Friday, December 7, 2012
A Message from Susan
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I have always loved teaching, or rather "principaling," during the final two weeks before Christmas Break. Besides the opportunity to wear Christmas sweaters from the 90’s—and I have many—there is just a wonderful spirit in the air with so many holiday events. I hope you were able to attend the Marketplace and Tree Lighting last night. Susie Andersen and Janeen Allred put in many hours of planning to make it a great community gathering. Many thanks to our volunteers, adults and students, who came to help out. Tonight many lucky children will be at the Popcorn and P.J.s party, and another Auction event, Caroling With the Teachers, will be taking place on Tuesday night. (I think there are a few openings left.) The Parish Holiday Open House, hosted by Fr. Mike and yours truly, is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 16th. Be sure to stop in at the rectory for a bit of holiday cheer between 4 and 8. Finally, our annual Christmas Program, featuring the K-5 students, is on Tuesday, Dec. 18th at 7:00. Come early to get a seat because it is usually a packed house. I hope you have your shopping, baking, and decorating finished because you won’t want to miss any of these holiday events!
A big thank you to the volunteers who organized our last two holiday fundraisers. Sara Allen was in charge of the gift wrap sale and Emily Pennick and Nora Gravengaard put the wreath sale together. Emily also did double duty by chairing the Book Fair, with the help of many other parents. All of these events help with our operating budget and we are so grateful to all the “worker bees” who never say no when asked to help.
Sincerely,
Susan
Kindergarten is Collecting Blankets for Babies
The Kindergarten class recently read The Quilt Makers Gift, a story about a woman who makes quilts for the poor and the homeless. The story gives the children a opportunity to discover the importance of caring for others and the joy we can receive by doing this, and it became an inspiration for the class to care for others by collecting receiving blankets for the Mother and Child Education Center. This organization helps mothers in need. Their motto is "Envisioning a world where children are welcomed & nurtured…in the womb, in the home, and in the community and beyond." If you can help our class with this cause, please send a new receiving blanket to school by Friday, December 14th. There will be a basket outside of kindergarten classroom where you can place donations.
Fill the Manger Sock Drive
Student Government has organized a sock drive for the St. Michael's community. From December 10th to December 14th, bring in packages of new socks and put them in the wooden manger near the prayer table at the school's front entrance. Please help us to put a smile on someone's face this holiday season. Thank you!
Teacher Wish List: The Christmas Edition
Need Christmas gift ideas for your child's classroom? Check out the updated Teacher Wish List.
Thank you to the Walker and McDonald families who donated an Apple TV to the 3rd grade classroom!
Greetings from the Art Room
Monday afternoons are just for middle schoolers as Art After Hours returns to The Madeleine. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students are welcome to this relaxed, social, art studio time. It's a perfect opportunity to try a new technique or medium, add some artistic flourishes to that science poster or book report, put in some extra effort on the week's art project, or catch up on art they may have missed due to absences. Drop ins are welcome. Mrs. Galash will be on hand to give personal instruction and students will have access to pretty much every art supply in the art room. Students must make sure their parents or guardians know they are staying for Art After Hours and need to be responsible for materials and cleaning up after themselves. See you Mondays from 3:10 to 4:15, in the Art Room.
Be sure to take a minute to check out the humming bird action at the feeder hanging outside the Art Room by the Garden Room ramp. Our little friends are here to stay for the winter. Something tells me there is a hummingbird themed art project in someone's future.
And if you are in the building, take a stroll by the library and down the hall towards the Commons (lunch room.) Your children's art is displayed on the walls and batches are changed regularly. You don't have to wait for the Spring Art Show to see what they have been creating. Stop in and say "hello" and see what the kids are up to. Right now you will find 5th grade Fantasy Castles, Kindergarten "Hey Diddle Diddle" Cows, 2nd grade Snakes in the Grass, and 7th grade Saint Icons on Wooden Panels. Don't miss 'em.
Regards,
Mrs. Galash
The Madeleine School Christmas Program
Please join us at The Madeleine Christmas program which will take place on Tuesday, December 18th at 7 pm in The Madeleine Parish Church.
Kindergarten through 4th grade students will charm us with song, dance, and instruments. We will also have a chance to hear music from our very own MUSE Band. Finally, the 5th grade students will tell us more about the Christmas story through an exciting musical called “The Star.”
The Christmas program is a long-standing tradition at The Madeleine School, and the students have been working hard to present this very special gift to you.
Counselor's Column
Look for Mrs. Ullman's weekly articles on topics that will help The Madeleine community support each other as we work together for the growth and development of our students. This week's topic: "What About Consequences, Part 2?"
5th Grade Delivers 133 St. Michael's Lunches
The fifth grade did a great job with St. Michael’s lunches today. They brought in 133 sack lunches and 59 extra sandwiches. Also included were bags of socks, containers of foot powder, tins of homemade cookies, and many boxes of fruit snack bowls. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and all items will go to good use to the friends who dine at St. Michael’s.
On a final note, please try to pack sack lunches rather than individual sandwiches stacked in bread loaf bags. Sack lunches are the most effective way to distribute lunch to the many people who travel to St. Michael’s each day and it’s what we at The Madeleine have said we’d deliver. More and more families are choosing to make sandwiches instead of sack lunches which feeds fewer people and adds to the workload of the lunch crew volunteers and St. Michael’s.
Yearbook Committee Needs Middle School Students
Mrs. Langhus and Ms. Hart are looking for responsible, tech-savvy Middle School students with an interest in photography and design to join the Yearbook Committee. The first meeting will be held on Monday January 7th from 3:30-4:30pm in the 6th grade classroom, and every following Monday in the computer lab at the same time until the project is completed.
Central Catholic Softball Clinic — Jan 2-3
The clinic is for girls in grades 3 - 8 of all skill levels. Download registration information here.
Order Online Now! "I Scream" for the Playground
Thanks to the generous support of our Madeleine community, we are very close to creating a more inclusive playground for our students and neighborhood. All that is missing now is a solid rubber surface that will allow children who use walkers and wheelchairs to safely play with their friends.
To help get us closer to our goal, neighborhood ice cream shop, What’s the Scoop?, will donate 50% of sales for five creative flavors – including “Playground Peppermint Bark” -- to the Playground for All Players project. You can order online now, or download the order form, and return it to the office with a check payable to The Madeleine School by Dec. 14. You can pick up your ice cream or use the gift certificates at What’s the Scoop? between Jan. 7 – 20.
Care for Creation Committee Shares Weekly Tips
The Madeleine "Care for Creation" Committee (formerly the Stewardship and Sustainability Committee) works to reduce the environmental impact of our Parish buildings, grounds, operations and events, to raise awareness of environmental issues and opportunities, and to engage with the Parish and surrounding communities to inspire a ripple effect of positive action that benefits people and planet. The group will share weekly "Light Green Tips" in the Friday Footnotes. Look for them here.
According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, "The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole."
Theology on Tap: “An Adult Christ at Christmas” Tuesday, December 11, 6:30 pm
How are we to understand the Gospels when it comes to the stories of baby Jesus—as historically exact, as deep theological insights, or somewhere in between? Deacon Owen Cummings, professor and Dean of Theology at Mt. Angel Seminary, will help us sort it all out. Questions and conversation will follow. Adults only, please. At The Sidebar, 3910A N Williams Ave. Portland.
Advent Communal Penance Service
Thursday, December 13, 7:00 pm
Join us as we celebrate the important sacrament of penance. Additional priests will be present to hear your confessions.
Prayer Tree
Second and third weeks of Advent
Place your name on the tree; fellow parishioners will take it home and pray for you.
Christmas Open House in the Rectory
Sunday, December 16, 3:00-6:00 pm
Father Mike and Susan Steele invite you to share “good tidings” as we anticipate the beginning of the Christmas Season. Please stop by to celebrate with us as we await the birth of our Savior. No charge. All Are Welcome.
For more information and our full Advent and Christmas schedule, visit www.themadeleine.edu/advent
New additions to parish staff
We welcome Kelly Johnson as our new Business Manager and Gary Ware as our new Maintenance Manager.
Sing at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve
Would you like to sing at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve? I would like to extend a HUGE invitation to all parishioners to join the Traditional Choir, a brass quartet and our fabulous organist, Terry Nelson, for midnight Mass on December 24. We will be rehearsing on Monday, Dec. 10 from 7:00-9:00 and Friday, Dec. 21 from 6-7:30 pm in the church. Please consider joining us for one, two or three rehearsals. For more information please contact Jill Soltero at 503-282-4417 or jillsoltero@gmail.com.
Christmas Pageant Rehearsal
Thursday, December 20, 6:00 pm
Calling all angels, shepherds, innkeepers and other Nativity characters! The rehearsal for the 2012 Christmas Pageant for the 4:00 pm, Christmas Eve Mass will be Thursday, December 20, 6:00-7:30pm in the church. We will distribute costumes and have a complete run-through. If you have any questions, please call Tina Hanselman at the Parish Office, ext. 27.
Christmas trees for sale at The Madeleine
The Madeleine will be selling Christmas Trees beginning December 6 at The Madeleine Marketplace. Just $40 for a beautiful 5-foot to 8-foot Douglas Fir! Please support your parish with this great fundraiser.
Advent Wreaths available after Mass
This weekend! • $20 suggested donation
Our Faith Formation team, led by Tina Hanselman, will be offering beautiful Advent Wreaths after Masses this weekend. For a $20 suggested donation, you will receive a fresh, green evergreen wreath, a ring with candle holders, 4 candles and printed materials to help you and your family experience the Advent journey. Limited quantities available...first come, first served! Check, credit/debit card or exact change appreciated!
St. Vincent de Paul Food Drive
Through December 17—bring food to the collection barrel in the vestibule or the parish office.
Thanks to the Mad Dads for the brilliant illumination!
The Christmas lights are especially beautiful this year, and we owe it all to the Mad Dads for braving life, limb and foul weather. They do this for us every year. Thank you so much!
In This Week's Parish Bulletin
Download yours at www.themadeleine.edu/bulletin:
- Theology Corner with Sister Cecilia. Dialectic between Religion and Spirituality
- Living the Eucharist facilitators needed
In this month’s edition of JustPeace.. - St. Mary’s alumna spearheads haitian relief fundraiser
- Pancake Breakfast this Sunday, 10:00 am in the Parish Hall
If you have information to contribute to the Friday Footnotes, please email the copy exactly as you would like it to appear in a Word document to: fridayfootnotes@themadeleine.edu. Deadline is Wednesday evenings, or Tuesday evening if there is no school on Friday.