Loving and gracious God,

All love and mercy compels us to the side of our global brothers and sisters.
In our charity, and in our compassion, help us stand with them.
In our solidarity and in our sharing, help us stand with them.
In our advocacy, and in our prayer, help us stand with them.
And as we turn to them in their peril, we ask your grace go with us:

To feed the hungry:
-give us your grace.
To give drink to the thirsty:
-give us your grace.
To clothe the naked:
-give us your grace.
To shelter the homeless:
-give us your grace.
To care for the sick:
-give us your grace.
To reach the trapped and the stranded:
-give us your grace.
To mourn the dead:
-give us your grace.

And in reaching out, may we find you in them.
And may they find you in us.

-Adopted from a prayer of Catholic Relief Services following Typhoon Haiyan, November 2013

Hello Parents,

I began my message last week talking about the busy seasons that are approaching as part of HallowThankMas! Our events our piling up and excitement is building as we draw nearer to big events like Grandparent's and Special Persons Day, Trunk or Treat, Halloween, Red Ribbon Week and more. Yet, as if in response to the busy seasons to come, we will receive a day off this coming Monday, October 14th in observance of Indigenous People's Day. Our Student Council prepared and presented an amazing presentation today to teach our students about what we are celebrating and why we are celebrating it. (See more below 👀)

Scroll down for updates from this week and a preview of things to come. There are plenty of activities approaching and opportunities to fulfill parent hours or just enjoy time with our community of families.

Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to thank our parent community for the continual volunteering and help around campus, in the classroom, and at special events. From the PTO members, to the lunch duty volunteers, to the Room Parents, Health Room aides, classroom volunteers, parents who donate supplies and other essentials...we are so grateful for you! This is truly a community effort and I love seeing your smiling faces on campus.

I would also like to acknowledge the tireless work of our dedicated teachers and staff. They are continually student-focused and doing all they can for our young Bruins. If you are feeling compelled to do so, send them a note of thanks...they deserve it!

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Mr. Ryan Nearhoff

For the first time in our academic calendar, we will celebrate a day off of school for Indigenous People's Day this coming Monday, October 14th. As this holiday is new to our students and community our Student Council took some time to teach our young Bruins about the celebration at a special assembly this morning (see pictures below). We hope they enjoy a wonderful three day weekend!

Congratulations to our Champion Award winners for the month of September! These students were leading the way in the second tenet of our Schoolwide Learning Expectations, We are Responsible! We commend them for leading the way around campus and in their classrooms!

We want to take a moment to thank all of our families for their donations toward the Pasadena Humane Society during our Pet Donation drive. Our 3rd grade class was awarded free dress this week for bringing in the largest amount of donations. The Pasadena Humane Society was incredibly grateful and we wanted to share the note they sent us after our visit. See below.

Thank you so much for the enormous donation of dog and cat supplies, food, treats, and essentials. We were absolutely blown away by the generosity of the St. Dorothy School students, parents, and teachers. I enjoyed spending the afternoon with you and the kids and parents. I hope everyone enjoyed the tour, despite getting a little weepy. It’s something we all experience working with these lovable animals!

Noah had wanted two stuffies to go to two specific dogs, Bert and Penny. Good news is that Penny was adopted before she could receive his gift, so we gave it to one of our longest residents, Pacific. Both pups LOVED their toys, and I’ve attached photos for you to share.

Thank you again, and please pass along our gratitude to your students.

We were pleased to welcome back our Church Choir at our mass this morning! Thank you to Ms. Na for her work in preparing them. The angels were singing along with our angels for sure! If your son or daughter is interested in singing at mass, please contact Ms. Na at yna@stdorothyschool.com

See below for the Grandparents and Special Persons Day schedule. A reminder to please RSVP using the QR code in the flier found above. Please note that this is a minimum day and there will be NO DAYCARE.

As a reminder, for the safety of students, families, and all drivers on campus please refrain from the following at morning drop-off...

• Stopping in front of the office to let students out of the car
• Parking in handicap spaces along the West end of the church unless in possession of a Handicap placard.

Thank you!

Our Lady Bruins volleyball team remains undefeated after a close victory against OLA today. We are very proud of their accomplishments. Thank you to Coach Walsh for your work with these athletes!

Let's keep this going!!!! 717 tickets sold!!! 🎫 That's 111 more tickets than last week! I am so excited to see such participation in this fundraiser and can't wait to see how high we can go for our school!

We've currently brought in over $10,000 in ticket sale profit alone AND, there is still time to sell more tickets! Remember that a simple social media post can go a long way! We appreciate your support so much!

A special shoutout to our top-selling families!

• The Nearhoff Family - 37 tickets sold
• The Vargas Family - 35 tickets sold
• The Chevez Family - 35 tickets sold
• The Olivas Family - 30 tickets sold
• The Ovalle Family - 29 tickets sold
• The Taylor Family - 26 tickets sold
• The Fessler Family - 20 tickets sold
• The Souza Family - 19 tickets sold
• The Caparas Family - 19 tickets sold
• The Mojica Family - 18 tickets sold
• The Higashida Family - 17 tickets sold
• The Hnatiuk Family - 17 tickets sold
• The Souza Family - 17 tickets sold

Our Student Council is requesting donations of items to help us celebrate Red Ribbon Week. If you wish to donate, please click the Signup Genius link below. If you wish to receive hours for donations $30 or more, please remember to turn your receipts into the school office.

We are extremely excited to host our 5th Annual Trunk or Treat at St. Dorothy Catholic School and Church on October 25th from 6:00-8:00pm. We are asking for donations of candy for the event to stock up all of our booths! Please bring your donations to the school office and label them for Trunk or Treat.

We are also in need of volunteers for Trunk or Treat. If you are interested in helping out please use the Signup Genius below to let us know!

Finally, thanks to a generous sponsorship, we are pleased to announce that this year we will have cash and/or gift card awards to be given out to the best decorated booths. We will also be hosting a costume contest for our young ones with some gift card prizes!

Please note that the calendar has been updated to show that the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving Week (Nov. 25/26) are for Parent/Teacher Conferences only and these are not instructional days. Students will not be having school on Monday and Tuesday and teachers will be scheduling conferences in that time. Sorry for any confusion in the scheduling.

On November 17th from 10am-3pm, St. Lucy's will be hosting their annual Christmas Boutique. Mr. Nearhoff would like to set up a booth at the event as we continue to partner with our local Catholic high schools. If you or someone you know has a craft business or baked goods business and would like to sell their wares at our booth, please email Mr. Nearhoff to let him know that you are interested.

Our Beats and Brews committee is well underway in planning for this years event taking place on Friday, May 9th at St. Dorothy Catholic School. We are very excited to improve upon the success of last year and raise even more to support the continued success of St. Dorothy and our Endowment Fund. We are seeking sponsorships for the event and encourage you to review the flyer below if you, or someone you know, might be interested. Thank you for your support!

Click on the links below to sign up for regular volunteering opportunities to start completing those parent hours!

Thank you to Mrs. Hnatiuk and all who volunteered to assist with our first Bruins Explore event today! Between the car racing and crafting, plenty of fun was had by all! If you have an idea for a Bruins Explore experience, please sign up below and help us to foster the whole child in their learning experience at St. Dorothy Catholic School.

The church is looking for someone with an eye for interior decorating and a knowledge of Catholic liturgy to serve on the Environment team. The Environment team is responsible for the interior environment of the church and changing it throughout the year to match the liturgical seasons and for special liturgies. If you are interested in serving in this way please contact the church office.

All time volunteered will count as volunteer service hours for the school!

Join us this weekend for the parish Ministry Fair! After each mass, all of the ministries at St. Dorothy will set up a table to talk about what their ministry does and seek new members to join. As the largest ministry of St. Dorothy Church, the school will be there to promote the wonderful things happening at our school. If any parents would like to volunteer at our table in their St. Dorothy gear to add some parent insights to any visitors we would love to have you! If you are interested, please email Mr. Nearhoff at rnearhoff@stdorothyschool.com Service hours will be granted for your time!

There will be an additional altar server training for students in 4th-8th grade on Tuesday, October 15th from 3:30-4:30pm for any students looking to start serving at school and parish masses.

See below for parent tips and resources!

October 12-13 || How can you be a good witness to the faith?

Adults have a responsibility to live out the Christian message — to love one another and to do God’s will. We also have a responsibility to help children learn how to live this way. Consider your role in protecting children by showing them how to be a witness to the Faith: following rules, modeling good behaviors like helping a neighbor, wearing your seatbelt, respecting the environment. Another way to witness is listening to the children in your life and paying attention to their interests, their needs, and their worries. For more ways to model the Faith, read the VIRTUS® article “Modeling Healthy Behaviors” at lacatholics.org/did-you-know/

October 19-20 || Taking pictures or videos of a minor without permission

What can be done if a person is taking pictures of a minor in a public place? Although it is legal that a person can take pictures or videos in a public place, there are sometimes extenuating circumstances that require adults to pay more attention. Is the person taking photos acting suspiciously — focusing on only minor children, for example, or zooming in on specific body areas of their subjects? Are they hovering around groups of children with no seeming reason for being there? If you have concerns, speak up. Ask why the photos are being taken, or if the person is willing to delete the images of your child. From there, you can decide if you need to get the authorities involved. For more information, read the VIRTUS® article “When People Take Photos and Videos of Minors Without Permission” at lacatholics.org/did-you-know/

To educate TK-Eighth grade students in a Catholic environment in which the curriculum emphasizes spiritual, ethical, and social values of the Catholic faith to become responsible and moral citizens within the global community.

Supporting the belief that parents are the primary educators of their children, we as educators at St. Dorothy Catholic School, dedicate ourselves to partner with the parents in preparing children to become contributing members of the community. To achieve this, we provide holistic development in psychological, emotional, social and physical health, with an emphasis on academics, faith, and Christian service.

In collaboration with parents, we champion student achievement through the presentation, practice, and study of Catholic doctrine, a strong academic curriculum, multimedia and multi-cultural experiences, physical education, extracurricular programs, and the dedicated commitment of the teachers and staff.

Email: info@stdorothyschool.com

Website: www.stdorothyschool.com
Location: 215 South Valley Center Avenue, Glendora, CA, USA
Phone: (626) 335-0772