Elementary K-3 Campus Newsletter

January 4, 2008

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Please make sure your child’s grandparents have Grandparents Day marked on their calendar. Grandparents Day will be January 28, 2008 at 12:30. Their will be a short program at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and then all of the grandparents will be invited to come over to visit the school and the classrooms.

Catholic Schools Week is January 28- February 1. We will send home information soon about all of the special activities planned for the week.

Fresh Water Well Advent Project- The students at the K-3 Campus raised over $1,800 and a generous OCS family donated enough to bring our total up to $2,520! The Rotary Club is matching that amount by 3.5 times, which means that we raised $10,000- enough to dig and provide a fresh water well for a village in Uganda, Africa. We will present the money for the well to Fr. Titus at the January 17 Mass.

Thank you again for all the wonderful gifts and cards given to us over the holiday season. The best gift, of course, is the gift you give all of us by sending your children to Owensboro Catholic Schools!

Thank you to Grace and Celia Wright for the Holy Card donation.

Happy Birthday this week to: Katie Belcher, Cheyenne Johnson, Regan Neal, and Dalton Baisden-Wade!

ocs Congratulations to Emily Haleman and Samuel Hyland! Emily reached the 50 Point Club in Accelerated Reader Points and Samuel reached 100 Points! GREAT JOB!

ocs The K-3 Campus welcomes three new students who began school here this week:

Brady Atherton- 3rd grade

Brandon Atherton- 1st grade

Logan Davis- Kindergarten

Isabel Arreaga- 3rd grade

Dates to Remember

January 4- Report Cards go home
January 9-11- SMART MOVES
January 10- No MASS- World’s Finest Chocolate Sale Kick Off Assembly
January 17- Mass- Ms. Calvin’s 3rd Grade Class
January 18- 10:00- Bluegrass Program Assembly
January 21- NO School- Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28- Grandparents Day- 12:30
January 28- February 1- Catholic Schools Week
January 30- 10:00 System Wide Mass at Sports Center

Please take time to read about a few of saints of the week on the back of this newsletter. Your child learns about the saints every day!

January 2- Saint Basil and Saint Gregory were born in Asia Minor in the year 330. Basil and Gregory met and became great friends at school in Athens, Greece.
Basil became a well-known teacher. One day his sister, St. Macrina, suggested that he become a monk. He listened to her advice, moved to the wilderness and there started his first monastery. The rule he gave his monks was very wise. Monasteries in the East have followed it down to our own times.
Both Basil and Gregory became priests and then bishops. They preached bravely against the Arian heresy which denied that Jesus is God. This heresy was confusing people. While he was bishop of Constantinople, Gregory converted many people with his wonderful preaching. This nearly cost him his life. A young man planned to murder him. He repented at the last moment and begged Gregory's forgiveness. Gregory did forgive him and won him with his gentle goodness.

January 3- Saint Genevieve was born around 422 in Nanterre, a small village four miles from Paris. While still very young, she desired to devote her life to Jesus. She became very close to Jesus and wanted to bring his goodness to people. Genevieve was a kind, generous person. She went out of her way to do good things for others.
The people of Paris were going to run away from a terrible army coming to attack them. Genevieve stepped forward. She encouraged the citizens to trust in God. She said that if they did penance, they would be spared. The people did what she said, and the fierce army of Huns suddenly turned back. They did not attack the city at all.
One of the best ways for us to help our country is to pray for our leaders.

January 4- Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was known as "Mother Seton" when she died. In 1794, Elizabeth married William Seton. He was a rich merchant. Elizabeth, William, and their five children had a happy life together. But suddenly William lost his fortune and his good health within a short time. His wife heard that the weather in Italy might help him get better. Elizabeth, William and their oldest daughter, Anna, journeyed there by ship. But William died shortly after. Elizabeth and Anna remained in Italy as guests of the Filicchi family. The Filicchis were very kind. They tried to make Elizabeth and Anna's sorrow easier by sharing their own deep love for the Catholic faith. Elizabeth returned home to New York convinced she would become a Catholic. A few years later, Elizabeth was asked to come and open a girls' school in Baltimore. Many women came to join her, including her sister and sister-in-law. Her own daughters, Anna and Catherine, also joined the group. They becamethe American Sisters of Charity and Elizabethwas given the title "Mother Seton."