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December News
Published on Dec 10, 2017 21:47
December 2017
Advent Family Prayer
Heavenly Father, your son, Jesus, is your greatest gift to us, a great sign of your love. Guide us as we strive to walk in that love together as a family this Advent. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, bring us closer to each other and to your son. Give us the grace and strength we need every day. Help us to always trust in you. Come, Lord Jesus, lead all people closer to you. Come and dispel the darkness of our world with the light of your love. Amen.
Principal’s Message
December is the month in which we celebrate Advent and prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. It’s very easy to lose sight of the
true meaning of Christmas in the commercialism and hustle and bustle of the season. Let’s take a few moments to prepare ourselves to receive
“the Light of the World” on Christmas Day. Let’s give thanks for all our blessings and let us share the special gift of love with our families, friends and acquaintances during the season of Advent.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to our parent community for all the support we have received thus far this school year.
LIVING ADVENT
“Come; let us walk in the light of the Lord”
Isaiah 2.5
It is the season in which we celebrate new beginnings. It is the season that begins our liturgical year and we prepare to celebrate Christmas. We remember Christ’s first coming into our world and we look forward to His second coming.
In our Catholic parishes and school families, we are reminded that the coming of Christ at Christmas is so special that we must take time to prepare our hearts and minds. And it is never easy, especially with holiday reminders everywhere and a season that is so busy.
But Advent is an important season. We are called to patiently wait and prepare ourselves for the joy of Christ's coming, even though other signs around us tell us to prepare for Santa.
Advent is a time to live our faith by preparing to experience God’s presence in our lives in new and meaningful ways. God gave us the gift of his son, Jesus,and we are called to respond to that gift with our whole selves. We are reminded in the Gospel that we are to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:37).
God invites us to respond to His love by worshiping Him with our heads, hearts, and hands. He wants us to know Him with our minds, experience Him with our hearts, and serve Him with our hands. Advent is a time to give our whole selves to God.
During Advent we are invited to continue to learn more about our faith through our Advent traditions and rituals. Some of these include: praying around the Advent wreath, learning about our family of faith through the Jesse Tree, reading and reflecting on God’s word through the Advent readings, praying and celebrating Eucharist, participating in service and charitable works as we respond to the needs of those around us.
When the Bible speaks about how we worship God in all these ways (head, heart, and hands), it uses the term soul—the total sum of who we are. Let us give Jesus Christ the gift He most desires this Christmas—the gift of our whole selves.
LESSONS AND CAROLS
We invite all families to our Lessons and Carols on Wednesday, December 13th from 6:30-7:30 at St. Paul the Apostle Church.
KNOW YOUR ZONE
Our school community is located in the south inclement weather zone. Four weather zones (north, south, east and west) were created in Simcoe County. This approach allows for a partial bus cancellation when weather is severe in a particular area. The goal is to provide more students access to school bus transportation.
For example, this means that buses may be cancelled in the north zone, but are still running in the south, east and west weather zones. If your child is bussed to school, it is important to be aware of the inclement weather zone for our community. As always, you can visit our board website at www.smcdsb.on.ca , school website or listen to the local media for bus cancellation notices, including partial cancellations in an inclement weather zone.
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC SCHOOL COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 6:15 pm in our library. Please come and join us!
Scholastic Book Fair
Our Scholastic Book Fair fundraiser was very successful. We raised $6,990 at this year's Book Fair. 60% of the money raised is returned to our school. This will be used to purchase new books for the library, and divided among staff to purchase books, resources and other materials for students classrooms.
A very special thank you to the Library Club for their volunteering during the Book Fair. Also, a HUGE thank you to the parents who donated their time during the day to allow the Book Fair to be open throughout the school day. Lastly, THANK YOU to the many parents, grandparents, extended families and children who purchased books and accessories at the Book Fair.
We look forward to a great event next year as well!
We would like to extend to you and your families warm wishes for a peaceful and joy-filled holiday as we celebrate in the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
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