December 13, 2012
“Brothers and sisters:Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 4:4-7
Dear Families,
This Sunday is called Gaudete Sunday. It is a time to rejoice, because Christmas is almost here and the waiting is almost over! Church colors change from purple to pink this weekend, and the mood changes from somber to joyful. Our word of the week is “joy.” Think about how your family can spread joy this week. Joy is different from happiness. We are happy when things go our way and life is good, but joy is something deeper. Joy can permeate even the toughest of times because joy comes from within. There will be no newsletter next week. I will be in North Carolina with my family, meeting my new niece for the first time. I wish each of you and your families the merriest of Christmases. Know of my prayers for you during this holy time of year. May God bless you always. Please read on:
Lunches: Please see attached letter to order the school lunch for your child for the week of Jan. 2-3.
Report Card Conferences: Hopefully you have heard from your child’s teacher and made initial preparations for next week’s conferences. Parents of younger students should plan to make arrangements for their child so that you can speak to the teacher without distractions. The After School Program will be available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday for only $5 during conferences. Additionally, on Thursday, our 8th grade students will be offering childcare from 3-5pm and 6-8pm, again for $5 per child while you are at the conference with your child’s teacher. Please plan to take advantage of these offerings if you must bring your child to school, and please let your child’s teacher know if you plan to use this. Thank you.
Father Moran: As you know, Father Moran’s last day at St. Rose will be Monday, December 17. The Parish is having a goodbye luncheon for him on Sunday after the 11:30am Mass. All are welcome and invited to come and celebrate.
Christmas Festival: Many thanks to everyone who helped to make our Christmas Festival such a wonderful day for our students! Thank you to those of you who donated toys for the punch board and used items for Attic Treasures. Thank you to those of you who came to help set up, especially Ines Osorio, Jodie Hughes, Jason Leary, Rebeca Benavides, Dulce Martinez, and Cony and Rhina Bermudez. Thank you to all of the parents who came to help on Friday, especially Victoria Meho, Rosa Hanks, Lisa Leary, Rosa Amaya, Martha Amaya, Edgardo Rodriguez, Jose Ramirez, Dulce Martinez, Cony Bermudez, Rebeca Benavides, and Mayra Gutierrez. Thanks to everyone who stayed to help clean up, including Martha Amaya, Jose Ramirez, and Cesar Arias. A BIG thank you to all of the 8th grade students who helped all day long, and to the 7th grade students who played games in the gym with the younger grades. Congratulations to our raffle winners: Janicia (Rosie the Panda), Diana (IHOP breakfast), Nancy (Popcorn and movie), Cali (week of tag days!).
NO SCHOOL: THERE WILL BE NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 4. We will be closed for a staff retreat.
CHRISTMAS VACATION: NEXT FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21 IS A HALF DAY WITH DISMISSAL AT 11:30 AM. THERE WILL BE NO AFTER SCHOOL ON THIS DAY. SCHOOL WILL RESUME ON JANUARY 2.
Safety Reminder: Please do not open the doors to let people into the building. For security reasons and for the safety of our children, only St. Rose staff members from the office or custodians should answer the door and let people in. I know this is difficult, especially if you know the person knocking on the door, but please just alert the office or tell them to ring the bell and we will come. It is important that we know who is in the building at all times. Thank you for your help with this.
Tag Days: Please re-visit the description of dress code in the Student/Family Handbook, including what it says about dress on Tag Days. Hoodies and boots are not to be worn, even on Tag Days. Please see Ms. Keeton if you have any questions. Thank you! Our next Tag Day will be next Wednesday, Dec. 19.
Report Card Conferences: Thanks to all of you who made the effort to come and meet with your child’s teacher about his/her progress this week. Many thanks to the teachers as well, who stayed late and came in early in order to do this. We are eager to hear your feedback on the new report cards and will take into account your thoughts moving forward. Please let us know what you think!
Christmas Show: One of our favorite St. Rose traditions is first grade’s Christmas show. It will be next Thursday, Dec. 20 at 9:00 am in Hubner Hall. All are welcome! It’s a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and to remember what this holiday is really all about – the birth of our Lord. They have been practicing hard!
St. Rose Calendars: Need a desk calendar for next year? We have some beautiful ones with fantastic pictures of St. Rose students for sale in the office for only $12.00. This is a new sale price. Buy yours today! They make great stocking stuffers!!
Year of Faith: Pope Benedict has declared this the Year of Faith. Think about what you can do as a family to celebrate your faith in a special way this year! Here is a website with some suggestions:
Pope Benedict on Twitter: If you “tweet”, consider following Pope Benedict, @Pontifex. He sent his first official tweet yesterday!
Trash as Art: Before you throw out your old coffee cans, baby food jars, paper towel rolls, and egg cartons, please consider donating them either to our art teacher, Mrs. Parrella, or our K0 and K1 teachers, who frequently use these kinds of items with the OWL curriculum. If you are unsure if a certain item can be used or not, just ask! Thanks!
Box Tops: Please remember to cut box tops and bring them in; they help our school! We earn $0.10 for each box top we send in! This is a quick and easy way to help the school!
Stay Connected! Follow St. Rose School on Facebook ( and Twitter (@misskeeton).
Blessings,
Caitlin Keeton, Principal
580 Broadway.Chelsea.MA.02150
617.884.2626 (phone) 617.889.2345 (fax)