March 3, 2008
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As I write this letter, the sun is shining brightly and the birds are chirping away. You can almost “hear” the plants and trees growing! As we near the end of our Lenten observance, these signs of new life and new growth challenge us to look at our own lives and see where new growth is taking place.
These next weeks before Easter are quite full and quite exciting! As you well know, our Book Fair began yesterday at Open House and continues through Friday of this week. We had a wonderful “parade of cars” to kick off this event. And then there was the bullfight! We hope that you will have a chance to visit the library sometime this week. Mrs. Ziz and her helpers have really outdone themselves in making it an inviting place to shop. Our Grandparents Breakfast on Friday promises to be a wonderful time for our guests to visit our school and spend some time with the children.
Next week our students will participate in our annual Nativity Science Fair. This event always provides us with creative and imaginative ways to look at scientific facts. You are welcome to come to view the projects on Thursday, March 13th from 3:30 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. and on Friday, March 14th, from 7:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
We have received a special invitation to participate in Biloxi’s “Hop to the Vieux” and “Grillin’ on the Green” which will be held on Saturday, March 15th. Our Biloxi-famous Cakewalk is once more requested! We will need cakes, cakes, cakes and workers for the Saturday-only event. What an opportunity for us to be part of a community celebration and do a little fundraising besides!
One of our Nativity School traditions has become the dramatization of the Stations of the Cross by Mrs. Lyons and her third graders. You are welcome to come and pray the stations with the children on Monday, March 17th at 5:30 p.m. and/or on Tuesday, March 18th at 9:00 a.m. This is a moving prayer experience for all during this holiest of weeks.
Calendar changes are few and far between but I would like to make you aware of one for this month. Originally, our Field Day was scheduled for the week of March 17th. We have moved that date to sometime in April and will make you aware of that date when it is finalized.
Registration packets have been given to each child currently attending Nativity BVM School. Please be aware that registration for current families and any siblings will be ongoing through March 14th. On March 14th, any new families from Nativity Parish or the area parishes of Blessed Seelos, Church of the Vietnamese Martyrs, Our Mother of Sorrows or St. Michael’s, may begin to register. Open registration begins on Monday, March 17th at 9:00 a.m. If your child is going to return to our school or if you have younger children ready to attend Nativity BVM School, it is important that you return the completed registration packet as quickly as possible. Because we currently have one classroom of each grade, space is limited. We are hopeful, however, that we will be able to open a second class of Kindergarten for the 2008-2009 school year.
Have you had a chance to attend one of our Lenten Spaghetti Dinners? Your last chance for this year is this Friday night, March 7th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. A Big THANK YOU to our School Advisory Council for preparing and serving the food, to Beau Rivage Casino for food donations and to our Nativity Cafeteria Staff for preparing the desserts.
Our Annual Silent Auction, Dinner and Raffle is a little over one month away! Thank you so much for the support you are already giving to the project. Please remember that we are in need of: people to set up, take down and work on that day; silent auction items/services and ticket sellers! Remember, anyone who sells 5 raffle tickets will have a chance to win $2500 off of next year’s tuition! Thank you to our committee for a job very well done!
One of the things that Hurricane Katrina has taught me is to be more patient. Although we have repaired, rebuilt and received so much, there are still two major areas that are not completed. We are still awaiting the arrival of our new computers and classroom furniture which are being purchased through our Federal Restart Funds. Although we have received over $250,000 in materials and supplies through this program, our computers and desks just are not arriving. Many of you have experienced these unexplained delays in your own rebuilding projects. Patience! “Lake Nativity” continues to occupy our field. We know that a drainage project is planned to take care of the water problem and we look forward to the day when we can use our field. Patience!
As I conclude this letter, the sun is still shining and the birds are still chirping. It reminds me of the constancy of God’s love and God’s goodness to us. Despite challenges and the regular ups and downs of life, God IS with us. May we remember that and believe it with our whole being. May we hold one another in prayer, asking God to bless us and be with us.
/s Sister Mary Jo