A Grateful Heart
Saint Clare School Family News | 27 January 2023
A Grateful Heart by Jazmine Misola, Class of 2024
BEGIN EACH DAY WITH A GRATEFUL HEART
I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,
praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now.
And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
~From Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Ch. 1:1-5, 9-11
Dear Saint Clare School Families,
Sunday, January 22 marked the first day of the Lunar New Year, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit (also sometimes known as the Year of the Cat…you’ll need to Google the origins of this shift).
Those whose birthdays fall in the factor of 12 are said to be born in the Year of the Rabbit. Since I’m turning 60 in June, it’s MY year, the Year of the Water Rabbit. In the Chinese zodiac, the Rabbit is the luckiest of the signs, with Water Rabbit particularly representing peaceful and patient energy…just what we all need after a tumultuous start of the calendar year!
Although we won’t have our Lunar New Year celebration until February 8, Google has many ways to greet people during the month of festivities. Here are few:
The traditional Tet greetings are "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới
In Mandarin, the most common way to wish your family and close friends a happy Chinese New Year is "Xīnnián hǎo" (新年好), literally meaning 'New Year Goodness' or 'Good New Year'. Another way to say "Happy Chinese New Year" is "Xīnnián kuàilè" (新年快乐), literally meaning 'New Year happiness'. It is a formal greeting typically used for strangers.
In Cantonese, the common way to say 'Happy Lunar New Year' is "Gong hei fat choy" (恭喜发财), which means 'Wishing you happiness and prosperity.'
Here’s to patience and peace, prosperity, luck, and joy during this year of the Water Rabbit!
TUITION STRUCTURE AND INTENT TO RETURN
Many thanks to the parents and caregivers who attended the information session on the 2023-2024 Tuition Structure. I’ve opened up the form for the 50 or so who have not yet responded. I would like to be able to budget from more than 150 students, so your response is greatly appreciated. At this writing we have a few siblings entering TK and K. We are encouraged by this, but our work continues. Thank you for your participation and for helping others who may not be “present” in ParentSquare to log in. Ms. McKinnon in the office is happy to walk them through logging in. We do have a report that shows us if a user has opened or read the file. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your discernment, please reach out to me (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org). Thank you for your trust and care!
Many thanks, as well, for your patience as we cautiously navigate the transition from FACTS to TADS. Our staff attends weekly meetings to help us through the process. Next up, if you haven’t yet started your re-enrollment would be the Tuition Management module which will ask you to identity your payment plan, schedule your Tuition Deposit payment, and sign the Tuition Agreement packet which includes the Terms and Conditions presented to you last week. Stay tuned!
If you are needing Financial Assistance, we ask that you complete the application ASAP. It will give us time to determine awards. The deadline for this is February 5.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL APPLICANTS
Fourteen of our seventeen 8th graders have completed their application forms and High School Placement Tests/essays/videos. Mr. Goetz and our Middle School Team (including me and Mrs. Kogura) are reviewing the recommendation information that will be sent to the high schools shortly. I am so very proud of this small and mighty group of students who have taken great initiative their last year here at Saint Clare to be intentional in their desire to be role models for our younger students. They have treated each other with respect, regarded their teachers with gratitude and appreciation, and have “shown up”! We can’t wait to hear what the future holds for all seventeen of you. My heart is full knowing you will represent our school as practitioners of Habits of the Mind, Heart, and Spirit wherever you land.
Kudos to their parents and caregivers, and to Mr. Goetz and their teachers for preparing them well! The fourteen will hear about their acceptance in mid-March. For now, they can continue their trajectory towards a successful last year at Saint Clare.
FIELD TRIPS!
We are getting back on track with field trips. As many of you know, our 8th graders went on an offsite retreat by bus in September to Camp St. Francis in La Selva. Our 6th graders went on a one and a half day outdoor camp at Camp Campbell until they were forced to evacuate, albeit safely. (They will be going to CYO Camp in Occidental in October to make up for the opportunity they lost this year.) Today, our 4th graders journeyed back in time, south to Mission San Juan Bautista by bus. On Monday, our Student Council will join the schools in the Diocese of San Jose to represent Saint Clare at the Catholic Schools Week Mass celebrated by Bishop Cantú.
Not only does learning off-site build on the learning in the classroom; it also builds the community within the classroom. Teachers get the opportunity to engage in another facet of their relationship with students, parents and caregivers get an opportunity to see learning through the eyes of the children, and classmates learn new and wondrous ways to interact with peers and other adults. As a teacher, I’ve taken students on field trips to Washington, DC, Gettysburg, Angel Island and Chinatown, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (De Young, Legion), Sacramento, the Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, and of course the pumpkin patches, parks, Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Tech Museum, to service learning opportunities at St. John XXIII Center, the Cathedral Window of Hope, Sacred Heart Community Center, and beach clean ups, among many others.
We are once again allowed to use cars driven by parents on shorter-distanced trips, but we will likely be using a bus on most field trips that are farther away. If you are interested in being a part of these trips as they become scheduled, you may want to complete your volunteer requirements, including some specific requirements that are new diocesan policy. Here’s a link to find out more: VOLUNTEER DRIVER. For all other requirements, please reach out to Ms. McKinnon (teresea.mckinnon@dsj.org).
YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS, PLEASE:
There are a number of upcoming dates where you will need to make other arrangements for care for your students. Please know that these dates are NOT NEW. They were communicated via the calendar grid since Spring of 2022, and have appeared in every newsletter since.
DATES TO NOTE
Feb. 20-24 NO SCHOOL/NO CKZ
March 10 - NO SCHOOL/NO CKZ Faculty In-Service Date: Collaboration on Social Studies Standards Review, Preparing for WCEA Visit
March 15 - FULL DAY, DISMISSAL AT 3P due to WCEA Visit
This is a Wednesday, which is usually a minimum day.
We are switching the minimum day to Friday so that the Visiting Committee has time to visit classrooms to gather evidence for their Report of Findings to affirm our school program.
March 17 - MINIMUM DAY, DISMISSAL AT 12:30P due to WCEA Visit
This is a Friday, when we usually dismiss at 3P.
We are dismissing at 12:30P so that the Visiting Committee can present the highlights of the Report of Finding with the Faculty, Staff, and Administration by 2P. After which, our hard working crew will gather to celebrate as a community focused on continuous improvement for the benefit of our students.
Thank you for your continued support.
UPCOMING EVENTS | OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT:
Join us for our Weekly School Masses on Fridays at 10:45 A.M.
PTG Meetings are on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30P. RSVP to the original post on ParentSquare.
ANNUAL GIVING/ANNUAL FUND. Here are the ways you can support Saint Clare: https://www.stclare.school/supportus
Catholic Schools Week Mass (10:30A), Breakfast@Clare’s (9-11:30) and Open House (staring at 9) on Sunday, January 29.
February 8: Annual Lunar New Year festivities. Thank you to Jen Pham and crew!
Join us at 8:30A in the Hall
February 9: WCEA Pre-Visit. The team will be here from 12:30 until 4.
March 15-17, 202: WCEA Visit.
May 1, 2023: 2nd Annual Golf Tournament | Boulder Ridge Golf Club
As always, if you feel there is something missing, please reach out to me (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org) or to the office staff (stclare-info@dsj.org).
As delegates, Msgr. Fran, Mr. Goetz, members of our parish staff, current and former Saint Clare School parents and I will be representing you to the Diocesan Synod General Assembly to be held at Santa Clara University starting this evening through Sunday evening. We will be divided into 8 groups to tackle 96 proposals to make recommendations to the Bishop as he creates a road map for our diocese. I welcome your prayers and good wishes as we embark on the work of the Holy Spirit.
Looking ahead to Catholic Schools Week, it has been a great privilege for me to walk alongside you these almost five years. As I’ve said many times before, I brag about how compassionate, generous, and kind this community has been in how you have supported me, the teachers, and one another. I know that we ask many things of you. Please know that we do this because your presence and involvement is what has brought many of you here: YOU are the community. Without your participation, we are just another private school. With your participation, we become family.
Many blessings to you and I thank you for the sacrifice you make daily to give your children the opportunity to be formed in the Catholic faith and to exercise habits to prepare them to become compassionate and caring servant leaders.
Happy Catholic Schools Week!
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
Here is a look into First Grade
Students have been working on shapes to enhance their math skills. In OT students are focusing on gross and fine motor skills. In science they experiment to determine if they could find ways to keep their umbrella from flying away/falling down. The umbrella mimicked a tree withstanding heavy winds. Keep up the good work first grade!
Need Uniforms?
We are also accepting gently used uniforms. When donating, please note, we do not accept ripped, torn, heavily stained, or faded clothing; accepting clothing you would give to your loved ones. Please bring CLEAN gently used uniforms to the office.
IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE
Scroll down for the calendar grid and the links to the public calendar
- January 27-29: Diocesan Synod at Santa Clara University
- January 29: Catholic Schools Week Mass at 10:30A; Open House at 9A; Pancake Breakfast after all Masses
- January 29-February 3: Catholic Schools Week
- February 5: Re-Enrollment DUE in TADS | Tuition Assistance Applications DUE in TADS
- February 8: Lunar New Year Celebration | 8:30A-9:30A in the Hall
- March 3: End of the Trimester
- March 9: Sock Hop TK-6 | 5:00p-7:00P
- March 10: Faculty In-Service | NO SCHOOL, NO CKZ
- March 15-17: WCEA Visit
- March 15: FULL DAY | 3P Dismissal
- March 17: MINIMUM DAY | 12:30P Dismissal
- March 20-March 24: Scholastic Book Fair
- March 22: Ice Cream Social | 3:00P-5:30P
2022-23 School Calendar
A BIG Thank You to this Year's Jog-a-thon Sponsors
Attendance Impacts Learning
Early Literacy Resources from Harvard Global Family Research Project
Below, you will find the Calendar Grid for the school year. It is a snapshot so you can plan for child care and work around the calendar to plan trips, vacations, and appointments.
Please remember that this GRID is a STATIC version of the calendar. For a more accurate and up-to-date version, please see the options below.
Other options to view the calendar include a Google calendar synched to ParentSquare, or subscribing to the St. Clare School Public Calendar below:
Google Public Calendar
You are invited to subscribe to the St. Clare School *PUBLIC* Google Calendar which is also synched to ParentSquare.
PUBLIC URL TO ACCESS FROM A WEB BROWSER
PUBLIC ADDRESS IN iCAL TO ACCESS FROM OTHER APPS
OUR MISSION
We, the Saint Clare School Community,
joyfully embody the Gospel mission entrusted by Christ to His Church.
Made in the image and likeness of God,
our community values our diversity,
embracing all backgrounds and cultures.
With a rigorous curriculum and student-centered instruction,
we, together with parents as primary educators of their children,
form learners with strong academic and spiritual foundations
to become moral and ethical servant leaders.
SCHOOLWIDE LEARNING EXPECTATIONS (SLEs) | Graduation Outcomes
A ST. CLARE SCHOOL GRADUATE practices
Habits of the Mind
Through Inquiry and Curiosity
Through Resilience and Resourcefulness
Through Creativity and Innovation
Habits of the Heart
Through Kindness and Respect
Through Empathy and Compassion
Through Gratitude and Humility
Habits of the Spirit
Through Stewardship and Servant Leadership
Through Accompaniment and Inclusivity
Through the example and teachings of Christ Jesus
School Leadership
Finance Committee Chairperson: Lea Lind
PTG President: Katy Kerns
If you are interested in a leadership role, please reach out to Mrs. Mantecon (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org).
SAC Meetings are held once a month via Zoom and open only to SAC members and invited guests.
PTG Meetings are held once a month via Zoom and open to all
Finance Committee meetings are held quarterly, with occasional special meeting times surrounding finance deadlines, and are open only to Finance Committee members and invited guests.
Parent Resource Library
Our Beloved St. Clare
Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com
St. Clare School
Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 750 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797
Facebook: facebook.com/stclareschoolsantaclara