In Sunday's Gospel, Mark tell us about Jesus as he begins his healing ministry, performing his very first recorded account - healing Simon's mother-in-law.

Saint Mark narrates that in Simon’s (Peter) house, his mother-in-law lays sick with a fever. They tell Jesus about her as soon as He enters this home. Jesus then grasps her hand, helps her up, and her fever disappears. Once her health gets restored, she “waited” on them, serving Jesus with His Apostles at the table.

Peter’s mother-in-law was a grateful woman! Cured from her illness, she used her newfound health and life to serve Jesus, in the humble yet meaningful way she could. In those early days, it was not customarily allowed for a man, let alone a holy man like Jesus, to be served by a woman not of kin. But this woman’s desire to give thanks to the Lord knew no boundaries. She understood that God’s will restored her health so that she would use her new life to serve Him and other people.

How many of us were cured from an illness, whether light or grave, and saw our healing as a call from God? It is sad that we hear of some people who have survived a grave illness such as cancer, but instead of answering to His call and giving back to the Lord, they just go back to their old, secular ways, or sinful lifestyle.

God does not want us to simply have fun while we have the strength of health. He is calling us to use our health for a greater purpose; to serve Him and others. The will He has for those of good health, and for all of us who are alive, even if sickly, is that we use our lives for the good, glorifying Him and serving others, according to our own capacities.

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

We are in the midst of Kindergarten admissions and testing. We anticipate moving to a wait list next week. We do have some vacancies in other grades for next year. If you are aware that you will not be returning to school, please notify the office – info@ssfallsoulsschool.org

Drive-way Repairs

You will have noticed that the driveway has been repaired by Cal Water for the work that they did a few months ago. The city Department of Public Works will complete updating the driveway in February/March. They may take up to three weeks for this work. When this work begins, we may need to rearrange cars entering into the school grounds during this time. I will inform you of any changes when the work is about to start.

Catholic Schools Week

Catholic Schools Week will begin Sunday, January 26th with 9am Mass followed by Open House at the school. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Mass. As part of Catholic Schools Week there will be “A Day of Giving”. On this day people will have the opportunity to donate money to the school for specific projects. We will send the link to all our families and alumni for them to contribute. Our goal is for $100,000.00 towards the new windows for the school. Please pass this link onto as many people as possible so that we can reach our goal.

Window Update

As just mentioned, we are in the process of replacing the windows. The current windows are 70 years old with very thin glass. We are looking at replacing them with double pane glass. As you can imagine, this is a huge project which will cost just under one million dollars. We are praying that we will be able to complete this project this summer.

2020 – 2021 Re-Registration

I wish to give a heads up that in March we will begin the re-registration process for the 2020 – 2021 school year. At this time, you will be required to submit a $325 registration fee per student. We have started the budget process for the new school year, and I am trying to eliminate SCRIP if we can for the future. The School Board has been in favor of removing this fee and I believe we are in a position to do it for next year. I will keep you informed of this decision.

8th Grade Archdiocesan Gathering

All 8th graders in the Archdiocese will be gathering at Mission Dolores for the morning on January 30th. As part of the gathering the Culture Project, which has been part of the year’s program with the Archdiocesan schools, will do a presentation on the topic of dignity. All students will enjoy the day. Thanks to Mr. Ceja for organizing the day.

Athletic Board Crab Feed

On Saturday, February 1st the Athletic Board will be hosting its Annual Crab Feed. It is always a wonderful fun event for our families and friends. Please book online or complete the form. We look forward to seeing as many parents and friends as possible at this wonderful event.

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

Next Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. Let us remember the good he achieved with his life. It is always a shame when good people are not accepted for the goodness they do.

God Bless

Vincent Riener

Principal

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Each new year brings with it the promise of a new start. We think about the previous year, remembering our accomplishments and worrying about the goals we did not reach. We make resolutions that, if we are lucky, might last until mid-February. Instead of setting huge new year’s goals for ourselves, it is probably better to set smaller, more realistic goals throughout the year. If we remember that each new day brings a new start, it might be easier to get up and try again when we’ve stumbled.

I extend my best wishes to you for a happy and healthy 2020. May you start each day with hope and peace in your hearts. Happy New Year!

All the best,

Miss J

The deadline for sign-ups for Talent Show 2020 has been extended until next Tuesday, January 21st. Any sign-ups must be in to the office by 9am. Please use the attached sign-up form.

Dear All Souls Families,

As of Wednesday, November 6 you can 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.

Please sign into 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 into 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 will be charging your credit card for lunch payments. You are now responsible for paying and adding credit to your cafeteria account.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Regards,

Ms. Escobar

20 - Martin Luther King Jr.Day - Holiday

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

24 - Faculty Meeting - 12:20pm Dismissal

26 - Catholic Schools Week Mass - 9am

followed by Open House & Science Fair

27-31 - Spirit Week

1 - Athletic Board Crab Feed

2 - School Family Mass - 9am

3 - Early Dismissal - 2:30pm - Faculty Meeting

3-14 - STAR Testing

4 - School Assembly - 2:30pm

9 - Rite of Enrollment for Confirmation

12 - Athletic Board Meeting - 6:30pm

14-17 - Presidents' Day - Holiday Weekend

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

19 - Spring Pictures

24 - WCEA Mtg. - 12:20 Dismissal

25 - School Assembly - 2:30pm

26 - Ash Wednesday - 8am Mass (Full School Uniform)

27 - First Communion Parent Mtg. - 7pm

Below please find the free and reduced lunch application for the 2019-2020 school year.

Box Tops for Education was started by General Mills in California back in 1996, after the company decided they wanted to create a program to help support education and benefit America’s schools. All Souls has benefitted from this program over the years, receiving sports equipment, microscopes, and a variety of other educational items.

You can help by clipping the Box Tops off approved products you already have in your pantry. You don't need to clip the actual product UPC — just the Box Tops logo will do. From frozen foods to produce and household cleaning products, there are literally hundreds of opportunities to help, and each Box Top is worth 10 cents. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up fast.

There are so many participating companies! Participating companies and product lines include General Mills, Green Giant, Totino's, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Ziploc, Hefty, Juicy Juice, Betty Crocker and many more. For a full list of eligible items check the Box Tops for Education website at https://www.boxtops4education.com/earn .

Please see the flyer below for more details about new additions to the Box Tops program.