"Inspiring students to love God, their Catholic faith and learning."
No After School Care
We have early dismissal at 1:30 on December 20th so there will be NO After School Care this day. This includes PreSchool.
Uniforms
We still have Long Sleeve Oxfords, and Short Sleeve Oxfords in youth and adult sizes available for sale at half price in the office.  We have a random selection of sizes in white and light blue starting at size 5 up to Adult XL.  See office for details. 
Giving Tree
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The Giving Tree 2017 for St. Peter Parish
The Giving Tree Committee for St. Peter Parish would like your help again this year as we prepare food and gift baskets for 40 Samaritan Center families for Christmas.
Each student is asked to bring the item listed below by his or her grade to help with this parish community service project:
Preschool: Instant potatoes bag or box
Kindergarten:  Jar of peanut butter (crunchy or creamy is fine)
 1st grade:  2 boxes of jello or pudding
2nd grade:  1 or 2 cans of fruit (any kind)
3rd grade:  Box of stuffing
4th grade:  Cake or brownie mix
5th grade:  Box or bag of cereal (any kind)
6th grade:  1 or 2 cans of corn (any kind)
7th grade:  1 or 2 cans of green beans
8th grade:  Snack items for children in the family (fruit roll-ups, granola bars, cheese crackers, etc...)

Thank you for your help and generosity in supporting this very important charity. Please have food items to the classroom by Friday, December 8th.
If you have any questions or are willing to volunteer with this project, please contact Codi Lauf (573)301-3299 ( codilauf@aol.com ) or Jamie Strope (573)301-1313 ( jamie.strope@yahoo.com ).
Scrip/Fundraising
Monday, December 11 is the last day to order Scrip before the Christmas holiday. Orders must be turned in by 10:30 a.m. Scrip will NOT be available the last week of school before Christmas break. Please remind your children that it is imperative that they turn in your order first thing Monday morning. Orders turned in late will have a slim chance of being filled as there is no scrip the next week.
 
Generic Gift Scrip will be available again for teacher and staff gifts. Don't know what to get for your child's teacher? Generic scrip is available in any increment. Just send a check made out to St. Peter Scrip with a note indicating the number and denominations of certificates that you want. I will make them out and send them to you so that your children can give them to teachers and staff. The recipient can then fill out an order form and order the scrip of their choice. This has been very popular with teachers and staff. If you send in a regular scrip order, please send a separate check for generic scrip.
 
Beginning on October 21, while supplies last, Great Lakes is offering some gift cards in smaller denominations for the holidays. The cards available are as follows:
     Amazon--$10
     Applebee's--$10
     Barnes and Noble--$5
     Darden Restaurants--$10
     I Hop--$10
     Panera--$5
     Red Lobster--$10
     Starbucks--$5
     Target--$10
     Walmart--$10
If you wish to order any of these, just write them on the order sheet.

Meet Our Staff

Barb Kemna is a member of the Kindergarten team.  She was born and raised in southern Ohio. Barb graduated from Ohio Dominican College in the mid-seventies and has worked in various educational positions and schools in Ohio, Iowa and Missouri.  Presently, she has taught at St. Peter's for 23 years.  

Barb is married to Jim Kemna and they are members of Immaculate Conception Parish.  She is the mother of two grown daughters and four wonderful grandchildren.  Her hobbies include Book Club, sewing, cooking and traveling to new destinations.  She has lived and studied abroad in Mexico. She has traveled to Japan, England, Ireland, Italy, Canada and all but four states in the US.  

She is blessed to be a part of an awesome Kindergarten team and a dedicated school staff who work with supportive parents and amazing students.  They make coming to school a pleasure each day!

Birthright
We would like to continue a tradition started in 2004 at St. Peter Interparish School.  In order to reinforce the true meaning of Christmas, we encourage as many children as possible to present baby gifts to the altar during the last school Mass before Christmas on  Wednesday, December 13th at 1:45p.m.   Students will be presenting their gift in honor of the birth of Jesus.  This is strictly on a voluntary basis.  The baby items will be taken to Birthright to be distributed to mothers in need.  The items do not need to be fancy or new.  No large bulky items please.  Clean used items in good condition are welcomed.  Some items of need are blankets, sleepers, tee shirts, socks, baby wipes, toys, clothing for children up to size 2 and formula.  There is no need to spend a lot of money.  If you choose to participate, please have the gift ready to present at the last Mass of the year on  Dec. 13th .  The gifts do not need to be wrapped.  If you have any questions, please contact Lacy Ralston @ 573-636-8922  ext. 329.

Library News
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LIBRARY NEWS!
With Christmas break right around the corner, we will not be checking out new books THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 18TH.  We will ALSO BE HAVING WINTER QUARTER BOOK SALE ALL NEXT WEEK (DEC. 11-15)!!!  Students will have the opportunity to buy books for 25 cents each, during their library periods.  Any absent students or band students can come up anytime at their homeroom teacher's discretion.  Many of the books we have are in great shape and will be great to read over break.  They are books we have taken out of circulation, replaced with newer copies, or simply have too many of.  This is also a great opportunity for the students to "buy a gift" for a sibling or other family member! 
We wish you all a very blessed Christmas!  May you have time to relax with your child and enjoy a good book or two!
Mrs. Luebbert and Mrs. Denson

Tax Reform Bill
            
Immediate Action Needed
The tax reform bills passed separately by the House and Senate will go to conference to reconcile differences between the two before a final law is passed. There are some critical provisions that are of importance to members of Catholic and other private school communities:
 
  • Expansion of Section 529 savings accounts to cover elementary and secondary school expenses, as provided in the House version of the bill. Comprehensive 529 accounts would provide parents some practical assistance in saving for the critical years of their child's education.
 
  • Retention of Section 117(d), as provided in the Senate version of the bill. This section allows religious and independent elementary and secondary schools to offer tax-free tuition to the children of teachers and other staff.  It helps schools attract high-quality employees to settings that are favorable to parents and children.
 
  • Retention of Section 127(a), as provided in the Senate version of the bill. This section allows schools to cover up to $5,250 annually in tax-free educational expenses for employees, another attraction in recruiting qualified staff.  It is also vitally important to certain innovative private school communities that have work-study programs in which low-income students receive tax-free compensation.
"With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act now in a House-Senate conference committee,  let your Senators and Representatives know that the final tax reform bill should include three provisions of importance to religious and independent education."
Please use the  CAPE Action Alert system to contact your members of the Senate and House to ask their support for these provisions. Typing in your zip code will get you to your members and a prepared message that can be used or reworded. Also, please alert the members of your school community to the importance of these issues and ask them to contact their congressional members.
 
Financial Peace University
Learn how to win with your money!
Financial Peace University returns to St. Peter Tuesdays,  January 16 - March 20, 2018. Sign up to attend at  https://fpu.com/1053660.

Big Bucks
Big Bucks 2018 Tickets Now Available!
  • Only 300 tickets total will be sold: contact stpeterbigbucks@gmail.com to purchase or to sell!  (Or call/text Kim Slaughter: 573.424.0842)
  • Unreserved tickets will also be available in the school office.
  • 1 $100 ticket= 2 guests (21+) and 1 chance to win the Big Bucks, $10,000 generously sponsored again by Diamond Pet Foods!
  • Or reserve a table of five tickets, 10 guests, for $500.
Sponsorships Still Available:
  • Support Sponsor ($5,000/partnerships encouraged)
  • Costume Contest Sponsors (3 more, $300 each)
  • Videography and photography sponsors
  • Any amount is appreciated and other sponsorship levels are possible, let's brainstorm together! 
Volunteers:
  • Night-of volunteers needed for 2 hour shifts (you do not need a ticket to come volunteer for a shift).
  • Each shift gets an entry into our volunteer prize raffle!
Auction
  • Live & silent auction items are need to make this a success!
  • All ideas welcome--handmade goods, antiques, art, jewelry, new kid items, tickets to events, unused gift cards, etc.
  • Please coordinate/drop-off donations prior to 3/30/2018 using contact information above.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram! instagram.com/stpbigbucks
and check back on the school website for updates! http://bit.ly/2hxMHGq

Music Workshop
Saint Andrew Parish in Holts Summit is happy to invite your music ministers (and anyone else who would be interested) to a music ministry workshop from  9:30am to 1pm on  Saturday, December 9, 2017, led by David Haas and Lori True.  There will be a 30 minute lunch break with a $10 lunch provided.     
Also, David and Lori will perform a concert open to the general public beginning at  7pm that same night in the church.   A free-will offering will be taken up during the concert and they will have merchandise to purchase.  
Advent Devotions
                                                   
This year our advent theme at school is Journey Through Advent.  Sunday, December 3rd was the first week of Advent.  Each week your family will receive a copy of a devotion, prayer, activity, and hymn your family can do as a family.  We invite you to look through the devotion and see what works for your family. We pray that these devotionals might help your family spend some quality time together, coloring, creating art, listening to the birth narrative, and preparing to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.    We are also sending home an advent calendar, and a paper advent candle each week.  Our Advent calendar is more of an activity calendar-activities that can help you get into the Advent and Christmas spirit. We think this activity will be a lot of fun for your kids and your family.  Don't feel like you have to do all the activities or devotions; we invite you to tweak the content and questions to work for your family.  We hope this allows families meaningful ways to engage in faith formation.

Week 2: Sunday, December 10th- PEACE, Finding Comfort 
Week 3: Sunday, December 17th- JOY, Learning about Being God's Family  
Week 4: Sunday, December 24th- LOVE, Expected and Unexpected 
Week 5: Monday, December 25th- Christmas Morning     Jesus is here

Mary's Meals

Dear Friends and St. Peter Family,

Over the past 3 years, the families of St. Peter school have raised money for an organization called "Mary's Meals."   This is an organization that helps some of the most vulnerable children in 14 countries.
For $19.50 you can give a child a meal in a place of education, every day for a school year. 93% of the profits go directly to the cause.  

We encourage you to check out this amazing charity :

This year we want to add to our annual fundraising which happens during Lent.  This year we would love to take advantage of a generous donor of Mary's Meals. Any donation before  December 31st will be doubled up to $1.3 million!! 

We thought it would be wonderful to have a shirt sale that would help not only 1 child, but 2!
These will make great Christmas gifts!!  There will be long sleeve t-shirts, baseball t-shirts and sweat shirts.
There may also be limited amounts of t-shirts.  We should have children's sizes 6-12 and then adult sized extra small through extra large.

The price will vary depending on the shirt from $31 for t-shirts, $34 for the long sleeve t-shirt, $38 for the baseball t-shirt and $46 for the sweat shirt. (This price is $19.50 for the cost of helping a child plus the cost of the shirt.)
While these are more expensive than maybe what you find at the store, the investment is in a child's hope for the future.

Michelle Keller will be available after school on Friday,  December 8th until around  5:30. Shirts will be limited to what is available. 

THANK YOU for all your support! 
St. Peter Preschool Teachers
Chick-fil-A
Thank you!  Thanks to all of those who participated in the Chick-fil-A fundraiser.  It was another success!
Donut Drive-Thru

Announcing Helias Latin Students'
DONUT DRIVE-THRU
FEATURING
      SCHULTE'S GLAZED DONUTS!!         
           
        
TUESDAY MORNINGS 7:00 - 8:00 AM 
DECEMBER 12 & 19!
Schulte's Glazed Donuts:  $9/dozen in the drive-thru
Individual donuts sold for $1 each in front of Helias.
  • Pre-order dozens by going to donuts4rome@heliascatholic.com or https://goo.gl/forms/uMugQjpyBsmXIAxH2.   Orders are due by 8:00 AM of the preceding Monday. 
  • Pick up your donuts during drop off on Tuesday mornings at Helias.
  • Conveniently take donuts to the office, look like a hero, and help the Helias Latin students traveling to Rome all at the same time!
Proceeds go toward Helias Latin students' trip to Rome summer 2018!

Lighting of the Advent Candles
Would your family like to volunteer to light the advent candles in church during Mass? This would be a great advent activity for your family.    If interested please call Lisa Fender at the rectory to schedule a time. She can be reached by email or phone, 636-8159 Ext 313 or stpeterorganist@gmail.com.  Currently they need  the 7:30 Sunday Mass, and 6:00 Mass on Saturday night covered for this weekend.   

Thank you to those who have volunteered so far.   We need volunteers for all Masses during Advent.  Those who volunteer will earn a dress down pass for their children.  
 
Mass Dates and Times 
Dec 9:
6:00pm  Needed

Dec. 10
  7:30 Needed
9:30 -  Lauf  family 
11:30 - Maddie Kempker Family

The family will need to arrive in plenty of time to get their seat and walk to the back of church and be ready to walk in the procession with the priest, deacon and altar servers. When the procession gets to the front, however many who walk in the procession may stand in front of the Advent Wreath and one of the family members will walk up to the candle beside the altar and get the wick and light it from the altar candle, bring it to the Advent wreath and light the number of candles needed for the particular week they are lighting the wreath.
This 2nd week,  Dec. 10, the 2 purple candles on the bottom will be lit.
The 3rd week of Advent,  Dec. 17, they will light 2 purple (on the bottom) and 1 pink candle.
The 4th week,  Dec. 24, all 4 candles.
When finished, return the wick to the altar candle, all bow and return to their seat.
                                   

Play News
We have found a director! Mrs. Denson will direct the spring musical along with Nicole Dennison and Melissa Kiral. They are doing Adventures of a Comic Book Artist.  Auditions will be held  Monday, December 18th.  For more information regarding forms, audition material, practice dates, and student leadership roles, please see the new website at:    https://spismusical.weebly.com

VIRTUS
VIRTUS Protecting God's Children
Studies show that one in four females, and one in six males, will be a victim of sexual abuse by the time they reach the age of 18.  You can help prevent this from happening and ensure that our parishes, schools and homes are safe places for all children.  The Diocese of Jefferson City will hold a VIRTUS Protecting God's Children class on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at the Alphonse J. Schwartze Catholic Center, Jefferson City.  The Catholic Center is located behind the Cathedral of St. Joseph.  Class will be held in room 306.  Participants should register in advance at www.virtus.org.  Please arrive early so that the class may begin on time.  Due to the nature of the subject, children are discouraged from attending.
Helias Tennis
Please Join Us for Gerhardinger Tennis Pavilion Blessing Friday, December 8, 2017 Gathering 4:00 p.m. & Blessing 4:30 p.m. Warm beverages and snacks will be served. Please RSVP to Helias at 636-6139 or info@heliascatholic.com

Recycle
December 14th is our next aluminum can drive on the big flat.  You may include your old string Christmas lights.


St. Peter Car Decals
Home and School has St. Peter Interparish School car decals available for sale.  See the school office if you are interested; the cost is $2 each.
                            
Active Parishioner Status For School Families

Parents please make sure you are doing the following requirements to remain a non-tuition paid family. If you have any questions regarding your status please call the rectory office and speak with Beverly McCracken or Michelle Truesdale.  

 

Active parishioners' status is fulfilled by:  
  • Registered in the parish
  • Regularly participating in Mass and the Sacraments
  • Annually completing the Stewardship/ Time, Talent & Treasure form
  • Supporting the Parish financially
Items Sent Home on Friday
Advent Devotions Week 2

For questions, concerns or comments related to school please see below for contact information.
If it relates to general classroom instruction, homework, schedules please talk to the classroom teacher.

If it relates to attendance, health, general school information such as calendar items, school uniform, fees, lunch, etc: kbezler@stpeterjc.org, mwoodland@stpeterjc.org or chayes@stpeterjc.org
 
If it relates to athletics, policy, safety, &/or discipline: mveit@stpeterjc.org 
 
If it relates to administration: gtrachsel@stpeterjc.org 
 
If it relates to enrollment or counseling: lralston@stpeterjc.org

St. Peter Interparish School | | saints@stpeterjc.org | http://www.stpeterjc.org
314 West High Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Phone:573-636-8922
Fax:  573-636-8410
Sponsored by
In This Issue
Dates to Remember
Dec. 7- C-Day

Dec. 8- A-Day
Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Dec. 11- B-Day

Dec. 12- C-Day, Dress down day, 1:30 dismissal

Dec. 13- A-day

Attachments
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