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Dear St. John Paul II Families,
The halls are filled with Christmas cheer and the students are so excited about all of the holiday events that are happening throughout the school. Please carefully read this edition of Saints Weekly, and mark your calendars for everything that's scheduled. It is truly an exciting time of year filled with the peace and joy that can only come from the greatest gift ever given, which is Christ the Lord! Today, we had a beautiful Advent Program featuring our class of 2025, Kindergartners and they were excellent!
I have a small request...to help us in teaching students to focus more on the presence of Christ, rather than the receiving of presents, we ask that parents refrain from sending class gifts or treats to school next week and during the classroom parties. We are thankful that we have a wonderful PTO who will provide all of the goodies and activities to help make the parties special! We appreciate your help in reminding students that Jesus is the reason for the season! Thank you so much for joining us in all of our celebrations.
In Him we Trust,
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Forming Families of Disciples
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Conquest Club Serves the Homeless
On Sunday, November 13, Conquest Club volunteers served approximately 250 meals to the homeless at the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen. They also donated and delivered 200 pounds of chicken, 150 pounds of potatoes, 50 pounds of pinto beans, and 300 servings of mixed vegetables. We are so blessed to be a blessing to others, especially during the Advent Season.
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Principal Proclamation
Yesterday, we celebrated a special StJPII tradition, "Principal for the Day". 7th Grader Sophie Agee spent the day walking in Mrs. Bogard's shoes. "Principal" Agee greeted students, made announcements, went out to lunch, led meetings, and most importantly, made the following decree:
Pre K - 2nd Grades
Wednesday December 14- Free dress*, extra recess, AND bring a stuffed animal to school.
3rd - 5th Grades
Wednesday December 14- Free dress* AND 30 minutes of electronics and game time (Students may bring their handheld devices/tablets from home. Students may also bring a special board game from home. Smartphones are not allowed.)
Middle School
Thursday December 15- During 8th period, there will be an end-of-midterm celebration with board games and snacks from home. Students may wear school-appropriate "comfy" clothes (no pajamas, girls are allowed to wear leggings; however, their tops must extend to 2" above the knee).
**Also- Middle School students will have a Movie Day in January (date TBD).
Principal for the Day is an online auction item that goes up for bid each Spring. We will be celebrating "PE Teacher for the Day" soon too! Be on the lookout for more fun opportunities like these when we hold our next online auction in February, 2017.
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Middle School Midterm Schedule
Please click here for the midterm schedule for our Middle School students.
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Focus on Growth Mindset Want to raise successful kids?
Science says praise them for their effort versus praising them for their innate, God-given abilities (most parents do the opposite!) Click here for an article by Bill Murphy Jr. for more about this topic.
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Coin Clash This Week!
Student Council's biggest fundraiser is going on now! Bring your spare change and dollars this week for the "STUCO" Coin Clash. Collection jars are outside each homeroom until 8:00 a.m. every day. Students may bring change from home to donate to the jars...pennies and dollar bills (of any denomination) count FOR your homeroom...but the fun part is "bombing" other homerooms with silver coins, (quarters, dimes, nickels) which work AGAINST their class totals. The homeroom that raises the most money earns bragging rights and a fabulous trophy! In the past, this fundraiser has allowed the Student Council to donate over $5,000 to a charity each December, so thank you for your support.
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Fall Raffle Tickets
The season is flying by...all sold stubs and raffle money will be due back to school NEXT WEEK to the front office by Friday, December 16. Remember that all proceeds from the raffle benefit our school and that this fundraiser is the biggest way you can earn your Family Commitment. 75% of your Raffle Ticket sales are applied to your Family Commitment balance. Please see the Raffle Ticket Sales Guide for all the details.
The Grand Prize is a travel voucher for a $10,00 Luxury Trip (to a destination of your choice). Other prizes include $3,000 of American Express Gift Cards and a 55" Curved TV. Winners will be drawn after Mass on January 6, 2017.
For more information and more tickets, please contact Jessi Cook, Director of Advancement.
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Annual Fund
In October, we launched the Annual Fund Drive for St. John Paul II. The Annual Fund is an important source of revenue for our school, and helps to ensure the excellence of the education which we strive to offer. Thank you to the current families who have generously donated. If you have not given to the Annual Fund yet, we ask you to prayerfully consider an investment in our school – no matter how big or how small. Your gift this year will make a difference in the lives of the children who attend StJPII. Give online at www.jp2.org. Every gift is important, and we truly appreciate your sacrifice.
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School Wish List
Are you interested in making a significant, tangible gift to St. John Paul II, named in your honor? If so, please contact the Development Office for more information about underwriting opportunities.
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Amazon Smile
When you are doing your Christmas shopping online, be sure to choose StJPII as your preferred charitable organization,
so a portion of your purchases are donated back to the school.
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Dec. 7: Dad's Night Out
As we continue our journey toward "Forming Families of Disciples", we invite all dads of our StJPII community to our quarterly Dad's Night Out event to be held tomorrow, Wednesday, December 7. Click here for more information.
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Dec. 7: Adoration
Eucharistic Adoration is tomorrow, Wednesday,
December
7 in our Chapel. Volunteers are needed to be present in the Chapel from 7:40 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Please sign up by clicking here.
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Dec. 8: Mass this THURSDAY!
Students need to wear their full dress uniforms this Thursday, December 8 for Mass honoring the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Students may wear jeans and a school spirit shirt on Friday, December 9.
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Dec. 12: Parent Mass in Honor of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
We invite you to join us at a special bilingual Mass for parents in Honor of The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Mass will take place in the Chapel on
Monday, December 12 at 8:30 a.m.
with a reception to follow in St. Jude Hall. Please contact Ashley Kearney in Development with any questions.
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Dec. 16 - Last Day before Break
Next Friday, December 16 is our last day before Christmas Break. We will start the day with Mass at 8:30 a.m. in the GSC. Students may wear festive. school appropriate, holiday attire. After Mass, the entire student body will sing Christmas Carols, giving our volunteers time to prepare the homerooms for the Christmas parties. We will have Early Dismissal at 11:00/11:15/11:30 a.m. There is no BASP next Friday.
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See the calendar below for a complete listing of Christmas events.
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Renaissance Festival Chorale Contest Results
Before the Thanksgiving Break, our Middle School Chorale attended the Renaissance Performing Arts Festival and scored a "Superior I - Rating" for their a-capella performance!
The judges said that "the vocalists had beautiful dynamics" and "exhibited nice energy" on the musical pieces. The judges also
commented on how well our students represented StJPII, thanking them for their great preparation. Congratulations to the Fine Arts Department on another award-winning performance!
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Robotics Teams Earns Top Honors
The AWEBOTS and RoboKids participated in the First Lego League Qualifier on Saturday, December 3. Out of 23 teams, the StJPII
RoboKids earned a third place trophy for their "Bee Aware" research project and an invitation to the upcoming championship. The StJPII
AWEBOTS earned a second place trophy for their "Therapy Dog Treat Dispenser", and a third place finish for the Teamwork Challenge. Way to go, Saints Robotics teams!
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The PTO would like to thank the many volunteers who came together to ensure our annual Holiday on the Parkway and Snacks with Santa events were successful! Thank you to
Olga
Saenz for organizing Holiday on the Parkway, and to
Mariam Janda
and
Edith Hernandez
for leading Snacks with Santa. We also thank the many parents who contributed baked items, volunteered in the Spirit Store and helped to make last weekend a success for our students and parents who enjoyed the festivities and shopping!
Additionally, the Hospitality Committee would like to thank the following parents for donating to the faculty meeting snacks November 30th-
Sanjuana Valdez, Anne Davis, Julie Descant, Danille LaLonde, Gail Anderson, Claudia Hellmund, Lourdes Pozo, Beverly Alexander, Vicky Nehme, Hazel Mohan, Nadia Guaida, Alicia Rehfeld, Andrea Aertker and Nicole Lambert,
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Santa Pictures
For those who attended Snacks with Santa, remember to go online to view your photos. Pictures with Santa were taken this past Saturday by professional photographer, Charlie Moger. Mr. Moger has supported StJPII for many years since all four of his children are StJPII graduates. DaddyMom Pix Professional Photography benefits StJPII: proceeds from the picture sales are donated to the StJPII Annual Fund. To order your prints, please visit: daddymompix.org. Pictures are printed and conveniently delivered to your doorstep through SmugMug.
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Teacher and Staff Christmas Collection
It has been the StJPII PTO's tradition to share gifts with our children’s teachers during the Christmas season, showing our appreciation for the many wonderful things they do. Each year, the PTO coordinates a monetary gift collection which is distributed to our dedicated faculty and staff during the school Christmas parties. We suggest a $10.00 contribution per child’s teacher, but any amount is appreciated. All funds collected will be divided equally among the faculty and staff. Participation in the collection is strictly voluntary. If your child prefers a personal gift, please feel free to do so. If you choose to make a contribution, please send cash or check payable to StJPII PTO in an envelope marked “PTO TREASURER” by Thursday, December 15. If you have questions, please email pto@jp2.org.
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ELEMENTARY
Basketball has begun and practices are underway. Registration
for Volleyball, Baseball/T-ball and Softball open in January.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
BASKETBALL: Last week, all of our Saints played some tough competition! The JV and Varsity boys played a non-district game against First Baptist Academy
on Tuesday. Then,
all 3 teams played St. Thomas More
on Wednesday.
Although all the teams displayed tough offense and defense, they unfortunately came up short.
On the girls' side, our Varsity team is now 4-0 after defeating St. Thomas More last Tuesday. JV had a tough time against St. Thomas, losing by 5 points, but their record is 2-2, which is awesome! The 6th grade team increased their wins by defeating St. Thomas, and is now is 3-1!
BASEBALL: Baseball season is around the corner...so get ready! Click here for more information about Coach Piazza's Baseball Camp.
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COIN CLASH ALL WEEK!
12/6 MS Girls' Basketball at St. Cecilia. 4:30 p.m.
12/7 Mass in Chapel, 7:10 a.m., followed by Adoration
12/7 Parent Bible Study, 8:15 a.m.
12/7 PTO Meeting, 8:15 a.m.
12/7 MS Boys' home game, 4:30 p.m.
12/7 Dad's Night Out Advent Retreat, 6:00 p.m.
12/8 All School Mass, 8:30 a.m., GSC FULL DRESS UNIFORMS
12/8 MS Girls' Basketball at St. Frances de Sales, 4:30 p.m.
12/8 Boys' Varsity Basketball at St. Thomas Episcopal, 6:00 p.m.
12/8 MS Choir Performance, 7:00 p.m., GSC
12/9 Student Jean day with Spirit Shirts
12/9 PTO Student Book Club
12/12-12/15 Middle School Exams
12/12 Parent Mass - Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe, 8:30 a.m. in the Chapel
12/12 3rd-5th grade Christmas Program, 7:00 p.m.
12/13 Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
12/14 Mass in Chapel, 7:10 a.m.
12/14 Parent Bible Study, 8:15 a.m.
12/14 Elementary - Proclamation Day
12/15 Middle School - Proclamation Day
12/15 MS Band Concert, 7:00 p.m., GSC
12/16 Mass, 8:30 a.m., GSC (Christmas attire)
12/16 Early Dismissal after classroom parties (11:00/11:15/11:30 a.m.)
12/16 Raffle Tickets Due
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St. John Paul II Catholic School
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1400 Parkway Plaza,
Houston, TX 77077
281-496-1500 •
281-496-2943 (fax)
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St. John Paul II Catholic School prepares all students spiritually and academically to succeed in life and to do God's will.
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