Las Posadas

The St. Mary School Advisory

Council and Parent Teacher Organi-

zation is sponsoring an event open to

the school and parish called Las

Posadas. This is a wonderful Christ-

mas/Advent tradition that translates

in English to “the inn”. Las Posadas

symbolizes the biblical journey of

Mary and Joseph as they searched

for shelter in Bethlehem before the

birth of Jesus. During the celebra-

tion, we will process around the St.

Mary campus until we reach the

designated “Inn” (the parish hall)

imitating this advent journey. We

will then celebrate in the hall with

food (tamales dinner) fellowship and

a piñata. Las Posadas will occur on

December 9th following the 5:00pm

Mass at 6:30pm. Please return the

RSVP form found in the Wednesday

envelope to the school or parish

office or FastDirect Ashley Kerrigan

by December 1st so we have a good

estimate for how much food will be

needed. There is no cost to attend,

however we request that you bring

non-perishable food to donate to the

Our Lady of Peace pantry.

Mission Statement: Under the protection of Jesus and the Blessed Mother, and guided by the Holy Spirit , St. Mary Catholic School is a faith centered academic community that encourages service to God and others and strives to form the hearts, minds and souls of our students in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Faith.

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

From the Principal

What is Thanksgiving? Accord-

ing to my Google search,

Thanksgiving is an expression of

gratitude, especially to God. Of

course Thanksgiving is also a

national holiday that is celebrated

as a day of giving thanks for the

blessing of the harvest and of the

preceding year. I am thankful for

the blessings of my family and of

our St. Mary family. I pray that

each of you will have a wonder-

ful Thanksgiving with your fami-

lies and friends. May God bless

each of you abundantly.

Thanksgiving

There will be no school on

Wednesday, Thursday or Friday,

November 22nd, 23rd, 24th.

This is our Thanksgiving break.

In the past we have had a noon

release on the Wednesday before

Thanksgiving. This year we are

taking the full day off. Enjoy!

Food Drive

Thank you to all of you that par-

ticipated in the 4th grade food

drive service project! Mrs. Wat-

son and the 4th graders delivered

120 bags of food to the St. Peter

Food Pantry! That’s fantastic!

What an important service project

this is to our community! The 4th

graders helped to sort the food and

then received a tour of the church

and adoration chapel. Preschool

and 1st grade worked hard and

brought in the most bags of food.

They will both receive a popsicle

party! Thank you to all of you

that participated. It will certainly

help many people in our commu-

nity.

Food Drive Continued….

I have been told that the food

pantry at Our Lady of Peace is in

need of support as well. As a

continuous project, we will keep a

bin in the foyer of the school for

you to bring your non-perishable

food items throughout the year.

The box will be emptied and the

food delivered to Our Lady of

Peace every Monday. Please con-

tinue to help our local parishes

with their ministry for those in

need. Thank you in advance.

available. The teachers and staff

will be using the afternoon for an

Advent Retreat with Deacon John

Volk. We will be off campus for

this retreat. If you come to pick

up your child after 1:00pm, your

child will be in after Care in the

Parish Center or in the Library

after 4:30pm.

Penance Services at St. Mary

Fr. Goggins and Fr. Stephan

from Our Lady of Peace will

have a Penance service for our

3rd-8th graders on Wednesday,

December 6th beginning at

9:00am. Please help your child

to be prepared by completing an

Examination of Conscience prior

to the confession. The St. Mary

Parish Penance service will take

place that evening beginning at

6:30pm.

December Early Release

We will have an early release on

Wednesday, December 6th. This

means the students will be re-

leased at 1:00pm. Lunch will be

served and after Care will be

Upcoming Event:

November 22-24– No School–

Thanksgiving Break

November 28– Suicide Prevention Meeting

for Parents of Grades 6th, 7th and 8th only

December 3– Advent Begins

December 4– Advent Prayer Service in

School Foyer 8:20am

December 5– Ambassadors Meeting

3:45pm

Dec. 6– Feast of St. Nicholas

December 6– Early Release (1pm)

December 6– School Confessions Grades

3rd-8th 9am-11am

December 6– St. Mary Parish Confessions

6:30pm

December 7– Birthday Spirit Day

December 8– Feast of the Immaculate

Conception Mass 8:30am and 7pm

December 9– Las Posadas 6:30pm

S t . Mar y Ca tho l i c S choo l 2351 22nd Ave Gr ee ley, CO 80631 www.s tmar ycs.ne t

November 21, 2017 970-353-8100 principal@stmarycs.net Visit our Spirit Shop at: https:stmaryspiritwear.itemorder. com/sale

No Tuesday Rosary

During the Advent season we

will not have all school Rosary.

We will instead have the Ad-

vent Prayer Services each

Monday. The all school Ro-

sary will resume after the

Christmas break.

Christmas Program

Mark your calendars! The St. Mary Christmas

program will take place on Thursday, Decem-

ber 14th in the school gym. The preschoolers

will have their program at 6pm. This will be

followed by the 3rd-5th grade vocals as well

as the band and strings performance at

6:30pm. There will be a dress rehearsal for all

students this same day beginning at 2:30pm in

the school gym. All are welcome at any of the

performances.

Advent Prayer Services

The first Sunday of Advent is Sunday, Decem-

ber 3rd. We will continue with our traditional

Advent Prayer Services each Monday morning

during Advent. We will have our Jesse tree

set up in the school foyer and each student will

be assigned a character from Jesus’ ancestors.

They will be given an ornament to decorate

with symbols of their character. During their

assigned week, the children will be asked to

hang their ornament on the Jesse tree as we

learn about their character together. We will

sing “O Come O Come Emmanuel” together

as the children walk back to their classrooms.

The weekly Advent Prayer Services will take

place each Monday during Advent at 8:20am.

All are welcome!

Our Lady of Guadalupe Play

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be on

Tuesday, December 12th. It is a tradition at

St. Mary that our 2nd graders reenact the

events of St. Juan Diego and his vision of

Mary on Tepayec Hill on the outskirts of Mex-

ico City. The 2nd graders will perform the

play on Sunday, December 10th during the

12pm Mass at St. Mary Church. They will

perform the play again for the school on Tues-

day, December 12th after morning announce-

ments (about 8:20am) in the school gym.

Everyone is welcome!

Safeway Scrip

The Safeway scrip cards have been compro-

mised once again. If you are having any is-

sues please contact the parish or school office.

Page 2 From the Principal

St. Mary Catholic School does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, handicap, color, national or ethnic origin in

the administration of educational policies, employment practices, scholarships and loan programs or athletic or other

school administered programs.

Are You INN?

WHAT: Las Posadas is a celebration to

remind us of Mary and Joseph’s journey to

Bethlehem. The evening will include a

procession around St. Mary Church and

conclude with food (Tamales Dinner),

fellowship, and entertainment.

WHEN: Saturday, December 9th

following

the 5pm Mass

WHERE: Church Hall

RSVP: Please RSVP in the Church or

School office by December 1st and bring a

nonperishable food item or money the night

of the event for donation to the Our Lady of

Peace food pantry.

Las Posadas , are you INN?

Thank you for your interest in Las Posadas! Please indicate

below how many people will be attending so we have an

estimate of how much food will be needed at the event. Please

also bring canned food to donate the night of the event to the

Our Lady of Peace Food Pantry for those in need.

Location: St Mary Catholic Church Hall

Date: December 9, 2017 following the 5pm Mass (6:30pm)

Number Attending _________________

Family Name:_____________________

Increments Quantity Amount

Groceries

King Soopers (reloadable) $10.00

Restaurants

Bonefish $25.00

Chili's/Macaroni Grill/Maggianos/On the Border $25.00

Egg & I $10.00

Human Bean $10.00

Old Chicago/Rock Bottom $25.00

Old Chicago - Pizza Palz *limited time *$11.00

$25.00Panera Bread

$25.00Qdoba

$25.00Red Lobster/Olive Garden

$25.00Red Robin

$25.00Texas Roadhouse

Uniform

Dennis Uniform $20.00

Department Stores

Kohl's $25.00

Lowe's $25.00

Check Number

Name of

Oldest Student __________________________________ Teacher/Grade ____________________________

Total Amount Due

SCRIP ORDER FORM

Please make your selection and return Thursday in the Wednesday envelope. Your oldest student will receive

your order on Thursday, unless they did not return their envelope in a timely manner, then it may be the

following day.

Please make a separate check payable to St. Mary Catholic School for your scrip payment.

DO NOT STAPLE YOUR CHECK TO THE SCRIP ORDER FORM

Scrip may also be purchased at the Parish Office Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS FORM

Sprouts $25.00***

*** Credit on this purchase begins once the card is reloaded.

SCRIP

What is it? Scrip fundraising is a no-selling program that enables families to raise money for their nonprofit organization. Scrip is just another way to pay for everyday purchases using gift cards in place of cash, checks and credit cards.

How does it work? You purchase your scrip ahead of time. When you go shopping, you pay with the scrip card. If you do not spend your card all at one time, you will have a remaining balance to use the next time you shop.

You can purchase Kohl’s scrip cards through the school to pay your Kohl’s credit card! Purchase your cards and then take it to the store and let them know you are paying your credit card bill either at customer service or at the checkout (you cannot pay online with your scrip cards). Make sure your card says Kohl’s Cares on it, as this is the only card accepted through Kohl’s to pay your bill. It’s definitely a win-win for this business!

Does it cost any extra to me? No. When you purchase your scrip, you get dollar for dollar of what you purchase with a rebate going back to the school. For example, if you buy $100 worth of King Soopers you receive $100 to spend there. You have also donated $5 back to St. Mary’s by this purchase without doing anything else! The rebate of $5 came from the store, not you.

How much do I have to purchase at one time? Increments of the cards are between $10 and $50. Safeway and King Soopers are reloadable at the store. This means you can put money on your card before making your purchase. A good way to do this is to ask the checker to put money on your card before scanning your groceries. After paying to reload your card, have the checker scan your groceries and pay for your items with the card you just reloaded.

Who can purchase scrip? Anyone you know can help our school and purchase our scrip. Grandparents, relatives, neighbors, and friends all need groceries and can get the cards through you and going to the Parish Office. You will receive credit through their purchases as long as they give them your family name.

How much do I need to purchase? To keep our tuition cost low and to receive the “in parish rate,” each family must purchase at least $5,000 per year (June-May). If you purchase over $5,000, 5% of that will go towards your fundraising. This amount is easy to reach when you get in the habit of always having scrip in your wallet before you run to the store. It also is easy to achieve when you get your family and friends involved. Remember that it is not an extra cost to you. The only one who pays is the stores.

Questions? Please call 353-8100. Thank you for supporting St. Mary Catholic School. If you do not receive your ordered scrip by the following day at the latest, please notify the office immediately!

NOTE: You cannot buy gift cards from King Soopers or Safeway with your scrip card.