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ST. LOUISE SCHOOL PARENT BULLETIN
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Last week, I wrote about how it's been proven that a dad's churchgoing habit is contagious and provides the best chance his kids will be faithful, churchgoers themselves when they grow up. While attending Mass weekly is critical for a dad's entire family, there are other private habits and devotions Catholic fathers can do to strengthen their personal relationships with the Almighty Father.
1. PRAY EVERY DAY - Pray when you wake up. Pray before meals. Pray when you're driving to/from work. "Without prayer, a man is like a soldier who lacks food, water, and ammunition," says Bishop Olmsted.
2. READ THE BIBLE - St. Jerome said, "Ignorance of the Sacred Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Bishop Olmsted points out the importance of fathers to be seen by their children as reading the Bible. Personally, I suggest you check out Psalms and Proverbs, which contain great words of wisdom for strengthening your faith and for raising children.
3. GO TO CONFESSION - Bishop Olmsted notes, "Jesus calls on all men to repent. Without repentance from sin, there can be no healing or forgiveness, and there will be no Heaven."
And let me add a 4th action:
4. ATTEND A SPIRITUAL RETREAT - Here at St. Louise Parish, dads have the opportunity to attend a Christ Renews His Parish retreat. Christ Renews His Parish, otherwise known as CRHP (pronounced as "chirp") is a national program that was brought to St. Louise a few years ago. This is a 2-day, 1-night renewal weekend at a local Bellevue hotel - with room and board totally paid for by the parish! At a Christ Renews His Parish retreat, there's a lot of food, some faith sharing, a Mass, and would you believe it - even a Happy Hour!
The goal of attending a CRHP retreat is to help you reflect on your current relationship with God and inspire you to be open to the way God is working in your life. In addition, past retreat participants have shared these benefits of attending CRHP:
- "The retreat provided an opportunity to connect and build friendships with other men in the parish and to become more of a part of the parish community."
- "Connecting with others helped me realize that other men have similar struggles and issues they are dealing with."
- "The retreat allowed me to take time away from my normal busy schedule for personal reflection, relaxation, fun, and good food."
- "Christ Renews His Parish was instrumental in helping me grow in faith and enhance my relationship with Jesus."
- "The brief time away to focus on myself and my faith has improved my relationships with my wife, children, and friends."
I attended a CRHP retreat last fall, and it was great to be able to take a break from my busy life, share faith stories with other men, and get to better know God's place in my life.
There are women-only CRHP retreat weekends as well as men-only retreats, and some of these same benefits could be listed by the ladies who have attended CRHP.
Unfortunately, the men's retreats are the lesser attended. St. Louise Parish has no trouble signing up ladies for the women's-only retreats - the next women's retreat is April 27-28. But it sometimes feels like pulling teeth to get enough men to sign up for the men's retreat - the next men's retreat is May 18-19.
And now that we know from my blog last week just how powerful the faithful witness of a father is to his kids, it's clear that it's critical to increase the attendance of the men's retreats in order to better assure our children's future relationship with the Lord. I strongly encourage St. Louise dads to sign-up! (If you can't make this May 18-19 retreat, they'll be another one next fall.) To sign up or for more information, please go
here
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Pax et bonum,
Thanks to those of you who have donated to our 2019 Annual School Gift Campaign. This is the required fund raiser that you were
told about in January. If you have yet to donate, or at least send in an initial pledge (for those who prefer to send in smaller, monthly donations instead of one, lump sum donation), we need you to
please respond at this time. Please contact
Cindy Wagner in the development office for more information or go
here.
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Upcoming Calendar of Events
- Kindergarten Concert in parish hall, 8:35AM
Saturday, March 23
- Aux. Bishop Mueggenborg will be at St. Louise for a day of reflection on the topic of "Gospel Lessons in Eucharistic Discipleship" 1:00-4:30PM
Sunday, March 24
Wednesday, March 27
- Photo Day for 8th graders in caps/gowns
Thursday, March 28
- The 2019 Walk-a-Thon kicks off with an assembly for the students and information coming home for the parents; thanks for starting to gather pledges and donations starting tonight and through April; the Walk-a-Thon is on Friday, May 3;
Friday, March 29
- Report Cards sent home with all K-8 students
Wednesday & Thursday, April 3 & 4
- School musical, Dear Edwina Jr., performs in parish hall at 6:30 for two nights only; tickets on sale but are selling out!
Wednesday, April 3
- Grades 6-8 receive Sacrament of Reconciliation
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Get Those Kicks Ready - It's Time for Walk-A-Thon 2019!
Coming up next Friday the 28th, your kiddos will get all pepped up and ready to go as we launch Walk-A-Thon 2019 at the kick-off assembly! Ask them about the assembly next Friday afternoon, and look for the WAT (Walk-A-Thon) Parent Packet with all the details to come home.
Here are some important details and dates to note:
- March 28: Walk-A-Thon Assembly; t-shirts, pledge sheets, and Parent Packets to come home.
- March 28 through May 3: Gather pledges and donations from friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers.
- April 29 through May 2: Charger Spirit Week! We will celebrate our community with Fun Dress Days as we gear up for the big event. Plus, this year, we'll duct tape Mr. Fitz to the wall as an added incentive to get those pledges and donations in! Yes, duct tape Mr. Fitz!
- May 3: Walk-A-Thon Day! This year we're adding a food bank donation walk to Hopelink, a tailgate party after school, and the squirt-gun station returns!
We are looking for volunteers to help support this fund raiser, so please click this Sign Up Genius link to volunteer! Thank you so much, in advance for volunteering!
We hope to raise more than $50,000 to support operational costs for St. Louise Parish School!
From your Walk-A-Thon Chairs,
Marinell Zevenbergen, Jen Sharp & Julianne Read
Charger Pride in Every Stride!
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Auction 2019 Has Launched!
We are excited to get things rolling for Auction 2019 - We Are One. We will soon be sending home your procurement and sponsorship packets! Please contact Julianne Read if you have questions or if you want to join one of the various Auction committees.
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We Love Our Volunteers
Thank you to these parents who helped with Tuesday's Vision and Hearing Screenings:
Cristina Sandino, Adriana Alvarez, Shiji Varuthattil, Pinky Gutierrez, Allison Weber, Sasha Lindgren, Lavina Goveas, Shyam Prakash, Seema Lukose, Nicole Wong, Arlene Isaksen.
Jane Reynolds has some re-checks to do of certain students and then will contact by the end of the month those parents whose children's screenings brought up concerns.
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Tickets On Sale for School Musical
The annual school musical this year is
Dear Edwina Jr., with our school's upper-grade and intermediate-grade students comprising the cast and crew, and our music teacher, Terry LaRussa-Banton (aka "Mrs. LB") directing and producing.
This year, we are excited to be bringing the school musical back to campus, after years renting out high school theaters. The play will be performed in our parish hall on Wednesday and Thursday, April 3 and 4. Both nights' performances begin at 6:30.
Tickets must be purchased in advance, as no tickets are sold at the door, and already we have sold out the premi
um seats in the "opera" section! If you would like to buy tickets for you and your children to come enjoy a fun night of theater, please use the flyer in last week's red family envelope or ask for an order form at the office. You'll note two remaining ticket prices:
- seats farther back in the parish hall in the "mezzanine" section are $10;
- floor space upfront (but with no chair to sit on) are $5 each and are suitable only for children age 5-12 who can sit responsibly and quietly by themselves on the floor for an hour.
If you have questions about Dear Edwina Jr. performances, please contact Mrs. LB.
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The recent Winter Concert showed off the dancing and singing skills of our 3rd and 4th graders.
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March Ma
dness Continues
How many of your purchases can you make this month using Charger Cards? Buy your gas, groceries and all other spending through Charger Cards first and pay for those cards with your credit card! Get your frequent flier points AND support St. Louise at the same time!
Until March 31, if you use your credit or debit card for purchases, there is no 'fee' for transactions in excess of $100.
For the next 10 days, if you want to take advantage of March Madness, stop by our Charger Card office on Friday mornings to pay in person by credit card. Or you may complete the credit card authorization form and send it in with your printed order. This method lets you order and pay with a credit card even if it's not convenient to visit during Charger Card office hours (Fridays, 8:15-9:00 am).
Where Will You Be During Easter Break?
Charger Cards carry many cards useful for travel this April:
- Hotels - Best Western, Hyatt, Clarion Hotels, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Fairmont
- Rental Cars - Avis, Budget
- Air - Delta, Southwest, American
- Travel - Disney, Princess Cruise, Celebrity Cruise, Carnival Cruise
- Gas & Auto - Chevron, Shell, 76, Arco, Safeway, Jiffy Lube
What's New?
Back in stock are Levue Nails gift cards $30 and $50 @20% rebate and Gene Juarez cards $100, $50, and $25 @10% rebate.
Use March Madness to benefit your family!
The Charger Cards sale office in the central wing of the original school is open on school-Fridays from 8:15-9:00AM.
Charger Cards...It's simple, it's thoughtful and it's truly the gift that
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Track and Field Sign-Ups Begin
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Registration is now
open here for all 4th-8th graders to sign up for CYO Track and Field. The St. Louise Track Team is known for setting records and generating fun and camaraderie among the student-athletes and their parents. It's a terrific program for kids of all athletic abilities!
If you need to order a St. Louise Track Team t-shirt, please mark the applicable box when registering. The t-shirts are $10 and are required. These are the same shirts as last year, so if you already have one that fits, you don'
t need to purchase another one.
Track practices will begin on Tuesday, April 16th and will be fro
m 5:00-6:30 every Tuesday at Tillicum Middle School and every Thursday at Odle Middle School.
Track Meets are held on the following weekends:
- Preliminary: Saturday, May 4
- Relay Meet: Saturday, May 11
- Qualifying: Saturday, May 18th
- 8th Grade Pentathlon: Sunday, May 19th
- Championship: Saturday, June 1st
If you have any questions or are interested in helping coach, please contact track coordinator Amy Wilken.
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PRAYER INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK
"For meditation , the ear of the soul is more important than the tongue. Most people commit the same mistake with God that they do with their friends: they do all the talking.
God has things to tell us which will enlighten us - we must wait for Him to speak.
No one would rush into a physician's office, rattle off all the symptoms, and then dash away without waiting for a diagnosis. It is every bit as stupid to ring God's doorbell and then run away.
The Lord hears us more readily than we suspect; it is our listening to Him that needs to be improved. When people complain that their prayers are not heard by God, what often has happened is that they did not wait to hear His answer.
Prayer, then, is not a monologue, but a dialogue. It is not a one-way street. but a boulevard. Prayer is arduous when it is only a
monologue
, but it is a joy when our self-absorption gives way to the act of humbly listening."
~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
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See what's happening on our St. Louise Facebook page
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