Number 8

" You brood of vipers!"

We always know it is the Second Sunday in Advent when John the Baptist bursts onto the scene. The colorful prophet who preceded Jesus preaches and shouts from the Judean desert, and his voice rings out just as loudly and clearly for us today.

The Gospels tell us that John viewed himself as a prophetic forerunner of the Messiah. In today's reading, after his call for repentance and his warnings to the Pharisees and Sadducees, John speaks of Jesus, though not yet by name. He refers to "the one coming after me" and describes the imminent ministry of the Messiah with strong language. The Messiah will be "mighty" and will baptize "with the Holy Spirit and fire."

John then describes the Messiah as a discerning judge who will separate the good from the bad: "His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

This agricultural image may be unfamiliar to modern readers. John is describing the winnowing or threshing process farmers utilized to separate husks from grains of wheat. They used winnowing fans (or forks) to toss the harvested grain into the air. The chaff (the unwanted husks) would separate from the grain and be lifted away by the breeze, while the heavier grain would settle back onto the ground. The farmer could then gather the grain and store it in his barn.

John uses this image to describe the judgment Jesus will ultimately bring. After using his winnowing fan, Jesus will "clear his threshing floor," gathering the good grain into his barn and burning the unwanted chaff with "unquenchable fire."

The depiction of Jesus as the one who separates good from bad, then gathers the good to himself and burns the bad, may not be our favorite image of Jesus from the Gospels. But it is one that John the Baptist and the evangelists after him wanted us to hear. We are not supposed to be afraid of Jesus or of future judgement, but we are supposed to be forewarned and aware: What we do and who we are matters to God. we cannot be with Jesus, in his warm barn full of good grain, unless we are ready.

Fortunately for us, the winnowing process has already began. The words of Jesus and his forerunner john the Baptist have already begun threshing us, separating the worthless, husky part of us from the valuable, substantial grain.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are now in the midst of Advent, preparing for the coming of Jesus. Let us give time during this Advent Season to renew our relationship with Jesus and to share our enthusiasm with our children. One way will be through our Christmas program on Thursday, December 15th beginning at 7.30pm in the Church. We ask that the children are seated in their respective seating areas by 7.20pm. Once again, I need to remind everyone that we are using the Church Sacred Space, and as such appropriate behavior is expected at all times. There is never ever any cat whistling in the Church. Please do not bring any balloons or flowers/leis.

Maker's Room

I am please to announce that we are establishing a Maker's Room where children will be able to create different products using Legos and computers for 3-D printing. For this to occur we need your financial assistance. We have set up a "Go Fund Me" page: https://www.gofundme.com/stem-at-all-souls . If you are able to contribute to this worthwhile program it would be great. Could you also reach out to other people for their assistance. Thanks to Mrs. Gateman and Mr. Conmy for heading up this program.

Mid-Quarter Progress Reports

Progress reports are available today. Please log into SchoolSpeak to view the progress of your child. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.

Class Bingo Night

Next Friday night (Dec. 9th) is our first official class bingo night for Grades K and 7. We look forward to seeing as many adults as possible at Bingo enjoying a fun time. It is a great time for class parents to get to know each other and to make money in the process!! Doors open early but we suggest to be there by 6:30 for warm up games and for actual bingo. If you never played bingo before, don't worry, people will help you.

Thank You!

Special thanks to everyone for participating in the St. Vincent De Paul food appeal for Thanksgiving. We had so much food collected that we were able to restock the food bank.

St. Vincent De Paul Book Drive

The school is involved with the collection of used books for St. Vincent De Paul. If you have any books you do not need, please have your child bring them to school and deposit them in the bins in the classroom. The collected books will go to the under privileged in our community.

God Bless,

Vincent Riener

Principal

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go. . .”

As you prepare to celebrate Christmas with your families, please remind your children of the true meaning of the holiday. Younger children can be dazzled by Santa’s imminent arrival, decorations and sparkling lights, and presents wrapped under the tree. Older children are easily dazzled by the next gotta-have-it item they’ve seen advertised on television or social media sites. It is the adults’ job to remind them that all of the stuff – the songs, decorations, presents, and such - are not the reason we celebrate. Rather, they are the means by which we celebrate Jesus’s birth. Christmas is, after all, a big birthday party. Jesus has sent all of us invitations to his party, inviting us to celebrate with Him. We just need to R.S.V.P.

All the best,

Ms. J

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

The 2017 All Souls Talent Show will celebrating the wonderful cultural diversity of our student body by going “Around the World”. We are looking for singers, dancers, and musicians ready to share a view of the world through music and dance. Music, songs, and dances should be from or about countries other than the United States. If you need help with ideas please see Ms. Johanson.

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. 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 mid-January, and this year’s show will be on Thursday, March 16th.

Sign-ups start now and finish on Monday, December 12th. To sign-up please complete and return the form below to Miss Johanson no later than dismissal on December 12th. Priority will be given to the earliest sign-ups in the case of duplication of ideas/songs.

We have decided to add in a SEE's Winter Fundraiser to supplement our fundraising efforts for the year. This will assist with the shortfall from the Parish subsidy.

Your child received a paper version of the order form last week with instructions. An order form is attached to this message where you can print and submit it back to the office by Monday, December 5th.

Thanks for your support.

If you have not turned in your monies, please do so at this time. Please remember we can not award any prizes until all money is turned in!!

Thank you!!

Mrs. Reidy

4 - School Family Mass & Rite of Enrollment for Communion - 9am

5 - Faculty Mtg. 2:30pm Early Dismissal

8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception - 9am Mass (Full School Uniform)

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

14- Athletic Board Meeting - 6:30pm

15- Christmas Program - 7:30pm - (Full School Uniform)

16 - Christmas Celebrations - Minimum Day - 12:20pm Dismissal

- NO EXTENDED CARE AFTER SCHOOL

19 - Jan. 2 - Christmas Vacation

25 - Christmas Day

As you are looking for a perfect birthday or special occasion gift, don't forget your shopping options that will benefit All Souls Catholic School!

Our in-house Scrip program is back in business after the summer break, and you can always shop online at the eScrip Online Mall, which has many of your favorite online shopping sites.

Amazon shoppers please remember to use the handy Amazon link at the bottom of our web page. This link will take you directly to your personal Amazon page, shop as you normally would, and the school will earn a percentage of your purchase. There is no cost to you!

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