Joyfully Embracing Our Mission
21 March 2019 | St. Clare School Family News
Joyfully Embracing Our Mission
We, the St. Clare School Community, joyfully embrace the Gospel mission entrusted by Christ to His Church.
Believing that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, we cherish and celebrate our diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Dear St. Clare School Families,
"Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will." ~ Psalm 40
Committing to the statement above is both challenging and goes against societal expectations. Doing someone else's will can imply servitude and giving up control. Yet, it is the what we are asked to do as Catholic Christians: to walk humbly with our God.
The prophets, the apostles, Joseph, Mary and all our models of faith were asked to "leave behind their nets" and "follow"... that we are "sheep" needing a shepherd seems preposterous to a people conditioned and taught to be independent, strong, and self-sufficient. However, consider how much more strength in spirit, courage, trust and hope one would need to give up something to follow God's will. It isn't the weak of heart that are able to make this commitment. It takes the ability to trust, to let go and to know that we have been asked because we have something to give.
GRATITUDE FOR A RESPONSIVE COMMUNITY
Many thanks to especially to Miss Cherell, our DSJTech IT Team (Mr. Jeremy and Mr. Doug), Mr. Goetz, Mr. Loera, our faculty and staff and parents (Ryan Mendoza, Juan Otero, Araceli Rojas, Jossie Mora-Gonzalez and Freddie Hau--I apologize if I missed someone!) who responded to a last minute request to set up and take down the Lower Church and classrooms to host a Drexel Collaboration and principals meeting this past Thursday. We so appreciate your willing spirit and for walking with us and turning a challenge into an opportunity to work as a community. Thank you!
LENTEN RECONCILIATION SERVICE | Tuesday, March 26 starting at 9 A.M. in the church
Join our students in Grades 2-8 in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. "Create a new heart" to prepare for the Easter season during lent. Being models of faith is an important component of our children's formation. Consider how much your presence at these faith experiences enriches the life of our community. I hope to see many of you there!
"COME AS YOU ARE" FACULTY RETREAT EXPLORED THE BEAUTY IN OUR BROKENNESS
Our faculty and staff spent all of Friday in the beautiful grove at Fernwood Cellars on Redwood Retreat Road in Gilroy. In Japanese culture, the art of kintsugi is taking broken pottery and repairing it with gold, silver or platinum, essentially giving the once broken piece even more value. Fr. Tad presided the noontime mass under the redwoods, sitting on tree stumps, with the creek and the chirping birds serving as our soundtrack (and a special appearance from banana slugs!). We are grateful to have had the opportunity to connect more deeply with one another, to refocus and renew, so that we may have the energy, the courage and the strength to follow God's will. Here is a blog post from Debbie McDaniel on Finding Beauty in Brokenness: Christ Came to Heal and Redeem that served as in inspiration for our retreat.
KINDNESS, COMPASSION AND BEING SILVER BOXES
Please take a moment to have a conversation with your young ones about treating self and one another with kindness and compassion. Encourage using positive words that uplift and affirm versus making one another feel unwanted, isolated and unworthy through words and actions. Role play and practice these at home so that it becomes a habit everywhere, all the time. Have conversations that competitiveness in sports, in friendships, in academics and in having material things should never take the place of sportsmanship and being a good human being.
STUDENTS LEARN AND BEGIN PRACTICE IN MINDFULNESS AND BEING PRESENT
On Monday, our students learned the practice of meditation: to be present with our breaths so that we can be more intentional with right thoughts, right words and right actions. Nazanine Bain, yoga practitioner, shared and practiced the importance of deep and productive breathing and the importance of creating a quiet place wherever and whenever we need it. Our teachers have now begun this practice with their students, especially after coming in from recess and lunch and before embarking on a lesson or assessment that might induce anxiety. Ask your K-8 students about what they learned and speak with them about how this can help them become better humans.
BISHOP McGRATH TO ATTEND VIP DAY, APRIL 4
The Most Rev. Patrick J. McGrath, Bishop of San Jose will be attending our VIP DAY celebrations on April 4! We are happy to host him and our VIPs (grandparents and special friends) to celebrate the wealth of wisdom that they contribute.
Below, you will find more information about VIP Day on April 4 which includes a link to a Google form to let us know the names of the special friends (grands, aunties or uncles, or close family friends) who will be visiting with your child. Our day will begin with a mass at 9 A.M. with our students from Grades 1-8. Following the mass, our parents are preparing a reception in the hall where VIPs will be entertained by the TK and K students.
The reception will conclude at 10:45 A.M. and our student ambassadors/student council will escort our VIPs to classrooms for some fun activities. There will be three sessions (30 minutes including transitions) allowing VIPs to visit with up to three of their students. Students may be signed out after the second and third sessions so that they can enjoy lunch with their VIPs. We are happy to be able to afford this time to thank and honor our wise and faithful living guardian angels!
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES: Opportunities to Build Community
In order to keep the cost to educate a child accessible, families are asked to commit 30 hours of direct service to the school through events and fundraisers (15 hours for single parent households). At this point in the year, you should be close to completing these hours. If not, there are still plenty of opportunities to fulfill this obligation: yard duty, Saturday Work Day, classroom help/art helper, field trip driver/chaperone, library chaperone, VIP Day, field day (June 5), eWaste fundraiser (April 13), Sock Hop, faculty birthday lunch and of course the Festival at St. Clare.
In addition, each family with one child commits to 6 hours (approximately 2 shifts) of direct service to the Festival (multiple children families commit to 9 hours -- approximately 3 shifts). Once you have completed your Festival hours commitment, extra hours served can be applied towards your school service hours. There is a great need for people to set up on Thursday and clean up on Sunday. We hope you will take advantage of these wonderful community building opportunities that happen to fulfill your service commitment.
Below, you will find instructions on how to find out your service commitment balance. Please let me or the office know if you have any questions.
WE HAVE OPENINGS!
Please continue to spread the good news that is St. Clare. We still have openings in all grades especially for incoming TK-5 and we have a few middle school openings (we will take wait lists). We are hopeful that we will open the 2019-20 school year with healthy enrollment numbers to sustain our rich, vibrant and diverse community of learners.
I've included a few more links below on what constitutes bullying, a link to the EdRev2019 expo and a link to the Henry Nouwen society (a great resource for parents to grow more deeply in our relationship with God). Another great resource is an app called "Centering Prayer" to help in our contemplative practice to be more present and to allow the Spirit to move within us.
Humbly in your service,
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
The Sock Hop is Next Friday TK-6th grade!
Come join us on Friday, March 29th in the St.Clare Parish Hall, 6:00-8:30pm for some 50's fun.
$5 admission includes a choice of pizza or corndog & salad or carrots. Grease themed youth t-shirts also available $10 pre-order and will be delivered the week of the Sock Hop. More details provided in the flyer and also at the store http://stclareschool.3dcartstores.com.
Deadline for t-shirt orders is Friday, March 15th.
Volunteering opportunities also available, please Log in to ServingStClare - Volunteer
V.I.P. DAY
V.I.P. Day is in two short weeks. This is a day that celebrates those people in our students lives who have supported them in their spiritual, emotional or academia growth.
We will begin the day by celebrating Mass at 9:00 in St. Clare Church. Mass will be followed by a reception for our guests next door in St. Clare Hall. There delicious food, great conversation and some student entertainment. From here our guests will be escorted to their classrooms to meet up with their student hosts who will have planned activities to share.To invite your V.I.P. just forward them this link, https://goo.gl/forms/fY8UJVEVesPHu2iT2, where they will complete their RSVP card.
If you have any questions you may call or email the school office at (408) 246-6797 or office@stclareschool.org.
SATURDAY WORK DAY KNOCK DOWN
We would like to shout a big THANK YOU, to the families that joined us for the March monthly work day last Saturday (Our Fearless Leader - Clyde Wilson; Vera Symons, Stephen Delgross, Maureen Auld, Marissa Silva, Michael Adams, Angel Vo, Ducle Garcia-Tovar, John Fowler, Julian Goslinski, Shin Tsang and Jorge Chavez). You came and you conquered everything on the list and much more. We now have a TV and phone in the faculty/staff room, the chain link fencing on the railing outside the boys bathroom has been removed, the classroom desks and chairs have been sanitized and the dreaded supply closet looks amazing. Again, thank you for your support. You Rock!!
We would also like to thank Miss Valerye. She will be taking over as the school liaison for Saturday Workdays.You Rock, too!!
Service Hours Inventory: Check Your Balance!
Gospel Reflection for March 24, 2019
In today’s gospel, we read the parable of the fruitless fig tree. In Luke’s gospel the fig tree is symbolic. It stands for everyone who hears Jesus’ call for repentance. The fruitlessness signifies the life lived out of touch with God. The way to fruitfulness is turning the heart to its source, the One who is. What message does this gospel have for us? We are being invited to respond to God, and he reveals things to us throughout our Lenten journey to help us respond as we should. We are asked to repent and believe the Good News. Are we? Are be becoming fruitful in our words and in our actions? Are we “life giving” to others?
UPCOMING EVENTS
- 3/22 Teacher In Service Day | No School
- 3/29 Sock Hop
- 4/1 - 4/5 STAR assessment week
- 4/4 VIP DAY | Mass at 9 A.M.
- 4/7 First Communion interviews begins
- 4/8 - 4/12 Science Fair
- 4/13 eWaste Fundraiser and Saturday Work Day
- 4/19 - 4/26 Easter Break | No School
- 4/30 Lexi Baldwin: Principal for a Day; Student Council Rally
- 5/1 May Crowning, 8:15 A.M. on Lexington Street, at the Grotto
St. Clare School
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with all the alumni you know so that we can continue to tell the story of St. Clare!
Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: drexel.dsj.org/stclareschool
Location: 725 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408-246-6797