
Your registration fee includes a jersey. More info about track and field is available on the CYO website by clicking HERE.
WE NEED VOLUNTEER PARENT COACHES, NO MATTER YOUR LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE:
Last year we approached 120 kids from 3rd through 8th in participant count, which was great. What was missing though was enough help from parent-coaches at the practices. We desperately seek for VIRTUS trained parents to volunteer at the practices AND if possible, some at the meets as well. Being a former track star is not required. Email Ed Baldwin at ed@communitymortgagekc.com with questions or if you would like to volunteer to help coach.
Parish Activities
Archdiocese Take Back Family Time Challenge
Join the challenge! Take Back Family Time is about spending meaningful, intentional time with your family. Each month families are encouraged to make time to complete the monthly activity. See the attached image for more information. #TakeBackFamilyTime #TakeBackSunday #archkckcs #archkck
Companions in Faith Volunteer Opportunity at OLU School
Have some free time during the school day? We are looking for volunteers to work with teachers and students at Our Lady of Unity School for the 2022-2023 school year. Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. but we can accommodate almost any schedule. The day of the week is flexible and as well as the frequency of your volunteer visits. You must be VIRTUS trained to volunteer but no teaching expertise is needed, just a willing heart to work with students.
If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please visit http://companionsinfaith.weebly.com/volunteer-at-our-lady-of-unity-school.html or e-mail Ann Ekis at ann.ekis@yahoo.com