The Messenger

Dear Fabulous Families -

We wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas! May the birth of the Christ Child bring you hope and joy in the coming year!

Many thanks to everyone who donated to the PFA Staff Christmas Fund. Staff members received their checks today and were delighted with the thoughtfulness and generosity of the school community. Your continued support of our school staff is a blessing.

Friday is a noon dismissal day. Make sure your child knows how they are getting home.

Archangel Activities - Registration is now open! See the class offerings and sign up information below.

Auction Dress Down Day Opportunity - Have you done this, yet? If not, see the directions below.

Coming home in the Wednesday yellow envelope:

• Nothing from the office

Reminder: Submissions for the newsletter should be sent to Mrs. McEnery and Ms. Schmitt by noon on Monday. Graphics should be a jpg or png. In the subject line, please put "Newsletter".

Tonya McEnery

Principal

Jenn Schmitt

Assistant Principal

Have you completed your pledge card yet? Now is the time! Please PLEDGE NOW either online via Faith Direct or submit your pledge card to the rectory.

If you are looking for ways to amplify your gift, consider Creative Ways to Donate, such as:

- Spread your pledge payments out over several years (3 years maximum for gifts under $15,000; 5 years maximum otherwise).

- Explore Memorial Naming Opportunities, perhaps together with other family or community members.

- Check if your employer has a matching gift program.

- Consider gifts of stock or donor advised funds.

- Other non-traditional sources could include life insurance, personal property or saleable real estate, and IRA distributions.

Mrs. Abramczyk is requesting photos to use in this year's yearbook. Please email them to her directly at rabramczyk@stgab.org with the topic or event in the heading. Send photos from this school year that fit into the following categories:

- Special Events: the picnic, class parties, donut Sundays, field trips, etc.

- Clubs and Special Groups: Bellarmine Speech Team, Salt and Light Pro Life Club, Lighthouse Committee, etc.

- 90 Years of St. Gabes: photos of the school from the past, generations of families who have attended St. Gabes, throwback photos

- "Follow Me-Jesus": photos from events that involve community outreach, service, prayer and church

- Sports: pics of grade level teams (school teams) and tournaments

(These photos may or may not be used in the yearbook depending on what is available/needed.)

*A Special Request for All 8th Grade Parents*

Please send a photo of your eighth grader back when they were in kindergarten. It can be a classic school photo or a snapshot- uniform is not required. Send this directly to Mrs. Abramczyk by January 31st.

Archangel Activities sign up is HERE! Sign ups will be open until December 30th. The signup link below will also be on the school website on Thursday. Once signups close you will receive a google form that will need to be filled out and you will be billed for the class on your FACTS account under incidental billing. You will be required to log into your FACTS account to pay. All classes must be paid prior to the start of the first class.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0A4CAFA829A0FACE9-53827479-archangel

Any questions, please feel free to contact me at archangel@stgab.org

Jill Farace

Parents have the opportunity to volunteer at school by helping with lunch and recess duties. All volunteers must go through the Protecting God's Children / Safe Environment training requirement.

• Please do not sign up for a position if you have not completed Protecting God's Children / Safe Environment training. Information on this is posted below. .
• The following links are for the first trimester.
• Please only sign up for one spot to give others the chance to volunteer.

Here is the link to the Sign Up Genius for recess volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAFAD2DA5FA7-52834478-recess

Here is the link to the Sign Up Genius for cafeteria volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAFAD2DA5FA7-51700775-cafeteria

• Important - All volunteers need to successfully complete the mandated Archdiocesan Protecting God's Children/Safe Environment Training. Before signing up for lunch duty/recess duty, field trips, etc., volunteers must have this completed. Please use the following link to find the complete information from the church website: mandated training information. Please direct questions to our parish secretary and Child Safety Coordinator, Eileen Garavaglia, at 314-353-6303 Ext. 110 or garavagliae@stgabrielstl.org.

Dear Parents,

Thanks to all the third grade family and friends who were able to join us for Mass yesterday to celebrate the third grade Baptism Mass. Your presence was a blessing to our community!

Epiphany House Blessing

Please make sure to check your youngest child's Wednesday envelope for a roll with chalk and an Epiphany blessing. Sunday, January 5th is the feast of the Epiphany. It is a traditional day for families to bless their homes for the new year. Thanks to the SGA Parish Liturgy Committee who prepared these for our classrooms and your homes.

Let us praise God, who fills our hearts and home with peace.
Blessed be God forever.
All repeat: R/. Blessed be God forever.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling place among us. It is Christ who enlightens our hearts and homes with his love. May all who enter our home find Christ’s light and love. Please place the initials of the wise men above your door.

20 C+M+B 25

Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar

Upcoming Prayer for Christian Unity-Save the Date. See above.

From the USCCB site:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/upload/catholic-social-teaching-poster-for-children-digital.pdf

The students are so proud when they have parts at Mass. We hope you can join us whenever you are able. See below for the school day Mass Schedule.

School Masses

Tuesdays- 1-4 Attends

1/7 2K

1/14 2G

1/21 2A

1/ 28 1K Baptism Mass

Wednesdays- 5-8 Attends

1/8 8B

1/15 7L

1/22 7D

1/29 7B

Thursdays- All School Attends

12/19 4H

1/9 3S

1/16 3P

1/23 Jude House-Collection for Our Lady's Inn

1/30 3B

Looking ahead 2024-2025:

Family Mass Schedule-Mass is at 10:00 am

4th and 5th Grade- January 12th

2nd and 3rd Grade- February 9th

K and 1st Grade- April 13th

Second Grade

First Eucharist

First Communion Parent Mtg.- Wednesday, March 26th- 6:30 pm in church

Sunday, May 4th- 1st Communion, 2pm Mass

Confirmation

Confirmation Day of Reflection- February 18, 2025

Confirmation Mass -February 20, 2025 at Saint Gabriel the Archangel Church at 7 pm

Prayer Resource:

The School Sisters of Notre Dame have a virtual prayer space to pray for peace.

SSND Prayer Room: Open on Fridays from 9am- 9pm Central Time.

https://ssnd.org/ssnd-virtual-prayer-room/

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Come pray with us!

Deborah DaLay

Coordinator of Religious Education

Dates below are subject to change and additional days will be added as we continue to plan for the year. Dates are also posted on the Google calendar located on our website.

2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR

December

20-Christmas Break Begins (Noon Dismissal)

23-January 3, 2025 - Christmas Break

January

6- Classes Resume

12- 4th & 5th Grade Family Mass (NEW)

15- American Heart Association Fundraiser Begins

20- No School: MLK Day

26-31- Catholic Schools Week

26- Open House

27- Spelling Bee, 2:05pm

31- Noon Dismissal

February

7- End of American Heart Association

Fundraiser

9- 2nd & 3rd Grade Family Mass (NEW)

14- End of 2nd Trimester

14- Valentine’s Day Parties, 11:05am

14- Planning & Collaboration (Noon

Dismissal)

17- No School: Presidents’ Day

20 - 8th Grade Confirmation

25- Parents/Students/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7pm

27- Parents/Students/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7pm

28- Noon Dismissal

March

5- Ash Wednesday

6- 4th Grade Field Trip to LinkUp (Updated)

7- Stations of the Cross

8 - Auction

14- Stations of the Cross

17-21- Spring Break

24- 8th Grade Field Trip to Holocaust Museum (Updated)

26- First Communion Parent Meeting,

6:30pm

28- Stations of the Cross

April

4- Planning & Collaboration (Noon

Dismissal)

13 - Kindergarten & First Grade Family Mass (NEW)

17- No School: Holy Thursday

18- No School: Good Friday

20- Easter Sunday

21- No School: Easter Monday

23-25 - 6th Grade Camp

25-27 - AYM Luke 18 Retreat for 8th Graders

May

2- 2nd Grade Jesus Day

4- First Communion, 2pm

5- 2nd Grade Only, No School

6-7- Art Fair

6- Vocal Concert (Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd grade students, and Honor Choir), 7pm

7- Band Concert, 7pm

9- Noon Dismissal: Field Day

15- May Crowning

15- 8th Grade - Last Day

16- 8th Grade Mystery Trip

16- 7th Grade Leadership Day

20- 8th Grade Graduation, 6pm

23- Noon Dismissal: Last Day of School

Thanks to all who baked cookies for the St. Gabriel homebound parishioners. We were overwhelmed by your generous response to our request. Thanks to the women who baked together in the cafeteria, the people who baked at home. Thanks, too, to the people who volunteered to deliver the cookies. We could not have done this yearly project without all of you pitching in. Blessings in the New Year to all.

Welcome to ARCHANGEL YOUTH MINISTRY (AYM) covering the parishes of the St. Louis Hills neighborhood (St. Gabriel & St. Raphael). AYM is open to all high school teens. No sign-up necessary and teens do not need to be from the St. Louis Hills parishes to participate. High school teens can attend on a regular basis or drop-in as it fits their schedule.

Weekly Sunday Life Teen Nights (6:45-8:30 pm in Gabriel House) include snacks, socializing, games, talks, and discussions.

Wednesday R&R Nights (7-8:30 pm in Gabriel House) are unstructured evenings for teens to hang out (recharge & reconnect). See the AYM calendar for specific dates.

DECEMBER INFO

Life Teen Nights will occur every Sunday in December from 6:45-8:30 pm in Gabriel house.

Our next Teen Mass with Christmas Party to follow will be Sunday, Dec. 22nd. Teens interested in having a part in the Mass should contact Sarah asap.

Our Christmas Party dinner will be pizza and one of the games will be a white elephant gift exchange. All gifts should be something found at home (nothing broken nor trash), have a value of $5-$10, and be wrapped.

LOOKING AHEAD

*April 25th-27th | Luke 18 Retreat! | for 8th graders, led by high school teens | Registration for High School Team Leaders is OPEN via this link!

*July 18th-20th | AYM at Steubenville 2025! | for current 8th-12th grade students | Please read the Attendance Requirements doc before registering | Registration is OPEN via this link!

STAY CONNECTED with AYM

Follow us on Instagram @archangelym

Like our Facebook Group: Archangel Youth Ministry

Join the SGA or SRA Flocknote Group: Youth Ministry

Visit the Youth Group page on the SGA parish website

Contact Youth Minister: Sarah Henderson - hendersons@stgabrielstl.org

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