Friday, December 13, 2013

A Note from Susan

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Even though Wednesday’s snow day came as a surprise to me, I made good use of the time by decorating our Christmas tree with the help of my 4 year old granddaughter, who also had the day off. I think the extra down time was welcome after all the activity of last week. In addition to the Madeleine Marketplace and Tree Lighting, we had the Book Fair, a presentation on Social Media for middle school, the parish Open House, Caroling with the Teachers, AND hosted a luncheon for all the Catholic school principals and their pastors, including Archbishop Sample. Needless to say it has been hectic around here.

              I would venture to say that your family’s life is also feeling some strain around the upcoming season. There is just so much shopping, cooking, wrapping, baking, etc. to be done. Somehow all of the tasks/work/activities will be completed—just as they do every year. Yet at this time of Advent, I hope you can find some time to enjoy the anticipation of the birth of Christ and what that promises for His people.

              Speaking of enjoyment, one of my favorite events is coming up next week. Our K-5th grade students will be sharing a night of Christmas music with the community on December 19th.    

Students should be dropped off at 6:45 in their classrooms and parents will gather in the church. The program will begin at 7:00. Mrs. Grimaldi has been working so hard with all the “little angels” to prepare a lovely evening. So invite all the family to come. 

              Have a great weekend.

                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                 Susan

Class Christmas Trees Raise $600 for Outreach!

Thank you to all the students and parents who helped decorate the class Christmas Trees for the Madeleine Marketplace. Each tree was displayed in the Old Church for a silent auction. The $600 raised will be used for Parish outreach programs which help feed those in need. We have  many creative families here at The Madeleine. Thank you for using your talents for such a worthy cause!

Look Who Earned Their Wings!

Thank you to the Loomis Family for donating batteries to the 4th grade class.

You too can become a Christmas Angel by funding or finding a gift from the "Teacher Wish List."  These items are not in the budget, but would enhance the classroom.  Thanks to the many angels last year, donations to the teacher wish list provided hundreds of dollars in classroom supplies!  Click here to see the teacher wish list.  Earn your wings this year and join the many angels in our midst!  Questions? Contact Lynn Robinson at lrobinson@themadeleine.edu.

Learn About School Closures by Following @MadeleineOffice

Be one of the first to know about weather-related school delays and closures! Just text ‘follow MadeleineOffice’ to 40404 to receive the tweets as text messages on your phone.

Thank you Mr. Corrado for helping keep the school entrance snow free!

Scrip News

* * * Click Here for your Scrip Order Form * * *

It’s that time of year again, so be sure to buy your gift cards  through Scrip.  Think employees, baby-sitters, stocking stuffers . . .

• Barnes and Nobles (9% back)
• i-Tunes (5% back)
• Powell’s Books (10% back)
• Amazon (4% back)

Don't forget that we now pass on the bank charge of 2.75% if you buy Scrip with your credit card. Remember – NO FEE if you pay by check or cash.

Scrip Program Coordinator: Jolynn.mitchell@gmail.com

Scrip Volunteer Coordinator: cathy@keaneylaw.com or 971-255-7509

Save the Date

January 15th @ 7pm

Kathy Masarie, a former pediatrician who currently works as a parent and life coach, will be speaking at Madeleine.  She is a popular speaker on a variety of issues related to families and kids. Stay tuned for details in early January!

Online Volunteer Log Coming in January!

We know that many of you have already contributed countless volunteer hours to the school this year, including back to school activities, the auction, field trips, and classroom assistance. Thank you for your patience as the Parents Club finally enters the digital age and posts an online volunteer log!

Counselor's Corner

Click here to read about teaching kids gratitude instead of entitlement.

In order to support and improve the whole school community, the School Counselor will be a regular contributor to Friday Footnotes.  We are committed to collaborating with you, as primary educators of your children, to encourage their spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional growth.

Parish News U Can Use

Calling all angels and shepherds!!!!

It’s time to start thinking about the Christmas Pageant. We need children of all ages to participate. The one and only practice is on Sunday December 22nd at 6:30 in the Church. The Christmas Pageant takes place at the Children’s Mass at 4:00pm on Christmas Eve. Costumes are provided. There are no sign ups or try outs – all are welcome.

Little Church

We need potty trained two year olds through kindergartners to participate in Little Church. This is a fun program that runs on the first and third Sunday every month at 10:00am Mass. There is no fee. It is a co-op parent led program, and is super easy to lead. If you can run a play date at your house, then you can volunteer in Little Church. We have a pretty faithful little group of seven children, but would like to add more students to the group. Drop in and check us out. It’s fun.

Confirmation signups now open

Signups for our 2014 confirmation class are now open. Again this year, it will be held right here at The Madeleine!
   Confirmation will be held May 8, and classes will begin on January 12 (one parent per student will need to attend this first meeting), but please sign up soon as we need a good count as to how many people will be in the class. Any student not registered by February 2 will be placed into next year’s cohort. Cost is $90 (not due until April).
   To receive the sacrament, you must be at least 14 years old AND a freshman in high school. Adults are welcome, too. Questions? Contact Tina Hanselman. Registration form is available online at www.themadeleine.edu/confirmation or through the Parish Office.

Questions? Contact Tina Hanselman at thanselman@themadeleine.edu.

St. Michael's Lunches: 4th grade

The fourth grade did a marvelous job bringing in sack lunches this week.  They packed162  nutritious lunches and a few families also included warm socks and gloves.  The  volunteers at St Michael’s are extremely grateful for warm items this time of year, especially when our local temperatures drop below freezing.  Many of our friends who dine at St Michael’s have no warm home to sleep in and spend the nights bracing against frigid winds and snow.  Please remember to pack big, hearty lunches this time of year, many extra calories are burned trying to stay warm.  Thanks again for all your help.

Who's In Charge?

Do you ever wonder who is in charge when Susan Steele has to be off campus? There is always a designated principal. Often it is either Rob Parker (who has his administrator's license) or Julie Slavik (who has many years of experience as a teacher).

St. Vincent de Paul Canned Food Drive still accepting donations; seeking volunteers to help pack and make deliveries

Since Christmas is a time of love and gift giving you have given that action by your generous support of our Christmas Food Box Drive and our Thanksgiving collection, and have shared in Jesus’ ministry in bringing the good news of Jesus to those in need. Thank you once again for your generosity. We will be sorting and assembling food boxes in the parish hall beginning on Tuesday, Dec. 17th. If you are interested in helping in this activity contact Bill Johnson at johnson0060@comcast.net for the schedule. Dec. 21st we will be delivering the food boxes, and if you are interested in helping with the driving contact Mary Clare O’Brien at 503-309-7639.

Service ministries, classrooms:
Please send service photos!

Email to bulletin@themadeleine.edu by Weds. December 18

Attention all leads of outreach ministries and service organizations, teachers, room parents at The Madeleine: Please send us photos of your group in action! We’d like to highlight your good works in our bulletin on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Send your photos to bulletin@themadeleine.edu by Wednesday, December 18 along with a short description of the work being done. Thank you!

This week:

• The Madeleine Prayer Tree—Second & third weeks of Advent
• Advent Communal Penance Service—Wednesday, Dec. 18
• The Madeleine School Christmas Program—Thursday, Dec. 19
• Vespers (Evening Prayer)—Sunday, 4:00 pm

In This Week's Parish Bulletin

Download yours at www.themadeleine.edu/bulletin

Parish Directory Photos Last Chance!

December 20–22

Were you unable to make our previous Parish Directory photo sessions? Did you have a college student you wanted included? Did you forget to make your appointment? Good news! There’s one more session of Parish Directory photos scheduled December 20-22.
   We truly want everyone possible in the directory. So please schedule your session today. Remember, there’s no cost or obligation, and you receive a free 8x10” portrait and copy of the directory.
   Sign up at www.themadeleine.edu/directory, call the parish office, or sign up at the tables in the church vestibule after Masses.

30 months in the making...
our Centennial Book is here

We are pleased to announce that the Centennial Book is printed and ready for sale! This resplendent coffee-table book is rich with history, filled with interesting and entertaining stories, and laden cover-to-cover with photos of events, buildings and people—those you know, or wish you knew.

Hardcover, 224 pages, full-color, 9x12" coffee table book. Available after Masses, in the Parish Office and the School Office. $75

Or, order online at www.themadeleine.edu/centennial

This Week’s Checklist

Click here for a quick,fridge-friendly summary

of Madeleine events coming up this week!

Contributing to the Footnotes

If you have information to contribute to the Friday Footnotes, please e-mail the copy exactly as you would like it to appear in a Word document to: fridayfootnotes@themadeleine.edu. Deadline is Wednesday at 5pm, or Tuesday at 5pm if there is no school on Friday.

© 2008, The Madeleine School • 3240 NE 23rd Avenue • Portland, OR 97212 • 503-288-9197