HODGE PODGE

shamrock newsletter
HODGE PODGE
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End of the 1st marking Period
It is hard to believe we have completed the first marking
period. It has been a very good start to the school year.
Thank you to the students and staff for a great first marking
period. When report cards are ready on Infinite Campus, an
email blast will sent to our school families. If you want a
hard copy of progress reports and report cards, you must
make a request to the school office
Jean Day Donations
Friday, October 31: This is Pay it Forward Day and will be
a free jean day.
Congratulations
Congratulations to the following teams and students:
The 5th and 6th grade volleyball teams on the conclusion of
their excellent seasons. The White team took 1st place and
the Green team took 2nd place in the CYL league tournament
this past weekend.
Elizabeth Beachnau, who was named the Ionia Sentinel
Female Student Athlete of the Week for her performance on
the volleyball court this season.
7th/8th grade football on their successful season.
7th and 8th grade volleyball teams on their successful seasons.
Thank you
Thank you to the fifth grade class for doing a great job leading at school Mass for this week. Also, thank you to everyone who helped make our annual Fall Festival a huge success again this year. It takes a major effort from a lot of
people to make this happen and we want to send a special
thank you to all who took time out of their busy schedules to
help. Finally, thank you Randy Pung and Neil Miros for
coordinating our recycling and scrap metal drive this past
weekend, and to everyone who worked and/or assisted with
the drive and to those who donated.
Veterans Day Observance
The students and faculty of St. Patrick Catholic School cordially invite you to join us in honoring our military veterans
in a patriotic observance on November 11th. The ceremony
will begin at 10:00AM in the St. Patrick School gymnasium,
with a coffee and cookies reception for our honored veterans
immediately following in the Parish Hall.
Fall Fest
The 2014 Fall Fest has come to a close. We would like to
thank all of those who contributed in any way to make this
fundraiser a success. Preliminary numbers indicate over
$24,000 raised for Shamrock Athletics! Whether
you worked a shift or two, made wonderful desserts or
10/22/14 breads, donated or bought cookies from the cookie booth,
rented a spot for the craft show, supported our crafters,
bought your raffle tickets, ate our delicious dinner or played
a little euchre, we THANK YOU! The 55th Annual Fall
Fest will be on October 11, 2015. What a great tradition that
was started 54 years ago!
Pay it Forward Day 2014!
On October 31st (weather permitting), students and staff
from St. Patrick School will be giving back to our community by raking leaves. If you, or someone you know
needs assistance with leaf raking, and is within walking distance of the school, please call the school office at 517-6477551 no later than October 29th at 3pm. Each student will
need to bring a rake along with appropriate attire for the
weather. Rakes can not be transported on the bus. This event
will not be rescheduled in case of inclement weather. In the
afternoon students will participate in a variety of fun activities (details TBA). After raking leaves, we will have a
school wide picnic lunch. We are asking that the following
grades contribute the following for the picnic, which can be
dropped off in the school office starting October 30th:
1st Grade: Condiments for hot dogs
3rd Grade: Chips (1 bag)
5th Grade: Desserts (at least one dozen)
7th Grade: Paper plates, napkins, cups.
9th Grade: one 2L of pop
11th Grade: one 2L of pop
Please note that hot lunch will not be served on this day, so
if your child does not like hot dogs, they will need to bring a
sack lunch. We will also be assembling boxes of birthday
cake kits to give to local food pantries. This project has been
deeply appreciated by those in need who visit the food pantries in the past few years we have done this. We are asking
the following grades to contribute the following for this project:
High School: 1 box of cake mix
Middle School: 1 tub of frosting
3rd - 5th: 1 box of birthday candles
K-2nd: Sprinkles or other cake decorating items
These items can be brought to school anytime before the
31st and will be collected in your child's classroom or advisor's classroom for middle and high school students.
Bake Sale
The Welcoming and Social Committee will be hosting
a bake sale after all Masses this weekend. Coffee and
donuts will also be served after all Sunday Masses. Please
stop by the Parish Hall to buy your homemade treats, and to
socialize with your friends and fellow parishioners. Ethnic
Dinner Tickets will also be available to purchase. The proceeds of our bake sales help to fund various parish social
events, such as the Senior Citizen Appreciation Dinner, the
Parish Picnic, and the Ethnic Dinner. If you would like to
donate baked goods, please drop them off in the Parish Hall.
It will be open before and after all Masses.
www.portlandstpats.com
Ethnic Tasting Tour
An ethnic dinner, “A Whirlwind Tasting Tour”, is being hosted
by the Welcoming & Social Committee, and will be held on Saturday, November 1st at 5:30 PM in the St. Patrick School Cafeteria. We are looking for parishioners to plan and prepare their special ethnic dishes. A limited number of tickets are now available
at a cost of only $5.00, they are sure to go fast so get your early!
Children 10 and under are FREE. If you would like to help with
this event in any way or host a country, please call Sue Kreiner at
517-566-8010.
Kids Against Hunger
The Kids Against Hunger Coalition is hosting an event at Portland High School. The event will be held on November 22nd
from 8am to 10am. We will need many volunteers (100 or more)
to help put the packets together. Adults, youth, and children are
welcome to participate. This is a wonderful way to work together
ecumenically with local folks from other Christian traditions. The
“Kids Against Hunger Coalition” brings in all the ingredients for
the packets (rice, soy, vegetables, and vitamins), and they also do
the set up and clean up. Our job is to simply, put the packets together. They also give us training before we begin to make sure
we do things in a sanitary way. For more information, contact
Amy Smith in the Parish Office.
LIBRARY NEWS
We continued our discussion about autumn. The students are very
excited about the season and have enjoyed sharing all about the
activities they have enjoyed so far. We read books about autumn.
I think the favorite was Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. As summer ends, Fletcher, a young fox, begins to worry that his favorite
tree is sick. The leaves turn brown and fall to the ground. Fletcher
tries to catch and reattach them but is upset because he is unable
to save any. Finally, he takes the last leaf to bed with him, sad
that his tree is left all on its own. The next morning, however, he
discovers the tree covered with shining icicles, "more beautiful
than ever."
A Note From the Spanish Teacher
Dear St. Patrick Families,
I have enjoyed getting to know your children the last two months.
Day of the Dead is a beautiful Catholic celebration that corresponds with All Saints and All Souls Days. In the United States, I
feel that death has become something scary that we don’t talk
about. In Mexico, each year, they celebrate Day of the Dead, but
it’s not scary! They honor and pray for their deceased loved ones.
As Christians, we know that a soul transcends death. This holiday
actually makes fun of death, since death is not the end of the
story, heaven is. To me, this is a much healthier view point. Day
of the Dead has actually helped my own grieving and healing
process, giving me more chances to talk about, pray for, and remember my own deceased. We will celebrate with a share and
prayer time for our beloved deceased. For those classes who earn
it we will also celebrate with crafts and a snack. Your child may
bring a photo of a deceased loved one. I will also be asking for
donations of craft supplies and food items to share with the class.
I will send a signup sheet for these items next week. Items on the
list include: Food, beverage (not pop), paper products, solid colored tissue paper and pipe cleaners. (The dollar store is great for
many of these items.) If you have any questions, please feel free
to email me. (Martha_vanharen@portlandstpats.com)
Sanchin Ryu
A new session of Sanchin-Ryu karate at St. Pat’s is starting on
November 5. Workouts are from 6-7pm on Wednesdays in room
209. Cost is $20 for eight weeks. Contact Mr. Paul Osbourne for
details.
Calendar of Events
10/24
- NO Bussing (PPS not in session)
- PTO Uniform sale 3:30-4:30p room 208
-Varsity FB @ Morrice 7p
- End of Quarter 1
10/25
- JV VB @ Morrice Inv. 9a
10/29
- JV/Varsity VB vs. P-W @ SPS 5:30p
- Sanchin-Ryu room 209 6p
10/31
- Pay It Forward Day
- Varsity Playoffs (tentative) time and location TBA
- Halloween parties
11/1
- Varsity CC Finals
- Varsity VB CMAC Tournament @ Bath time TBA
- Athletic Association meeting Parish Hall 6:30p
11/3
- DK-5th grade yearbook order forms due
11/4
- No busing (PPS not in session)
-Varsity VB Districts @ Bath 6p
- School Board Meeting Church 6p
11/6
- Varsity VB District Finals @ Bath 7p