Dear St. Peter Community,
Something a little different...........................
Today is my older brother Tom's birthday. I'm thinking about him and praying for him more because he was recently diagnosed with a form of blood cancer. One of the graces of this situation is that it has allowed me to reflect on my relationship with him and my other six siblings.
I'm reflecting with a great spirit of gratitude. Even though the eight of us live in different parts of the country and may not always agree philosophically, there is a strong bond of love and friendship between all of us.
I'm asking today that we reflect on the members of our family and those in our St. Peter community. Let us remember what we love and value about them. Maybe there is even someone the Lord is prompting us to reach out to. We give thanks for the gift of their lives.
Please continue to pray for our First Communicants. Plans are also underway to celebrate the gift of Fr. Jack's priesthood and service to St. Peter School and parish.
I'm also happy to tell you that the SPICE committee has been active accepting and approving grants. If you want more information about SPICE and grant opportunities, please let me know.
With gratitude,
Dr. John Freitag, Principal
Sharing the Good News at STP by Anne Loida
Jesus Is Dwelling in Each of Us. See That in Ourselves and Others.
Mr. Remes’ seventh grade class planned this week’s rescheduled Mission Awareness Mass. Coincidentally, our all-school outdoor Mission Carnival is taking place next Friday, so the timing worked perfectly. This yearly seventh grade project allows our whole school to share our blessings with people outside the US. This year’s proceeds will benefit the Montfort Missionaries and their work in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
At Wednesday’s Mass, Fr. Paul emphasized the message of the Gospel. Jesus stresses that when we give drink to the thirsty or food to the hungry, we are doing so for him. For Jesus dwells within each of us. Fr. Paul tied the message of the Gospel with the work of St. Teresa of Calcutta, who served the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. Providing for the needs of the most vulnerable is a way of respecting dignity: our own personal dignity but also of the other.
Mrs. Mankus’ Kindergarteners Welcome the Easter Season
Next week’s Mass will celebrate Jesus, the Bread of Life, with a procession of Alleluia, butterflies, and a basket of bread. As part of our emphasis on the parts of the Mass, we’ll look at the Lamb of God. A kindergartner will bring forth a lamb of Easter eggs. We know that Jesus is the Paschal Lamb, who John the Baptist prophesied, “would take away the sin of the world.” The third graders will join their kindergarten friends at Mass.
Already But Not Yet
The hope of Easter and springtime has arrived! The Risen Christ ushers in new life in all its forms.
I’ve never enjoyed the tulips, daffodils, the dogwood trees, and the Easter season as much as I have this year. It seems as if Lent lasted longer than its forty days. What joy it is to feel hope as more people have been vaccinated, Covid numbers have lessened, and the cold winter has ended!
But I know that not all are feeling so hopeful. There is still suffering. Shootings continue. People get cancer. Injustices and tragedies occur. People in countries like Haiti continue to suffer poverty. It’s difficult at times to maintain the hope of the Risen Christ when we are in the midst of suffering or see others suffer.
The Easter season gospels remind us that even after Christ has risen so too do the apostles continue to struggle and even doubt. And that is the story of all of us, I think.
Although Christ has already risen, we are not yet in the midst of heaven on earth. But that’s where hope and gratitude come in. I know that God is present in all my Good Friday moments as God is present in my Easter Sundays. And I’m grateful for God’s presence--even when I don’t feel God within me. I’m hopeful too and I pray for those who in the midst of their suffering can recognize the presence of God. And if they can’t, I can pray that they will. Additionally, I can seek to bring kindness, joy, and justice to the people I encounter. That itself brings peace.
Nurse's Notes
ST. PETER QUARANTINE TRACKER : 04/16/21
New COVID 19 Positive Community Members This Week: 0
Total COVID 19 Positive Community Members Since September: 29
Total Community Members Currently In Quarantine: 0
The 7 day rolling average positivity rate for St. Louis County was 5.7% with 170 new cases today. We ask all of our staff and families to practice masking, social distancing and all of the mitigation factors that are known to slow the spread of coronavirus when they are not in school.
Please Note: the onset of Covid 19 infection can present with very insidious, minor symptoms. Please take these seriously. If anyone in your household develops any of these symptoms, consider keeping everyone home until the affected person can be observed longer and/or be evaluated by a healthcare provider.
If anyone in the household presents with symptoms suspicious enough to merit COVID 19 testing, then everyone in the household should remain home. If this happens midday, please call and remove your students from school immediately.
Please continue to notify Nurse Arzy by email 24/7 if your student or anyone in your household has a Covid exposure and/or is tested. If your child, a member of your household or a close contact tests positive, it is important we are immediately notified so our medical advisors can review the case and we can make the appropriate decisions for the school.
I will be on medical leave beginning 3/26 for an amount of time to be determined. The Health Office will be staffed by Joan Metzger RN. She is an outstanding nurse who has graciously agreed to work in my absence. Please use the same email for any correspondence.
Arzy Harlan RN BSN
St. Peter School Nurse
News and Announcements
This Week:
Monday, April 19 - No School for Current Kindergarten due to Screening
Wednesday, April 21 - 8:15am Mass, Gr K & 3 attend, All School Livestream
Friday, April 23 - Mission Carnival
Saturday, April 24 - Grade 2 First Communion Masses
Friday, April 23 - Mission Carnival
Saturday, April 24 - Grade 2 First Communion Masses
Upcoming Dates:
Monday, April 26 - No School for 2nd Graders
Wednesday, April 28 - 8:15am Ribbon Mass, 8th Grade attend, All School Livestream
Wednesday, April 28 - 8:15am Ribbon Mass, 8th Grade attend, All School Livestream
Thursday, April 29 - Saturday, May 1 - Uniform Fitting Event at Just Me Apparel at 232 Old Sulphur Spring Rd - see flyer
Friday, April 30 - Gr 8 to Luke 18 Retreat
Friday, April 30 - Gr 8 to Luke 18 Retreat
Mission Carnival - April 23, 2021
The seventh graders are having a wonderful time preparing for this year's outdoor Mission Carnival. Our theme for this year is...sports!!
We will have lots of fun as we help support the Friars Suppliers and their work in Haiti. We will be helping them as they work to build homes and schools and provide food for a very needy area.
We will have lots of fun as we help support the Friars Suppliers and their work in Haiti. We will be helping them as they work to build homes and schools and provide food for a very needy area.
The Mission Carnival will be held outdoors this year. We will be sanitizing the booths after each group goes through. All students will be wearing their masks their entire time outside.
Ticket order forms were sent out this week and a copy is attached. Please send order forms and money back to school by Wednesday, April 21. Thank you very much for supporting the 7th graders and the Friars Suppliers!!
St. Louis Symphony Express the Music Writing Competition:
This season, 27 schools and more than 2,300 students in grades 6-12 participated in this contest. 377 submissions were received, and from this group 57 finalists were selected.
We are honored to announce that three of the 57 finalists are St. Peter Students.
Congratulations Ellie Moritz, Shane Brinkman, and Brooke Rodden on being selected as finalists. Of the top prize winners from the 57 finalists, we are happy to share with you that 7th grader Shane Brinkman placed third in the junior division for poetry. Congratulations, Shane! Visit slso.org/express to view the compositions from all the finalists.
PTO News
Thank you for your generous participation in the
St. Peter We Love Our School Raffle Fundraiser!
Our final sales total was...
$33,375
And the April winner is...
Matt Edwards!!!
Winning ticket # 8775-LOVE-1077
Sold by Aubrey Edwards
Congratulations, Matt, on being our April winner!
The May winner will be drawn on 5/14th!
Gratefully, STP PTO Board
Gratefully, STP PTO Board
School Board Accepting Nominations
More News
Next Week: Catholic Schools Week Mass
The eighth-graders have planned next week’s Mass, and the second graders will join them as we celebrate “Catholic Schools: Lighting the Way in Faith, Service, and Excellence. So, there will be candles and celebration and handbells. Please join us in person or on the livestream. We’ll celebrate our love for our school but also our love for Msgr. Jack, who has been pastor of our Catholic school for sixteen years! What a “light” he has been for our school and our parish!
Happy Year of St. Joseph! We Celebrate Our Fathers.
After spring break, our third graders will invite their fathers and special friends to the Wednesday, March 24, Mass. Pope Francis has announced that this year is the Year of St. Joseph. As the foster father of Jesus, Joseph is a model for fathers--despite the challenges he faced he was able to discern the love of God and to listen to God’s plans for him and his family. At this Mass, we will celebrate the fathers among us who despite challenges remain faithful to us and share God’s love with us. After Communion, these fathers will bless their children with an Aaronic blessing (believe me, you’ll recognize it), a centuries-old Jewish blessing. How blessed we are to be loved by our fathers and special friends!