T H E C R U S A D E R THE CRUSADER JANUARY 30, 2016 REFLECTIONS FROM THE INSIDE Keep Christ at the Core of all you think, say, and do. Happy Catholic Schools Week! At the principal s meeting on Friday, we were given much to consider as we move into the planning phase for the next school year. Though a little overwhelmed through it all, I could not help but recognize that tied to everything was the element of faith. That is what we celebrate this week! The fact that at St. Michael Catholic School we can acknowledge God being at the center of who we are and what we do! While some would say that this is what makes us different, I like to think that this is what connects us. It is at the heart of what make us community. It is often one of the key factors that lead families to our doors. While Catholic Schools Week allows all Catholic schools to celebrate their success in arming students with faith, knowledge, and the importance of service, it also marks the time in which the registration process begins. Our 2016-17 registration form is attached to this Crusader. We will send it home with students Monday too. I realize that much thought goes into the decision to send your children to St. Michael. As we move into the 2015-16 school year, we will continue to look for ways to strengthen our curriculum. One component that will be added next year will be giving our students more opportunities to participate in Adoration. Fr. Jenkins and I both are firm believers that students will benefit from their time in prayer with God. Academically we will be looking to upgrade our Math textbooks, providing teachers with more current tools to carry out their mission of educating students. Our new wireless network, will allow us to explore the opportunity of transitioning into the world of 1:1 devices. For us, this will be a more gradual transition. This will also allow our teachers to transition from total textbook classrooms to ones that blend in digital technology. In regards to tuition costs, know that we are currently working on next year s budget. As soon as we have a complete picture, we will be communicate this out. In the meantime, please use last year s amounts as your best guide. In ending, I would like to thank each of you for putting your faith and trust in the staff at St. Michael School to provide a faith based education for your child(ren). Together with Christ, we can create future leaders of our church, our communities, and our world. We have much to celebrate! UPCOMING EVENTS JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 6 Catholic Schools Week FEBRUARY 6 Ladies Club Valentine Dance (Middle School Only) 7-9 p.m. FEBRUARY 7 Open House for new families 12:00 2 p.m. FEBRUARY 10 Ash Wednesday MARCH 4 7 TH Grade Stations of the Cross 7 p.m. (In Church) Morning Prayer Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom God s love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Afternoon Prayer God, our Father, this day is done. We ask you and Jesus Christ your Son, that with the Spirit, our welcome guest, you guard our sleep and bless our rest. Spiritual Work of Mercy Counseling the Doubtful
UPDATES AND REMINDERS: Catholic Schools Week Starts Monday. Each day s dress themes are as follows: Monday Pajama Day (must be school appropriate attire and NO SLIPPERS) Tuesday Crusader Pride Day (anything or everything St. Michael or blue/gold) Wednesday Camo or red, white & blue Day Thursday Mismatch Day or Crazy Hat/Sock Day Friday Dress your best Day Students can be out of uniform each day as long as they are dressed in the theme of the day. Keep in mind that P.E. classes will still happen, so make sure students wear appropriate shoes. The Ladies Club will be hosting a Middle School Dance in the gym on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 7-9 PM. Admission will be two boxes of cereal for the Hancock County Food Pantry. CYO HAPPENINGS The CYO Booster Club will be hosting the annual reverse raffle on March 12, 2016. The Booster Club provides funds to offset many of the costs for our parishioners / students to participate in CYO sports. If your child participates or did in the past in CYO sports, then you benefit from this event. The Booster Club is seeking volunteers to help with the raffle. Specifically, the Boosters need people to help with selling tickets, decorating, accounting, and general assistance on the night of the event. The Booster Club asks that you consider contributing your time and talent to this event. Please contact Brian Lyons at 374-6503 or blyons@managepoint.biz for more information. Thank you. Our boys Cadet A team will be back in action this weekend as they continue to move through the CYO City Tournament. On Sunday, they take on St. Louis de Monfret in the quarter final round at Scecina. Game time is 2:00 p.m. Our girls volleyball teams will be back in action next week. On Tuesday, there will be three games played at home. Kicking off the action at 5:00 will be the 5/6 A team as they take on Holy Spirit Indy. The 4 th grade team will follow them in a game against Our Lady of Greenwood @ 5:45. Then to round out the action, spectators can watch the 5/6B team take on Little Flower @ 6:15. The Cadet A team will travel to the CYO Center on Wednesday to take on St. Susanna @ 6:15. PSO UPDATES What a busy week of planning for such a fun day! Thanks PSO and all who helped to make this day a success. The PSO supports St. Michael School is so many ways! We are very blessed. YOUTH GROUP NEWS February 6th Waves of Mercy is a junior high youth rally that looks like tons of fun at Roncalli. Check out the link: http://www.archindyym.com/#!parishdeanery-events/cjq1 Cost is $30. Students will need to register by January 25th to get a spot and secure the t-shirt! There will be a junior high representative at the rally, but you will need to transport your child there. Unfortunately, Katherine has guard that day, or she and I would be attending it. Looks like a fun time! February 14th Valentine's Day Parent Date Night or Shop at Wal-Mart night or clean the house night without interruption. Yes, parents! Bring your younger children for the youth ministry to babysit. Or bring your older kids so you get them out of the house! We will have activities and dinner for your younger children during our typical 6-8 time. Please let other parishioners with children know about this, so we can truly be OF SERVICE to others within our parish family! There will be some type of sign up for this, so that we know what type of numbers to expect. March 11-12 Passiontide LOCK IN at St. Michael!! We are super excited that Father Aaron (and your youth ministry commission) is hosting a lock in for students in grades 6-12. Yes, I am correct! It will start at 5 pm on
Friday, March 11 and end on Saturday, March 12 around noon. Mark your calendars! Your son or daughter will not want to miss this! Did I mention that Father Aaron is leading this evening? How cool is that? Don't worry! The boys and girls will be separated for sleeping! LOL FYI for parents with older kids... If you have a child getting confirmed this year, this is a required activity. SCECINA REMINDERS Scecina is holding a last chance High School Placement Test on Saturday, January 30 th. If you have not taken the high school placement test, and plan on applying to Scecina Memorial High School, please register for this test by going to http://www.scecina.org/placement-test or by emailing kabelein@scecina.org or calling 317-352- 3287. The High School Placement Test scores are used when placing students into courses for their freshman year of high school. On Wednesday, February 10 th the Scecina baseball team will be hosting an Ash Wednesday Fish Fry. It will be held in the Scecina cafeteria from 5 p.m. 8 p.m. The proceeds will help support the Scecina baseball program. If you can t stay to eat for dinner, come and pick up a to-go bag! Each week the Scecina Student Spotlight introduces the Crusader Community to a current Scecina student who has been a recipient of the President's Academic Excellence Award. This month the students featured were: Kristin Sitzman, a sophomore who excels in the arts, Michaela Heil, a senior from Holy Spirit and cheer captain, and Andrew Clegg, a junior from Little Flower who participates in cross country and track. All of these students are exemplary in the classroom and are taking honors and advanced placement courses at Scecina. They are great examples of a Crusader! INSIDE SPOTLIGHT It was habit week in first grade. They spent time learning about the Artic, Desert and the Rainforest.
Middle School students have been busy setting a hypothesis and testing it out in their Science Fair projects. Check out a few of their projects.
Mrs. Vetter s Fifth Grade have been busy learning about measurement. How long is that glue stick? They also spent time debating the hot topic of whether or not the U.S. should take in Syrian refugees. Can you tell which group was for it and which was against?
In Social Studies, the 5 th grade has been studying timelines. They then took time to create their own. Check them out!