Dear Fabulous Families -

• The school calendar has three bad weather days built into it. At this point in time we have used only one day for bad weather. We are going to use one of those days (Tuesday, April 11) to extend Easter break. Easter break will be April 6-11 with school resuming on Wednesday, April 12. Hopefully this will allow families to spend additional time together over Easter.
  
  
• Please see the notes from staff members below. We wish them the best of luck and God's blessings as they embark on a new journey. They will be missed and we appreciate all they have done while at St. Gabriel.

• Thank you very much for registering for next year and paying the registration fee for each child. This helps us with budgeting for next year and hiring for the fall.

• There are always lots of items to go in the school newsletter throughout the year. Please send in submissions by noon on Monday to Dr. Winkeler, dwinkeler@stgab.org, and Mrs. McEnery, tmcenery@stgab.org, before the Wednesday publication. Graphics should be a jpeg or png - not a PDF.

Peace and Joy -

Tonya McEnery

Principal

St. Gabriel the Archangel

Dan Winkeler

Assistant Principal

St. Gabriel the Archangel

To the families of St. Gabriel the Archangel,

It is with great sadness to announce that I will not be returning next school year as Assistant Principal. I am looking forward to spending more time together with my family. I have enjoyed my time getting to know you all over the last 4 school years. It has been an honor and a blessing to be a part of the St. Gabriel school community. I will miss you all.

Sincerely,

Dr. Dan Winkeler

St. Gabriel Families,

Thank you for your continued support and love these last three years. I have enjoyed getting to know you and your children which makes saying good-bye so difficult. I am looking forward to my next adventure in Charleston, SC.

Love,

Gigi Mahfood

Dear St. Gabriel Families -

This will be my last year at St. Gabriel the Archangel. I am looking forward to retirement and moving to Kansas. I have appreciated the opportunity to be a part of the St. Gabriel community.

Sincerely,

Bryan Jones

We would like to recognize the accomplishment of the 7th grade girls who received their “Mary, the First Disciple” Award at the Cathedral Basilica on Sunday, February 5, 2023. The program enabled them to “Proclaim the greatness of the Lord”, and to develop new insights into their faith, grow in their appreciation of Mary and in understanding of themselves. Congratulations on achieving this goal!

Pictured below are: Emma Brown, Amelia Garavaglia, Colleen Ryan, and Mary Wolf.

A letter was sent to all the sixth grade girls and parents with information about the program. Mrs. Boyer will lead the girls who are interested in earning the Mary the First Disciple award. Please contact her if your daughter would like to work on this. The program will start in March, please contact her soon, so she can order enough books. fboyer@stgab.org or fransfour@sbcglobal.net

The registration fee is $100 per child. The registration fee will increase to $150 per child after March 27.

Parent will need to log into TeacherEase to find this.

If you are a current family with an incoming student, you must pre-register that student and wait for approval before registering your current student(s).

Please note the requirements for admission to an elementary school from the Archdiocese:

Requirements for Admission (4102.1)

Catholic schools are unique expressions of the Church’s effort to achieve the purposes of Catholic education among the young. Academic excellence and a disciplined formation will always be the desired goals of the Catholic school. Central to the school, however, is the understanding of the Catholic tradition and growth in faith. Parents wishing to enroll their children in a Catholic school must understand and agree to the purposes of Catholic schools.

Admission to a Catholic elementary school at any point of entry is contingent upon:

1. the family’s desire for this special kind of school where Catholic teaching and moral formation are an integral part of the school; (Non-Catholic families must give the same assurance that they understand the religious requirements and expectations of attending a Catholic school). Evidence of any family’s desire to be a part of this type of school includes:

a. participation in the spiritual and social life of the parish or religious congregation;

b. support of the concepts upheld in the Witness Statement

c. agreement to follow the policies and procedures of the school;

d. willingness to cooperate with the teachers and administration in the moral, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and academic development of their children.

2. the child’s fulfillment of the age requirements listed below:

a. for admission to kindergarten, the child should be five years of age before August 1;

b. for admission to first grade, the child should be six years of age before August 1.

The summer program registration is currently open to all St. Gabriel School families. Please read through all the information at the beginning of the form before selecting the days/weeks you are signing up for. Registration will remain open through the end of March at which time I will evaluate signups to determine what weeks are still available and what is full. Sign ups are taken on a first come first serve basis and we have a max of 50 kids each week. If you have signed up and we have reached over our maximum, I will contact you and let you know as soon as possible.

There is a $50 registration fee per family due at the time of registration. This is a non-refundable fee. All other payments will be due 2 weeks prior to the week your children are attending camp. Below is the google link to registration and a faith direct link to pay the registration fee. You may also pay the fee by check payable to St. Gabriel and send to the school office in a marked envelope "Summer Program". All this information can also be found on the school website.

Registration - https://forms.gle/v1UasVmdmnD7g3CL7

Registration Fee Payment - https://forms.ministryforms.net/viewForm.aspx?formId=e77ea66d-32e2-4455-b7c9-07857fff149c

Save The Date! Totus Tuus will return to St Gabriel’s this summer during the week of June 26-30. The day program is for school aged children entering grades 1st-6th from 9 am - 3 pm in the school. There is also an evening program for those entering 7th-12th grade at 7:30 pm in the Gabriel House.

For those who are unfamiliar with Totus Tuus, it is initially a Catholic version of a VBS led by missionary and seminarians from across Missouri. Totus Tuus includes Confessions, Mass, and Adoration as well as learning about the Catholic faith!

This is also an opportunity for high school students to volunteer who are in need of completing service hours.

Please stay tuned for further information and registration! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Faith Kremer at vfaithkremer@gmail.com

ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT TO MAKE YOUR PURCHASE!

The 8th Grade Class of 2023 is selling delicious, frozen, St. Louis Style, 12" pizzas from St. Louis City Pizza, AND an 8th grader will deliver to your door!

* 11 kinds of pizza to choose from!

* Orders must be placed by Wednesday, March 8th.

* Deliveries should be made the week of March 20th.

* For more information and to order or make a donation, use the link or QR Code.

Thank you for supporting the 8th Grade Class of 2023!

Click Here for Pizza Order Link

We have added Wednesday to the list of opportunities to volunteer for recess duty.

In doing so, you will provide opportunities for teachers to take a much needed break. Each session will start with picking up the kids in the cafeteria at 10:50 and will conclude at 12:35. Thank you for donating your time to help our fabulous teachers and staff! There will be 2 teachers and 2 volunteers at each recess.

Protecting God's Children and Safe Environment Training must be complete.

Feel free to bring activities to mix up the fun for the kids:)

School Community: Recess Duty (signupgenius.com)

Contact Mrs. Roell if you have questions: mollyroell@me.com

Here is the link to sign up to be a lunch volunteer for the third trimester Volunteer sign-up

We are looking for interested candidates to consider running for the St. Gabriel Board of Education and would love to have those interested come to one of two informational sessions to find out more! If you can not make the dates and times above or if you have more questions please reach out to:

Kristen Favazza (board member) at: KFavazza@gmail.com

Or
Margaret Lake (board member) at: Margoh28@sbcglobal.net

Dear Parents,

Lent can be such a holy time. It is a time to reflect and change some of the things we would like to work on. The actions on which we focus are-pray, fast, and give alms. I love the litany prayer service on Fasting and Feasting. Here is a link:

https://www.catechist.com/fasting-feasting-prayer-service-lent/

My suggestion is to keep it simple. Pay attention. I was at a meeting the week before Lent started and a prayer was shared that struck me. It was a prayer that I had never heard before and in my mind, I made a note of the author. Two days later in my reading, I came across the author's name, Howard Thurman, and was able to find the prayer online.

Open unto me — light for my darkness.
Open unto me — courage for my fear.
Open unto me — hope for my despair.
Open unto me — peace for my turmoil.
Open unto me — joy for my sorrow.
Open unto me — strength for my weakness.
Open unto me — wisdom for my confusion.
Open unto me — forgiveness for my sins.
Open unto me — love for my hates.
Open unto me — thy Self for my self.

Lord, Lord, open unto me!

CRS Rice Bowls were sent home last week. Here is a link that explains the program and has additional resources:

https://www.crsricebowl.org/about

Tuesday Masses

3/7 4M

3/21 4S

3/28 3H

4/4 3B

Wednesday Masses

3/8 7M

3/22 7D

3/29 7A

4/5 6B

Thursday Masses

3/2 2A

3/9 1M

3/23 Patrick House

3/30 1K

4/7 No School -Holy Thursday

Come pray with us. Please join us whenever you are able! Masses are at 8:00 am in church.

Sacrament Days for 2022-2023 School Year:

8th Grade

Confirmation Retreat Day- April 18th

Confirmation-April 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm

2nd Grade

First Communion Parent Meeting- March 30 at 6:30 pm in church

First Communion-May 7, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Peace and blessings!

Deborah DaLay

Coordinator of Religious Education

Dates below are subject to change and additional days will be added as we continue to plan for the upcoming year.

March 10- Planning and Collaboration- NOON DISMISSAL

March 13-17- Spring break- NO SCHOOL

March 25- Auction

March 30 - First Communion Parent Meeting, 6:30 pm, Church

April 6- Holy Thursday- NO SCHOOL

April 7- Good Friday- NO SCHOOL

April 10- Easter Monday- NO SCHOOL

April 18- 8th Grade Confirmation Day of Reflection

April 20- Confirmation 7pm at SGA

April 21 - 8th Grade Off School Due to Confirmation

April 21- Planning and Collaboration- NOON DISMISSAL

May 7- First Communion, 2:00 pm, Church

May 8- 2nd grade Off School Due to Confirmation

May 9- Vocal concert (Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd, 5th grades, and Honor Choir), Art Show

May 10- Band concert, Art Show

May 12- Field Day- NOON DISMISSAL

May 23- 8th Grade Graduation (6:00pm)

May 26- Last day of school- NOON DISMISSAL

SGYG is open to all high school teens. We meet on Wednesday evenings from 7:30-9pm (Doors Open at 7:15pm) in the Gabriel House Chapel. No sign-up necessary! High schoolers can attend on a regular basis or drop-in as it fits their schedule!

SGYG & 8th Grade led Silhouette Stations of the Cross: April 5th

*We are in need of 5 more teens to help lead Stations. Please contact Sarah if you're interested.

LUKE 18 | 8th Grade Retreat: May 5th - 7th

*Registration is OPEN! - Current 8th graders need to use the QR Code in the flyer or visit the parish website. Current High Schoolers who want to prepare and lead the retreat need to contact Sarah.

Steubenville STL Mid-America 2023: July 7th - 9th

*Registration is closed, but extra spots were purchased and are available on a first-come basis. Contact Sarah asap if you want to claim one of these spots!

Stay Connected with SGYG

Follow us on Instagram @stgabesyg

Like our Facebook Group: St. Gabriel Youth Group (SGYG)

Join the Flocknote Group: Youth Ministry

Visit the Youth Group page on the parish website

Contact our Youth Minister: Sarah Henderson - hendersons@stgabrielstl.org

Dear Parishioners:

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5: 16-18)

Priests, deacons and many religious communities vow a commitment to reciting the Liturgy of the Hours, or Divine Office. From ancient times, the Church has had a custom of fulfilling the Lord's call to pray without ceasing.

The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the Psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season or the feast being celebrated, according to DivineOffice.org.

The Psalms in particular express the prayer of the Son to the Father, according to Father Nicholas Smith, director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship. "We can see Christ in the Psalms, and we're in union with Christ when we pray these Psalms," he said.

Another way of praying that can be fruitful for many is Lectio Divina", a Latin term, which means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk called Guigo, described the stages which he saw as essential to the practice of Lectio Divina.

The first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer but the passage should not be too long.

The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

The third stage is oratio (response) where we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

The final stage of Lectio Divina is contemplatio (rest) where we let go not only of our own ideas, plans and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still small voice. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within. We must take what we read in the Word of God into our daily lives.

I pray that you are having a blessed and Holy Lent!

Lenten Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

There are limited spots available for this hybrid campus tour & mini class observations for current 7th grade boys and their parent(s)/guardian(s), as they begin their consideration of high schools. The visits last approximately 1 1/2 hours and are offered most mornings between March 20, 2023 - May 5th, 2023.

You and your families can learn more about the visit and they can register via the following link - https://www.sluh.org/admissions/visit/inside-sluh-visit.

7th Grade Shadow Visits will begin in March. We have dates available that students can register for. All visits are for a half day and include lunch.

Movie Night is on March 3rd. DB will host its first Movie Night for Middle School Students. Doors open at 6:00pm and event ends at 9:30pm.

Mouse Races is on March 4th for parents. Great way for parents to have fun and meet DB parents.

Summer Camp registration is now open.