Eagle's Edge
St. Therese Family Newsletter - December 16
A Christmas Prayer
A dear friend of mine sent me a gift this week that warmed my heart. It's always nice to know that someone is thinking of you! This gift is a book, Called to Pray: Daily Prayers for Catholic Schools and the prayer for Christmas break is beautiful; I'd like to share it with you.
"Lord Jesus Christ, let this Christmas break be an opportunity for us to grow closer to you as we celebrate your Nativity - your entry into the world as an innocent baby when you came to liberate us from our sinful predispositions. May we never take your Incarnation for granted, and may we continually rejoice at what occurred on that holy night in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. We ask this in your holy name. Amen."
My prayer for our community is that we all have time to rest and reflect on the year that has passed. We have been through so much, and here we are! May God grant us peace in the new year, and gift us with good health and appreciation for all that we have.
I know, I thank God every day for each and every one of you.
God bless you all,
Rosemarie El Youssef
Principal, St. Therese School
Parents' Club Meeting tonight canceled
Photo Release Authorization - REMINDER
Thank you to all who have filled out this form so far!
We would love to include photos of our students on our website, newsletter, and on social media. Please complete the photo release letting us know if this is OK or NOT OK. We will keep these permissions on file for the rest of the school year and renew each fall. Please know that this also includes the YEARBOOK - we need your permission for students to be pictured there aw well.
Click here to complete the Photo Release Authorization Form for 2020-2021 school year.
12/18 2-4:30 Special Drive-thru hosted by SANTA!
25 Days of the Christmas Story
Click here to access the 25 Days of the Christmas Story
Merry Christmas!
How to access your new FACTS account - view grades, attendance, and access important family information!
The password to view the video is: Portal (P must be capitalized)
You will need to use the email address that we have on file for you in order to setup your FACTS Family Portal account.
Many families have a FACTS financial login already for financial aid - this will not work for the family portal. You will need to setup a new login.
The district code is: STS-OR (all caps)
Please give us a call if we can be of assistance!
FACTS Financial Aid - open for applications now!
https://online.factsmgt.com/SignIn.aspx
The sooner you apply the better - don't wait until the last minute! The deadline for applications is March 1, 2021.
Portland Rescue Mission - Food and Coat Drive!
Thank you all for your generous donations so far!
St. Therese School is collaborating with the Portland Rescue Mission to collect new or gently used adult coats, hats, gloves, and scarves for those in need. Please bring your donations to the school anytime during regular office hours, or drop off during our drive-thru supply times on Fridays from 2-4:30.
We are also collecting new or gently used warm blankets for their emergency shelter downtown.
If you'd like to purchase something directly off of their amazon wishlist, you can find the link here:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1HZ51XZ61WW1Q?ref_=wl_share
St. Vincent de Paul
St Vincent de Paul thanks St Therese students, parents, and staff for their generosity during the November food drive. We collected approximately 350 pounds of food. Thank you.
We are still looking for cans of cranberry sauce for the holidays - 60 more cans would round out their holiday food boxes. You can bring them to the office at any time, or hand them to us when you come through the drive-thru on Fridays.
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, please contact Shasta Hatter at the SVdP office 503-253-7566.
Middle School Service: No-Sew Blanket Making Project
Please bring your no-sew blankets to the School by Friday, December 18th so we can deliver them to the Portland Rescue Mission. We are so excited to help the most vulnerable in our community with a warm blanket. Thank you to all who donated, and to all of our amazing students for their work!
Thank you!
EPIC Unlimited - Available to Parents Now!
Epic is a reading app that is free to students and teachers during school hours - if you would like your child to have unlimited access, they are currently offering a promotion to parents. Unfortunately, there isn't a promotion for schools to subscribe at this time.
This is not a requirement, simply an option for you and your young readers.
Catholic Counseling Services
Attached are some holiday tips from NCC in both English and Spanish.
Not sure what to do, or how to do it? Call us and we will be more than happy to help you through the process.
Catholic High Schools - Applications have started!
I'm so proud of all the 8th graders, and we are here to support all of our 8th grade families through this process. My own two eldest boys are at La Salle, so I'm very familiar with all that needs to be done - please reach out to us here at the office if there is anything we can do to support you all.
God bless our Eagles as their journey takes them closer to high school, whatever school they choose!
St. Mary's Girls Night In
A message from Jen Bash at St. Mary's Academy:
The SMA admissions team has been busy working with our student ambassadors to plan a fun virtual event for 8th grade girls in January called Girls Night In. This is purely a social event, and a great opportunity for girls to connect with other 8th graders throughout Portland. They will also have an opportunity to learn more about high school life at SMA. In this unusual year, I believe that providing space for expanding social connections is so important.
We would be grateful if you could share the information below with your 8th grade girl families or include it in your school newsletter before the winter break. I have attached a PDF flyer if that is easier for you to send/include.
Girls Night In with St. Mary’s Academy
Calling all 8th grade girls!
You’re invited to Girls Night In, a fun virtual event with your friends and the SMA student ambassadors on January 6, 4:00 – 5:15pm. Choose what rooms to visit or how you want to connect with others during the event. There will be virtual games (including Among us) along with space to chat with friends online! RSVP early to receive a custom gift box mailed directly to your door with sweet treats to enjoy during the event. The event is open to all 8th grade girls. Click here to RSVP on the St. Mary’s website
Thank you so much for your help supporting St. Mary’s events, and please feel free to contact me for questions or more information.
Blessings for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Jennifer Bash
Director of Admissions
Job Opportunity
If you have a job opportunity you'd like us to share within the community, we are happy to help! Times are tough, and we all need to do our part to help sustain our brothers and sisters. Email Rosemarie at elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org.
BottleDrop Thursdays
We are so grateful for your generosity! With your donations we purchased a Distance Learning T-shirt for each student and staff member to wear on Fridays, prizes for spirit week, and the pumpkins for our St. Therese Pumpkin Patch. We recently purchased an eagle mascot costume and our new mascot will soon be visiting classrooms to learn what it means to be a St. Therese Eagle!
The school budget is tight this year, but there are some things that we believe students shouldn't go without - your can and bottle donations make this happen!
Parents' Club Corner
Tonight's PC Meeting is canceled - Merry Christmas!
Here is the Parents' Club schedule of meetings for the rest of the school year. We will meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6-7pm via Zoom. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 20, and we will be discussing future fundraisers. The zoom link for that meeting will be sent to you via email on Monday, January 18th.
1/20
2/17
3/17
4/21
5/19
Please contact Melanie Reyna at 503-467-1805 or via email at melanie.reyna@usbank.com with any questions.
Please see the attachment below for the meeting minutes from 11/18.
Parent Obligations for the Year - Fair Share and Fundraising
If we all work together, we can make this happen!
Rather than having MANY events with specific obligations, we have one financial obligation for each family.
Dual-parent household - $500 (fundraised or donated)
Single-parent household - $300 (fundraised or donated)
This replaces the auction basket obligation, auction project obligation, jog-a-thon, and raffle.
If we make our goal of $36,000 and everyone pitches in, there is no reason to bill people for what they aren't able to fundraise.
Our goal is to have one BIG fundraiser in the spring - if we can generate enough money to fulfill our obligation to the school our tuition won't go up. Jog-a-thon seems doable with the changing of the metrics and there are MANY ways we can get creative to make it happen.
The key to making this happen is ALL of us working together!
You are not expected to figure out how to fundraise on your own - but come to Parents' Club meetings and share your ideas. We are always better together!
SAFE & READY SCHOOLS UPDATE as of 12/16
Just as a reminder, all Catholic schools are required to follow the metrics and guidelines set forth by the state of Oregon and the Oregon Department of Education. There are no exceptions.
Our count in Multnomah County has decreased slightly since last week, now hovering at 498/100,000. Our two-week case count is down from last week. We need to be at 100 or less in order to reopen for K-6 students. In the image below, this is the yellow section of the chart. We need to be at 50 or less in order to return as a whole school, K-8. In the image below, this is the green section of the chart.
Thank you for your continued patience, and your partnership through this challenging time. The best we can do is keep our community healthy, and do our part to bring the case count down in our county. And keep the prayers coming!
ODE’s Ready Schools Safe Learners Page
We have PHONES!
Thank you for your patience!
School Office Hours - changes in procedure due to COVID-19 safety measures
Effective Monday, August 31st please call ahead if:
* You need to meet with a staff member (Rosemarie, Penny, teachers, etc.)
* You need to pick something up, or drop something off (materials, payment, etc.)
If you are in the parking lot, please just call us from your cell phone, if you can and we will accommodate you if we can safely do so. We will do our very best to meet your needs and appreciate your cooperation as we work to keep our students and staff safe.
St. Therese Catholic School
Email: elyoussefr@stthereseschool.org
Website: stthereseschool.org
Location: 1260 Northeast 132nd Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 253-9400
Facebook: Facebook.com/StThereseSchoolPortlandOrFamilyPage
Twitter: @sttherese_pdx