St. Matthew Elementary Jaguar Journal
December 21, 2018
St. Matthew Elementary
Jaguar Journal
This week's to-do list:
- Packages wrapped...
- Santa's cookies ready...
- Join us for Mass...Christmas Eve at 4 p.m., 6 p.m. or midnight. Christmas Day at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
- Enjoy this Christmas break!
This Week's To-Do List:
* Vote for St. Matt's in the UnityPoint "Imaging the Amazing" contest (see below)
* Send in box tops and Hy-Vee receipts
* Vote for St. Matt's in the UnityPoint "Imaging the Amazing" contest (see below)
* Send in box tops and Hy-Vee receipts
"Paws"itive Students
Mrs. Adams' Class
Cate Charkowski
Keelan McEnany
Lucas Harken
Zach Meyer
Lennox Shovein
Brayden McComb
Tristan Rosteck
Kyra Kauder
Liam Raftery
Important Upcoming Events
December 24 - January 2 - No School; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
January 3 - First day back from Christmas break
January 11 - End of the 1st semester
January 14 - No School
January 21 - No School; MLK Day
January 22 - Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten Roundup at 7 PM
January 25 - Sock Hop
January 27 - Catholic Schools Week Kick-Off Mass 10:30 AM
January 27 - February 2 - Catholic Schools Week
March 2, 2019 - Mardi Gras @ Elmcrest CC
It seems like it is about this same time every year as I am frantically getting ready for the holidays that a magical minute arrives that offers me the opportunity to take a step back and reflect. This year is no different; however, this year my reflection comes to you as the Principal.
This is such a magical time of year filled with lots of family and friends, presents, good food and of course, the hustle and bustle of get togethers. Throughout all of this it is often easy to forget about the reason for the season, that is until my family and I sit down at Christmas Eve mass together and listen to the Christmas music prelude that gets us ready for the celebration and to truly experience the birth of Jesus. There is something so magical about that experience, whether it is the fact that we are all together under one roof for a couple of hours or maybe it is the anticipation of Santa's arrival and gift opening or better yet, the oyster stew awaiting at home; regardless, it is these little moments that help me remember what this season is all about and to be thankful for the many gifts we are given.
It is my Christmas wish for all of you to find those moments in the next week where you can sit back, cherish the time together and build the memories of a lifetime. As we all say, it is hard to believe Christmas is here, which means our next line will be, where did the 2018-2019 school year go. I can't wait to hear about all the excitement of the holidays when your sons and daughters return and most importantly to think of the memories that were made!
From my house to yours; thank you for choosing St. Matthew School and have a very Merry Christmas!
This is such a magical time of year filled with lots of family and friends, presents, good food and of course, the hustle and bustle of get togethers. Throughout all of this it is often easy to forget about the reason for the season, that is until my family and I sit down at Christmas Eve mass together and listen to the Christmas music prelude that gets us ready for the celebration and to truly experience the birth of Jesus. There is something so magical about that experience, whether it is the fact that we are all together under one roof for a couple of hours or maybe it is the anticipation of Santa's arrival and gift opening or better yet, the oyster stew awaiting at home; regardless, it is these little moments that help me remember what this season is all about and to be thankful for the many gifts we are given.
It is my Christmas wish for all of you to find those moments in the next week where you can sit back, cherish the time together and build the memories of a lifetime. As we all say, it is hard to believe Christmas is here, which means our next line will be, where did the 2018-2019 school year go. I can't wait to hear about all the excitement of the holidays when your sons and daughters return and most importantly to think of the memories that were made!
From my house to yours; thank you for choosing St. Matthew School and have a very Merry Christmas!
CONGRATULATIONS!
The following students were chosen to receive the "Responsibility Award" for Character Counts:
K - Maggie Lyon, Blake Schmelzer, Dominick Harken, Sawyer Tinkham
1st - Grant Haverback, Anthony Tursi, Charlee Eichhorn, Charlotte Leuck, Lauryn Jeffrey
2nd - Addison Marraback, Sara Oehler
3rd - Lindzey Jeffrey, Abby Driscoll, Jackson Owens, Oliver Wood
4th - Annabell Deegan, Keaton Fitzgerald, Nadia Mealhow
5th - Zander Murray, Maylin Tursi, Mia Deegan, Kellen Haverback, Jolene Scherrman, Samantha Becker, Irelynn Oviatt
We love reading here at St. Matthew School so we'd also like to congratulate all of these students for earning a Reading Counts certificate:
Jeffrey Barton, Abby Driscoll, Gavin Ireland, Emmett Lyon, Ruby Maybanks, Jackson Owens, Oliver Pino, Eben Rivera, Oliver Wood, Lindzey Jeffrey, Kiley Kauder, Brayden McComb, Avery Ohde, Andrew Renner, Kate Deegan, Aimele Nguyen, Oliver Klipp, and Rory Schaub
Today we also recognized our "Students of the Month" for essentials. Congrats!
Art - Josie Hines and Oliver Pino
Music - Lauryn Jeffrey and Keaton Fitzgerald
PE - Sam Evans and ZiZi Maybanks
We also recognized the winners of the "Keep Christ in Christmas" poster contest sponsored by the Knight of Columbus 909. This was such an awesome way to remember the true meaning of this wonderful season. Congratulations to the winning poster designers...and a HUGE thank you to all 94 Jaguars who participated by creating a poster!
The following students were chosen to receive the "Responsibility Award" for Character Counts:
K - Maggie Lyon, Blake Schmelzer, Dominick Harken, Sawyer Tinkham
1st - Grant Haverback, Anthony Tursi, Charlee Eichhorn, Charlotte Leuck, Lauryn Jeffrey
2nd - Addison Marraback, Sara Oehler
3rd - Lindzey Jeffrey, Abby Driscoll, Jackson Owens, Oliver Wood
4th - Annabell Deegan, Keaton Fitzgerald, Nadia Mealhow
5th - Zander Murray, Maylin Tursi, Mia Deegan, Kellen Haverback, Jolene Scherrman, Samantha Becker, Irelynn Oviatt
We love reading here at St. Matthew School so we'd also like to congratulate all of these students for earning a Reading Counts certificate:
Jeffrey Barton, Abby Driscoll, Gavin Ireland, Emmett Lyon, Ruby Maybanks, Jackson Owens, Oliver Pino, Eben Rivera, Oliver Wood, Lindzey Jeffrey, Kiley Kauder, Brayden McComb, Avery Ohde, Andrew Renner, Kate Deegan, Aimele Nguyen, Oliver Klipp, and Rory Schaub
Today we also recognized our "Students of the Month" for essentials. Congrats!
Art - Josie Hines and Oliver Pino
Music - Lauryn Jeffrey and Keaton Fitzgerald
PE - Sam Evans and ZiZi Maybanks
We also recognized the winners of the "Keep Christ in Christmas" poster contest sponsored by the Knight of Columbus 909. This was such an awesome way to remember the true meaning of this wonderful season. Congratulations to the winning poster designers...and a HUGE thank you to all 94 Jaguars who participated by creating a poster!
Here are the January menus...
Parent Association Minutes
Meeting minutes from the November 19th meeting are included below.
Meeting minutes from the November 19th meeting are included below.
A NCEA flyer is attached sharing the story of inclusion for one family in Quincy, IL. The article also gives us as parents some guidance and ideas as to how we can partner together to provide opportunities for all students at St. Matthew.
Finding Neverland at the Paramount Theatre
We are excited to offer walk-up student ticket pricing for our upcoming performance of“Finding Neverland” at the Paramount Theatre Sunday, December 30th! Attached you will find a flyer with details.
We are excited to offer walk-up student ticket pricing for our upcoming performance of“Finding Neverland” at the Paramount Theatre Sunday, December 30th! Attached you will find a flyer with details.
NAWIC Block Kids Building Contest
The annual Block Kids Building Contest will be held on Saturday, January 26th at Kirkwood Community College starting at 10 a.m. The contest, where students use LEGOs to build construction-related projects, is open to students in kindergarten through 6th grade and participation is free. See the form below for information on how to register.
The annual Block Kids Building Contest will be held on Saturday, January 26th at Kirkwood Community College starting at 10 a.m. The contest, where students use LEGOs to build construction-related projects, is open to students in kindergarten through 6th grade and participation is free. See the form below for information on how to register.
Act Now to Save on Taxes
This year, instead of paying more in taxes, use your IRA to support our parish. If you are 70 ½ or older you can roll over up to $100,000 from your IRA to a charity, any charity, including St. Matthew School. You won’t be taxed on the transfer and it counts towards your IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). Best of all its easy. It is important to first of all contact your IRA administrator or the St. Matthew school office to see how you can roll over into tax savings while helping support our spiritual mission. There is a specific process and forms that need to be used and they can help you through those simple steps. Thank you for prayerfully considering this opportunity!
This year, instead of paying more in taxes, use your IRA to support our parish. If you are 70 ½ or older you can roll over up to $100,000 from your IRA to a charity, any charity, including St. Matthew School. You won’t be taxed on the transfer and it counts towards your IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). Best of all its easy. It is important to first of all contact your IRA administrator or the St. Matthew school office to see how you can roll over into tax savings while helping support our spiritual mission. There is a specific process and forms that need to be used and they can help you through those simple steps. Thank you for prayerfully considering this opportunity!
Saints Baseball
Please see the attached flyer regarding the Saints baseball program. More information, including registration information is included in the link.
Please see the attached flyer regarding the Saints baseball program. More information, including registration information is included in the link.
Dancing with the Saints!
Dancing with the Saints is back for its fourth season! Ten dancing "stars" from our Catholic school community are competing for your vote via an online donation. The couple with the highest total of vote donations between now and the Dancing with the Saints live event on January 19th will be crowned our "People's Choice" Champion! All proceeds from this event are supplementing the Xavier High School tuition assistance program and will be used to enhance XHS teacher/staff compensation. Vote today for your favorite stars at https://www.xaviersaints.org/dwts/. Thank you for your support!
Dancing with the Saints is back for its fourth season! Ten dancing "stars" from our Catholic school community are competing for your vote via an online donation. The couple with the highest total of vote donations between now and the Dancing with the Saints live event on January 19th will be crowned our "People's Choice" Champion! All proceeds from this event are supplementing the Xavier High School tuition assistance program and will be used to enhance XHS teacher/staff compensation. Vote today for your favorite stars at https://www.xaviersaints.org/dwts/. Thank you for your support!
Message from the Principal
Merry Christmas
and
Happy New Year
Essentials Team Highlight
Merry Christmas! Christmas break is a wonderful time to experience the essentials’ curriculum in the real world. Take some time this break to play outside with your families. Enjoy a drivearound your neighborhood looking at the beautiful light displays while listening to wonderous carols and music. Use this time as a chance to see the wonder and joy in our everyday miracles. Have a joy filled Christmas and a blessed New Year!
~The Essentials Team
Next Week's Birthdays
Madeline Maxwell--December 26th
Ms. Carney--December 27th
Mrs. Giorgio--December 28th
Jolene Scherrman--December 31st
Cate Charkowski--January 3rd
Genna Haan--January 3rd
Make sure to follow us on social media:
Twitter - @StMattsJags
Facebook - @StMatthewCedarRapids
Twitter - @StMattsJags
Facebook - @StMatthewCedarRapids
