Dear Families: Happy New Year 2020! I hope all of you had a Blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.  The start of the new year is the perfect time to reflect on the blessings in our lives while simultaneously looking towards the future. 2019 brought MDJDA many blessings. Most notably, our school received the 2019 Re-imagine Catholic School Award, validating all the hard work, passion and commitment of our talented team. 2019 was also witness to a successful accreditation visit during which the visiting committee commended us for the quality of our dual language program. As the first dual language Catholic school in San Diego, we are truly part of something special. As pioneers, in 2020, we have more barriers to break, more challenges to take on and more meaningful work to complete. Melody Beattie wrote, “the new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.” Let’s continue to work together to write more chapters in our collective, Mater Dei book, and create a bright future for our school and most importantly for our students. May the new year inspire all of us to continue to work hard and appreciate the present so that the future we envision becomes a reality for our families and our school community. As Frank Sinatra said, “The best is yet to come.”  I hope this year is full of blessings for all of you, Leticia Osequera

IMPORTANT DATES January 17: No School - Professional Development Day January 20: No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 22: Emergency Drill January 26-February 1: Catholic Schools Week January 29: Mass with MDCHS, gymnasium  January 31: Virtues Recognition for January Looking Ahead: April 6-17: Easter Break June 5: Last Day of School June 15-July 17: Summer School 2020 August 18: First Day of School 2020-2021 December 17-January 4: Christmas Break 2020-2021

Happy New Year!   The first semester of the school year flew by. As we begin 2020 and the second semester, we are excited to have our students back and see all that they will accomplish. This semester our students will apply all they have learned thus far and continue to create knowledge. It is fitting that the virtue for this month is courage. As Mary Anne Radmacher wrote, “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” As parents and educators, let’s continue to support our children and remind them they can do anything they set their mind to, no matter how difficult and that each new opportunity is a gift from God.   Sincerely, Cristina Torres

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK Catholic Schools Week 2020 is the week of January 26. We have several exciting activities planned for our students and families. Our focus this year once again is prayer. We invite all of you to stop by our office and offer your prayer intentions to be placed on our prayer window. We will soon be sharing with you a calendar for the week with more details for each day. Here are some highlights:  Sunday: We invite all of you to attend either the 9:00am Mass at the Mater Dei Parish or the 1:30pm Spanish language Mass at the Corpus Christi Parish. Please have your students wear their uniform. Our teachers and administrators will be distributing cookies after Mass. We would love to have the students join us in distributing cookies to the families.  Monday: Celebrate Communities. Everyone is invited to write prayer intentions to go on our prayer window display.  Tuesday: Celebrate Students. We will celebrate our students by giving them an extended recess with pizza and ice cream for lunch. You may still send a snack to school. There is no need to send lunch on this day. Students have a free dress day.  Wednesday: Celebrate Vocations. We will celebrate Mass with the high school at 9:45am in the gymnasium. There is no Mass on Thursday at the Mater Dei Parish. Students wear their formal uniform on Wednesday and their P.E. uniform on Thursday. Thursday: Celebrate Teachers. Offer a prayer for a teacher that will go on our prayer window.  Friday: Celebrate Families. Our students will offer prayers for all of you. We will celebrate you for your commitment to Catholic education.

RE-REGISTRATION PROCESS

We have entered our admissions and enrollment season. Due to high demand, we need to know how many families are returning and how many of you have other children who you are planning to enroll for the first time at MDJDA next school year. We are asking you to please complete a form to let us know if you are planning to re-enroll your students in the 2020-2021 school year. Please complete this form by January 20. Please note that this is a preliminary form and you will have to go through the formal re-registration process in the coming months.

Register Here

CHRISTIAN YOUTH THEATER (CYT)  CYT returns to Mater Dei for a winter session with Aladdin. The session runs from January 24 to March 13. The fee is $175 and includes actor’s book, t-shirt and 2 tickets to a CYT show.  Register Here View the Flyer

CODE NINJAS  Mater Dei is excited to announce a partnership with Code Ninjas Chula Vista to bring video game design to our kids. Below is some information on the program, length, curriculum and price. You will find links to a flyer as well as the course outline. Roblox Create   Every Tuesday from January 28 – March 3, 3:30-4:30pm $125 for a 6-week program (includes book) Kids 1st – 6th grade can attend 1 hour a week Every student will design, plan, and build their own 3D world! Curriculum is based on the book The Ultimate Roblox Book: An Unofficial Guide written by David Jagneaux. Our Senseis will provide guided instruction with information learned from the book. Workshop price includes this book. Space is limited to 20 children. Register Here For Questions: Call (858) 621-3406 or email chulavistaca@codeninjas.com

View the Flyer

Course Outline

KALI MARTIAL ARTS

Kali, Filipino Martial Arts, is a new after school activity coming to MDJDA this semester. This activity is open to students who are at least seven years old. The class takes place on Mondays and Thursdays after school. Families can choose to enroll in one or two days a week. The program will run all year long and families can sign up on a monthly basis. The fee for two classes a week is $100 per month. The fee for one class per week is $50.00 a month. The first four classes are free on a trial basis. The first class will be Thursday, January 23. Please sign-up here to let us know you are interested in the class. The instructor will contact you directly with more information next week.

Register Here

SPORTS UPDATES

The new year is off to a great start in athletics! We continue with the January sports of PeeWee Soccer (K-4) and JV Volleyball (4-6) and will be competing against other schools through February and into early March. We are also excited to begin our first season of JV Boys’ Basketball (5-6) which will be competing January to Mid-March. Please be on the lookout for emails about interest lists for JV Girls’ Basketball (4-6) and Co-ed JV Soccer (5-6). Please also be on the lookout for information about the return of the tennis clinic (2-6). We are excited about all of the opportunities for our students to get involved in athletics! If you have any questions, please email me at rsmith@mdjda.org .  Thank you! Coach Smith

SECURITY UPDATES

Dear MDJDA Parents and Students, Happy New Year! I would like to start this New Year off with a hearty thank you to all MDJDA parents! The Security Team appreciates your efforts in helping us with our many new security requests that have been implemented during this school year. Your cooperation is so greatly appreciated. Sometimes you have to be inconvenienced by checking in at the Security Raptor Desk before entering our campus, or you may have to park in a location that’s a little too far away when you’re just here to quickly drop something off, or you may be asked to exit the campus in a direction that’s just a little farther away than you might like to go to. Some of these circumstances that I have mentioned, are just a few of many, but they are all in place for a reason – the ultimate safety and security of your children. Once again, I thank you all for your cooperation this year. If at anytime you have questions about any of our security practices, please don’t hesitate to talk to me. I can always be found at or around gate 2 during the morning drop-off or near the Guadalupe Center at the afternoon pick-up.  I would like to end with a catchphrase that I use with my family, along with my personal practice that helped me survive a 31-year law enforcement career. “Always be aware of your surroundings and don’t be caught by surprise.” Try to follow that phrase and have a very safe and happy 2020. John Rodinec Mater Dei Catholic Security

MDCHS CAREER DAY Volunteers Needed

We are looking for presenters to share their career journey with our students. If you are a parent or alumni, please consider joining us on March 4, 2020 as a presenter. If you are interested, click on this link: https://tinyurl.com/mdcareerday Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2020 Time: 9:00am to 1:00pm Presentations will run about 5-10 minutes in two separate time slots. You will be asked to share your college and career path and recommendations and advice for current students looking to pursue a career in your field. Parents will receive service hours.

SAVE THE DATE!  BLUE AND GOLD NIGHT March 28, 2020 Save the date for a fundraising event to benefit visual and performing arts programs at MDJDA & MDCHS on March 28, 2020.

VIRTUE OF THE MONTH: COURAGE

ATTENDANCE: In order to ensure our students’ academic success, it is essential for students to be present every day and arrive on time to school. At 8:15am, students need to be in their classrooms ready for the morning prayer. If your child will be gone for an extended amount of time, please remember to submit an anticipated absence request to Mrs. Oseguera with at least 2 weeks notice.

UNIFORMS: Please remember to follow the uniform guidelines. You will find a reminder of the uniform policies on our website. Please read them carefully.  In case of rain, students may wear black rain boots. To be consistent with our uniform, all shoes are always black. During cold weather, please layer the various pieces of uniform available. In order to maintain the integrity of our uniform, no other jackets or coats should be worn.

LUNCH MENU FOR JANUARY: Here is the lunch menu for January. You can also find the menu on our website.

Lunch Menu for January

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