Number 2

Sunday's Gospel reading comes from the Discourse on the Church, a collection of Jesus' teachings on the community of believers.

In this section of the discourse, Jesus gave instructions for how to deal with a sinner in the community. He told his disciples that first they should speak to the sinner in private, but if he did not listen, they must take one or two others to speak to him. If he still refused to listen, they should tell the whole church so the church could try to influence him positively. But if the sinner stubbornly remained in his or her sin, the church should treat such a person as "a Gentile or tax collector" - in other words, as an outsider.

Jesus' words may seem harsh and exclusive to us. Is it not the mission of the Church to welcome the sinner? Of course, the answer to this question is yes. There are several things to consider here. First, on a practical note, at this point in his preaching ministry, Jesus was nearing the end of his life. The ongoing predictions of his suffering and death reveal that Jesus had a sense of foreboding and an awareness that his death was fast approaching. Jesus wanted the community of his disciples to continue his mission. In order to do so effectively, the Church needed to stand strong with faith and conviction in the midst of a world that would often be hostile to its viewpoint and it's good news. These instructions of Jesus speak to the important of a cohesive community, unified in belief and fully aware of the slow-growing dangers of sin, pride and unwillingness to repent.

Second, it is clear from the stories of the Gospels that Jesus loved sinners. He was repeatedly accused of befriending tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 11:19), and he was clear that it was the sinners he came to save (Matthew 9:13). Far from excluding sinners (or Gentiles, for that matter) from his company, Jesus was known to serve them, dine with them, and preach to them tirelessly. In these stories, and in this active friendship, we find ourselves served by, dining with, and preached to by the loving Christ. Therefore we cannot conclude that the hypothetical - or universal - sinner, of whom Jesus was speaking here, should be excluded from the community permanently. Just as Jesus was determined to win over the heart of the sinners, he is determined to win our hearts and the heart of every person. His Church is now the community that has been commissioned to do this important work.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The school year is well underway, and we have had a busy start as usual. I wish to thank my staff for giving countless hours in preparing for their Back to School Nights. It was wonderful to see so many of our families. Our Back to School Mass last Friday was very nice. Thanks to Mrs. Allen and student council for preparing the Mass and to Mr. Ceja and the new choir for providing the music.

Prayers:

We received notification of the passing of Mr. Terry Hanley, Principal of Star of the Sea. Mr. Hanley has always been involved in Catholic Education and has been a big advocate of the benefits of Catholic Education. I had the honor of serving with him on various committees over the past ten years. Our prayers go out to his family at this time. I have included the link to his obituary. May he rest in peace.

http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=terrence-hanley&pid=186586931&referrer=0&preview=True

Registration:

I was informed today that we have 18 families who have not paid their registration fees, and this is disappointing to see. The fee is now being placed in TADS for payment by the end of the quarter. According to the contract if there are any outstanding finances at the end of the quarter, unfortunately students will not be permitted to come back to classes until finances are paid. I do not like to enforce this policy but sometimes there is no other choice. We have to meet payroll and pay our vendors like everyone else. Your financial responsibility for your child's education should be a priority. My staff have worked tirelessly to contact families for payment without responses in some cases. Please review the new policy procedures for registration for next year in the current handbook.

Candy Sale:

The candy sale is underway, and it is important that all participation families meet their quota. If families do not meet the quota then they will be billed in TADS. Thank you for your support with this important fundraiser. We all need to work harder with fundraisers this year as we did not meet our quota for the budget last year.

Hurricane Relief Appeal:

Our school community reaches out to those in need. We have seen the devastation that Hurricane Harvey has caused over the past week, and we will see more with the new hurricanes ahead of us. We will have a Dress Down Day tomorrow for $2.00 to assist the victims. We are pairing up with a Catholic school in Texas and will send them the money to assist in getting back to normal. Thanks to everyone for your assistance.

Guatemala Appeal:

Our annual appeal to assist the children in Guatemala has begun and will run through to the end of September. Traditionally we send three 30"X30”X30” boxes to the different villages in Guatemala. We also have two classes, Grades 1 and 3, sponsoring two children for the year. The students write letters back and forth to Marlon and Gustavo.

We are asking families to bring in the following items:

Children’s clothes 0 – 18 yrs - soap for bathing – backpacks – notebooks – crayons – pencils – colored pencils – shoes and sandals – toothpaste and tooth brushes – Jello – medical supplies – gloves – Jolly Rancher candies

We also need financial support to ship these goods. Our goal is to raise $800 for shipping. If you wish to donate you can complete the following form on line and Ms. Escobar will contact you for payment.

A big thank you from the organizations we work with in Guatemala and from the children.

STAR Testing

We are currently involved with STAR testing this week and next week. The students are being tested in Reading and Math. From the results we are able to plan better learning experiences for the children so that we can meet their educational needs.

School Speak – Junior High

Students form grades 5 to 8 have access to SchoolSpeak to view their homework and grades. New students and the 5th graders will receive their log in details over the next few days.

Fundraiser Buy Out – Deadline:

If you have opted for the fundraiser buy out, your payment needs to be made to Ms. Escobar by Friday, September 29th. Otherwise you will be reverted back to the regular fundraiser program.

Ballet and Band

Registration for the new ballet program is going on now. Registration forms must be returned by Friday, September 15th.

Registration for the school band starts today. Bandleader Ms. Garza gave a presentation to the students in grades 3-7 and registration forms were distributed today. The cost of enrollment in the band program remains the same at $350 for the full year. Registration is also due by next Friday.

Flyers for both programs are attached.

God Bless,

Vincent Riener

Principal

“Sleep is the golden chain that binds health and our bodies together.” - Thomas Dekker

Switching gears from a summertime to school schedule is not always the easiest of transitions. Hopefully by now you’ve established your daily routines to help your student get to school not just on time but also ready to learn. One of the most important keys to helping your child be prepared and ready to face the school day is a good night’s sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation, with input from experts in sleep, anatomy and physiology, as well as pediatrics and other medical specialties, recommends that preschoolers (ages 3-5) get eleven to thirteen hourse of sleep per night. School age students (ages 6-13) should get nine to eleven hours of sleep per night. It is important to remember that school-aged children’s brains and bodies are growing at rapid rates that need consistent refueling.

You might consider making your child’s bedroom an electronics free zone and limit TV viewing or electronics use within the hour before bedtime. This helps children ease into a restful sleep with less problems.

Sweet dreams.

All the best,

Miss J

11 - Patriot Day
13 - Athletic Board Meeting - 6:30pm
17 - Catechetical Sunday - 9am Mass
18 - Staff Dev. Mtg. - 12:20 Dismissal - Athl. Board Hot Dog Sale
19 - School Board Mtg. - 6:30pm - Annex Meeting Room

Email: info@ssfallsoulsschool.org
Website: www.ssfallsoulsschool.org
Location: 479 Miller Ave, South San Francisco, CA, United States
Phone: (650) 583 3562