School Newsletter
03.10.22
Mission:
St. Anthony of Padua School Community
engages students in academic excellence
while guiding them to live as a reflection of Jesus.
School Calendar:

All upcoming dates can be found on the school website or app.  


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From Mrs. Pudelko:
St. Anthony Families,

Today you received an email asking for prayer requests for Father Mark as he recovers from a heart attack. He is in good spirits and doing well. Families are being asked to join our community on Saturday at 3:30 pm to pray a rosary for healing for Father Mark. This will be led by Kevin Matthews in the church. Your prayers are appreciated; we will keep you updated on his progress.

If you are a member of the parish, please take a moment to update your information with the Census documents that are in the Gathering Space. Having updated information is really helpful in maintaining records and communications.

Spring is in the air and there is a lot going on - we have several events planned for Lent and March is Reading Month. We are also looking forward to our Art Show, Talent Show, Spring Break, Easter, our Daddy Daughter Dance, the Wildcat Walk, and more! Our Home and School Association will be meeting on Wednesday evening to plan for additional Spring events. A middle school social event and parent event are on the list to discuss! I'm so thrilled to be feeling somewhat "back to normal!"

During Lent, we are working on two all-school art projects. The largest project is the creation of a crayon mosaic. We are in need of unwrapped (new or used) crayons to create this piece. As a school, we need to collect over 20,000 crayons. If you have old crayons at home you can donate, please send them in - if you can unwrap them first, even better! I look forward to this being a community-wide creation that will be displayed for years to come in our hallways.

Did you know that our students watch a weekly BrainBreak presentation focused on our virtues and tailored specifically to St. Anthony students? It also highlights a weekly student of the week and other fun facts. BrainBreak Live is scheduled for May 3rd. We encourage all families to mark their calendars for this night with Cameron Zvara!

Have a wonderful long weekend. Our teachers will be gathered with teachers from St. Paul the Apostle school tomorrow focusing on assessing and grading practices. These opportunities for collaboration and learning are so important for all of our staff.

God bless -
Jenny

**Please note there was a day off added to the school calendar for a staff retreat. Father Mark is allowed to designate one day off outside of the Diocesan school calendar. St. Anthony School and Childcare will be closed on Monday, May 9, 2022.
Noteworthy News:
  • REGISTRATION PACKETS: Registration packets for the 2022-2023 school year were sent home with students. The deadline for returning students to register is March 25, 2022, with no registration fee. Please complete the registration packet and return to school as soon as possible. If you are having any trouble accessing Blackbaud's Tuition Management or Financial Aid system, please use the following links:

https://www.blackbaud.school/

https://studentfinancialaid.blackbaud.school/#!/login
  • FAMILY DIRECTORY OPT-OUT FORM: The school office is compiling a digital family directory for the 2021-2022 school year. Please fill out the following FORM by Friday, March 18, 2022, if you would like to opt-out publishing any portion of your personal information (cell phone number, address, email address).

  • SAVE THE DATE...DADDY DAUGHTER DANCE: The Daddy Daughter Dance will be held on Saturday, April 23, 5:30-8:30pm. Stay tuned for more details!

  • TALENT SHOW APPLICATIONS: It is well-known that St. Anthony students have a lot of talent! If you sing, dance, play an instrument, act, do magic, gymnastics, tell jokes, or just have another unique talent, please be sure to print and fill out the attached permission slip found HERE. You must return the application to the school office before Friday, March 11. Auditions will be held on Tuesday, March 15, from 3:30-5:30pm. The dress rehearsal and show will be held on Wednesday, March 30 during school.

  • WHITECAPS READING CLUB: Today, students were given Whitecaps "reading trackers." Students will read during the month of March, have their parents fill out the back of their tracker form, and use this as their voucher to redeem 2 free tickets. Parents may redeem tickets by sending them in the mail, in person, or online. Participation in the Whitecaps Reading Club is optional.
Notes from last week:
  • ARTOME ART SHOW (in-person and virtual): St. Anthony is partnering with Artome again this year to showcase and fundraise for our K-8 art program. The virtual show is running alongside the in-person show in case any parents or loved ones can not make the in-person show. Only framed reproductions will be available for purchase during the virtual show; however, the originally drawn pieces will be in frames and displayed during the in-person show. These will be available for purchase the night of the show and taken home with their frame. Part of the proceeds from either event will go back to our art program! To learn more, see the attached FLYER or contact Ms. Ring (kaleighring@dogrschools.org).

  • ARTOME VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Please help make our Art Show a huge success!! Home and School is looking for a few volunteers to help during our Art Show next Tuesday, March 15, 2022. This is a great opportunity to have your student earn service hours! Please use the SignUpGenius LINK to sign up.
  • PARENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Please consider helping Jean Ricord and her children by providing meals for them for the remainder of the school year.  Ricord Family Meal Train
March Hot Lunch Menu:

Click image to bring up interactive live calendar. Please note we will not be continually sending separate blasts with last-minute changes due to continued shortages in the supply chain. This link along with the app will be updated automatically as soon as changes occur. (click on the calendar)
A Note from the Parish Office...

Dear Friends,

Yesterday afternoon Fr. Mark was admitted to the hospital where he was treated and is now recuperating from a heart attack.

Fr. Luis will be presiding at all liturgies this weekend and available for any sacramental emergencies that may arise.

Fr. Mark's doctors are requesting no visits or phone calls at this time. Cards can be sent to the parish office. He is not in need of anything including food at this time.

Everyone is invited to pray the rosary with Kevin Matthews for healing on Saturday, March 12 at 3:30 pm in the Church.

Please keep Fr. Mark in your prayers as he recovers.
March is Reading Month!
One Book. One School.

Week of March 14-18
Families can read chapters 7-12 together this week. 

Dress Up Day: Thursday, March 17 
Wear green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 

Home Activity: 
Create your own t-shirt. You can use the template provided or purchase a t-shirt and decorate this shirt with your favorite parts of the book. Wear your t-shirts on Monday, March 21 to share with the school. Return the template of the shirt to be hung around the school. 

At School Activity: 
Kindness Challenge 
Students will complete 3-4 kind acts on the chart. Completed Kindness Challenges can be turned into the school office. At the end of the month, all challenges will be put into a drawing for a number of prizes.  


Keepsake Bags
Students in grades PS-5 will receive a bag and will place 1-3 items that are special to them. Students will share with their classes their items. Look for more specific information from your child’s teacher. 
AmazonSmile:
AmazonSmile is a great opportunity to raise money for St. Anthony School. If you are planning to make any purchases on Amazon, please look at using AmazonSmile when making your purchases, as St. Anthony will receive .05% for each purchase when using AmazonSmile at no cost for you!

How it works:
  • Go to https://smile.amazon.com/, and then log in to your Amazon account.
  • Click the "Get Started" button.
  • When looking for the charity name, type in "St. Anthony of Padua Church" - please make sure the location is listed as Grand Rapids, MI.
  • Begin shopping!
Athletic News:

  • SPRING SPORTS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Registration for GRACEAC spring sports is now open! The following sports will be available for 5th-8th graders at GRACEAC member schools and parishes this spring - girls soccer, girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse, baseball, boys & girls track, and boys & girls tennis (6th-8th graders only). Registration can be done at the following link: GRACEAC Spring Sports Registration

  • ATHLETIC COMMUNICATION and CALENDAR: The athletic calendar will be updated regularly with practices times, game times, and deadlines. Please use the athletic calendar as a reference point for planning. It can be found on the school website and St. Anthony app. All athletic communication should be sent to athletics@saparish.com. **Please note all last-minute changes and cancellations will be found on TeamSnap App Notifications and Chats screen from GRACEAC, coaches, and athletic directors**

  • NW YOUTH SOCCER ASSOCIATION: Open to all children ages 1-15. See the attached FLYER for more information about the spring soccer season or click HERE for the sign-up form. The sign-up form is due by March 27.
Home & School Association Updates:

  • ARTOME - MARCH 15: St. Anthony is partnering with Artome again this year to showcase and fundraise for our K-8 art program. See this FLYER for more details! Please help make our Art Show a huge success!! We are looking for volunteers to help during our Art Show next Tuesday, March 15, 2022. This is a great opportunity to have your student earn service hours! Click HERE for the SignUpGenius link.

  • HOME & SCHOOL MEETING - MARCH 16: Join us on March 16 at 6:00 pm for our next Home & School meeting. Come hear about upcoming events, meet new people, share ideas, and more!
Parish News:
Stations of the Cross Schedule:

  • Friday mornings at 9:30 am led by Lynne Haley in Meeting Room C

  • Friday evenings during Lent at 6:30 pm in church

Lenten Vespers Schedule:

  • Sunday, March 13 at 3 pm in church

  • Wednesday, March 16 at 7 pm in church
St. Anthony of Padua App:

Please search "St. Anthony of Padua School" in the App Store or follow one of these links to download it. From here, all school information will be at your fingertips! The push notifications will allow you to stay connected to all important information, quick calendar access, staff contacts, and much more!
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St. Anthony of Padua School | 616-453-8229 x200
schooloffice@saparish.com | www.saparish.com
The school newsletter is sent weekly on Thursday. Any items to be submitted for the newsletter must be submitted by Tuesday via email to Ben Novitsky (bnovitsky@saparish.com).