shamrock newsletter HODGE PODGE S t. P a t r i c k S c h o o l End of the 1st marking Period It is hard to believe we have completed the first marking period. It has been a very good start to the school year. Thank you to the students and staff for a great first marking period. When report cards are ready on Infinite Campus, an email blast will sent to our school families. If you want a hard copy of progress reports and report cards, you must make a request to the school office Jean Day Donations Friday, October 31: This is Pay it Forward Day and will be a free jean day. Congratulations Congratulations to the following teams and students: The 5th and 6th grade volleyball teams on the conclusion of their excellent seasons. The White team took 1st place and the Green team took 2nd place in the CYL league tournament this past weekend. Elizabeth Beachnau, who was named the Ionia Sentinel Female Student Athlete of the Week for her performance on the volleyball court this season. 7th/8th grade football on their successful season. 7th and 8th grade volleyball teams on their successful seasons. Thank you Thank you to the fifth grade class for doing a great job leading at school Mass for this week. Also, thank you to everyone who helped make our annual Fall Festival a huge success again this year. It takes a major effort from a lot of people to make this happen and we want to send a special thank you to all who took time out of their busy schedules to help. Finally, thank you Randy Pung and Neil Miros for coordinating our recycling and scrap metal drive this past weekend, and to everyone who worked and/or assisted with the drive and to those who donated. Veterans Day Observance The students and faculty of St. Patrick Catholic School cordially invite you to join us in honoring our military veterans in a patriotic observance on November 11th. The ceremony will begin at 10:00AM in the St. Patrick School gymnasium, with a coffee and cookies reception for our honored veterans immediately following in the Parish Hall. Fall Fest The 2014 Fall Fest has come to a close. We would like to thank all of those who contributed in any way to make this fundraiser a success. Preliminary numbers indicate over $24,000 raised for Shamrock Athletics! Whether you worked a shift or two, made wonderful desserts or 10/22/14 breads, donated or bought cookies from the cookie booth, rented a spot for the craft show, supported our crafters, bought your raffle tickets, ate our delicious dinner or played a little euchre, we THANK YOU! The 55th Annual Fall Fest will be on October 11, 2015. What a great tradition that was started 54 years ago! Pay it Forward Day 2014! On October 31st (weather permitting), students and staff from St. Patrick School will be giving back to our community by raking leaves. If you, or someone you know needs assistance with leaf raking, and is within walking distance of the school, please call the school office at 517-6477551 no later than October 29th at 3pm. Each student will need to bring a rake along with appropriate attire for the weather. Rakes can not be transported on the bus. This event will not be rescheduled in case of inclement weather. In the afternoon students will participate in a variety of fun activities (details TBA). After raking leaves, we will have a school wide picnic lunch. We are asking that the following grades contribute the following for the picnic, which can be dropped off in the school office starting October 30th: 1st Grade: Condiments for hot dogs 3rd Grade: Chips (1 bag) 5th Grade: Desserts (at least one dozen) 7th Grade: Paper plates, napkins, cups. 9th Grade: one 2L of pop 11th Grade: one 2L of pop Please note that hot lunch will not be served on this day, so if your child does not like hot dogs, they will need to bring a sack lunch. We will also be assembling boxes of birthday cake kits to give to local food pantries. This project has been deeply appreciated by those in need who visit the food pantries in the past few years we have done this. We are asking the following grades to contribute the following for this project: High School: 1 box of cake mix Middle School: 1 tub of frosting 3rd - 5th: 1 box of birthday candles K-2nd: Sprinkles or other cake decorating items These items can be brought to school anytime before the 31st and will be collected in your child's classroom or advisor's classroom for middle and high school students. Bake Sale The Welcoming and Social Committee will be hosting a bake sale after all Masses this weekend. Coffee and donuts will also be served after all Sunday Masses. Please stop by the Parish Hall to buy your homemade treats, and to socialize with your friends and fellow parishioners. Ethnic Dinner Tickets will also be available to purchase. The proceeds of our bake sales help to fund various parish social events, such as the Senior Citizen Appreciation Dinner, the Parish Picnic, and the Ethnic Dinner. If you would like to donate baked goods, please drop them off in the Parish Hall. It will be open before and after all Masses. www.portlandstpats.com Ethnic Tasting Tour An ethnic dinner, “A Whirlwind Tasting Tour”, is being hosted by the Welcoming & Social Committee, and will be held on Saturday, November 1st at 5:30 PM in the St. Patrick School Cafeteria. We are looking for parishioners to plan and prepare their special ethnic dishes. A limited number of tickets are now available at a cost of only $5.00, they are sure to go fast so get your early! Children 10 and under are FREE. If you would like to help with this event in any way or host a country, please call Sue Kreiner at 517-566-8010. Kids Against Hunger The Kids Against Hunger Coalition is hosting an event at Portland High School. The event will be held on November 22nd from 8am to 10am. We will need many volunteers (100 or more) to help put the packets together. Adults, youth, and children are welcome to participate. This is a wonderful way to work together ecumenically with local folks from other Christian traditions. The “Kids Against Hunger Coalition” brings in all the ingredients for the packets (rice, soy, vegetables, and vitamins), and they also do the set up and clean up. Our job is to simply, put the packets together. They also give us training before we begin to make sure we do things in a sanitary way. For more information, contact Amy Smith in the Parish Office. LIBRARY NEWS We continued our discussion about autumn. The students are very excited about the season and have enjoyed sharing all about the activities they have enjoyed so far. We read books about autumn. I think the favorite was Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. As summer ends, Fletcher, a young fox, begins to worry that his favorite tree is sick. The leaves turn brown and fall to the ground. Fletcher tries to catch and reattach them but is upset because he is unable to save any. Finally, he takes the last leaf to bed with him, sad that his tree is left all on its own. The next morning, however, he discovers the tree covered with shining icicles, "more beautiful than ever." A Note From the Spanish Teacher Dear St. Patrick Families, I have enjoyed getting to know your children the last two months. Day of the Dead is a beautiful Catholic celebration that corresponds with All Saints and All Souls Days. In the United States, I feel that death has become something scary that we don’t talk about. In Mexico, each year, they celebrate Day of the Dead, but it’s not scary! They honor and pray for their deceased loved ones. As Christians, we know that a soul transcends death. This holiday actually makes fun of death, since death is not the end of the story, heaven is. To me, this is a much healthier view point. Day of the Dead has actually helped my own grieving and healing process, giving me more chances to talk about, pray for, and remember my own deceased. We will celebrate with a share and prayer time for our beloved deceased. For those classes who earn it we will also celebrate with crafts and a snack. Your child may bring a photo of a deceased loved one. I will also be asking for donations of craft supplies and food items to share with the class. I will send a signup sheet for these items next week. Items on the list include: Food, beverage (not pop), paper products, solid colored tissue paper and pipe cleaners. (The dollar store is great for many of these items.) If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. ([email protected]) Sanchin Ryu A new session of Sanchin-Ryu karate at St. Pat’s is starting on November 5. Workouts are from 6-7pm on Wednesdays in room 209. Cost is $20 for eight weeks. Contact Mr. Paul Osbourne for details. Calendar of Events 10/24 - NO Bussing (PPS not in session) - PTO Uniform sale 3:30-4:30p room 208 -Varsity FB @ Morrice 7p - End of Quarter 1 10/25 - JV VB @ Morrice Inv. 9a 10/29 - JV/Varsity VB vs. P-W @ SPS 5:30p - Sanchin-Ryu room 209 6p 10/31 - Pay It Forward Day - Varsity Playoffs (tentative) time and location TBA - Halloween parties 11/1 - Varsity CC Finals - Varsity VB CMAC Tournament @ Bath time TBA - Athletic Association meeting Parish Hall 6:30p 11/3 - DK-5th grade yearbook order forms due 11/4 - No busing (PPS not in session) -Varsity VB Districts @ Bath 6p - School Board Meeting Church 6p 11/6 - Varsity VB District Finals @ Bath 7p