Learning, Loving, and Leading through Christ

September 30, 2022

From The Desk of Mr. Johnston

Dear St. Alphonsus Catholic School Families,

I cannot believe that it will be October tomorrow; September has flown by! We have already had a lot of excitement and activity and there is more to come in October.

On October 20th, we will have parent-teacher conferences from 10:00 to 7:00. There will be a sign-up sent out to all families early next week. This year all conferences will be in person. We look forward to seeing everyone at this important event in the school year!

Then, mark your calendars for October 28th, because St. Alphonsus will be hosting a Trunk or Treat in the parking lot! There are more details in this newsletter, but this is sure to be a fun community event!

Also, your student may be talking about throwing water balloons at their principal. This is the reward for our school meeting our goal of $20,000 for the Fun Run. This fun event will take place at the end of the day on October 14th.

Finally, I want to address something that I have noticed so far this school year. There have been a number of students who have been late to school a significant number of times. I want to remind everyone that it is important that your student(s) are here when the school day begins. Even being late by 5 minutes means that they miss morning prayer, announcements and other important information from their teacher as well as disrupting class once it has started. Of course, if your student has an appointment or is not feeling well, call the office to let us know. Let’s all do our part to ensure a successful school year for all our students!

Lastly, as a reminder there is no school on October 6th and 7th for Teacher In-Service.

Please enjoy the rest of the newsletter.

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

Russ Johnston

Important Dates to Remember

10/6 & 10/7

No School

Teacher In-Service

10/12

Dine Out Night

Cousins Subs, Franklin

10/20

No School

Parent Teacher Conferences

10am-2pm and 3-7pm

10/21

No School

10/28

Trunk or Treat

5-7pm

October Lunch Menu

Star Testing Reports

STAR Math and Reading reports are coming home today! If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher or Mrs. Bruhn.

Fun Run Final Update

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US REACH OUR GOAL!

Congratulations St. Alphonsus School Families! You exceeded our goal for the Fun Run and raised over $23,000 for Safety Updates this year! The money will be used for things like the purchase and installation of additional cameras; new walkie talkies and ongoing upkeep & batteries; train the trainer for the Standard Reunification Training Method, plus the Standard Reunification Training Kit; CPR Training; First Aid Kits for all classrooms and playground; additional signage; replacement AED pads; and more! Thank you for your hard work to make this happen!

THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN!

Trunk or Treat Sign Up Now Open!

Please join us for our first annual Trunk or Treat, on Friday, October 28 from 5-7pm, where the kids can wear their Halloween costumes and go car-to-car trick or treating in our school parking lot! Siblings are welcome--this is sure to be a great event for the whole family!

We are SO excited to be hosting this event and would love to have your support in hosting a Trunk!

What does it take to host a Trunk?

Arrive 30-60 minutes before the event begins to set up
Decorate your trunk (check out Pinterest for some fun ideas!) with child appropriate decorations
Supply and hand out candy to kids that trick or treat from your trunk
Be able to stay the entire event 5-7pm

It's going to be a great night! Use this link to sign up to host a trunk. Deadline to sign up is Friday, October 21.

8th Grade Pizza Lunch Fundraiser

The first pizza lunch fundraiser for the 8th Grade class is coming up on October 14!

We will be serving Domino's Pizza at lunch. Lok for the order form to come home via backpack mail today, or download a copy of the form here.

The 8th Grade Class of 2023 thanks you for your support!

Battle of the Books is Back!

Battle of the Books is Back!

Battle of the Book is a lively academic competition that improves reading comprehension, builds vocabulary, introduces students to new books & authors, and teaches teamwork, commitment, & sportsmanship. The program culminates in a tournament in March with other area Catholic schools.

Teams of three students each from Grades 4,5, and 6 read 45 pre-assigned books (15 books each) over the course of 5 months. Titles are from varying genres with a wide range of reading levels and subjects. Teams will gather monthly for individual practice battles and to determine ST. Alphonsus School's Tournament Champs (one per grade level). The Tournament Champs will compete in the program-wide tournament in March.

Our first practice will be October 13. This year we will have a $5 materials fee for each student participating. Permission slips are coming home with all 4th, 5th, and 6th graders today. You can also find a copy of the form here. Please return to the office by October 7.

More Extracurricular Opportunities!

Join Youth Choir!

We are happy to announce that youth choir is back! We are inviting all students in grades 2-8 to participate.

You can learn more about how to sign up here.

Halloween Costume Drive

The 5th Grade Girl Scout Troop is doing a Halloween Costume drive this year!

We are collecting new and gently used Halloween costumes of all sizes which will be donated to kids whose parents might not be able to get them one.

Our "Halloween for every kid" drive will go through Thursday, October 20. Costumes can be dropped off in the box by the office.

Costume accessories and unopened makeup are welcome as well. Please no toy weapons.

Thank you!

Jennifer Rekowski & Amelia Brost

Troop #10363 leaders

Father Kevin Camino de Santiago Update

As most of you know, Father Kevin is on sabbatical. One of the things he is doing during this time is the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage walk in Spain! He has sent some photo updates . The walk is going well. Here you can see photos of him in Logrono after 100 miles completed, at the top of the Altar de Perdon (2,500 ft elevation, and some pictures of the Pyrenees Mountains, which he will cross during this trip. We all wish him continued safe travels and blessings as he continues on!

Unity Shirts Are Out!

It is with JOY that we share our school unity t-shirts for this year!

As many of you know, this year’s school theme is about choosing joy and these shirts perfectly encapsulate that.

The Joy graphic was designed by our amazing art teacher Mrs. Hoeppner, and the back of the shirts have our school motto: Learning, Loving, and Leading through Christ.

As a reminder, we wear these to church together every Wednesday!

Other School & Parish News

Grown-Up Book Club: First Pick

We had the first meeting of our "Grown-Up" Book Club this past Wednesday. We will meet after school masses once per month, on the third Wednesday of each month. Our next meeting will be October 19 and we will be reading The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth.

We would love to have you join us! Feel free to drop in every month, or read along with us at home!

Mass Greeters Wanted: This Weekend!

Beginning October 2nd with 5th graders!

Let's show our parish how welcoming our 5th grade students are at St. Als!

As a bonus, Mrs. Kennedy will have donuts for those who participate after mass!

Students can come at 10:45am to the parish library before the 11:00am mass. No sign-up is needed, just come with a smile!

Please Join Us for a Brainstorming Meeting for the 2022-2023 Parish Auction!

As mentioned at Back to School Night, the Parish Auction Committee will be hosting a brainstorming meeting at Pastoral Council Member Debbie Sievert's house on Wednesday, October 19 at 7pm.

Please join us and bring your fresh ideas for this year's Parish Auction, our premiere social event for the year! RSVP to Debbie via email here, or via phone at 414-491-2561. For additional questions, you can also contact Sue Ruedinger via email here or via phone at 414-731-0537.

Next Parish Women's Group Meeting: October 8th

Join the St. Alphonsus Women's Group Saturday morning, October 8 at 9:30 am in the Community Room for "Ask a Priest."

Fr. Patrick will be joining us to answer any questions we have about the Catholic faith, church teaching, etc. As always, we will have coffee and donuts. Please join us if you are able!

Any questions, please reach out to Lauren Miller here.

Join Catholic Central High School for their Open House Open House coming up on October 12 at 5:30pm.

Meet their staff & students, tour the school, get a free popcorn, or grab dinner at the Jacob's Smokehouse food truck.

For more information, scan the graphic at the left, or you can take a look at their flyer 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.