We, the St. Clare School Community, joyfully embrace the Gospel mission entrusted by Christ to His Church.

Believing that everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, we cherish and celebrate our diverse backgrounds and cultures.

WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR GENEROSITY

Thank you to those who have sent in their contributions to the Annual Fund. Tuition is the primary means to cover St. Clare School’s $2.8 million operating cost and the St. Clare School Annual Fund helps to bridge the gap between tuition collected and the actual cost of educating each student. In order to continue providing outstanding student-centered programs while forming morally and ethically responsible citizens, we count on you to offer your financial support through our Annual Fund appeal. With your support, we will be able to keep the tuition increases to a minimum so that our program continues to be accessible to many families in this Valley.

If you haven't already contributed, here are a some ways to respond to this appeal:

• make a donation via the School Store
• make a donation via WeShare in the parish site by clicking on "St. Clare School"
• make a donation by sending along a check to St. Clare School marked "2019 Annual Fund"
• check to see if your company will match donations and let the school know how we can make this happen
• send along the links to your family and friends, St. Clare School alumni, and other supporters of Catholic education and urge them to support our 2019 Annual Fund

Your contribution, no matter the size, signals your support for our work as a community. Thank you for your generosity and for your continued response to building a village of care and compassion and for our work to prepare students to learn, lead, serve and succeed.

WE FELT THE LOVE!

Thank you to the Third Grade families who provided us with lots of love today to celebrate our February birthdays: Mrs. Filion and Ms. McCormick! We love all the sweets and the goodies. Mahalo!

EXCITING PROSPECTS AT THE ANNUAL BENEFIT ON FEBRUARY 23

If you haven't yet decided if you're going to the Annual Benefit on February 23, don't wait any longer. Not only will you get to spend a wonderful evening with fellow St. Clare School families, many of your favorite teachers will be in attendance! More importantly, there are some amazing auction items you wouldn't want to miss out on. I'm offering a Buy A Spot for students to make sushi (or lumpia, or both) together! There will also be a Principal for a Day option available for the lucky student who will get to "run" the school for a day. He or she will get to set the "theme" dress for the day, lead morning assembly, sign some important "papers", call the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, meet with the pastor and more importantly, take a few friends to lunch with Mrs. Mantecon and Sr. Ann Marie! How exciting is that. For the grown ups, my friend and Drexel schools tech guru Jed de Torres, an accomplished chef who has prepared feasts for CEOs and Bay Area funders, the Bishop and other Catholic school families has agreed to prepare a sumptuous French-inspired 6-course feast including a decadent dessert to 3 couples or 6 individuals. The feast will be served by me and some of your favorite teachers. This is one that you wouldn't want to miss! We want to see those paddles going up...besides, who can say no to Eddie Anderson who will be our auctioneer/emcee for the evening?? We hope to raise lots of money but even more joy for St. Clare School!

INTENT TO RETURN FORMS ARE NOW PAST DUE

Thank you to those who have returned their forms. Thank you, too, to those who have reached out with questions. If you are still discerning, please return your form marked "MAYBE". Your tuition will be collected as usual and if you decide to register, we will collect the $450 registration fee per child at that time. Otherwise, your registration fees will be drawn and your February tuition will be collected in May. Thank you for sending yours in today!

As always, if there is any hardship, please reach out: cecile.mantecon@dsj.org or 408-246-6797 x 102

PLEASE JOIN US IN CELEBRATING OUR COMMUNITY

Tomorrow, our Third Graders are leading our prayer service in the church at 9.

Sunday at the 9 A.M. mass is the Family Mass for St. Clare School. Come a join the celebration and reconnect with alumni and current school families! We would love to see you!

Rather than offering a reflection this week, please enjoy the video and reflection from Henri Nouwen below that will hopefully make you move with joy in realizing that you are loved. May your Friday and the week ahead be filled with wonder and awe!

God's blessings always,

Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal

"It might sound strange to say that joy is the result of our choices. We often imagine that some people are luckier than others and that their joy or sorrow depends on the circumstances of their life - over which they have no control.

However, we do have a choice, not so much in regard to the circumstances of our life, but in regard to the way we respond to these circumstances... It is important to become aware that at every moment of our life we have an opportunity to choose joy. Life has many sides to it. There are always sorrowful and joyful sides to the reality we live. And so, we always have a choice to live the moment as a cause for resentment or as a cause for joy. It is in the choice that our true freedom lies, and that freedom is, in the final analysis, the freedom to love.

It might be a good idea to ask ourselves how we develop our capacity to choose for joy. Maybe we could spend a moment at the end of each day and decide to remember that day - whatever may have happened - as a day to be grateful for. In so doing we increase our heart's capacity to choose for joy. And as our hearts become more joyful, we will become, without any special effort, a source of joy for others. Just as sadness begets sadness, so joy begets joy."

Our school will be celebrating Lunar New Year on Wednesday, February 13th. If you are interested in ordering Chinese food for your child that day, please fill out attached order form to the school office by February 8th.

We will begin the day with morning assembly and then proceed as a school community to the hall to participate in the festivities. Please join us!

Dear Community,

We are sending out this extremely important appeal to you as we have seen a dramatic decline in volunteers for yard duty. Although this is a high service hour opportunity, it is also a position that requires a full year commitment. Your participation in keeping our students safe and secure during the lunch hour is extremely important! Without your service we will be forced to look to hire from the outside.

Please consider volunteering for yard duty and committing to one hour per week for the remainder of the school year. Volunteering your time keeps tuition down as an alternative to paid supervision.

Thank you! The St. Clare School Faculty and Staff appreciate your continued support and commitment.

The School Office

We're currently looking for photos to be added to the yearbook. All grades are needed. Photos from school events, functions, school sports games, field trips, classroom activities, volunteer events, etc. All photos are welcome (i.e. silly or action shots) Please submit the photos via email or a usb drive to the School Office or Becky Allison (rb_allison@yahoo.com). Highest picture format/resolution is best.

This year, we will also be accepting photos taken by students. Photos submitted should only be of fellow St. Clare students. Please note, no malicious photos or photos in poor taste will be accepted.

For privacy purposes, none of the photos will appear on any social media platform. This is strictly for the yearbook.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Becky Allison at rb_allison@yahoo.com

• 2/9 TK-K Screening; Prospective Student Screening for All Grades
• 2/8 Registration fees appear in FACTS; 2/20 Registration fees processed
• 2/13 Lunar New Year Celebrations: Stay Tuned for Details!
• 2/23 Annual Benefit: Jardin de Paris - INVITATIONS sent home with your child
• 3/6 Ash Wednesday
• 3/4 - 3/8 Book Fair
• 3/5 Ice Cream Social / Young Authors' Faire
• 3/15 Local Holiday | No School No CKZ
• 3/16 Saturday Work Day
• 3/22 Teacher In Service Day | No School
• 3/29 Sock Hop

FACEBOOK | @stclareschoolsantaclara

Go find us on Facebook! Make sure you LIKE the page and share the link with others.

Please share the ALUMNI GOOGLE FORM link https://goo.gl/forms/pEtJxf8h5OBlnMF93

with all the alumni you know so that we can continue to tell the story of St. Clare!

Email: office@stclareschool.org
Website: drexel.dsj.org/stclareschool
Location: 725 Washington Street, Santa Clara, CA, USA
Phone: 408-246-6797