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Friday Thoughts on Thursday November 30 2017

Posted on Nov 30, 2017

Dear Falcon Families,

As the Christmas lights begin to adorn the neighborhoods, we are reminded that the weeks ahead will be filled with many events to enrich the holiday season.  We have survived Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and will I hope, not be too crazed by long “to do” lists.

On Tuesday, our seventh graders welcomed guests from a Jewish School and a Muslim school as part of the world religions program our school has been invited to share.   Students met in small and large groups and discovered they had much more in common than they thought.   They also toured the Church, “our Holy Space” and ended the day with kosher pizza!   During the months ahead, our students will travel to the Jewish School and to the Muslim School.   This is a wonderful opportunity for our students.   I think there will be international diplomacy in their futures. 

As announced earlier this week, the weekend is busy.  In addition to packed sports schedules, the parish and school have several events planned to launch the season. 

Tomorrow, students have no school.  Our faculty will be participating in a mandated Archdiocesan Retreat Day. 

Tomorrow night is Boutique Night in Kane Hall.  Our planners have arranged for some interesting vendors to be here to offer unique holiday gifts and home décor ideas.  Unlike the lines and crowds at Target and Kohl’s, you can shop will sipping a glass of wine and visiting with friends and neighbors.    

On Saturday the eighth graders take the high school placement test…. Say a little prayer and wish them well as they take this very important next step in their life’s journey.   The Kindergarten classes will give them a special blessing and care package this afternoon.  The soon to be graduates will celebrate on Saturday night with a games night in Kane Hall.

St. Nicholas is scheduled to make a guest appearance at the 10:00 Mass on Sunday.   All are most welcome.   If you would like to bring a wrapped Christmas present for a child from Robbins, we would be most grateful.  (If you don’t have time to shop before Sunday, we will be collecting toys until December 14.)

Mass is followed by our annual Christmas Crafts event where children are encouraged to come and make special gifts and decorations.    Refreshments will be served and Santa will be happy to pose for a great picture with the children.  This event always gets rave reviews, so I hope you can make it.  If you have not made a reservation, walk-ins are welcome. 

The band concert is on Tuesday at 1:30.  All are welcome. 

Our preschoolers will be traveling to McAuley on Tuesday for a special Christmas show.  The event is always a highlight of the season.

Wednesday is our all school field trip to see the movie, WONDER.   We will return in time to have special lunch.  All during Advent, we will build on the themes from WONDER.   

We are always very proud of the amazing accomplishments of our graduates.  This week we are especially proud to announce that we have our first RHODES SCHOLAR.   Tom Dowling, a member of the class of 2010 and senior at the University of Illinois was named as only one of 32 recipients across the country to earn this prestigious award.   Tom will study at Oxford University next year.   When I called to congratulate Tom, he very humbly said how grateful he was for the foundation he received at SJF and wondered if the Accelerated Reading Championship he won as an eighth grader had been surpassed.  I assured him anything he read at Oxford would count as double or triple points. 

SOAR, our student leadership team is sponsoring a milk and cookies breakfast on December 22, our last day before the Spring break.   Order forms were sent earlier this week and are due on Monday. 

Don’t forget to make this a MANNA MERRY CHRISTMAS.  Puzzled about what to get the person who has everything?  How about an Amazon gift card?   Is Old Navy a stop on your virtual or hands-on shopping list…? Don’t forget to have a MANNA gift card handy.  Entertaining over the holidays?   Binny’s is having some great sales and gives a very generous rebate when you use a gift card from MANNA.  

Tuition Statements are being emailed today.   Please be aware of the December 15 due date.  Thanks as always for your cooperation and timely attention.

Thanks also for your most generous response to the Puerto Rico collection.   Our school raised more than $1,500 which will be combined with the money collected from other local Catholic schools and sent directly to a parish in Puerto Rico that was devastated by the recent hurricanes.  

Advent is a beautiful time of the year.   The anticipation that is already growing is much deeper than the multiple elves on the shelves that are appearing in odd spots in so many classrooms these weeks.   I hope you (and I) can carve out a few minutes each day to catch the excitement that the kids have at Christmas time.  A friend of mine suggests thinking about advent as a mini self-help manual to help refocus our hearts on the presence of God in our lives and a deepening awareness of the many blessings we too often take for granted.

Happy Pondering and Happy Advent.

 
 
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