St. Teresa Catholic School
September 20, 2023
Verso L'Alto =To the Highest
Who doesn't, as a child, want to be the "King of the Mountain?" My two favorite experiences of this when I was younger were: 1) Mountains of snow--with the extra cushion that snow provides, there was a certain feeling of invincibility that came with the game. 2) Mountains of dirt--when I was in 4th grade, our family added on to our house, and after they dug out the basement portion, we spent hours outside playing on the dirt piles.
Wanting to be "the highest" or "the best" needs to be taken the right way. Father Schwenka today at Mass spoke on the virtue of Magnanimity: greatness of soul. He mentioned how St. Paul exhorted Timothy to be "temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money (1 Tim. 3:2-3)." Each one of us is called to greatness in our own particular circumstances of life. If each day we ask Jesus what He wants of us, and then truly follow it, our soul will grow in greatness.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's motto was "Verso L'Alto," which means, "To the Highest." He was not only an avid hiker and mountain climber, who loved to go to the top, but also applied his motto to his spiritual life. He kept his sights on Heaven, the true joy that never ends.
St. Therese, too, kept this in mind. She wanted a "shortcut" to Heaven and compared her "little way" to an elevator going up to Jesus' arms.
Take a look at this rose plant above. It has reached as high as the roof of the house. You can't see them from here, but there are 5 rose blossoms up on top! Maybe we can take a lesson from this rose, St. Therese and Blessed Pier Giorgio--reach for the highest.
Sr. Mary Agnes, C.K.
The good God would not inspire unattainable desires; I can, then, in spite of my littleness, aspire to sanctity.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, September 21: 5B Class Mass; Home Volleyball games, 5:45, 6:45
Friday, September 22: 7th/8th grade confessions
Saturday, September 23: Cross Country Meet 9 a.m. at Seacrest
Monday, September 25: JH field trip to Omaha Zoo
Server Schedule
The Collapse of Parenting: Snippet #4
The First Thing: Teach Humility (p. 159) Dr. Sax defines it as "simply being as interested in other people as you are in yourself." As Catholics we know humilty as "seeing things as they really are," that is, in the eyes of our Creator.
St. Teresa Feast Day!
We will celebrate as a school on Monday, October 2nd.
Some of the events include:
*Mass with Bishop Conley
*Kindergarten through 5th grade girls are invited to dress up as St. Teresa--see announcement below for more details.
*Special dress-up day--The students are invited to wear "Sunday clothes" to school (details to come in next week's newsletter) (Girls dressing as St. Teresa can change into their dress clothes after Mass.)
*Buddy Class tea parties throughout the day
*Other St. Teresa lessons and activities
*Adoration
*Eucharistic procession at 2:30, followed by Benediction at 3:00
Dressing as St. Teresa
Your daughter is invited to dress as St. Teresa! Our St. Teresa Parish Feast Day Mass is Monday, October 2nd at 8:15a.m. Girls of the parish are invited to dress as St. Teresa for this special celebration. To ensure room in the pews, please text or e-mail Britt Echtenkamp by September 25th if your daughter(s) will be participating. britt.echtenkamp@gmail.com 512-777-9649. Girls will need to arrive in Kaczmarek Hall by 7:45am. They will be a part of the Opening Procession and will sit as a group in the front pews during Mass. Mothers are also needed as parent volunteers to assist with the procession and costumes before Mass. Please contact Britt if you are able to help. Thank you!
Here are some links for suggestions of how to make a costume:
If you have a costume to loan or donate, please bring them to the School Office.
MATHCOUNTS 2023-2024
What: A national math enrichment program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement. We will have fun and learn some math! More information can be found on their website: www.mathcounts.org
The problems are challenging, but all are encouraged to participate. No pressure from our team to do anything more than try your best and have fun.
Who: Any interested 6th-8th grade student may participate.
When: Wednesdays from 6:30pm-8:00pm beginning October 18, season runs through mid-February
* Schedule will change in January, due to coach conflicts on Wednesday evenings. January/February schedule TBD.
Where: St. Teresa School Cafeteria
Registration fee: $10.00
Coach: Andrew Willis.
Please email or text if your child is interested in joining the team.
Phone/text: 402-770-7533
Email: awillis@clinewilliams.com
We are looking forward to another fun season! If you have any questions, please contact me.
Renowned Catholic Speaker
Paul Zucarelli will be speaking at Pius X high school on Tuesday, Sept. 26th, at 7 p.m. Paul will share his testimony of a near-death experience, and how this changed his. He now lives to witness to God’s love, healing and mercy. Tickets are $10 each. Tickets are available for purchase at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ parish office and online.
Celebration of the Saints
Join us on Sunday, October 1st! See flyer below!
St. Jude Relic
St. Teresa Gear
(You can wear these as part of the school uniform!)
Outdoor Workday--September 30
St. Teresa Parish Bazaar
Families: our annual Parish Bazaar is coming up on November 12th and we need your help with two of the most popular games, Bottle Mania and Spin to Win!
We are requesting that each family please donate $10 worth of small bottled items!
What we need:
-Any SMALLER bottled items (travel sized) Can be silly items, too! Think cheaper, bulk items
- Pop cans or small bottles of pop- all varieties, Gatorade, juice boxes, or any bottled drink
-Individual chip bags, cereal boxes, cookies
-Puddings, pop tarts, hot chocolate, individual donuts packs
...think anything individually wrapped/bottled that kids would love! Be creative!
Please send donations now until Nov. 1th to school with your student, or drop them off in the school office, labeled bazaar.
If you have any questions, please email Jill Zimmer or Nikki Suesz
Spiritual Warfare One-Day Conference: October 14th
A scene from the first Jayhawk Outdoors. Next one will be
Thursday, September 21st!