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Welcome, Fall Weather!
Dear St. Alphonsus Families,
The Fall weather seems to have finally arrived! Please remember to send students with sweatshirts or jackets for outdoor recess. You can refer to the newsletter from 9/8 for guidance on Mass dress code as the weather gets colder.
We hope you all enjoyed a nice long weekend! Our staff had two excellent professional development sessions for Sustaining the Mission, which is an Archdiocesan program for continuing education specifically for Catholic school teachers. On Friday, we met as a group for sessions on things like Personal Spirituality and the Call to Holiness. On Monday, we took the opportunity to live our faith by volunteering at the Schlitz Audubon Center. This ties directly to Care for God’s Creation, which is one of the 7 principles of the Catholic Social Teachings. “Care for the earth” is a requirement of our faith, and we couldn’t have had a better morning doing just that.
Our leader for the morning was St. Alphonsus alum Colin Goyette, a restoration ecologist with the Schlitz Audubon Center. Colin led us on a short hike and shared some of the history of the center, as well as some of the history of Wisconsin lands. Afterwards, we worked for a couple of hours on restoring degraded land in the prairie environment, by gathering seeds from Big Bluestem grasses. It was a peaceful morning doing good work for nature, and we had a fantastic time. As a bonus, our guide Colin was able to reunite with his first grade teacher, Mrs. Ramion! What a full circle moment.
A few other short reminders this week:
- Sadly, you will find a note below from the Home & School Association that Music Bingo originally scheduled for this week has been cancelled due to low numbers.
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Friday, October 31, we will have a Halloween Spirit Day! Guidance on Halloween costumes is below. Please read carefully, and please also note that the Halloween costume guidance does NOT apply to costumes at Trunk or Treat. Feel free to reach out to me directly with questions.
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The RSVP form for Grandparents Day is available for download below and a paper copy was sent home with your students last week. Grandparents and Grandfriends are invited to join us on Wednesday, October 15 for a fun-filled morning! Please note that we have a different check-in process this year so we will need grandparents names ahead of time in order to be able to check them in the morning of--thus NO late RSVPs or walk-ins will be accepted. Please return your RSVP form by Monday, October 13.
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Our 8th Grade is hosting a food drive! They are currently reading The Hunger Games in their Literature class and have planned this service project to go with their unit. Check out the flyer below! This week they are collecting items for soup dinners! Think canned soup, broth & canned vegetables, crackers, etc. Thank you in advance for your donations!
This newsletter is our number one communication tool to you as parents. We ask that you please read it thoroughly each week. Our school website is also a great resource for you and has lots of information available under the PARENTS tab at the top of the page. You can also always find an archive of our school newsletters on our website here.
Have a great week!
Best Regards,
Megan Sagat
Principal
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| St. Alphonsus Virtues Curriculum | | |
Did you know that St. Alphonsus has a new component to our religion curriculum this year?
That's right, we have added something called a Virtues curriculum to our school. The virtues curriculum comes through OpenLight Media. There are lots of great components to the program, which is designed to introduce elementary students to essential moral principles through fun, age-appropriate activities grounded in timeless Christian wisdom. Each lesson encourages positive habits, self-reflection, and practical ways to live out virtue every day. The program blends faith formation and character building to help young learners flourish academically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Each month our school will be focusing collectively on a different virtue. This month's virtue is RESPONSIBILITY. You will see teachers displaying the virtue in their classrooms, talking about what the virtue means at home and at school, and we will infuse the virtue into things like our morning announcements and prayers, as well as classroom and buddy activities.
We are going to take you, as parents, along for the ride! Each week you'll find information about our virtues program as well as other religious education components here in our newsletter. We are excited to have this program at St. Alphonsus and have already seen how it can positively impact our students in their day to day interactions!
Pictured is the interactive Virtue Tree that helps students visualize how the virtues work together.
| | Other Important Reminders | |
Picture Retakes are Ready for Review!
Parents can order at this link: Scholastic Reflections LLC
Access Code: Last Name
example: Greupink
Online ordering is available until 10/19.
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School Office Supplies!
The school office can always use some help keeping office supplies stocked. Please check out our Amazon wishlist to see some of the supplies that are always needed.
Thank you for your donations!
| | | | Important Dates to Remember | | |
10/08
Dine Out Night
Cousins Subs
10/15
Grandparents Day
Details Below!
10/22
Dine Out Night
QDoba
10/24
Trunk or Treat
Details Below!
11/05
Dine Out Night
Cousins Subs
11/12
Veterans Day Mass
Details Coming Soon!
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11/19
Dine Out Night
Raising Cane's
11/22
Parent/Teacher Conferences
4-6pm
11/24
No School
Parent/Teacher Conferences
8am-1pm
11/25 - 11/28
Gobble Gobble!
No School
Thanksgiving Break
12/01
Advent Wreath Blessing & Prayer Service
Details Coming in November
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Join us for Grandparents Day on Wednesday, October 15!
Grandparents Day is coming up on Wednesday, October 15 and we would love to have you join us! Both grandparents and grandfriends are welcome!
Check out all the details on the flyer below and here is a downloadable copy of the RSVP form, which was also sent home last week.
Please note the biggest change this year is that we need to have grandparents/grandfriends' names ahead of time for our security and check-in procedures, so NO late RSVPs or walk-ins will be accepted. All RSVPs are due by Monday, October 13.
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The Student Lector Program Returns!
We are happy to announce that our Student Lector program is returning again this year! Do your students in grades 2-8 love to read at Mass? Consider signing them up to lector on select Sundays!
Our fall dates are now available here. We will also need gift bearers!
Students practice with Mrs. Schermetzler on the Thursday before weekend Masses.
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Out of Uniform Dates - October
We thought it might be easier for you to have a list of days that are Out-Of-Uniform either with a pass or with special circumstances for the whole month, so here are the remaining Out-of-Uniform Days for October:
10/09
Out of Uniform with Dine Out Night purchase on 10/08 (receipt required)
10/23
Out of Uniform with Dine Out Night purchase on 10/22 (receipt required)
10/24
Last Friday of the Month
Out of Uniform with Purchased Pass
10/31
Happy Halloween!
Halloween Spirit Day
Special Guidelines Below!
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Our Next Pizza Lunch Fundraiser of the Year is Tuesday, October 14
Order forms went home last week and are due back to school by THIS Thursday, October 9th in the morning. Please note that there is NO HOT LUNCH OR MILK served on this day, so if your students are not ordering the pizza lunch you will need to send a cold lunch. LATE ORDER FORMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED--NO EXCEPTIONS. We are held to tight deadlines by the vendor and must have the order forms by Thursday morning!
A copy of the order form is attached here. Return forms by October 9th with cash or check for payment. Exact amounts only, no change will be given. One form per child but families can use one envelope.
We also need volunteers to help serve the pizza lunch to students. This is an easy one hour commitment! You can sign up here. All volunteers must be safeguarded.
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Congratulations to Cougar Cross Country on a great meet last week!
Our cross country team competed in their first ever meet last week at Martin Luther High School here in Greendale. They did amazing!
The 4th grade girls placed 6th, 31st, 35th and 62nd, which is amazing for their first race!
The 4th grade boys placed 2nd and 13th, and our 7th graders placed 6th and 25th! Way to go, everyone!
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Weekend Volleyball Scores
- The 4th/5th grade girls went 1-2 against Indian Comminity School
- The 7th grade girls won 2-1 against St Leonard
- The 4th/5th grade boys won 2-1 against Corpus Christi
- The 7th grade boys went 1-2 against St Gabrielle
- The 8th grade boys won 3-0 against St Leonard’s
Congrats to all Cougars!
Join us this Friday night here at St. Alphonsus, when we host the 4th/5th grade boys against St Mary’s HC at 5:30 and 8th grade boys against Corpus Christi at 7:30. You can find the full volleyball season schedule here!
| | | | Music Bingo, originally scheduled for Saturday, October 11, has been CANCELLED due to low numbers. We will keep you posted about rescheduling for the spring! | | |
Spooky season is officially here! Please join us for our fourth annual Trunk or Treat, on Friday, October 24th from 6:00-7:00pm!
Whether you host a trunk or not, all are welcome! If you are just attending with your children, you do not need to be safeguarded. Safeguarding is only required for those passing out treats.
It will be a safe, free, and family-friendly event with lots of fun activities:
- Costume parade to kick off the trunk or treating!
- Vote for your favorite trunk! The 3 trunks with the most votes will win a prize.
- Favorite trunk winners will be announced at approximately 7:00pm
Time is running out to sign up to host a trunk! Please consider hosting a trunk to make this event a huge success!
Please sign up using this link by Wednesday, October 15. All those hosting a trunk must be safeguarded and signed up by Oct. 15. Please include the names of any adults handing out treats at your vehicle.
For questions, please contact Dawn Eisold or Tricia Williams, our Trunk or Treat chairs.
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Dine Out Night At Cousins Subs!
Wednesday, October 8th is Dine Out Night at Cousins Subs and we hope to see you there! Dine in or carry out from 3:00 to 8:00p.m. at the Franklin location, 7700 S. Lovers Lane Road. 20% of the sales will go to support St. Alphonsus. Remember to get a receipt (one per child) so that your student can be out of uniform the following day.
Come support our school and let Cousins do the cooking!
Dine Out Nights - the easiest and most delicious fundraisers around.
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St. Thomas More is excited to invite you to our 2025 Open House!
Sign-up now as spots will fill up fast!
The 2025 St. Thomas More Open House will be on: Monday, October 20th from 4:30-8:00pm.
At the STM Open House: You will get a small group tour of the facilities from STM students, parents, and faculty. You will receive information on admissions and financial aid, and meet the faculty, staff, and athletics coaches. This is a great way for your family to see all the wonderful things STM has to offer.
To RSVP for the Open House, please follow this link!
If you have any questions about St. Thomas More, the application process, or anything else admissions-related, please contact Tony Mane, Admissions Director, at 414-481-8370 x127 or at manet@tmore.org.
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“Share the Spirit” at GHS Cheer Clinic and Fun Day
Greendale High School cheerleaders and coaches are hosting a “Share the Spirit” Cheer Clinic and Fun Day on Saturday, December 20, from 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. in the Greendale High School Gym for 1st through 6th graders. Click here to register or use the link in the flyer below!
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Join the St. Alphonsus Moms Group!
Looking for other Moms to share in your journey of faith and motherhood?
Come to the Wiggle Room above the church at 10:00. Moms are welcome to bring their little ones with them!
We would love to get to know each other better and help one another grow in our faith. Motherhood isn't easy. Let's share the load! Contact Darleen Zelinka with any questions.
First Semester Dates:
- October 14 at 10 a.m.
- November 4 at 10 a.m.
- November 18 at 10 a.m.
- December 2 at 10 a.m.
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Join the St. Alphonsus Women's Group!
So... who is in your tribe?
We all need one! Why not make St. Alphonsus' Women's Group YOUR tribe?
This group is a little different than the Moms Group. This group is comprised of women of all ages and backgrounds. We meet to pray, discuss and enjoy life! Contact Maggie Ensing for more information!
Check us out:
- October 18, 2025
- November 15, 2025 - Join Us for Women of Christ!
- December 12, 2025 - Celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
- January 24, 2025
- February 14, 2026
- March 21, 2026
- April 25, 2026
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Do you have items for the newsletter? To submit them or for questions and submission guidelines, please contact Amy Schermetzler.
Please note that submissions are due by 12:00pm Fridays.
Gooooooo Brewers!
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