PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION

MR. RIDDER’S REMINDERS

Dec 15              Textbook Loan Forms Due Today
                          1^st Grade 6:00 & 2^nd Grade 6:45 Christmas Music Program
Dec 16               Uganda Dress Down Day for Reaching Food Drive Goal
Dec 19              Kindergarten Christmas Program 6:30
Dec 19 & 20      Pre-S/Pre-K Christmas Program 9:30 & 1:30
Dec 20              SCRIP Promotion – Dress Down Day – Wear Red & Green
Dec 20              K-8^th Christmas Parties 2:15-3:00
Dec 21-Jan 3    Christmas Break – No School
Jan 4                School Resumes

UGANDA DRESS DOWN DAY TOMORROW!

DID YOU KNOW…that we raised over $9000 for Jump Rope for Heart! The top grade was 6th grade and the top seller was Sydney Schumacher.It is AMAZING how giving these kids and families are for such a great cause! Several of our own students are directly affected by the great work of the American Heart Association or we know someone who has suffered from some sort of heart condition. What a great result and proof of how giving our St. Patrick's Family is!

LUNCHTIME HOLIDAY PRIZE GIVEAWAY FRIDAY - Mr. & Mrs. O’Hara are doing a few holiday surprise giveaways during lunch tomorrow. This will only be available to students who choose to eat hot lunch. Cheri and Denny will be placing stickers randomly on the bottom of some of the lunch trays. If the student finds a sticker on their lunch tray, they are to leave it on their tray. At the end of their lunch time, the student is to take their tray, (with the sticker still on it) to Mr. or Mrs. O’Hara and they will receive their surprise giveaway. If the sticker is removed or not still on the bottom of their tray, they will be disqualified. Examples of possible prizes are movie passes (3 total), free lunch (3 total) and candy canes.

TO ST. PATRICK’S HOME & SCHOOL COMMITTEE & THEIR ELVES - THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO TO SUPPORT OUR STAFF! On behalf of our School Office Staff, all of the Teachers, Teacher’s Assistants, Food Service, and Maintenance, we would like to express our deepest thanks to the Home and School Elves Committee and specifically to ALL of the families for the monetary donations to the Elf Program. Each staff member that works with students received a generous SCRIP gift certificate for Christmas.  This would not be possible without the support of you – the parents and families that donated! Please know how thankful we all are! We also are so thankful for the numerous gifts of every nature, goodies, snacks etc. Each and every gift reminds us of the awesome community we belong to here at St. Patrick’s School. 

TEXTBOOK LOAN PROGRAM FOR 2011– Forms for the 2012- 2013 School Year will be sent home with EVERY CHILD in kindergarten thru 7^th grades.  In order to qualify for this program, parents/guardians must fully complete the Textbook Loan form and return it to the school office by Thursday, December 15, 2011.Textbook Loan is a federally supported program that allows private schools to borrow textbooks from the school districts that the private school resides in.  The finances for this program come from the government, and the public schools work with the private school to coordinate the program.  This program helps to keep tuition costs from down for all students.
PLEASE complete both sides of the form.  The Appendix A form should be completed as follows:

• Fill in the first open blank by printing the child’s name
• The 2^nd blank needs to have the child’s address
• Complete the bottom section beginning with the date and your relationship to the above listed child on the form.

The Appendix D form should be completed as follow:

• 2^nd Blank - You print your name in as the parent
• 4^th Blank(s) – Parent prints and signs with the date
• Check which box matches your relationship with the child

We appreciate your cooperation and rapid return in this important matter.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE UPCOMING CHRISTMAS MUSIC PROGRAMS – The 1st and 2nd Grade performance is planned for Thursday, December 15th.  The first grade will begin at 6:00 with the second grade following at 6:45.   Lastly, the kindergartners are preparing for their music program on Monday, December 19th at 6:30pm. Please have your child in their classroom no later than 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the program. 

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK DATES - Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated nationally on January  28^th - February 3rd, 2012. On Saturday, January 28^th and Sunday, January 29^th, there will be masses celebrating Catholic Education with our parish community.  All St. Patrick’s School students are asked to wear their uniforms and sweaters to the Saturday and Sunday Masses. Please mark your calendar and make a point to having your child show his/her school pride as a Parish.

• 5:00PM Mass-planned by 8^th grade classroom teachers
• 8:00AM Mass-planned by 7^th grade classroom teachers
• 9:30AM Mass- planned by 6^th grade classroom teachers
• 11:00AM Mass-planned by 5^th grade classroom teachers
• 12:30PM Mass-planned by 4^th grade classroom teachers

Wednesday, February 1st - Special Friends Day open to kindergarten - 4^th graders only will be held in the afternoon. Please keep this date open. An invite is attached to below with more information.

LINK TO SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY SIGN-UP

ST. PATRICK'S STUDENTS WORK ON STEWARDSHIP DRIVES - The student council (STUCO) ran two drives for causes. They showed compassion in caring for the hungry and homeless in our community. Let us all think about those that are less fortunate than ourselves at this time of year when we have so much to share.

Canned Food Drive – Our students did an awesome job collecting food for the food bank.  The students exceeded Mr. Ridder’s 2500 can goal and they will receive a Uganda Dress Down Day tomorrow, Friday, December 16^th.   All the donated food went to the Western Douglas County Food Bank which serves the Elkhorn area. Here are the results of the food drive with a total of 2793 items collected!!  The winner is Mr. Van Anne!

Mr. Van Anne      772 items
Mr. Ridder           674 items
Mr. Slater            527 items
Mr. Billings          296 items
Mr. Shanle          247 items
Mr. Maline          154 items
Mr. Walsh           123 items

SCRIP - The kids have won a dress down day on Tuesday, December 20th! Stop by to shop for in stock gift cards every school day before dismissal and on Tuesday, December 20th from 1:00 pm - 3:15 pm.  A table will be set-up in front of the trophy cases.

WELLNESS COMMITTEE HEALTH TIP OF THE WEEK: More tips from the article "'Tis the Season for Holiday Eating Strategies." 1) Instead of watching football all day, start a tradition of having family and friends gather on the lawn before or after the big meal to toss the football around, or go for a walk in the neighborhood. 2) Lighten your eggnog calorie load by getting low-fat or fat-free versions - and leave out the spirits. 3) Taste the home-baked goodness of your favorite candies, cookies, pies, and sweets, but take just a taste and really savor the flavors.

ST. PATRICK’S ELKHORN CHESS TOURNAMENT – St. Patrick’s is hosting a chess tournament on Saturday, January 21, 2012 from 9:00 am- 1:00 pm.  Please see the attached flyer for more information!

LINK TO CHESS CLUB TOURNAMENT

HEY ST. PATRICK'S FRIENDS - LET’S GO FOR #1! Donate your Hy-Vee Smart points to St. Patrick's. St. Pat's, as of today, is in 2nd place behind Bennington Elementary! Here is how it works:  For every $20 of Procter & Gamble products you purchase at Hy-Vee from October 1, 2011– December 30, 2011 you earn 100 SMART Points to donate to the school of your choice. Get 100 additional points when you purchase two (2) or more Sara Lee Fresh Bakery products in the same transaction as your qualifying $20 Procter & Gamble purchase. Find the promotional code printed on your receipt of purchase, and enter it by clicking on the "Donate Points" button. From there, select the school for which you would like to make a donation. More than 200 schools with the most points will win! Win a $1500 SMART Board™ for your child's school. Just go to: www.hy-veesmartpoints.comto donate your points today!  We have added to the link to the school website!

MICRO SOCCER REGISTRATION OPEN– Registration for micro soccer is now open.  Registration begins now and will run until February 11^th and then late registration goes from February 12^th to March 3^rd.  Registrations will not be accepted after March 3^rd.  Please visit the athletic website for more information on registering!

SPRING SOCCER REGISTRATION OPENS - Registration is now open for the spring season of CYSL soccer. CYSL soccer is open to all parishioners from 1st grade - 8th grade. You can register online at: http://leagueusa.com/registration/index.jsp?SportsOrganizationId=240. Register today to avoid late registration complications and fees. For questions, please contact Julie Wigdahl njwig@cox.net. For questions about online registration contact Katie & Brent L'Heureux at lheureux03@yahoo.com.

BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL - St. Patrick’s baseball and softball registration is still open. If interested, please try to sign-up by the end of the year. We want to be considerate to those who may sign-up, but who do not want to miss out on other leagues’ registration if the demand to field a team is not great enough. The baseball committee will be evaluating how many teams will be created and contacting all those who have registered. If you have any questions please contact Erik Carlson at 402.399.1302 or erik.carlson@hdrinc.com.

SPIRIT NEEDS YOUR HELP!  Items are still being collected for this year's SPIRIT dinner/auction; however, the deadline is quickly approaching. Many wonderful items and packages come from our generous families here at St. Pat's. Please consider donating! If you would like more information on donating an item, please contact Rene Kremer, Auction Chair, at renekremer@cox.net. THANK YOU for your generosity!

ADVERTISE WITH SPIRIT - Need a great way to advertise your business? How about the SPIRIT catalog? Purchase ad space for $30, $50, or $100. Support SPIRIT while getting your name out there! Also available this year are SPIRIT Notes for $20! Show your love for St. Patrick’s by purchasing a personalized note, psalm, or saying… that will be randomly inserted into the SPIRIT catalog.From “Love the fish fries”, “St. Patrick’s Rules”, “Thanks for keeping the grounds clean”, notes of support, gratitude, and love for our community are welcome from all parishioners and friends. Contact Jenn Copenhaver at jennkfly@yahoo.comor 964-1313 for more information.

SPIRIT - Ever receive a bottle of wine or spirits for a gift and know you'll never drink it? We are taking donations of wine or spirits valued at $20 or more for our Bar of Spirits. Donated items will be placed in gift bags and auctioned off to raise money for St. Patrick's. Donate a bottle you've received or bought to help fill our Bar of Spirits today! Contact Christina Diers at acediers@cox.netfor more details.

RAFFLE UPDATE- Looking for a unique gift for that hard-to-buy-for loved one? How about giving the chance to win $10,000! St. Pat’s SPIRITRaffletickets support a great cause and could be the Christmas gift of a lifetime! Plus, every family that sells their issued tickets by December 7thwill be entered into a drawing to win a great gift certificate! For more information visit: https://stpatrickselkhorn.ejoinme.org/raffle.

RAFFLE INCENTIVE WINNER - Congratulations to Christina Peatrowsky, the winner of our first parish-wide incentive drawing for Raffle! Christina won a fabulous gift certificate prize package for dinner, toys and more, valued at $75! Our next incentive drawing is coming up next week! Just sell your family’s6 tickets by Wednesday, December 21st, and you could be the next big winner! St. Pat's raffle tickets make a great last-minute gift--that could be the best Christmas present ever! For more information on the 2012 SPIRT Raffle, please visit https://stpatrickselkhorn.ejoinme.org/raffle.

CATHOLICS COME HOME - Have you drifted away from the Church? Would you like to feel at home in the Catholic Church again? OR Are you a practicing Catholic but would like a refresher on the Catholic Church? We invite you to consider renewing your relationship with the Catholic Church whether you’ve been away for years or have never really left but desire a better understanding of the Church.  Come to listen and share with others seeking a renewed relationship with the Catholic faith. Please join us for a five-week series on Tuesday evenings at 6:45pm to 8:00pm in the Media Center beginning on January 10.  For more information on this program or to register contact Beth Kathol at bkathol@stpatselkhorn.org or call 289-4289 ext. 1525. Reconnect with your Catholic Faith!

Discover Your God-given Gifts with this Fun Program for Adults!
Living Your Strengths is a series in which participants join a small faith-sharing group.  You’ll discover their unique God-given gifts and how to use those gifts in service to the Church and Community.  Understanding your unique top-five strengths will also have a profound effect on your home and work life.  This is a great program to do with your friends, spouse and adult family members! TWO sessions are being offered this January:

Wednesdays, January 18 – February 15

• 10:00 – 11:30am in the Parish Conference Room
• 5 Consecutive Weeks

Saturdays, January 14 & January 28

• 9:00 – 12:00noon in Boland Hall
• 2 Saturdays

The cost is $20 for the book and supplies.  Contact Beth Kathol in the Adult Formation Office at 289-4289 ext.1525 or bkathol@stpatselkhorn.org to register or for more information. 

Principal's Notes Deadline:

Please submit all items/information in final form.

Principal's Notes deadline is Tuesday by 8:00am to the school or email to

ridderd@stpatselkhorn.org or kmoritz@stpatselkhorn.org

Archived Principal's Notes