October 2022


Celebrating our patron saint, Francis of Assisi, was such a wonderful way to begin the month! The children put the lessons that they learned from St. Francis into practice as October unfolded.  Hopefully, you and your family were also able to enjoy Francis Fest with the parish!


One of the first things that our students heard about St. Francis was his care for all that God has created, especially the animals. It was such a pleasure to have Fr. Alex and Fr. Jim come to read to each class the story of St. Francis and Gubbio. After the story, they blessed a myriad of stuffed animals including puppies, teddy bears, elephants, ponies, and an octopus; no one from the animal kingdom was left out! 


Following this special day, each class completed a service project for a local animal shelter by making dog biscuits. The activity was not only rich in fine motor practice, but also wonderful in helping our children participate in an act of kindness with which they could easily relate. Collecting acorns for the rescued pigs at Saving Grace provided another opportunity for the students to spread kindness towards animals as St. Francis did. Their hard work filled seven garbage bags full of treats for the pigs! Speaking of pigs, did you hear about Daisy and Farmer Minor who came and reminded us of the importance of reading! Daisy made us laugh, but also shared some good books and even hugs with our children! 


Our students were also able to practice extending kindness to several first responders in our community during the safety vehicle parade. There were posters, signs, flags, and many cheers to show appreciation and thankfulness for what they do. I am very grateful to the parents who helped make this event possible: John Gabbard, Joe McLaughlin, Alec Artze, and Vikki & Matt Lyman. Many thanks for all you do for our community!


Finally, please be sure to continue to follow our preschool Facebook page and weekly newsletter, Mini Bits. Ms. Shelley does a wonderful job posting pictures of things such as the Halloween parades and other fun events happening at our school. You will also find useful information such as how to bid on the silent auction items and buy game bands & class basket raffle tickets for our Harvest Moon Festival. For the first time since 2019, we will be able to have the in-person portion of the event. It will be in Fellowship Hall on November 6th from 1-3:00pm. There will be preschool games, food from the Knights of Columbus, and plenty of opportunities for fellowship with other families. While we hope that everyone can attend, we can’t make the day possible without many hands. Please kindly consider helping us by volunteering an hour of your time. We need everyone to help make the day a success and raise money for our preschool. While all that is raised is put directly back into our preschool, this year, a large portion of the money raised will go towards establishing a fund for future community programs that come to us. Farmer Minor and his pig, Daisy, are an example of one such program. We hope that we can bring in many more fun and unique learning opportunities for the children!


The teachers, staff, and I will look forward to the next month with harvest happenings, turkey excitement, and highlighting the manner of ‘gratefulness’. I give thanks every day for my preschool family! As all families, we try to offer care and support for one another. One way to do this is through prayer. Please extend a prayer at this time for one of our staff, Ms. Tere Burke, who is recovering from a serious medical condition with her heart.  Her prognosis is positive at this time, but she will likely have a long recovery. I know that she and her family would appreciate your prayers! Thank you for all of your support of her and our preschool! 

 

With Joy, 

Heidi

Heidi Hobler, Director

St. Francis of Assisi Preschool

11401 Leesville Road

Raleigh, NC 27613

919-847-8205 ext. 240

www.preschoolatstfrancis.com