October 11, 2023

St. John XXIII

After a few decades in education fewer things surprise you. Two things surprised me last week, delightfully surprised!

     1. The tea party!  When I first heard of it, I thought, wow that is a civil idea and matches with our curriculum, but who is going to tell the junior high boys we are going to have a tea party as a treat?  After a short dialogue at the faculty meeting on the issue, one of the teachers said, “Don’t cut the kids short, they can do this well.” Good enough for me….wait to see. Putting each class with their buddy room helped. Big kids with little kids has a beautiful moderating effect on both. The SFA people said there will be sufficient food….that will help a good deal too. Then I saw the setup in the cafeteria……game over….the beauty inspires……I was fully won over and it was so delightful to enjoy the event with the children. One of my favorite parts of helping was offering tea to the really little ones. It sounded something like this:

“Sir, would you care for more tea?”  I offered. Answers ranged from, “Yes, please, thank you.” To “Nope, I don’t want no tea.” I enjoyed both thoroughly.

     2. If you were able to come to Mass last week when “The Strings” played, this one will not surprise you. While I realize Mrs. Schilmoeller and Mrs. Temme were there to lead the instrumentalists, never would I have imagined that such beauty could emerge from a group composed of children from a K-8 school. The orchestration and execution of the three last pieces left me in wonder and awe and without words. The Liturgy is to lift the mind and heart to God--that music helped. May the Good Lord continue to shower His blessings on us all, and may he open our hearts in surprising ways to His goodness and wonder.

Sr. Mary Michael, C.K.

Thursday, October 12: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4-8 p.m. (see sign-up below)

Friday, October 13: No School (Optional Jayhawk Outdoors outing at Holmes Lake 9 am-1 pm)

Monday, October 16: No School (Teacher In-service at Pius)

Tuesday, October 17: No School (Teacher workday and in-service); away Volleyball games 

Wednesday, October 18: First night for Mathcounts

“...cramming a child’s life full of activities with little time for reflection, with no quiet time for a relaxed family supper, this mom is sending an unintended message:  what you do is more important than who you are.” (p. 184, bold and italics are from the text.)

Join our Scrip Coordinator, Staci Cunningham, for a chance to get your Scrip account up and running and learn some tips to maximize your rebates. These informal meetings will allow plenty of time for assistance and getting your Scrip questions answered. (Be sure to have your phone handy if you'd like help familiarizing yourself with the RaiseRight app.) Contact Staci at staci-cunningham@gmail.com .

If your children need a winter coat, the Knights of Columbus have donated brand new coats of various sizes and colors. Come to the school cafeteria to pick out coats for your children! This week during Parent-Teacher conferences would be a great time to stop in!

There is one more night for parent/teacher conferences, on Thursday, October 12. Please sign up to meet with your children's teachers at the following links:

PK (Mrs. Schafers): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

KA (Mrs. Hraban): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

KB (Mrs. Moser): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

1st grade: Mrs. Schafers will schedule her conferences at a later time. 

2A (Sr. Teresa Marie): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

2B (Miss Becher): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

3rd grade (Mrs. Werner): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

5th grade (Sr. Mary Faustina & Mrs. Seib): stlfchurch.flocknote.c...

6th-8th grade:JH conferences will be held in the school gym. You may stop in at any time between 4 p.m.-8 p.m. The JH teachers will take a dinner break from 6:15-6:45 p.m.

PE: Mrs. Miner will be available Thursday 4-8 p.m.

If your child is tardy 3 times in a month, they will serve a detention after school until 3:45 p.m.

Jennifer Heffernan, St Teresa School Tuition Coordinator, will no longer have a desk in the office and no longer keep set office hours. In order to communicate with her regarding FACTs, balances, and all things regarding tuition and scholarships please email her at: jennifer-heffernan@cdolinc.net or call her at 402-477-3358 ex 52235. Jenn is happy to meet in the school office and speak in person. Please contact her to arrange a time.

The Pius Thunderettes Dance Team would like to invite 7th & 8th grade students to a Junior High Dance!

Where: Pius X High School Commons 

When: Friday, October 20, 7-9 pm

Admission: Must bring the bottom of the flyer handed out at school, and $6. (or $5 with a can of food)

Concessions will be available for sale, see the flyer for dress code and more information! 

Questions? Email Coach Ashtyn - Ashtynsara@gmail.com

Saint Teresa Bazaar is Sunday, November 13.

Remember to sell your raffle tickets you received last week! In order to reach the parish goal, each family is being asked to sell at least these 2-3 books of tickets, for $20 each. You can sell more than that, and there will be additional tickets available in the back of church.

Turn in sold booklets in the collection basket, the school or the rectory mail slot.

Thank you!

Who: 7th/8th graders 

When: Friday afternoons, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. starting October 20

Where: The Willis home (1200 Piedmont Road) 

Interested parents, please either email or text Andrew Willis:

arwarw11@gmail.com      (402-770-7533)

(Pius X, Lincoln Lutheran) 

Interested New Shooters, we’re having a practice on Oct. 29th, at 12:30 p.m. 

Come to the Lincoln Izaak Walton Trap Range for an Introduction and 1-on-1 Instruction to Trap Shooting!  Meet some of the coaches and shoot some targets! We’ll provide the shells, targets, eye & ear protection, water, and shotgun (if you don’t have one).  This is a great way to ‘get your feet wet’ and see if you’d like to join us for our 2024 Season that starts in February!   

See the details below and please contact Aaron Lyons if you’re planning on attending.  

Check out our Facebook page (Pius X Trap Friends) for tons of fun pics from last season!
 

Interested or need more info?  Please contact our Head Coach for more information:

Aaron Lyons - Head Coach  (402) 525-2548     aaronlyons215@gmail.com

WHO CAN JOIN?   Students in Grades 6^th, 7^th, 8^th (Junior Shooters)

         Students in Grades 9^th, 10^th, 11^th, 12^th (Senior Shooters)

WHEN DOES THE SEASON START? Practices begin in February and run through April.

         Conference Meets take place on weekends in March and April. 

         State Meet is held the last weekend in April.

Lincoln Izaak Walton League address:  10801 South 134^th Street (4 miles E. and 1 mile S. of 84^th St and Highway 2 Walmart)

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 6^th-8^th grade student may participate.  

When: Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 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.

If you are looking for a safe and fun environment for your children on the days when school is not in session, contact Rilyn Metzler, youth director at Genesis Health Clubs, East Lincoln location. The dates this service is provided are:

October 13, 16, 17, November 22nd, and December 27, 28, and 29th. 

Contact information:

Rilyn Metzler
 East Lincoln Youth Director
 Genesis Health Clubs
 1305 S 70th Street
 Lincoln • NE • 68510
 Phone: (402) 483-2322
 https://genesishealthclubs.com
 rilyn.metzler@genesishealthclubs.com

The Knights of Columbus are hosting a pumpkin painting this year on Sunday, October 15 at 2 p.m. at the Knights Hall, 6044 South St.

Please RSVP to Matthew Schafers at matthew-schafers@cdolinc.net .