Dear Parents,
I voted for the first time as a citizen of the United States. The entire citizenship process took time; it involved quite a bit of reading and research, listening and trying to understand the impact of issues and initiatives and results and where it all fits with my relationship with God. I was glad to finally be able to fulfill this obligation – as our St. John Mission states, we are called to act for the common good. Pray, vote and pray again!
This weekend, State of the Parish will be presented at all liturgies: Saturday, 5pm; Sunday, 8:30 and 10:30am. All parish families with students attending St. John School are required to attend one presentation. Come celebrate all that our community is, hear about upcoming plans and the accomplishment of goals over the past year.
We celebrated the Feast Days of All Saints and All Souls this week. The students lectored and prayed so beautifully on Tuesday. Fr. Crispin reminded them that as they continue to follow the Schoolwide Learning Expectations, they are on their way to becoming saints themselves. The intermediate students remembered their family members who died, during a very moving Dia de los Muertos commemoration yesterday.
I have heard from many of you, and from the teachers that the conferences went well. Continue to help your children to set goals and to self-advocate using the SLEs and their learning styles. Instead of simply asking how the day went, ask “How were you Christ-centered today?” or “How did you show a love for God or for your classmates?” “Tell me how you solved a problem.” ” How did you stretch your brain?” ” How did you act as a steward of the environment today?” Talk to the children about the power of growth when we make mistakes and learn from them, how we persist with effort and embrace challenges – all the steps to learning.
Tomorrow is the grand opening of Crispin’s Kitchen and Tuesday also marks a special day for so many of you – according to the lunch orders! Chef Michael Strimban is already preparing for lunch next week. Come to the ribbon cutting tomorrow after school and taste his soup – he has been making broth all day today. Thank you to all involved in the preparation of our program, including Señor Pablo, Michael Strimban, Kara Dacquisto, Geraldine Stone, Betsy Smith, John Eberly and all of you who donated to make the remodel of the kitchen a reality!
Right before Fr. Crispin cuts the ribbon to Crispin’s Kitchen, he will bless the new mini library at the east door on 79th St. Thank you to Mrs. Ocampo, her enrichment classes who wrote the proposal, designed it and helped build it and to Jeff Miles who volunteered his time to help also for this new addition to our reading experiences!
Beannachtaî a thabhairt duit agus do theaglaigh,
Bernadette O’Leary
