The Messenger

Dear Fabulous Families -

Family Dress Down Acknowledgments for donations/attendance for the Capital Campaign went home today. Instead of sending home a pass for you all to keep track of and send back on Friday, we thought this would be easier for everyone. The teachers have a list of all students for whom this applies. If you did not receive an acknowledgment and feel you should have, please email me and I will reach out to our Capital Campaign contacts.

If you were unable to return your pledge card this past weekend at Mass, please drop it off at the rectory or school. Additional information is below. It is not too late to donate!

We had a great Veterans Day celebration last Thursday! Many thanks to PFA for hosting the reception and to our 5th graders for their performance at the reception. It was good to thank our Veterans for their service!

Thanks to everyone who attended the Gabe's Gala this past Saturday. What a fun evening to celebrate the 90th anniversary of St. Gabriel!

In this season of gratitude, please know how much we appreciate your support of the school. May you enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends!

Coming home in the Wednesday yellow envelope:

• Tree Lighting Flyer
• Capital Campaign Family Dress Down Pass

Reminder: Submissions for the newsletter should be sent to Mrs. McEnery and Ms. Schmitt by noon on Monday. Graphics should be a jpg or png. In the subject line, please put "Newsletter".

Tonya McEnery

Principal

Jenn Schmitt

Assistant Principal

Our Student Lighthouse Team was able to go to a Leadership Summit at Woodridge Middle School last week. At the Summit, our team learned different ways to share their leadership with the school. They gathered ideas about ways to share special events with the school and different action teams that they could start here at St. Gabriel.

Have you completed your pledge card yet? Now is the time! Please PLEDGE NOW either online via Faith Direct or submit your pledge card to the rectory.

If you are looking for ways to amplify your gift, consider Creative Ways to Donate, such as:

- Spread your pledge payments out over several years (3 years maximum for gifts under $15,000; 5 years maximum otherwise).

- Explore Memorial Naming Opportunities, perhaps together with other family or community members.

- Check if your employer has a matching gift program.

- Consider gifts of stock or donor advised funds.

- Other non-traditional sources could include life insurance, personal property or saleable real estate, and IRA distributions.

Mrs. Abramczyk is requesting photos to use in this year's yearbook. Please email them to her directly at rabramczyk@stgab.org with the topic or event in the heading. Send photos from this school year that fit into the following categories:

- Special Events: the picnic, class parties, donut Sundays, field trips, etc.

- Clubs and Special Groups: Bellarmine Speech Team, Salt and Light Pro Life Club, Lighthouse Committee, etc.

- 90 Years of St. Gabes: photos of the school from the past, generations of families who have attended St. Gabes, throwback photos

- "Follow Me-Jesus": photos from events that involve community outreach, service, prayer and church

- Sports: pics of grade level teams (school teams) and tournaments

(These photos may or may not be used in the yearbook depending on what is available/needed.)

*A Special Request for All 8th Grade Parents*

Please send a photo of your eighth grader back when they were in kindergarten. It can be a classic school photo or a snapshot- uniform is not required. Send this directly to Mrs. Abramczyk by January 31st.

Last week, Amy Maus, MSW, LCSW from West County Psychological spoke with a group of parents about Grit as part of St. Gabriel’s on-going Parent University Series. She gave a lot of valuable and practical advice on how to raise children who are resilient. With childhood anxiety on the rise, embracing some of these ideas may be more important than ever. For those who were not able to join us, I have included a few notes. I sincerely hope that you may join us for future talks!

Anxiety may be on the rise due to the way our generation tends to parent. Parents today may tend to overestimate risk and underestimate their child’s ability to cope with risks, which is leading to a generation of more anxious kids. If we look at grit as an opposite anxiety, our goal should be looking for ways to help increase the grit or resilience in our children. One thing this school community does particularly well with is allow children to walk to school and have freedom in the neighborhood. We are not normative in that regard! Parents should look for other opportunities to help kids learn and build resilience. One thing a parent can do is allow their children to feel frustration and disappointment. Parents should help their child feel capable of dealing with these things as life’s lessons without fixing things for their child. Parents can also help children by letting them do things independently, including household tasks and homework, as age appropriate.

See below for more suggestions from Amy Maus about ways to help your child become internally motivated. We hope that you take a moment to look it over. Ms. Maus also recommended the books Anxious Generation by Johnathon Haidt and How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Haims for parents who are interested in reading more on the topic.

Make Christmas Special for a child in need!

Whole Kids Outreach serves rural Missouri children in need. In December, WKO hosts a Christmas Store so that kids can have a great Christmas morning!

Saint Gabriel the Archangel will be collecting new toys and other items (unwrapped) for children birth through young teens for the WKO Christmas Store.

Every WKO child/teen receives a large, medium, and small gift , so all gifts are appreciated.

In addition, cash donations and Amazon, Walmart and Target gift cards are welcome!

Please no items that suggest violence or war.

Gift Ideas Can Be Found Below:

https://www.myregistry.com/organization/%20whole-kids-outreach-ellington-mo/2464070/giftlist

Please bring your toys to Mass on December 5th! We will not be collecting donations before that.

Whole Kids Outreach is a faith-based, nonprofit service organization committed to the unmet health and developmental needs of children, youth, and pregnant women within their family structure. Over the past 20+ years, WKO has worked to develop innovative, culturally sensitive interventions and programs to help families living in Appalachian-style poverty in rural Missouri meet their healthcare needs.

Cross one gift off your list early! The holidays are quickly approaching and the PFA is now accepting donations for their annual Christmas Collection. Your generous contributions will be divided evenly amongst St. Gabriel teachers and staff. Please consider donating today!

Thank you and happy holidays!

Please use this link to donate:

https://stgabrielpfa.membershiptoolkit.com/annualchristmascollection

This year we are offering special item drops throughout the school year with our Holiday drop being the first. The items below have a longer turn around time so please order promptly. Be on the lookout for our next drop (boy items included) in the next 2 weeks. The online store for these items will close November 22nd! Order items here.

Parents have the opportunity to volunteer at school by helping with lunch and recess duties. All volunteers must go through the Protecting God's Children / Safe Environment training requirement.

• Please do not sign up for a position if you have not completed Protecting God's Children / Safe Environment training. Information on this is posted below. .
• The following links are for the first trimester.
• Please only sign up for one spot to give others the chance to volunteer.

Here is the link to the Sign Up Genius for recess volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAFAD2DA5FA7-52834478-recess

Here is the link to the Sign Up Genius for cafeteria volunteers: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A044FAFAD2DA5FA7-51700775-cafeteria

• Important - All volunteers need to successfully complete the mandated Archdiocesan Protecting God's Children/Safe Environment Training. Before signing up for lunch duty/recess duty, field trips, etc., volunteers must have this completed. Please use the following link to find the complete information from the church website: mandated training information. Please direct questions to our parish secretary and Child Safety Coordinator, Eileen Garavaglia, at 314-353-6303 Ext. 110 or garavagliae@stgabrielstl.org.

Dear Parents,

Please keep our second graders and their families in your prayers as the second graders prepare to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation tomorrow.

Students in grades 3- 8 will be offered the sacrament of Reconciliation the first week of December. It is a great way to prepare to celebrate the feast of Christmas. Here is a link to resources about the sacrament.

https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/sacraments/reconciliation/

Here are the times the sacrament is offered in the parish.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Monday – Friday 7:30am - 7:55am

Saturday 4:00pm – 4:45pm

Thanks to all who donated items to help veterans in need who are served by the John Cochran VA Center. We appreciate the leadership of our Joan House middle schoolers!

We know it is a quick turn around but John House is working on their service to children who are in need that live just a bit south of us in rural Missouri and are served by Whole Kids Outreach. Toys will be collected and brought to Mass on December 5th.

From the USCCB site:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/upload/catholic-social-teaching-poster-for-children-digital.pdf

The students are so proud when they have parts at Mass. We hope you can join us whenever you are able. See below for the school day Mass Schedule.

School Masses

Tuesdays- 1-4 Attends

11/26 3S

12/3 3P

12/9 All School Mass-Feast of the Immaculate Conception-Note this is a Monday

12/10 Students do not attend as they attended 12/9

12/17 3B Baptism Mass

Wednesdays- 5-8 Attends

11/29 No school Thanksgiving Break

12/4 8M

12/11 No Mass-Students attended Monday

12/18 5P

Thursdays- All School Attends

11/21 5H

11/30 No school-Happy Thanksgiving

12/5 John House-Whole Kids Outreach

12/12 4W Our Lady of Guadalupe

12/19 4H

Looking ahead 2024-2025:

Family Mass Schedule-Mass is at 10:00 am

4th and 5th Grade- January 12th

2nd and 3rd Grade- February 9th

K and 1st Grade- April 13th

Second Grade

First Reconciliation

First Reconciliation-Thursday, November 21st- at 7 pm

First Eucharist

First Communion Parent Mtg.- Wednesday, March 26th- 6:30 pm in church

Sunday, May 4th- 1st Communion, 2pm Mass

Confirmation

Confirmation Day of Reflection- February 18, 2025

Confirmation Mass -February 20, 2025 at Saint Gabriel the Archangel Church at 7 pm

Prayer Resource:

The School Sisters of Notre Dame have a virtual prayer space to pray for peace.

SSND Prayer Room: Open on Fridays from 9am- 9pm Central Time.

https://ssnd.org/ssnd-virtual-prayer-room/

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Come pray with us!

Deborah DaLay

Coordinator of Religious Education

Dates below are subject to change and additional days will be added as we continue to plan for the year. Dates are also posted on the Google calendar located on our website.

2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR

November

21- First Reconciliation, 7:00 pm (not 6:30 pm)

27-29- Thanksgiving Holidays

December

2 - No School (pipe fixed) NEW

11- Vocal Concert (2nd and 4th grade students, and Honor Choir), 7pm

12- Band Concert, 7pm

20- Christmas Parties, 11:05

20-Christmas Break Begins (Noon

Dismissal)

23-January 3, 2025 - Christmas Break

January

6- Classes Resume

12- 4th & 5th Grade Family Mass (NEW)

15- American Heart Association Fundraiser Begins

20- No School: MLK Day

26-31- Catholic Schools Week

26- Open House

27- Spelling Bee, 2:05pm

31- Noon Dismissal

February

7- End of American Heart Association

Fundraiser

9- 2nd & 3rd Grade Family Mass (NEW)

14- End of 2nd Trimester

14- Valentine’s Day Parties, 11:05am

14- Planning & Collaboration (Noon

Dismissal)

17- No School: Presidents’ Day

20 - 8th Grade Confirmation

25- Parents/Students/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7pm

27- Parents/Students/Teacher Conferences, 3:30-7pm

28- Noon Dismissal

March

5- Ash Wednesday

6- 4th Grade Field Trip to LinkUp (Updated)

7- Stations of the Cross

8 - Auction

14- Stations of the Cross

17-21- Spring Break

24- 8th Grade Field Trip to Holocaust Museum (Updated)

26- First Communion Parent Meeting,

6:30pm

28- Stations of the Cross

April

4- Planning & Collaboration (Noon

Dismissal)

13 - Kindergarten & First Grade Family Mass (NEW)

17- No School: Holy Thursday

18- No School: Good Friday

20- Easter Sunday

21- No School: Easter Monday

23-25 - 6th Grade Camp

25-27 - AYM Luke 18 Retreat for 8th Graders

May

2- 2nd Grade Jesus Day

4- First Communion, 2pm

5- 2nd Grade Only, No School

6-7- Art Fair

6- Vocal Concert (Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd grade students, and Honor Choir), 7pm

7- Band Concert, 7pm

9- Noon Dismissal: Field Day

15- May Crowning

15- 8th Grade - Last Day

16- 8th Grade Mystery Trip

16- 7th Grade Leadership Day

20- 8th Grade Graduation, 6pm

23- Noon Dismissal: Last Day of School

Welcome to ARCHANGEL YOUTH MINISTRY (AYM) covering the parishes of the St. Louis Hills neighborhood (St. Gabriel & St. Raphael). AYM is open to all high school teens. No sign-up necessary and teens do not need to be from the St. Louis Hills parishes to participate. High school teens can attend on a regular basis or drop-in as it fits their schedule.

Weekly Sunday Life Teen Nights (6:45-8:30 pm in Gabriel House) include snacks, socializing, games, talks, and discussions.

Wednesday R&R Nights (7-8:30 pm in Gabriel House) are unstructured evenings for teens to hang out (recharge & reconnect). See the AYM calendar for specific dates.

TEEN MASS & THANKSGIVING SOCIAL NEXT WEEKEND!

Next Sunday, November 24th will be the 5:30 pm Teen Mass at St. Gabriel followed by AYM's Thanksgiving Social Night! Any high school teens who can help with parts of the Mass should contact Sarah asap!

Salt and Smoke Thanksgiving Dinner will be provided for the Social Night. Please rsvp to Sarah by Nov. 20th so an accurate order can be placed.

LOOKING AHEAD

*April 25th-27th | Luke 18 Retreat! | for 8th graders, led by high school teens | Registration and more information to come...

*July 18th-20th | AYM at Steubenville 2025! | open to current 8th-12th grade students | Registration and more information to come...

STAY CONNECTED with AYM

Follow us on Instagram @archangelym

Like our Facebook Group: Archangel Youth Ministry

Join the SGA or SRA Flocknote Group: Youth Ministry

Visit the Youth Group page on the SGA parish website

Contact Youth Minister: Sarah Henderson - hendersons@stgabrielstl.org