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Dear Saint Andrew Catholic School & Parish Community,
We ended another great week at SAS with our first Pep Rally of the school year, getting everyone excited for Fall Festival this Sunday, October 8th, 11:00AM – 3:00PM!! We are all looking forwarded to enjoying some family fun, food, fellowship, and festivities at this long-standing Saint Andrew Catholic School tradition! Please see the Fall Festival information further down in this newsletter for details.
Our service project for the month of September related to the virtue of the month, Faith, was a collection to benefit Sacred Hearts Catholic School in Lahaina, Hawaii. The school was completely destroyed in the horrible fires last month, but the Sacred Hearts school community has faith that through the generosity of others and by the grace of God, they will rebuild. We are so happy to announce that our generous and thoughtful students donated a grand total of $921, which we will be sending to Sacred Hearts Catholic School next week.
Next Wednesday, October 11th, the 5th, 6th, and 7th Grade students will travel to Nolan Catholic High School to attend the Missions Mass with Bishop Olson celebrating. Students in 5th & 6th Grade should wear their Full Dress/Mass Uniforms with the Mandatory Cardigan Sweater. The 7th Grade students are allowed to wear their athletic wear as they will be staying at NCHS following Mass to participate in the annual Vikathon. Our 8th Grade students will be on retreat that day at Camp Thurman. Please look for additional information on these events from your students’ teachers.
There is NO School next Friday, October 13th, as all faculty and staff will be attending the annual Diocesan Inservice that day. School will resume on Monday, October 16th. Also, next Friday marks the end of the First Quarter. Please be sure to check your students’ academic progress via FACTS and contact the teacher with any questions. First quarter report cards will be given to parents during the upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences which will take place on Thursday, October 19th (Early Dismissal) and Friday October 20th (No School). The SignUpGenius (SUG) to sign up for conferences was emailed to parents yesterday (Thursday) and can also be found below in this newsletter. If your child’s Homeroom teacher has no more available conference times, please email the teacher directly to schedule an alternate time. Parent/Teacher Conferences are for Parents and Teachers only, not students.
Reminder: October marks the time of year each year when students are required to wear either the Red (PK – 5) or Navy (6 – 8) cardigan sweater as part of their Full Dress/Mass uniform. If your student does not yet have the required cardigan or if they have outgrown or lost theirs, please be sure they have one. Also, please be sure all sweaters are clearly labeled with your student’s name. We will send “Out of Uniform” notices to parents of students who are without the required uniform sweater by that date.
Have a wonderful, restful weekend! We look forward to seeing you all on Sunday at Mass and at the Fall Festival, and of course we’re always excited to welcome our Wildcats back on Monday!
Saint Andrew, Pray for Us!
Blessings,
Laura Behee, M.Ed.
Principal
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Stop by for an hour or stay for 4! Have lunch, play and spend time with friends and family. FUN FOR ALL AGES. | |
Fall Festival Volunteer Information/Service Hour Opportunity | |
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Fall Festival is only a few days away!
Our amazing school families step up each year to spend one short hour working a booth, helping to make the day a tremendous success. If you haven't had a chance yet, please sign up now for your favorite booth. We require that one member from your family volunteer for ONE (1-hour) shift. It's a great opportunity to enjoy beautiful fall weather, meet new friends or spend the hour with an old friend and serve our school community.
Calling all 6th, 7th & 8th Grade students: Do you need service hours? Middle school students can also take a slot and earn service hours.
Thank you for your commitment to SAS and for all your contributions toward the success of the 2023 Fall Festival!
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October Virtue of the Month | |
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Wednesday morning we met in the gym for our second faith family assembly of the year! Our virtue of the month for October is Reverence. Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, so our activities for Faith Families were centered around Francis and showing reverence to God the Creator.
Our students and teachers and families will all continue to practice and learn about the virtue of Reverence this month. Please find ways this month to celebrate actions of Reverence in your own families.
Students were introduced to 3 saints who showed deep reverence in their lives. Please CLICK HERE for further information on the lives of Saint Hyacinth, Saint Tarcisius, and Saint Margaret Clitherow.
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Parent/Teacher Conferences | |
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First quarter report cards will be given to parents during the upcoming Parent/Teacher Conferences which will take place on Thursday, October 19th (Early Dismissal) and Friday October 20th (No School). The SignUpGenius (SUG) to sign up for conferences was emailed to parents yesterday (Thursday) and can also be found below. If your child’s Homeroom teacher has no more available conference times, please email the teacher directly to schedule an alternate time. Parent/Teacher Conferences are for Parents and Teachers only, not students.
Parent/Teacher Conferences Sign-Up
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SAS is Now Project ADAM Heart Safe Certified! | |
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ICYMI, Saint Andrew Catholic School is now one of only four schools in the Diocese of Fort Worth that is Project ADAM Heart Safe certified! A Project ADAM Heart Safe School has successfully implemented a quality sudden cardiac arrest program of awareness, training, and effective emergency response to promote a safe environment for students, staff, and visitors. A big Thank You to our school nurses, Mrs. Shannon Cruze and Mrs. Hillary Hudson, for working to help us achieve this goal, organizing the response team and guiding us through the drills.
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Parental Choice in Education | |
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Parental Choice, also known as “school choice” is a public policy that financially assists parents in choosing the best educational environment for their children by allowing their tax dollars to be used outside of the public school system. Click on the link below to learn the Why, What, Who, & How!
Parental Choice Information
Join us in asking our #TXLege House Representatives to support parental choice in education and help pass a bill so families have more options, especially those who need it most. @tpcetx @txcatholic
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At the annual Saint Andrew Catholic School Dinner & Auction last spring, the Fund-a-Project event raised an impressive and generous $105,000 for improvements to the sports complex/facilities in the field across the street from the school, which include the baseball/softball and soccer fields. Though we had some initial cost analysis done for some of the improvements prior to the auction, we admittedly underestimated the total cost to complete all the updates we had hoped to make. This along with the increased cost in materials has really pushed the project beyond our budget for now. Therefore, we are looking at the improvements being completed in phases and anticipate the need for future fundraising in order to move beyond the completion of Phase One: the concession stand and restrooms.
We are very excited to share that we have now contracted with an architect approved by the diocese who has begun work on the initial concept drawings for the concession stand and restroom building. Completing the concession stand and restrooms is a priority and an important first phase as it will allow the overall facilities to be more appealing and accommodating not only to the sports teams in our school and diocesan community, but to outside teams who rent the facility as well.
Future Phases we are considering:
o Improvements/updates to the baseball/softball fields
o Improvements to the soccer fields
o Walking/Running trail
We will keep you updated on the progress as we move forward!
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Welcome Mrs. Megan Schmitt! | |
 |  | Mrs. Megan Schmitt is excited to return to her roots as a PreK teacher in the St. Andrew’s Montessori program, and looks forward to co-teaching with Miss Millen. Earning her BS in Child Development from the University of Texas at Austin, Megan began teaching pre-school while in college. Continuing this journey, she spent years leading PreK classrooms and eventually worked for Early Childhood Intervention of Tarrant County. There she specialized in working with children with developmental delays and disorders from 0-3 years old. While raising her own children, Megan had an in-home childcare, welcoming children from 0-5 years. She and her family are parishioners at St. Mary the Virgin Catholic Church in Arlington where she was Director of Religious Education for 10 years. Recently Mrs. Schmitt has taught in the Lower Elementary program (6-9 years) at St. Francis Montessori in Irving. While there, she spent the past five years intensely studying and practicing the Montessori Method through the Montessori Institute of North Texas as well as through Shelton School, both in Dallas. Her extensive experience led her to become a collaborator and trainer of teachers around the country with the University of Dallas K12 Classical program specializing in PreK - 3rd grade.
Mrs. Schmitt and her husband of 26 years, Stephen, have four children (9 - 24 years) and live in Hurst. Mrs. Schmitt and her daughter Amelia (3rd grade) are thrilled to join extended family (Seth and Molly Taylor) here at St. Andrew!
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Arrival & Dismissal Carline Reminders | |
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Thank you, parents, for helping to make the Arrival and Dismissal Carline process run as smoothly as possible. Though the carlines are long (with 643 students/457 families that is to be expected), we have seen great improvements over the last few weeks, not only in the time the process is taking but in the overall flow and compliance to the procedures as well.
However, there are a few areas where we still need your help. Please click HERE for more information. We appreciate your continued support as we work to make the Arrival & Dismissal Procedures safe and effective for everyone.
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National Junior Honor Society Tutoring For 2nd - 6th Grade Students | |
We will not be having Junior Ments on Monday, October 9th. | |
Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation | |
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The Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation is committed to offering financial aid to local children who seek the strength and values of a Catholic education and to those courageous children and their families whose lives are afflicted with cancer.
The Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation provides needed tuition assistance funds and support each year not only to Saint Andrew Catholic School, but to all the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Fort Worth. Please join us in support of the Foundation’s continued good work, next Wednesday, October 11, 2023 as the Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation hosts an evening dedicated to “giving wings” to the students and young cancer patients the Foundation serves. We look forward to seeing you there!
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For New Students Only: Scan the QR code or go to https://www.standrewsch.org/admissions to start the admissions process for 2024-2025.
Please share this information with your friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family. Our Wildcat Parents are our best marketing tool!!!
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Saint Andrew 6th-8th grade students are eligible to help prepare the pollinator gardens in the Outdoor Learning Lab on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 8am to 11am for service hours. Please click HERE sign up for any or all 3 of the available hours, whatever is convenient for your student.
- Please have the students dress in clothes and shoes appropriate for working outdoors; sunscreen and a hat are advised as well. Closed toe shoes are required.
- Please have students bring a water bottle.
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Remind your student to bring their service hour sheet. Please click here for a link to a service hour sheet that you may print.
- Gardening gloves will be available, but they are welcome to bring their own.
- Please drop off/pick up students in the front of the Early Childhood Center (ECC) pedestrian gate (the same gate that you would use to get to the gym for games). The pedestrian gate will be unlocked, and they should walk down the sidewalk to the Outdoor Learning Lab. You are also welcome to park and walk them down to the OLL.
Thank you! Please contact Jill Collard at [email protected] if there are any questions.
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Students cannot carry medications with them. All medications must be given out in the clinic. Students are not permitted to carry medicines in pockets, lunch boxes, backpacks, or anywhere else on their person.
In order to keep medications in the clinic, a medication form must be completed. You can obtain one of these from our website, front desk, or clinic.
Please remember that although you may have a responsible older child, things can fall out of pockets and end up in the hands of another student. Please be mindful that we have students of all ages present at all times. Thank you for understanding.
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Home & School Association News | |
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UNIFORM RESALE – Saturday, October 7th
Thank you to all the families who have donated and shopped at our Uniform Resale. We have already raised over $5,500 for the school, which means we have sold over 1100 items!
Our next monthly Saturday Uniform Resale is Saturday, October 7 from 10 to noon in the resale portable (enter at the gate near the back entrance to the library). All items are $5. If you are interested in volunteering to help at our monthly (on Saturdays) resale or potential weekly resale, please contact Megan Corpening at [email protected].
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PRAYER PARTNERS
We are continuing our Prayer Partner Ministry for the 2023-2024 school year! This special ministry is a very easy program where you can get involved in our SAS community just by praying! Each parent volunteer will be assigned a teacher/staff member who will be your partner for the year. All you have to do is include that person in your daily prayers. They will be praying for you, as well!
Please contact Gina Guirola at [email protected] if you are interested in serving as a Prayer Partner this year. Also, if you would like to be partnered with a specific person, please let Gina know.
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Weekly Rosaries are led by the Spiritual Life Committee of the Home and School Association. On Mondays, parents meet outside the front of the school after drop off (at 7:50 a.m.) to pray the Rosary.
Please join when you can – grandparents, siblings, and friends are welcome! We pray for the priests, administration, staff, faculty, families, and students of the Saint Andrew Catholic School community for the 2023-2024 school year.
All are welcome – even if you do not know how to pray the Rosary.
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Join us for our Saint Andrew Catholic Church and School Day of Prayer and Adoration.
When: Thursday, October 12, 2023 (7:00 am - 9:00 pm)
Where: Adoration Chapel at Saint Andrew Catholic Church
The Spiritual Life Committee of SAS invites each member of the Saint Andrew community to commit half an hour, one hour, or as much time as you would like to spend with our Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament to pray for our school, teachers, administrators, staff, students, parents, parishioners, parish staff, friars, and benefactors.
Parents, grandparents, parishioners, and benefactors are encouraged to pray for our SAS Community. Our goal is for our faith community to never leave Our Lord Jesus Christ alone from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm.
The Saint Andrew Sacred Heart Chapel is accessed after hours by entering code 3312# on the keypad.
Questions: Contact Tony Razzouk: [email protected]
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Our Fall Festival pep rally, hosted by our SAS Cheer Squad and NJHS, was held in the gym today in anticipation of the Fall Festival on Sunday, October 8th. Everyone had a great time! We can't wait to see everyone on Sunday.
Our Raffle Top Sellers were announced during the pep rally.
1st Place: Antonio & John-Paul Razzouk (sold $1500)
2nd Place: Joshua Chavis (Sold $1060)
3rd Place: Andrew, Emma, & Luke Soyer (sold $1020)
Honorable Mention: Natalie & Nathan Jimenez (sold $960 in raffle tickets)
Honorable Mention: Samuel & Matthew Williams (sold $940 in raffle tickets)
Let's go Wildcats!!!
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This week we honored the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with a Blessing of the Animals. What a beautiful day to enjoy God’s creation Students brought pictures of their pets and parents showed up this afternoon with their family pets. Thank you Deacon Kevin for the special blessing.
Thank you to Juan Guajardo, Director of Creative Services at the Diocese of Fort Worth, for this beautiful video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ5XOHXrylA
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To all 2nd Grade Parents: Your child must prepare for Sacramental preperation through the Church to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. | |
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Upcoming Liturgical Ministry Training Opportunities
Additional Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are needed at all Masses. All training for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion will be in the Church. (Please choose one).
Sunday, October 15 - 2:00-3:30pm OR
Thursday, November 9 - 6:30-8:00pm
Upcoming Reader training will be held for 6th grade through adults.
Saturday, October 14 – 10:00-11:30am AND
Final Evaluation October 21 – 10:00-11:00am
Please contact Dr. Christina Alves at the Liturgy Office for requirements and to register for all trainings. 817-927-5383 or [email protected]
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Nolan Catholic High School News | |
Birthday Out of Uniform & Lunches | |
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Students may dress out of uniform on their birthdays (or on the school day closest to the actual birthday) except for Mass days and field trip days. Summer birthdays may choose a special day to celebrate. Please let the teacher know when the student will be celebrating their birthday. (No sweatpants, athletic pants, leggings, or other athletic wear are allowed.) Thank you for your help in aiding your child in selecting appropriate attire for out-of-uniform days.
Parents are invited to eat lunch with their child on their birthday. We respectfully request that lunch only be brought for you and your child. We will have a special table where students can eat with their parents. Please notify the office no later than the day before you plan to attend lunch so we can make sure space is available and we can have your badge ready.
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We will have a number of volunteer opportunities this school year such as field trips, Fall Festival and other activities. Please make sure you are up to date with your training if you would like to drive or volunteer to help. You can check your training record by going to www.virtusonline.org.
If you do not yet have a profile and would like to take an initial session please create a profile at https://fwdioc.org/training-schedules. You will then be able to sign up for a safe environment session.
Upcoming Sessions offered at our Parish:
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Renewal Session - Wednesday, October 4 - 6:00pm - 7:30pm in the Parish Hall
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Required forms for Driving/Volunteering | |
The following forms are required if you are planning to volunteer/drive on a field trip. Please drop off completed forms in the office or email Lisa Harrington at [email protected].
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Bradley's After School Care will provide service for our students who need care after school, each day from after dismissal – 6:00PM, and from noon to 6:00PM on early dismissal days. Parents must register with Bradley's After School Care prior to their student(s) attending after school care and Bradley independently bills families for services. More information and registration can be found at the following links.
***Students who will be attending Bradley After Care will remain in their homeroom and not sent to the cafeteria until after the dismissal process is complete. Therefore, parents utilizing Bradley Aftercare will not be able to pick students up until 4:00PM each day. Aftercare this year will be held in the school cafeteria. Parents will pick-up from the front doors at the Commons, near the cafeteria.
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Before school care will be available from 7:00AM – 7:30AM. Parents should enter and sign their student(s) in by accessing the front foyer entrance ramp near the electronic marquee (Ms. Graddy's room). Before School Care fees ($5.00 per day/per family) will be billed through your FACTS account. | |
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Food 4 Life Catering will once again be providing lunch service to our students.
Students who do not wish to purchase lunch are always welcome to bring a sack lunch along with drinks/milk from home.
NEW OPTION: A side salad is now being offered to students in Preschool - 3rd grades. It will be offered at the same price as the other side items. Also, your preschool - 3rd grade student will have the option to purchase a larger salad as their lunch. No other menu items may be bought with this salad is purchased.
Please click HERE for information on the lunch program and how to sign up for a lunch account.
Please click HERE for the October Menu.
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Saturday, October 7
- Fall Festival Setup - 9:00am - 3:00pm
- Uniform Resale - 10:00m - noon
Sunday, October 8
- Fall Festival - 11:00am - 3:00pm
Thursday, October 12
- Day of Prayer & Adoration for Parents - All day in the Parish Chapel
Friday, October 13
Thursday, October 19
- Noon Dismissal for students
- Parent Teacher Conferences begin at 1:30pm
Friday, October 20
- No school for students
- Parent Teacher Conferences begin at 7:30am
Monday, October 23
- World Mission Rosary - 8:00am
Wednesday, October 25
- Advisory Council Open Session - 5:30pm
Friday, October 27
- Home & School Association Meeting - 8:00am in the cafeteria
- Trunk or Treat - 2:00pm
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For a complete listing of activities and events please check out the calendar on our NEW website!! www.standrewsch.org
It is also available in FACTS/RW.
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In Need of a Meal Train?
Please bookmark the link below to request a Meal Train from the Saint Andrew community in times of need. You will be contacted once you complete the form by the Meal Train Chair, Loretta Endres, for any clarifications or special requests. You may also call the school office and speak with the office staff (Mrs. Stephanie Fenyes or Mrs. Olga Buster) when a meal is needed. They will help connect you in your time of need.
Click HERE to request a Meal Train.
For questions contact--- Loretta Endres 817.680.6955 - [email protected]
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Do you believe in the power of prayer?
If you have a special prayer need or know of someone who does and would like prayers from our SAS Community, please email Lisa Harrington with your request.
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Saint Andrew Catholic School | 817.924.8917 | 3304 Dryden Road | www.standrewsch.org | | | | |
