Joyfully Embracing Our Mission

As they approached the village to which they were going,

he gave the impression that he was going on farther.

But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”

So he went in to stay with them.

And it happened that, while he was with them at table,

he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,

but he vanished from their sight.

Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us]

while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”

Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way

and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

~ Luke 24:28-32, 35

At Friday’s mass, Fr. Jonathan’s homily consisted of identifying some key virtues that we work towards to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth. He opened a gift-wrapped box and revealed some candy bars with the words Faith, Joy, Humility, Forgiveness, Love, and others I can’t recall at the moment. He asked students what they thought these words meant. Most did well in articulating what they know, with Fr. Jonathan asking them for examples to their “definitions”. The students got excited about earning the prize. They were engaged, wanting to be called on.

It was very interesting to hear that most students did know what these “gifts'' meant and how to make these words come alive. However, knowledge and practice do not always align. Our society seems to still be functioning with a heightened response to threat from the pandemic. Our students are no different.

We have to help them relearn to smile while masks are on, remember their manners, acknowledge the existence of the other, and more importantly, accompany one another in the practice for a kinder and gentler world. Self-regulation (acting without thinking of consequences or repercussions, making the right choices) needs to be practiced, and manners need to be retaught (letting someone who speak without interrupting, greeting and responding to someone when greeted, opening doors for someone or allowing someone to pass in front of you in line, and saying “please” and “thank you”).

Our students have been emboldened by being behind a screen. Unfortunately, the practices that may have happened while muted or while off screen is surfacing while face to face. We are seeing incidents where students are calling each other out, or retaliating without consideration for the feelings of another. They are still hurting and fragile and bruised and some are still “fighting”.

Here’s an article on the rise of rudeness from TIME.com:

https://time.com/6099906/rude-customers-pandemic/

Modeling for them what compassion looks like, what forgiveness feels like and what love truly means is critical in order for us to reestablish the positive relationships we have built as a community. Your teachers and I are counting on you to accompany us on this journey. For this, I am grateful.

CHOOSE TO BE KIND WEEK: A NON-TRADITIONAL RED RIBBON WEEK

In recent years at St. Clare, the week highlighted making good choices by prioritizing health and safety. This year, Red Ribbon Week’s focus will be on CHOOSING KINDNESS.

I wanted to share some resources with you as we begin to plan Red Ribbon Week with the Student Council. Red Ribbon Week starts on Monday, Oct. 25 and ends on Thursday, Oct. 28 with Oct. 29 and Halloween Happening serving as the culmination of the week.

Here are some resources:

• https://www.learningforjustice.org/ (formerly Teaching Tolerance)
• https://www.learningforjustice.org/mix-it-up (Mix-It-Up Lunch)
• https://www.stopbullying.gov/
• https://kindness.org/
• https://www.redribbon.org/

ADOPT-A-FAMILY CAMPAIGN

Fulfilling the Schoolwide Learning Expectations for the St. Clare student who lives a life in communion with compassion and empathy through intentional encounters and who acts with justice as responsible stewards of God’s resources, the Mission and Catholic Identity Committee of the School Advisory Council is launching the Adopt-a-Family Campaign. In the next few weeks, you will hear more about this campaign from your students and from your room reps. Please support the campaign not just by providing the resources but by building your family’s capacity to truly understand the plight of those who do not have the resources that God has entrusted to us.

As your family plans your participation, discuss why the need exists for so many in our community, when it takes as easy as a click in Amazon to get what we want. A discussion about wants and needs are so very important. When resources are scarce, prioritization is key. The line between choosing between basic needs and nice-to-haves is nonexistent or blurred in some of our households. Help your child understand what a $5-7 smoothie (a gallon and a half of gas) or $15 movie ticket (a couple of pounds of ground beef) means to a household who has barely this amount left after paying for rent, transportation, utilities.

St. Clare is a generous community. Let us make this generosity a sustainable endeavor by teaching our children the WHY in giving.

FARMWORKER CARAVAN SUCCESS

This won’t be the only effort to support the Farmworker Caravan network. However, the first try this year was heartwarming. Over 20 boxes of food and items were delivered by the Tañedo Family, Laura Quiroz and Caroline Zelaya. Thank you to all of you who contributed and to our committee and volunteers for a quick ramp up to giving at St. Clare.

Remember to add this to the conversations at home with your students about the value and dignity of work and the rights of workers (one of the Catholic social teaching tenets). Instill in them the appreciation for the fresh produce from neighboring farming communities and the back-breaking work by migrant farm workers to pick that perfect strawberry and crisp arugula they so enjoy. Learn about the life of migrant worker families from Santa Clara University professor Dr. Francisco Jiménez, himself a child of migrant workers (from his own experiences). Read or watch a documentary about the UFW and how it got started by the Filipino “manongs” and Larry Itlong, Jr., working alongside César Chavez and Dolores Huerta. Visit the Steinbeck Museum in Salinas and learn about the history of agriculture in our area.

One of the key reasons I chose to Catholic schools is the work of justice that we engage in daily. I am grateful to you for your partnership in recognizing that we are one human family and that it is only through intentional encounters filled with love and compassion will we be able to successfully rise above the challenges we face daily. We are the justice workers because we have been given the resources to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

With gratitude and thanksgiving for your partnership and accompaniment,

Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal

All absences must be reported to the school office and to all of your child's teachers. Call or email the office and teachers by 8:15 A.M. when a student is absent.

Attendance Email: stclare-attendance@dsj.org

Attendance line: 408-246-6797 x 106

DISTANCE LEARNING IS A RESPONSE TO A CRISIS.

If your child is absent due to an illness or due to family vacation, Zoom accommodations will NOT be made. Treat this as if there is no option for distance learning. You may make up work missed when you return.

Distance Learning may be offered if a student has to quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure (household contact or positive case).

We have gently used uniforms free to all families. Plenty of polos, sweatshirts, and PE clothes. Swing by the office at any time if you are in need of any school uniform items.

We are also accepting spirit shirts. If your child has no need for their prior year's spirit shirt and you'd like to donate it to the school feel free to drop them off at any time.

Until last year, most of us took clean air for granted. Then came Covid, a deepening drought worsening allergies, and a wildfire season lasting months. For over a century at St. Clare School, our classrooms were cooled by the South Bay breeze, but we learned this is no longer reliable. Last fall we scored some of the worst air quality in the world after the lightning storm caused hundreds of wildfires, so windows had to stay closed. Our central boiler which provides heat in the winter is also no longer reliable.

Our school is working to upgrade the heating system and add air-conditioning to maintain a steady climate and a clean learning environment inside the classroom. Beyond good health, several academic studies have found a link between clean air and academic performance. In the Covid era, we know that continually cleaning air and maximizing airflow is the most important way to reduce viral transmission, even more important than surface disinfection.

Please support our efforts to improve our school air quality for students and staff. In coming months there will be several opportunities to be a part of this effort, which will require considerable financial resources. We ask you to remember our students and staff in your prayers, participate to the best of your ability, and consider a sustaining gift that will pay dividends to our community for years to come. Thank you for your generosity.

If you can help spearhead this effort, contact Michael Adams who is coordinating the multifaceted efforts to bring HVAC upgrades to St. Clare.

Below, you will find the Calendar Grid for the school year. Some find this difficult to navigate, so I’ve created the Calendar Highlights document which I hope will make it a bit easier for you to consume.

Some changes since the end of the school year: we added September 20th as a NO SCHOOL DAY and our School Year will end a day earlier. The original calendar had us attending 183 days of school, knowing that we had three days over the required 180 days. We are keeping the 181 days in the event we have to close for an emergency due to poor air quality.

Other options to view the calendar include a Google calendar synched to ParentSquare, or subscribing to the St. Clare School Public Calendar below:

Google Public Calendar

You are invited to subscribe to the St. Clare School *PUBLIC* Google Calendar which is also synched to ParentSquare.

PUBLIC URL TO ACCESS FROM A WEB BROWSER

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=drexelschools.org_u0vj6uj1r91qlk8hu9uk1t7qro%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FLos_Angeles

PUBLIC ADDRESS IN iCAL TO ACCESS FROM OTHER APPS

https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/drexelschools.org_u0vj6uj1r91qlk8hu9uk1t7qro%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Oct. 18 | DUE: Registration for Onsite Testing (school form)

Oct. 20 | DUE: Registration for Onsite Testing with COVID Testing Today (company website)

Oct. 22 | NO SCHOOL, NO CKZ | Teacher In-Service Day

Oct. 25 | RED RIBBON WEEK THEME DAY BEGINS | Theme Dress: TBA

Oct. 26 | RED RIBBON WEEK THEME | Theme Dress: TBA

Oct. 27 | RED RIBBON WEEK THEME | Theme Dress: TBA

Oct. 28 | RED RIBBON WEEK THEME | Theme Dress: TBA

Oct. 29 | Come to school in Halloween Costume | Parade at 1 P.M. followed by class parties

Oct. 30 | Proposed Trick or Treat Open House

Nov. 1 | All Saints Day Mass & 5th Grade Bible Ceremony | 10:45 P.M.

Nov. 2 | Celebration of Dia de los Muertos

Nov. 19 | End of Trimester 1

Nov. 25-26 | Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 16 | Christmas Program | 6-7 P.M.

Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com

Forming hearts and minds since 1856.

Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: https://www.stclare.school
Location: 750 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408 246-6797
Facebook: facebook.com/stclareschoolsantaclara