Dear St. Alphonsus Catholic School Families,

In the last couple of days, our students have had the chance to pray for and honor our nation’s veterans. If you were not at the school mass on Wednesday, we honored local veterans with a blessing from Fr. Mark. Our students made cards to thank those veterans who were here on Wednesday and the extra cards were sent to the Greendale Public Library and the local VFW post for the Veterans Day event they are hosting. I would encourage all of you to take some time today or this evening to reflect on the meaning of Veterans Day and to say a prayer for all of our nation’s veterans.

In the last few weeks, there has been great progress made on the renovations of the science lab and the school library. It has been very exciting to see and we are looking forward to completing these two projects! In the meantime, I wanted to update you on what we are doing with the proceeds from this year’s Fun Run. As you may remember this year’s Fun Run proceeds were earmarked for school safety. We have already ordered a new set of walkie-talkies for the school staff to replace the old ones that could not hold a charge. In addition, we are purchasing new signs and blinds for the classrooms doors and hallways, first aid kits for each classroom and larger first aid kits for each wing of the building, as well as additional security cameras for our school. We will also be sending staff for training on the most up-to-date safety practices. All of these items will address different aspects of school safety and we are proud of the improvements this will make for the safety of the school.

Finally, we will be having a pep rally for our 8th Grade Girls Volleyball Team who won the Seton Volleyball Tournament last weekend. The pep rally will be on Friday the 18th at 8:45 in the Gym!

Have a great weekend!

Please check out all the great stuff below!

Russ Johnston

This week, some of our students participated in a virtual author visit with author Ben Clanton, who writes the Narwhal & Jelly books.

This event was in partnership with Boswell Books. Students listened to a presentation and even drew some illustrations alongside the author. The Narwhal & Jelly books are some of the most popular checkouts in the library!

Monday is your last chance to bring in items for the food drive!

Here are the items each grade should bring:

3K & 4K: 2 boxes of pudding/Jell-o and 2 boxes of cornbread mix

5K & 7th Grade: 2 bags/boxes of stuffing and 2 cans of cranberry sauce

1st & 2nd Grades: 2 32oz cans of sweet potatoes/yams and 3 cans of green beans

3rd & 4th Grades: 2 boxes of macaroni & cheese and 3 cans of corn

5th & 6th Grades: 2 boxes of cake mix and 2 containers of frosting

8th Grade: 2 boxes/packages of mashed potatoes and 2 cans of gravy (no glass)

You can also download a PDF reminder here!

In addition, we will be working with Christian Formation to assemble and pack the boxes.  Christian Formation families, School families and Parishioners have all been donating food to make this drive a success and now it is time to pack the boxes so House of Peace can pick them up to help families have a happy Thanksgiving!

We are meeting on November 14th at 6 PM in the Community Room. We are scheduled to be there until 8 PM, but if we get everything done we will end earlier.

All ages are welcome to sign up. Students in 6th - 11th grades should sign up in their own slot. Parents/guardians should also sign up in their own slot and add a comment if any children 5th grade and under will be helping too.

Thank you for your generosity!

Don't forget that we are still looking for students to get involved at Sunday Mass!

We are looking for lectors, cross bearers and gift bearers for these upcoming masses:

• Sunday, December 4
• Sunday, January 29
• Sunday, February 19

You can sign your student up here. Practices will be held during the week before your student will participate, and we will remind you! 

Have you ever wondered what it looks like to see the Gospel lived out in our world today? Have your children ever wondered what it looks like?

The Kinship Community Food Center is a place where you see what a community of generosity looks like. Our Youth Director, Karen Farrell, has been bringing families to this food center for the better part of the last decade - and she has never had anyone not like it! The food pantry allows children to volunteer alongside their parents. Children should be able to last about three hours (recommended ages are 4 and up). Children 12 and under volunteer with their parents, and children over the age of 12 can volunteer at a station next to their parents.

Families will help in a variety of ways: help select food with the shoppers, color with little kiddos while their parents shop, serve at a coffee station, stock shelves - it is all very simple and they give on-site training. 

It's a powerful, powerful way to show your faith in action! Join us on December 10.  For more information or to sign up, click here!

PLACEMENT TEST for 8th Graders at Catholic Central High School

Attention all parents of 8th grade students! Catholic Central will be offering a placement assessment for incoming freshmen on Nov. 12th and Dec. 3rd. Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of our CC family and set up your child for academic excellence! Feel free to contact us with any questions via email or register your child on our website here. 

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 5:00pm Wednesdays.