Joyfully Embracing Our Mission
St. Clare School Family News | 27 March 2022
Journeying in Hope and Love: Building a Culture of Accompaniment
The Road to Emmaus
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us]
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”
Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
~ Luke 24:28-32, 35
Dear St. Clare School Families,
We celebrated a variety of prayer experiences last Friday beginning with our first graders leading morning assembly with prayers of petition and vocal prayer. Immediately following morning assembly, our Student Council led us in a Living Rosary to pray for peace and the resolution of conflict in Ukraine. Later in the morning, the student body celebrated the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord at Mass. Finally, students were able to receive God’s grace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Thursday for students in grades 6-8, Friday for students in grades 3-5, and Saturday for students in grade 2). It is important for our students to experience the many ways we demonstrate our faith within our community.
Another highlight of the week are the Synodal listening sessions with our middle schoolers, our faculty and staff, and our parents. The many wonderful insights that will be shared with Bishop Cantú represent our community well. Thank you for your part in it.
ALL ARE WELCOME: A Day of Service in Collaboration with Catholic Charities | April 3rd
I am grateful to Saint Clare School’s Mission and Catholic Identity Committee for coordinating our second One Love Day of Service. This year we are partnering with Catholic Charities, focusing on accompanying the stranger. The day will begin with the 10:30 Family Mass, followed by a simple Solidarity Meal, and “Passages”, a Refugee Simulation for all age groups (appropriate for younger students who attend with adults). Here is the entire description of the simulation: https://www.unhcr.org/473dc1772.pdf.
We look forward to sharing this meaningful day which will culminate in a call to action to help our brothers and sisters who are forced to flee from their homes due to political or cultural unrest. We thank Catholic Charities for helping us learn more about the plight of refugees. See the original post for more information: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/11808889
KINDLY RSVP to attend BY FRIDAY, APRIL 1st using this form:
https://forms.gle/TS2qHtMP8MXEDs2o7
JUNIOR HIGH CELEBRATED THE END OF THE TRIMESTER WITH A SPRING SOCIAL
Our seventh and eighth graders gathered for a spring social, the first time in a couple of years! We are grateful to their parents and teachers who put together a fun time for all.
CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2022!
We are so very proud of our eighth graders for being accepted to Catholic high schools in the Diocese of San Jose. Twenty-five students turned in a total of 37 applications. Of those who applied to Presentation High School and Archbishop Mitty High School, eight students have been granted admission with honors or distinction. We are grateful to Mr. Goetz for facilitating the recommendation process and to the middle school and Ms. McKinnon for their collective assistance.
A COMMUNITY OF LIFELONG LEARNERS
We continue to engage in improving our instructional practice by gathering with other educators in the diocese and with one another. Each Wednesday, our faculty and staff collaborate to exchange ideas, learn best practices from one another, reflect on areas of growth, and celebrate areas of strength.
As a faculty and staff, we reviewed our Mission Statement and refined it to reflect our current reality. The revised Mission Statement was presented to the School Advisory Committee and will be widely published shortly. More recently, we received mandated reporter training, religion resource training, engaged in the synodal listening session, and shared strategies to support our learners. This Wednesday, we will continue to build our capacity to serve the needs of all students, with the help of an occupational therapist.
We can’t know everything, but we are working hard to build our capacity because we know the impact we have on our learners. We thank you for your continued partnership in the formation of your children.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT:
Fridays when school is in session, Weekly Mass at 10:45A
A Day of Service: Accompanying the Stranger (in partnership with Catholic Charities), April 3.
Holy Thursday Prayer Service, April 14 at 10:45A (led by the Class of 2022)
31st Annual Jog-a-Thon, April 27 (details to come)
May Crowning, May 1st at Morning Assembly
VIP Day, May 6 (reception, activities, mass with Bishop Cantú) 9-Noon
Multicultural Dinner, May 6 (5-8P)
Graduation Events, week of May 30
Bridging Ceremony, week of June 6 at Morning Assembly
End of the Year Prayer Service, June 9 at 10:45A
End of the Year BBQ, June 9 at 11:30A
SERVING ST. CLARE REQUIREMENTS
As part of each family’s financial commitment to St. Clare School, all are required to complete AND record 30 service hours per year (15 hours for single-parent households). By this time, you should have recorded around 24 hours of service (9-10 hours for single-parent households). Ordinarily, hours left unfulfilled by April 30 of each year will be billed via FACTS by May 20 at a rate of $30 per hour. We are extending the deadline for hours to be served and recorded by June 10, 2022. Unfulfilled hours will be billed via FACTS by June 25 at the rate of $30 per hour.
Take the opportunity now to record hours you’ve served and take advantage of the available sign ups for upcoming events to complete your commitment. Contact room reps, PTG officers and Ms. McKinnon to find out how you can fulfill service hours.
If you are interested in volunteering for any of these events, we advise that you get your fingerprinting requirements completed along with other DSJ volunteer requirements. Please contact Ms. McKinnon if you have any questions (teresea.mckinnon@dsj.org OR stclare-office@dsj.org).
Thank you to those who have already fulfilled their service hours requirements. Families who have fulfilled their 2021-22 commitment may begin to count service hours towards next year’s requirement starting May 1, 2022.
2022-23 SCHOOL CALENDAR...coming soon!
First day of school: August 17, 2022
Last day of school: June 8, 2023
We continue to pray for peace in Ukraine.
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
31st Annual Jog-a-Thon Sponsors
Bronze Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Support your favorite teachers and students!
7th and 8th Grade Get A Much Deserved Middle School Dance
Middle School Honors Ceremony. Congrats to you all!
PARENT SERVICE HOURS
If not, do not despair! Volunteer opportunities will be coming more frequently as the school year comes to an end . There will be plenty of opportunities to ensure all families complete their service hours. Use the link below to the ParentSquare post outlining how to log your service hours.
Parents As Partners
Our goal is that 100% of our families participate!
We thank the 30 families who have donated. Although Most of our gifts have come from Friends of St. Clare. No matter the amount that your family is able to contribute, your engagement in our efforts to raise funds to complete this project signifies your partnership and commitment. I thank you in advance to consider a donation as soon as possible!
Donations are tax deductible and eligible for matching. Please send a check in any amount to the School ℅ CleanAir4StClare or visit https://www.stclare.school/cleanair4stclare to make a donation.
2021-22 School Calendar
Below, you will find the Calendar Grid for the school year. Some find this difficult to navigate, so I’ve created the Calendar Highlights document which I hope will make it a bit easier for you to consume.
Some changes since the end of the school year: we added September 20th as a NO SCHOOL DAY and our School Year will end a day earlier. The original calendar had us attending 183 days of school, knowing that we had three days over the required 180 days. We are keeping the 181 days in the event we have to close for an emergency due to poor air quality.
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
DATES TO REMEMBER
Apr. 3 | A Day of Service
Apr.5 | PTG Meeting | 6:30P
Apr. 14 | Holy Thursday Prayer Service | 10:45A
Apr. 15 | Good Friday | No School
Apr. 18th - 22nd | Easter Break | No School
Apr. 27th | 31st Annual Jog-a-Thon,
May. 2nd | May Crowning
May. 6th | Multicultural Dinner, (5-8P)
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