October 1, 2008

Dear Parents and Guardians,
            Haven’t we had absolutely spectacular weather? On beautiful sunlit days like we have experienced, it is so easy to breathe a thank you prayer to God for the beauty of creation. We just need to remember to do the same on those cloudy, rainy days!
            Our school year is moving along so rapidly. Later this month, we will complete the first quarter of the school year. At that time, we will hold parent/teacher conferences and you will receive your child’s report card.  We look forward to meeting with you and having the opportunity to speak with you about your child.
            During the month of October, students in our Diocese are presented with one or more lessons that are part of the Child Protection Curriculum. This program ensures that our children are familiar with appropriate/inappropriate touch and how to remain safe. A parent information meeting will be held on Thursday, October 9th, for those who wish to learn more about the program. We will meet at 6:00 p.m. in the school. My apologies that this date does not appear on the October calendar!
As you may have heard, Archbishop Rodi will be receiving the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award on Monday, October 6th,. The award, given by the National Catholic Education Association, is their most prestigious award and is awarded to persons who have demonstrated outstanding support of Catholic education. Archbishop Rodi is receiving this award for his work, as Bishop of Biloxi, in encouraging the re-opening of schools following Hurricane Katrina.  Principals of the Diocese have been invited to attend the celebration in Washington DC. and so I will be representing each of you and the hard work we did together to begin again after Hurricane Katrina.
Nativity School’s response to the request for donations for our Disaster Relief Team was really heart warming. So many responded and the people were so appreciative of all that was done for them. We are looking at “connecting” with one or more schools and seeing what we might be able to do to help them at this time.
Thank you for your great response to the School Survey that was sent home last week. We appreciate your input and know that we will find it helpful as we continue to plan and respond to the needs of our children. Once responses have been summarized, we will share the results with you at some point during the school year. If you have not returned your completed survey, please do so as soon as possible.
            You should be so proud of  the wonderful support that you have given to our two recent projects. The Sally Foster Sales program has been completed and was a big success. Thanks, too, for the great support that you gave to our Seafood Festival Cakewalk booth. We had over 200 cakes donated and every timeslot was filled with workers! What a great time we had!
            Our Halloween Carnival will take place in a little less than three weeks. (One of the students reminded me of that at lunch today!)  It is one of those events that “happens” in an amazingly short period of time but with lots and lots of help. I am always amazed at how quickly our school parking area is transformed into a fun-filled area and how quickly it changes back. Please understand that we need each and every family to be involved.  We need people to help to construct the booths on Friday after school. We need people to decorate the booths and set up tables and chairs on Saturday morning. We need people to work the booths and to help take some things down on Saturday evening. We need people to help clean up and put everything away on Sunday morning. Although it is work, it is a lot of fun and is a great way to meet other parents and family members. Please don’t wait for an invitation to help! Consider this your invitation!
Although it will be several months before we send our annual yearbook off to the printer, we are asking for your help. As the year goes along, would you please send in any “good shots” of school activities and of your children that we might use for the yearbook? Pictures of the opening day of school, our prayer services and Masses, scouting activities, service projects, various school events and Carnival are all some of the things that we would like to include in our yearbook. These pictures can be sent to Colleen Kavanagh, who has graciously agreed to be the Yearbook Chairperson. Please remember that the pictures will not be returned.
Please remember that you are welcome to attend any of our special assemblies or events that are held during the school day.  We simply ask that you enter the school by the door nearest the office and sign in and receive a “visitor badge.”  Likewise, if you would like to eat lunch with your child, you are more than welcome to do so. We ask, however, that you call that morning to double check that the lunchtimes have not been adjusted and to let us know what your menu choice will be.
Our days are filled with so many activities. Please, be assured that our main focus is the education of your child. Our teachers and staff members spend a great deal of time in preparing for the day and in making sure that they are ready for the children. What a blessing these talented and caring individuals are to our school. Your efforts to get your children here on time and prepared for the day help to make our school days a success.
Thank you for working with us in providing your child a great experience of school!

/s Sister Mary Jo