St. Catherine of Siena Parish

THE FALCON

Another Catholic Schools Week has come and gone. It's been a whirlwind of activity and fun. Hopefully your child has come home with a fun story or two. Our first ever "St. Jude Has Talent" event turned out to be an entertaining and thrilling event. It was all in fun, but with academic carryover behind the scenes. I think our expectations were greatly exceeded, so maybe it will become something of a tradition. There have been some interesting moments in the classroom as well. For example, many of our science students have been dissecting some fascinating specimens, ranging from owl pellets (kind of like cat hairballs), to trout, to pig hearts. These are just some of the things that will be remembered about CSW 2010. This is going to be one of those newsletters where I hope to remember everything that needs to be shared with you. There are a lot of things coming up, so let's get started...

THE LATEST

• The "You Can Lend a Hand" Burger King coupon booklet sale is now underway. Many thanks to the families who have already submitted their funds. Don't forget to remind people that there are really nice coupons for appetizers, salads, and kids meals at Papa Vino's and Chili's. You can get an $8-10 appetizer or salad free with the cost of one booklet, even if you never eat at BK. This is a selling point that is easy to overlook if you are not fond of the fast food.

I have sellers for 8 and 10 AM Masses this weekend. I'm still looking for a 4:30 family. I'd be open to families willing to sell next weekend too.

• The Notre Dame JACC All Schools' Mass takes place next Tuesday. We'll leave around 9 and return by 12:30 or so to eat a slightly late lunch. Permission forms went out Tuesday and Wednesday. This year we are asking $2 to help pay for the busses. Parents are always welcome to meet us at the JACC and attend with us. We are asking students to wear their khaki pants and green "St. Jude" polos, so that we present a nice uniform appearance. It looks like they have us on main floor seating again this year, which should give our students good view of the new bishop. (Note that some students have an additional permission form to travel over there early so they can practice for music or other ministries. They also have a practice Monday night from 6-8 at St. Joe Grade School. Those students should have received this memo yesterday.)

• IMPORTANT NOTICE. Financial aid applications for 2010-2011 are now available at www.factstuitionaid.com. We will begin opening next year's registration in a few more weeks, but we decided to make this available now. Here is what we will be expecting of families who request (and would eventually receive) aid for next year:

1. You must be an active, registered, and participating member of the parish or non-parish family in good standing (parish families always receive first priority, though we do our best to support all).

2. You must be paid up to date with this year's tuition or have a plan for catching up worked out with the business office.

3. You must be willing to apply for free/reduced lunch in the fall (it used to be encouraged; it will now be required).

4. Families with 3 or more children total spread among any of the Catholic schools in our diocese must apply and verify your tax data by May 1 in order to receive consideration by the Large Family Fund. If you do not apply to LFF, you will not receive additional consideration from the parish.

• The Christmas DVD is now ready for pre-ordering. Given the facilities and circumstances we had to work with, it turned out quite well. We subtitled the speaking parts since they were occasionally inaudible. It contains credits acknowledging all the students who participated. It is well done. We are offering this as a service to those who would want to take advantage of it. Here is the order form.

• You should have received information about this year's Young Authors' Conference at Marian High School (on March 27). This is a very good quality event for grades K-6. Our school's participation has not been strong, which is a shame. Let's get involved this year and give your children a chance to learn from real authors and to interact and share ideas with their peers from other Catholic schools.

• You will also notice that we sent home information about an upcoming H1N1 clinic on Friday 2/19. This came much, much later than I hoped, but they county finally was able to get us onto their calendar. It is open to students, but also adult faculty, staff, and even volunteers. Although the first big wave of H1N1 peaked about the end of October, experts do expect another round or two, possibly worse than the first one. If your child has not yet received this vaccination (or had the illness), it is worth catching up now while supplies are plentiful. Return the permission forms by Friday 2/12 or ask for another copy in the office.

• I was told that some non-St. Jude persons (maybe high school age or so) were on or near school property after school last week and harassing one or two of our students who were walking around the neighborhood after school. Please do not hesitate to report persons or situations that appear problematic. Remember that Hay and Jackson also have many students who live and walk in this neighborhood, for the most part all of them very friendly. We do not prohibit the public from crossing our grounds, but we do discourage it during school hours and definitely if they cannot respect our property or persons. Students who do walk to or from school should remember some basic safety tips:

1. Make sure the school has record that your student is allowed to walk or bike (we have a form for this).

2. Always walk with someone else. The more the better.

3. Carry a cell phone if possible. Here is a time that I fully support it.

4. Do not engage or confront troublesome persons. (Not only for personal safety, but also on the flip side, we have been called out in the past when our students have acted unkindly toward other children.) Just get away safely and report it to the school office as soon as possible.

5. If absolutely necessary, call the police.

When I confront strangers on the grounds (as an adult in authority), I usually first ask if they need help or try to find out what they are up to. If they are loitering or acting problematic, I ask them to leave. As a last resort, I will call the police. We are situated in a wonderful neighborhood, in which many of you have chosen to live. Nonetheless, basic common sense and safety need to apply.

• Updated spiritwear and polo orders are now available. Check the quick links. Deadline is 2/8. I have informed students that we will begin issuing reminders about their dress slacks (or lack thereof). We are working on adding khaki and navy pant styles to the school uniform order so that you will have a readily available source of affordable styles (we always have catalogues and even used uniforms in the office too).