Lighting the way to Peace

Friday night our Parent Club sponsored the Illuminarias evening to share the beginning of Las Posadas with the families in attendance. Addison's family brought a mule for our nativity scene and Sara played the part of Mary. Sister Monica and Ms. Padilla played the guitar as we sang. The celebration was filled with delicious food and drink that we enjoyed around a warm bonfire. Las Posadas started in the 16th centuryby St. Ignatius of Loyola who used an Aztec festival to teach the people about Christ.

Paper Recycling

Recycling is a word we hear everyday at OLPH. Each classroom has a box to place unused paper instead of throwing it in the trash can. Student Council picks up the boxes weekly and they take the paper to a local recycler. Did you know that 80% of all recycled paper can be made into new paper products? Many of these products we use every day here at school: kleenex, paper towels, milk cartons, and more.

We honor Mary

Today our parish and school communities came together at mass to celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The 2nd grade class prepared beautiful petitions and read God's word with much reverance and love for the Good News of Christ. We sang Hail Mary Gentle Woman, We are the Gifts, and Table of Plenty throughout the mass and were treated to Ave Maria by Mrs. Vela. We are truly blessed to be able to share this Holy Day of Obligation with Father Robert, Sister Pilar, Sister Isabel, and Sister Monica. We look to them for guidance in our lives each day at OLPH School.

Advent is Here

On Monday our whole school gathered in the church for our Advent Prayer service. We were treated to the piano playing of Sonny, a student council member and 8th grade musician, as we sang along to O come O come Emmanuel. Each Monday during Advent we will gather and pray together to draw our hearts closer to receive our Lord on December 25th. While we wait, we will continue to be obedient to God's word and fill our world with joy in our own special way. All Catholic students in grades 2-8 will participate in confession this week with either Father Robert or Father Adrean. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Turkey Banners

Our 4th graders have been busy this month working on November projects, this turkey banner is just one of the projects Ms. Garcia planned for her students. After creating the banners they were hung proudly in the classroom for all visitors to see and for the class to admire. On Thursday, students will enjoy a Thanksgiving feast at the hall making sure to use all of the etiquette rules they have been practicing in class. They will welcome their families to join them and perform a short poem for them entitled, Wishbone. Happy Thanksgiving 4th grade!

This is a great week to buy a BOOK!

The Book Fair is here and we are excited to shop for some great literature, a cookbook, poster, pencil, or even a Hannah Montana microphone...okay, so mom says, "Choose an accelerated reader book so you can earn some points." Just ask any of our knowledgeable and friendly parent book fair helpers and they will point you in the right direction. Don't forget to enter your name into the box next to the cash register to help your class and your teacher win prizes! Book Fair closes at noon on Friday. Happy shopping--

Flowers for our Parish

Today a group of 7th & 8th grade students planted Mexican Hyssopofolia flowers underneath the outside cross at the church. The once bare beds will soon have lilac blooms thanks to our great gardeners.

How may we help you?

If you've ever visited our school office you have met Mrs. Robertson and Mrs. Nash. They are two of the friendliest and most helpful people you will ever meet. Each day they mend booboo's, answer lots of questions, make sure kids have their lunches and messages from mom & dad, make sure our bills get paid and tuition is posted, and so much more! Always willing to help and always with a smile on their face they brighten our school office and make sure each day is a great one. Recently they had the opportunity to attend an inservice given by the Office of Education. They enjoyed the day, especially the talk by Sister Kathleen titled, "Front Line Hospitality for Schools." We appreciate them and love them and they love us too!

Friday Mass

Each Friday a different class or group prepares the liturgy and music. This week our Student Council prepared a wonderful liturgy filled with inspirational songs. In this picture you won't see the president. He must be off doing presidential duties while the VP, & commisioners of Religion, Spirit, and Ecology pose for a quick picture after mass. Also after mass, I take a few moments to talk to the K-8 kids briefly, summarizing the week's events or sharing some words of wisdom, always guided by the holy spirit! This week I reminded them of the amazing week that has made them a part of history: Mr. Barak Obama will be our first black president in January 2009. I shared with them that Pope Benedict called Mr. Obama this week to let him know he has faith in him to lead us into peace and unity. Along with Pope Benedict XVI we should continue to pray each day for Mr. Obama and his family. God Bless the USA!

Celebrate the Saints

Our 3rd grade class each "dressed" their chosen saint, read about the life of the saint and now we have their creative work adorning our office bulletin board. All Saints Day is celebrated on November 1 each year and on this day we celebrate all saints known and unknown. In our Catholic faith we have many saints that are kind of like unsung heroes. They have either been forgotten or never specifically honored. On All Saints Day we celebrate these saints of the Lord and ask for their prayers and intercessions. Did you know that there are thousands of canonized saints? They have been officially recognized by the Roman Catholic church as having a miracle associated with their life & their life has been scrutinized and found to be a truly holy one. Think about what you will do today to immitate the saints and bring yourself closer to Christ.

Apple Turkeys

Every Tuesday during Electives, eight junior high girls and boys (young men and women) anxiously await the lesson of the day. Teaching the Cooking Elective is one of my great joys each week. I love to cook, and sharing this life skill with eager students is a thrill. This trimester we have made: omelets, california rolls, enchiladas, pancakes, and chocolate chip cookies. This group is talented and most do some cooking at home for their families each week. Today we made Apple & Froot Loop turkeys. Do you see the resemblance? Okay, so today's lesson wasn't the most Food Network Challenge type of cooking, but it was fun!

Hamburger Anyone?

The 8th grade class, led by Mr. Dodd, all dressed as In N Out workers for our Halloween Carnival. Father Robert suited up (keeping his collar in place) and joined them as they won 1st Place in the group category! Way to go 8th grade. Thank you to Mr. McCollough for the very nice name tags and to our 8th grade moms for the clever idea. One day soon, the class will once again don their In N Out uniform and head unannouced to the restaurant at Herndon & Clovis for a milkshake. That will be a side splitting day I'm sure! Thank you to our School Board President, and 8th grade mom too, Mrs. Farley for assisting with the very Haunted House enjoyed by all. Have a spoooooky night everyone and we'll see you back safe on Monday.

Happy Halloween, almost...

It's October and that means you'll see a pumpkin or two around campus. Mr. & Mrs. Contreras dropped off a load of pumpkins, enough for each class to have one and more to decorate our Halloween Carnival. Each class will create a masterpiece using their class pumpkin, paint, and other supplies. There's no carving allowed, so classes get very creative! One class will win a prize for having the most creatively decorated pumpkin. The judging is not easy. Have fun classes & thank you Mr. and Mrs. Contreras. We love you!

Red Ribbon Week

This week we remember the importance of keeping the bodies God gave us healthy, safe, and drug free. Many activities have been planned by Student Council for us to participate in as we proudly wear our red ribbons each day. During red ribbon week each class will participate in activities that celebrate our individuality and learn about ways to encourage others to always take part in activities such as sports and clubs and keep our minds focused on goodness always. Yesterday we enjoyed rockin' to a drug free beat with Sister Monica and Ms. Padilla playing some great praise and workship songs for us during our concert to join along with. Congratulations to 4th grade for singing the most and the loudest to win a great treat!

Pop Art in 5th Grade

Ms. Lucas planned a great learning activity in fifth grade last week. Students used gauze, warm water, and vaseline to form a sculpture of their hand posed in a particular position depending on how the project will be completed. For example, one student's hand is formed so it will hold a telescope after it is painted. Another student's hand is open and facing up ready to hold gold and jewels from a treasure chest. The lesson is a Social Studies integration as students have been discussing explorers. We'll definitely have to revisit 5th grade soon and see the completed projects!

Freddie the Falcon came for a visit

Freddie came to visit us at lunch recess and boy did we have fun with him! Freddie played football with some of the bigs kids (and you thought he only enjoyed hockey!) and took lots of pictures acting silly. Most, but not all, of the little kids enjoyed saying hi to Freddie and a few even tugged on his tail, sorry Freddie. Freddie was here to remind everyone to get your tickets for Friday's Season Opener at Selland Arena. Coach Washington is planning a fun Tailgate party on campus which everyone is invited to attend. There will be food, music, and lots of fun!

Game Time 7:00pm Be there to see the student that sells the most tickets go out on the ice at half time. Let's go Falcons!

Fall Leaves in 2nd Grade

Sister Isabel loves art! During each season Sister plans excellent activities to decorate the classroom and for the students to decorate their homes too. Fall leaves are this week's project.

The students enjoyed selecting the type of leaf they wanted and added fall colors onto a sponge, pressed them on to their paper, and there you have fall art! Of course, what art project would be complete without some writing to go with it? The students each wrote a poem about fall. Very nice!

Good Morning Mr. Sonkoly and Mr. Mars

Each morning you will see Mr. Sonkoly and Mr. Mars setting up bright orange pylons in the school parking lot getting ready for the morning traffic. We are very blessed to have our two dads making sure our children are safe until the 8:00am bell rings, and the gates are unlocked welcoming the kids in for another great day of school! Thank you dads!

A new school year has begun!

We are half way throught the 1st Trimester of school and I thought I should start blogging. There are so many wonderful things I see happening throughout the school day, that parents and our parish community never get to see, that I thought this would be a great way for me to share. As you know, I love taking pictures and have lots each week. I will start sharing some of them here! So tune in and visit often. This is going to be a great year at OLPH School--