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The Morning Star Weekly Newsletter Vol 6, Edition 16 11/23/2021
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 Friends and Families,
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the people in our lives now and the ones that are no longer with us. We give thanks for all the moments others have touched our lives by a kind word, a loving smile, a hug when needed, or by someone who reached out when we most needed it in our lives. Yes, Thanksgiving is a time that our families gather around the dinner table, but it’s so much more. It’s sharing with our neighbors, giving a helping hand to a stranger, or saying how thankful you are to all the people in your life.

I would like to share a letter from a former parent. This letter reminds me of how grateful I am for all my former and current families. Thank you and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
My son Kyle was 4 years old when he was first diagnosed with Autism. As his mom, I can't express how lost I was at that time. I began to realize that the future would be different for him. As a parent, that was devastating for me. His older brother was attending Assumption Catholic School at that time. Our "plan" was to have Kyle follow right behind him, but now that wouldn't happen. I wanted him in private school just like his brother, but where would I find a school for kids like him?
 
In early 2000, when Kyle turned 5, I made an appointment with then principal, Ms. Teri. She assured me that they would love to work with Kyle and knew they could help him learn. My main concern was Kyle struggled to communicate, but they worked with him every day. 
 
I enrolled him to begin the fall of 2000 and he continued until he graduated from the 8th grade. (There was no MSS High School yet)
 
Morning Star School will forever hold a very special place in my heart. They were there for my son, and for me.
 
Today, Kyle is 26 years old. Since graduating high school, he has had a full-time job at Brooks Rehab in the dietary department, has his own health & dental insurance, and is doing pretty amazing!
 
I'm thankful that he was given the chance all those years ago.
 
Thank you MSS !
 
Christy Greuter 
God Bless,
Principal, Elaine Shott
FROM YOUR DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Greetings from your Development Department,

Our Annual Fund Campaign has begun, and we are hoping to make more friends than ever this year! 

This fund assists Morning Star School in Bridging the Gap between the cost of our tuition and the actual cost of educating students in our specialized learning environment. The ongoing COVID19 pandemic is still affecting our school in a variety of ways, not the least of which is hindering us from having our annual Gala again this year. This gala usually brings in over $60,000 towards our annual fund goal.  Our goal this year is $150,000.

The annual fund is an unrestricted account which aids in purchasing new curriculum, maintaining assistive technologies in classrooms which help students with learning differences, provide equipment for our physical education department, support testing services for students, upkeep on our playgrounds and outdoor equipment, and allow for our school to further assist families with our Tuition Assistance Program.

Every donation counts, no matter what size, and goes directly to helping our students. Visit the following link to become a Friend of Morning Star today!
Director of Development
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
November 24th-26th there will be no school due to Thanksgiving break. Classes will resume on Monday, November 29th.
December 3rd is a noon dismissal and a non-uniform day. After school care will be available that day.  
ON CAMPUS
Morning Star students enjoyed a delicious and plentiful Thanksgiving feast! Thank you to all who donated and organized this wonderful event for our students.
Congratulations to Franco, who won the Knights of Columbus free throw contest for the district!
PRIMARY NEWS
Students did a home family project where they used various art tools to disguise a turkey.
Students read How to Catch a Turkey and then wrote and drew about how we would catch a turkey. 
JUNIOR HIGH NEWS
Junior High 2 had fun working together to make their “turkey” box for our canned food drive!
Students enjoyed their field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo. Seems like the monkeys did too.
HIGH SCHOOL NEWS
Look what our high school students found during their outdoor break.
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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