Crusader Chronicle
St. Ignatius of Antioch Elementary School
Happy Halloween!
Wishing You a Blessed All Saints' Day
All Souls' Day - Pray for Our Beloved Dead and Pray for All Souls in Purgatory
The Only Real Sadness
The three days that we celebrate starting tomorrow - Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day - focus on sainthood. The name Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, is the eve of the celebration of All Saints' Day, the day on which we celebrate all saints, including all canonized saints and all who live in heaven. The third day, All Souls' Day, is the day that we not only remember all those who have died, especially our friends and family members, but also the day that we pray for those who have died.
All of us are called by God to be holy, no matter what we do in life. It is the vocation that unites us all - priests, nuns, religious brothers, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, young, old, rich and poor. We call this the universal call to holiness - it is our primary vocation. That is why we say that each one of is called to be a saint.
Recently, I have been watching, again, the videos of Bishop Robert Barron, in his series called Word on Fire, as well as listening to Bishop Barron's podcasts. Bishop Barron, in talking about saints, cited the example of Jacques Maritain, who in his youth was an agnostic. Jacques still wanted to give religion a chance, and so he began to study. He came across a quote by Leon Bloy, which read, "The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is to not become a saint." This quote struck Jacques very deeply, to the point that his study of Christianity led him to become a Catholic and to eventually become an adviser to Pope St. Paul VI.
Bishop Barron also says two other things about what it means to be a saint. He says that to be a saint is to be a friend of Christ, to allow Christ to live His life in you. He also says that to be a saint is to allow Jesus to get into your boat. Allowing Christ to live His life in you and allowing Jesus to be in your boat lead you to God, who is at the core of our being, and that leads us to know who we truly are and to live the life that Christ desires us to live.
Let us pray today that we seek each day to become a saint, that we pray for all who have died, as they journey to heaven. Within our calling as parents, we are called to lead our spouses to sainthood too, as well as to lead our children. That is who we are meant to be, and there is nothing else that is more important than becoming saints ourselves and leading our families to sainthood.
Prayer for All Saints' Day
Dear God,
thank you for the example of the Saints.
I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven.
Please help me follow in their footsteps,
and help me follow Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Please help me to conform myself to Your image,
seeking Your will in all things, as the Saints did.
Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, to Your glory,
and to the service of my neighbors.
Amen.
School News!
Halloween
All Saints' Day
Tuesday, November 1, is All Saints Day. All of our students will be joining the parish community at 9:00 am Mass, and we hope you will join us on this Holy Day of Obligation. After Mass, the 2nd and 7th grade students will be celebrating the day with a special presentation of the saints in the school gym (please note the change of location for the saint presentations, moving from the church auditorium to the school gym.)
A Huge Thank You!
A few of our student library aides
Library News
Scholastic Book Fair
https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/stignatiusofantiochschool
Volunteers are needed for the Book Fair. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Helene Crozier hcrozier@sischool.org or Jackie Madden jmadden@sischool.org.. Thank you!
No Bus Service on November 11
Sign Ups for Parent Teacher Conferences
Mrs. Azara, PreK-3
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094CA8A62AA1FAC70-mrsapre
Ms. Murphy, PreK-4 A
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0e45adaa2da1fd0-parent1
Mrs. McBeth, PreK-4 B
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080448A4AE2AA4FF2-nov
Ms. Dionne, Kindergarten
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0845AAA629ABFA7-fall
Mrs. Edwards, Grade 1A
Mrs. Snyder, Grade 1B
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAAD2FA2FBC61-fall
Mrs. Ficarro, Grade 2
2nd Grade Parent Teacher Conference Sign Up
Mrs. Hastings, Grade 3A
Parent Conferences Link 3A Hastings
Ms. Selvan, Grade 3B
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094ca4ac23a0f9c70-miss
Ms. Schmidt, Grade 4
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44ACAE2CA2F4C16-parent
Mrs. McBride, Grade 5 Homeroom, ELA Grade 6
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAA92FABFAC25-fall
Ms. Hensler, Grade 6 Homeroom, Science Grades 5 through 8
Interim Conference Times for Science
Dr. O'Brien, Grade 7 Homeroom, ELA Grade 8
Thursday, November 3 link -
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c094caba628a7fbc52-parent
Friday, November 4 link -
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094CABA628A7FBC52-parentteacher
Ms. Esposito, Grade 8 Homeroom, Math Grades 5 through 8
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48AAAC2FABF8C70-fall
Mrs. Casey, Math Honors
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4ba4a629a0f5ce9-honors1
Ms. Murray, Art
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094CA9AD2DAAFEC61-parent
Mrs. O'Hara, Music
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F48ABAD28A2F4C07-parent
Mrs. Gray, Spanish
Spanish Sign Up for Parents' Conferences
Mr. Tapp, Physical Education
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f48aba62da4fec16-parent
Mr. Seibel, Grades 6 and 8 Social Studies, STEM
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4AADAE23A1FBC52-parent1
Mrs. Brennan, Learning Support
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E45ADAC23A0FC1-conference1
5th through 8th Grade Reading Olympics
Online School Store Fundraiser
Thank you to all the families who have already participated in our SchoolStore fundraiser!
Many of our teachers have received generous gift certificates from their students. If your family has not registered, there is still time, prizes are still available. Click the link below if you want to participate:
https://www.schoolstore.net/cgi/SetSchool?secheck=1&SchoolID=0000120009
St. Ignatius of Antioch Open House
School Store News
School Pictures
Picture re-take day will be November 7, so if your child missed the Picture Day on September 30 or if you would like your child to retake the picture, please let us know.
If you would like to order pictures online, go to lifetouch.com and use the St. Ignatius Picture Day ID, which is EVT2QD2JB
School Family Directory
YAY Lunch
If you have any problems or concerns with YAY Lunch, please let us know and let YAY lunch know as well.
Important Drop Off and Pick Up Reminders
If you need to pick up your son or daughter prior to regular dismissal time, please be sure to pick up no later than 2:15 pm, in order to keep all of our dismissals flowing smoothly.
Car drop off begins at 8 am. If you do not see a school staff member in the drop off area, please do not drop off your child or children and leave them outside the doors under the blue canopy; please wait until a staff member comes out and opens the doors.
For car drop off, please stay in the drop off line and do not drive around the car in front of you. Wait until the car in front of you pulls forward before you pull forward.
For car drop off, please do your best to make sure your child is ready to exit the car when you pull up and stop. Especially if you are the first car in line, please drive away once your child is out of the car and your car door is closed. This will help with the flow of traffic in the car drop off line.
For car pick up, please wait until the school staff member gives the signal for your line of cars to pull out and drive out of the parking lot before starting to drive away.
For Pre-K drop off and pick up, please follow the procedures, leaving the lanes with cones at the ends empty for parents to drive out once they have walked their Pre-K students to the Pre-K building. Please take extra care as you are driving, parking, and leaving after Pre-K drop off and pick up.
If you have someone dropping off or picking up your child that has not dropped off or picked up at St. Ignatius before, please inform them of the procedures so that there will be no issues.
Home and School Update
The Home and School Association continues to move along with our scheduled events for the Fall. Please mark your calendars for our upcoming events! See the flyer below for a listing for more information.
November 11: Middle School Event - OPEN GYM NIGHT
A Google Form will be available soon in order to sign up your 6th, 7th, or 8th grader to attend, please keep an eye out. Your kids can come out, play basketball with friends, and enjoy pizza, a drink, and a treat for $5. Signups will start soon!
November 15: General Assembly Meeting
We will have a guest speaker talking about cyber bullying and the dangers of social media dangers. Due to the sensitive nature of the speaker content, we are asking that parents ONLY attend this meeting. Please note, the uniform closet will be open. Other perks of the meeting - there will be a prize raffled off for parents who attend, and children of parents who attend will have a Dress Down Day on November 17!
November 17: "Pizza for Lunch" Sale
This will be open to all students, PreK through 8, and will give your child an opportunity to purchase pizza for lunch for $5. Please keep an eye out for a Google Form Sign Up soon!
November 19: "Crusaders Care" Day of Service
This will be an in-person day of service open to all students, faculty, and staff and their families! We will be sorting and packing food and snack bags for 3 local charities that help the less fortunate in our area. We will be collecting pantry and self-care items that need to be packed and sorted on the days leading up to the event. Collection boxes will be placed from Nov 1 through Nov 18 in school for your children to donate items. The list of items for each grade is as follows:
PreK3 - Canned veggies (corn, green beans, peas) and bars of soap
PreK4A - Stuffing mix, bars of soap
PreK4B - Turkey gravy, bars of soap
Kindergarten - Cornbread mix, full-size shampoo
1A - Granola bars, full-size shampoo
1B - Fruit cups, full-size shampoo
2 - Applesauce pouch/cup, toothpaste
3A - Canned pumpkin, toothpaste
3B - Boxed mac and cheese, toothbrushes
4 - Mini water bottles, toothbrushes
5 - Boxed mashed potatoes, toothbrushes
6 - Cranberry sauce, toilet paper
7 - Pretzel single serve bags, toilet paper
8 - Oatmeal pouch, toilet paper
If you have any questions about this event, feel free to contact Jaimee Hynes at jaimeerocco@hotmail.com or Lucy Fronheiser at lucydonnellan@gmail.com
Thank you in advance for your participation, and we look forward to seeing you and your families on November 19!
CARES News
Upcoming Dates
Monday, October 31, is Halloween. All students will have a dress down day on Halloween. PreK, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade will be allowed to bring a costume to wear after lunch on Halloween. All the students in kindergarten through 3rd grade will then parade to the rectory to visit Fr. Brownholtz for a treat. Please follow the Halloween dress down guidelines emailed to all families this past week.
Thursday, November 3 is Parent Teacher Conferences, from 4 to 8 pm
Friday, November 4, is also Parent Teacher Conferences, from 8 am to noon. There is no school on November 4.
Thursday, November 10, is Open House at St. Ignatius. Open House will run from 6 to 8 pm.
Tuesday, November 15, is our first Home and School General Assembly. All parents are invited to attend. Please see the Home and School section of the Crusader Chronicle for more information.
Other Important Information
For those of you who need to leave medications at school for your children, please complete the forms from the Health Office. Please bring the medication with the completed forms to the Health Office. See the Health Office Aide or the nurse (Wednesdays only) for more information.
Please check the school website (sischool.org) for updated documents (2022-2023 School Handbook, Responsible Use Policy for Technology, etc.) and for accompanying parent and student signature forms. Please return signed forms as soon as possible. Signature forms are attached here as well.
St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish News
Volunteers Needed for Children's Liturgy of the Word
CYO Basketball News
St Ignatius basketball registration is now open for the 2022-2023 season!! Please click on the link below to go to our registration site. As always, our program can’t happen without volunteers so please consider helping. Thanks. Steve Nash St Ignatius Yardley CYO
https://stignatiuscyo.sportngin.com/home