Number 11

Sunday, Matthew is telling us about the beginning of Jesus' ministry. He tells us that Jesus began to travel around Galilee preaching about repentance and the Kingdom of heaven. (Mathew uses the phrase "kingdom of heaven" where the other evangelists use the phrase "kingdom of God.")

Matthew also tells two amazing "call stories." They are simple yet striking. In both cases, Jesus calls a set of brothers who are fishermen. First he calls Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. Then he calls James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Both sets of brothers

"immediately" leave their boats in order to follow Jesus.

We have heard these call stories so many times that we take them for granted. Of course these men answered - Jesus was calling! What we may forget is that Jesus was a stranger to these men. There is nothing in the text to indicate that they had met before or had heard Jesus preach or seen him heal anyone. There is no indication that Jesus stopped to tell them about himself or persuade them to follow. In fact, we almost get the feeling that Jesus himself never stopped walking - he simply called out to them, perhaps waving his arm in the direction of the road ahead, and kept on going. We might imagine the fishermen tossing their nets and scurrying after him in order to keep up.

Jesus' teaching not only comforted the poor and suffering, but they disturbed the wealthy and prosperous.

The effect of having these two call stories back to back is not lost on the reader or hearer of the Gospel. First we are alerted to the fact - if we haven't been already- that Jesus is different from other teacher and prophets. There is something about him that moves people to respond to his presence. Second, we are inspired and even prodded to be more like Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John.

Could we ever be so detached and so determined as to immediately leave everything - work, family, comfort, familiarity - to follow Jesus? Could we ever respond to Jesus in such a wholehearted and selfless way? do we complicate our lives by counting pros and cons rather than simply saying "yes" to Jesus?

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Unfortunately I write with a heavy heart this newsletter. In all my years at All Souls I have not been so disappointed with the actions of some parents of our children. I am referring to two areas of school life: Bingo and Car Pick Up.

Over the past few months we have advised parents that they must fulfill their commitment to Bingo by turning up and when there to actively work the floor. Unfortunately this has not been occurring even after we have repeatedly asked parents to assist.

Secondly, with car pick up we have asked that parents not turn up to pick up their children till 2.45pm, but repeatedly parents have been at the school as early as 2.25pm blocking the driveway and being abusive to people from the clinic. The relationship between the school and the clinic is at an all time low, and our reputation is on the line in the community.

I must remind the offending parents that this behavior is not in accord with the Christian Code of Conduct. I have sought the School Board's advice on these issues and they have come up with some suggestions. One of the suggestions is that the driveway will be closed to traffic until 2.45 with a barrier or cones across the driveway between the school fence and the clinic. Cars are not to cross the clinic driveway nor the driveway into the lower parking lot. The traffic division of SSF police department has been advised of the situation by both the clinic and ourselves. They will be ticketing parents who disobey the road rules.

It is unfortunate that the school has to take such actions. I wish to thank the School Board members for their discussions on these issues and for their support.

Second Quarter Report Cards

Second quarter report cards will be available on line next Thursday through SchoolSpeak. We will not be printing out report cards anymore except for the final report card at the end of the year.

Third Quarter

Third quarter begins today. This is a great opportunity for parents to talk to their child/children about a short term goal for this new quarter.

Right to Life Essay Winners

I am pleased to announce that All Souls students performed very well this year in the Right to Life Essay Contest. Congratulations to all students who participated in the contest this year. The following students received these awards:

Grades 4

1st Prize San Mateo: Alan Alcantara

Grade 3

Honorable Mention: Noah Chin

Grade 6

Honorable Mention: Cassandra Tostado

Grade 8

Honorable Mention: Jeffrey Aldon

Kindergarten Enrollment:

We are currently accepting applications for the 2017-18 Kindergarten school year. If you know of any children eligible for the new Kindergarten school year please let their parents know that we are accepting applications

Re-Enrollment

Re-enrollment for all current students will begin in March. I do need to give you a heads up that at the time of re-enrollment you will need to pay the re-enrollment fee at that time. The budget has not been finalized yet and we are estimating a slight tuition increase for the coming year. Please start to budget for the re-enrollment fee. It is normally around the $305 per child figure.

Save the Date

The School Board will be organizing the Annual School Board Molloy's Fun Night Out for Parent and Friends. The date will be February 25th starting at 6.30pm at Molloy's Tavern on Mission Road in Colma. We would love to see as many parents and friends as possible join in this festive night with food and dancing.

School Speak iPhone App

I am pleased to announce that SchoolSpeak has released their App for the iPhone. You can download the app from the App Store. It is very powerful, and you can access all aspects of SchoolSpeak from the app that you would if logged onto the computer. The Android version will be released shortly.

Bingo

Second Grade Bingo Night will be tomorrow, January 20th. We hope to see you there!

God Bless,

Vincent Riener

Principal

19 - First Communion Parent Meeting - 7pm

20 - 8th Grade Graduation Photos

27 - Staff Development Mtg. - 12:20pm Dismissal

27 - School Board Raffle ends

29 - Feb. 4- Catholic Schools Week

29 - Catholic School Celebration - 9am Mass & Open House/Science Fair

30 - Faculty Meeting - 12:20 Dismissal - Athl. Board Hot Dog Sale

2 - 8th Grade Dance

3 - Archdiocesan Curriculum Conference - Student Holiday

4 - New Student Testing - 9am

4 - Athletic Board Crab Feed

5 - School Family Mass - 9am

6 - Faculty Meeting - 2:30pm Early Dismissal

6 - Principal's Awards Ceremony - 9am

8 - Athletic Board Meeting - 6:30pm

12 - Rite of Enrollment for Confirmation - 9am Mass

17 - Semester Holiday - 20- Presidents' Day Holiday

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

22 - Spring Picture Day

23 - First Communion Parent Meeting - 7pm

25 - School Board Parent Event

27 - Archdiocesan Staff Dev. Mtg. - 12:20 Dismissal - Athl. Board Hot Dog Sale

24-25-26 - LA Religion Congress

The school calendar has been updated to reflect changes in January through June 2017. Please replace old copies you may have.

As you are looking for a perfect birthday or special occasion gift, don't forget your shopping options that will benefit All Souls Catholic School!

Our in-house Scrip program is back in business after the summer break, and you can always shop online at the eScrip Online Mall, which has many of your favorite online shopping sites.

Amazon shoppers please remember to use the handy Amazon link at the bottom of our web page. This link will take you directly to your personal Amazon page, shop as you normally would, and the school will earn a percentage of your purchase. There is no cost to you!

Email: info@ssfallsoulsschool.org
Website: www.ssfallsoulsschool.org
Location: 479 Miller Ave, South San Francisco, CA, United States
Phone: (650) 583 3562