Mother Seton is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church.  She founded the  first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did in the span of 46 years while raising her five children.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is a true daughter of the American Revolution, born August 28, 1774, just two years before the Declaration of Independence. By birth and marriage, she was linked to the first families of New York and enjoyed the fruits of high society. Reared a staunch Episcopalian, she learned the value of prayer, Scripture and a nightly examination of conscience. Her father, Dr. Richard Bayley, did not have much use for churches but was a great humanitarian, teaching his daughter to love and serve others.

The early deaths of her mother in 1777 and her baby sister in 1778 gave Elizabeth a feel for eternity and the temporariness of the pilgrim life on earth. Far from being brooding and sullen, she faced each new "holocaust," as she put it, with hopeful cheerfulness.

At 19, Elizabeth was the belle of New York and married a handsome, wealthy businessman, William Magee Seton. They had five children before his business failed and he died of tuberculosis. At 30, Elizabeth was widowed, penniless, with five small children to support.

While in Italy with her dying husband, Elizabeth witnessed Catholicity in action through family friends. Three basic points led her to become a Catholic: belief in the Real Presence, devotion to the Blessed Mother and conviction that the Catholic Church led back to the apostles and to Christ. Many of her family and friends rejected her when she became a Catholic in March 1805.

To support her children, she opened a school in Baltimore. From the beginning, her group followed the lines of a religious community, which was officially founded in 1809.

The thousand or more letters of Mother Seton reveal the development of her spiritual life from ordinary goodness to heroic sanctity. She suffered great trials of sickness, misunderstanding, the death of loved ones (her husband and two young daughters) and the heartache of a wayward son. She died January 4, 1821, and became the first American-born citizen to be beatified (1963) and then canonized (1975). She is buried in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Feast Day: January 4

Follow the links below to learn more:

Biography on Catholic.org

Celebration of her Sainthood from the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Watch her Canonization ceremony

Quotes from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

FIP Statements

We are sending home your Family Involvement Statements on Tuesday, January 3 in the Monday folders. These statements reflect how many hours you have completed and how many hours you have left to complete by the end of the school year.

As a reminder, FIP hours are now logged online. To log your hours, visit O'Hara's homepage and click FIP hours under the Family Login Menu (password: lovemercy). 

Notice of FIP hours opportunities are in the bulletin each week, please read below for current opportunities.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the front office. 

Extended Vacations

School resumes on Tuesday, January 3. If your family will be taking an extended vacation and not returning on Tuesday, please email Barb so she can mark your student(s) out. Thank you!

Feast of the Epiphany Mass is on Wednesday

Mass will begin at 8:30am. There will be a parent prayer group in the O'Hara Chapel from 8:05am - 8:25am; all are welcome. Click to read more about the Feast of the Epiphany.

The dress code for this Mass is Christmas Best.

-Ties are required for all boys

-Shorts are not permitted

-Jeans are not permitted

-Girls are required to wear skirts, dresses or jumpers. (no pants are permitted)

-Hem lengths should be no shorter than 3" above the knee

-Shoulders must be covered 

-No heels over 1"

-No boots

-No sandals

Thank you in advance for making sure your student adheres to the above dress guidelines.

Domino's pizza slices will be available for sale to all students at lunch time on Friday. Slices will be $1 each, and students should bring coin, cash (small bills only please - there will be limited change) or check payable to O'Hara Catholic School. Cheese pizza will be available for PreSchool - 2nd Grade students and cheese and pepperoni pizza will be available for 3rd - 8th Grade students. Gatorade and water will also both be available for sale, $1/bottle. Beverage sales benefit O'Hara's Student Council.

Marist Preview Day

Marist Catholic High School will hold Preview Day on Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 1pm.

Click HERE for more information!

Auction Volunteers Needed: Please sign up for O'HARAFEST: FORKS, CORKS & STEINS! 

Here's how it works in 3 easy steps: 

1. Click this link to go to our invitation page on Signup.com: http://signup.com/go/f7JVrU 
2. Enter your email address: (You will NOT need to register an account on SignUp.com) 
3. Sign up! Choose your spots - SignUp.com  will send you an automated confirmation and reminders. Easy! 

Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact Shelley Giustina, our Volunteer Coordinator, and she will sign you up manually.

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

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

DECORATIONS WORK PARTIES SCHEDULED - FIP Hours Opportunity

Our decorations committee will be holding 3 work parties in 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, January  11

Wednesday, January 18

Wednesday, January 25

Please note: work parties are for adults only, please no toddlers or small children (infants ok).

Please contact Christina Hoffstot with any questions.

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

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. 

Graphic Design Volunteer Hours Opportunity

Each year we send out beautifully designed invitations for our sixth grade Living Saints Project. We are looking for someone with experience using Adobe InDesign who can create this year's invitations. We have templates available from previous years that would need to be updated with current information, and we would like a new design for the cover this year. If you would like to assist us with this for your FIP hours, please contact Mrs. Obersinner. Thank you!

Auction Volunteers are needed!

Click HERE to sign up online.

Inclement Weather Decision and Notification Process Reminder

If it becomes necessary to cancel or delay the start of school due to inclement weather, O'Hara families will be notified in the morning via an automated phone call and text message. The information will also be posted on our Facebook page.

O'Hara typically follows Eugene School District 4J's decisions regarding weather delays and closures. However, we also take into consideration the larger geographic area that our O'Hara families live in and are mindful of what those travel conditions might include. The safety of our families and staff is our primary concern. A decision regarding school delay or closure will normally be announced by 6:30am in the morning.

Please note, in the event of questionable weather, we expect and encourage each family to make their own decision for safe travel based on location and circumstances. If your students will not be to school on time, please email Barb to let her know.

Drop-off & Pick-up Reminders

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 online.