Dear Fabulous Families -

• Don't forget to send in items for Our Lady's Inn tomorrow. Items are listed below under Mrs. DaLay's section of the newsletter. Students will bring these items to Mass. Thank you for your generosity.

• Thank you to everyone who came to the Donut Sunday! We had such great feedback and look forward to scheduling another one. Many of you got to visit some updated spaces including the learning resource room, the meeting room, the STEM lab, and staff lounge. Thanks to everyone who donated Amazon gift cards before the holidays to help purchase items like silverware, microwaves, and coffee bar necessities for the lounge! (See lounge photo below.)

• Auction Update from Last year - The Learning Resource Room (Mrs. Favazza's Room) was a focus for the Fund-a-Need last year. I know it seems like it has taken forever for that space to be completed. To get the most bang for the buck, so to speak, we were able to use EANS 2 money to purchase the new furniture instead of taking it from the FAN fund. However, this meant going through the federal application process, having it get denied, resubmitting it, getting approval, ordering, and then waiting for supply chain issues to work themselves out. Ultimately we were able to save thousands of dollars this way with remaining funds focused on completing the broadcast studio and moving forward with the play area in the front. Your patience has been appreciated and the updated room looks amazing! (See below.)

• We look forward to sharing more information about Catholic Schools Week in the newsletter next week! Stay tuned!

• Prospective families should call the office at 314-353-1229 and make an appointment for a tour on Sunday, January 29. Registration opens soon!

Peace and Joy -

Tonya McEnery

Principal

St. Gabriel the Archangel

Dan Winkeler

Assistant Principal

St. Gabriel the Archangel

We have extended signups because we are adding on a New Class Option,

See Below!

Signups will now end Tuesday, January 24th at 11:55 pm. There are only a few openings left for Bricks 4 Kidz, Chess Club, and Mad Science.

We are adding The Spanish Club House (on Tuesday's) to our enrichment program. There are only 12 open spots and we have to fill all spots in order for us to have the program. If we do not fill all 12 spots we will have to cancel the class. Cost per child for the 10 week program is $125. Class description below:

The Spanish Clubhouse (K-5th grades) - This enrichment program is delivered through creative experiences. Our teacher, Krishna Ruz Gallegos, is a native Spanish speaker and will incorporate Spanish through games, music, stories, and art, making each class memorable and enriching for the children. Students will learn essential basic vocabulary, such as greetings and how to introduce themselves. We will learn words to describe ourselves and emotions to say how we feel. In each class we will say what date it is to incorporate numbers, days of the week, and time. We will learn verbs and actions such as dancing, running, jumping, etc. this will be carried out through movement and games. The program builds on what children already know to deepen and complement what they have learned. The Spanish Clubhouse seeks to build a space full of learning through fun and adventure.

You can sign up for classes through this link....

https://forms.ministryforms.net/viewForm.aspx?formId=cf9fb96b-9e00-4539-979e-e036a0a383de

These classes are separate from Aftercare and are an additional cost. You can sign up your child for one class per day. Once the maximum number is met, you can be placed on a waitlist. If open spots become available, they will be filled in the order received from the waitlist. We do have times where kids have to drop out of a class, so please be sure to sign up to be waitlisted if your child really wants to take a class.

Jill Farace

Program Director

archangel@stgab.org

Looking for coaches for the spring Girls on the Run session which will start March 6th and run through May 13th with a 5K in Forest Park (no running experience necessary). Girls on the Run targets 3rd - 5th grade girls and focuses on building confidence and other important life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons and physical activity.

Contact Erin Backes at Erin.d.backes@gmail.com for more information or to sign up to coach.

Calling All Babysitters!

The St. Gabe's Young Families Group is working on updating our parish babysitter list. This is a great way to get your teens name and contact information out to a number of families in our parish community. For more information, please contact Faith Kremer at stgabesyoungfamilies@gmail.com

Many of us have been told to calm down and take some deep breaths. Perhaps those of us who are parents or educators have even given this advice from time to time. In sixth grade social emotional learning class, we are learning about the science behind using deep breaths as a tool to help us calm down and think clearly as a part of our emotion management unit.

When our brain receives an emotion, it triggers our amygdala, or "feelings alarm." This feelings alarm can trigger many unpleasant feelings such as panic, rage, anxiety, fear and more. Taking those deep breaths allows us to turn on that thinking part of the brain, or our cortex. Our amygdala only knows to react, whereas our cortex helps us think and make choices of how to deal with that emotion.

7th/8th Grade Social Studies - We are still working to find a teacher for this position. Your referrals of any qualified job applicant are welcome, also.

We have added Wednesday to the list of opportunities to volunteer for recess duty.

In doing so, you will provide opportunities for teachers to take a much needed break. Each session will start with picking up the kids in the cafeteria at 10:50 and will conclude at 12:35. Thank you for donating your time to help our fabulous teachers and staff! There will be 2 teachers and 2 volunteers at each recess.

Protecting God's Children and Safe Environment Training must be complete.

Feel free to bring activities to mix up the fun for the kids:)

School Community: Recess Duty (signupgenius.com)

Contact Mrs. Roell if you have questions: mollyroell@me.com

Dear Parents,

Thanks to all the 2nd grade family and friends that joined us to celebrate the 2nd grade Baptism Mass yesterday! Your presence to celebrate Mass and our students is much appreciated.

Today marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This week of prayer was begun in 1908 and is celebrated every year on January 18th-25th. “Do Good. Seek Justice.” Isaiah 1:17 We pray for all Christian denominations that we will all work together for unity and be witnesses together of God’s love.

Jude House is organizing a collection for our Lady’s Inn to support mothers and babies that are homeless. Items are to be brought to school tomorrow, January 19th to be collected during Mass. The items collected will go to the OLI home near Saint Anthony's on

Meramec Street. There will be a speaker from OLI at Mass to receive the items. Here is a link to their ministry.

https://ourladysinn.org/impact/residential-2/

These items are needed:

• Dreft fabric softener

• Bleach

• Dryer sheets

• Twin Mattress protectors (about $30 range)

• Bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths

• Paper plates

• Paper napkins

• Plasticware utensils

• 32 gallon trash bags

• Zip lock bags (quart and gallon size)

• Canned goods

• Cleaning supplies

Thanks for all your support!

Tuesday Masses

1/24 2A

1/31 1M

2/7 1K Baptism Mass

2/14 3B

Wednesday Masses

1/25 8R

2/1 8S

2/8 5W

2/15 8M

Thursday Masses

1/19 Jude House- Collection for Our Lady's Inn

1/24 3H

2/2 Augustine House

2/9 4S

2/16 2O

Come pray with us. Please join us whenever you are able! Masses are at 8:00 am in church.

Sacrament Days for 2022-2023 School Year:

8th Grade

Confirmation Retreat Day- April 18th

Confirmation-April 20, 2023 at 7:00 pm

2nd Grade

First Communion Parent Meeting- March 30 at 6:30 pm in church

First Communion-May 7, 2023 at 2:00 pm

Peace and blessings!

Deborah DaLay

Coordinator of Religious Education

Click here to learn more about the St Gabe’s Giving Crew: https://forms.gle/qqBoU1vXv5GGfxku8

Dates below are subject to change and additional days will be added as we continue to plan for the upcoming year.

February 3- NOON DISMISSAL

February 10- End of 2nd Trimester

February 16 - Mid-Year Conferences - NOON DISMISSAL

February 17- Planning and Collaboration changed to Mid-Year Conferences - NOON DISMISSAL

February 20- Presidents' Day- NO SCHOOL

February 25 - Follies

February 26- Archdiocesan Band Festival (Concert Band)

March 10- Planning and Collaboration- NOON DISMISSAL

March 13-17- Spring break- NO SCHOOL

March 25- Auction

March 30 - First Communion Parent Meeting, 6:30 pm, Church

April 6- Holy Thursday- NO SCHOOL

April 7- Good Friday- NO SCHOOL

April 10- Easter Monday- NO SCHOOL

April 18- 8th Grade Confirmation Day of Reflection

April 20- Confirmation 7pm at SGA

April 21- Planning and Collaboration- NOON DISMISSAL

May 7, First Communion, 2:00 pm, Church

May 9- Vocal concert (Kindergarten, 1st, 3rd grades, and Honor Choir)

May 10- Band concert

May 12- Field Day- NOON DISMISSAL

May 23- 8th Grade Graduation (6:00pm)

May 26- Last day of school- NOON DISMISSAL

SGYG is open to all high school teens of the parish as well as their non-parishioner friends. We meet on Wednesday evenings from 7:30-8:45pm (Doors Open at 7:15pm; Optional Socializing until 9pm) in the Gabriel House Chapel. No sign-up necessary! High schoolers can attend on a regular basis or drop-in as it fits their schedule!

Please keep our high schoolers and 8th graders in your prayers this Friday, Jan. 20th as some of them attend the Generation Life event at Chaifetz Arena. This event replaces the annual trip to Washington, DC for the March for Life. Teens will participate in Mass, listen to talks from dynamic speakers, interact with local advocacy agencies, and much more!

Steubenville STL Mid-America is a high energy youth conference in which teens are invited to encounter Jesus Christ through dynamic speakers, engaging music, the Sacraments, small group discussions, and fellowship with other teens. Conferences are an outreach of Franciscan University in partnership with the St. Louis Archdiocesan Office of Youth Ministry. Conferences take place each summer on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, MO.

*SGYG will attend July7th -9th

*Current 8th graders through high school seniors can attend!

*The cost is $210 per teen, but we do not want this to be a financial burden on any family. Please contact youth minister, Sarah Henderson or pastor, Msgr. Shamleffer for scholarship opportunities.

*Participation and attendance in SGYG activities is required in order to attend Steubenville 2023. *For more information and to register, please visit the Youth Group page on the parish website and click on the "Steubenville 2023 Registration & Attendance Requirements" link.

*Registration will close on February 13th.

8th Grade Retreat: May 5th - 7th

*More information and registration to come!

Follow us on Instagram @stgabesyg

Like our Facebook Group: St. Gabriel Youth Group (SGYG)

Join the Flocknote Group: Youth Ministry

Visit the Youth Group link on the parish website

Contact our Youth Minister: Sarah Henderson - hendersons@stgabrielstl.org