SAM - 12/02/2024

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT MEMO

Everything You Wanted To Know

Week of 12-02-24

A NOTE FROM THE PRINCIPAL:

Welcome to Advent!  As we get ready to celebrate the birth of our Savior, let us remember there are many ways for us to prepare. Here at St. John Fisher Parish and School we have many traditions to help us celebrate the season:

• Advent Activity Calendar: The attached Advent activity calendar is filled with ideas to help us prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of Christmas.

• Advent Prayer Service on Monday’s at 8:20am in the gym: in lieu of morning hall prayer, during the month of December our entire school community will gather in our gym each Monday morning at 8:20am for our Advent Prayer Service.  This activity, led by faculty and students, helps bring our focus to the true meaning of Christmas as we prepare for the birth of Jesus.  All are welcome to attend!

• Christmas Fest 2024!: This Saturday, 12/7 is our parish and school Christmas Fest in the Corrado Family Center. Come visit with Santa, crafts, holiday shopping, cake walk, puzzle swap and more! Sparkling cheer, beer and snacks will be available for purchase.

• St. Vincent de Paul Food Drive: Another way our school and parish prepare for Christmas is to donate items to our St. Vincent de Paul food drive. This active ministry within our parish will put together over 200 food boxes that will feed families in the local Southwest Portland community. Please take some time during your grocery shopping this weekend and pick up a little something for those in need. In an effort to have a variety of items for our food boxes, here are some suggested donations for each class:

  • PreK and K: Pasta and Toothbrushes

  • 1st and 7th grades: Brown and white rice and bar soap

  • 2nd and 6th grades: Canned meat and tuna and shampoo

  • 3rd and 5th grades: Canned veggies and fruit and deodorant

  • 4th and 8th grades: Soup, chili and toothpaste

• Christmas Program for PreK - 4th, Glee and Band on Wednesday, 12/18 at 5:30pm: Students are asked to report to their classroom at 5:10pm and are encouraged to wear their “Sunday Best” with Christmas accessories. This event is fun for all ages so feel free to invite your family/friends.

CALENDAR REMINDERS:

Tuesday 12/3:  7:15-8:05am LeadHERship in library, 3:15pm Gr 5-8 Study Hall, 7:00pm Cardinal Club meeting

Wednesday 12/4:  7:10-8:00am High School Prep Class in library, 7:30am Glee Club in church, 1:00pm School Mass (2nd Gr), 2:05pm Dismissal, Chess Wizards

Thursday 12/5:  7:30am Glee Club in library, 3:15pm Gr 5-8 Study Hall

Friday 12/6: Happy Birthday Chef Ken! Free Dress - End of 1st Trimester, 6:30-8:30pm “Starry Nights” Middle School Dance at St. Cecilia’s

Saturday 12/7:  1:00-4:30pm SJF Christmas Fest in Corrado Family Center

Sunday 12/8:  2nd Sunday of Advent

Monday 12/9:  8:15am Advent Prayer Service in gym, 8:20-9:00am Coffee Time with the Cardinal Crew in the Corrado Family Center, 9:00am School Mass - Feast of the Immaculate Conception (7th Gr), 5:30-7:00pm CASE training in 5th grade classroom

Tuesday 12/10:  3:15pm Gr 5-8 Study Hall, 6:00pm SAC & PTC Exec. meeting

Wednesday 12/11:  7:30am Glee Club in church, 8:45-1:00 2nd Gr to NW Children’s Theater, 1:00pm School Mass (3rd Gr), 2:05pm Dismissal, Chess Wizards (final class of fall session)

Thursday 12/12:  1st Trimester Report Cards Distributed, 7:30am Glee Club in library, 3:15pm Gr 5-8 Study Hall, 7:00pm Men’s Club Christmas Dinner

Friday 12/13:  2:00pm Family Group Activity

Saturday 12/14:  10:00am-3:00pm Parents’ Morning Off (sold out)

PLAYGROUND DUTY: 

Playground duty is from 11:25am - 1:00pm. If there is a conflict with your scheduled playground duty date, please notify Holly Hunt, our playground duty coordinator, as far in advance as possible so that she can reschedule your duty. Thank you for your help in the lunchroom and on the playground.

Tuesday 12/3:        LYNCH (ANGERILLI)

Wednesday 12/4:    SALAZAR

Thursday 12/5:    SKARBONKIEWICZ

Friday 12/6:        LOUDER

Monday 12/9:        HALLANZZINI

Tuesday 12/10:    JENSEN (JULIA & XANDER)

Wednesday 12/11:    RODGERS

Thursday 12/12:    SHAVERS

Friday 12/13:        TANAS

DECEMBER EXTENDED CARE SIGNUPS

Sign up for your December 2024 extended care coverage now. The sign-up calendar is attached to this SAM, and can also be found on your FACTS Family Portal under Resource Documents. ***Please note: after school care is CLOSED for 2 days this month: Wednesday 12/18 so students/families can prepare for the Christmas program that evening at 5:30pm and Friday, 12/20 as that is the last day of school before Christmas break***

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT - CARDINAL CHRISTMAS FEST 2024

• Help is needed throughout this week for set-up, along with volunteers during the bazaar, and then for clean-up.  Use this link to sign up to help: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4CA9AE2CAB9-53470569-christmas#/

• We need donations for the popular CAKEWALK  ! We are accepting donations of cakes, cookies, pies, breads, treats of any kind (homemade or store bought) from December 4th to December 7th. Please leave donations on cart in the school lobby. Be sure to log your baking time for family volunteer hours on your Facts Family Portal. We always love to know what family the treats came from and of course if there are any allergies like nuts in the ingredients that winners should be aware of. Thank you in advance for your donations and for really being the heart of what makes this event so special. Questions or concerns, please contact Katie Richmond (2nd grade assistant and 7th grade Mom). [email protected], 503-784-1759

ATTENTION MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: LAST CALL FOR TICKETS TO STARRY NIGHT

Our second middle school dance of the school year is next Friday, December 6th at St. Cecilia from 6:30-8:30pm. The cost is $10 and includes snacks, a photo booth and desserts. Online registration and payment are required so you can Sign up here and sign the Code of Conduct HERE.

HOSA CANDYGRAMS

Celebrate the season by sending out some candygrams–proceeds benefit our HOSA group’s fundraising efforts towards attending the International Leadership Conference in June:

• Candygrams are $1 each

• Deadline to place your order is Dec. 18

• Candygrams will be distributed Dec. 20

• Pick up an order form from the school office, or from Mrs. Willits

ALTAR GUILD BAKE SALE

Pick up some wonderful holiday goodies this weekend, Dec. 7-8 at the Altar Guild’s annual bake sale, taking place in the back of the church after all weekend Masses.

COFFEE TIME WITH THE CARDINAL CREW

Looking for a resource to find out more about the SJF community? You are welcome to join our PTC President, Libby Rankin, Cardinal Club President, Erica Benthin, and Principal, Merrit Holub for “Coffee Time” on Monday, 12/9. We will begin after our Advent Prayer Service Immediately after drop off in our gym) and will be available for questions, answers, announcements till 9am.

The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood - Saturday, Dec 7th at 2pm and 5pm

Jesuit High School proudly invites you to our Freshman Ensemble production of The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. This show is put on by our Freshman theatre students and is a fun show for the whole family! The play also features 4 SJF alums: Finn McClaskey, Kiah Dunne, Elise Carter and Sammy Davis. Performances are December 7th at 2:00pm and 5:00pm. To buy your tickets in advance you can follow the link here to our website: https://www.jesuitportland.org/our-community/drama 

JESUIT FOOD DRIVE

If you and your family are looking for additional ways to help others during this Christmas season, Jesuit High School is for volunteers to help in assembling the boxes for their food drive. There are four volunteer sessions on Thursday & Friday, December 19th and 20th, held in the cafeteria at Jesuit High School:

• Thursday December 19 – 3:00pm to 5:30pm

• Thursday December 19 – 5:30pm to 8:00pm

• Friday December 20 - 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM

• Friday December 20 - 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM

This is a hands-on event, and it’s perfect for the whole family, even the little ones. Volunteers can help with tasks like packing food boxes, recycling materials, and creating Christmas cards for each box. Please use THIS LINK to sign up for volunteer sessions and if you have additional questions, you can reach out directly to [email protected]. We’re looking forward to making this season special for those in need, with your help!