The Morning Star Weekly Newsletter Vol 6, Edition 4 8/31/2021
Morning Star School Mission Statement

Rooted in the Gospel and strengthened by the sacraments, the mission of Morning Star School is to provide a unique, inspiring education empowering students with learning differences to achieve their full potential.
Dear Morning Star Families and Friends,
It was wonderful to see so many old and new faces at our Family Fun Day. We had a wonderful time. Thank you to the Knights of Columbus, Fr. Rafael, and Fr. Mark.

Is reading challenging for your child? Would you be interested in learning ways to help your child with reading? Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, September 14, at 6:30 pm for our school Literacy Night!

Remember, midterm grades will be emailed home next Friday. 

Elaine Shott, Principal
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
September Mass
mass
Thursday, September 2nd, 10:00 am our school Mass will be held at Christ the King Church.

Parents are welcome to join us. Face masks are required.
Noon Dismissal & Non-Uniform Day  
Friday, September 3rd is a noon dismissal and a non-uniform day. After school care will be available that day.  
Labor Day Holiday 
Monday, September 6th school will be out for Labor Day!
Literacy Night
Tuesday, September 14 at 6:30 pm, Literacy Night will be held for all grades, K-12. Please RSVP to Mrs. Binder at ap@morningstar-jax.org by Friday, September 10th.
Fall Campus Clean Up - Volunteer Opportunity
Saturday, September 25th is our Fall Campus Clean Up Day!

Please come out and help us spruce up our campus. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Please bring your own tools and gloves if possible.

To sign up click HERE.
REMINDERS
Our Home & School Association provides fun events and activities throughout the school year to enhance the educational, spiritual, and social experiences of MSS students and families. 

If you are interested in filling one of the positions below, please contact Home & School President Earline Fick at 904-607-1243 or efick@ymail.com.
For descriptions of the following positions click HERE.

  • Fall Festival Co-Chair
  • Spring Musical Dinner Coordinator
  • Christmas Musical Dinner Coordinator
  • Sign up Genius Coordinator 
  • Santa's Shop Coordinator
  • Secretary
  • Teacher Appreciation Day Coordinator
  • Uniform Closet - Coordinator
Volunteer Opportunity
We a are looking for a volunteer to sort, fold, and organize donated uniforms. If you are interested, please contact our new front office receptionist, Jennifer Capri, at jcapri@morningstar-jax.org.
How to Volunteer at MSS
At this time, we are still limiting visitors/volunteers but if you would like to volunteer, please call the front office to learn about opportunities. Also, look for future volunteer opportunities in our weekly newsletter.
Volunteering at Morning Star:

Morning Star School requires each family to contribute fifteen hours of volunteer service to the school annually. Parents not serving fifteen hours will be required to pay $5 per hour for the lacking hours. Invoices will be sent home for remaining hours in May.

Please know that everything you do makes a difference, and we are grateful to have your help. Parent participation is crucial to our school.

To be able to volunteer in the school you must attend the “Protecting God’s Children" class and undergo a Live Scan Fingerprinting. Until this screening process is complete you will not be allowed to volunteer in the school. Sign up for your Protecting God's Children class soon, they fill up very quickly.

For more information about volunteering click HERE
MSS SPOTLIGHT
Earline Fick, Our 2021-2022 Home & School Association President
My name is Earline Fick and my family and I have been a part of the Morning Star family for six years. I worked in the medical field for a little over twenty years specializing in medical billing, training, and management. My husband and I are both ordain ministers. I have been a director and teacher of Sunday school for over fifteen years.

I have been married to my husband Michael for a little over 24 years. Our biggest blessings are our three kids, Skylar (15) sophomore at Bishop Kenny High School, Sterling (11) in junior high at MSS, and Starr (9) at Assumption Catholic School. Our bonus baby is my niece Kierra who we have raised since she was six months old. We also have a dog named Chip who is a Chihuahua mix.
We love sports and enjoy watching our kids play volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, and run track. One of our kids has taken on singing and acting, which has been a fun to watch. Our biggest joy is seeing our kids smile and achieving their goals. We love being part of Morning Star and it will be a joy to get to know everyone this year. Becoming a part of MSS is by far one of the best decisions we have ever made.  
EVENTS
MSS Family Fun Day

A HUGE shout out to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church for hosting Morning Star's Annual Family Fun Day this past weekend. A special, heartfelt thank you to Father Rafael for hosting our families and staff for such a great day, Father Mark for presiding over the beautiful Mass, the Knights of Columbus for, not only coordinating this event but, making sure we had yummy food to eat and fun activities to participate in, and, most of all, the families who came out, despite the patchy areas of rain, to show their love and pride in our school! We are so grateful for this opportunity to fellowship with St. John's Parish while continuing to celebrate the mission of Morning Star School.  
MSS Students to Play on Christ the King Basketball Teams

Exciting News! This year we have five MSS students who will play on the CTK basketball teams.

AKol, K'Lon, and Colton made the boy's varsity team, Madalyn made the girl's varsity team, and Ace made the boy's junior varsity team. Congratulations, we are all rooting for you!
Christ the King Basketball Schedule
Come out and cheer for our students!

Tuesday - 9/7 - at Holy Spirit
Monday - 9/13 - vs. Cathedral
Wednesday - 9/15 - vs. Blessed Trinity
Monday - 9/20 - vs. St. Pauls
Wednesday - 9/22 - at Resurrection
Monday - 9/27 - at St. Matthews (BOYS ONLY - game at 4:30pm)
Wednesday - 9/29 - vs. St. Michaels
Monday - 10/4 - vs. St. Patrick

Games - Girls at 5:00 pm, Boys at 6:00 pm
PRIMARY NEWS
Primary 2 students enjoyed creative play, learning to be vets, experimenting with what sinks and floats, and just being very creative! 
INTERMEDIATE NEWS
Mrs. Franqui's students started the day with a vocabulary quiz that Boo and Buttercup (the class guinea pigs) wanted to be a part of. Boo and Buttercup are the designated chill friends, they help everyone to breathe and go with the flow. Students then played a spelling game called, Green Light, Red Light. This game is a way for the kids to practice spelling words with dry erase markers, erasers, and a dry erase board

During Math time, students used technology to log on to Kahoot and there they practiced place value, related addition facts, greater and less than problems and addition and subtraction within twenty. Kahoot is a great way for students to reinforce concepts that they are learning in the classroom. After lunch, students were able to redeem their Class Dojo points at the store run by Coach Bryan and they also had a special visit from Mission. Lastly, the kids were able to show off some collaborative strategies and work together to design a gorgeous building! Look at those proud faces!
HIGH SCHOOL NEWS
Thank you to the Catholic Foundation’s Grant Committee for choosing Morning Star School as one of their grant recipients. Part of the grant went toward a new social studies curriculum. Our students have been putting it to good use. In geography class, students explored Google Maps to help them create a map of their own neighborhood.
HELP US RAISE MONEY FOR MSS!
WHEN SHOPPING ON AMAZON SHOP ON AMAZONSMILE INSTEAD!
SELECT MORNING STAR SCHOOL AS YOUR FAVORITE CHARITY AND
A PORTION OF YOUR PURCHASE WILL BE DONATED TO OUR SCHOOL!
If you shop on Amazon, make sure you shop on AmazonSmile. It's exactly the same Amazon you love but a portion of your purchase price will be donated to our school each time you shop!

1. Visit AmazonSmile
2. Select Morning Star School of Jacksonville as your charity of choice and start shopping! 
3. Bookmark the AmazonSmile link and use it each time you shop with Amazon!  (Proceeds will only be donated if you are logged into AmazonSmile).
Download the Box Tops App Today!
Box Tops is a great way to earn fundraising dollars! And now there is a new phone app which makes it easier to earn points for our school! Shop as you normally would, then simply scan your store receipts to find participating products. The app will automatically credit your school's Box Tops earnings online. It's a much easier way to help us earn dollars.

Download the new Box Tops App HERE.
Watch a video about the new process HERE

You may still clip Box Tops and send them to school. Physical Box Tops clips are being phased out of production but may continue to be found on many products throughout the store.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER...
  • Turn in your box tops weekly. They do expire.
  • Be sure to NOT cut the code off. We cannot use it if the code is missing even one of the digits.
  • Place them in a zip lock bag and send them in with your student.
SUBMIT A STORY
If you have a great story, please share it with us. We love showcasing the many talents of our students and their families. To submit a story, click the button below.
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