The Trojan Times

St. Maria Goretti is a living testament to our Lord's work in His youngest disciples, exemplified by academic excellence, spiritual formation, and compassionate service to others.

Dear SMG Families,

Happy Advent, the season of hope and preparation! We prepare for the birth of Christ and the hope that He brings to mankind.

It is apparent that we are preparing to celebrate the season at SMG. The hallways are being decorated, filled with children's work and expressions; students are practicing for the Christmas Program which will take place the evening of December 11th; our 3rd through 8th Grade students will have an opportunity to go to confession this week; and we will begin the week tomorrow with our December First Monday morning assembly, where we will talk about this month's virtue, generosity, and discuss ways we can all be generous with our time, talent, and treasure this Advent.

Through all the hustle and bustle, excitement, and busyness that is the season, I pray that we can make time to reflect on our lives and all that God has given us, and that we look with anticipation for the light yet to come.

Have a wonderful week!

St. Maria Goretti, Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Laura Behee, M.Ed.

Principal

Today is the first Sunday of Advent! Advent officially begins each year four Sundays before Christmas and ends on December 24th. It marks the beginning of the Church's calendar year.

The word "advent" means the arrival of an important person or thing and is derived from the Latin word "adventus", which means "coming". Advent is a time of reflection, excitement, and hope, and a time during which we anticipate the coming of Jesus.

The Advent Wreath is a familiar symbol during the season of Advent. The wreath holds the four Advent candles that represent Jesus coming as the light in darkness. One candle is lit each Sunday until all four candles are lit, and sometimes a fifth candle is lit on Christmas. As Christmas draws nearer, each candle brings a little more light into the darkness.

Each of the candles represents an aspect of preparation during the season of Advent:

1. The Candle of Hope
   Color: Purple
   Purple is the primary color associated with Advent. It symbolizes penance, preparation, and sacrifice. This first week of Advent, we look forward to Jesus’ coming with hope.


2. The Candle of Peace
   Color: Purple
   During this second week of Advent, we reflect on our lives and work on becoming better-versions-of-ourselves in preparation for Jesus’ coming.


3. The Candle of Joy
   Color: Pink
   This third candle is pink, symbolizing anticipation and rejoicing. During the third week of Advent, we are filled with joy for the near arrival of Jesus on Christmas day.


4. The Candle of Love
   Color: Purple
   During this final week of Advent we rejoice in the endless love that God has for us, which is made apparent in the birth of his Son. (From Dynamic Catholic https://dynamiccatholic.com/best-advent-ever/about-advent)

Below are some other great resources for celebrating Advent:

https://www.holyheroes.com/Holy-Heroes-Advent-Adventure-s/48.htm

https://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201411/light-your-advent-resources-make-most-season-29620

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1360

https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/how-to-celebrate-advent-like-a-catholic/

Generosity is the virtue for the month of December. Generosity means giving without counting the cost. While generosity is a virtue we should strive for all year long, it is especially fitting to be generous during the season of Advent. Generous not only of our treasure, but generous of our time and talent as well.

There are many saints who exemplified the virtue of generosity. Three that we are going to be learning more about this month are:

• St. Nicholas - Feast Day: December 6th - St. Nicholas was a bishop who was always giving to the poor. He heard about a family with three daughters who had no money to get married. Each time one of the girls was ready to get married, St. Nicholas left them gold. He never told them that he had given the money, but did it in secret.
• St. Mary Magdalene - Feast Day: July 22nd - St. Mary Magdalene was looked upon as a sinner. Jesus healed her of seven devils and many people think she is the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears. St. Mary Magdalene became one of Jesus' closest followers and was one of a few people besides the Blessed Mother and St. John the Apostle who stayed with Jesus during His crucifixion and death.
• St. Maximilian Kolbe - Feast Day: August 14th - St. Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar who was born in Poland and was living there when World War II broke out. He was captured by the Germans and sent to the concentration camp of Auschwitz. He volunteered to give up his life, taking the place of another prisoner who was condemned to die.

For more information on the Virtues in Practice Program, visit

https://www.nashvilledominican.org/apostolate/evangelization-and-catechesis/virtues-in-practice/

What is the Christmas Store?

During the first week of December, students will be given the opportunity to purchase Christmas gifts for loved ones at Santa’s Workshop during a scheduled time slot with their class. More information will be sent out in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned and remember Buddy the Elf says that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear!

For more information, including a schedule, gift tags, and FACTS authorization form for purchases, please visit: https://smgschool.org/documents/2018/11/Christmas%20Store%202018%20Info.pdf

SMG will host our first PreK and Kindergarten Open House of the school year on Wednesday, December 5th beginning at 9:30AM. Please share this information with anyone you know who is considering options for their PreK and Kindergarten students for the 2019-2020 school year!

Last week, SMG 8th Grade students participated in the 8th Grade History Fair. Eighth grade students researched various historical events, people, and places choosing topics from either Texas, U.S., or World history. All of the completed projects were amazing and it was truly difficult to judge and narrow it down to the twelve projects chosen to be presented at the Diocesan History Fair held at Nolan yesterday morning. In the end, the following students and their projects went on to compete at the diocesan fair:

• Molly Breclaw - Marvel (U.S.)

• Ashlyn Wessel - Roman Empire (World)

• Harper Souders - Dr. Pepper (Texas)

• Andy Zavala - WWII (U.S.)

• Faith Morano - Alcatraz (U.S.)

• Brendan Woodside - Lusitania (U.S.)

• Maggie Carey - OJ Simpson (U.S.)

• Camilla Marquino - Peoples Temple (World)

• Julia Guinn – Apollo 12 (U.S.)

• Elizabeth Hyde - The Beatles (World)

• Isaiah Venegas - History of Gaming (World)

• Emily Ruggerio - Queen the Band (U.S.)

These students competed against several other 8th Grade students from the other diocesan schools and SMG student Faith Morano received a medal for Best of American History! Congratulations to Faith and all SMG students who competed!

On Saturday morning, several SMG students and parents participated in the Zetnick-Arlington Winter Run held at the MAC at UT Arlington. Thank you to Ms. Meuer and Mrs. Gutierrez for organizing our SMG students who participated!

The SMG Annual Dinner, Dance, and Auction will be here before you know it! We need your help to make this year's event a success. The Dinner, Dance, and Auction Committee is accepting all types of donations. In particular, if you or anyone you know could provide any of the following, please contact Kathy Knowles at jameskathyknowles@tx.rr.com or Jessica McGuinness at Jessica-mcguinness@hotmail.com.

• Food Sponsorship of $3000.00 - includes Table sponsor with 10 tickets, full-page color ad/recognition in program, VIP Access to Dinner and Bar, recognition in the weekly Trojan Times and on the SMG DD Website for the duration of the school year, gift bags for the table
• Destination Spots - Vacation homes, Timeshares, that could be donated for a week or a long weekend; would be included in the live auction
• Dinner Package for "Dinner with Father Jim and 6 Friends"
• Season Passes to local water parks/pools
• Tickets to Professional and College Sporting events; tickets to Plays, Opera, and Music Performances, and other Fine Arts Productions
• Golf Packages/Tee Times at area golf courses
• $20.00 Gift Cards to be used for game prizes at the event
• Other items/packages/services that can be purchased in the silent auction
• Personal or Business Ads in the Evening's Program:

-$500.00 Full page/full color, back cover, back inside cover

-$250.00 Full page/full color inside ad

-$175.00 Half page/full color inside ad

-$100.00 Half page/grayscale ad

• Sunday, December 2nd: First Sunday of Advent
• Tuesday, December 4th-Thursday, December 6th: Christmas Store for SMG students in Cafetorium**
• Wednesday, December 5th: Mass at 8AM Dress Uniform required
• Wednesday, December 5th: PreK-Kindergarten Open House @ 9:30AM in Library**
• Tuesday, December 11th: SMG Christmas Program @ 6:30PM in the Gym**
• Wednesday, December 12th: Mass @ 8AM with Bishop Olson Dress Uniform required
• Friday, December 14th: 6-8th Grade Christmas Dance 6:30-8:30 PM in the Cafetorium

**More information above