Joyfully Embracing Our Mission
St. Clare School Family News | 27 October 2019
Come! Live in the Light!
You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
~ Matthew 5:13-16
Dear St. Clare School Families,
Our students have been focusing on the importance of right thought, right words and right action this past week and into next week. Thanks to the leadership of Jen Pham, Michele Cuni and Leana Dalton, our Student Council, Student Ambassadors and Girl Scouts have been working hard to keep the daily themes of Red Ribbon Week at the forefront of our practice. (See themes for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Leana's post.)
This past week, we also introduced the focus habit of being welcoming, particularly greeting one another. It’s heartwarming to see a community that takes the time to greet each other and to invite one another. When we are intentional about this habit, it helps us recognize that each person is important and each person has worth.
Next week, we will focus on being courteous. When we practice courtesy, it lets those around us know that we value them. We say please and thank you. We open the door or hold the door open for those who might need it and we let others pass or take the turn, signaling that we see them and we offer them a place before we take our own. Being courteous shows humility and courtesy lifts up others by being polite and kind.
We continue to work on being Silver Boxes by practicing our weekly habits.
We thank our Halloween Party and Dance Committees for their work in planning this coming Thursday’s festivities. Our students look forward to the celebration of the season of harvest. Please join our school for the Halloween Parade on Washington Street starting at 10 A.M.
We would also like to thank Gaby Espinosa and her team who will be setting up an altar to honor our dearly departed. As we have done in the past, a Book of Remembrance will be available for whom our school will offer prayers in the month of November.
More importantly, please join us for All Saints Day Mass at 9 A.M., a Holy Day of Obligation. Please send me a message if you are a trained Extraordinary Minister of Communion and would like to serve on this day.
The 9 A.M. Sunday, November 10th Mass is a designated St. Clare Family Mass. You will see a separate post asking for school families to sign up to lector, serve as ushers and bring up the gifts. We hope you will come forward to represent our school’s engagement in the life of the parish!
We are also hoping that some families will come forward to help organize the Christmas Day Family Mass. Please send me a message if you are interested in leading. Thank you for your initiative!
I offer this reflection from the Henri J.M. Nouwen Society as a way to connect this Sunday’s gospel of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to our daily experience:
THE BURDEN OF JUDGMENT
Imagine having no need at all to judge anybody. Imagine having no desire to decide whether someone is a good or bad person. Imagine being completely free from the feeling that you have to make up your mind about the morality of someone’s behavior. Imagine that you could say: “I am judging no one!”
Imagine — wouldn’t that be true inner freedom? . . . But we can only let go of the heavy burden of judging others when we don’t mind carrying the light burden of being judged!
Can we free ourselves from the need to judge others? Yes, by claiming for ourselves the truth that we are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God. As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to the need to put people and things in their “right” place. To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, we can let go of our need to judge. “Do not judge and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get” (Matthew 7:1). ~ Henri J.M. Nouwen Society
I hope this week brings you abundant blessings and joy as we celebrate the Holy Saints in Heaven and every day saints here on earth.
Joyfully in Christ,
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
Our Book of Remembrance
Every day during the month of November, St. Clare School students pray for deceased family and friends at morning assembly. Each St. Clare family is asked to submit names of people who have died on the Please pray and remember…sheet that your child will be bringing home. These names will be placed in our Book of Remembrance which remains on our prayer table for the entire school year.
Please return the sheet with the names of your loved ones to Sister Ann Marie.
Gospel Reflection | 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
HALLOWEEN EVENTS AND PARTICULARS
On Thursday, October 31, students may come to school already dressed in Halloween Costume. We are asking families to refrain from parking on Washington Street as we will be using the street for our parade.
The day will start as usual with morning assembly. After the morning assembly, volunteers will set up on the elementary blacktop for the party and the hall for the middle school dance. Students will have recess indoors at 9:45 A.M. At 10 A.M., Student Council will lead students to take their positions on Washington Street for the Halloween Parade. Siblings who are not (yet) St. Clare students are welcome to join in the parade. The party and dance will begin immediately following the parade.
Halloween Costume Guidelines
Come to school in costume with make-up and hair all ready. There will be no time to put them on or get ready at school.
Costumes must be modest, appropriate for a TK-8 Catholic school.
Costumes must not be scary for 4 year olds!
Students may wear masks BUT no gory or scary masks, please!
Students may wear face paint or make up BUT no bloody or grotesque paint or make up, please!
Students MAY NOT have any sort of weapon as part of the costume.
If you are still not sure if the costume is appropriate, it probably isn’t.
Math Club Visits Ford Motor Company
Gratitude for the tasty and beautiful luncheon hosted by the 8th grade. Mahalo!
tk and k enjoy a surprise pumpkin patch and halloween themed party!
Support LLEC - Order Jamba Juice Today!
UPCOMING EVENTS and THE SCHOOL CALENDAR
The 2019-2020 St. Clare School is now available for public consumption. You will find the calendar in a number of places. They all sync to the Google Public Calendar for our school, so you can trust that these calendars are current.
To find the calendar in our school website, go to https://www.stclare.school/ and scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Calendar" icon (third from the left) or visit https://www.stclare.school/calendar.
To find the calendar in ParentSquare, go to your HOME page and look for "EVENTS" and click on "view all".
To subscribe and add the St. Clare School Public Calendar to your calendar app, use this link:
- 10/23-10/31 Red Ribbon Week
- 10/31 Happy Halloween | Parade at 10am | Party (TK-5) & Dance (6-8)
- 11/1 Fall Open House | 4:00pm - 6:00pm
- 11/9 Saturday Work Day | 9:00am - 12:00pm
- 11/11 Veterans Day NO SCHOOL
- 11/12 - 11/15 6th Grade Science Camp
- 11/14 Free Dress | Allowed Only For Those With Passes
- 11/19 Free Dress | Allowed Only For Those With Passes
- 11/21 VIP Day | Bishop Cantu Presides At Mass
- 11/22 Wear Spirit Shirts With Uniform Bottoms
St. Clare School
Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 725 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797