April 1, 2004
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Our school theme, Hand in hand with God, certainly ties in with the season of Lent. We are called, as Christians, to take time these last days of Lent and to spend time in prayer, reflection and celebration. Times of fasting, acts of service and kindness all are ways in which we can walk hand in hand with God these last Lenten days. Here at school, we have focused on our daily prayer and in really paying attention to that prayer. We have included the children in the practice of the Stations of the Cross, a long standing tradition, which provides reflection on the path that Jesus walked in the hours before he died. A culminating activity for us this Lent will be the dramatization of the Stations of the Cross, done by Mrs. Dawn Lyons and assisted by Mrs. Dottie Warner and the third graders. Please plan to share in this prayerful event on Tuesday, April 6th at 9:00 am. I have also included the times for the special Holy Week services at the Cathedral in our school calendar. I hope that you and your family will be able to share in these special times of prayer either with us at Nativity or in your own church.
You have responded so wonderfully to our many special requests! I am pleased to tell you that during these Lenten days we have collected three carloads of canned/boxed food items for the Nativity parish food shelf. Our St. Vincent de Paul Society has been able to help so many because of your generosity. Our Lenten Fish Fry dinners have been a great success! We sold over 180 dinners at each of our two dinners held so far. Remember, our last one will be this Friday (April 2nd) from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. A big thank you to our School Board members for their hard work and to all of you who have supported this effort.
Our Walk With the Bishop is well underway! What a thrill it was to have Bishop Rodi actually here with us to walk! As of March 31st we have collected over $300.00 through this effort! Remember, donations of any amount are welcome! We hope that our pathway of feet (representing donations of $10.00) will stretch all the way down the hallway by the end of April! Remember that any family/student who brings in donations totaling $100.00 or more will have an opportunity for a drawing of a $2500.00 tuition scholarship. This scholarship, paid for by proceeds from the Bishop’s Golf Tournament, will be awarded at the conclusion of the tournament on Monday, May 3rd. I would love to call one of you and tell you the great news that you have won the scholarship!
Our Sixth Annual Nativity BVM Raffle is only a few short weeks away. Every family should have received an envelope containing three tickets for our annual School Raffle several weeks ago. Although the price of the ticket is $100.00 and may seem steep, remember that it admits four adults to an event that has consistently provided wonderful food and beverages as well as a chance to win one of many monetary prizes! The silent auction, as part of the raffle, has been extremely successful as well. Items/services for the auction are needed. We need everyone’s support and participation -- selling/buying tickets, helping in the set-up/take-down of the gym, serving, decorating, seeking donations and simply enjoying the evening! Please consider helping with this event in some way. This, in turn, helps your child! Please make every effort to sell your three tickets.. .or perhaps ask for additional ones! Remember that persons selling three tickets have a chance to win $500 in a special drawing. Finally, each class has been assigned a “basket” for the silent auction. If you did not get the information sheet from your child’s teacher with the type of item to contribute, please call the school office. Again, thank you for ALL that you do!
You received your registration packet and information for the 2004-2005 school year several weeks ago. As we plan for the new school year, it is important that we know how many students to expect in each grade level. Please return your information promptly to ensure a space for your child. We have begun Open Registration as of the end of March. At this time, we will begin to fill any vacancies at all grade levels. If your child will not be returning to Nativity BVM, please remember that some paperwork must be completed in the office for the transfer of school records. Finally, if you are not returning to Nativity for a reason other than a relocation, I would like to speak with you about this. Finding out your reasons for not continuing with our school often helps us make changes in our school, procedures or curriculum that would benefit other children.
Little things surely make big things happen! Over this last year we have collected many items: UPC codes from Community Coffee products, Box Tops for Education, Campbell product labels, inkjet cartridges and aluminum cans. I am pleased to tell you that we received a check for $141.00 from our Community Coffee collection! What a bonus for collecting and counting little pieces of paper! Special thanks to Angel Anderson who actually did the counting sorting and packaging of the labels. Keep saving.. .little things DO add up!
Mark your calendars for two great upcoming sports events! Yes, it is that time for the annual school field day (April 7th) that Coach plans so carefully. We will begin events for preschool at approximately 9:30 and events for children in Kindergarten through Grade 6 about 10:00 am We hope that you can not only join us to watch and cheer our athletes on, but also to be here to help us in supervising events. We always are in need of time keepers, score card watchers and members of the measuring tape crew. Any of you who are interested in helping in those ways should report to Coach when you come to school on Wednesday. Our annual Diocesan Track Meet (sponsored by Nativity BVM School) will be held on Saturday, May 22nd beginning at 9:15 a.m. at Biloxi Stadium. Bishop Thomas Rodi will lead us in prayer and events will begin at 9:30 a.m. We hope to see you there!
Spring sees new growth in the world around us. Your child is not different as we come near the end of our school year. We continue to teach and work with the child to make the most of each school day. Please continue to make efforts to have your child arrive on time for school and to remain in school throughout the entire school day. Because most of our class periods are at least one half hour, checking a child out at 2:00 results in missing at least one subject/one period of class instruction. Also, please continue to monitor items that are brought to school. Periodically video games, trading cards and other items turn up at school. We really do not encourage children to bring these items from home since they do distract them from what the focus of the day needs to be.
Again, know how grateful I am for all that you do for us and for the school. Your cooperation, your help, your guidance mean so much to all of us who work with your child. May God continue to bless you and the members of your family throughout this Easter Season.
/s Sister Mary Jo