“Hooray for the USA”, our first graders salute to the
heros and heroines of our great country, and a testament to all they have
learned was rescheduled for this Thursday, Feb. 13, at 9:15 in the north wing
MPR. Come join us for a delightful show
of strong leaders – presented by mostly toothless first graders!
From the
Admissions Office: Re-enrollment agreements and deposits were
due last Friday. If you have not returned yours, please do so TODAY
and email Jill McGee that you will be dropping it off. (You may leave your contract and deposit at
either of our front desks.) We have many
applicants who are waiting to hear about available spaces in our classes, so
please return your contract and deposit today to ensure your place in next
year's class. If you have any questions about re-enrollment, please contact
Jill McGee (Jmcgee@speds.org,
816-268-6542).
In keeping with our celebration
of the USA, Monday, Feb. 17, is a Presidents’ Day holiday. We will offer
care on this day from 7:15 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Register by Wednesday, February 12th,
because we will have to cancel if there is insufficient enrollment for the day.
The cost is $60 for full day and $35 for part day (4 hours). The day will be full of Presidential
activities! Join us! Contact Karen McDonald at kmcdonald@speds.org to reserve a place
for your child.
Today is the first day for our new Director of
Development, Cindy Wissinger! Please
help us welcome Cindy back to St. Paul’s.
She was here about eight years ago as our Development Coordinator and
returns now to lead that office. While
not with us, Cindy directed development efforts at Church Development and PKD
(a non-profit that helps combat a form of kidney disease). We’re delighted to have her back!
Our snow day calling procedure did not work very well
last week. First, One Call Now said
it did not recognize my phone number – home or cell. But it allowed the call from Mr. van
Thullenar’s phone, from which no such calls had been made before. Then the TV station, which echoed my report
that we would be starting late on Thursday, published that we were closed all
day. They quickly corrected it when I
called back – on some of the stations.
This is why we use a variety of forms of communication – and why,
sometimes, even that doesn’t work!
When you
receive a One Call Now message, please listen to it! I know that the little musical sound that
precedes our message is enough to have everyone hang up, thinking it means that
school is closed. But sometimes, as on
Thursday, it’s to announce a delayed opening.
We welcome Missy Haskamp back from maternity leave
tomorrow! Missy, our ECC Music
Teacher, is now the mother of TWO lively, lovely daughters. Welcome back!
Our Diversity Coordinator,Michelle Johnson, has posted a
new message to her blog. Please find
that message at: http://spedsdiversitydialogue.blogspot.com/2014/02/diversity-daisy-of-garden.html
The Curriculum Design at St. Paul’s has been rescheduled
For Thursday, February 20th at 4:30 PM.
Come hear from the PLC (Professional
Learning Community) about the curriculum review process taking place across all
divisions. Members of the PLC will provide an overview of the curriculum design
process as well information about Common Core, Math and Language Arts essential
learning outcomes, and 21st Century learning objectives. We hope you
will join the PLC to hear more about this exciting process taking place at St.
Paul’s. This
event will be held in the ECC Commons located on the first floor of the north
building. Please RSVP to Linda van Thullenar at Lvan@speds.org so that we can make sure and have adequate seating
available. Child care is also available through our extended day program. If
you need child care, let Linda know when registering.
YOU STILL HAVE TIME!
Bill Severns
Returns! – Tuesday, February 11th at 4:00 PM
Author
and coach, Bill Severns returns to share his thoughts on what children truly
seek and need through their involvement in team sports. Bill shares valuable
insights and life lessons through his engaging, true stories gathered from his
own life experiences as a professional baseball player and little league coach.
Bill was a hit when he came to St. Paul’s the first time and we are pleased
that he has agreed to come again and help us kick off our spring sports season.
Bill’s book, Keepers of the Sandlot, is available for checkout through Mrs. Van
Thullenar or can be purchased at www.keepersofthesandlot.com. This
event will be held in the north wing MPR. Please RSVP to Linda van Thullenar at
Lvan@speds.org so that we can make sure and have adequate seating
available. Child care will be available for this event as well!
Don't
forget All School Coffee right after morning drop off on 2/11, Parish Hall. Please join us
as the Church shares plans for the future and some fond memories from the past,
courtesy of past school families. We
honor our connection to the church – the place at which we began and the
members who have served us for generations.
Family,
Student and Faculty Catalog Advertising Celebrate your child’s
milestone, recognize the team, promote your business to over 300 St. Paul’s
families, or thank a teacher. Whatever your choice, now is your chance to place
an ad in the auction catalog! Submit your advertisement to Melissa Hendricks at
stpauls2014@yahoo.com. All ads are due
on Friday, February 28. Please note that
if you have made a corporate donation or wish to purchase auction tickets at a
patron level, then you may be eligible for an advertisement, which can be used
for business or personal purposes. Visit stpeds.ejoinme.org to learn
more.
Father
Stan shared the following story in the “e-Pistle”, his version of the Monday
Morning Memo for the church.
I thought it was very moving and asked to be able to share it with all
of you. We are about to embark on
another food drive to benefit the pantry, as part of our Spirit Week
celebration. This is a great reminder of
the patrons we serve with that mission.
“It is Wednesday
night and I am leaving the church late to go home. As I head up the
driveway toward Walnut Street, I notice the line for the Food Pantry extends
all the way up to the street. As a group, they look forlorn standing in
the fading light and dropping temps. I am glad we are here for
them. Near the end of the line, there is a young woman holding hands with
two little girls. A third child, boy or girl I cannot tell, is standing
on the fence wall. Unexpectedly, in my mind's eye, I see Guytie and our
three daughters standing there. As with the Ghost of Christmas past, I am
seeing a scene from my distant past playing out in a painfully unexpected
way. My eyes tear up and I want to move on as quickly as possible . . . I
do not look back . . . I try not to feel the confused emotions penetrating me
like a cold, damp fog. I drive home profoundly sad. I do not know
the woman or her children; yet, my heart breaks with the sight of this small
family, cold, hungry, and waiting to get food--in my mirage, my family.
Several years ago, the
leadership of the Food Pantry first proposed the idea of opening on Wednesday
nights. During our daytime pantry hours, our clients would tell us of
people they knew who worked but could not make ends meet with the low wage jobs
they were able to get by. They were going hungry and needed our
assistance was the message we heard. The Food Pantry leadership requested
and we agreed to a trial run. Now, several years later, Wednesday night
is as busy as our daytime pantry offerings. While we do not have
demographic documentation yet (something we are hoping to work on this year),
we are confident from anecdotal reporting that many of these Wednesday pantry
clients are working people often with multiple jobs-and still, they need help
feeding their families.
What is it the Lord requires of you . . .
Do justice
. . . (Micah 6.8)
It is a good thing
we do in our Food Pantry. People are hungry; children are hungry.
It is a good thing to feed hungry people; but it is not justice, it is
mercy. Justice challenges us to ask: "Why are these people who work,
sometimes two and three jobs, unable to feed themselves?" "Why
must they stand in line in the cold and dark in order to receive the small bit
of help we offer them in order to avoid hunger for themselves and their
families?" "What is wrong with this picture?" Justice challenges
us to action and change. "What must change to allow justice to flow like a
river(Amos 5.24)?" In 2013, we served about 2200 people each month through
our food pantry. By storage and financial capacity, we are perilously near our
maximum capability in the number of persons we can serve. Feeding the
unemployed and the homeless is one thing, but why do working people, some
working 40 to 60 hours a week, still need our assistance? In the US,
full-time workers should be capable of paying their own way and caring for
their family needs, or so the prevailing myth of the American Dream
implies. Tonight, as I drove from the parking lot to Walnut Street, that
Dream seemed tarnished and more difficult to imagine. Tonight I saw my
wife and daughters standing in the cold dark waiting for food--it hurt my
heart. Maybe it takes the sting of personal "hurt" to hear what
it is the Lord requires of me!”
Best wishes for a Happy Valentine’s Day, full of love and
chocolate!
