A Grateful Heart
Saint Clare School Family News | 25 February 2023
A Grateful Heart by Jazmine Misola, Class of 2024
BEGIN EACH DAY WITH A GRATEFUL HEART
I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,
praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now.
And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
~From Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Ch. 1:1-5, 9-11
Dear Saint Clare School Families,
I hope that this week provided you time to breathe a little more deeply, spend time doing the things that matter most surrounded by the people you love, and afforded you the perspective to begin the Lenten journey. Even though we weren’t at school on Ash Wednesday, I hope that your family was able to make it to church on that day. Remembering that the season of Lent is an opportunity for self-examination and reconciliation, we give alms, pray, and fast.
Pope Francis asked, “Do you want to fast this Lent?” He suggests the following:
Fast from hurting words and say kind words.
Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
Fast from anger and be filled with patience.
Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
Fast from worries and trust in God.
Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.
Challenging though they may be, the outcome will surely bring about a greater sense of belonging to a community built on compassion and understanding. I pray that by practicing the above, we may continue this year’s theme of “A Grateful Heart”.
I encourage you to read this Lent with Saint Clare blog from Franciscan Media: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/lent-with-st-clare-saturday-after-ash-wednesday/ It offers some great insight into the life of our patron saint and what we can learn from her example.
RETURN TO SCHOOL
Your youngest Saint Clare student should have brought home a CRS Rice Bowl, a Lenten Family Calendar, a Lenten Family Reflection booklet, and a couple of COVID testing kits.
Please use the testing kits before returning to school safely. A reminder to please keep students at home if they have a fever or exhibit symptoms of a communicable disease.
Before returning to school, please remind students to practice how to cough or sneeze on their sleeve, wash and sanitize hands often, and how to wear a mask (if choosing to do so) properly.
In addition, this week forecasts colder temperatures and precipitation. Please send students to school in appropriate attire to keep them warm and dry.
Thank you, as always, for being mindful of the safety and health of our students and teachers.
END OF THE TRIMESTER: Friday, March 3
The week of February 27 is the last week of the second trimester. Please encourage students to do their very best for a strong finish. On March 1, our third Star assessment window opens. Stay tuned for information from your teachers regarding when the assessments will be scheduled. Please support your students by not scheduling time away from school in the next couple of weeks, by making sure they eat a healthy breakfast, stays hydrated, and gets a good night's sleep every night.
2023-2024 RE-ENROLLMENT AND TUITION AGREEMENT
The latest update to our enrollment saga is as follows. Discovering that the system was not automatically creating a billing account for some families, these families were able to complete enrollment without being prompted to pay a Tuition Deposit. (About 40 families were able to do so with no issues. About 100 were not prompted to pay the Tuition Deposit.)
To rectify this situation, we will have to manually create Billing Accounts for the families who were not charged a Tuition Deposit. Once these Billing Accounts are created, an invoice will be created to pay the Tuition Deposit ($1,150 for most families). These families will be notified to pay the invoice within ten days. We hope to be able to complete this manual invoicing this week. Please stay tuned.
RE: Tuition Agreements - We also discovered that the system was not applying the sibling and Catholic discounts to agreements. At this time, the implementation team is looking to fix the Tuition Agreements so that it applies the discounts for siblings and those families who identify as actively practicing Catholics.
RE: the Catholic discount - Families will be asked to upload any two of the three documents below to attest active participation in the life of their parish of attendance:
1. Diocese of San Jose ADA (2021-2022 Annual Diocesan Appeal) Contribution Letter (PDF)
2. Tax-Letter (2021-2022 PDF) or PDF showing consistent weekly online contributions towards parish collections (We Share)
3. Letter (PDF) from Pastor attesting current and active parish participation
YOUR TASK/NEXT STEPS:
If you haven’t already done so (your student(s) is/are identified as PENDING, v. ENROLLED), complete the enrollment process. If the system does not prompt you to pay the Tuition Deposit, send me (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org) AND Mrs. Rizzo (cherell.rizzo@dsj.org) an email.
If your student(s) is/are identified as ENROLLED, and you have paid the Tuition Deposit of $1,150 per student, there is no further action required. Await the Tuition Agreement to schedule tuition payments.
If your student(s) is/are identified as ENROLLED, but you have partially paid the Tuition Deposit (you paid the registration fee of $450, or made a partial payment), a billing account and invoice will be created for your balance ($1,150, or amount arranged with Mrs. Rizzo AND Mrs. Mantecon). Await notification that your balance needs to be paid.
Once again, I apologize for the confusion. Thankfully, we believe we have a solution, but we require your patience as we complete the manual overrides necessary to give you the accurate discounts and charges to avoid further discrepancies. However, please know that we appreciate you letting us know of your experience so that we can make necessary adjustments along the way. For now, kindly email your questions and requests for assistance to me and Mrs. Rizzo.
YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS, PLEASE
There are a number of upcoming dates where you will need to make other arrangements for care for your students. Please know that these dates are NOT NEW. They were communicated via the calendar grid since Spring of 2022, and have appeared in every newsletter since.
DATES TO NOTE
March 10 - NO SCHOOL/NO CKZ Diocesan Teacher Collaboration Day
March 15 - FULL DAY, DISMISSAL AT 3P due to WCEA Visit
This is a Wednesday, which is usually a minimum day.
We are switching the minimum day to Friday so that the Visiting Committee has time to visit classrooms to gather evidence for their Report of Findings to affirm our school program.
March 17 - MINIMUM DAY, DISMISSAL AT 12:30P due to WCEA Visit
This is a Friday, when we usually dismiss at 3P.
We are dismissing at 12:30P so that the Visiting Committee can present the highlights of the Report of Finding with the Faculty, Staff, and Administration by 2P. After which, our hard working crew will gather to celebrate as a community focused on continuous improvement for the benefit of our students.
Continue to read ParentSquare posts from various entities regarding upcoming events.
Thank you for your continued support.
UPCOMING EVENTS | OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT:
Join us for our Weekly School Masses on Fridays at 10:45 A.M.
PTG Meetings are on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30P. RSVP to the original post on ParentSquare.
ANNUAL GIVING/ANNUAL FUND. Here are the ways you can support Saint Clare: https://www.stclare.school/supportus
March 15-17, 2023: WCEA Visit. REMEMBER: minimum day switched from Wednesday to Friday!
Check out the School Calendar on Google for upcoming events (Search: “EVENT”)
May 1, 2023: 2nd Annual Golf Tournament | Boulder Ridge Golf Club | SCHOOL IS IN SESSION FOR STUDENTS!
I’ve added some newer Parent Education links below. Please check them out. Also, Ms. McKinnon and the teachers have been coordinating news from each classroom that is included in this newsletter. I hope you have been enjoying these features. Thanks to Ms. McKinnon and the teachers! Stay tuned for more exciting classroom goings-on!
This week, Ms. Valerye will be sharing information on how you can sign your children up for summer camp. Please reach out to her if you have any questions, or if you are interested in volunteering, know someone who would like to work at camp, or inquire about any facet of the program: valerye.moore@dsj.org.
As always, if you feel there is something missing, please reach out to me (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org) or to the office staff (stclare-info@dsj.org).
With a grateful heart,
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
FEATURING: OUR FOURTH GRADE HAPPENINGS
The fourth graders spent the whole month of January preparing for the California Mission projects. This is a classic 4th grade project that details the 21 Missions that were founded in California over the course of the late 1700s. Students learn about how and why the missions were founded, daily life at the Mission and important events that impacted their mission. Students worked hard on the following components of their projects:
- A three-paragraph essay that was written in class, where students researched and compiled facts about their assigned mission
- A visual model of their choice, most students built a traditional mission model, but a few students built their missions on Minecraft!
- A speech about their mission
They learned a lot and more importantly had a great time showing off their final products!
Need Uniforms?
We are also accepting gently used uniforms. When donating, please note, we do not accept ripped, torn, heavily stained, or faded clothing; accepting clothing you would give to your loved ones. Please bring CLEAN gently used uniforms to the office.
IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE
Scroll down for the calendar grid and the links to the public calendar
- March 3: End of the Trimester
- March 9: Sock Hop TK-6 | 6:00p-8:00P
- March 10: Faculty In-Service | NO SCHOOL, NO CKZ
- March 15-17: WCEA Visit
- March 15: FULL DAY | 3P Dismissal
- March 17: MINIMUM DAY | 12:30P Dismissal
- March 20-March 24: Scholastic Book Fair
- March 22: Ice Cream Social | 3:00P-5:30P
2022-23 School Calendar
A BIG Thank You to this Year's Jog-a-thon Sponsors
Attendance Impacts Learning
Below, you will find the Calendar Grid for the school year. It is a snapshot so you can plan for child care and work around the calendar to plan trips, vacations, and appointments.
Please remember that this GRID is a STATIC version of the calendar. For a more accurate and up-to-date version, please see the options below.
Other options to view the calendar include a Google calendar synched to ParentSquare, or subscribing to the St. Clare School Public Calendar below:
Google Public Calendar
You are invited to subscribe to the St. Clare School *PUBLIC* Google Calendar which is also synched to ParentSquare.
PUBLIC URL TO ACCESS FROM A WEB BROWSER
PUBLIC ADDRESS IN iCAL TO ACCESS FROM OTHER APPS
OUR MISSION
We, the Saint Clare School Community,
joyfully embody the Gospel mission entrusted by Christ to His Church.
Made in the image and likeness of God,
our community values our diversity,
embracing all backgrounds and cultures.
With a rigorous curriculum and student-centered instruction,
we, together with parents as primary educators of their children,
form learners with strong academic and spiritual foundations
to become moral and ethical servant leaders.
SCHOOLWIDE LEARNING EXPECTATIONS (SLEs) | Graduation Outcomes
A ST. CLARE SCHOOL GRADUATE practices
Habits of the Mind
Through Inquiry and Curiosity
Through Resilience and Resourcefulness
Through Creativity and Innovation
Habits of the Heart
Through Kindness and Respect
Through Empathy and Compassion
Through Gratitude and Humility
Habits of the Spirit
Through Stewardship and Servant Leadership
Through Accompaniment and Inclusivity
Through the example and teachings of Christ Jesus
School Leadership
Finance Committee Chairperson: Lea Lind
PTG President: Katy Kerns
If you are interested in a leadership role, please reach out to Mrs. Mantecon (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org).
SAC Meetings are held once a month via Zoom and open only to SAC members and invited guests.
PTG Meetings are held once a month via Zoom and open to all
Finance Committee meetings are held quarterly, with occasional special meeting times surrounding finance deadlines, and are open only to Finance Committee members and invited guests.
Parent Resource Library
Our Beloved St. Clare
Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com
St. Clare School
Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 750 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797
Facebook: facebook.com/stclareschoolsantaclara