St. Matthew Elementary
Jaguar Journal

This week's to-do list:

• Christmas Concert information below - see final details
• We are still accepting donations to help our families in need this Christmas. If your student has not yet brought in their $2 there will be a container at this evenings concerts. 
• Gather items for our Metro Catholic Outreach Advent collection. (see below)
• Don't forget TOMORROW is a No School Day!
• Have snow pants and boots ready for that very first snow storm, you just never know when that may be!

Christmas Concert - Final Details
Tonight we have a very busy evening with Christmas concerts.  Please see the finalized schedule and details below to help with traffic control and allow for the transitions to occur as seamless as possible.

One note about the dual concert performances tonight, for those families only attending the 3-5 concert, please form a line in the hallway until the doors are opened.  We will open the doors once our K-2 families are out, which should be between 6:30 and 6:45 PM.

5:30 PM - doors will open for K-2 concert (please form a line in the hallway prior to this time)
5:45 PM - K-2 students arrive and meet in homeroom; costumes will be in the homeroom ready for those who need them
6:00 PM - K-2 Christmas concert
6:30-6:45 PM - we will move K-2 families not attending the 3-5 concert out the west gym doors and have 3-5 families enter the doors by the 1st grade classrooms.  Please form a line in the hallway and wait patiently until the doors open for 3-5 families to enter.
6:45 PM - 3-5 students arrive and meet in homeroom.  All band students will meet in the Art room.  Students who need costumes should get them from the music room and return to their homeroom.
7:00 PM - 3-5 Christmas concert begins, the band will perform first.

Dress code for tonight is school dress code or better.  Please just remember that some of the students do have costumes that they will be wearing.

Please take the time to look through the lost and found at the concerts tonight. There are numerous jackets, sweatshirts, snow pants, gloves, hats and shoes.

December Staff Member of the Month
Congratulations to our December staff member of the month, Kay Staudacher.  Kay can be found in virtually every corner of the building helping out a staff member, student or family in need.  She is always the first to jump in and lend a helping hand and does so without hesitation!  We are very thankful for the hats she wears and more importantly, her ability to transform any situation.  Kay has been such a blessing for the Jaguar community; creating the many events that happen behind the scenes here.  Most recently, she came up with our special seating at lunch and Friday open gym for the Pawsitive students, in addition to sewing some curtains for the library over the weekend.  Thank you Kay for all of your work!

Junior Kindergarten
Planning has begun for the 2019-2020 school year and with that is the introduction of a junior kindergarten program. A junior kindergarten round-up night will be held in conjunction with kindergarten round-up in January. For families not currently in our 4 year old preschool program who are interested in this program, please contact St. Matthew at 319-362-3021 or awaltermyer@stmatthewcr.org to be added to our distribution list. Registration will begin in late January.

Here are the December breakfast and lunch menus...

Advent Retreat
We will be preparing for the Christmas season very soon. Please plan to join your fellow St. Matthew Parish members at our upcoming "Come Away to the Manger" Advent Retreat. This Advent, we want to offer you a moment of peace and a chance for you to join with other members of our community. At our retreat, we’ll have a few witness talks, share conversation in small groups, have time for prayer and Adoration, and look mindfully at our lives, learning how to create more space for Christ as we near His birth. After this retreat, you’ll be refreshed and challenged to create more moments of stillness in your real-world life. You’ll head into Christmas with a renewed mentality on the gift of Christ’s Birth. The retreat will be held on December 8th and 15th...simply pick one of those dates and plan to join us. Please follow the link for more information and to sign up.  http://www.stmatthewcr.org/parish/2018/11/01/come-away-to-the-manger-advent-retreat/