U-KNIGHTED
Issue: #6                                    


February 2015


Mission
Our mission at Norfolk Catholic School is to educate disciples in the heart of Jesus.

Vision
The vision we have at Norfolk Catholic School is to be excellent in everything we do, to be partners within our community, to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.
 
Minions Dance at CSW
Minion's Dance at Norfolk Catholic
These three boys did a great job of dancing to "Happy" at our end-of-the-week Talent Show. They performed in front of more than 650 students, teachers, and parents.


Shining Knights at Talent Show
Show Choir at talent show
NC's Show Choir, the Shining Knights performed at the Catholic Schools Week talent show on Jan. 30.
Quick Links

The Knight Times (Our student newspaper)



Kerygma
Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.
Save the Date! April 24, 2015
That's the date for our initial Hall of Fame class to be inducted at a special dinner and ceremony in the Parish Center. Please click on the link below to read a recent story from the Norfolk Daily News.


BEST LENT EVER
Ash Wednesday is February 18. Have you ever had a life-changing Lent? If not, here's your chance! Click the link below to join best-sellling Catholic author Matthew Kelly on his journey! It's free and really easy to register!

Best Lent Ever!

The U-Knighted

This is the sixth issue of the U-Knighted, a monthly newsletter that provides you with news, notes, pictures, videos, and updates about Norfolk Catholic School. The U-Knighted will be emailed to you on the first Friday of each month.

If you have story ideas or pictures that could be used in a future issue, please email them to  U-Knighted Ideas.
 
Upcoming Events

Feb. 28 Marriage Enrichment Mass & Dinner

March 20-21 Alumni BB & VB

April 4-5 St. Mary's Renewal Complete! (tentative)

April 6 Stag @ Norfolk Country Club

April 15 Norfolk Catholic to host "Business After Hours"

April 24 Hall of Fame Induction Dinner

May 10 NCHS Graduation
Fr. Tim Lange concert rescheduled; $10,000 matching opportunity still available!
Due to the terrible weather last Sunday, Fr. Tim Lange has graciously agreed to reschedule his benefit concert! It will now take place THIS SUNDAY, February 8, at 3 PM in the Cenacle Room, located on the 2nd floor of the Elementary school, just down the hall from the Blessed Chiara Oratory.

Fr. Lange has taught hundreds of piano students throughout northeast Nebraska and he now wants to give back to our school. 

In conjunction with his concert, from now until Feb. 15, Fr. Lange will match ANY donation made to the Fund for NC, up to $10,000! So a $100 donation to the Fund for NC is effectively worth $200; a $500 is worth $1,000!

The Fund for NC is an annual fund that helps keep tuition affordable for all and helps fund scholarships so that all families in Norfolk have the opportunity to get a Catholic education.

If you've made a gift to The Fund for NC already, thank you! If you have not yet, I urge you to take advantage of this $10,000 matching opportunity.

You may make your donation at Fr. Lange's concert on Sunday or you may send it to:
The Fund for NC
Norfolk Catholic High School
2300 Madison Avenue
Norfolk, NE 68701

Thank you for your help and support of Norfolk Catholic School!
Downie, Pre-School & 3rd Graders win Philanthropy Council Grants!
On Saturday, January 31, the Philanthropy Council of Northeast Nebraska hosted its annual Youth Philanthropy Contest--and again, Norfolk Catholic students were represented very well!

The Youth Philanthropy Contest is an exciting opportunity for youth and young adults to use their creativity, compassion, and love of their community to make a difference.  They ask people from Kindergarten through age 25 to ask themselves this question: 

 

How can I make a difference in my community?

 

Applicants submitted their best ideas to change the world, right here in their own backyards.  Contest winners received $1,000 to implement their projects! The contest committee was looking for projects that would help our communities grow and change for the better.

 

Students were asked questions such as:

 

What do I care about?

How can my caring help others?

What in my community needs fixing?

What would make my community a better place?


A number of students with Norfolk Catholic ties were selected as grant winners Saturday night.

6th grader Brianna Downie's project--completed on her own outside of school--will help the Soup Kitchen feed the hungry. And students in Pre-School and 3rd grade--under the direction of teachers Dene Nedrow and Staci Anderson--will complete a project to send children back to school in August with a backpack full of supplies they'll need for the year, help families with back to school costs, and get kids excited about going back to school.

Congratulations to our Philanthropy Contest winners! And thank you for "DO-ing SOMETHING" to help others in our region!
Talent Show Caps Terrific Catholic Schools Week
Grandparents Day, All-School Mass, Pre-K -12 Student Interaction are highlights of CSW 2015

Norfolk Catholic School had an outstanding Catholic Schools Week this year, highlighted by an expanded Grandparents Day celebration and an awesome talent show on Friday that grew 27 different acts!

On Tuesday, Grandparents (and many other adults) were treated to lunch, conversations with their grandkids, crafts, a photo booth, a sing-a-long led by Danny Leger, and school tours. We capped the day with a wonderful All-School Mass with Fr. Andrews. We served 685 lunches at the elementary that day, but it went very smoothly thanks to some extra effort by our cooks, custodians, and faculty.

Friday, we ended our week with our Talent Show, an event that has grown from 5-6 acts a few years ago to 27 acts this year. We had talents that included singing, dancing, and piano playing, but also solving a Rubik's Cube in less than two minutes and a basketball 3-point shooting contest!

I included some video of the talent show in this newsletter (check the left side column) and you can find more video on our YouTube Channel, called NorfolkCatholic1.
Daycare, Pre-School Options for 2015-2016
All-day care will be available for 3 & 4 year-olds
 

Starting next August, Norfolk Catholic School will have services available for children ages 3-12 from 7:30 AM until 6:00 PM.

"We have been talking and dreaming about this for years," said NC President Troy Berryman. "We know that this will be a win-win situation for our parents and for our school."


 Berryman said that Mrs. Nedrow's classes would remain largely unchanged, but now daycare will be available for those children before or after Mrs. Nedrow's class.


"For example, if your child is in the morning Pre-School class, he or she is eligible to stay in our building, have lunch, and continue to learn and play with classmates," Berryman said. "If your child is in the afternoon Pre-School class, he or she is eligible to come to our building as early as 7:30 AM, learn and play with classmates, have lunch, and then attend Pre-School class. If needed, the child may also return to our daycare program at 3:15 and stay until 6:00 PM if necessary."


Berryman said that NC's four-year-old Pre-School class in the morning is now full for next year, but the school does have openings in the afternoon class. 


Plans are to have the daycare open even on days where school is not in session, such as during Christmas break, days off for Parent/Teacher Conferences, and Easter break.


"If we have families that will utilize the program on those days, we want to accomodate them," Berryman said.


Please call the elementary school office to get registered for Pre-School and daycare.


In addition, NC will add a "two-year" program for three-year old students and four-year old students whose birthdays come after July 31. These students would be expected to complete two years of pre-school before entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2017. This program would also run from 8:00-11:00am but lunch and daycare will also be available for these students after 11:00.


A late-February meeting will be held for all registered families to answer questions and provide more information about the childcare program.