#3 November 20, 2013

#3
November 20, 2013
The season of Advent begins on December 1, 2013.
Thursday 11-21-13
Liturgy at 8:15 (2G)
Preschool & Pre-K Conferences
Tuesday 11-26-13
Gr 5 to Paine
Wednesday 11-27-13
No School
Thursday 11-28-13
Happy Thanksgiving
Friday 11-29-13
No School
Sunday 12-1-13
First Week of Advent
Monday 12-2-13
School Resumes
Advent Prayer Service 8:10
Tuesday 12-3-13
Feast day of Diocesan Patron, St.
Francis Xavier
Thursday 12-5-13
Liturgy at 8:15 (2G)
K-5 Concert Dress Rehearsal 1:00
K-5 Concert 6:30
at Fine Arts Education Center
Friday 12-6-13
Sweetness of Christmas
Sunday 12-8-13
Second Week of Advent
According to various Catholic scholars, the focus of the season of Advent is
two-fold: to prepare for the remembrance of the Incarnation celebrated
during the Christmas season, and to look forward to the Second Coming of
Christ at the end of time. Advent should end with all of us greeting
Christmas with a joyful spirit, but that is sometimes difficult to achieve.
During this busy time of year, we have to look a little harder to find
opportunities for peace and togetherness for our families. The most
meaningful and memorable Advent family activities need not require
driving, crowded malls, or money. Below is a list of Advent activities (from a
publication by Mary Beth Jambor) that can bring joy to our families during
this season.
1. Celebrate Advent by attending Mass together each of the four
Sundays (or Saturday evenings) of the season. Listen carefully to
the Advent readings – they speak about the priorities of life and
they offer a calming perspective.
2. Spend the Advent season making homemade gifts. Family
members could cook, sew, paint, write, or sing a gift. Be creative
together.
3. As a family, make a Christmas gift for someone who would not
expect one.
4. Use an Advent wreath for family mealtime prayer during the four
weeks of Advent. Children in particular enjoy watching the
increasing number of candles that are lighted as the weeks pass.
5. Celebrate the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6. At bedtime on
the evening of December 5, allow children to put shoes out for St.
Nicholas to fill with treats during the night. These need not have a
cost. A coupon for a night free from dinner dishes might be much
appreciated. Share with the family that St. Nick is remembered for
being good to children, but he didn’t like to be noticed for the good
things he did. He tried to help people without them knowing it.
Challenge your children to perform a good deed without being
noticed.
I’m sure you can add your families’ special Advent traditions to the
list. Ask your child what special Advent preparations are going
on in the classrooms at school, and I’m sure you’ll hear many
wonderful lessons. The important thing to remember is to
eliminate the stress and to look for love, peace,
and joy!
2014-2015 Registration Now Open!
Early enrollment incentives are now available
through Tuesday, November 26. There will be
no extensions for these incentives.
Students entering kindergarten, 6th or 9th grade
will receive a reduction in tuition of:
$100 – Kindergarten
$150 – 6th Grade
$200 – 9th Grade
Any family that is new to TCCES, grades 1-5,
will receive a reduction in their family tuition of
$500.
A $50 per student ($150 family max)
registration fee must be paid in order to take
advantage of these incentives. Registration
fees will increase to $100 ($300 family max) for
students registering after January 31, 2014.
Please see the attached letter or go to the
TCCES web site www.tcces.org for more
information.
Advent
When we return to school after Thanksgiving
we will be in the Advent season. We plan to
have a series of Advent prayer
services to light the candle(s) on
our wreath. Please feel welcome
to join us at 8:10 in the hallways
by the school office on the
following days.
Monday, December 2 – 1 candle
Monday, December 9 – 2 candles
Monday, December 16 – 3 candles
Friday, December 20 – 4 candles
Advent Outreach
Our three TCCES elementary schools are
collaborating on a joint outreach project. This
year we are focusing on parables found in the
Bible. The parable of the Ten Virgins reminds
us to be prepared for the bridegroom. During
Advent we prepare for the coming of Jesus.
We will be participating in
“Mercy Ships” by collecting
flashlights, batteries, and
monetary donations which
are used in third world
countries for screening tests
and operations. Please see the attached flyer
for more information.
St. Gabriel Christmas Concert
We are a few weeks away from
several Christmas Concerts and
the students have been practicing
to prepare for their big day!
Preschool Concert (in cafeteria)
Wednesday, December 11 at 10:15
Thursday, December 12 at 10:15
Pre-Kindergarten Concert (in Church)
Wednesday, December 18 at 10:00
K-5 Concert
Thursday, December 5
1:00 dress rehearsal in church
6:30 at Jane Bergstrom Fine Arts Education
Center (located at St. Mary Central High
School)
*K-4 students need to dress their best for evening
concert, but school uniform during dress rehearsal.
Grade 5 will be in costume for the dress rehearsal
and evening concert.
Scrip
If you haven’t been using scrip and would like
to know how to start, please contact us in the
school office or click here. We would be happy
to help you get started. It’s easy and you can
use 80% of the rebates to pay off your tuition.
Families that use the scrip program can earn
hundreds of dollars towards tuition. With
holiday shopping gearing up, this is the perfect
time to get started!
Page 2
Scrip Schedule
Orders placed between now and Dec. 2 will not
be available for pick up until December 5.
However, SCRIPNOW! and reloads paid with
PrestoPay will be processed as usual
throughout that time with the exception of
Thanksgiving Day.
The Christmas schedule for Scrip will be:
Orders placed by 11AM on Monday,
December 16 will be processed on
December 19.
No school December 23-January 1
Online orders only placed by 11AM
Monday, December 30 will be filled
Thursday, January 2.
(Note: Great Lakes Scrip is processing orders on New
Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. If everything goes right
we should be able to get the online orders filled that
week)
Regular schedule
January 6.
begins
again
on
Confucius Classroom Grand Opening
Have you ever seen a picture of the large
dragon-like dancers in a Chinese parade?
Have you ever enjoyed
listening to an authentic
Chinese instrument or
heard an explanation of
Chinese tea ceremony or
calligraphy? You can
experience all of this and
more at the grand
opening of the Confucius
Classroom at the Jane
Bergstrom Fine Arts Education Center on
Friday, November 22 at 6:30 p.m. Contact
Molly Griffin for more information or to RSVP.
All are welcome!
Weekly School Prayers
This week we are praying for
the following families at St.
Gabriel
School;
Huss,
Jackels, and Jacobson.
Market Day Bonus
Market Day orders
are due to the
school office on Tuesday, November 26 or they
can be placed online by 11:00PM December 2.
Our pick up day is December 5. This month
there are special bonuses, please see the
attached flyer for more information.
Box Tops Collection Contest
Have you noticed a display of grocery items in
the school hallway? A Box Tops collection
contest will run through November 25th. The
classroom that clips the most Box Tops will win
an extra recess. A collection sheet is attached
with this newsletter. Turn in completed sheets
to your teacher. Results will be posted after
November 25.
Many thanks to all of our Box Top label
clippers and counters. If you would like to help
clip and count please contact Kris Schoeni
[email protected]
Milk Moola
Thank you for saving your
Milk Moola caps from Kwik
Trip. We recently received a
check for $108.15.
New Walkway
Our new walkway has been poured and it is
curing. Students should be able to walk on it
soon! A big thank you goes to our PTO for
providing the funds.
Typhoon Haiyan
We are all aware of the devastating typhoon
that hit the Philippines. According to Catholic
Relief Services, 11.8 million people have been
affected by this typhoon, and the death toll is
over 3,600 people.
Our music teacher, Mr. Rhex Arboleda is from
the Philippines. He and his wife have several
Page 3
family members living in the Philippines. Their
immediate families are safe, but they have not
been able to contact other family members.
Please keep Mr. Arboleda, his family, and all of
those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in your
prayers. (A special prayer is attached with this
newsletter)
For those that would like to donate to the relief
efforts you can send donations to:
Catholic Relief Services
PO Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21297-0303
Online donations
www.crs.org.
can
be
sent
through
Page 4
ADVENT
Mission Project
Dec. 2nd – Dec. 20th
Mercy Ships,
“Hospital of Hope”
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!
During Advent, we are focusing on preparing for Jesus’ coming.
We are reminded in the parable of the Ten Virgins that Five Wise Virgins were prepared
prepared for the Bride Groom.
Groom.
In underdeveloped
underdeveloped third world countries many people suffer
suffer from preventable diseases;
diseases; conditions that are rarely
seen in first world countries. The goal of Mercy Ships is to “bring hope and healing to the
the forgotten poor.” The
ships transport medications and doctors across the globe,
globe, delivering high quality health care to needy
needy individuals.
individuals.
During Advent, our mission project is supporting
supporting Mercy Ships.
Ships. We will be collecting flashlights,
flashlights, batteries and
monetary donations, which are utilized in vital screening tests and operations.
The collection will start Monday, December 2nd and go through Friday, December, 20th .
Your
Your child may bring their donations into their classroom and put in the basket. If you choose to bring in a
monetary donation, please put it in an envelope marked Mercy Ships.
The types of flashlights that the Mercy
Mercy Ships can use are G10 LED ($10) and A5 LED ($30)
($30) along with
AAA batteries. These flashlights can be found at Home Depot and Menards.
If you would like to learn
learn more about Mercy Ships, click http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50141230n
Thank you,
The Advent Committee
TWIN CITY CATHOLIC
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Registration Incentive
TCCES is now accepting registration for the 2014-15
school year and offering several incentives through
November 26!
• New-to-TCCES families with students grades 1-5
will receive a $500 reduction in family tuition.
• Any students entering:
Kindergarten - $100 tuition reduction
6th Grade - $150 tuition reduction
9th Grade - $200 tuition reduction
Don’t delay! Go to tcces.org to register online today!
St. Gabriel Elementary School
900 Geiger Street, Neenah 725-4161
St. Margaret Mary Elementary School
610 Division Street, Neenah 729-4565
St. Mary Elementary School
540 Second Street, Menasha 725-5351
Seton Catholic Middle School
312 Nicolet Blvd., Menasha 727-0279
St. Mary Central High School
1050 Zephyr Drive, Neenah 722-7796
Happy Thanksgiving!
SCRIP Schedule
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Fri
Sat
17
18
SCRIP order
processed
25
No SCRIP
orders
19
20
22
23
26
27
No School
21
Regular SCRIP
pickup
28
No School
Thanksgiving
29
No School
30
6
7
24
Thank-SCRIP-ing
Dec 1
2
SCRIP order
processed
3
4
5
Regular SCRIP
pickup
Orders placed between noon, Nov. 18 and Dec. 2
will not be available for pickup until Dec. 5.
However,
SCRIPNOW! and Reloads paid with PrestoPay
will be processed as usual throughout that time,
with exception to Thanksgiving Day.
THANK-SCRIP-ING Sale: Starting at 12:01am Thanksgiving
morning and running all day, you can shop special
SCRIPNOW! rebates, the HIGHEST REBATES of the year!
TCCES SCRIP - Valuable Information!
1. Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas; $5 or $10 gifts:
Amazon 3%
Arby’s 8%
Barnes & Noble 9%
Bath & Body Works 13%
Buffalo Wild Wings 8%
Chipotle Mexican Grill 10%
Chuck E. Cheese 8%
Cinder’s 10% *
Claire’s 9%
Cold Stone Creamery 8%
Cousins Subs 9%
Culver’s 10% *
Dairy Queen 10% *
Denny’s 7%
Domino’s Pizza 8%
Dunkin’ Donuts 7%
Family Video 12%
Four Seasons, Neenah 10% *
Great Harvest Bread 6%
Hardee’s 5%
Jimmy John’s 10% *
KFC 8%
Kitz & Pfeil True Value 5% *
Krueger True Value 5% *
Manderfield’s Bakery 5% *
McDonald’s 5% *
Nauts Landing 5% *
Noodles & Company 8%
Panera Bread 9%
Papa John’s Pizza 8%
Papa Murphy’s Pizza 8%
Pappa’s Café, Neenah 10% *
Pizza Hut 8%
Quiznos 10%
QVC 5%
Scanlan Studios 10% *
Solea Mexican Grill 10% *
Starbucks 7%
Stevi B’s Pizza 10% *
Subway 3%
Taco Bell 5%
Target 2.5%
The Designer’s Chair Salon 10% *
Tom’s Drive In 5% *
Under the Dome Bar/Grill 5% *
Walmart/Sam’s Club 2.5%
Waverly Beach 10% *
Weather Vane 15% *
*Notates possible in stock item for holiday orders. Call the TCCES Business Office for availability.
2. Kohls is now available as SCRIPNOW! Kohl's Fundraising gift cards and eCards (SCRIPNOW!)
can be used at all locations to shop, make a payment in stores on a Kohl's Charge account, or
place orders online at kohls.com.
3. Recently added TCCES locals: Perkins-20%; Haen’s Meats-5%; Tom’s Drive In-5%
4. Other Shopping Items on Shopwithscrip.com
Cascading Card File; a plastic “wallet” for holding gift cards: $3.00; 25% rebate
Gift Card Holiday Wrapper-10 pack: $2.00; 10% rebate
5. Don’t forget those pets this holiday season: Petsmart-4%; Petco-5%
6. Tips and Hints:
~ Use SCRIP for home projects, carpeting/flooring, appliances and auto repairs (Home
Depot, Menards, Sears, Laydwell Carpet, Fleet Farm, Auto Zone)
~ Use SCRIP for vacations (hotels, resorts, spas, waterparks, cruise lines, car rentals, Disney)
~ Use SCRIP for prescriptions, health & beauty (CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens, Shopko,
Sephora, Bath & Body Works, and many hair salons and department stores offer SCRIP)
~ If you haven’t already changed gas stations to take advantage of SCRIP, do it now!
Both KWIK TRIP and EXPRESS GAS offer 10% rebates, but make sure you purchase
from their local retailers that offer 10%, not the national retailers that only offer 9%.
Call the TCCES Business Office anytime with questions or to learn more about SCRIP!
TCCES passes on 80% of the listed SCRIP rebates to our families’ tuition accounts.
Dear Parents and Teachers:
The second graders will be opening St. Gabriel Post
Office for the nineteenth year on December 2, 2013.
We will deliver mail to anyone within the school. We
have one mailbox located in the front hallway. We will be selling stamps
and postcards every day from 7:45 a.m.- 8:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
in the main hall. Stamps and cards are only 10 cents each. If you would like
a package delivered, please bring it to Room 5, the cost is still only 10 cents
per package regardless of size.
Hours: School days and hours
Delivery: 12:20 every school day
To Send A Letter: Write the person’s first and last
name & grade on the front of the postcard or
envelope. Then drop it in the school mailbox.
Last delivery date: Friday, December 20, 2013
Please contact Mrs. Goffard [email protected] or Mrs.Hoernke
[email protected] with any questions.
Thank you,
Mrs. Goffard & Mrs. Hoernke
Use St. Gabriel Post Office for:
* BUDDIES
* CHRISTMAS CARDS
* NOTES OF ENCOURAGEMENT
* THANK YOU NOTES
(All proceeds support the St. Gabriel School student letter to our St. Gabriel
Parish Senior Buddies throughout the school year)
52nd Annual
St. Nick Social
This event is sponsored and organized by ALL
families and friends of St. Gabriel Parish & School!
Sunday, December 1st
11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Lunch in Stingle Hall
Lunch will be served after the 10:00 am Mass until 1:30 p.m.
Lunch = $3.00
Extra Entrees = $1.00
Lunch plate includes: Sloppy Joe or Hot Dog, cornbread, fruit, beans
or carrots, potato salad or chips and lemonade or water.
Dessert = 25₵
Soda = 50₵
Activities in Allen Center
Children of all ages are invited!
Game Tickets = 25₵
Cake Walk = 25₵
Come and have your photo taken with St. Nick
We are looking for middle or high school students to help run the games and parents to
help with the games and sell tickets (great way to earn service hours). Shifts are either
10:45 -12:00 pm OR 12:00 - 1 :30 pm. We also need help setting up on Saturday, November
30th starting at 9 am and taking down after the event on Sunday. Please call Amy
Asenbrener at 722-4296 if you are able to volunteer. Your response by November 22nd
will be greatly appreciated.
Also needed are cakes for the Cake Walk. There will be carts between the kitchen
and gym prior to the Saturday Mass (11/30) and both Sunday masses (12/1) for you
to set your donated desserts . Thank you in advance for your generosity! Let's
make this event extra special for our children of the parish!
COMING TO
ST. MARY CENTRAL HS
Sun: Jan. 26; Feb. 2, 16, 23; Mar. 2, 9
Advance registration required. See web site for deadline.
U.S. Baseball Academy’s Spring Training 2014 is a unique concept that
provides young players with advanced hitting, pitching, fielding/baserunning,
catching training programs and instruction by some of the area’s best coaches.
Sessions for grades 1 through 12 include six weeks of instruction for as low as $99.
A national baseball training program operated locally by Phil Janssen, Head Coach,
St. Mary Cent. HS
.
.With a player-coach ratio of 6 to 1, each player gets plenty of individual attention in a
smallgroup atmosphere. In addition to unbeatable instruction by the area’s best coaches,
players get a preseason tune-up that helps them enter team practice in mid-season form.
With numerous age-specific sessions, instruction is specially tailored for each ability level.
Register now, pay later. What better way to get a jump on the upcoming season than a sixweek Spring Training experience, featuring instruction from some of the area’s best coaches?
For a complete description of the program and registration forms, visit
www.USBaseballAcademy.com
You can also call our office at 866-622-4487 to register by phone.
Register Now
Pay Later
Save 15%
th
Camp? Already? Yes! Registration for the 2014 summer camp season opens on November 15 . We know, it's not
even Thanksgiving, so how can we be thinking about summer? Here are a couple of reasons:
Best. Christmas. Present. EVER!
If you register now and need to switch weeks later, no problem.
st
There is a 15% discount if you register by December 31 .
You don't have to pay now, you just need to register!
Cabins are filling up quicker and this guarantees you a spot!
It's going to be cold for a long time, so why not think about something warm?
Register today at www.camptekakwitha.org.
st
We know plans can change. If you are registered by December 31 , and you need to switch weeks later on for any
reason, just give us a call at 715-526-2316 and we will take care of it!