Website: www.stbernardtc.org
Location: 7115 Springdale Road, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone: 513-353-4224
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2669823963049217/

• Thursday, September 26: October Lunch Ordering DEADLINE at 11:59pm (order on Option C)
• Friday, September 27: Spirit of St. Bernard Day--send $1 to donate to EB Hope Foundation
• Wednesday, October 2: Midterm Reports, Grades 5-8
  
• Friday, October 4: Pet Blessing, Back Parking Lot, 2:30pm
• Saturday, October 5: 8th Grade Confirmation Retreat
• Wednesday, October 9, and Thursday, October 10: Picture Days
• Sunday, October 13: Fall Fest for EB, Kuliga Park, 2:00pm - 5:00pm
• Monday, October 14: Columbus Day--NO SCHOOL!!
• Wednesday, October 16: Parents Club Meeting, School Library, 7:00pm
• Friday, October 18: Grandparents Day
• Wednesday, October 18: Trunk or Treat, Back Parking Lot, 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Dear St. Bernard Parents,

Today at Mass Father Bryan asked the students: “Why do we come to school?” Our students then gave some great answers… “To learn.” “To learn math, reading, religion, etc.” “To grow closer to God.” Father conceded that these were all great answers, but he directed the students toward another end - to gain a sense of vocation and purpose and to know that God has a plan for our lives.

Last month I heard a statistic about the percentage of information that an adult forgets from childhood/grade school. It was astounding. But if asked, can you recount specifically the things that you learned in 1st grade, or 3rd grade, or any other grade? We certainly hold on to things we’ve learned, but mostly what we recall from that period of our lives are special events, people, and experiences. What Father Bryan shared with the students at Mass today is something that the St. Bernard Faculty have talked about a lot - giving our students a sense of purpose. We want them to know that God truly has a purpose/plan/vocation for each of them and that it is through that plan that they will experience the greatest joy possible in this life. Father’s homily was a great reminder of this and inspired me to share with you today. Maybe you can work in some conversations about vocation in the days to come: both Vocation (priest, married, religious, single, etc.) and vocation (the job/profession that uses one’s strengths/gifts to glorify God as part of the earlier big “V” Vocation).

I wanted to give a shout out today to Mrs. Ferrier and our Kindergarteners! They did a great job in Mass this morning as they joined the rest of the classes. Mrs. Ferrier, Mrs. Bischof, and our other Kindergarten help have been working hard to prepare them for this special occasion - and that hard work paid off. Many of our Kindergarteners are regular Mass-goers already. If you’re not, then I am inviting you to choose now to start taking your Kindergartener to Sunday Mass! Anytime students have an opportunity to experience something over the weekend, with family, or in a different setting that reinforces what they are learning at school, then the chances of that lesson/learning really sticking dramatically increase. So… We hope to see you at Mass on Sunday!

I hope the rest of your week is blessed!

Sincerely,

Mr. Ertel

More and more students are bringing in lunch materials/supplies that are not ready-made. This has been manageable so far for students in grades 3-5 and grades 6-8 because these students are more independent and have fewer overall needs during the lunch period. It IS NOT manageable for us (the volunteers/staff) to heat up and/or prepare lunches for students in grades K-2. The volunteers and staff of the K-2 lunches only have enough time for the essentials: opening packages and milk cartons, peeling fruit (this CAN be done at home too!), and opening straws/etc. Because students require so much help on these fine motor tasks we cannot afford to dedicate time to heating up meals, mixing mac n’ cheese packets, etc. The exception to this rule is when the parent volunteers for the day take care of this for their own children. With that said… We would sure be happy to welcome more lunch volunteers! If you are able to do this or would like more information, contact Mr. Glassmeyer! Also, there’s always the tried and true Thermos which can keep a lunch hot from the time you heat it in the morning until our scheduled lunch times! These are worth the investment!

We need help facilitating the distribution of lunches for the students. On normal days, we need one extra adult per day to help our staff. On pizza lunch days, we need three adults to help distribute the meals. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!!!

***Please note, all school volunteers must be current and compliant with Safe Parish. (see below)

This Friday September 27th is a Spirit of St. Bernard Day! Students should remember to bring in a dollar to benefit the EB Hope Foundation, which will also allow them to wear a spirit wear shirt. Check out the posters made by eighth grade students!

Sacrament Preparation for Children

The parish staff would love to assist your child in their faith journey! If your child would

like to catch up on the sacraments of Reconciliation or First Holy Eucharist, please

contact Barb Yoder at 513-353-4207 x 5 for more information.

Children’s Liturgy of the Word

All children ages 5-9 are invited to pray and learn together at the Children’s Liturgy of

the Word on Sunday’s during 10:30 AM Mass at St. Bernard’s.

Hi Families! Thanks to everyone that attended our first Parents Club meeting of the school year last week. There was a lot of energy and great ideas shared! We wanted to highlight a few upcoming events:

• Trunk or Treat will be on Friday, October 18th in the back parking lot. All are welcome to attend this free event! We are looking for volunteers to decorate their trunks/vehicles and pass out treats. If you’re interested, please sign up here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090A44ACAC28A5F94-51736313-stbernard. You can also reach out to Sarah Ross (sarahross09@gmail.com) for more information. We’ll send a flyer home with more details next week!
• Spirit of St. Bernard Day – Each month on Spirit of St. Bernard day, we provide breakfast goodies for the teachers and staff, like coffee or bagels. If you’re interested in helping out with this initiative, please sign up here or reach out to Sarah Ross – https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090A44ACAC28A5F94-51736678-spirit
• Room Parents – We are making a few updates to the room parent process to streamline things for our volunteers. If you signed up to be a room parent, you will receive a folder in the next few days with all the information you’ll need for the school year! Thanks to all that have signed up to be room parents.

Our next Parents Club meeting is Wednesday, October 16th at 7pm in the school library. Hope to see you there! Thanks!

We look forward to hosting grandparents for a light breakfast, prayer service and

conversation. RSVP using the linked photo above.

Families Last Name A-K: Coffee & Donuts starting at 8:30am

Families Last Name L-Z: Coffee & Donuts starting at 10:00am

Grandparents of students with differing last names can select a time. We will coordinate schedules to allow all grandchildren to meet together. Please indicate families with your selected time when you RSVP.

*Students without grandparents in attendance will be paired with another family.

Volunteers are needed to help with set-up, food prep/serving, and clean-up. Use the RSVP link to volunteer for this event.

If you need assistance to RSVP, please contact Mr. Glassmeyer in the school office.

Our boys basketball sign-ups are now active on the website. We have teams 2-8th. Our 2nd grade team will play in our second grade league. So far Kacie Hardig has offered to help with 2nd grade league, but we could still use one more helper.

I could still use a baseball coordinator if you are able to help out.

Our first association meeting of the year will not be on our normal Thursday. Please keep an eye on the website for the date and time.

Thanks, Joe

jzirkelb@fuse.net

https://www.stbernardathletics.org/

Sign up here.

Payments can be made here.

Players who withdraw after being assigned to a team will be refunded the player fee minus a service charge.

2024-2025 Fees

Grades: 2 thru 4: $55 per player

Grades: 5 thru 8: $85 per player

Grades: High School: $55 per player

Mrs. Grosick has worked hard to help the school develop its presence on social media, specifically Facebook. The correct school page is listed under:

St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic School - Cincinnati, OH

Please make sure to follow us and share with any friends and family to help get the word out about the great things that happen in our school! Thanks in advance for your support.

Mrs. Yoder shared a list of adults that are behind on Safe Parish requirements. Please make sure you are keeping your account current so that you are able to coach and volunteer around the parish and at school. Anyone not up-to-date will not be allowed to be in contact with children. Thank you for your diligence!

Please use the link below to register with Safe Parish in order to be able to volunteer around the school and parish! Once your registration is complete, you'll login quarterly to keep your certification up-to-date.

THE PASSCODE YOU NEED TO START REGISTRATION IS: protectcincy

If you have any questions or problems, please contact Barb Yoder in the Parish Office at:

yoder@stbernardtc.org

513-353-4207 x5

Please return all blue folders to school each week.

This week's contents:

• EB Fall Fest Flyer
• Grandparents' Day Flyer
• Title I Documents (Title I students only)

Blue folders will go home with the OLDEST student in each family on Wednesdays, as needed, throughout the school year. These will contain any important handouts or forms that need to be submitted in paper form. Anytime we can share documents in a digital format to provide information or link you to online resources, we will do so instead of filling your home with papers.

For information on joining Cub Scouts, please contact:

Rebecca Schmidt

513-245-1566

rebeccajschmidt@yahoo.com