website  watertownhistory.org

    ebook  History of Watertown, Wisconsin

     Set of weekly School Newsletters

 

 

 

 

 

St. Henry School Newsletter

 

September 7, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

“This is what Yahweh asks of you, only this:

to act justly, to love tenderly,

and to walk humbly with your God.”

Micah 6:8

 

THANK YOU so much for coming last night.  It was a wonderful show of parents.  I hope you felt that at least some parts of the evening were worth the effort to come.  Your willingness to attend was a wonderful model to your children.  By your actions you were telling them that school is a truly important part of their lives and worth the sacrifice of time on your part.  God bless you. (Your youngsters are lucky to have you as parents.  They won’t “get” that for awhile, of course.)

 

Many of you probably saw the sign announcing Cub Scouts outside when you came to the meeting.  If you have a boy in grades 1-5 who might be interested in joining the St. Henry pack, please come to a fairly short informational meeting this coming Tuesday, September 11th in the school cafeteria.  It begins at 6:30 pm and someone will be at the courtyard side door nearest the Cady Street sidewalk to let you in. 

 

I was also asked to mention that the St. Henry Activewear order blank had a mistake on it. (It’s a good one.)  The youth polo shirts should all have a price listed as $14, the same price as the comparable adult ones.  The $17.00 price is NOT correct.

 

Please do take the time to fill out the enclosed fund-raising survey Michelle Uecker talked about briefly at the meeting last evening.  The amount of work done by some individuals on the car raffle the last three years has been enormous, but if a lot of people are not participating in it, the thought is that maybe it should be modified or even replaced with a number of different fund-raisers throughout the year like most schools, public and private, do.  The hope originally was to get away from that, but you can see from the enclosed survey that many families did not choose to participate, even though their children are the main recipients of the benefits.  Therefore, the need to get input from as many school families as possible so good decisions as to future directions can be made by the Home and School and Athletic Association.  Your thoughts will be very valuable.  Please share them!

 

An informational sheet about an “Old Time Gathering “ at the Dodge County Fairgrounds came in the mail this week.  Might be fun for families.  It’s in Beaver Dam, of course, on Saturday, September 22nd from 9:00 to 4:00.  All kinds of interesting activities and exhibits: antique engines and tractors, birds of prey, buckskinners, demonstrations, educational petting zoo, farmers’ market, old-time dancing, mammals of Wisconsin, “hands-on” crafts and activities, some involving pumpkins.  For the adults a two-crust fruit pie contest and a sheepshead tournament.  Sounds like a good time, doesn’t it?  If you have questions, you can call the UW-Extension office at 920-386-3790. 

 

At Riverfest this past August I ran into ‘Sam’ Riedl, the proud mom of Jared, a St. Henry alum who graduated this past spring from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and was chosen to give the “class respondent” speech at their commencement exercises in May. He had received three student leadership awards while there, graduated with high honors with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and is already working as a patent engineer at a Milwaukee law firm. I was thrilled for Jared and asked her to extend all our congratulations to him.  Mom graciously insisted that St. Henry should take some credit too “because you had laid such a solid foundation for him.”  OK!  (That was a really nice thing for her to say.)  Anyway, let me quote a few lines from Jared’s speech that certainly can apply to all of us:

 

“One person CAN make a difference.  The impact that one person can have on the future … a future that we are all invested in … is only proportional to that person’s commitment to making a difference.  So never convince yourself that your efforts or aims are in vain. … (Instead) build bridges…build bridges that have their foundation in compassion…build bridges that are composed of understanding…build bridges that link cultures…religions…lifestyles…and ideas…build bridges that span … hate … stereotypes … conflicts … and differences.  And build these bridges so they can’t fall down.”  Amen, Jared.  Amen.

 

I do want to remind any new parents (or old ones who haven’t done this yet) about the “Protecting God’s Children” workshop on Saturday morning, September 15th.   As mentioned before, it’s a MUST for anyone who wants to volunteer for anything involving the parish and school children.  If you are uncomfortable with registering for it on the Virtus.org site, please just give me a call at school so I know I can expect you and will have enough materials on hand.  It usually takes about two hours, give or take.

The rectory hall is accessed by the back door and stairs of the parish office building (priests’house). That building is just north of the church and looks as if it is “attached” to it.

 

May I remind you to contact me if you are interested in the lunch mentor program either as an adult mentor or in hopes of attaining one for your son or daughter.  If you have questions, I’m sure you could call Betsy Bright of Big Brother/Big Sisters who spoke at the meeting 261-2315 or even call the retired St. Henry teacher Jane Lyons at 261-9495.  She’s participated as a mentor for three years and is the person who recommended we have Betsy speak with you about the program.

 

Lastly, I hope Father Bernie’s invitation to worship with the rest of your St. Henry community every weekend touched your hearts and souls.  The EUCHARIST is who we are as Catholics.  It’s our source, our strength, our comfort, our joy.  Please make wholehearted participation in it and commitment to it who you are.  The Lord be with you!

 

 

Dates to Mark on Your Calendar

 

SEPTEMBER

Monday      10    Home and School Association mtg., 6:30 pm, rectory hall –

ALL parents present voting members!

Tuesday     11    Education Commission mtg., 6:30 pm, rectory hall

Wednesday   12    Third Grade fills liturgical roles at 8:15 Mass

Friday      14    Grades 7 and 8 on retreat at Camp Gray

Saturday    15    Protecting God’s Children workshop for volunteers,

St. Henry Rectory Hall, 9:30 am – 11:30/Noon

Sunday      16    Catechetical Sunday “Encountering the Living Christ”

Tuesday     18    11:30 Early Dismissal Day

Wednesday   19    Seventh Grade fills liturgical roles at 8:15 Mass

Last spring’s rescheduled MUSIC PROGRAM,

Parish Center, 6:30 pm

Friday      21    Home and School All School Dance, Parish Center, 6--8:30 pm

Monday      24    Protecting God’s Children workshop for volunteers,

Sacred Hearts, Sun Prairie, 6:30 pm

Wednesday   26    Picture Day; no Mass – Father gone for

diocesan priests meeting

Friday      28    NO SCHOOL for Catholic School Kids – Regional

Meeting for Catholic School Teachers

OCTOBER

 

Wednesday   03    Eighth Grade fills liturgical roles at 8:15 Mass

                  Little Ones Play Group in PC, 9:30 – 11:00 am, PC

                  Athletic Assn. mtg., 6:00 pm, computer lab

Thursday    04    Grade 7 field trip to Horicon Marsh

Friday      05    First AR points due (grades 4-8)

                  Mid-quarter reports go home.

                  Market Day

Monday      08    Grade 1 field trip to Glacier Rock, etc.

                  ITBS testing begins; usually one or two tests a day

over next two weeks

Saturday    20    Home and School Assn. Blood Drive, PC, 8:00 am to 1:00 pm

                  St. Henry host volleyball league tournament at the high school

Thur-Fri  25-26   NO SCHOOL

 

NOVEMBER

 

Thur-Fri   1-2    Accreditation Visiting Team here.

 

St. Henry School’s VISION  

Responsible and Resourceful Graduates

Rooted in Faith and Alive in Christ!