Hi-lites
week of February 25, 2010
Don't miss the
teacher blogs, too!
Dear
Parents and Guardians,
News flash! The world is smaller. Last
week, Mrs. Lulu Daly spoke to our 5th-8th graders about
our neighbors in Haiti. She showed photos of the work she and Dr.
Daly had been involved in following the devastating earthquake. The
students were mesmerized.
Today,
parent, Marianne Wheelock, shared her story as a LCCC parishioner, who visited
our sister parish in Chimbote, Peru.
Her presentation centered on the need for improved nutrition and what we
can do to help our neighboring parishioners. Look for an opportunity for all HCS families to help during
Lent.
Tomorrow,
HCS students in Grades 6-8 have chosen to participate in an Hunger Banquet in
support of OXFAM. Students will
randomly be selected to enjoy one of three meals: pizza, tomato soup, or
rice. The group sizes will reflect
the percentage of people in developed, developing, or under-developed
countries. The idea isn't to be a "winner"
and have the pizza meal, but rather to gain an awareness of the
disproportionate distribution of the world's resources. Hopefully, it will provide some
excellent discussion at your dinner table.
Saturday
morning, (early morning), my youngest daughter, Mary, leaves with fellow
students from the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, to
volunteer at a school
located
in the Dominican Republic. The
students are joining dozens of classmates, who have decided to participate in
an "alternative spring break." I
credit our wonderful middle school religion teacher, Mrs. Martha Skold, with
inspiring Mary's active participation.
Lent is the
season for a new perspective.
Jane
Schmidt
Principal
Speaking
of Mrs. Skold.
Congratulations
to the whole Skold family, especially big sister, Mae, on the arrival of baby
Isak Richard (after his Grandfather) Skold. Isak arrived last Thursday at 8 lb. 7 oz., 22 inches long
and is as cute as a bug. What a
wonderful blessing.
Welcome to Ms.
Courtney Marek, former HCS alum, who is substitute teaching during Mrs. Skold's
maternity-leave. Former teachers,
like me, are excited to have Ms. Marek back as a colleague. I hope you will have a chance to
introduce yourselves to her at the upcoming conferences.
Lunchtime
Parent Volunteers
We really
need you. The future of our
wonderful HIVE could be in jeopardy.
If you are scheduled to help, please be here at 10:45 a.m. If you cannot be here, please try
everything to find a substitute.
A Note from our
Pastor, Fr. Paul Feela
Dear Mrs. Schmidt,
I just wanted to
thank you and all the school for helping me celebrate my birthday a couple
weeks ago. I didn't have a chance
to write before now because I was on "retreat" last week. J
The cards from
everyone were great. I read through all of them and got all sorts of different
ones - some even had small pictures of children, but every one of them were
beautiful. There were some very
interesting cards as well:
- Many
told me to eat lots of cake. Am I
that skinny?
- There
were a couple of skateboard cards.
- One
wrote my birthday greeting to a rap.
- One
alphabetized all of the words of the greeting.
- I
got a whole class of little baby cards in little baby envelopes.
- There
was also a big, huge signed birthday banner.
- A
number of the greetings rhymed.
- Many
kids said I rocked (I thought Saint Peter was the only "rock"?!
Anyway, I just
wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful surprise. We have such a great school with Highland Catholic and it is
all of you who make it so wonderful.
Please let all of the children know.
Thanks for
everything,
Fr. Paul (old
priest) J
Security
Note:
Beginning in
March, our lobby entrance will be locked at 4:45 p.m. Parents using Extra Innings are instructed to use the E.I.
entrance after 4:45 p.m. each day.
Also, please check for forgotten homework supplies right after school.
Or better yet, try your hardest not to forget anything.
Continued
Prayers
Many parents
have asked about little Drew Giuliani's battle with cancer. You can read about this tough, little
four-year old fighter at www.drewgiuliani.blogspot.com
Spread
the Word
Have a spare
minute or two? Please consider
entering an endorsement for Highland Catholic School at the following site: http://www.merechantcircle.com/business/Highland.Catholic.School.651.690.2477
We could use
everyone's help in telling folks about our great school. Thanks.
Please
Mark your Calendar
Please join us
for our next All School Mass, as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day together, March
17th, at Noon. This
week, parents and guardians joined their seventh graders for a lovely
grade-level Mass in the LCCC Chapel.
Students in all grades will be visiting the Adoration Chapel and praying
the Stations of the Cross with their homeroom teachers. Our friend, seminarian Peter Adukugu,
stopped in to visit the sixth graders this week. We were teasing him about being a star in the archdiocesan
materials on the Annual Catholic Appeal.
What a nice man.
To kick-off
Catholic Schools Week, the 8th graders traveled to Feed my Starving
Children in Eagan and packed meals for 16,000 children in Haiti. More than ten
parent volunteers joined Fr. Paul in chaperoning the students on this field
trip. We had fun wearing hairnets
and racing to pack meals, but more importantly, it was a great opportunity to
remember what being Catholic/catholic is all about before a week of celebrating
going to our wonderful Catholic school.
The
British are Coming! The British
are Coming!
Monday, March 1st,
students in Grades 5-8, will be treated to an authors' visit, by best sellers,
Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.
These two are on a national book tour, promoting their third book, "Freefall"
in the "Tunnel" series. There are
40 foreign editions of "Tunnels." which was a No. 1 best seller in France,
Portugal, Romania, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. The book was optioned for a film (hope
they don't wreck it), and there is a manga version in Japan. In the United States, "Tunnels" and "Deeper"
were New York Times best sellers that were highly praised by critics. (From
Sunday's Pioneer Press)
Parents are
welcome to join us in the school cafeteria at 1:00 p.m. The two authors are old college chums
and it will be fascinating to hear how they write as one person. Thanks to our friends at the Red
Balloon Bookstore for providing this experience for our students.
School
Patrols Rock!
I would like to
thank our sixth grade school patrols and their moderator, Mr. Rob Petersen, for
the outstanding job they have done throughout this cold, icy winter of keeping
all students safe! We appreciate
your willingness to help despite the nasty weather. I don't know what we would do without you!
Here are two
letters written by HCS fifth-graders to Mrs. Lulu Daly, following her
presentation.
Dear Mrs.
Daly,
Thank you so
much for going to Haiti and making the people of Haiti feel better. Your presentation was eye opening for
me and others.
I knew things
were bad for the Haitians, but, I didn't know how bad things really are. Thank you for going down to Haiti. I'm
sure they're thankful for your trip down there. I bet you made them feel stronger and better.
The
presentation you gave was so eye opening.
I am not just saying that.
I hope one day I'll be able to go down there and help the Haitians.
Sincerely,
Abby Becker
Dear Mrs.
Daly,
I was excited
to see your presentation. My
parents were glad to know that you were presenting it! They love your work, and so do I! the gratitude is endless. You've made such a big difference! I'd like to help a needy country
someday as well!
The
devastation with the earthquake in Haiti is so sad. The disaster cost too many damages and more importantly lives. But your help saved many. The amputations and the casts you put
on them really gave hope to Haiti.
I think it can represent the fact that they're fixed and alive! A lot of the tragic times were taken
away!
Our school is
praying for Haiti, and already some prayers have been answered. You worked hard together - you,
Dr. Daly, and everyone else!
You made a
difference.
Sincerely and
gratefully yours,
Maeve Gimpl
Upcoming
Dates:
Monday, March 1st Authors
Visit 1 p.m.
Tuesday, March 2nd Home
and School Committee Meeting 7 p.m.
Friday, March 5th No
Busses
Saturday, March
6th Destination
Imagination Competition
Go HCS!
Wednesday, March
10th School
in Session/Conferences beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, March
11th School
dismisses at Noon
Students
will eat lunch at school before dismissal
Friday, March 12th No
School
Tuesday, March 23rd Parent
Seminar 7 p.m. See attached flyer.
Seventh Graders
are doing a little fundraising in an effort to support their upcoming trip to
Concordia Language Camp. Beginning
next Tuesday and Thursday, salsa and chips will be available at both lunches
for $2. In addition, students in
second lunch may purchase ice cream sandwiches on Fridays beginning March 5th
for a dollar. Sorry, you may not
use your Hive card for these sales.
Our Vision: Highland Catholic School strives to be a premier
Catholic School known for academic excellence within a Christ-centered
community.
