🙏 The Messenger - January 14, 2022 🙏

January 14, 2022

Dear Families of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School,

As I think about what to write this week, in an effort to be transparent, I feel compelled to share some information about COVID. This week, we had between 10% - 12% of our student/staff population absent each day due to COVID. Nine were positive cases. Most were related to close contact either on campus or outside of school. From what I have heard from some of our school family physicians, we should be nearing the peak of this variant. As a staff, we have just completed a Novena to St. Raphael, the Angel of Health. My novena continues as I pray our school family --- and our wider community --- remain well.

I also want to write about what I see as the highlight of this week --- Wednesday’s School Mass. The Mass was beautiful! Our 1st graders did a phenomenal job proclaiming the Word and bringing up the gifts. Our Paduan Singers led us in song. And Father Jesse shared a beautiful story in his homily with the help of several students who acted out the story. He shared the story of St. Clare and left us with the simple message of helping others. He said that we show our love by the things we do for each other. He encouraged us to help our parents with the dishes, make our beds without being asked, doing small acts of kindness as Christ asks us to do --- just as St. Clare did. In a time when it can be easy to focus on the negative, what a great reminder for all of us to seek the good --- and do the good.

Only by His Grace,

Veronica Tucker

Principal

CURRENT STUDENT RE-ENROLLMENT FOR 2022-2023

Re-enrollment for returning students is Monday, January 24 – Wednesday, February 2.
Tuition and Fee Schedule for 2022-2023 will be available in next Friday's Messenger.
You will receive an email on Jan. 24th when your student’s re-enrollment packet is ready on your FACTS Family Online (ParentsWeb) account.
Tuition and fee payments must be current on your FACTS account.
If you have questions or need assistance contact Cathy Russell at crussell@staopcs.org.

ALL-SCHOOL NEWS

FATHER-DAUGHTER DANCE - JANUARY 29, 2021

Fathers and Daughters - join us for dancing, refreshments, and fun at our Father-Daughter Winter Wonderland Dance! It will be a magical evening that will enchant your daughter and be a special memory forever in her heart. Thank you for letting us know if you plan to attend!

Father-Daughter Dance RSVP

MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS RETREAT - FINAL DAY TO SIGN-UP!

Middle School (6th, 7th & 8th Grade) Girls are invited to join us for a morning of crafts, games, community, prayer and being enough for ourselves and the Lord. Snacks will be provided! Register your middle school daughter by January 14, 2022 for this awesome retreat! Register at: https://ap.school/girlsretreat

Saturday, January 29th | 9 AM - 12 PM | Bishop Sheltz Fellowship Hall
$15 per attendee (to be billed in FACTS)

SPRING SPORTS

Hey Dolphins! It is time to find out who is willing to make the commitment to St Anthony’s Baseball, Softball or Track programs. Please complete the Spring Sports Sign-up Form by Friday, Jan. 22nd if your student is interested in the following sports:

Boys Baseball - 6th, 7th & 8th
Girls Fast Pitch Softball - 5th thru 8th
Boys & Girls Track - 5th thru 8th

SPRING SPORTS COMMITMENT

2021-2022 YEARBOOKS

Order your '21-'22 Yearbooks now! All orders will be placed online using the button link below. Yearbooks are $45 and will be delivered at the start of next school year.

You may also create your own page or ad!

Full page ad - $150
1/2 page ad - $75
1/4 page ad - $50

ORDER A YEARBOOK!

PHOTO SHARING

Do you have great photos of athletics or school events that you'd like to share for use in our yearbook or in school media? Please upload photos to our school Dropbox at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/FempJtk0mApnkMAr3OjV. Photos can be uploaded at anytime before the end of the school year. Thank you for helping us showcase our students! If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Tressel at advancement@staopcs.org.

NURSE'S NOTES

We will continue to work closely with our local health department officials and the Catholic Schools Office to ensure the safety of our students and staff should the school experience a positive case of COVID-19. Please see the attached document regarding screening of your students and on-campus requirements should someone test positive for COVID-19.

Parents, please call or e-mail attendance@staopcs.org and Mrs. Pavlock (lpavlock@staopcs.org) if a child is out for illness.
REMINDER: Students must stay home if a household member is being tested for COVID and must remain out until results have returned.

ON-CAMPUS REQUIREMENTS

SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE (updated 12.29.21)

PADUAN PARENTS

PADUAN PARENT LUNCHEON

Our Paduan Parent Coordinators are organizing another staff luncheon for the faculty of STAOPCS and we need volunteer help setting up and bringing in desserts & drinks! Thanks for helping!

PADUAN PARENT LUNCHEON - Jan. 28th

CAR LINE VOLUNTEERS - Morning & Afternoon

We always need volunteers who are willing to help with car line in the mornings or afternoons! If you can volunteer, please contact Mrs. Bierbaum at cbierbaum@staopcs.org. Thank you for offering to help!

STEPS FOR STUDENTS

Steps for Students is an annual event benefiting the 56 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston- Houston. Over the last 16 years, this exciting day of family fun has brought together our Catholic community for a sunrise Mass, sanctioned 5K race and a post-race party in the Catholic School Village. We are very excited to return to gathering in person safely in 2022!

St. Anthony of Padua's Steps for Students team will be raising funds to fund a technology iPad cart to facilitate our new NWEA testing program. This is critical in allowing our testing to be conducted more efficiently among all grade levels. Thank you for supporting this effort!

FUN FOR TEAM MEMBERS:

The student who raises the most through their individual fundraising page will win an iPad!
All students who attend the race and beat Mrs. Tucker’s time will get a Homework Pass.
Middle School students who join our Steps for Students Team and attend the race will earn 2 service hours.
All students who join our team can wear their Steps for Students t-shirts and jeans on Monday, Feb. 14th.

JOIN OUR TEAM. There are 4 ways to participate:

5K TIMED: Compete against other runners and your best 5K time on this route! Price: $20.00 Race Fee
5K UNTIMED: Like the Timed 5K.... but not timed. Price: $18.00 Race Fee
FAMILY FUN RUN: Under a mile route. Price: $17.00 Race Fee
HIT THE SNOOZE FOR STUDENTS: Support Catholic schools without running the race! Register to Hit the Snooze and you will still receive the official race t-shirt shirt, but will not receive a bib or race medal. This is the option for those who would like to participate virtually. Price: $18.00 Race Fee

IMPORTANT DATES:

January 26, 2021: Deadline to guarantee a "St. Anthony Race Shirt" sponsored by Doucet Safety Analysis.
January 31, 2021: All race fees increase by $10.00.

JOIN OUR TEAM

RUN FOR THE ROSES GALA

PARTIES & SOCIALS

We are excited to announce more Gala Parties & Socials of the year! Gala parties and socials are hosted by faculty or families and can be adult, family or child-centered—and most importantly, FUN! All proceeds from Gala Parties & Socials benefit our school and students!

UPCOMING SIGN-UP PARTIES:

Thursday, January 27th - BREAKFAST BREAK - Middle School Students

Friday, January 28th - LIBRARY LOCK-IN - 2nd - 4th Grade Students

Friday, March 4th - LEGO PARTY - 1st - 4th Grade Students

IN-CLASS PARTIES

After great success last year, we will offer several Class Party options as in-class events held during the school day. Class Parties may be purchased for $500 for Pre-K through 5th Grade or $1000 for Middle School grades. When a party is purchased for a classroom, the teacher and all students are invited for the fun! Anyone may purchase a party for the benefit of one (1) classroom or grade (middle school), but we also encourage families to collaborate to select parties that their students will enjoy. Parties will be held on a mutually agreeable date with the teacher. In-Class Parties will be on sale until Feb. 5th.

In-Class Party Options:

1. BINGO & Brownies - This fun party for the whole class will feature bingo games, brownie treats, and PRIZES.

2. Pajama Party - Students can wear their pajamas, grab their favorite stuffy, and enjoy a movie and popcorn.

3. Sunny Day Sundae Social - Every child loves ice cream! Extra recess or social time and making the ultimate sundae will be on the schedule for this fun event!

4. Floats & Fun - Root Beer floats and old-fashioned outdoor games will be exciting for the whole class.

5. Minute to Win It - Are you in it to win it? Teams will complete various tasks using skill and speed while enjoying popcorn and treats.

Thank you to the families who purchased parties for their classes!

Pre-K3: Aertker, Aguerrevere, Broad, Carson, Chen, Junca, Meyer, Navarro, Dohm, Hogan, Sparks, Sierra, & Bunyan families. (Pajama Party)

Kindergarten-B: Hansen family (Floats & Fun) & Sewell family (TBD)

1A: Aertker, Bonilla, Brennan, Briceno, Chaparro, Cruz, Greenberg, Grijalva, Higham, Jurkus, Larkin, Linton, Pesce, Pashuck, Tajong, Vigil, Velardo, Ramirez Villasana, Walker, & Zelinka families (TBD)

1B: Chen (Sunny Day Sundae Social), Click & Kuna families (Bingo & Brownies)

2A: Dabdoub family (Minute to Win It)

2B: Brantley, Castillo, Dugas, Ebert, Flores, Hess, Mares-Boles, McKinney, Ourso, Romero, & Shaughnessy families (Minute to Win It and Bingo & Brownies)

3B: Lea family (Pajama Party)

4A: Dabdoub family (Floats & Fun)

AUCTION BASKETS & REGISTRY

This year's Class Baskets have been re-imagined as themes with your choice of basket to participate in instead of being grade-level specific. Please see the flyer for more details on each basket theme.

To make shopping even easier, our gala committee has put together an Amazon Gift Registry (https://www.amazon.com/wedding/share/runfortheroses) featuring many of the items we would like to include in our auction baskets/themes. Items may be shipped directly to the school or dropped off at the front desk anytime during school hours. To ensure proper recognition at the auction and on our Gala website (apschool.givesmart.com), please submit your donations no later than March 11, 2022. Please include your family's name with your donations/gift cards so that we can provide proper donation acknowledgment.