Dear Religious Education Families,

As we enter the final stretch of our calendar year, and the liturgical year comes to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on the upcoming somber Holy Days. Praying for the souls who have left us, reflecting on our choices and progress we've made during this year, may have us realigning our priorities as we prepare for the beginning of Advent next month.

This month our students will be focusing on Thanksgiving and Gratitude. Our Community Outreach event is one that is near and dear to my heart. We will be offering our parish and school families the opportunity to participate in a service project Operation Christmas Child where we will gather and celebrate the gift of giving to others, and enjoy time spent together not only as families, but as a parish family.

I am hopeful you'll consider bringing your family for this fun afternoon of giving back to those in need.

Whitney Bargerstock

Religious Education Coordinator

During the month of November, we will be pushing out a daily gratitude reminder, to help us shift our minds and hearts toward all the blessings we have been given. With the upcoming holidays and chaos, it's easy to get hung up in the mayhem and forget the little things that truly are blessings in our lives.

These will be coming through our REMIND platform. Be sure to sign up under our Classroom if you haven't already done so, the link is below.

https://www.remind.com/join/wbarge

Remind is our primary form of communication for Religious Education classes (including winter class cancellations... so be sure to join if you haven't already joined the class!)

Here are some important dates and updates to keep in mind:

• November 1st - All Saints Day Check out this beautiful poem, For Those Who Walked with Us to share with your kids, or just reflect on yourself as we near All Souls Day as well.
• November 2nd - All Souls Day On this day we reflect on the beautiful souls who have been lost in the last year. You can view a list of our beloved parishioners who have passed in the last year HERE. We continue to pray for the repose of the souls of all who have left us and will carry on their light every day in the memories we hold close to our hearts.
• November 3rd - CLASS *Daylight Savings Time Ends, don't come too early to class 😉
• November 10th - CLASS
• November 10th - Sensory Bible Study Anyone interested in helping out with these sessions, simply needs to email me your volunteer clearances.
• November 17th - CLASS
• November 17th Packing Party See more information below, event to begin immediately after Religious Ed classes.
• November 23rd - SSCD Christmas Bazaar
• November 24th - Knights of Columbus Breakfast
• NO CLASS K-8 Families are encouraged to attend the breakfast and support this wonderful organization who dedicate all of their energy to supporting our Parish and School.
• November 28th - Thanksgiving
• December 1st - NO CLASS K-9
• Prayers for a fruitful harvest this deer season!
• December 1st - ADVENT BEGINS!
• Let's be honest... half of you already put your trees up on November 1st!

I will continue to share any additional information and helpful resources through our Facebook Group and Remind App as I come across them.

Our first class was so fun! Both of my girls hung around to help, and we had two incredibly sweet students! 💙

As we continue to offer a Sensory Friendly Bible Study to our community, I am reaching out to see if anyone is interested in helping with this monthly session.

* Sessions will be 1 hour in length.

* Sessions will be open to Elementary and High School Aged students. (depending on the # of students registered, we may do two separate groups)

* Adapted Bible Stories will be read (2-3rd grade reading level)

* Sensory Bin stations will be set up

* Modified craft to coincide with the Story.

* Building Block Station

These sessions will be available to the whole community, not just our parish, please contact me directly if you would like to support in any way.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Know someone interested in attending? Please share this link with them! You can also direct all interested families to the Church Office for hard copy registration forms.

FORM LINK HERE

Possible ways to help:

*Set up and Tear down of events

*Working a station (sensory bins, play dough, or telling the story)

*Extra hands to assist navigation to and from parking lot and/or directions to access the restrooms.

Tentative Schedule of Classes: (Time can be adjusted as needed)

October 27th (Kick off!) 12:00 - 1:00

November 10th 12:00 - 1:00

December 8th 12:00 - 1:00

January 12th 12:00 - 1:00

February 9th 12:00 - 1:00

March 16th 12:00 - 1:00

April 13th 12:00 - 1:00 (Inclusive story of the resurrection and egg hunt for all students.)

This section of our newsletter will focus on volunteering opportunities along with resources for you as the parent to continue to support the faith formation of your child converting to an "Adult" within our faith.

As parents, the idea of our 14- and 15-year-olds transitioning to adulthood is TERRIFYING! I will be sharing some meaningful and hopefully helpful resources for you as you make this journey with your child.

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities:

November:

* SSCD Bazaar set up - Thursday November 21st. Contact Kara Perry (724) 681-8148

* SSCD Bazaar Event Help - Saturday November 23rd. - Contact Kara Perry for information.

* Knights of Columbus Breakfast - Sunday November 24th - Contact Greg Aikens (814) 249-1808

*Sensory Classroom Bible Study - Contact Whitney Bargerstock (814) 952 - 0920

December:

* Become a greeter at Mass! Interested students should reach out to school counselor, Mrs. White.

*Sensory Classroom Bible Study - Contact Whitney Bargerstock (814) 952 - 0920

January:

* SSCD Bible School Planning Committee - Date TBD.

*Sensory Classroom Bible Study - Contact Whitney Bargerstock (814) 952 - 0920

Please submit the survey above to help us plan our holiday party for students! Religious Ed party will be held on Sunday December 15th!

I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I'm officially obsessed with this show. Stream it while cleaning, when the kids are at friends, or when sitting in your car while your kids are at practice or Religious Ed

It IS SO GOOD and it's FREE!

This is absolutely nothing related to our curriculum, it's just an incredible list to listen to, as you're decking the halls this month!

100 Greatest Christmas Songs Ever

We started this tradition several years ago, and it ended up being a huge hit when I shared the journey on social media. We do not have an elf, I know my limitations and the creativity that so many of you have, is UNMATCHED! I am constantly impressed and love watching your elf adventures!

St. Nicholas comes and fills our stockings early on the Feast of St. Nicholas (a tradition my Mom had as a kid, and then carried on to us!) so we don't have the daily Elf shenanigans.

That being said, we started a journey in our house about 5 years ago. I found this ADORABLE nativity at Walmart, and I checked last night, it's still available! (Link below) We start out with an empty nativity scene, and on December 1st, Mary and Joseph appear somewhere in the house. The girls have to find them along with the first day of the bible passages. Over the next 23 days, Mary and Joseph are hidden all over our house and a passage to continue the story is found with them each day!

On December 24th, the pair arrive at the manger, and when the girls wake up on Christmas morning Jesus is there too! 😊😊

As we prepare for the upcoming school year, we want to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. Here are the diocese expectations for working with students:

• Volunteering for Parties: Parents are welcome to attend and participate in holiday parties if they would like. We simply must have volunteer Criminal Background and Child Abuse clearances on file prior to attending the party.
• Guest Speakers: Throughout the school year I have scheduled several speakers and opportunities for our students to learn more about their faith and the organizations that support our local parish. You are welcome to attend any of these sessions, but clearances must be on file.
• Field Trips: Our goal is to provide a day trip fieldtrip to all of our students in Religious Education programs this spring. In order to attend and chaperone clearances must be provided.
• Community Activities: To participate in any activities sponsored AFTER class times on the weekends, no clearances are required. Only class-related activities require Volunteer Clearances, as part of the diocese Child Protection initiatives.
  
  

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our school safe and healthy!