In this second Sunday of Advent, the readings focus on preparing for the coming of Christ through repentance and asking for God’s healing.

St. Paul prays that we grow in love and discernment “of what is of value,” so that we may be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” In the Gospel, we hear of John the Baptist preaching a “baptism of repentance,” according to the prophecy of Isaiah. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, in preparation for the Messiah, “every valley shall be filled…every mountain and hill shall be made low…all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

We are reminded that God’s reign of peace will involve all creation, a reign of right relationship between all created things. This means our preparation for his coming must involve repentance for the ways in which we have sinned against God, our neighbors, and against creation itself.

In this time of healing from the global pandemic, Pope Francis has asked us to see this time of recovery as a turning point from the ways in which we have devalued our neighbors and God’s precious Earth, destroying or exploiting what was good and beautiful for the sake of short-term gain or profit. As we survey what went wrong in our response to the pandemic, we can see that it is part of a larger pattern of powerful interests ignoring the cry of the poor and the Earth. We can see how we, too, are guilty of perpetuating this cycle.

This August, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report putting in the starkest terms yet the situation facing all life on Earth if humans continue their patterns of consumption of fossil fuels and reckless pollution of natural resources. The window of time during which it is possible to stop catastrophic climate change is quickly closing, the report said, and decisive action is needed immediately in order to change course.

While it is true that action is needed at the highest levels of government and the corporate world to make sweeping changes, we as Christians can recognize the roots of our society’s disregard of the sacredness of creation in our own attitudes and behaviors. In Advent, as we meditate on the images from the Prophet Isaiah of the whole Earth responding to the coming of Christ, we can prayerfully discern ways of enacting our repentance of abuse of the Earth.

Maryknoll lay missioner Peg Vamosy writes, “All of creation is waiting to see what we humans choose to do. Will we rush back to ‘normal’ patterns of consumerism, convenience, comfort, and indifference to anyone or anything but ourselves, or will we embark on a new path to restore the earth to right relationships, with God, with each other and with all of creation?

“…[This] should be an opportunity and a time of hope, because we can transform this reality. We don’t have to return to the normal we left behind; we can choose a more fertile ground in which to plant the seeds for the harvest that God wills.”
(Reflection from Maryknoll Sisters)

We have entered the Advent season in our liturgical calendar. Advent is the time we prepare for the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families and friends.

The Book Fair concludes tomorrow, Friday and I wish to thank everyone for supporting the book fair this year. The profits from the book fair go directly into supplies for the classroom teachers.

Kindergarten Open House and Admissions

It is that time of the year where we are taking admissions for our 2023-2024 school year Kindergarten class. On Tuesday, December 6th we are hosting an Open House from 9:00am to 11:00am. If you know of anyone with kindergarten age children, please inform them of the Open House and to complete the admissions form online on our school website.

Basketball

The basketball season is about to begin, and I wish to thank all those parents who are coaching or assisting during this season.

Sunday Family Mass

We have our 5th graders preparing for this Sunday’s 10:30 Mass. It will be wonderful to see many of our families at the Mass.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception – December 8th

On Thursday, December 8th we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Mass will be at 8:00am and students should be at the church at 7:55am.

Principal Awards

First trimester Principal Awards Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, December 7th at 9:00am in the Church.

Parent Winter Mixer – Saturday, December 10th

The School Board is hosting a parent Winter Mixer at Molly’s Tavern on Saturday, December 10th. It will be a great opportunity for all the adult community to come together and join in with the Christmas cheer. See flyer below.

Christmas Program – Wednesday, December 14th

On Wednesday, December 14th we will have our Christmas program beginning at 3:00pm in the Church. The Christmas program is where our classes sing Christmas carols for the school community. We look forward to seeing everyone there. We would ask that you stay for the whole program. Normally the program lasts 45 minutes. Students are to wear their Full School Uniform.

Friday, December 16th Procedures

On Friday December 16th we will have Mass at 8:00am with dismissal at 11:00am. Please note there is No Extended Care that day. Children can dress in Christmas colors on this day. Class Christmas Parties will be at 10:00am. Room Parents may come to school to start set up at 9:30am.

God Bless and Stay Safe,

Vincent Riener

Principal

1. New mailing address

As of 8/31, the Minneapolis office will be closed. With this, we have a new process for the checks, documents, and invoices that were being sent through the mail.

• TADS will no longer be mailing invoices. All billing accounts will be switched to “Statements sent by email”.
• If they would still like a hard copy, they or the school can log in and go to the family’s billing account > click on an invoice number > click the button to “Download as a PDF”.
• We have notified families of this by inserting a brightly colored letter in any invoices mailed out this month. We will also email families when we switch their account to emailed statements.
• If they request to have their $18 Postal mailing fee removed, we can replace it with an “Amended Mailing Fee” that is $3 per invoice we previously sent. The over payments can be applied to their future invoices but CANNOT be refunded.

• Mailed checks and money orders should be sent to our lockbox at the address below.
• Please give this new address to every family who mentions they might send a payment.
• Mailed payments sent to the 110 N 5th St. address will be forwarded, however this will cause delays and it is possible for mail to be missed in this process.
• We are in the process of updating the website, emails, and downloadable documents with the new address.
• TBD on how this will be communicated with families and schools.

Address for TADS TM and Classic FA payments

Auncor, Inc.

PO Box 850136

Minneapolis, MN 55485

4 School Family Mass & Rite of Enrollment for Communion - 10:30am

5 Early Dismissal - 2:30pm - Faculty Meeting

6 Kindergarten Open House & Admissions

7 Principal's Awards Ceremony - 9am

8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception - 8am Mass (Full School Uniform)

13 School Assembly - 2:30pm

13 School Board Meeting - 6:30pm

14 Christmas Program - 3pm

16 11am Dismissal - No Extended Care After School

19-31 Christmas Vacation - Christmas Day 12/25

Dear All Souls Families,

You can now pay and add credit to your child/children's cafeteria account through SchoolSpeak. Your payment will be processed through PayPal with a 3% convenience fee for all transactions.

Sign-in to your SchoolSpeak account and select "Lunch Order" in the quick links menu on the left. The "Pay" tab will direct you to your payment options. You may pay the cafeteria balance through your existing PayPal account or as a guest using your credit or debit card. You may also add credit to your child/children's cafeteria account. If you wish, you may still make cash or check payments to the school office.

Please note, for the families that have a credit card on file I will no longer be charging your credit card for lunch payments. You are responsible for paying and adding credit to your cafeteria account.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Regards,

Ms. Escobar