February 2, 2009

Dear Parents and Guardians,

            After our tremendous celebration of Catholic Schools Week, I have to admit that I am filled with pride. First of all, I am so proud of our faculty/staff members.  Mrs. Warner and Coach Bond did a tremendous job in organizing everything for the week, but each and every staff member helped and contributed in some way. I am proud of your participation. Many of you were able to attend the Sunday Mass at Nativity. Your attendance at the Wednesday Mass with Archbishop Rodi was phenomenal. Many of you were able to be part of the family picnic as well. Of course, I am so very proud of our children. They sang, played and participated fully in all the events. Our times of prayer were very moving and their participation in the service project for the Salvation Army was tremendous. Thank you, everyone, for your support, presence and participation.

            On Sunday, February 8h, the schools of the Diocese of Biloxi will begin an onsite accreditation visit by the Southern Association of Schools (AdvancED). Although our school has been accredited individually by the association since 1982, we are participating in this diocesan/district wide accreditation and will be accredited in that way. Many people around the diocese have worked on preparatory materials for this visit over the last eighteen months. The materials incorporate information from all of the schools in our diocese. Our school will have the privilege of hosting a portion of the visiting team for an onsite visit on Tuesday, February 10th.  The team will arrive about 12:30. Following a tour of the school, team members will meet with groups of people (school personnel, students, School Advisory Council Members, NPA officers, parents) to learn more about our school. We are honored to be chosen as a visitation site and ask for your prayerful support during this time.

            Over the last two months you may have noticed that extra School Advisory Council meetings have been scheduled. This is the time of the year when we have the awesome task of creating a budget for the coming school year.  Factors affecting the budget include the general economy of our area, the number of students projected to attend our school, utility and insurance rates and salary and benefits requirements. Besides considering the basic needs of the school, we also like to project for growth in programs, possible additional services and improvements to our school and  property. We add to all of that estimates of the projected income from tuition, trust funds, fund raisers and special projects and parish subsidy amounts.  We take this process very seriously and appreciate your prayers as we try to balance the needs of our students, the needs of our families and the needs of our faculty/staff.

            MARK YOUR CALENDAR!  The annual Nativity BVM School Open House will be held on Sunday, March 1st from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Many special events are planned:  performances by our students; performances by our Nativity Choir and Nativity Band; tours of the school; computer activities; refreshments; special prize drawings for those in attendance and a special “rebate” for those who bring a new family to tour our school. Registration information and packets will be available to families who are new to our school. Registration packets will be distributed to current school families on Monday, March 2nd.

            Congratulations on a job very well done!  The World’s Finest Chocolate Sale has been a tremendous success!  Very little candy has been returned…but the money envelopes keep arriving!  If you are unable to sell your remaining candy, please return it to school this week so that we can pass it along to someone else. Again, thank you! In all the years that I have worked in a school with a candy sale, I have NEVER seen the candy come and go so quickly!

            You may have heard that our cafeteria “pajama day” was a huge success!  Grown-ups and children alike enjoyed the meal and the chance to dress in a really relaxed way!  It also was a great boost to our cafeteria program. We are proud of the school lunch program that we are able to offer and any extra way that we can enhance participation, helps to maintain the financial security of our program.  This month, on Thursday, February 26th, we will have “Cowboy Day” in the cafeteria…anyone eating school lunch may dress in “cowboy clothes.”.  If your child chooses to participate, please do not go out and buy special clothing. Be creative…jeans and a shirt/scarf should get the message across. Please remember, however, that tennis shoes must be worn!

            Mardi Gras is always such a wonderful time here on the Coast. You are invited to attend our annual Nativity School Mardi Gras parade on Friday, February 20th at 10:30 a.m. on the school grounds. This is a great parade to enjoy. Bring your friends, family members and neighbors! Please consider inviting someone with young children or maybe someone who finds it difficult to be in large crowds. Our band, preschool students and kindergarten students do a great job in getting you into the Mardi Gras spirit.

            I would like to express my thanks to the members of the Nativity Parish Men’s Club who held a work party at Nativity School on Saturday, January 24th. For four hours, these men (and women) worked to fix, clean, install and move items in our school. The amount of work accomplished was tremendous and I think all of them enjoyed one another’s company.

            Again, thank you for the many ways in which you are involved in our school.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have a question or concern.

/s Sister Mary Jo