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Today is the second Sunday of Advent; let us pray:
Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. Through baptism, you have claimed us for yourself, but too often we live as if we belong only to ourselves. May this season of Advent remind us that you have blessed us, so that, in gratitude, we may live the gospel more faithfully. As we prepare to celebrate the miracle of your Incarnation, may we attend to the needs of our suffering brothers and sisters, the body of Christ in our midst. Amen.
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Advent Penance Schedule
The season of Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ and the best way to prepare is to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to confess our sins and to receive the graces to live holier lives. With this in mind, our local parishes have compiled a calendar listing that includes all Advent Penance Services in our area. All Penance Services are open to anyone (there is no requirement that you attend the service at your own parish). See below for the schedule:
Tuesday, December 6, at 1pm - St. Mary Catholic Church
Wednesday, December 7, at 7pm - St. Paul Catholic Church
Tuesday, December 13, at 7pm - St. Jude Catholic Church
Wednesday, December 14, at 7pm - St. Helen Catholic Church (Bilingual)
Friday, December 16, at 6:30pm - St. Peter Catholic Church
Tuesday, December 20, at 7pm - St. Mary Catholic Church (Bilingual)
Click here to read more about the
importance of attending a Penance Service during Advent
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Saint Feature: Saint Nicholas
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Born in Patara, a land that is part of present-day Turkey, circa 280, St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who helped the needy. After his death, the legend of his gift-giving grew. St. Nicholas transformed into the legendary character called Santa Claus, who brings Christmas presents to children around the world.
St. Nicholas was born sometime circa 280 in Patara, Lycia, an area that is part of present-day Turkey. He lost both of his parents as a young man and reportedly used his inheritance to help the poor and sick. A devout Christian, he later served as bishop of Myra, a city that is now called Demre.
There are many legends about St. Nicholas of Myra. One story tells how he helped three poor sisters. Their father did not have enough money to pay their dowries and thought of selling them into servitude. Three times, St. Nicholas secretly went to their house at night and put a bag of money inside. The man used the money so that one of his daughters could marry. On the third visit, the man saw St. Nicholas and thanked him for his kindness. He also reportedly saved three men who were falsely imprisoned and sentenced to death.
Several sources state St. Nicholas is believed to have died on December 6, 343. Over the years, stories of his miracles and work for the poor spread to other parts of the world. He became known as the protector of children and sailors and was associated with gift-giving. He was a popular saint in Europe until the time of the Reformation in the 1500s, a religious movement that led to the creation of Protestantism, which turned away from the practice of honoring saints. St. Nicholas, however, remained an important figure in Holland.
The Dutch continued to celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas, December 6. It was a common practice for children to put out their shoes the night before. In the morning, they would discover the gifts that St. Nicholas had left there for them. Dutch immigrants brought St. Nicholas, known to them as Sint Nikolaas or by his nickname Sinterklaas, and his gift-giving ways to America in the 1700s.
In America, St. Nicholas went through many transformations and eventually Sinterklaas became Santa Claus. Instead of giving gifts on December 6, he became a part of the Christmas holiday. In the 1820 poem "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore, he is described as a jolly, heavy man who comes down the chimney to leave presents for deserving children and drives a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. The cartoonist Thomas Nast added to the St. Nicholas legend with an 1881 drawing of Santa as wearing a red suit with white fur trim. Once a kind, charitable bishop, St. Nicholas had become the Santa Claus we know today.
Feast Day: December 6
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of:
Bakers
Brides
Children
Greece
Grooms
Pawnbrokers
Travelers
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A Prayer for Children
God, our Father,
we pray that through
the intercession of Saint Nicholas
You will protect all children.
Keep them safe from harm and
help them grow in grace and
be pleasing in Your sight.
Give them strength
to keep their faith in You;
and to keep alive their joy
in Your creation.
Through Jesus Christ
Our Lord.
Amen.
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To learn more about Saint Nicholas, visit these links:
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We look forward to seeing you all at our Christmas Programs this week!
PreSchool - 4th Grade Program is Tuesday, Dec. 6
5th - 8th Grade Program is Wednesday, Dec. 7
Students should report to their classrooms by 5:30pm, programs begin at 6pm
Please read below for a few reminders:
All Students are required to attend the Christmas Programs. For students in grades 5-8, failure to attend will result in an automatic grade reduction. Exemptions are given only in extraordinary circumstances approved by the administration.
PreSchool - 4th Grade
students
have specific dress/costume requirements. Please look for an email from your room parents for details.
5th - 8th Grade students should wear their Christmas best.
(
Girls
: shoulders must be covered and hem length should be no shorter than 3" above the knee.)
7th graders
may bring a pair of sunglasses to use as a prop.
8th graders
may bring a hawaiian lei to use as a prop.
O'Hara's doors will open at 5pm. Families are welcome to arrive at 5pm to reserve seats; seats may not be reserved before 5pm.
Please remember that siblings attending either night should be seated in the gym with adult supervision. Students are not permitted to run around at the back of the gym or in the hallways.
A webcast will be provided for both nights of the programs.
Click
HERE to view the webcast.
This link will also be posted on our website.
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O'Hara's Feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass is this Thursday
Thank you in advance for making sure your students are in compliance with O'Hara's Mass Dress Requirements.
Mass Dress Reminders:
All boys must wear a white button down shirt and a uniform tie, with khaki or navy uniform pants. Shorts are not permitted.
All girls must wear one of the following:
Uniform skirt & white button down shirt
Uniform dress
Uniform jumper with white shirt underneath
No pants or shorts are permitted
Please remember, students will not be permitted to change clothes after Mass.
The disruption and delay to our school day caused by the large number of students changing clothes necessitates this rule. (Students that have PE on Thursday will be permitted to change clothes; and boys are permitted to remove their ties and store them in backpacks.) Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
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Follow the links below to learn more about the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Click here to read an explanation of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Click here
for 8 things you should know about the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
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Dress Code Request for December 5 & December 7
On Monday, December 5, and Wednesday, December 7, O'Hara's Auction Committee will be taking photos of O'Hara students for use at our 2017 Auction. Students are requested to please wear a white or navy uniform top on both days (no jumpers, no burgundy). Thank you, O'Hara families, for accommodating this request!
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Drop-off & Pick-up Reminders
Please, please, please.....
-remember that the left-hand lane in the front lot is not for stopping. All cars must pull through the left-hand lane and find a parking spot, or exit the parking lot and circle the block to come back in.
-watch for students that may be walking in the
parking
lots
-follow the instructions of our staff directing traffic
-be courteous and safe when driving and parking
-keep the flow of traffic moving during drop off and pick up
-remember that the parking lot exits are RIGHT turn ONLY during drop off and pick up hours
-slow
down
in
our
parking
lots
We recognize that our parking lots are often frustrating, and for this reason, we have many rules in place to make it work as smoothly as possible. We ask that
everyone
please follow the rules and be kind, courteous and forgiving to other parents in our parking lots.
There are 300+ cars that need to move through, twice a day, every day, and the process goes much smoother when
everyone
plays by the same rules and is extra cautious. Thank you for your increased attention, caution & cooperation!
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Religious Jewelry for Sale
Our 8th graders attending the Steubenville San Diego Conference in July will be selling religious jewelry the week of December 12th through December 16th,
both before and after school. The jewelry is beautiful and makes great Christmas gifts! Come check out the jewelry and support our 8th graders!
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Thank You!
Thank you the following O'Hara parents that organized and served pizza lunch for our students on Friday: Shelley Giustina, Megan Helfrich, Christina Hoffstot, Jaime Landon, Andrea Murphy, Elizabeth Petersen and Laura Rossow. We appreciate your time! Thank you also to Domino's Pizza for their assistance and guidance in planning and executing such a large order for our school.
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Jog-A-Thon Invoices
PLEASE forward invoices to those who pledged your student(s) and help us save on postage.
Payments can be made by cash, check (made payable to O'Hara Catholic School) or can also be made online.
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Marist Preview Day
Marist Catholic High School will hold Preview Day on Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 1pm.
Click
HERE for more information!
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| Christmas Giving at O'Hara |
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During this Christmas season, we invite our families to take part in our school-wide community giving drives. Please read below for the details. We hope your family will consider supporting these causes in whatever capacity you are able. Thank you for partnering with O'Hara to teach and encourage generosity & charity to our children.
Our Toys for Tots drive ends tomorrow! Representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps. will attend our assembly tomorrow morning to collect the donations. If you would still like to contribute, please bring your donation at drop-off.
Toys for Tots is an official activity of the United States Marine Corps. The primary goal of Toys for Tots is to deliver, through a new toy at Christmas, a message of hope to less fortunate youngsters that will assist them in becoming responsible, productive, patriotic citizens.
We hope your family will join us in our efforts to help the Marine Corps. and our local fire departments to collect and hand out toys to children in Lane County this Christmas season.
Our goal this year is to collect 1 gift per student!
Helping our own
Every year, O'Hara collects gift cards that are distributed to help our own O'Hara families in need. If you are able to contribute gas gift cards, grocery store gift cards or gift cards for clothing or toys, please drop them at the front office for Mrs. Conway by Wednesday, December 14th.
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AUCTION SPONSORSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE!
If you or your business is interested in sponsoring the 2017 Auction, please contact
Sean Jones in the Advancement Office.
The following sponsorships are still available:
Platinum Sponsor - $5,000
Gold Sponsor - $3,000
After Party Sponsor - $2,500
Silver Sponsor - $1,500
Silent Auction Sponsor - $1,500
Wine Wall Sponsor - $1,500
Super Silent Auction Sponsor - $1,000
Dessert Dash Sponsor - $1,000
Tuition Raffle Sponsor - $1,000
Pick of the Live Auction Raffle Sponsor - $1,000
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DECORATIONS WORK PARTIES SCHEDULED - FIP Hours Opportunity
Our decorations committee will be holding 5 work parties in December and January. If you can help, please come to the cafeteria from 8:05am - 11am on any of the following days, it is not necessary to RSVP:
Wednesday, December 7
Wednesday, December 14
Wednesday,
January 11
Wednesday,
January 18
Wednesday, January 25
Please note: work parties are for adults only, please no toddlers or small children (infants ok).
DECORATIONS REQUESTS
If you can help by donating or lending any of the following items, please drop items off to
Danielle Hauser.
-Wine Corks (will not be returned)
-Brown, flip-top beer bottles
(empty & clean please. These can be returned - if you'd like them back, please mark with your name)
(
click here for an example image
)
-We would also like to borrow German Beer Steins. If you have one or more that you would be willing to lend, please mark it with your name, and we will return it to you after the auction.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Donation Request Phone Calls: Preparations and planning are underway for O'Hara's 2017 Auction and volunteers are needed to make follow up donation request phone calls to local business donors. If you would like to learn more or sign up to help, please contact
Amy Londahl
, Silent Auction Chair (541-514-1369).
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SILENT & LIVE AUCTION DONATIONS NEEDED
Our Silent and Live Auction Committees are hard at work putting together great packages for our bidders! To help make our auction a success, we ask that every O'Hara family help by procuring or donating an item or package.
Click
HERE to view a wish list for our
Silent Auction.
If you would like additional ideas or have questions, please contact
Amy Londahl
, Silent Auction Chair.
If you can help with a connection or a donation for a larger package that might go in our
Live Auction
, please contact
Kate Hudson
, Live Auction Chair.
O'Hara's auction is the school's largest fundraiser of the year and we are grateful for the help and generosity of our families to make it a success!
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Auction Decorations Work Parties
Our decorations committee will be holding 5 work parties in December and January. If you can help, please come to the cafeteria from 8:05am - 11am on any of the following days, it is not necessary to RSVP:
Wednesday, December 7
Wednesday, December 14
Wednesday, January 11
Wednesday, January 18
Wednesday, January 25
Please note: work parties are for adults only, please no toddlers or small children (infants ok).
Scoreboard Operator and Scorekeeper Needed
We are in need of volunteers to run the scoreboard and be the scorekeeper at home middle school basketball games. No prior experience or ties to the team are necessary. Games begin at
4:30pm,
and usually wrap up by
7:30pm
. Contact our athletic director, Mr. Milliron, if you are interested or want to learn more.
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| Important links for our families |
Dress Code
O'Hara's App for smartphones
O'Hara's app is available by searching the app store for: web4u ocs
Returning Parents: NEW VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
New Parents: VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
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