By Murphy Belding

“I thank my God every time I remember you.”

-Philippians 1:3

Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. It is a day when we solemnly remember the sacrifices made by the multitudes of brave men and women serving in our armed forces.

Have you ever wondered why it’s so easy to take this day for granted? For those of us who have never served in the military, it’s easy to overlook this holiday and lose sight of those who have bled to preserve the freedoms we enjoy. Think about it: as Americans, we are free to express our opinions, live the lifestyle we want, say what we want, and worship God openly without facing oppression or hostility. We have opportunities and choices that few people on earth enjoy. Is it crazy to consider that our nation is one of the most blessed in human history?

I have been guilty in the past of under-appreciating the sacrifices of our military, but my mindset has changed in the past three years. For me, it’s become personal. One of my precious daughters has chosen to place her life in harm’s way in order to keep our country safe. She currently serves in the U.S. Navy as a 3rd Class Petty Officer. Even right now, she’s serving with her squadron in a foreign land, defending our freedom and values. Those of us with family in the military know that we must continually pray for their safety. And though my daughter is not yet a veteran, I am moved by the privilege to honor all those who have served before her to make this country free.

A few years ago during clinical training as a hospital chaplain, I experienced one of the most emotionally charged events of my life. As a chaplaincy exercise to understand how to administer pastoral care, our instructor displayed 75 photos of men and woman fresh off the battlefield. These pictures captured the traumatic and devastating pain and suffering of wounded soldiers and civilians. Let me just say, that devastation will turn your stomach. I will never forget the look on the faces of the caregivers who were tending to the wounded.

We owe a debt of honor and respect to those who have served throughout the U.S. and the world. That chaplaincy training helped me see “behind the flag” of how men and women of our military pay a high price for our freedom. Wherever you are on November 11, please take a moment to thank our veterans for their faithful service.

As we move into November, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving which is a wonderful time for family and friends to come together and give thanks for the blessings bestowed upon them. I wish all our school community a wonderful time during Thanksgiving.

We had a wonderful Halloween day at school. It was great to see everyone enter the spirit of it. As part of the Halloween festivities, our student council organized the Mummy Wrap. Everyone had a great time in their faith family groups. It is so pleasing to see our students work together as a community from grades K to 8. Faith Family groups are based on Saints names and students from K to 8 are mixed for activities throughout the year.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and we take time out to remember the many men and women who have served our county over the years. We must not forget their contributions for the safe keeping of our country. God Bless them for their contributions.

Tomorrow will be a holiday in honor of the veterans.

Return to School after Thanksgiving – COVID Test

We will be issuing each student a COVID box of two tests. We are asking that you test your child on the day before school starts, on Sunday, November 27th and then again on Wednesday, November 30th. If a test comes back positive, email at covidtest@ssfallsoulsschool.org.

Walk for Ruby Bridges

Monday, November 14th our Student Council along with our 8th grade class will be joining many schools in the area and statewide in the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Please see flyer.

End of Trimester - Financials

Trimester 1 ends on Wednesday, November 16th. As per our school policy, all financials are to be up to date by this time, otherwise students are unable to continue at school. If there are any issues, please contact Ms. Escobar at cescobar@ssfallsoulsschool.org Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sunday Family Mass

Thanks to our third graders who prepared our 10:30am Mass last Sunday. They read so well that I received many compliments from the parishioners. It is great to see our children being confident communicators and proclaiming the word so well. Congratulations. Our next School family Mass will be on Sunday, December 4th at 10:30am. Our 5th graders will be preparing for this Mass.

Principal Awards Ceremony

Our 1st Trimester Principal Awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, December 7th at 9am in the Church. All are welcome

Christmas Program 2022

Our Christmas Program will be taking place on Wednesday, December 14th at 3pm in the Church. All students are required to participate in this program. Traditionally the program will be completed by 3.45pm. Each grade will be singing Christmas carols.

Window Completion and Sidewalk Completion

I can happily say that our window project and the sidewalk are now completed. I wish to thank Mr. Steve Bowers from the Archdiocese Real Property division for coordinating the project. It has been over three years in the making and had a delay of two years due to COVID-19. Thanks to all our families who have contributed to the project over the past many years through Bingo or through fundraising activities. We were able to stay within budget during all this time. The project costed out at a fraction under 1.2 million dollars. I also wish to thank the parish for their contribution towards the project. With this renovation, it certainly has given a fresh face lift to the building.

Bingo

Bingo will closed after Thanksgiving break due to Church Hall construction and will re-open it's doors on Friday, January 6th.

Christmas Break Clean-Up

During our Christmas break Mr. Lucio will need some assistance in the cleaning of our school. This is the perfect time for parents to work towards their 40-hour volunteer commitment. Please contact Mrs. Cierra at info@ssfallsoulsschool.org as space is limited. Parents will be selected on a first come first serve basis.

Times are as follows

Monday – Friday 9:00am – 12:00pm

Monday – Friday 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Free Uniforms

We have come across a significant amount of lost, found and donation school uniforms. Mrs. Cierra and Mrs. Escobar have organized a day for pick-up and or find needed uniforms items. Please note currently we are not taking any uniform donations. This will take place on Monday, November 14th in the school cafeteria after 12:20pm dismissal for 1 hour. Thank you to Mr. Lucio for helping wash the uniforms.

God Bless and Stay Safe,

Vincent Riener

Principal

This year See's Candies Fundraiser will be ONLINE ONLY. No monies will need to be sent to school.

All funds of this event will be allocated to update the camera security system in our school. All orders may be placed online through the link below, starting Friday, October 28.

https://www.yumraising.com/secure/allscs_all_souls_catholic_school87/ClaEsc5440/

All orders must be submitted no later than Monday, November 28 2022 and will be delivered directly to your address of choice.

Please note this is an optional fundraiser.

Thank you for your support as this will benefit our school community!

1. New mailing address

As of 8/31, the Minneapolis office will be closed. With this, we have a new process for the checks, documents, and invoices that were being sent through the mail.

• TADS will no longer be mailing invoices. All billing accounts will be switched to “Statements sent by email”.
• If they would still like a hard copy, they or the school can log in and go to the family’s billing account > click on an invoice number > click the button to “Download as a PDF”.
• We have notified families of this by inserting a brightly colored letter in any invoices mailed out this month. We will also email families when we switch their account to emailed statements.
• If they request to have their $18 Postal mailing fee removed, we can replace it with an “Amended Mailing Fee” that is $3 per invoice we previously sent. The over payments can be applied to their future invoices but CANNOT be refunded.

• Mailed checks and money orders should be sent to our lockbox at the address below.
• Please give this new address to every family who mentions they might send a payment.
• Mailed payments sent to the 110 N 5th St. address will be forwarded, however this will cause delays and it is possible for mail to be missed in this process.
• We are in the process of updating the website, emails, and downloadable documents with the new address.
• TBD on how this will be communicated with families and schools.

Address for TADS TM and Classic FA payments

Auncor, Inc.

PO Box 850136

Minneapolis, MN 55485

11 Veterans Day - Holiday

14 Staff Development Meeting - 12:20 Dismissal

15 School Assembly - 2:30pm

15 School Board Meeting - 6:30pm

21-25 Thanksgiving Holiday - Thanksgiving Day 11/24

4 School Family Mass & Rite of Enrollment for Communion - 10:30am

5 Early Dismissal - 2:30pm - Faculty Meeting

6 Kindergarten Open House & Admissions

7 Principal's Awards Ceremony - 9am

8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception - 8am Mass (Full School Uniform)

13 School Assembly - 2:30pm

13 School Board Meeting - 6:30pm

14 Christmas Program - 3pm

16 11am Dismissal - No Extended Care After School

19-31 Christmas Vacation - Christmas Day 12/25

Dear All Souls Families,

You can now pay and add credit to your child/children's cafeteria account through SchoolSpeak. Your payment will be processed through PayPal with a 3% convenience fee for all transactions.

Sign-in to your SchoolSpeak account and select "Lunch Order" in the quick links menu on the left. The "Pay" tab will direct you to your payment options. You may pay the cafeteria balance through your existing PayPal account or as a guest using your credit or debit card. You may also add credit to your child/children's cafeteria account. If you wish, you may still make cash or check payments to the school office.

Please note, for the families that have a credit card on file I will no longer be charging your credit card for lunch payments. You are responsible for paying and adding credit to your cafeteria account.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Regards,

Ms. Escobar