Despite tech hiccups, we had a great discussion at Coffee Conversations this week, and will try again next month to show Screenagers: Elementary Edition. More showings to come, and I encourage all parents to attend if possible. Key takeaways from the conversation is that parents and guardians need support from each other to stand firm, and it's important to develop relationships and interests outside of screens TOGETHER.
More than half of the discipline issues that end up at my door are rooted in smart device use off school property. It's concerning to see elementary and middle school students with un-monitored access. Safeguards are not monitoring. A parent at our Coffee Conversation said something along the lines of how it's important for kids to learn from mistakes, but in the case of what's open to them with a smart device, the risk is too high to let them make certain mistakes - not unlike walking across the street without looking both ways.
Our Media Coordinator, Mrs. Hattaway, has initiated our school's pledge to at least Wait Until 8th before giving children access to their own smart device. This is optional, but I think it's something for every parent to seriously consider. This does not mean your child cannot have a communication device ("dumb" phone), but it does mean that you do not intend to give your child a powerful and expensive tool that will let them independently access the internet and all it holds - good and bad - until their brains have more time to grow. The site also is a great resource for helping parents navigate the tech world with their kids.
A longstanding St. Eugene tradition, Turkey Bingo, is almost here again! Our St. Eugene 8th grade class will host Turkey Bingo after 5pm mass on Saturday, November 16th in the school gym. Friends and family are invited! There will be fun, food for purchase, raffles, and chances to win your Thanksgiving turkey! This is the biggest fundraiser for our 8th grade class, who will be raising money for their class retreat and graduation events. Please make plans to attend!
Some of the items available for raffle...
- 4 floor seats to OU women's basketball vs Kentucky!!!
- Massage gun
- Free dress day to the class with a winning ticket
- Gifts cards including Factory Obscura
- Gift baskets and more!
With your help, fewer people will go hungry in Oklahoma City. Thank you for your donations, and thank you to our 4th grade class for organizing this year's Students Against Hunger SALT Food Drive.
While our goal this year was to raise 5,555 pounds of food, we collected 3,838 lbs. This is still a HUGE amount of food, and will help many families!
Parish Collection: 28.8 lbs.
Team Aquinas: 349.6 lbs.
Team Drexel: 617.8 lbs.
Team Patrick: 694.0 lbs.
Team Kateri: 965.6l bs.
Team Francis: 1,181.8 lbs. WOW!
The team with the most weight collected is Team Francis, and they will receive a FREE DRESS DAY! Teachers will let parents know the date.
New fundraiser! We have partnered with Minted.com to offer our community 20% off stationary, greeting cards, and gifts! Use our code every time you order, and Minted will give 15% back to our school while saving you money, too! Code does not expire as long as it is not shared on coupon sites online. See graphic for code. Thank you to school parent Anna Elder for getting us connected with this program!
Congrats to #cssealumni Hope Barnes, Taylor Davidson, Sarah Elder, Ryan Hughes, Wesley Lemons, and Ellie Stayton, who are absolutely magical on stage as part of the cast of BMCHS's musical, "Mamma Mia!" Catch their performance November 16th and 17th.
#cssealumni Connor Chambers and Spencer Bass have excelled in high school baseball, and both BMCHS Seniors have just been signed to play ball at the collegiate level next year. Connor will play for UCO and Spencer will play for the University of Arkansas Ft. Smith.
#cssealumni are busy excelling! Molly Taylor, Ava Ward, and Rebecca Horn, staff members of BMCHS's Chi Roan yearbook, recently won the "Sweepstakes" award for 2024 - meaning their book was the top scoring publication in its division! In addition, Molly received 1st place awards for Headline Writing, Student Life Story, and Index. Rebecca and Molly won 1st in Theme Development/Copy. Molly also won several 2nd place awards.
Have some good news to share about a student, alumni, or school family? We want to celebrate all your proud moments with you! Share your Eagle Excellence for inclusion in the EE!
Screenagers, take two! Please sign up to join us for a talk about Screenagers on Friday, Dec. 13. RSVP bit.ly/csse-coffee-conversations. We will watch the elementary school age edition of the film, then have a short conversation. The movie is 55 minutes long, so we will get started closer to 7:50am. If you need to walk in a little late or leave early, that will be ok! We will be working to bring more screenings from this series to the community throughout the year.
Nov. 17th Youth Group!
Socks & Undie Sunday! It is that time of the year where the Secular Franciscans and the St. Eugene’s Homeless Ministry need adult men’s and women’s underwear and socks for the homeless. Please bring them to the services on the weekend of November 23rd and 24th and deposit then in the boxes at the vestibule of the church or in the St. Francis homeless chest in front of Ross Hall. If every family of the parish can do this, it will fulfill the needs for 3-5 months!
St. Eugene Women's Advent by Candlelight - Save the date for an evening of good company, food, and reflection. To reserve your spot or to sign up as a hostess, please email steugeneadvent@gmail.com
Become a seminarian pen pal or send a care package this Christmas season! All gifts of any kind are welcome. Especially prayers! Suggested items are as follows:
- Christmas Cards
- Blank "Thank You" cards for them to send out
- General Gift Cards
- Restaurant Gift Cards
- Children's handmade art, cards, well-wishes
- Amazon Gift Cards
- Wal-Mart Gift Cards
- Prayer Cards
- Monetary gifts
- Care packages with cards from students in schools, religious education classes
Find our Oklahoma seminarians and their addresses at archokc.org/penpal.
The Catholic School of St. Eugene
Email: media@steugeneschool.org
Website: www.steugeneschool.org
Location: 2400 Hefner Road, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Phone: 405-751-0067
Facebook: www.facebook.com/csseokc
Instagram: www.instagram.com/csseokc