A Grateful Heart
Saint Clare School Family News | 19 March 2023
A Grateful Heart by Jazmine Misola, Class of 2024
BEGIN EACH DAY WITH A GRATEFUL HEART
I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,
praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now.
And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.
~From Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, Ch. 1:1-5, 9-11
Dear Saint Clare School Families,
This past week, our school was visited by a team of educators from across the Bay Area to affirm and validate the excellent formation and programs offered at Saint Clare School. Mrs. Carol Grewal, Assistant Superintendent of Schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco chaired the team, which included Mrs. Regina Worley from Saint Victor School, Mrs. Joanne Laus from Saint John the Baptist School, and Mrs. Lauren Auker from Stratford School.
The visit concluded with a presentation attended by the Faculty and Staff, Msgr. Fran, and Mrs. Fabienne Esparza, the diocesan Accreditation Commissioner highlighting what the Visiting Committee observed while they were with us. A slide deck of the presentation is included in this post.
It is with great pride and gratitude that I present excerpts from the Report of Findings that will give you a feel for how effectively the Visiting Committee found our program:
The Visiting Committee identified the following eight most significant accomplishments:
Saint Clare School’s environment supports a faith-centered education in an atmosphere of love and respect.
Saint Clare School is dedicated to the gospel message of serving others and has a strong social justice program based on the seven tenets of Catholic Social Teaching.
Saint Clare School is blessed to have the support and active participation of the pastor, the parochial vicar, the parish youth minister and the parish catechetical coordinator.
Saint Clare School’s faculty and staff are cohesive and committed to facilitating the high achievement of all students through updated curriculum, occupational therapy, Bill Wilson counselors, student learning plans, students success plans, multi-tiered systems of support, and co-curriculars including art and P.E.
Saint Clare School has a strong, positive principal who is committed to moving the school forward.
Saint Clare School has a strong, inclusive, and caring community where children and teachers look out for each other.
Saint Clare School has a robust system of support for all learners.
Saint Clare School has a good foundation of resources (human, instructional, physical, and financial) to sustain the school’s program and carry out its purpose of high achievement for all students.
In addition, the Visiting Committee concluded their report with the following statement:
The Visiting Committee thoroughly enjoyed the visit to Saint Clare School. The Visiting Committee affirms and commends the faculty, staff, and shareholders for thoroughly representing the life of the school within their Self-Study document. Saint Clare School lives its mission, and it is evident that Catholic Identity is an integral part of the life of the school. The faculty and staff are dedicated to their ministry of Catholic education, and they are diligent in meeting the needs of their students. There is strong evidence of a robust sense of community, The Visiting Committee noted the professionalism and dedication of teachers that goes above and beyond to benefit student learning. The faculty and staff work in a collegial spirit of collaboration for all students – not just the students in their class. Every student is valued and recognized for their unique gifts in such a way that a bond of dignity and respect is created between teachers and students. The parents of the Saint Clare community are whole-heartedly dedicated to the success of the school. They work in a true partnership with teachers and the administration to support the holistic development of their children. This relationship can be summed up with the term “community” as all shareholders are there to support one another. The Visiting Committee would be amiss if they did not recognize and congratulate the partnership that exists between the school and the parish.
I am grateful to the parents and students who participated in the small group interviews this past week, as well as our faculty and staff who worked tirelessly to discuss, assess, and write the Self-Study, especially to the leadership team of Mrs. Kogura, Ms. Hanson, Mr. Goetz, and Mrs. Soares, and to the office staff and instructional assistants who shared their lived experience in the many meetings and discussions and study sessions we’ve had for the past year and a half. It is their voice that resonates in the Self-Study.
Through the Self-Study, in response to survey and the review of the data, the following Action Plan goals were identified. The Self-Study delineates strategies and resources for the following Action Plan goals, which will involve the participation of all shareholders:
By the end of school year 2025-2026, provide increased opportunities for parents and caregivers to actively participate in faith formation in support of their “first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith”.
By the end of the 2025-2026 school year, integrate the SLEs into the school program by creating grade level rubrics in order to assess student performance and progress toward mastery of the SLEs.
By the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, develop and implement a measurable, equitable, and sustainable protocol to evaluate instructional methodologies and their impact on the continued growth and high achievement of all students.
Well done, Saint Clare School community! Your light shines brightly within and for all the world to see.
YOUNG CHRISTIAN AWARDS FOR THE SECOND TRIMESTER
We congratulate the following students and their families for being honored as Young Christians for the second trimester. Their teachers wrote a special tribute to them as they were presented with their certificates at Wednesday’s Morning Assembly and Prayer.
Yosias Araya Mussie Beraki, TK
We would like to honor Yosias Araya Mussie Beraki for the Second Trimester Young Christian Award for TK. Yosias exemplifies respect. Respect in the classroom, respect for the teachers, respect for his peers. He can stay focused and follow directions despite the constant distractions. He is reliable to others that may need support, and always extends a hand to a friend in need. We are so proud of Yosias and the example he sets for his classmates. Congratulations, Yosias!
Zoe Edem, Kindergarten
Mrs. Meneze and I are truly honored to select Zoe Edem as the Trimester 2 recipient of the Young Christian Award. Zoe is an outstanding student who consistently demonstrates habits of the mind, heart, and spirit. She sets an example to the rest of the class on what it means to follow Jesus's teaching by being kind, resilient, respectful, and inclusive. She excels academically and has shown tremendous growth in many areas. Inside the classroom, we can always count on Zoe to follow our classroom rules, stay focused, and put forth her best effort. Congratulations, Zoe! Mrs. Meneze and I are incredibly proud of you!
Emily Lopez-Diaz, Grade 1
I am honored to present Emily Lopez-Diaz with the Young Christian Award.
Emily exemplifies habits of the mind by arriving each morning ready to work and participate in class discussions. She is hardworking and committed to always trying her best. She follows along attentively during class lessons and remains on task.
Emily models habits of the heart by being kind and compassionate toward her teachers and classmates. She is thoughtful in how she communicates with others. Emily is helpful and takes the initiative to support her classmates without being asked to. She also enjoys talking about her family and how she can be helpful to her parents and brother.
Emily embodies habits of the spirit by being inclusive of others. She is compassionate and treats her classmates in a welcoming manner.
Emily’s classmates shared the following about her:
- Emily plays well and is helpful.
- She helps those who are hurt.
- She is kind to friends and lets people join in her games at recess and lunch.
- Emily is a good listener and answers questions in class.
Emily, congratulations on all of your hard work and on receiving the Young Christian Award.
Tony Le, Grade 2
It is with joy to present this trimester’s Young Christian Award to Tony. It is his first year with Saint Clare, but he has already shown his love and respect for what the school stands for - embodying the Silver Box virtues. He has shown continuous persistence and diligence with his school works. Even without prompt, he lends a helping hand to teachers and his peers. He has an understanding heart when he is talked to for his mistakes, listens well and strives to do better next time. A trait that his classmates can certainly learn from. Job well done, Tony. Congratulations!
Rylan Ko, Grade 3
I am truly honored to present the Young Christian award to Rylan this trimester. As a student, he strives for excellence, and he perseveres through challenges. Rylan selflessly volunteers his time and efforts to help his peers in the classroom. As a friend, he is loyal, reliable, and dedicated to uplifting others. As a model of rectitude, Rylan expresses enthusiasm in growing in his faith and love for God. I am especially proud of his growth in empathizing with his classmates. Through introspection, Rylan has expanded his focus of mainly independence in the classroom setting to include a collective spirit and efforts to accomplish personal and academic goals. Rylan truly exhibits a grateful heart through his daily actions and interactions with others in the Saint Clare School community. Congratulations, Rylan! You earned it.
Victoria Miranda Mora, Grade 4
I am excited to present this trimester’s Young Christian Award to a student who consistently demonstrates habits of the mind, heart, and spirit. She is kind and respectful to her classmates and teachers, she demonstrates curiosity, creativity, and inquiry while she learns, and practices accompaniment and inclusivity with those around her. I am very proud to see how this student has grown and blossomed so far this year. Congratulations Victoria Miranda Mora.
Marisa Nakamura, Grade 5
I am honored to present this trimester's young christian Award to a student who is extremely deserving. I am consistently left in awe by her compassion for her classmates and their feelings. She does everything in her power to ensure they are feeling well and assisting in any academic way she can. Day in and day out she is following the teachings of Jesus’ always leading others toward the right decision and showing how to be more respectful to those around. I have also been given the pleasure of watching her succeed outside the classroom in sports and can attest that nothing changes on the court. She is always cheering on her teammates, having wonderful sportsmanship and is an outstanding team player. Her classmates always say “She already helped me ”,“I am so glad she’s in our class”, “ She is so nice” and that is why for this trimester’s Young Christian I am proud to award Marisa Nakamura.
Kora Choe, Grade 6
This trimester, I am honored to present Kora Choe as the Young Christian award winner. Despite being a relatively new addition to St.Clare community, she has consistently demonstrated a strong resilience toward new challenges. Although she is very quiet in class, I am consistently impressed by the effort that she puts into her assignments. Her attention to details has helped her peers excel in group projects. She also always asks questions in class in order to deepen her understanding and has now excelled in classes that she was previously not familiar with. She has learned to always stay on task and focused even while other students are being distracted.
Greyson Zelaya, Grade 7
I am honored to present the Young Christian award to Greyson Zelaya. He has consistently demonstrated habits of the mind, heart and the spirit. He has shown resourcefulness by trying new strategies to figure out difficult math problems. Everyday he has shown kindness towards all his classmates and teachers. Finally, he has shown leadership by participating in choir and singing during Friday’s Masses. He is an example of following Christ’s teachings. Congratulations Greyson!
Angelia Dominguez, Grade 8
It is my honor to present this trimester’s Young Christian award to Angelia Dominguez. Angelia exemplifies Habits of the Mind through her strong study habits, and deep reading of the material. While she has a high standard of personal excellence, she also practices Habits of Heart through humility, respect, and gratitude. Finally, Angelia also models Habits of the Spirit regularly serving at school masses, and following the teachings of Christ by treating others as would herself.
Congratulations to our Young Christians!
SAVE YOUR SPOT: FAMILY FUN COMMUNITY ART PROJECT | Saturday, April 1, 10A-1P
Reserve your tiles, sign up for volunteer opportunities, and make a donation towards this worthy fundraiser. Here are the links:
Original Post to volunteer: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/19069539
Purchase Tiles: https://www.stclare.school/store/family-fun-fundraiser
YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS, PLEASE
There are a number of upcoming dates where you will need to make other arrangements for care for your students. Please know that these dates are NOT NEW. They were communicated via the calendar grid since Spring of 2022, and have appeared in every newsletter since.
DATES TO NOTE
March 31 - NO SCHOOL/NO CKZ | Cesar Chavez Day is a California state holiday honoring the life of the founder of the UFW, who, with assistance and encouragement from Dolores Huerta and Larry Itlong, worked tirelessly for fair working conditions for farmworkers across the Central and Salinas Valleys. March 31st is Cesar Chavez’s birthday. We encourage families to spend the day acknowledging and appreciating those who perform back-breaking work to provide us with the produce and livestock for our tables. Consider performing a day of service or putting together a kit to donate to Farmworker Caravan or through Catholic Charities.
April 1 - Family Fun Community Art Project and Fundraiser, 10A-1P Elementary blacktop (weather permitting; alternative location: hall).
Thank you for your continued support by reading the information presented to you weekly via this newsletter and blog.
UPCOMING EVENTS | OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT:
Join us for our Weekly School Masses on Fridays at 10:45 A.M.
PTG Meetings are on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30P. RSVP to the original post on ParentSquare.
NOTE: April’s meeting has been rescheduled to April 5 so that families may attend Holy Triduum services in the evening.
ANNUAL GIVING/ANNUAL FUND. Here are the ways you can support Saint Clare: https://www.stclare.school/supportus
March 20-24 - Scholastic Book Fair | Many thanks to Natalia Cuenca and crew for this wonderful opportunity, during the school day and after school in the elementary hallway.
ORIGINAL POST: https://www.parentsquare.com/feeds/18939870
March 22 - Ice Cream Social, 3-5P on the elementary black top
April 1 - Family Fun Community Art Project, 10A-1P
April 6 - Join us for the presentation of the Passion of the Lord at our Holy Thursday Prayer Service, April 6 at 11 A.M. in the church, led in ministry by the Class of 2023.
Check out the School Calendar on Google for upcoming events (Search: “EVENT”)
May 1, 2023: 2nd Annual Golf Tournament | Boulder Ridge Golf Club | SCHOOL IS IN SESSION FOR STUDENTS!
VISION SCREENING
Many thanks to Dr. Thunnisen and her accomplished assistant, Mr. Thunnisen for providing vision screening for students. We appreciate your care in making sure we can "see" better than Bartimaeus!
Since the start of the Lenten season, faculty and staff have been invited to gather daily to pray together using Franciscan Media’s Lent with Saint Clare prayer books. Each day, we pray for you, for our students, and the intentions of our community. Please know that we hold you in prayer and pray for an enlightening journey for all during this Lenten season. You can have these prayers and reflection guides emailed to you by providing your information: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/stclare/
It has truly been a wonderful learning experience for me, with excerpts from Saint Clare’s letters, testaments, prayers, and quotes. Her phenomenal strength and commitment to Saint Francis, her community of sisters, and her intentional life of humility, simplicity, and poverty have been a great inspiration to me during this season of Lent. I encourage you to take the time to learn more about our patroness. I am certain her life will surprise you and inspire you.
As always, if you feel there is something missing, please reach out to me (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org) or to the office staff (stclare-info@dsj.org).
With a grateful heart,
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
Sock Hop Fun
Need Uniforms?
We are also accepting gently used uniforms. When donating, please note, we do not accept ripped, torn, heavily stained, or faded clothing; accepting clothing you would give to your loved ones. Please bring CLEAN gently used uniforms to the office.
IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE
Scroll down for the calendar grid and the links to the public calendar
- March 20-March 24: Scholastic Book Fair
- March 22: Ice Cream Social | 3:00P-5:30P
- March 31: Holiday: Cesar Chavez Day | No School, No CKZ
- April 1: Community Art Project, Family Fundraiser, 10A-1P
2022-23 School Calendar
A BIG Thank You to this Year's Jog-a-thon Sponsors
Attendance Impacts Learning
Below, you will find the Calendar Grid for the school year. It is a snapshot so you can plan for child care and work around the calendar to plan trips, vacations, and appointments.
Please remember that this GRID is a STATIC version of the calendar. For a more accurate and up-to-date version, please see the options below.
Other options to view the calendar include a Google calendar synched to ParentSquare, or subscribing to the St. Clare School Public Calendar below:
Google Public Calendar
You are invited to subscribe to the St. Clare School *PUBLIC* Google Calendar which is also synched to ParentSquare.
PUBLIC URL TO ACCESS FROM A WEB BROWSER
PUBLIC ADDRESS IN iCAL TO ACCESS FROM OTHER APPS
OUR MISSION
We, the Saint Clare School Community,
joyfully embody the Gospel mission entrusted by Christ to His Church.
Made in the image and likeness of God,
our community values our diversity,
embracing all backgrounds and cultures.
With a rigorous curriculum and student-centered instruction,
we, together with parents as primary educators of their children,
form learners with strong academic and spiritual foundations
to become moral and ethical servant leaders.
SCHOOLWIDE LEARNING EXPECTATIONS (SLEs) | Graduation Outcomes
A ST. CLARE SCHOOL GRADUATE practices
Habits of the Mind
Through Inquiry and Curiosity
Through Resilience and Resourcefulness
Through Creativity and Innovation
Habits of the Heart
Through Kindness and Respect
Through Empathy and Compassion
Through Gratitude and Humility
Habits of the Spirit
Through Stewardship and Servant Leadership
Through Accompaniment and Inclusivity
Through the example and teachings of Christ Jesus
School Leadership
Finance Committee Chairperson: Lea Lind
PTG President: Katy Kerns
If you are interested in a leadership role, please reach out to Mrs. Mantecon (cecile.mantecon@dsj.org).
SAC Meetings are held once a month via Zoom and open only to SAC members and invited guests.
PTG Meetings are held once a month via Zoom and open to all
Finance Committee meetings are held quarterly, with occasional special meeting times surrounding finance deadlines, and are open only to Finance Committee members and invited guests.
Parent Resource Library
Our Beloved St. Clare
Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com
St. Clare School
Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 750 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797
Facebook: facebook.com/stclareschoolsantaclara