Dear St. Clare Families,

Important Notice: Change in Mass Dates

This year the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, will be celebrated on December 9 instead of the traditional December 8. Below is a brief explanation of why the celebration of this feast day has been moved.

Since many feast days and celebrations can fall on the same day, they are ranked according to importance so that those planning liturgies know which feast day to celebrate.

The Sundays of Advent, Lent, and Easter and are the highest ranking feasts and when Holy Days of Obligation fall on one of these Sundays they are transferred to the following Monday. Since December 8 is a Sunday this year, the celebration of the feast day has been transferred to December 9. When Holy Days of Obligation fall on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is removed. However, the United States is dedicated to Mary, the Immaculate Conception, so the obligation to celebrate Mass on this feast is never removed.

With all of this in mind there is a change to the school Mass schedule for the week of December 9.

- December 9 - 8:45am Mass at St. Nicholas Church (Students will be bused to St. Nicholas to attend Mass and will then return to school)

- December 10 & 12 - No Masses at School

Literacy Night

We are excited about our First Annual Literacy Night. For an idea of stations, please check out the Google Sheet.

Pep Rally for Raffle

A special thank you to all the parent volunteers that help set up on Monday morning- Erin Keefe, Jenna McCarthy, Fabi Tonding, and Emma Stehlick. A special thank you to Mr. Hamilton who also helped set-up. For the entire slime and tug-o-war videos, see below. We are grateful for our school community, three parishes, alumni, grandparents, and local businesses that continue to support our mission.

Spirit Wear - Jogger Orders Only

Due to popular demand, the Spirit Wear Store is currently accepting orders for the Navy Track Jogger. These joggers can be worn on “Spirit Wear Fridays”. Please get your order by 11/8/24. Last chance to order before Christmas.

https://scknights.ggiww.com/Default

For any questions spiritwear@saintclareschool.org

**All sales are final. There will be no exchanges or returns available.**

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mrs. Ybarra and Mrs. Howard

Congratulations to our 6th-8th graders on Honor Roll for the 1st Quarter!

The calendar of events is now in Google! You can add the calendar to your Google Calendar and any changes made will be reflected on your phone or computer. Please click the link below to see the Calendar of Events!

*Parents are always welcome at Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and Prayer Services.

On Friday, February 7, 2025, ECP will end at 3:00 P.M. for the Luke 18 Retreat. Please make arrangements to pick up students by 3:00 P.M. Thank you!

Althoff Boys Soccer won the 2A Regional on Friday and moved on to Sectionals this week. The Crusaders are 21-4 on the season and currently ranked as the #2 team among all schools in the Metro East. The will play for the Sectional title against Triad High School this Saturday @ 11:00 a.m. at Triad High School.

St. Clare alums, pictured left to right: Indy Johaningmeyer (FR), Luke Smith (JR – Captain), RJ Devine (JR), Nash Johaningmeyer (JR), Brady Luechtefeld (SR)

Congratulations to our $25 weekly winners for the week of 10/28 - Kyle Witte (sold by Evie Stehlick) and Elaine Guithues (sold by Kaine and Dallas Hardy)!

Congratulations to our $50 semi-monthly winner for October - Katie Cerneka (sold by Drew Distler)!

During November we remember the Communion of Saints. All of the canonized Saints of the Church but also our departed loved ones. On the weekend of November 2 & 3, attend Mass with your family and take a picture with your favorite Saint statue at Church and share it on social media using the hashtag #CompanionsOnTheJourney. Saints are important companions on our faith journey.

All donations for November will go to the O'Fallon Food Pantry!

SAVE THE DATE! MJM Concert at St. Nicholas - November 17 - 6 PM

Michael James Mette's gifts of music, joy, & family life offer the boldness and innocence of youth with the wisdom and depth of lived experiences. The events fall somewhere between a rock concert and a parish mission, with vibrant lights, powerful music, faith sharing, and an invitation to prayer. The music is uplifting without being preachy, creating an environment that is engaging without being confrontational. The concert empowers all ages to pray more fully and worship more freely. Bring a friend! You won’t want to miss this this unique event. The concert is free, donations are accepted. #concert

Corpus Christi will be hosting the 13th Annual Holiday Hilltop 5K Run / Walk and ½ Mile Fun Run / Walk on

Saturday, December 14th , at 9:00 a.m. This year’s

beneficiary is Adam Brandt.

About the race…

As always, our 5K will have live bands playing Christmas music along the route.

All proceeds from the event will assist the Brandt family with

Adam’s past and future medical expenses.

How you can help…

Register to run or walk. Visit https://holidayhilltop.org

Register by November 20th to guarantee a shirt. Sign up to be a sponsor and donate.

St. Clare Families,

Mater Dei will host its placement test (PreACT 8/9) for incoming freshmen on Saturday, December 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Due to the policies of ACT, one month prior to the test, we must submit a roster of students who will complete the test. Therefore, all students who plan to attend or are considering attending Mater Dei must register for the placement test by November 8. There is no fee to complete the test.

To register for the test, please email Mrs. Maria Zurliene (mzurliene@materdeiknights.org) with your child’s first name, middle initial, last name, and date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy). If your child is undecided about attending Mater Dei, you may still register for the test. If he/she chooses not to take the test, we can simply return the unused test.

If your child is unable to complete the placement test, please know that the placement test is not required. It is simply used to provide course recommendations at the time of registration.

As always, should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Maria Zurliene (mzurliene@materdeiknights.org or 618-526-7216).

We look forward to working with the future members of our Class of 2029!

First graders couldn't get enough of the Bok Choy. Check out the recipe below.

2nd graders taking up the gifts.

Glow day phonics and escape room!

We had a blast during glow day!

Mattina’s Organic Towers with 2nd grade and quarter 2 advisory.

3rd Grade went to the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Students in Grades 5-8 playing the Oregon Trail game.

Students celebrating Red Ribbon Week and Halloween.

Happy Halloween!

In general music this past week we played the drums in Kindergarten class. The students learned about Ta-Ta, Ti, Ti, Ta.

Fifth graders played board games to review vocabulary words for their novel, Maniac Magee.

Congratulations to Mrs. Kohlbrecher's class for winning the Red Ribbon Week bulletin board decorating contest!

Email: monica.ybarra@saintclareschool.org
Website: www.saintclareschool.org
Location: 214 West 3rd Street, O'Fallon, IL, USA
Phone: (618) 632-6327
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saintclareknights