The Defender
December 9, 2022
Important Upcoming Dates
- December 14th 3rd and 4th Grade Christmas Program 2:45 PM in Church
- December 14th 3rd and 4th Grade Christmas Program 7:00 PM in Church
- December 16th 8:15 AM All School Mass
- December 16th Dismissal at 3:30 PM
- January 3, 2023 NO SCHOOL Professional Development for Staff
- January 4, 2023 School Resumes
A Message from Mrs. Tate
Dear SMA Families,
It has been a busy and fruitful week at St. Michael. We celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas on Tuesday with wonderful parties! Thank you to the many parent volunteers who made these parties such a success. From games to treats, the kids had a wonderful time. My favorite part was watching the kindergarteners jump around on one foot because they’d put one of their shoes in the hallway for St. Nicholas to fill. Such joy and excitement made our day amazing!
Wednesday, we had our reconciliation service, and all students participated with such reverence and love. Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary with a beautiful all-school Mass in the morning and a reverent all-school Rosary in the afternoon. Fr. Luke’s homily compared the story of Adam and Eve with the story of Mary, the mother of God. He talked about Adam and Eve’s prideful disobedience and lack of trust in God. He pointed out that by taking the fruit, they fell from grace and brought sin and death into the world. They chose to disobey God, and because they felt like they needed the fruit to be happy in life, they took it.
Fr. Luke reminded us that Mary is born into the world as the new Eve, one without sin. We celebrated Mary on this feast day because she said yes to God. She chose to rest in his plan and be completely obedient to God. She invites all of us to follow her path to be renewed in God’s grace in the way of salvation to free us from the pain of sin.
After Mass, I took some quiet time to reflect upon Fr. Luke’s message because he pointed out that we have some things in common with Adam and Eve. I kept thinking about the word disobedience. How many times am I disobedient to God in my life? What does that look like at home? In my job? In my relationships? How is disobedience reflected in our school? How do we disobey the Lord in our lives?
Some of the ways are obvious. Do we disobey the commandments? Do we treat our parents with honor? Do we keep holy the Sabbath day by attending Mass on Sunday? Do we use inappropriate words and/or the Lord’s name in vain? Do we take things that don’t belong to us?
Some of the ways we are disobedient are not so obvious. Do we respect and honor the staff and their expectations at our school? Do we attend Mass on Sunday as a family? Do we honor the uniform code of the school? Do we hold our children and ourselves to the highest behavioral expectations at home, at school, and in our community?
Mary said yes to God. She chose to rest in his plan and be completely obedient to God. Through the humble obedience to God, the fruit of Mary’s womb also walked into a garden. He chose to be the fruit hanging on top of the tree, the cross. Those who eat of his flesh and drink of his blood will be transformed.
Thank you, Fr. Luke, for inspiring us in your homily to walk with Mary, Jesus’ holy Mother, and the Immaculate Conception. Thank you for reminding us to be obedient to Jesus. Thank you for helping us to apply your important message to our lives today.
During this third week of Advent, may you and your family follow the path of Mary’s obedience to be renewed in God’s grace in the way of salvation.
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
May the blessing of Christ be with you all.
Diana Tate
St. Nicholas Day
Deck the Halls Winner!
Donate a favorite book to the Library
Mrs. Cayci receives many requests for specific genres and titles. Sign up for books your family can gift this Christmas. Place your child's name on a sticky note inside the book so that Mrs. Cayci knows who to write on an "I Donated" sticker.
SMA Social needs your photos
As we get further into the school year and begin to have projects and parties at school, snap some pictures and send to VSL so we can post on Facebook and Instagram. We would love to feature more of our kids smiling faces to help tell our SMA story!
Father/Daughter Dance January 13, 2023
Mother/Son Dance January 14, 2023
Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures
Dennis Uniform
SMA School Activities
STA to Perform “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”
Saint Thomas Aquinas High School students will present the one-hour Christmas musical “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” December 16 and 17th at our school Theater. Please join us for this family-friendly musical that will get you in the Christmas spirit! The Friday performance will be at 7pm and the Saturday performances at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets may be purchased at the door or please visit our website at www.stasaints.net
Parish Acivities
Companions in Faith Volunteer Opportunity at OLU School
Have some free time during the school day? We are looking for volunteers to work with teachers and students at Our Lady of Unity School for the 2022-2023 school year. Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to noon or 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. but we can accommodate almost any schedule. The day of the week is flexible and as well as the frequency of your volunteer visits. You must be VIRTUS trained to volunteer but no teaching expertise is needed, just a willing heart to work with students.
If you would like more information or would like to volunteer, please visit http://companionsinfaith.weebly.com/volunteer-at-our-lady-of-unity-school.html or e-mail Ann Ekis at ann.ekis@yahoo.com