Learning, Loving, and Leading through Christ | |
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From The Desk of Mr. Johnston | |
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Dear St. Alphonsus Catholic School Families,
Our school has been full of excitement and anticipation for Halloween, but more importantly for our Trunk or Treat tonight! I hope to see everyone there. Please see below for the details. There will be signs to direct you, but please make note to park on the far south end of the main parking lot. It should be a great evening of community and fun!
As October ends and we move into November, a reminder about uniform changes. From November 1 to March 31 students are not permitted to wear shorts or skorts. Additionally, students wearing a skirt must have tights or leggings under their skirt.
There are plenty of exciting things coming in the month of November. We will start by celebrating All Saints Day and All Souls Day as a school community on the 1st and 2nd. We have several field trips coming up including our trip to the Admirals game on November 9th. Our Thanksgiving food drive is starting on Monday, look for more details below. And lastly our next student-led Sunday Mass is on November 6th and the 3rd graders are greeters on that day as well.
There is plenty more in the rest of the newsletter so please take a look at all that our amazing students are up to!
As a reminder there is an 11:30 dismissal on November 3rd and no school on November 4th for staff professional development.
Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!
Russ Johnston
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Important Dates to Remember | |
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10/28
Trunk or Treat
5-7pm
11/03
Early Release Day
11:30am Dismissal
11/04
No School
Teacher In-Service
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11/06
PACK THE CHURCH
9:00am Mass
Details Below!
11/09
Admirals Game Field Trip
Grades K - 8
11/23 - 11/25
No School
Gobble Gobble!
Happy Thanksgiving
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Special Dress Day for Halloween!
On October 31, students are invited to wear black & orange or Halloween-themed clothes for Halloween. Only students in grades 3K- Kindergarten are eligible to be in costumes.
This is not a normal Out-Of-Uniform Day; students out-of-uniform need to be dressing to the spirit day or wear their regular uniform.
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Pack the Church
Let's show off our school to the parish during November's school-led weekend mass. School families are encouraged to attend all masses that weekend, but especially the 9:00am mass, and school students are encouraged to wear their unity shirts! We'd love to see lots of St. Al's families in church!
For more ways to get involved, see the announcement below about lectors, cross bearers, and gift bearers.
We hope to see you there!
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Calling All Local Veterans!
We'd like to recognize and acknowledge the important men and women who have served in our Armed Forces at our weekly school Mass on Wednesday, November 9 at 8:00am.
Please join us if you are able to receive a special blessing and our heartfelt thanks for your service and sacrifice! We are so grateful and appreciative for all that you have done in serving our country!
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Trunk or Treat is Tonight! |
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Please join us for our first annual Trunk or Treat, TONIGHTfrom 5-7pm.
Costumes are encouraged! Cars will be decorated and children can go car to car trick or treating. Whether you host a trunk or not, all are welcome!
It will be a safe, free, and family-friendly event with lots of fun activities:
- Vote for your favorite pumpkin (carved by the teachers and staff of St. Alphonsus)
- Each child will get a chance to win a Halloween raffle basket!
- Try your hand at pumpkin bowling and other fun games!
- NEW: The 8th grade class will be hosting a fundraiser this evening, offering hot dogs and warm beverages (while supplies last, cash only!)
We hope to see you there tonight!
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Thanksgiving Food Drive Starts Monday! | |
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St. Alphonsus' annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for the House of Peace is about to begin!
Last year our St. Alphonsus faith community donated over 150 complete boxes for Thanksgiving meals. The need is as great as ever this year. The House of Peace Food Drive is unique in that in order to receive a box of food, the recipients must attend at least one class at House of Peace. The topics include nutrition and budgeting. For this food drive, the Milwaukee Bucks donate the turkeys and other organizations, including Roundy's, provide perishable goods such as milk and eggs. We provide the nonperishable sides - and hopefully enough for leftovers!
We will be working with Christian Formation to assemble and pack the boxes. Each grade will be responsible for bringing specific items. Thank you for your generosity!
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!
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It’s never too late to register for the St. Alphonsus SCRIP program! Consider asking your family to join in helping you with your tuition too! Register on www.RaiseRight.com, using the enrollment code 855F1LF31943.
Make sure to click on "receive offers" when registering, as there have been weekly promotions with higher rebates that can help you and our school!
This week, Woodman’s gift cards are back in stock! We have also added Milk Can Diner and Broad St. Coffee from the village! And be sure to order your Cousin’s Subs and Panera gift cards to use during Dine Out Nights!
Christmas is around the corner! If you like to give gift cards, there are so many to choose from! Consider hosting a Secret Santa party where all the presents are gift cards! (Or just buy them for yourself!)
The next round of Scrip orders will be processed on Sunday, October 30.
Any questions, please contact Vickie by phone at 414-704-0526 or via email here.
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We are still looking for a few students to get involved with Sunday Masses.
Our next Mass that will be led by school students is Sunday, November 6 at 9:00am, and we still need a cross bearer and one more gift bearer (we are set on lectors for this month). You can sign your student up here.
The student lectors, cross bearer and gift bearers will practice with Mrs. Schermetzler on Wednesday, November 2 directly after school mass.
In addition, we will be 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 the week before your student will participate, and we will remind you!
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Mass Greeters Also Wanted!
Let's show our parish how welcoming our 3rd grade students are at St. Al's! Mass Greeters are also wanted for various masses throughout the year.
Our next mass for greeters is for the third grade and will also be on Sunday, November 6 at 11:00am. Please consider joining us and help bring joy to someone's day! You can sign your student up here.
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Help Us Bring Back Cookie Walk!
It's almost that time of year for a favorite St. Alphonsus Tradition: The Cookie Walk! This year the event will take place on December 10 & 11. Cookie Walk is beloved by both parish and school families alike.
We need YOUR help to keep this tradition alive. We are looking for a parent to take over as Cookie Walk Chair. The position will be fully trained and involves coordinating cookie drop-off, setup, and volunteer shifts during the event, which takes place after all masses that weekend. You will have PLENTY of help and won't have to do it alone.
If you are interested, please contact Amy Schermetzler via email for more details.
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The Seton Tourney is Back!
Come on out and cheer on your St. Alphonsus Cougars at the Seton Volleyball Tourney this year!
Our girls' team plays their first game on Tuesday, November 1 at 5:30 on court 6 against Prince of Peace.
Both of our boys' teams (St. Alphonsus 1 and St. Alphonsus 2) start pool play on Monday, October 31 at 5:30.
All games are at the Milwaukee Sting Center in Menomonee Falls (during the week), and on the weekends, play moves to Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha.
Good luck to all of our Cougars!
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The Girl Scout Halloween Drive Was a Big Success!
Thank you to everyone who donated to the Girl Scout Halloween Costume Drive! We collected 157 costumes, 40 trick or treat bags/buckets and 2 large bags full of additional accessories!
Last week we were able to give a costume to every child in the 4K & 5K classes at the IDEAL school, part of MPS. This week we donated the remaining 117 costumes to Jesuit Nativity Academy.
The Girl Scouts helped each child pick out a costume they liked. The Scouts were very touched by the smiles and excitement from the children, some of whom had never had a Halloween costume before!
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4th Grade Girl Scouts Earn Detective Badge!
The 4th grade Girl Scout Troop 11412 earned the detective badge last month by solving the case of the missing Thin Mints!
They used their skills of observation, fingerprinting, decoding, and solving puzzles to crack the case!
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Family Service Opportunity at Harbor Village
Let's spread some love at Harbor Village Senior Community! Please join us on Saturday, November 19th from 10:00-11:30am in the Harbor Village Atrium Room, along with some of our Christian Formation families!
There will be a "Getting to Know" you game, Crafts, Music, and Snacks.
Sign up here!
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Father Kevin Completes His Pilgrimage!
Father Kevin has completed his pilgrimage on the Camino. He writes:
Dear Fellow Parishioners,
After 779kms or 484 miles and over a million steps, I arrived at the Cathedral of Compostela! It has been an incredible pilgrimage and the emotions of arriving at the destination are very difficult to put into words. It will take me some time to reflect.
The last week of walking was the toughest because the weather took a turn from summer to fall as I got nearer to Santiago. I got caught in a severe wind and rain storm on a mountain and the wind nearly knocked me over! A couple of days later, I walked 30kms through rainy weather. It was hard to get anything dry this week.
They were calling for lots of rain on Tuesday morning when I would walk the final miles to the cathedral, but luckily it didn’t rain! I made a couple of visits to St. James and concelebrated the pilgrims mass that evening.
I am so grateful to the Lord for this chance to take this pilgrimage and I am ready to return to the United States.
God Bless You All!
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Thomas More Open House: Sunday, October 30
The 2022 St. Thomas More Open House will be on Sunday, October 30th from 10:00am-1:00pm.
Get a personalized tour of the facilities from STM students, parents, and faculty and 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.
Rollin' W/ Expresso mobile coffee van will be at STM during the Open House for anyone who would like to purchase coffee, hot chocolate, ciders,and more!
Register here.
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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!
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St. Catherine of Sienna is Coming!
On November 13, St. Alphonsus will welcome Nancy Murray to give a one-woman performance of St. Catherine of Siena.
Sister Nancy Murray, OP, continues her family tradition of acting with a slightly different twist. While
her brother, actor Bill Murray, has captured the spotlight through his many comedic roles in movies, Sister
Nancy turns the spotlight on St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th-Century Dominican mystic and reformer.
She has brought the saint and her passionate personality to life throughout the world since 2000.
Children, Adults, Families & Guests from Neighboring Churches are welcome! Join us November 13 at 4 pm in the Church.
No registration is required.
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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 5:00pm Wednesdays.
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