10/19/2021 -"The Morning Star" Weekly Newsletter Volume 6, Edition 11

The Morning Star Weekly Newsletter Vol 6, Edition 11 10/19/2021

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,

A HUGE THANK YOU to Jim Hundley & the Knights of Columbus from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church for coming out and putting on the Free Throw Contest on Friday! Our students had so much fun both, watching and participating. It was also really special to have a Christ the King Alumni and a reigning Knights of Columbus Free Throw Shooting National Champion from the 1970s here to speak to the kids!

Congrats to the following winners:

Joshua Ivey, McKenzie Parkins, Ghayda Jackson, and Franco Renhack

Congrats to our Morning Star School overall winner Franco Renhack! He will be going on to the next level to compete for the council championship.

To view free throw contest pictures, click HERE

Elaine Shott, Principal

FROM YOUR DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

At this time, we are in the process of remodeling the Morning Star House we purchased a few years ago. This house, located on an adjacent lot to our school, is the future home of the Life Skills Center. Due to the pandemic this project has been put on a hold for a short time. In the interim we are happy to be able to help our founding Sisters of St. Joseph! Our dedicated Sister Elise and her fellow sisters, Rita and Rea are losing their current place of residence in town and are in need of a home to stay for a short time until they retire. While we work on raising the funds to complete the Life Skills Center the sisters will be living in the Morning Star House. This will allow them the ability to easily walk to our school while continuing their ministry to our staff, students, and families. Please consider helping us minister to the Sisters of St. Joseph as they have done so lovingly for many years.

Thank you for your gift to Morning Star School, your generosity helps us to continue our mission of providing a unique, inspiring education that empowers students with learning differences to achieve their fullest potential.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Math Night RESCHEDULED

MATH NIGHT HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED TO Tuesday, November 9th at 6:30 pm, Math Night will be held for all grades, K-12. Please RSVP to Jontai Binder at ap@morningstar-jax.org by Friday, November 5th.

Halloween Fun Run

Wednesday, October 27^th, we will have our Halloween Fun Run. The races will be run in the morning and will include Intermediate 3, Junior High 1-3 and High school students. All classes participating are required to wear their P.E. uniforms to school on the day of the race. Each participant will receive cookies, water, and a goodie bag.

Fall Festival

Friday, October 29th, we will have our Fall Festival. Please help by signing up to donate trinkets and candy.

WE STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS AND DONATIONS

Click HERE to sign up to donate or volunteer! Due dates for items donated are stated on the Sign Up Genius. Please mark the donation with your child's first and last name so you may receive credit.

All students may wear a costume to school. Costumes must be school appropriate-no gory, scary, or inappropriate costumes will be permitted. If your child prefers not to wear a costume, he or she may dress in orange and black.

Our everyday health and safety guidelines will be followed during this event. Any snacks or drinks provided will be store-bought and individually pre-packaged. Students will collect candy and trinkets throughout the day. Teachers typically allow students to eat a few pieces of candy, and the rest is sent home. If you would prefer your child not partake in the snacks provided, please email your child's teacher and send in separate snacks for your child for this day.

REMINDERS

Dear Families,

The Yearbook Order Form has arrived! Please click HERE to view the yearbook flyer for step by step instructions on ordering this year's yearbook for your student(s).

Please note, with Tree Ring you are able to:

personalize your child's yearbook by adding photos from your phone/files, Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, and more (**These must be approved once uploaded. Any inappropriate photos or comments will not be sent to print.)
choose soft or hardcover (small upcharge)
answer fun memory questions to further personalize your book

All orders must be placed online. Orders placed by October 31st will receive a 5% discount.

Our best,

Ms. Brock & Mrs. Koci

Please remember to mark any donations to the school with your child's name so that you may receive your volunteer hours. Each $5.00 donation counts as 1 hour of your volunteer time.

Please email Sister Elise at kennedy@morningstar-jax.org if you have forgotten to label your donations or have questions about volunteer hours.

ON CAMPUS

Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest

A fun time was had by all at the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest! The weather was beautiful and the students were excited about cheering for their classmates. Thank you to Jim Hundley & the Knights of Columbus (council #14866) from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church for a wonderful event.

To view more free throw contest pictures, click HERE

EVENTS

2022 Gate River Run

Dear Parents,

I am taking this opportunity to let you know that your child is running 1 to 1.5 miles each week during P.E. class. During our classes we do interval training, students alternate jogging, running, and walking quickly. I am letting you know this because I would like for your child to register for the Gate River Run 1 Mile Challenge on March 5, 2022. It would be a great opportunity to run with your child as well! It is so much fun for students and they will be able enjoy to wearing their race t-shirt/medal to school the following Monday. I am requesting that parents run with their student(s) becase I will be jogging/walking the 9.3 mile run the same day.

If interested, please go to Gate River Run website https://gateriverrun15k.com/ and register your child for the Fun Run. If you sign your student up, please email me at awhitson@morningstar-jax.org and let me know. I am looking forward to preparing them for the race!

Thank you,

Coach Whitson

JUNIOR HIGH NEWS

Junior High 3 did an amazing job on their poetry project, which was on the lyric poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou. Students worked in groups, used teamwork skills, wrote stanzas, identified rhyme scheme/couplets, and created images (to match their stanzas).

HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

11th grade students studied and created artwork about the earth and moons rotation in science class.

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.

Submit a Story!