We Are Called

"Yet even now, return to me with your whole heart; with fasting, weeping and mourning. Rend your heart, not your garment. Return to Yahweh, your God - gracious and compassionate." Joel 2:12

Last week for the staff meeting, we all went over to church and walked The Stations of the Cross. I do love this devotion as there are so many versions that you can meditate on. When I visited Jerusalem I was able to to walk the actual stations through the city. Though our tour group met at 6:00 a.m. to avoid the crowds of the busy city, it was still busy. We had a large group and it was hard to keep up. We were encouraged to imagine what it was like when Jesus was walking this for the first time.

When I went to World Youth Day in Poland they had a special version that was acted out - including acrobatics. Again it was a large crowd and so much was going on.

More than once, last Tuesday, I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was in the church. How people were moving at different paces, there were some tears, and some lingered while others hurried off. It was all so beautiful and prayerful. After they returned, grade levels were to plan Lent for their classrooms.

We begin Lent on Wednesday with Ashes. The season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving will be emphasized in each classroom. We will have a penance service in early March for the students.

Lent is meant to be personal, but it begins with the end in mind - the celebration of Easter! My Bible Diary says, "Lent is characterized by penance for our past sins, works of mercy especially toward the poor, and personal preparation for the renewal of our baptismal promises on Easter. Our tears of penance renew in our hearts and souls the water of baptism."

We are Called!

Kathy Rhodes

Like most volunteer positions, we usually get more than we give! It is time to find chairs for next year's activities for CPS. Please let us know if you have questions about the document.

March 2 Ash Wednesday

March 4 Spirit Day - CYO Track Pictures

March 11 Serve Day and Talent Show

March 14-18 Spring Break

March 21 school resumes, except for Kindergarten - round up day!

March 31 Brown Bottle Basket Donations Due

April 20 Confirmation

Staffing may be the most important part of the planning for the upcoming school year. Although contracts will not be issued until mid April, I have been notified that a few current teachers are planning on changes. I appreciate their service and commitment to SHOJ as this allows us to plan ahead and have a large pool of people to interview. I am happy for each of the following as they are able to make career choices, but am sad to lose them as they have been an important part of our community. Mrs. Nora Tripp, Mrs. Haley Trautloff, and Miss Julia Hammond have let me know that they do not plan to return to teaching next year. Join me in thanking them for their service and praying for them and those who may be called to take their place. God bless you.

Updates coming soon. Keep praying the Rosary!

SHOJ Rosary Committee

One of the coolest things I get to experience as a school counselor is to watch kids grow. I get the privilege of knowing and working with your students throughout their entire SHOJ career. I see them face many new things such as starting school, making new friends, making their First Communion and Confirmation, and seeing them graduate from 8th grade. I am sure you can agree that all of these moments include some mixed feelings and maybe even some level of stress. We talk often about stress and anxiety during my counseling lessons and when I meet with students individually and in small groups. I can easily see that it is a universal feeling; kindergarten students might feel it when trying to learn how letters and numbers work together while our 8th graders might feel it when trying to learn how to work well together with their friends. It can be rooted in excitement or it can come from the fear of doubting that we can handle what is ahead. Stress can be strong enough to cause pain. C.S. Lewis said “pain is God’s megaphone.” What I notice is that some of us are hard of hearing. We tend to ignore physical, mental, and spiritual warning signs. God wants us to tune our ears to the messages He sends us through our minds and bodies. My job is to encourage students to become aware of their stress and start to name it in order to start taming it. But stress and worry isn't all bad. It can be helpful and keep us safe if we act on it in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. In this way, it can act as a caution signal.

If you are wondering if your child's worry is creeping into more concerning anxiety or if you are interested in learning how you can help your child prepare for the unknown ahead, check out the links below...

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/worrying.html

https://catholiccounselors.com/three-steps-to-peaceful-parenting/

During the week of Valentines, we would like to celebrate love, friendship and the art of being kind. National Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17th) allows us to think about others and how we can take initiative to pay it forward with a simple act of kindness. During the month of February, try out some of the simple and creative ideas from the grid above to really get the kindness flowing. Help your student take note of how he or she feels after initiating a kind deed. Chances are good that he or she feels as good (or better than) the recipient of the kindness.

Here is another healthy recipe to enjoy!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups White Whole Wheat Flour

⅓ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Baking Soda

¼ tsp Salt

2 tbsp Oil

⅓ cup Honey

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

1 Egg White

1 cup shredded Zucchini

¼ cup Applesauce

½ cup Milk (can also use Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)

½ cup regular or mini Chocolate Chips

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. If using a mini muffin pan, spray with

nonstick cooking spray.

2. Squeeze shredded zucchini of excess water with a paper towel. This is important, so don’t forget!

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

4. In a separate bowl mix oil, honey, vanilla, egg and egg white. Then add zucchini, applesauce and milk

and stir. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

5. Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin pan. If using the 12 cup muffin tin, bake 22-25 minutes or until

toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. If making mini muffins, bake 10-15 minutes or until

toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. After 5 minutes, remove muffins and transfer to wire

rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

**Please continue to remind students to bring in a water bottle every day and email mary.hungerford@shoj.org or attendance@shoj.org if your child will be absent, tardy or leaving early.**

Nurse Mary

Registration with our unique charity link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/48-0625990

School Families: Adoration for the wellbeing of parish students and teachers (signupgenius.com)

Faith and Family Night with the Kansas City Mavericks is on February 25th. $5.00 from each ticket sale will be donated to Catholic Charities. Use the link to purchase your tickets and join your friends and family for an evening of ice hockey with the Mavericks while supporting Catholic Charities. https://offer.fevo.com/mavericks-vs-utah-grizzlies-k6pybhb-80484cb?fevoUri=mavericks-vs-utah-grizzlies-k6pybhb-80484cb%2F

Save the Date!

3rd-8th grade CYO Track Team Yearbook photos will be taken at school on Friday, March 4.

· Please remind your students to wear their “We are Called” school spirit shirt with uniform bottoms or jeans on that day.

· CYO Track photos will be taken during the 3rd-8th grade lunch times. Please talk with your child about this in advance so that they know if they are planning to be in track or not. I will just ask that all track members join us for the photo at their grade-level’s time.

I have had the chance to go to several CYO games and just want to acknowledge the hard work of the coaches. I am impressed with the demeanor and the commitment to work with the players at all levels. I was never brave enough to take on the challenge of coaching and want everyone to know the great value you add to our school community. I also want to acknowledge the great sportsmanship that I witnessed. Sacred Heart of Jesus is represented so well. THANK YOU ALL!

Sunday, February 27th

7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Jr. High Youth Rally is an annual event hosted by the Office of Evangelization and Catholic Formation of Youth.We will meet at 7:30 a.m. in SHOJ Johnson Drive side parking lot to carpool to Prairie Star Ranch (1 hour drive).

After registering, please fill out this permission slip and return to Jen beforehand at jen.zans@shoj.org or at drop off Sunday morning: https://files.ctctusercontent.com/593b3045601/bc5114ff-41db-4529-b3f9-75ce815a883c.pdf?rdr=true

We are so excited to be bringing our Annual SHOJ Brown Bottle back IN PERSON this year! The event will take place on Saturday April 30th and it will be a “Derby” of a time! One of the more popular items for Brown Bottle are the amazing Raffle Baskets we’re able to assemble thanks to generous donations from our Sacred Heart School and SOR families!! This year we are streamlining the process and have created a sign up genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0844A5AA22A7F94-2022) based on the various themes! We prayerfully ask that you select an item(s) that you’d like to purchase and donate. No time to shop?...there is a link imbedded in the sign up genius where you can make a cash donation and we’ll do the shopping for you! Your child(ren) can bring in their item(s) anytime between now and April 1st and drop them by the office or give them to their teacher! Details on how to purchase raffle basket tickets for your opportunity to win, will be forthcoming!

Here is an Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2SKGX1MNPKINW?ref_=wl_share

We're so excited to include the SHOJ Classroom Projects for this year's Brown Bottle Dinner and Auction, which will be held on Saturday April 30th! We've come up with some fun classroom projects that will be available for purchase or bidding on during the silent auction but we need your help! Beth Menghini and Megan Ubben are graciously leading the efforts and have come up with some great ideas. We're trying to take as much off of the teachers as possible, so they are looking for 1 parent per classroom to help with these projects! (No art degrees are necessary!) Please sign up here: https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/10c0f4baaae2da6f94-brown

Please contact Jen Zans or check the parish website for information on the following:

Prayer & Action:
June 12-17
June 26-July 1
July 17-22

Steubenville Conference: July 8-10

Register for one or both trips here: https://web4u.forms-db.com/view.php?id=1244037

Welcome to Data Central - Data Central (ksde.org)

Email: kathy.rhodes@shoj.org
Website: school.SHOJ.com
Location: 21801 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS, USA
Phone: 9134225520
Facebook: facebook.com/SacredHeartCatholicSchool