Excellence in Education October 16, 2013 w w w. s t t h o m a s m o re a l h a m b r a. o rg St. Thomas More Parish School Weekly Newsletter THANK YOU to everyone who donated socks for our sock drive. The following is part of an email that was sent to Ms. Meza, the coordinator for this service project, from Alan Pinel, the director of The Burrito Project: Merciful God, teach us to value what you value, to love as you love, to be just as you are just. Help us to treat others with fairness and respect. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Sock Drive. I was overwhelmed with your generosity and with the amount of socks that were collected by everyone. This is a reminder that many hands can make a big difference...what can one pair of socks do? They can warm someone s feet, but the socks are so much more than just a pair of socks. They are also a reminder that there is kindness in the world and that there are people in the community who care. As Christians, we are called to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. With your sock donations, you are an example of Christians living the Gospel. Thank you again for your generous donations. You have helped someone you may never meet. Your socks will not only warm their feet, but their hearts as well. STM SPIRIT GEAR: If you are interested in purchasing an STM spirit gear t-shirt, please fill out the attached t-shirt form and return to the office by Thursday, October 17th. CONGRATULATIONS to Andrew Gutierrez (3rd) on the birth of his baby brother Noah who was born on 10/9/13 and weighed 7lbs, 5 oz. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS CASINO NIGHT: The Alhambra Knights of Columbus will be hosting their 6th annual Casino Night on Saturday, October 26th at St. Therese Parish Hall. Tickets are available for $25 at the office. A portion of the ticket sales goes directly to STM. Please see flyer attached for more information. ONE SIGHT: This Halloween, STM students are again asked to collect more than just candy. Sight Night is part of a national collection drive for eyeglasses. Please visit our website for more information. HALLOWEEN: Stores are in full gear for Halloween and so are our children! We would like to remind everyone of appropriate costume attire for school. Costumes may be worn to school on Halloween, but need to be SAFE, comfortable, and appropriate (NOT sexy or TOO scary). Weapons of any sort are not allowed. Children wearing masks will be allowed to wear them in the parade, but not while playing at the booths. HALLOWEEN ACTIVITES AND SERVICE HOURS OPPORTUNITIES: Our Halloween Festival is around the corner and there are a variety of service hour opportunities available. Please contact your room parents or refer to our website for further information. The ticket form for the Halloween festival games is attached. Please return this form no later than October 28th. STM FAMILY DAY: On Friday, October 18th, all students will be participating in a Family Day. Students will be creating shrines for the Blessed Virgin Mary and each student is asked to bring in a couple of items on this day. Please see attached flyer for further details. STM 65th ANNIVERSARY MASS AND CELEBRATION: On Saturday, October 26th, St. Thomas More Parish will be celebrating their 65th anniversary! Mass will begin at 9am followed by a celebration in the school courtyard. All are welcome to attend! DANCE FOR OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE: If you are interested in learning about the matachines, who dance in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe and would like to participate as a dancer during the celebration on December 12th, please see the attached flyer. STM students are invited to participate. Practices are held on Sundays in the Parish Hall from 2-4 pm.
Page 2 St. Thomas More Newsletter October CALENDAR 10/17 Youth Appreciation Mass @ the Cathedral Student Council to attend 10/18 Family Day Mary Shrines 10/21 Faculty In-Service NOON DISMISSAL 10/21-10/25 Red Ribbon Week 10/23 STM Living Rosary @ 10:30 am 10/23 VIRTUS Re-certification @ 6:30 pm 10/25 $1 Jean Day Halloween Themed (MADD) 10/26 STM Parish 65th Anniversary 10/31 Halloween Festival NOON DISMISSAL November 11/1 Faculty Retreat NO SCHOOL (Preschool Open) 11/4 Veterans Mass SOCK DRIVE Thank you to everyone who participated in our Sock Drive. The school collected 1062 pairs! Mrs. Bailey also asked friends to donate and she collected an extra 266 pairs! In total, we were able to donate 1328 pairs! Did you know? The 4th graders were treated to ice cream sundaes this past Friday. Their class brought in 231 pairs of socks! Thank you Ms. Meza for providing the ice cream. ALTAR SERVER SCHEDULE for October 19th/20th Saturday 5:00 PM Jason Morago, Julio Valpuesta On Monday, we celebrated Grand-friends Day. After Mass, grandparents and students were treated to a continental breakfast. Thank you to everyone who donated items and brought their grandfriend. It was a wonderful event! Sunday 7:30 AM Matthew Mandarino, Christian Salazar Sunday 9:00 AM Jenna Lozano, Aaron Mangan Sunday 12:30 PM Cindy Lamas, Jeremy Hoyos If you need to have your fingerprints registered with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, please refer to the following link for a complete schedule: LA Archdiocese Fingerprinting Schedule
STM SPIRIT T-SHIRT ORDER FORM Please indicate shirt sizes, color and quantity desired on the lines below. SIZE QUANTITY RED GRAY Youth X-Small Youth Small Youth Medium Youth Large Adult Small Adult Medium Adult Large Adult X-Large Parent Name: Student Name(s): Student(s) Grade Level: All shirts are $12 each. Please make checks payable to St. Thomas More School. Total Shirts Ordered @ $12 each, Total Enclosed **Please turn in your order form to the office ORDERS DUE OCTOBER 17, 2013
6th Annual Casino [K]night PRESENTED BY Fun & Games Costume Contest Knights of Columbus Alhambra Council #2431 St. Therese Parish Hall 510 N. El Molino St. Alhambra, CA 91801 (Off Alhambra Rd. between El Molino and Vega) Saturday, October 26, 2013 Doors Open at 7:00 p.m. Black Jack Roulette Craps Texas Hold Em Food, Beverages & Fun End of the Night Raffles $25 Donation Gets You $100.00 in Chips! {This is a Fundraiser for Alhambra Council #2431} Call Marie Today for Tickets (626) 484-1738
HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL 2013 Thursday, October 31, 2013 9 AM 12 PM Parents, Family, Friends and Parishioners are all invited to attend! Come and enjoy a day of Fun and Games! Ticket Sales: $3.00 Per Student Please enclose all monies in an envelope and return to the Office with the form below. Please make sure your child s name and grade is clearly printed on the envelope and form. DEADLINE TO BUY TICKETS IS OCTOBER 28, 2013! Each child will receive an envelope with 30 Tickets. We will distribute the tickets to each student the day of the event. If paying by check, please make it payable to: ST. THOMAS MORE SCHOOL. Additional Tickets will be available for purchase during the event. We appreciate all your support and effort to make this a very special event for the children. STM PTO _ Halloween Festival Tickets Child/Children s Name: Child/Children s Grade: Amount Enclosed:
Dear Parents, We will be holding a Sports Fundraiser at the Halloween Festival. The Sports program will be sponsoring the food booth. The proceeds will go towards the annual Sports Award Banquet and new sports equipment for our kids. Please return this form by Tuesday, October 29, 2013 to order your meal (s). Name of oldest Child: Grade: Number of Hot Dog meal Hot link meal $5 Hot Dog, Chips and Drink $7 Hot link, Chips and Drink Total Amount enclosed $ We need your help with donations of the following items to maximize the fundraiser. Please contact Eunice Auner at (562) 631-1735 or eunice.auner@gmail.com if you would like to donate any items (save your receipt for service hours): Weiners( ) 12 pack ( ) Costco 36 pack Hot Links ( ) Sodas 12oz cans ( )7UP ( )Coke( )Diet Coke Case of Water bottles Thank You for helping make the sports program at St. Thomas More the best experience possible for our kids. Coach Perez
On Friday, October 18 th, all students will participate in Family Units. During Family Units, they will be making shrines for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The eighth grade class will supply the pictures of Mary. For the shrines, each student will need to bring the following items to make his/her own shrine. 1. Shoe box (any size) 2. Fake flowers (a few) 3. Lace, ribbons, colored felt (any items to decorate) 4. Glue 5. Scissors Thank you for your cooperation, Student Council
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE PATRONESS OF THE AMERICAS Devoted dancers from Saint Thomas More School are invited to participate in dancing Matachine for the Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe here at STM on 12-12-13. They will also participate at the Annual Procession and Mass in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe located at East Los Angeles College. *Practices will be held at the Parish Hall on Sundays from at 2:00 pm. to 4:00 pm. *Matachines are individuals who have a particular devotion to our Lady of Guadalupe and pray to her through their specific dance steps. If you have any questions, please feel freet to contact the instructor: Claudia (323) 517-8954