VBS Summer 2016

Tuesday, June 14th, 2016


TODAY'S GAME PLAN 
Know the Rules: Learning the Ten Commandments

Father Brian and Joe Heschmeyer (our visiting seminarian from Rome)  were our guests at the opening and closing ceremonies.  

Today we learned that just as every sport has a playbook to learn how to play by the rules, that the BIBLE is our book to teach us the rules about how to live according to God's wonderful ways.
We had a fun skit that showed kids making choices, good and bad,  and  learned that  we should always choose to do the RIGHT thing. We talked about the 10 Commandments and how they help us to make good choices so we may  become Champions for Christ!


What we did today at the 5 FAITH STATIONS: 

1) COMMUNITY CORNER
 
Virtue Of The Day : Prudence
We learned about the Virtue of Prudence, 
and how it helps to think of the phrase "What Would Jesus Do?"
when making choices between right and wrong.

We also had a guest speaker from Our Lady of Unity Church. Her name was Janet Schlake. She showed pictures of the school with 90% Hispanic kids in attendance. She  explained that the children came from very poor families and how St Michael's, their "buddy school", was helping them to get sports equipment. An Eagle Scout from St Michael's is helping to fix their sports fields. The families pay a tuition, as much as they can afford, and the school provides breakfast and lunch to all the children.

 


    Saint Of The Day: St. Teresa of Avila
 
Today the kids heard a story about the life of St. Teresa of Avila. She was chosen for our Saint of the Day because of her example of Prudence in her lifetime. She had a special understanding of prayer and wrote many books on prayer, many of which we still use today.
Saint Teresa was quoted as saying, "There are no gloomy saints in Heaven" to highlight that we should do everything cheerfully. She inspires us to spend more time praying  and growing our relationship with God.

2)  BIBLE STORY

Today's Bible Verse:
 
"An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules."
2 Timothy 2:5
In the faith station, we listened to another Bible verse song. We learned that God gave us rules so we could be happy and get along with one another. The 10 Commandments are our rules. When we follow the 10 Commandments, we are the best athletes for God. It's when we don't follow them that our lives don't seem to go right. 

Ask your children how they learned the 10 Commandments in "sign language"!


TODAY'S PRAYER

"Jesus, help us to practice Prudence in every little thing, especially when it comes to following the 10 Commandments. Amen"
 
3)  MUSIC STATION
Today the kids danced and sang with Casey and her team learning the words and moves to two new songs  "Patience"
and   "Do What's Right"

A lot of the kids already knew the songs, so awesome job families on playing those CD's!!!

The Kindergarten kids did an amazing job performing "King of All" at the closing ceremony today. Lots of energy and enthusiasm!
Tomorrow the 3rd and 4th graders will be performing "Patience"
 
Have your kids put on a performance for you at home, they are fabulous.

4)  CRAFT STATION
            
All of the Ten Commandments were displayed in a fun craft project today.
Pre-k through 2nd grade put the commandments in order using pre cut tablets. 
Third and fourth grades made a bookmark highlighting the commandments. 

Your kids get to take their crafts home every day so be sure to have them show you and tell you what they learned! 

5) SNACK & GAMES STATION
 
It was hot outside but that did not deter our athletes
who  competed in games of soccer today.
Not only did they have a lot of fun, but they learned to "follow the rules" as we all strive to follow the rules of the Ten Commandments.

Our snack today was GoGurts and Goldfish!
GetREAL
 
Today we learned about knowing and following the rules.  We started a fun game where we had to decide if silly laws were real or fake....it turned out that they were all real! 

After that we jumped into the story of Moses and the 10 Commandments and even wrote our own laws for our team country.

 We ended our day with some quiet prayer today time in the church doing an examination of conscience using the 10 commandments.

2016 VBS MISSION PROJECT
 
Be A CHAMPION FOR CHRIST and support one (or both) of our
Mission Projects!

OUR LADY OF UNITY sports equipment and
 CATHOLIC CHARITIES FOOD BANK
 

What an amazing day for the food bank collection! Yesterday we collected a total of 68 bags of dried beans. Today the kids brought in a whopping 209 bags of rice!!!!
  Thank you for your generosity!
 
Gold medal winners - 3rd/4th graders  - 45!!!!
Silver medal winners - kindergarten/2nd - A tie at 34
Bronze medal winners - Pre- K  - 32 bags
Great showings from GetReal and 1st graders who each brought 29 bags


Tomorrow we shall be collecting PASTA

Don't forget to bring in any sporting equipment.  We still have a few flags left for right and left handed gloves. Thank you.


 
Donated items may be dropped off in the labeled bins in the cafeteria as you enter VBS each day.   Please place items in appropriate bin/box labeled with your child's grade.  THANK YOU!

 
 
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
 
Parents are  the first and foremost Catechists of their children...both a huge honor and responsibility!   Help your child(ren) to get the most out of their VBS experience by following up at home or in the car with a couple of these sample questions:
    • Can you tell me one of the 10 Commandments?
    • What does prudence mean?
    • Which is your favorite station: Games, Snack,Craft, Music or Faith Station? And why?

 

Parent to Parent note FROM THE DIRECTORS
Lisa Comfort and Jessie Mallicoat 
 
As we walked through the stations today, we saw lots of smiling and laughing as the kids are starting to feel more comfortable.  We were also reminded of what a blessing it is to spend a week teaching your children.  We are so thankful you have chosen to make "Cathletics" part of your family's summer plans.  We encourage you to use this newsletter to aid in your family's discussion of the lessons and happenings of the day to reinforce their learning.  It is full of information and some good reminders for us parents too.  We hope you find it helpful! Jessie and Lisa 
 
St. Michael the Archangel Staff Liaison is  Shawna Davidson, Coordinator of Religious Ed.
During VBS week, please call Shawna's cell at (913) 669-8288 for immediate assistance.  


REMINDERS FOR TOMORROW
  • Have you RSVP'd on the evite for the VBS family picnic on Friday yet?
  • On Thursday we shall all be attending Mass after the opening ceremonies. All are welcome to join us.
  • Our food drives item for tomorrow is pasta
  • 3rd and 4th graders will be performing at 11.50am in the closing ceremonies so come and cheer them on.
  • Have your kids keep wearing their shirts, they kids look great!