2024

Dear St. Therese families,

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day! First thing in the morning, to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Father Gabriele will be blessing the pets of the St. Therese community. Bring your pooches, lizards, cockatoos and all the animal friends in your lives. This will be following daily mass, and the celebration and blessing will be at 8:30.

Tomorrow is also our Jog-A-Thon! To everyone who has pitched in to help your kiddos get the pledges or supported in other ways, we thank you so very much. To parents, especially Theresa Maxie who is our Jog-A-Thon chair, Melanie Reyna, Parents Club members, and everyone who has volunteered, this event simply would not be possible without you. Pray for clear skies! It is not too late to donate to the event, and we can collect pledges to individual students, and business sponsorships until next Friday, October 11th.

On Tuesday this week, we celebrated the Feast of St. Therese with school mass, said by Father Gabriele, and presented by our 7th Grade students. In his homily, Father touched on St. Therese's life and journey to canonization. Students from each grade presented roses to St. Therese, in honor of her, and her identity as The Little Flower. Father also presented gifts to the teachers and students with 10 different prints of St. Therese to hang in the classrooms. Following mass, students were treated to madeleine cookies, a traditional French butter cookie, that may well have been a favorite of our patron saint herself, as a child in France. As part of our staff professional development work, and more accurately, staff faith formation, we will be doing a book study on the life of St. Therese. Thank you again Father Gabriele for the gift of the books.

We are reminded that just like St. Therese, we can do little things with great love, which is what Christ calls us to do. Every year at St. Therese School, I learn another detail of her life and her journey. Perhaps it's because she is our namesake that our students seem to especially enjoy learning more about St. Therese's life. Maybe it's because learning about a young girl whose life is more comprehensible than some of the mysteries of our Faith, or maybe it's all part of God's plan, but I'm always surprised, pleasantly surprised, with how much the students take part in this celebration. It's a real joy to see.

If I can offer anything, I'd encourage us all to look to St. Therese's life, perhaps when things are tough or the big things seem impossible. Maybe even when the normal things seem too tall a task, to start with something small. Father Gabriele mentioned this in a homily earlier this year and it's resonated with me. Give the hard times up to God, or St. Therese, or a loved one who is battling an illness. That is something small, that we can do with great love. Just as St. Therese advised, God calls us to serve others. A smile. A note to an old friend. Holding the door for a stranger and saying hello. Helping others, even a very simple gesture of kindness can change one's own outlook. Small gestures with great love in aggregate change the world.

Don't forget to come join us for mass and the Parish Picnic, this Sunday after the 10 a.m. mass. All are welcome, regardless of home parish. Knights of Columbus will provide hamburgers and hot dogs. We are looking for volunteers to bring side dishes/salads and desserts. Admission is Free. If you can bring something, please contact Tammy in the parish office at 503-256-5850 or email info@stthereseor.org

In Christ the Teacher,

Principal Schoning

Students will receive their Jog-A-Thon t-shirts tomorrow in their homeroom classes. They may wear to school what they plan to run in. Athletic shorts or pants are best. All dress should be school appropriate. Here's an easier way of saying this if your kiddo has questions: dress for PE class as Mr. Grant expects. You'll get your JAT t-shirt tomorrow.

On Tuesday, October 1st, our school celebrated our patron saint: St. Therese of Lisieux. Students honored her by bringing forth roses during Mass. St. Therese is known as the "Little Flower" because she saw herself as a simple wildflower, hidden but blooming where God had planted her. She believed that she was just like the wildflowers that grow in forests and fields, unnoticed by most people, but still giving glory to God.

The 2nd Graders are using their creative skills to make scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns. We have been learning about pumpkins and the smallest pumpkin usually has the most seeds.

Parent Teacher Conferences are approaching. This year conferences will be held on Thursday, October 31 and Friday, November 1.

There is no school for students on these days. Students in grades 5 - 8 should attend conferences with their parents.

October 31: 7:30AM - 3:30PM

November 1: 8:00AM - 4:00 PM

Please use the Sign Up Geniuses to set up your conference time.

Middle School Families: You only need to meet with one teacher, but have the option to meet with other teachers as need be!

Specials teachers will be available in the gym during conference days; stop by before or after your conference time if you have a question or concern about their class!

Our annual Halloween Bash is back! This year we will celebrate on October 25th from 5:00-8:00PM! Want to earn Fair Share hours?! Sign Up Genius to come soon for volunteer opportunities!

We kindly ask for families to donate 1 bag of pre wrapped candy to donate to our Halloween Bash. These candies will be used as prizes for games at the Halloween Bash.

Hello St Therese Parents:

We are excited to announce that St Therese basketball registrations are now open on the CYO Camp Howard website. You can access the information here: https://cyocamphoward.org/content/16527/ST-Basketball

Beginning Wednesday October 9th we will be offering OPEN GYMS for 5th - 8th grade on Wednesday nights from 6-8pm. These will be managed by Coaches Avery Robinson and Trey Harry who coached the 6/7 Boys team last year.

This is free and open to all interested athletes. Students outside of St Therese are welcome to attend! You will be required to sign a waiver for your student the first time your student participates.

Here are some important dates and information for the upcoming season:

1. Registration Fees: Players are $275 per person (scholarships are available through CYO) if you register before 10/31
2. Season Schedule: Practices will begin in November most likely, the first games are not until January
3. Volunteer Opt-Out: There is a $50 opt-out fee if parents do not want to volunteer
4. Coaches: We are seeking all interested coaches and volunteers, please contact our Athletics Department at: athletics@stthereseschool.org
5. Fees: Fees cover the cost of tournaments (pre-season jamboree, and end of the season tournament)
6. Home Games: We are hosting home games, we will have that volunteer schedule -- WE NEED PARENTS TO VOLUNTEER AND SUPPORT THE GYM, A SIGN UP LINK WILL BE AVAILABLE BEFORE THE SEASON

We are really trying to make a push, please spread the word and encourage students to come out. We have some GREAT coaches and are continuing to find more. With an early start on the season we should see some great turnout.

Please let us know if you have questions!

SWIMMING:

• Registration is open for the swimming team, and it will be open through the end of September, register here: https://cyocamphoward.org/content/24610/st-swimming
  
• Swimmers ages 3rd grade through 8th grade can join the team, and should be able to swim across the pool (we are NOT instructors on how to swim)
  
• We have GREAT coaches who are all former swimmers led by our very own Dave Tabayoyon who coached last year
• We are partnering with FMES school to create a team
• Practices are still being scheduled, but we will likely swim at 7pm two nights a week at Parkrose pool
• Please contact athletics@stthereseschool.org with any questions!!

High School Open House season is here! All 8th grade families interested in Catholic High School should visit each Open House for more information! It's also time to start those High School applications. Students can create accounts and begin Shadow Days!

10/11 No School

10/14 Parent's Club Meeting

10/25 Last Friday of the Month Free Dress

10/25 Halloween Bash 5-8PM

10/31-11/01 Parent Teacher Conferences

11/05 School Picture Day

11/27 1/2 day, with noon dismissal.

11/27 School mass changed to 8:30 a.m. Join us!

12/9 School mass at 1:15, Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Seventh grade students doing an outstanding job character mapping with the class novel The Egypt Game in Dr. Giamona’s ELA/Social Studies class.

La Salle is hosting a Baseball Youth Camp this fall and would love for you to share this opportunity with your students and families. The camp is designed to help young athletes develop their skills, enjoy the game, and have some fun.

Here is the link to the online registration portal: https://www.lsprep.org/youth-baseball-camp

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Registrar/Office Mrs. Barnett, barnetta@stthereseschool.org

Principal Schoning schoningc@stthereseschool.org

Vice Principal Baumbach cbaumbach@stthereseschool.org

School Phone: 503-253-9400