Saint Ambrose News

"Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ."

– St. Benedict

Dear Saint Ambrose Parents,

I hope you had a great long weekend; I was able to spend time with my parents in Iowa which was truly a gift. We made the most of our 3 day week, and look forward to the last 2 weeks of the 2nd trimester.

We have had some issues with taking care of our building recently. Both in the cafeteria and in the bathroom, we have some students choosing to damage our space. We promote care for the gift of our beautiful school, and ask that you support us as we review the Saint Ambrose Way with our students, and hold those accountable who are making poor choices. Thank you for your partnership.

A few notes:

• Janet will be gone through March 4. We have help in the office but might not be as efficient as Mrs. Seidenkranz. Thank you for your patience.
• Summer Swarm Care Information, Calendar and Registration are attached below in this newsletter.
• Starting this week students will be charged for each additional juice they take at breakfast. The cost is .50 per additional juice.

Roll Into Fun – Skating is Coming to P.E.

K-8 students are in for a treat! From March 31 – April 17, 2025, our P.E. classes will roll into action with an exciting in-house skating program. Skates will be provided by Skatetime, ensuring a safe and fun experience for all. - Permission Slip

Why skating? It’s a fantastic lifetime activity that boosts balance, coordination, motor skills, and cardio health. Students will learn key skills like stopping, starting, skating forward and backward, and essential safety tips.

🔹 Cost: $12 per student (includes skate rental for five P.E. sessions)
🔹 Deadline: Complete the online form by Wednesday, Feb. 26 - (Permission Slip)

💙 Want to be part of the fun? Consider volunteering to help your child’s class! Sign up here

Mystery Reader - Have you heard your child mention "Mystery Reader?" Mystery reader

On Wednesday mornings in February, we have a mystery reader share a snippet of a story over the loudspeakers. Students then guess who they think it was and enter into a drawing! This week it was Ms. Lynch!

SWARM SPRING SPORTS REGISTRATION

Grades 5th-8th, Track and Field/ Baseball /Softball

Registration Deadline: March 7th

Financial Aid

Financial Aid Applications are due March 14. Our Financial Aid Committee will consider all applications and make recommendations to us regarding the distribution of our financial aid dollars. We will make every effort to work with families so Saint Ambrose School is open to all. However, our assistance funds are limited, and we may not have funds available for those who do not apply by the deadline. Applications can be submitted online at www.tads.com. When you apply, mark the “Aim Higher Scholarship” and the “CSAF Scholarship” as those are two opportunities for our school to receive funding to support families in need.

February Wellness Activity

February is National Heart Health month.

To celebrate teachers are participating at school in a team challenge for adults.

The CDC activity recommendation for children ages 6-17 is 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily. Attached is a form if you would like to track activities with your family.

Child Fitness Tracker

We had a beautiful retreat on Tuesday, with Deacon John outlining ways we can grow in hospitality. He gave us a few quotes from St. Benedict that were inspiring to me. From Radical Hospitality by Lonni Collins Pratt:

"Saint Benedict calls us to hear the more. Listen, the ancient monk tells us, listen. It will break your heart, but it will also give you a heart...Love will listen. If you aren't listening, you aren't loving. Listening is always involved in hospitality. The most gracious attempts we can muster are meaningless if we do not actually hear the stranger. ..It is something we can give anyone and everyone, including ourselves It takes only a few minutes to really listen." (p. 261-262)

Saint Benedict, pray for us!

Have a great weekend.

Betsy Osterhaus Hand

Principal

Next year, the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) will host their annual convention in Minneapolis. Archbishop Hebda strongly encourages all school staff in our Archdiocese to attend this great opportunity for professional development and formation. This means our calendar for the 2025-2026 school year includes an extra few days off in April of 2026. I hope knowing this early will help families plan for those days. We hope to offer a T, W, Th Extended Day experience for families who need childcare-details will be communicated in August.

2025-2026 calendar.

Saint Ambrose has a tradition of a spring fundraiser and gathering both to raise money to support families who need financial help for tuition, and for special projects. In the past, those have been items like technology, and specific teacher wish list items. The history of this spring event includes formal sit down, dinners, and live auctions, dancing to a great cover band, and a festive gathering of school parents. With the understanding that events like these take a lot of planning and volunteer efforts, and with extreme gratitude toward those who have labored for these events, we have decided to try something new this year.

The parish trivia event in January is an extremely successful event for community gathering, positive energy, and connection with others. Our school hopes to match the conviviality of this event with an added objective of fundraising for our school. Thus, we are excited to announce the Saint Ambrose Catholic school trivia event on Friday, May 2. Our plan is to include our tuition raffle, online auction items, and a great night of fun trivia for those who are interested in attending. We’re also excited to debut our first golf tournament. This will take place on Monday, May 19. More details will follow for both of these events. We would love for you to join us!

Building community among our parent population is an essential goal of our school and parish community. It is our hope that when we find “our people “we grow both in connection and openness to encounter Christ in others. We hope these two events give us an opportunity to connect you with each other as well as raise funds to support our mission.

Saint Ambrose offers an engaging summer program for students entering kindergarten through grade seven. With a diverse selection of hands-on classes, children can explore STEM, science, reading, cooking, art, LEGO, computer games, and more. There's something for every interest, making summer both fun and enriching!

View the Catalog with 30 class options and registration information here!

Below you will see information shared with us by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, an advocacy group that has led an organized effort to change the current proposed state budget that would cut important funding to our non-public school. Thank you for using your voice to advocate for Saint Ambrose.

March 10 - 14th - No School Spring Break

March 17th - No School - Staff Retreat

February is I Love to Read Month! This month, we celebrate the joy, magic, and power of reading! Books have the incredible ability to take us on adventures, teach us new things, and help us grow. Whether it’s a thrilling mystery, a heartwarming story, or a fascinating fact book, there’s something for everyone to discover within the pages of a good book.

So, let’s dive into this month with excitement! Whether you’re flipping through your favorite chapter book, discovering a new graphic novel, or reading aloud as a family, February is all about making reading cool, fun, and meaningful. Let’s turn the page on new adventures—happy reading!

Did you know?

1. Reading just 20 minutes a day exposes kids to over 1.8 million words per year!
2. Sharing books with kids early builds their vocabulary and language skills, even before they can talk.
3. Kids who read for fun regularly tend to have higher academic success and are more creative problem-solvers.
4. Reading aloud is beneficial at any age—even older kids love listening to stories and discussing them.
5. Books can take kids on imaginative adventures, helping them explore far-off lands, fantastical creatures, and even their own emotions.

Family Calendar for Grades K-5

Family Calendar for Grades 6-8

Along with hospitality, our students are focusing on the virtue of patience in the month of February. The Saint Ambrose Way tenet we will connect with is being thankful. When we think about these connections, we can have a quiet hope that things will turn out right. We are tolerant of others without complaining. In all of this and all that we do, we have a grateful heart. What is more hospitable than greeting one another with patience, allowing them to be who they are, and with thankfulness that they are showing us who God made them to be?

A few ways we can all practice the virtues of patience and thankfulness:

• Always say thank you when given something.
• Do not expect a reward for your actions.
• Appreciate what you have.
• When on a field trip, at the store, visiting someone, etc., give a compliment and say thank you.
• Thank those who do things for our school (cooks, custodians, recess aides, etc.).

Saints to pray with this month:

• Saint Blaise – February 3rd
• Saint Paul Miki and Companions – February 6th
• Our Lady of Lourdes – February 11th
• Saint Polycarp – February 23rd

September 6th September 13th September 20th September 27th

October 4th October 11th October 16th October 25th

November 1st November 8th November 15th November 22nd November 29th

December 3rd December 13th December 20th

January 10th January 17th January 24th January 31st

February 7th February 14th

Volunteer Requirement - Essential 3 Requirements outlined on the parish website.

Math Challenge - https://www.mathinaction.org/

Artsonia

https://www.artsonia.com/connect/TWKCXF27 And use the PARENT CODE TWKCXF27 to connect to Saint Ambrose.

Weekly Church Bulletin

Student and Parent Handbook

Drop-off and Pick-up Info

Hand Connection Newsletter

School Calendar 2024-2025

School Calendar 2025-2026

School Supply List for 2024-2025

School Website

School Facebook Page

Quarterly Home and School Newsletter

Sycamore

Sycamore Help Guide

Sycamore Parent Checklist

Please login to Sycamore to access the school calendar, lunch menu, and schedules/grades (JH only)

Mission (what we offer)

We at Saint Ambrose School are part of a vibrant Catholic community supporting and nurturing

each child on their journey with Christ.

Through exceptional academics, embracing each child’s unique strengths and needs, and

joyfully engaging in prayer and service, we take a holistic, virtue-based approach to student

education and experiences. This is the Saint Ambrose Way.

Vision (what we aspire to)

As a thriving Catholic school, we create meaningful impact though each family we support and

student we send into the world.

By helping form the whole child, students are not only prepared well for the next level of

education, but life as Christian adults living the Saint Ambrose Way.

PHILOSOPHY

The Saint Ambrose community recognizes the partnership between parents, students, staff,

administration and parishioners in providing for the development of its members as people of

faith who worship, learn and grow together. As a community we have a responsibility to

support families- as the primary educators of their children- while providing enriching

experiences that promote a sense of belonging and responsibility to a community.

Did you know that we have a Saint Ambrose Facebook Page and Instagram Page? Please follow us for school updates and photos. Click the links at the bottom of this email for quick access to our social media pages.