Notes Home
November 20, 2018
Principal's Corner

Dear Parents,

It was a delight to see so many of you at our Holy Spirit School Family Thanksgiving feast. As we celebrate the “real” Thanksgiving this week with our own families, I pray that each of you enjoys a calm and peacefulness in appreciation for all our many blessings.

I am grateful for each of your children and feel blessed to greet them daily as a gift from God.

We wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving! Check out our Facebook page Thursday morning for a special message from our Kinder kiddos.
Upcoming dates to remember:

11/27 : HSCS Choir sings at St. Mary's
11/29: First Reconciliation for 2nd Grade @ 6:00
11/30 : Career Day presentations; New Family Ambassador event in evening
12/3-12/7 : Bill's Elves Toy Drive coordinated by NJHS
12/4: 3rd - 8th Advent Reconciliation
12/13: Las Posadas & Caroling Symphony---please note this is a revised date from what was on color coded calendar
12/17-12/21: Middle School Midterm Exams
12/21: Early Release---hello Christmas break!!
12/22: Fr. Frank's farewell after 5:00 p.m. mass

"Be" still and know God,
Margaret Webb
Adopt-A-Family Program

Holy Spirit School has formed an Adopt-A-Family program that would like to reach out to those who may be in need of some assistance. Sometimes we are not always aware of a family who may be struggling. The reality is that we, at Holy Spirit, have families who would greatly benefit from a “leg up” with just some basic relief from trying to keep up with it all. We know the holidays can be a tough time and want to extend help to our school community. There are two ways you can participate in this anonymous assistance program:

  • If you or another Holy Spirit family could use some assistance, please communicate with us through this form.

  • Volunteer to assist as an anonymous donor. If you are interested, reach out to Holy Spirit Administration.
PVSA Christmas Card Making Event: Nov. 29th

We will have another opportunity to earn service hours toward PVSA and Middle School hours while making cards for our military. If you would like to sign up for our Christmas Card Making Event, please click here.
Spinal Screenings
Spinal Screenings will be performed on 11/28 and 11/29 for all 5th grade and 7th grade girls and all 8th grade boys during PE and elective class. A note from the nurse will be sent out before screenings.
Bill's Elves Toy Drive: Dec. 3rd-7th
NJHS will be starting their campaign for Bill's Elves Toy Drive through Dec. 7th.  NJHS members will be collecting new, unwrapped toys beginning December 3rd. The members will be coming to all homeroom classrooms in the morning and collect the toys. Thank you in advance for your support!

3rd Grade Science
Today, 3rd graders became scientists who investigated Force & Motion. We're all about putting theory into action....well done, 3rd grade!
From the Development Office....
Flames Legacy Gala
Save the Date - Flames Legacy Gala
The 2019 Flames Legacy Gala will be held on
Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the J.W. Marriott. 

The Gala Committee is looking for volunteers to do the  Gala Class Projects for the following grades (one project per homeroom):  PK3, PK4, 2nd, and one project for 6th.   We also need two volunteers to  help  Mrs. Dotin with the  4th   grade projects.    If you would like to volunteer, please email Brenda Del Rose at  brenda.delrose@hscssa.org . Thank you!  



F ree Dress Passes, benefiting the 2019 Gala, are on sale for $5 per child/month. 
See Brenda Del Rose, in the Development Office, to purchase or pay online at  www.hscssa.org  by clicking the “You’re the Spirit”/Donate Now box on the homepage. If paying online, please complete this form and send it in your child's backpack. Thank you!

Flames Sports Corner

Congratulations to the A-Boys On getting 2nd place at the Holy Spirit Tournament.

Kudos to Raleigh Strode , Zach Hirner and Mitchell Stine on receiving All Tournament.

Here is the Basketball Schedule. We hope to see you at a few games.
Counselor's Corner

Advent season is upon us! Our 3rd grade and 4th grade students took time away from their usual routine and participated in a retreat (spiritual guidance); they spent time in prayer (adoration and rosary) and getting closer to God and each other. In guidance class, the students learned how God calls each of us to a specific vocation (priesthood, consecrated life-sister or brother, marriage, single) and that we have to take time to pray so we may discern His plan for us. They also learned about different careers and how their interests, strengths and skills they are learning now are correlated to their prospective career later in life.

At our quarterly  Parent Coffee with the Counselors , parents actively participated in the discussion about  "Tips for Raising Confident Kids."   The following tips from Child Mind Institute were discussed: 1) Model confidence 2) Don't get upset about mistakes 3) Encourage them to try new things 4) Allow kids to fail 5) Praise perseverance 6) Help kids find their passion 7) Set goals 8) Celebrate effort 9) Expect them to pitch in 10) Embrace imperfection 11) Set them up for success and 12) Show your love ( www.childmind.org  )

November is when we celebrate  National Vocation and Career Month . We will have Father Antonio and our seminarian Jose Sandoval visit our classrooms and speak with them about their vocation. On  Friday, Nov. 30 , we will celebrate  Career & Vocation Day  with guest speakers providing age-appropriate presentations. Teachers and staff will also share their educational journey. Students and staff will be able to wear their prospective college or alumni shirts with their jeans.  
PTC Corner

Seeking Donations for Staff Christmas Luncheon
On December 21st, our PTC will be hosting a Christmas luncheon for our teachers & staff. For the last few years, parents have been kind enough to donate gifts for our teachers to receive at the celebration; most often donations include gift cards to places like HEB, Target, Walmart, clothing stores, spas, nail salons, local restaurants, etc. If you’d be willing to donate a gift card or gift of your choice, please leave them with Lucy in the front office marked ‘ PTC Christmas luncheon ’ by  Monday, December 17th. Thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness. As a reminder, each $20 value = 1 service hour.

PTC Board
Feel free to reach out to any of these individuals with a question or if you want to get involved:

President, Karen Steingart: ksteingolf@hotmail.com
Vice President, Patricia Rivera: patricia.alanis07@gmail.com
Secretary, DeAnna Estrada:  deannaestrada@gmail.com
Treasurer, Emily Kahanek: PTCTreasurer@yahoo.com

The next Box Tops Quarter Contest deadline is Dec. 14th.
Connect With Us...

Google Calendar :
For your convenience, you may add the calendar for  Holy Spirit Catholic School to your phone f rom a desktop computer and then sync it to your phone.

Remind App
Join our Remind group.....this is a great way for us to quickly send messages and reminders to all our parents. Our school code is @9cb8h .

Social Media
Search for and "like" and follow our various social media pages:
Facebook:  Holy Spirit Catholic School
Twitter:  @HSCSFlamesSA
Instagram : holyspiritflames
Parish & Other News

H oly Spirit Women's ACTS Retreat
January 24-27, 2019
Cordi Marian Retreat Center 
Director: Myra Garza, Co-Director Shellye Purcell

Please join us for a weekend to grow in your Catholic Faith. This weekend will be filled with joy and fellowship. We would love to share it with you. If you are interested, see this sheet . Please contact us if you have any questions. 

Many Parts...Together One body in Christ. Corinthians 12:12

CYO Fall Basketball
If your son or daughter is interested in playing basketball for Holy Spirit's CYO team, please click here.