The Principal’s Spotlight

Saint Anne School – Fair Lawn, NJ 07410

Thanksgiving/Advent/November2008 Edition

 

    Loretta Stachiotti, MA

Thanksgiving/Advent/November2008 Edition

With apologies to Paul Revere, “The holidays are coming!  The holidays are coming!”  This month we celebrate Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent leading to Christmas.  Whew!  Just that one sentence has me sweating.  Wait a minute, for God’s sake.  Take a breath, for God’s sake.  Slow down, for God’s sake.  For your sake, give up one thing you usually do for the holidays.  Delegate it to someone else this year.  Be grateful for their help and accept their effort.  Don’t be like me who thinks no one else but me can bake a cranberry pie or set a table correctly!  The reward might be the discovery of someone else’s talent for baking or a new appreciation for table setting seen through the eyes of a child.  What gratitude!  What gifts!  And isn’t that what Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas are all about, for God’s sake?  Happy holidays!

We celebrate All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2.  Our Church gives us these two days to remember those saints who have gone before us, both canonized and not.  Who are these giants of our faith?  A quick visit to the Daily News page of our school web site will help you become familiar with the saints with a capital “S”.  You can click on the saint of the day and read about what made them saints.  Who are the saints with a lower-case “s”?  They are your own friends and relatives who made you who you are today.  Share their story, too!

Don’t forget to “fall back” on November 2 as Daylight Savings Time ends.  Adjust your clocks.

Our eighth graders will take their Co-Op High School Admissions Exam on November 7.  They are well-prepared and we know they will do their best.  Please keep them in your prayers.

We will welcome a guest speaker on November 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria.  Mr. Tom McAndrews will address the topic of bullying in schools and what parents and teachers can do to be proactive.  Mr. McAndrews has already addressed this topic at our October faculty meeting, and you will hear about our plan to deal with this issue at St. Anne’s.

Our teachers will attend a professional day on November 14.  No classes will be in session that day.

Plan to celebrate the golden anniversary of our church at the 12:00 noon mass on November 16-- a perfect way to give thanks for the beautiful place where we worship.

The first trimester ends on November 21.  Watch for a letter from your child’s teacher to set up a Parent-Teacher report card conference on either November 24, 25, or 26.

An Open House for prospective families will be held on Sunday, November 23.  Please encourage anyone you know who is looking for a quality Catholic education to attend.  Thank you for spreading the good news about St. Anne School!

Don’t miss our Thanksgiving mass on November 25 at 8:45 a.m.  Our third grade will surely put you in the spirit for giving thanks.

Because of morning report card conferences, no classes will be in session on November 26.    Our school will be closed for Thanksgiving on November 27 and 28 also.

Dust off your Advent wreath and get out the purple and pink candles!  The holy season begins on November 30.

You are always in my prayers… please keep me in yours.