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

Congratulations to your students and their teachers for completing the first trimester of the 2021-22 academic year. Looking back, I am filled with gratitude for the teachers who joined us this year who have been amazing at building community with one another and in their classrooms. They welcomed students who hadn’t been back in person since March 2020 and welcomed new students as well. They have created a safe and loving environment in which students are seen and valued.

Academically, students have grown in their practice: learning to self-advocate, practicing self-regulation, thinking critically, problem-solving and collaborating with peers. There is still a lot of mastery left to accomplish, but with your help at home, we will achieve success! Student progress will be reported to you in a way that will help you encourage and accompany your students, allowing them to make mistakes, fail forward and try again. These experiences build resilience and teach students to persevere through challenges. If there is one thing we take away from this pandemic, it is that we are stronger than we think and that we are not alone in our suffering.

Elementary school is the place where our students learn about themselves through the relationships they build. It is our role as school and home to form the whole child who will make the right choices to become a better version of themselves. The friendships and decisions they will make in high school and beyond will depend on the formation they receive from the community that surrounds them now.

Thank you for taking your role as partners in this endeavor as seriously as our teachers and our school community does!

JOURNEYING THROUGH ST. CLARE SCHOOL

Many thanks to Mrs. Rizzo for facilitating the reimagined open house event on Saturday. With the help of room reps, Ms. McKinnon and Mrs. Kogura, the event brought lots of joyful noise in our hallways as current and prospective families walked-through the classrooms to view student work, classroom set up and hear about what classroom happenings that teachers pre-recorded.

Attendees got a personalized “travel kit” in a St. Clare bag that included a Silver Box pencil, a logo face covering, a logo post-it note and water. They were handed a passport so that for QR code stickers to view the recordings from home. We have shared these QR Codes with you below so that if you weren’t able to attend, you can still hear about our programs from the teacher recordings.

Thank you to the teachers for their help in preparing for this day!

HOSPITALITY AFTER 10:30 SUNDAY MASS

Thank you to the Nolan Family for their donation of donuts and to Angel Tañedo for the homemade pan de sal. It’s great to see our community gathering to connect after Family Mass again. We hope to see you all soon!

Msgr. invites you all to Thanksgiving Mass on Thursday at 9 A.M. Bring non-perishable items for St. Vincent de Paul’s pantry and bring an item you will be sharing at your table that evening to be blessed.

Please remember that Sunday masses will be in the Church starting next Sunday (the First Sunday of Advent). We will continue to have weekly school masses in the tent for the foreseeable future.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST WEEK

• We concluded the successful collection and education drive for Adopt-A-Family. Thank you for your generous donation. More importantly, we hope that the effort provided an opportunity for you to share the importance of the gesture: to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. Our gratitude for the gifts we have been given should compel us to act with empathy.

• Michele Huntzinger spoke with the students on Friday morning regarding Stand Up For Kids, an organization that serves homeless youth. We spoke about your children doing chores to earn money to benefit giving to this community. Once again, the more important piece of this campaign is to instill in our children the desire to help another human being who do not have the privileges and advantages that they were born into. You will see communications from the Mission and Catholic Identity Committee regarding this drive, another effort in our .one.love. Campaign. St. Clare School truly does care!

• Students decorated placemats for JW House. Kathy Almazol will be coming in to speak with students at morning assembly this week to share the story of JW Knapen and his dream to build a house for families of children hospitalized at Kaiser in Santa Clara. JW House has a deep connection to Santa Clara and the St. Clare School community.

FACING FORWARD

• We begin the second trimester of the school year with lots of promise. Teachers are completing report cards for the first grading period. Mrs. Kogura will be communicating separately regarding the timeline: when you can expect report cards to be sent to you via ParentSquare message. In addition, we will announce the trimester’s Young Christian at an assembly the week we return from Thanksgiving break. Stay tuned. Mrs. Kogura will include Middle School awards assembly date and times in her message.

• Tuesday, November 30 is GIVING TUESDAY. Please consider St. Clare School in your gift-giving this year. Kindly reach out to Mrs. Mantecon if you have any questions. Any amount is appreciated.

• Mr. Joey, our music teacher, is preparing an exciting Christmas program which will be pre-recorded. He will communicate with you and your homeroom teachers directly to let you know when the recording will be scheduled and if your students need to be dressed a certain way and if any props will be used!

• The current plan is to have an in-person viewing party in the tent of the pre-recorded show the evening of December 16 for those who are able to come. Those who wish to have their own viewing parties will be able to do so via a link that will be shared in ParentSquare at 6 P.M. on December 16. Stay tuned for details!

• Star assessment period begins December 1.

• Students in grades 3-8 will get the opportunity to participate and receive the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance) on Dec. 2 and 3. We are so grateful to Msgr. Fran and Fr. Jonathan for providing this opportunity for us to prepare the way of the Lord this Advent!

• Students will participate in the Diocese of San Jose’s VIRTUS safe environment curriculum lessons starting the week of December 6. More information coming your way when we return. VIRTUS is offered under the direction of the Bishop’s Office for Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults. VIRTUS, our Youth Code of Conduct, restorative discipline policy, and our Silver Box philosophy make up the ways we form the whole child in embracing the gospel message to anchor all decisions based on LOVE.

I hope that this last week of Ordinary Time, ushered in by the Solemnity of Christ the King reminds us of the great love our sovereign Lord and Savior has for all of us. May we respond in gratitude for the many blessings we have received through His mercy and goodness!

Peace and all good things

Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal

Students arriving once the school assembly has started and drop off gates have been closed must proceed to the School Office and be signed in by a parent before heading to class or assembly.

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

Nov. 24 | Early Dismissal 12:30 P.M. No CKZ

Nov. 25-26 | Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 1 | Star Window 2 Begins

Dec. 7 | PTG Meeting 6:30 P.M.

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

Dec. 20 - Dec. 31st | Christmas Break

Jan. 3rd School Resumes Welcome Back

Jan. 17 No School | Martin Luther King Jr. Day Observed

Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com

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