February 25, 2010

Dear
School Families,

There certainly have been many Lenten activities going on throughout our school and parish. Last night, our parish just finished hosting a wonderful
Mission and our school has begun a variety of opportunities for prayer and almsgiving. We are attending mass and Stations of the Cross, individual grades/units will conduct their own prayer services and retreats, and our entire school is participating in our parish’s almsgiving program “Operation Rice Bowl”. Our students will also be provided with an opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. Hopefully, this will be a great time for spiritual and personal renewal.

On Saturday, February 13^th Bishop Perry confirmed the students in our 7^th grade class along with students from our Religious Education Program. Please continue to pray for the Confirmation Class as they now begin their journey as adult members of the Catholic Church. We greatly appreciate the work and leadership of Mrs. Brady, D.R.E. Kieran Lyons, and our pastor Fr. McCarthy in preparing these students to receive this sacrament.

On behalf of the entire school community, I would like to thank you for your prayers and support for Sr. Phyllis. Our parish was able to celebrate a beautiful memorial mass and reception in her honor. It was a wonderful tribute to a person who dedicated her life to God. Please see today’s family folder mail for more information regarding a memorial in her name that will be placed in our parish prayer garden.

Tomorrow is the end of the 2^nd Trimester. Report cards go home Friday, March 5^th.  

An important reminder to all families that the annual Terra Nova Testing will take place from Monday, March 1st – Friday, March 12th. Our third – seventh grade students will participate in the testing. This year our students will be taking the Terra Nova III exams. As always, please make sure that your child gets a good night’s sleep, eats a healthy breakfast, has at least two #2 pencils, and is ready to do his/her best.

A friendly reminder to our families that Monday, March 8^th is a ˝ day to accommodate teacher-initiated parent conferences. Dismissal on March 8^th will be at 11:30 a.m.

Thank you to our wonderful Parents’ Club for organizing and hosting the annual Student Fun Fair. Our students certainly appreciated their efforts and the opportunity to enjoy a little time playing some fun games. Thanks to the many volunteers who made it happen.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our Parents’ Club for their extremely generous donation that was recently made to our school and for all the work that was done in hosting the “Night at the Races”. This unique event was a tremendous success and such a wonderful community builder. It was terrific seeing so many parishioners and guests pack the auditorium. Every one there had a great time and I didn’t even mind losing every race.  

January was St. Tars Month at Phil’s Pizza and our school received a check for $400.00. Thank you to all of you who went to Phil’s during January and we certainly appreciate the outstanding relationship our school has with Phil’s Pizza. Next time you go to Phil’s please let them know how much you appreciate their support of St. Tars. Appreciation goes out as well to those who dined at the St. Tars Graziano’s Night. As of this writing, our school has not yet heard how much we made from this event.

Tuition Grant Forms for the 2010-11 school year are now available in the school office. Please send a signed written request for an application to Mrs. Judie Oslowski. March 22nd is the firm deadline to request applications.       

Today, all of our students were offered a free non-invasive eye exam. Many of our families took advantage of this service. Hopefully, you found this to be a valuable resource.

I have been e-mailing our families updates, reminders, and information. If you have not been receiving these e-mails, please call the school office to give us an accurate e-mail address. Along with our School Reach phone system, I hope that you find these to be valuable communication tools.

I invite you to continue to check our website at www.sttars.org for parish and school information. The staff does their best to update their individual classroom page on a regular basis. This is a courtesy we try to extend to our families, however, this does not replace the responsibility that our students have to record and keep track of their daily assignments.

Our school receives phone calls from interested new families on a regular basis. Please spread the word about St. Tars School to neighbors and friends that it is time to register for next school year.

Finally, tickets for our April 24^th Silent Auction and Dinner Dance are now on sale. Your support for this event is crucial in order for us to help meet our overall budget needs. Donations are currently being accepted and we just received an outstanding item. A donation was made for a one week stay in the Sanibel Island. Much more to come! Please check the family folder, church bulletin, and the website for Silent Auction information.

Thank you for your support. I look forward to seeing you around the school and parish. May God bless you on your Lenten journey.

Mr. Roy Hecker