Dear Parents:
This coming Saturday, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The title of Immaculate Conception recognizes Mary’s privilege of coming into the world free from sin. Through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, every human can be freed from sin at Baptism. Through that same power, Mary was always free of sin, even from the very first moment of her life. Please join the student body at Friday’s 8:30am Mass as we celebrate this special privilege given to Mary.
Thank you for your presence and support at the Family Mass last Sunday. A special thank you to the second and seventh graders and their teachers Mrs. Heikel and Mrs. Girlich for putting together such a beautiful and reverent service. It was nice to see all our First Communion and Confirmation candidates as they continue their faith filled journey towards Christ. Thank you also for your generous support of the second collection of $526.55, which goes to support the school and its programs.
Next Wednesday, December 12th, third through eighth graders will participate in a reconciliation service as we do each year during the Advent Season. That will begin in the Church at 9:30.
A big thank you to Gina Sheridan and Ivette Roca who successfully co-chaired Santa’s Secret Shop this year. The children had a wonderful time shopping for all those on their list. Thank you also to all who volunteered their time to set up and help the children with their Christmas shopping last week.
We hope you all enjoyed the activities of this past weekend. Thanks to the Parents’ Club, and the Alumni Association and all who worked so hard on the Pancake Breakfast and children’s activities. A big thanks especially to Linda Shah and Anarose Schelstrate, who chaired this event. The pancake breakfast was enjoyed by all and a special thank you to the following 7th and 8th grade dads who showed up to cook/serve breakfast: Eddie Alvarado (Natasha, 7th), John Coffey (Sean, 8th), Jon Gamboa (Sydney, 8th), John Kavanagh (Julie, 8th), and Tommy Li (Agnes, 7th).
PARENTS' CLUB MEETING: Please consider joining us tomorrow night for our monthly Parents’ Club meeting. All are invited to Carroll Hall for that meeting beginning at 7:00pm. Newcomers are always welcome! Remember, this is your club. Fundraising and Friend-raising is only possible with participation from all our families.
PEANUT BUTTER FRIDAY: As a reminder, we are collecting peanut butter for the St. Vincent de Paul society. If we reach our goal of 300 jars of peanut butter by this Friday, December 7th, the student body will enjoy free dress on Wednesday, December 19th. Please send a jar (or two!), any kind, any size with your child by Friday, December 7th.
ONE WARM COAT: During these cold days, we are reminded to count our blessing that we have enough to eat, warm coats, and cozy homes. Unfortunately, many others in our community are not so lucky. As we mentioned last week, St. Thomas More is once again participating in the One Warm Coat program. Please look through your closets and see if you can locate a warm coat or jacket that is in good condition, clean and ready to be worn by someone less fortunate. Please drop off your donations anytime between now and Monday, December 17th to the school office.
CHRISTMAS PROGRAM: Next Thursday evening, December 13th, our students will present their Christmas Program and will sing a selection of favorite Christmas Carols. All students will be involved in this production. Students should wear dressy clothes unless notified otherwise by their teacher. No t-shirts or sweats please. Please review the clothing suggestions you are receiving today. The front door of the school will open at 6:15 pm to allow students to enter their classrooms. Students are asked to line up on the sidewalk in an orderly manner until the doors open. Families with preschoolers will enter through the side gate and drop their children in their classroom. All students need to arrive by 6:30 pm at the latest. The yard will be open for parking at 5:30 pm. This year, we will present the program in the church. We ask that everyone respects the 5:30pm Mass that evening and remain outside the church until Mass is over. School staff will be stationed at the church doors and will let you know when you may enter. Parents may line up at any of the three entrances. We will begin the program promptly at 7:00 pm. We look forward to your attendance for this faith-filled and fun-filled program. Everyone is welcome!
CIOPPINO 2013: Ask anyone who has been to St. Thomas More School's Annual Cioppino Dinner and Silent Auction and they will tell you it is more than a meal – it is a night to remember! Save the Date: Saturday, February 23rd, 2013. The evening begins at 5:00 pm with appetizers and a no-host bar. While you're enjoying North Beach's finest focaccia (pizza bread), our kitchen crew's famous meatballs, prawns or one of our other mouth-watering appetizers, you have the chance to bid on some of our wonderful auction prizes, buy a key to our treasure chest, purchase raffle tickets, or a balloon with an instant winning prize number inside. Or simply mingle with friends while you wait for dinner: succulent salad, delectable antipasto, heavenly garlic bread and the best Cioppino to be had anywhere. Don't like fish? Order a chicken entrĂ©e instead. But don't miss this great event. And don't forget to save room for dessert! Complete the evening with dancing. And all this for only $50.00! Babysitting is also available on site! This event is our biggest fund-raiser of the year so check out the enclosed flyer and reserve your tickets now. For more info: Linda Shah at lp1114@aol.com or Anarose Schelstrate at anarose0707@gmail.com. This event, like all events, is only successful with schoolwide participation. We look forward to seeing you there!
PROGRESS REPORTS: Progress Reports are going home today. Any student, third grade and up, in danger of, or currently receiving a grade lower than a C in any subject area is receiving such a notice. There are two copies of each notice. Please sign and return the pink copy so that we know you have received the notice. The top parent’s copy is for your records.
EXTENDED CARE BILLING: Bills for November are being sent home today. Please pay by the due date, Friday, December 14th to avoid the $25 late fee.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FEE: This fee, as described in the financial policies is in support of the construction and maintenance of the classroom additions and the gymnasium. The fee is set at $350 per family. As a reminder, the Capital Improvement fee must be paid in full by next Friday, December 14th.
UNIFORM CHANGES/ADDITIONS: We are thinking about making some minor changes/additions to our school uniform for the 2013-2014 school year and would love some input from our families. One change we are considering is that the junior high (6th, 7th and 8th grade) will wear a navy blue V-neck knit sweater with the school’s new logo on the right chest rather than the current button up cardigan. Another suggestion is to have all students wear a P.E. uniform on Wednesdays. This will consist of a crew neck or ¼ zip sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a t-shirt all with the school’s name or logo. Please use this link to complete a short (2 questions) survey about these changes and let us know what you think. The survey will be available online until Monday, December 17th.
STUDENT SAFETY: Students checking in to the after school extended care program must do so at dismissal or directly after their after school activity (sport practice, detention, homework club, etc.). Once a student leaves the campus, they are no longer covered under the school’s insurance. For the safety of your child, if at anytime you believe you may be running late for pick-up, just call the school office and ask to have your child placed into extended care.
Additionally, please report any strange people you see hanging around the school or church. Recently someone vandalized a number of the church’s pews by making scratches on them. For the safety of all the students, we do not allow them to wait up by the church steps past 3:10pm.
HURRICANE SANDY: In response to inquiries about how to help people in our Catholic education community affected by Hurricane Sandy, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) has developed a partnership with Catholic Charities USA to most efficiently get help to our colleagues. Together, they have established the 2012 Hurricane Sandy Catholic Education Fund. Please check out their website to see how you can participate and help.
Today was our final school tour. Thank you to all who joined us for our school tours over the past month. The next opportunity to tour the school will be during Catholic Schools Week, which runs from January 28 th-February 3rd. Parents of students who are siblings of current students or who attend Utopia Preschool will need to complete an application form for our 2013-2014 kindergarten class.
Christmas has come early to St. Thomas More School – we are happy to announce that we have received a $5,100 grant from the Olympic Club Foundation to be used for new soccer uniforms and volleyballs. More good news – from our participation in the Asian Heritage Street Celebration Raffle Fundraiser, we raised $256 and received a certificate of honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for our participation. Thank you to the Olympic Club Foundation and to all who supported our Asian Heritage Street Celebration Raffle Fundraiser!
Last but not least - Christmas vacation starts at 12:15/12:30pm on Wednesday, December 19th. There is no extended care that day, so plan ahead.
Sincerely,
Marie Fitzpatrick
Principal
Principal
