St. Isidore School Newsletter

January 9, 2019 - Walking Together in Faith

Faith - St. Elizabeth Seton

Happy 2019, St. Isidore School Families!

Welcome Back

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and that you had a chance to spend quality time with family and friends as well as many opportunities for fun and moments of relaxation. It is amazing how an extended amount of time off can rejuvenate the body and mind, allowing us to reflect on the past year and the year ahead. I am truly excited to see where 2019 takes us as a school and as a community and am grateful for the love and support you continue to give.

“For I will walk by FAITH even when I cannot see.” —Corinthians 5:7

I find it fitting that the Gospel Value for January is FAITH. Faith at its core is trusting in God and his plan for us. It inspires hope, gives us the confidence to move forward when need be, provides us comfort, and ensures that we are never alone. We will continue to explore what living in faith means throughout the month.

Welcome to the Family

The St. Isidore School community truly operates like a big family! We have three new families starting at our school this month! It is exciting to see our school continue to grow and thrive. We welcome the following new families to our community: the Cummings family (Jacob, 4th grade), the Peterson family (Clara, 4th), and the Roetto family (Thomas, 3rd, and Taylor, 7th). We also welcome new student Arianna Berjis to 4th grade. Arianna is the sister of 7th grader Darya Berjis. If you see any of our new community members on campus, please take a moment to introduce yourself.

Special TK/Kindergarten Mornings with Maria

Calling all TK and Kindergarten parents! Please join me this Thursday, January 10, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hospitality Room for a special TK/Kindergarten Morning with Maria. The new year offers the perfect opportunity to catch up, meet new people, and offer your thoughts on items specific to the TK/Kindergarten program. Little ones are welcome and coffee and breakfast goodies will be served.

Calling All Little Bulldogs

If you are a current school family with an incoming TK/Kindergarten student, now is the time to submit an application online at www.stisidore.org and call the office at

(925) 837-2977 to schedule a testing time. Testing will take place February 11–14. If your child is currently in the TK program, they will be tested during school time. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us.

Cold Weather Precautions

Winter is officially here and with that comes cold and flu season. Please encourage children to wash their hands frequently and use hand sanitizer, and keep them home when sick to rest and heal. Click here to view ATTENDANCE guidelines in the handbook. Please also keep in mind that winter weather can cause delays in carpool. It is important to drive slowly and safely on rainy days, and remember that your patience is always appreciated.

Upcoming Calendar Information

Please note that there will be NO SCHOOL on Friday, January 18, due to a diocesan staff day, or Monday, January 21, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tuesday, January 22, will be the first day of TK “Flip Flop.” At the end of the month, we will come together to celebrate Catholic Schools Week!

This weekend many of our 8th grade students will take the DLS and Carondelet placement test. This is a big day for them, so please join me in sending them love and prayers. They will do great! Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Peace,

Maria Ward

Principal

Important Dates

Thursday, January 10th - January B-day Free Dress.
Friday, January 11th - All school mass (led by 7th), 8th grade loaves & fishes.
Thursday, January 17th - 5th grade Colonial Day, TK/K Parent Info Meeting at 10:00am.
Friday, January 18th - NO SCHOOL due to a Diocesan Staff Day .
Monday, January, 21st - NO SCHOOL due to MLK Day.
Tuesday, January 22nd - TK Flip Flop.
Friday, January 25th - K, 1, 2 attend mass.
Sunday, January 27th - Catholic Schools Week Kicks off! Sneak-a-Peek (School is open to view) after the 9am mass. Students please wear your school uniform to mass.

Prayers

Please pray for all those who are suffering or are in need of our thoughts and prayers, especially the Vitzthum Family's uncle - Brad Goforth and Rita Edwards. May God keep them in His tender, loving care.

PTG

We still need auction donations! If you have any concert or sporting event tickets you could donate, please contact us at auction@stisidore.org.

Keep a look out! Auction invitations will be coming home in next week’s family envelope!

We are looking for party donations for this year's School Gala. Gather a group of friends and have fun throwing a party to benefit party goers & our school! Click here to host a party!

Sponsorship

Sponsorship opportunities are still available for the 2018-2019 school year. Thank you for all those who have already sponsored our school. More information and forms can be found here. Click here to view current sponsors.

Sponsor Shout Out: This week's Spotlight Sponsor is Bronze Sponsor, The Frasca Insurance Group . The Frasca Insurance group has been providing insurance services to residents and businesses in California. They have been a supporter to St. Isidore School for several years. We encourage our families to use Frasca's Insurance Group for all their insurance needs.

Did You Know?

We are excited to announce that SIS will be holding a Family STEM Night on Wednesday, Feb. 27th from 5:15 -7:00pm in the Benson gym! It will be an evening of hands-on science, math, and engineering activities for students and families to complete together. The event will include a range of activities covering different STEM topics around the theme of space. You can participate in math, science, and maker space stations and activities with your child. Each station will have different activities for the range of TK-2nd students, 3rd-5th grade students, and 6th-8th grade students. Students can get their STEM passport card stamped after completing an activity at each of the three stations. We will be offering pizza from 5:15-6pm and then have STEM station time from 6 - 7pm . We will end the night by pulling completed STEM passport cards for raffle prizes. Please save the Feb. 27th for this fun, educational, and community building event.

One of our alumni parents recently helped create a fabulous new podcast, KidNuz! KidNuz is a weekday, nonpartisan newscast created just for kids. Click here to listen. It provides great information on current events!

The University of Notre Dame Glee Club is scheduled to perform at St Isidore! This amazing event will take place on Saturday, January 12th at 7:00pm in the church.

Random Act of Kindness

Random acts of kindness are deliberate attempts to brighten another person's day by doing something thoughtful, nice, and caring. Go out and spread kindness SIS. Please let the office know if you do or witness a RAOK.

The classroom and specialty teachers would like to thank all those who donated to the "Teacher Gift Contribution Fund" this year along with all those who filled their holiday with goodies and treats. Your generosity and kindness is appreciated!

Annual Parent Bake Off

It's time for the 5th Annual Catholic Schools Week Bake Off!

Dig out your favorite family recipes and have your children help you prepare for the 5th Annual Catholic Schools Week Bake Off! To celebrate Catholic Schools Week and treat our outstanding faculty and staff to some delicious family favorites please plan on bringing in something delicious to share and be judged on Thursday, January 31st to the Faculty Room by 8:00 am. Not only is this a great opportunity to treat our faculty and staff, it's a fun and friendly competition that can earn your family Dress Passes if your dish is selected as one of two favorites! Please click on this sign up genius for more information and sign up today!

Challenge Success

Click here to view "Six Things More Important than Grades."

Parish News & Notes

A Baptism Class is being offered on Sunday, January 13th from 10am-12pm at St. Isidore School for Catholic families whose child has not yet reached the age of 7 and has not been baptized. If interested please send a request to the school office with family name and telephone number before January 10, 2019. Jean Schroeder will return your call and provide the class.

Scrip

Scrip News...

Welcome back and Happy New Year St. Isidore families. Have you packed away your Christmas ornaments or is your home still an image of Christmas decorations past, present and still not sure? Set your year off to a fresh and organized start by buying SCRIP from The Container Store, Ace Hardware and Target, and stock up on plastic bins, big and small to put your treasured decorations away in an organized and safe manner. You will be so happy that you did, especially when you pull the bins down next year and find that your mantel decorations aren’t mixed in with your Halloween pumpkins.

Take the SCRIP New Year’s resolution challenge!

Buy more SCRIP and buy it weekly, bi-monthly or monthly. Make your coffee, gas and grocery routine SCRIP purchases, and as you get the hang of it, add gift and wish list items such as travel, furniture, home improvement, sporting goods, movies and dining to your order and soon you will be a happy SCRIP shopper. Click here to order.