St. Raphael Catholic School | Crystal, MN



October 29, 2020Dear Parents and Guardians,It has been a spectacularly beautiful Fall here in Minnesota! I have asked some of the children to imagine just how big God’s crayon box is?! The trees have been so bright and colorful! I thank the Lord for the joy and privilege of educating and forming your precious children. They are as bright, varied, and diverse as the leaves on the trees! What a delight to work in a culturally diverse school! One of the joys of Heaven is going to be the diversity! In the book of Revelation, the worship in Heaven is described this way: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” -Rev 7:9-10At St. Raphael Catholic School, it is our daily-lived experience that the precious body of Christ is made of a beautiful variety of races, tongues, and tribes! Just by learning and playing and praying in our diverse community, your children are receiving an education in cross-cultural skills that will equip them for success in the multi-cultural world that they will enter. Glory be to God for His multi-form beauty!I have had many people ask me recently what is the difference between All Saints Day, Nov 1st, and All Souls Day, Nov 2nd. I found this beautiful answer at Catholic Answers Forum:“The feast of All Saints is a very joyful day. We remember all of the saints who are in Heaven. It is not just about those saints who have been formally canonized by the Church. While we can be sure that the canonized saints are indeed in Heaven, since the Church was moved and guided to proclaim certain exceptional people saints, we know that there must be others who are in Heaven even though their place has not been formally pronounced by the Church. So, even though one would not be advised to pray to uncanonized people as we cannot be sure whether or not they are in Heaven yet (eg. family and friends), it is nice to remember that some of the people we may have known may already be rejoicing with all the other saints in Heaven.There is a change of mood and tone on the Commemoration of the Holy Souls. The focus is on those who are in Purgatory. That said, it is not all sadness for us who remember them, because we know that they are well on their way to Heaven. They are not yet saints in Heaven, but we know that one day they will join the great company of saints in Heaven. Our prayers for the Holy Souls - especially for family, friends and enemies - can hasten their onward journey to Heaven. Remember too, that the souls in Purgatory who benefit from our prayers are grateful for our intercessions, and one may be sure that when they are counted among the saints that we rejoice with on November 1, they will respond generously with intercessions for us.” () Halloween PlansOne of the ways we want to pursue joy this year is to celebrate Halloween in the following way:On Friday, October 30, 20201. Students in Grades K-8 may dress in (appropriate*) costumes, if they want; they may otherwise dress in orange and black or school uniform per usual.?Students have the option to wear orange and black or school uniform per usual.?2. Families may send candy to share, if you choose to do so.3. Grades K-2 will have an indoor parade in their costumes. (COVID protocols will be in effect for this parade.)4. A special and fun lunch will be served.5. Individual teachers will decide on any additional activities that they want to do in their classrooms.Please make sure that your child avoids choosing an inappropriate costume. Some guidelines for this follow.*Inappropriate Costumes/Clothing for HalloweenNot Appropriate for All Grades1. Scary masks; gory or frightening costumes that could upset other students2. Ripped jeans3. Distracting props?or accessories (no weapons, or anything that may get in the way of classroom procedures)Additional Directions for Middle School1. No Black Tight Leggings?2. Modest clothing (no low cut, skirts or shorts that are too short, leggings or "yoga pants" that are not covered with a skirt or shorts)In our celebration of Halloween, please be assured that we here at St. Raphael Catholic School will emphasize that “The decorations, the costumes, the games, the candy—they can add enjoyment to the celebration, yet they are but trappings. The true joy of the holiday is Christ’s victory over death, his triumph over evil, and the invitation he offers us to share in that victory and in that triumph. If we take back Halloween as a Christian holiday, if we are unafraid to confront the principalities and powers that struggle to wrest away our victory and our triumph in Christ, then those who seek to do so will realize that they cannot steal our Halloween joy.” (Taken from Catholic Answers, Michelle Arnold, 9/1/2012) Important DatesOctober 29th - Astronomy classOctober 31th - Rake-a-thon make-up dateNovember 2nd - Last day to turn in rake-a-thon donations/wear rake-a-thon t-shirtNovember 24th - End of Trimester 1November 25th - 27th - No School/Thanksgiving breakRake-a-thon UpdateThe rake-a-thon has been rescheduled for this Saturday, October 31st. The morning will begin with Mass at 8:00 AM, then meet outside the entrance of school at 8:30 AM for yard assignments. Rake-a-thon t-shirts should be worn, over outerwear if possible. Please bring rakes, gloves and masks. You may also want to consider wearing boots. In the interest of everyone’s health and safety, there will be no lunch in the cafeteria following the rake-a-thon. Students may wear their rake-a-thon t-shirt on Monday, the last day to turn in rake-a-thon donations.Note from Geri Cox, Rake-a-thon Coordinator: The total brought in so far from the school is $5,087.00! Combined with the parish Rake-a-thon donations at Masses, our total is $7,980.00. Monday is the final money turn-in date, so be sure to put any last pledge money into your child's backpack when they put on their Rake-a-thon shirt. The top class combo team -so far- is Team 2nd and 3rd grade, with a collective total of $1477.50! Kudos to the third grade for their class total--so far --of $938.00! Remember, the top class combo team wins a pizza party at school, top family wins a $300 gift card to The Great Wolf Lodge, and there's more great prizes. Please join us this coming Saturday for the rescheduled Rake-a-thon Service project. There are some homeowners in need who would really appreciate our help! Please call, text or email Geri Cox: gericox07@ or 763-232-0897. Blessings,-Geri Cox COVID UpdateParents, please continue to take your child's temperature at home before you leave for school in the morning. It will continue to serve as our first line of defense against COVID and combat cold and flu season as it approaches. Due to the cold weather, our temperature reading guns are not being as accurate as we would like them to be at morning drop off. We are going to start to temp our students as they enter the building, in order to get better and more accurate readings. Thank you for your continued support and due diligence helping us monitor students. Weather-Related School ClosuresIn the event that St. Raphael Catholic School will be closed due to weather, you can expect to receive an email notification no later than 6:00 AM. Cold Weather ReminderNow that winter is upon us, please make sure your student is dressed appropriately to be outside every day, including a jacket, hat and gloves or mittens. Snowpants and boots are also encouraged, especially for the younger students who wish to play in the snow. Nurse Mary will have a very limited number of hats and mittens for students who forget theirs. But due to COVID, the student must keep whatever they are given, it can not be returned to the health office like in years past. End of Day Reminders If you are picking your student up from school after 2:30 PM, please go to the Game Entrance, door #20, on the east side of the building. Additionally, at the end of the day, all students who are not picked up in carline must be in a supervised afterschool activity or signed into EDS.Transportation UpdateThere are no additional updates on bussing at this time. Mr. Dull is diligently working with Robbinsdale School District and will provide any updates as they become available.Donations for Education (DFE)Please continue to save and turn in DFE items (Box Tops, Coke codes, Country/Village Hearth bread upc codes). There are drawers in the office entry where the items can be placed. Please label with the name and grade of the student who is turning items in, as this information will continue to be tracked. The Box Tops fall submission date is November 2nd this year. Please turn them in by November 1st. Remember, you may also scan any receipts on the Box Top app and give credit to your student. Although we aren't holding contests throughout the year this year, your continued support of our school is very much appreciated. Astronomy ClassSee next page for flyer and informationSt. Raphael Catholic School145732545720Astronomy Program145732545720Welcome to the Astronomy Program at St. Raphael Catholic School. I hope you are as excited as I am about this program. I’m looking forward to our exploration of the wonderful universe that God created for us. Astronomy is one of the oldest and most fascinating sciences. While astronomy includes all the major fields of science along with math, we can all enjoy observing astronomical events and objects with just a little knowledge of the sciences and math.We have three evening sessions scheduled, so far this year. We will schedule additional program sessions together, after I get a better understanding of what you would like. I have a plan for topics that I would like to cover, but I can change my plan as we progress, to cover topics that are of most interest to you.Our typical program sessions will begin with a discussion of an astronomical subject, along with what celestial objects are visible in the sky that evening, and upcoming celestial events. Then we will go out, weather permitting, and view the night sky. The sessions are planned to begin at 7:00pm and go until 9:00pm. I can adjust the start and end times to meet your needs.The initial scheduled dates are:Thursday, October 29, 7:00 – 9:00 pmThursday, November 19, 7:00 – 9:00 pmThursday, December 17, 7:00 – 9:00 pmAgain, I am excited about this astronomy program and I am looking forward to our cosmic journey together.John Zimitschjzim@ WWW. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download