Dear Families of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School,

Firstly, thank you to all who have already re-enrolled for the 2023-2024 academic year. It is an honor to have your students at our school. I am so grateful each year when the re-enrollments are submitted, and we see the roster for the next year coming together. If you have not yet registered, please be sure to do that soon before spots are opened up for new Dolphins. 

This week, we had our first all-school Monday morning assembly. We prayed together and recited the pledges and Mission Statement. We then recognized the achievements of our students in the Archdiocesan Spelling Bee (way to go, James!) and the Stock Show Art Contest (awesome job, Gracie and Hallie!) We also discussed the opportunity for new beginnings and fresh starts that January offers and explored this month’s character trait: PERSONAL BEST. 

Doing our personal best means putting in 100% effort, using all the talents God has given you to push yourself. However, we also know that at times, we won’t succeed. Doing your PERSONAL BEST also means not giving up, taking failures in stride and remaining optimistic. Sometimes PERSONAL BEST means seeking out the advice and help of others so that they can help you to raise your own bar. We see this in the lives of the saints, who reached out to others to do their best in living out lives of holiness. 

When I think of Saints who lived out their PERSONAL BEST, one that quickly comes to mind is someone on the road to Sainthood, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Pier Giorgio strived to do his best at all times. School was hard for him. He struggled academically. He didn’t always pass his exams. But he turned to prayer and his friends and persevered. He always gave his all. One thing I especially love about Frassati is that he helped his friends to be their PERSONAL BEST whether that was in their studies, in athletics or in being good Christians. This month, and every month, may we strive to live out our PERSONAL BEST in all that we do. In February’s assembly, we will distribute Character Awards for PERSONAL BEST.

Only by His Grace,

Veronica Tucker

Principal 

CURRENT STUDENT RE-ENROLLMENT FOR 2023-2024

• Re-enrollment for returning students is Monday, January 23 – Wednesday, February 1.
• Current families can access their student's re-enrollment packet on FACTS Family Online (ParentsWeb).
• Tuition and fee payments must be current on your FACTS account.
• If you have questions or need assistance contact Cathy Russell at crussell@ap.school.

MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITING LEADERS

6TH GRADE: Javier Guerra - Librero, Kate McCollor, Jane Rosas

7TH GRADE: Carlos Garza, Sarah Patino, James Curtin, Ellie Tressel

8TH GRADE: Bo Huard, Cybelle Smithson, Ceci Amparan, Macarena Musi, Alexa Earles

FATHER-DAUGHER DANCE - Saturday, January 28

6:30 - 8:00 PM | Gym

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! 

NATIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Saturday, Jan. 28 or Sunday, Jan. 29 | Celebrate Your Parish

Students who attend Saturday evening or Sunday Mass in school uniforms can have Free Dress on Monday, January 30th! Show your support of Catholic education in our parishes! The second collection at St. Anthony will be donated to our school.

• 11:00 AM Sunday Mass will be led by student readers, ushers, and our school choir.

Monday, Jan. 30 | Celebrate Your Community

• Students who wear their school uniforms to Sunday Mass may have Free Dress.
• Money for Mary stewardship project begins. Each classroom will be collecting dollars to support Mary's Meals. Mary's Meals sets up school feeding programs in some of the world's poorest communities, where hunger and poverty prevent children from gaining an education. Which class will raise the most dollars throughout the week? 
• We can use volunteers to help us with money counting next week! Please sign-up if you can help (Sign-Up Genius)!

Tuesday, Jan. 31 | Celebrate Your Students

• Students may wear Spirit Shirts & Jeans and enjoy a few surprises throughout the day!

Wednesday, Feb. 1 | Celebrate The Nation

• Students will pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet after the conclusion of Mass.

Thursday, Feb. 2 | Celebrate Vocations

• Classes will participate in adoration throughout the day.

Friday, Feb. 3 | Celebrating Faculty, Staff, and Volunteers

• Pastries with Parents, 7 - 7:40 a.m., Join your student for a donut in Sheltz Hall & walk them to class.
• Students may wear red shirts with uniform bottoms for Hearts Disease Awareness
• Final Day to contribute to Money for Mary.
• School will gather for afternoon Students vs. Faculty Musical Chairs Basketball Game.
• Final Day to bid on Gala Teacher Experiences.

ENGRAVE A BRICK!

Help St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School finish paving our playground area, and build a legacy! All proceeds will benefit the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School Endowment. You may individualize a brick for you, your family, honor a loved one, or make a memoriam. The donated bricks will become a part of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School as a lasting tribute, paving the way for generations to come. Ordering will close April 1, 2023 and bricks will be installed in the summer of 2023.

2022-2023 YEARBOOKS

Order your '22-'23 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! Commemorate your student's school year!

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

NURSE NOTES

For 1/22/23 to 1/27/23:

Pre-K3, Pre-K4 & 7th - reported case of conjunctivitis (pink eye) in each grade level

2nd & 5th - reported case of lice in each grade level

1st, 5th & 8th - a reported case of strep throat in each grade level

Please continue to report any reportable illness (i.e. flu, strep throat, pink eye, covid, RSV…) to lpavlock@ap.school and any absences to attendance@ap.school. Continue to encourage handwashing, sneezing and coughing into the bend in the arm. 

Dolphins basketball results this week:

1/23/23: Boys vs St Anne TB at SAOPCS, C-Team Crusaders – 18, Dolphins - 8, JV Crusaders – 28, Dolphins - 27, Varsity Crusaders-38, Dolphins - 30

1/24/23: Girls vs St Anne TB at SAOPCS, Varsity Crusaders – 39, Dolphins - 30

1/27/23: Boys and Girls vs Epiphany at St John XXII HS – VARSITY Girls 4:00, JV Boys 5:00 , Varsity Boys 5:45 - TBA

1/28/23: JV Boys at the Salem Lutheran 7th Grade Boys Basketball Tournament – First Game 9:00 am

Dolphins sports next week:

SAOPCS Varsity Girls GHCAA Basketball Play-Offs - TBD

PADUAN PARENT SHOUT-OUTS

Thank you to everyone who helped provide desserts, drinks and lunchroom coverage for our Faculty and Staff luncheon today! A big shout-out to Allie Landry for helping with set-up and coordinating the luncheon!

We'd also like to SHOUT-OUT Paduan Parent Bernadette Meyer for assisting us with redesigning our school athletics logos for each athletics team! Check out examples of the new logos!

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK - STEWARDSHIP PROJECT COUNTING

Money for Mary stewardship project begins on Monday! Each classroom will be collecting dollars to support Mary's Meals. Parents - we can use your help counting dollars! Sign-Up to help with money counting!

Steps for Students is an annual event benefitting all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Galveston- Houston. Over the last 17 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. Anthony of Padua's Steps for Students team will be raising funds to upgrade sound and lighting in our gym to improve our student programs and fine arts presentations! Thank you for supporting this effort. Join our team at: https://runsignup.com/apschool

THANK YOU! 7th Grader, Jacob Hubbard inspired our t-shirt design for this year's race and Doucet Safety Analysis will sponsor our team t-shirts this year! The Knights of Columbus will stock snacks and man our team tent in the Catholic Schools Village!

FUN FOR TEAM MEMBERS:

• 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. 13th.

There are 4 ways to participate:

1. 5K TIMED: Compete against other runners and your best 5K time on this route! Price: $20.00 Race Fee
2. 5K UNTIMED: Like the Timed 5K.... but not timed. Price: $18.00 Race Fee
3. FAMILY FUN RUN: Under a mile route. Price: $17.00 Race Fee
4. 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: $20.00 Race Fee

IMPORTANT STEPS FOR STUDENTS DATES:

• January 31, 2023: All race fees increase by $10.00.
• February 11, 2023: Race Day, Timed Race starts at 8:30 AM.

TEACHER EXPERIENCES AUCTION - BID NOW!

Your student can be "Teacher for the Day"! Each year as a part of our gala, the teachers and staff donate experiences as a part of our silent auction.

These experiences are open for online bidding for ONE WEEK ONLY (Jan. 27 - Feb. 3)!

BID NOW AT: apschool.givesmart.com!

BIDDING CLOSES AT THE FOLLOWING TIMES ON FRIDAY, FEB. 3:

10:00 PM FOR:

• 8TH GRADE TEACHER
• 7TH GRADE TEACHER
• 6TH GRADE TEACHER
• MRS. FELCHAK: 5th Grade
• MRS. RAMIREZ: 5th Grade
• MRS. NAEHER: 4th Grade
• MRS. GAMBERTOGLIO: 4th Grade
• MRS. PREUSS: 3rd Grade
• MRS. LOYO: 3rd Grade
• MRS. WEST: 2nd Grade
• MS. GUION: 2nd Grade
• MRS. MEYER: 1st Grade
• MRS. DOYLE: 1st Grade
• MRS. FAW: Kindergarten
• MRS. JOHNSTON: Kindergarten
• MRS. HARRIS: Pre-K4 Teacher
• MRS. WILSON: Pre-K4 Teacher

10:30 PM FOR:

• MR. SCALE: Band Teacher - Middle School band student
• MRS. LIENHARD: Music Teacher - 3rd through 8th grade student
• MRS. MORGAN: Librarian - 3rd through 8th grade student
• MRS. JOHNSON: Spanish - Kindergarten through 8th grade
• MR. CAYANAN: Religion - 3rd through 8th grade
• MRS. BLOUIN: Assistant Religion - 3rd through 8th grade
• MRS. ETTMAN: Art Teacher - 3rd through 8th grade
• MS. MCDOWELL: Music & Theatre - Middle School student
• COACH QUICKEL: Athletics - 2nd through 8th grade
• MRS. KOETT: Assistant Athletic - 1st through 8th grade

11:00 PM FOR:

• Front Office Adventure - 3rd through 8th grade
• Advancement Adventure - 3rd through 8th grade
• Kitchen Adventure - 3rd through 8th grade
• MRS. GARFIELD: Counselor - 1st through 8th grade
• MRS. PAVLOCK: Nurse - Kindergarten through 8th grade
• MRS. BLAKESLEY: Enrichment - 1st through 8th grade
• MRS. SALINAS: Kinder Assist.
• MRS. OSMAN: Kinder Assistant
• MRS. PERRY: Pre-K4 Assistant
• MS. FLOT: Pre-K4 Assistant

Don't want to miss out on bidding for your favorite teacher? Try AUTO BID!

Allow the system to automatically bid up to a designated amount for you. The system will bid incrementally up to the amount designated as long as someone else places a bid against you. If no one bids against your auto bid, the price remains the same.

1. Click the item of interest 

2. Click the Auto Bid tab

3. Enter in the maximum amount you would like to bid

4. Click Bid. 

IN-CLASS PARTIES

After wonderful past success, 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 $1,000 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(s). 

In-Class Party Options:

• BINGO & Brownies - This fun party for the whole class will feature bingo games, brownies, and PRIZES. Students may wear Spirit Shirts & Jeans on their party date!
• Movies & Munchies – Join your friends for a screening of a favorite film! Popcorn and snacks will be served and students may wear Spirit Shirts & Jeans on their party date.
• Pajamas & Pancakes – Rise & shine with Pajamas & Pancakes for your class! Students may wear pajamas for the day!
• Sundae Social - Everyone loves ice cream! Extra recess or social time and making the ultimate sundae will be on the schedule for this fun day! Students may wear Spirit Shirts & Jeans on their party date!
• Trivia & Treats – This fun party will feature trivia games, treats, and prizes! Students will be able to wear Spirit Shirts & Jeans on their party date.

In-Class Parties will be on sale until Feb. 3rd. Parties will be held on a mutually agreeable date with the teacher.

• PRE-K3 IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• PRE-K4A IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• PRE-K4B IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• KINDER-A IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• KINDER-B IN-CLASS PARTY (1 Party Available)
• 1A IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 1B IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 2A IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 2B IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 3A IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 3B IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 4A IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 4B IN-CLASS PARTY (SOLD OUT)
• 5A IN-CLASS PARTY (1 Party Available)
• 5B IN-CLASS PARTY (1 Party Available)
• 6TH GRADE IN-CLASS PARTY (1 Party Available)
• 7TH GRADE IN-CLASS PARTY
• 8TH GRADE IN-CLASS PARTY

Thank you to all who contributed to In-Class Parties this week! We will be scheduling all parties soon!

Kindergarten A (Sundae Social/Movies & Munchies): Boles, Bonilla, Chaparro Matute, Dabdoub, Dinten, Faw, Fawcett, Garfield, Graham, Greenberg, Grossi, Kroger, Laborde, Mateos, Matson, Mier Renpening, Morgan, Orendain, Richards, Rosenfelder, Shaughnessy, Suniga, Wilkes Families

1B (Movies & Munchies/Pajamas & Pancakes): Borsboom, Burns, Dohm, Goduto, Gorg, Huynh, Junca, Mansur, McKinney, Meyer, Mounce, Navarro, Njuguna, Qadir, Rosales, Rothe, Sierra, Smithson, Wood Families

3B (BINGO & Brownies): TBA

SIGN-UP PARTIES

Gala Sign-up Parties are hosted by faculty or families and can be adult, family or child-centered—and most importantly, FUN! All proceeds from Gala Sign-Up Parties benefit our school and students. Thank you to all of our hosts for working hard to plan these parties for our school!

CURRENT AVAILABLE PARTIES:

Saturday, Jan. 29

FREEZE & SQUEEZE

WELLNESS PARTY

For St. Anthony Moms & Friends

Thursday, Feb. 9

BREAKFAST BREAK

For Middle School Students

Saturday, March 4

COCHON DE LAIT

Family Party

PRIEST MEALS

A Meal Train has been created to help feed our priests at the rectory weekly. If you would like to sign-up to provide a meal, please click the link, review the instructions and pick a date to sign-up! https://mealtrain.com/e17zoe

MONDAYS - Chess Club, 3:45-4:45 PM, Library

TUESDAYS - Parent Rosary Group (English) 8:15 AM, PLB Room 204 

TUESDAYS - Awakening! Bible Study (Middle School) 7:15 AM, Paduan Center 

THURSDAYS - Parent Rosary Group (Spanish) 8:15 AM, PLB Room 204

THURSDAYS - ROBO Fins Robotics Club, 4-5 PM (7th & 8th Graders)

WEDNESDAYS - Mass Choir, 6:45 AM, Sheltz Hall 

WEDNESDAYS - Run Club, 3:30 PM, Sports Fields

WEDNESDAYS - Art Club, 3:45-5 PM, Art Room

FRIDAYS – Quiz Bowl, 3:45-5:00 PM, Mrs. Sturgeon's Room

Please check the calendar and/or communications from club advisors regarding cancellations or changes. 

01/27/2023 - GALA: Teacher Experiences open for bidding

01/28/2023 - Daddy-Daughter Dance (RSVP link)

01/29/2023 - Catholic Schools Week (CSW) January 29- February 4

01/29/2023 - Mass (Catholic Schools Week), 11:00 AM

01/30/2023 - CSW: Students who wear uniforms to Sunday Mass may wear Free Dress.

01/31/2023 - CSW: Spirit Shirt & Jeans Day

02/01/2023 - Mass (5B Catholic Schools Week)

02/02/2023 - Future Family Open House, 6:30 - 8:00 PM

02/03/2023 - Pastries with Parents, 7-7:40 AM

02/03/2023 - National Wear Red Day for Heart Disease Awareness - students may wear red shirts with uniform bottoms.

02/03/2023 - GALA: Final day to purchase in-class parties

02/03/2023 - GALA: Teacher for the Day Auction Closes (10:00 PM, 10:30 PM, 11:00 PM at apschool.givesmart.com)

02/06/2023 - Morning Assembly in the Gym, 8:00 AM

02/06/2023 - New Student Enrollment begins

02/08/2023 - Mass (4A), 9:00 AM

02/09/2023 - GALA: Middle School Breakfast Break

02/09/2023 - GALA: Pizza with the Principals

02/10/2023 - $5 Free Dress benefiting Steps for Students Team

02/11/2023 - Steps for Students

Full Calendar available in FACTS and on the App!

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS

Do you have athletics or school event photos that you'd like to share for possible use in our yearbook or in school media? Please upload photos to our school Dropbox at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/UW0oqUAV9OySKlqlOShr. Photos can be uploaded at anytime before the end of the school year. Thank you for helping us showcase our athletes and students! If you have questions, please contact Mrs. Tressel at advancement@ap.school.