Every one of us is called by God, both individually and collectively. The mission of preaching, teaching and healing which Jesus began in Galilee is now the responsibility of the Church. Our own unique vocation and our relationship with the risen Lord are the same as that of the universal Church. Be we religious, priests, married or single people, we are all called, and in this call we become what God wants us to be. The call, of course, begins with our Baptism and the other Sacraments of Initiation. It is strengthened throughout the years with the Eucharist and Reconciliation, healed and consoled by Anointing and made manifest in Matrimony, or Holy Orders. God is relentless in calling us back to Himself, even when we stray away from Him.

We need to appreciate our call to become Christ’s disciples: Every one of us is called by God, both individually, and collectively as a parish community, to continue Jesus’ mission of preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom and healing the sick. We are called individually to a way of life or vocation: – a religious commitment (priest, deacon, missionary, religious Sister or Brother, marriage partner or single person), plus a particular occupation rising from our talents (medicine, law, teaching, healing, writing, art, music, building and carpentry, home-making, child-rearing...). Our own unique vocation should enable us to become what God wants us to be. As St. Francis Sales puts it, we are expected to bloom where we are planted.

Let us be thankful to God for His Divine grace of calling us to be members of the true Church. Let us remember that it is our vocation in life as Christians to transmit Christ’s Light through our living, radiating Jesus’ unconditional love, mercy, forgiveness and humble service to all in our society.

Last Monday we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a day when we remember how one significant person stood for the rights of all people. Since that time in history we have seen how many people honor Dr. King through community service. It is part of the legacy he gave us as a nation. Let us never forget him and those significant people in our history.

Everyone at school is working very hard with their studies, competitions and preparation for Open House on Sunday January 28th. I wish to invite everyone to Open House after the 9am Mass, to view student work and to see the science projects from our Junior High students.

We are in the midst of Kindergarten enrollment, and I would ask everyone for your assistance in spreading the word that we are accepting students for the next school year. There is a flyer at the end of this newsletter.

Re-Enrollment for 2018 -2019 School Year

I wish to remind everyone, that we begin re-enrollment for the next school year at the beginning of March. As part of the process, families need to submit the enrollment fee of $310 per student. I mention it now so that you can start to budget.

I wish to remind you also that next year there will be no fundraising as we have done in the past. The fee will be incorporated into tuition. We have been working on the school budget and every effort is being made to have minimum increase. I do remind you that we are still one of the lowest tuition schools on the peninsula and still able to provide high quality education and services to our students.

Principal's Awards

The second quarter Principal Awards Ceremony will be held on Monday, February 5th at 9am in the church.

Kindergarten Testing

Testing for entrance into Kindergarten for the coming school year (2018-19) will be held on Saturday, February 3rd at 8.30am in the cafeteria. Parents need to register their child before arriving for testing.

Financial Aid

It is the time of year for families to renew BASIC Fund and/or TADS (Archdiocese Scholarship) for families to applying for financial aid. Please refer to the school web site for the links for financial aid. The deadline for BASIC Fund is March 16th, 2018.

God Bless,

Vincent Riener

Principal

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

“I was awakened by a tremendous earthquake, and though I hadn ever before enjoyed a storm of this sort, the strange thrilling motion could not be mistaken, and I ran out of my cabin, both glad and frightened, shouting, "A noble earthquake! A noble earthquake" feeling sure I was going to learn something.” ― John Muir, The Wild Muir: Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures

I can’t say that I am nearly as excited by earthquakes as was John Muir.

The recent earthquake, centered near Berkeley, was “only” a 4.4 magnitude quake. That was certainly enough to wake me up at 2:39am! The more severe Napa quake in 2014, a 6.0 magnitude quake, woke multitudes of people up at 3:20am. My nephew, who did not grow up in this area, happened to be staying with me during both of those quakes. His remark to me this time was, “Auntie, do these things always happen in the middle of the night?”

The thing is, earthquakes can happen any time. Therefore the question should be: are you prepared? We practice our drills here at school, just as I did when I was a child. I do not remember, though, ever having practiced at home. I am much better prepared now, as an adult. I have an earthquake supply kit in my basement and another in the trunk of my car. My family and I have a plan of who to call – out of the area – to check in with each other after a quake. I know for a fact that local calls may prove to be impossible in the aftermath. Following the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, my mother in South San Francisco heard from my brother in New Dehli, India before I could get in touch with her from San Francisco. I ended up calling my cousin in Long Beach and he, in turn, contacted my worried mother.

I hope that you are prepared at home and that your children know what the family emergency plan is. Being prepared does not need to be scary, rather it should be empowering. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) both have excellent information on being prepared without being paranoid. The links are below, and I hope you find them helpful.

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/earthquakes/supplies.html

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/3234

All the best,

Miss J

Earlier this semester our 5th grade projector unfortunately burned out and left us in a bind during our upcoming technology replacement plans. During my search for solutions, Tiffany Proehl from St. Brendan's School was gracious enough to provide us with a replacement model. A special shout out and thank you to Tiffany from all of us over at All Souls for this helping hand.

Thomas Conmy

Middle School Technology Teacher and Coordinator

Sign-ups for the All Souls Talent Show are coming in February! We are asking students to plan ahead to share their special talents for the annual show in May.

This year we’ll be looking for VARIETY -- from tap to ballet, beach tunes to Beatles, jazz to old time rock-and roll, musical instruments to magic tricks, disco to Disney tunes, and any number of things in between. The material/music can be from Broadway, television, radio, or the movies.

Musicians will need to provide their own instruments. Singers will need to provide their own karaoke-style music/accompaniment. Remember: NO LIP-SYNCing or singing over pre-recorded vocals. Please provide a copy of lyrics with your sign-up sheet (even for background music). Content MUST be appropriate to the age level of the performer as well as for an elementary school audience.

To keep the number of acts at a manageable level we must limit participation to one act per student/group. If you have any questions or need help with ideas ask Miss Johanson. Try-outs will be in early March, and this year’s show will be on Thursday, May 3rd.

Start planning now! Check the next newsletter for sign-up information.

22 - Arch. Staff Dev. Mtg. - 12:20 Dismissal - Athl. Board Hot Dog Sale

26 - 12:20pm Dismissal - Faculty Meeting

28 - Catholic Schools Week Mass - 9am

followed by Open House & Science Fair

1 - Junior High Grade Dance - gr. 6-7-8

2 - Archdiocesan Educators' Conference - Student Holiday

3 - New Student Testing- 9am

3 - Athletic Board Crab Feed

4 - School Family Mass - 9am

5 - Early Dismissal - 2:30pm - Faculty Meeting

5 - Principal's Awards Ceremony 9am

11 - Rite of Enrollment for Confirmation

14 - Ash Wednesday - 9am Mass (Full School Uniform)

14 - Athletic Board Meeting - 6:30pm

16 - Semester Holiday

19 - Presidents' Day - Holiday

20 - School Board Mtg. - 6:30pm - Annex Meeting Room

21 - Spring Pictures

22 - First Communion Parent Mtg. - 7pm

Hello Parents/Guardians!

During this past quarter, we piloted a coding program with MVCode to see if there was any interest. I was shocked as to vast number students that came to the classes and very proud of our students' level of commitment and willingness to learn something new. With that said, we have agreed with MVCode to extend our contract for the rest of the school year. As I have been asked by parents to help with the crazy scheduling in order to have this opportunity, we are able to offer the following details regarding 2 new sessions.

Instead of coding only being offered 1 day a week, we now will have 2 coding days (Tuesday/Thursday 3:15-4:45 in the Technology Classroom). When registering your student for the first and/or second 8 week course, you will select either the Tuesday classes or the Thursday classes for your student to attend. Please see flyer attached.

Thank you,

Thomas Conmy
Middle School Technology Teacher and Coordinator

Email: info@ssfallsoulsschool.org
Website: www.ssfallsoulsschool.org
Location: 479 Miller Ave, South San Francisco, CA, United States
Phone: (650) 583 3562