Joyfully Embracing Our Mission
St. Clare School Family News | 7 December 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,
Thank you for BEING PATIENT this past week with rain schedules and challenges! We hope this weekend gave you and your children an opportunity to slow down, breathe, catch up on sleep, rejuvenate with soup, liquids, vitamin C and zinc to fend off an onset of cold and flu symptoms. Please remember that children have to be fever free for 24 hours before you can send them back to school. Please also keep them home if they are experiencing gastrointestinal issues (gastroenteritis; diarrhea; vomiting). Especially during the rainy season when we are “living” in close quarters, these viruses can be very contagious to all including our teachers and staff. Thank you for being mindful and making sure our community remains healthy.
If you have some time to volunteer, I’m certain that our teachers would appreciate your help in sanitizing classroom surfaces. Donations of tissues and sanitizing wipes are greatly appreciated. Please contact your teachers directly.
FORMING OUR FAITH AND PREPARING FOR ADVENT
Thank you to Ryan Mendoza for connecting us with Fr. Alex Llanera, SJ who led our faculty and staff in an Advent recollection on Thursday. This transformative experience prepared us for more learning at the California Catholic Ministry Conference. Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, our keynote speaker reminded us that as Christians, we are called to listen to others’ stories and act on behalf of those who can’t advocate for themselves. NETWORK, the organization she begun, lobbies for social justice causes on Capitol Hill. She is a strong believer that lasting change is not possible without policy changes. To learn more about her organization, please visit https://networklobby.org/. Our teachers attended a variety of sessions not just to help us become better teachers but to really learn more about our Catholic faith and traditions. After all, how can we be charged with forming the faith of children if we do not, ourselves, deepen our own learning?
CHRISTMAS PROGRAM | Thursday, Dec. 19, 6 P.M.
Please save the date and plan on attending this year’s Christmas program our teachers, Mrs. Dempsey and Ms. Kim are busy planning for an evening highlighting our Christmas celebrations including honoring the Holy Family during this very special time. The program begins promptly at 6 P.M. immediately followed by a reception in the Hall. Friday, Dec. 20 is a minimum day (dismissal at 12:30) with a late start at 9 A.M. Extended Care (CKZ) will be available at 7 A.M. to families who need care. CKZ will close promptly at 1 P.M. on Friday, Dec. 20 so that our staff can begin the Christmas celebrations. School will be closed from Dec. 20 at 1 P.M. until Monday, January 6. (PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE IN DATE BACK TO SCHOOL.)
A special request to anyone who has the capacity to record our Christmas program for those family members who are ill or unable to join us for the evening (think of Marco, Macda and others). If you have equipment than can be set up in the back of the church that can pick up the audio and work with low light, please contact Juli Gagnon (mom of Olivia in 2nd and Sofia in 3rd). Let the School Office know of your interest and we will connect you with Juli for details.
NEW TO ST. CLARE: Katy Kerns and Juan Otero are organizing an opportunity for families to get their “Photo with Santa” prior to the Christmas Program. Proceeds will go towards Advent Giving drives. Be on the lookout for a Sign Up for a 10-minute session along with details of this holiday giving opportunity.
ADVENT GIVING
Please support our Advent Giving drives: St. Vincent de Paul canned food drive and the St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Giving Tree; collection of crew socks for the unhoused. Our teachers are playing “Santa” to three families from the Learning and Loving Education Center by checking things off their Christmas list. If you’d like to help, please let the School Office know.
CHANGE IN TEACHER IN-SERVICE DAY
As mentioned in my recent post, the January 6 teacher in-service day has been rescheduled to January 21. Because of this, we all return to school on January 6. The students will have a 4-day weekend over Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (January 18-21). Those who need child care for January 21 will be asked to RSVP for child care in January (stay tuned for a separate post). We thank you for your patience with this change.
Tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 8 is the second Sunday of the month. Please join us at the 9 A.M. Family Mass so that we can celebrate with the parish community as a St. Clare School family. Looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow.
It is also the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Mary, even before she was born, has been chosen by God to be the Mother of Christ, our Savior. What an awesome responsibility given to a thirteen year-old girl. Mary, conceived without sin. Pray for us.
On Friday, December 13, we will honor Our Lady of Guadalupe at our school mass at 9 A.M. Sr. Ann Marie and Sr. Bette will renew their vows as we bear witness to their continuous commitment to serving as Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We are so fortunate to have them continue this ministry at St. Clare! Please join us for mass with the 8th graders leading in liturgical ministry.
FOCUS HABIT THIS WEEK: CULTIVATE KINDNESS
Together, let's work on our focus habit this week, "CULTIVATE KINDNESS". There are moments when we might get frustrated about an issue. Let's check ourselves in the way we "demand" attention for our issue or the language we use when we believe we are right. Kindness is an ethical characteristic and virtue that calls us to be considerate towards others, especially in taking care of how we make others feel with our words, our actions, our reactions and our interactions. Our children depend on us to model kindness for them. We can't help but be kind when we practice empathy/when we walk in the other person's shoes. I invite you to join me this week to Cultivate Kindness.
Many blessings to you and your family this week. Let's keep Marco and those who are struggling with physical, emotional, financial and relational challenges in our prayers each day. May this second week of Advent bring us peace.
I offer this reflection for an Advent Attitude from Henri Nouwen:
In the beginner’s mind there is no thought ‘I have attained something.’ All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. The beginner’s mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.”
I like these words. Also very important for Advent. Open, free, flexible, receptive. That is the attitude that makes us ready. I realize that in Zen you are not expecting anything or anyone. Still, it seems that all the things Shunryu Suzuki tells his students are important for Christians to hear and realize. Isn’t a beginner’s mind, a mind without the thought “I have attained something,” a mind opened for grace? Isn’t that the mind of children who marvel at all they see? Isn’t that the mind not filled with worries for tomorrow but alert and awake in the present moment?
May your days be filled with wonder and awe and full of grace.
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
December 8, 2019 – Second Sunday of Advent
SAVE THE DATE! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! SCS GOLF TOURNAMENT!
The Holidays Are Coming Stop By The Office And Pick Up Scrip!
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:
- 12/12 Free Dress for those with Passes | Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe
- 12/13 Mass 9 A.M. honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe | Sr. Bette and Sr. Ann Marie renew vows
- 12/16-18 Christmas Themed Tops with Uniform Bottoms (P.E. Bottoms on MW)
- 12/19 Free Dress for those with Passes
- 12/20 Christmas Themed Free Dress for All
- 1/6 St. Clare School Classes Resume
St. Clare School
Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 725 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797