Joyfully Embracing Our Mission
St. Clare School Family News | 26 September 2021
Journeying in Hope and Love: Building a Culture of Accompaniment
The Road to Emmaus
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
Dear St. Clare School Families,
Msgr. Fran’s homily at Sunday morning’s family mass was full of inspiration from the Holy Spirit. We have been seeing and hearing about the wider “WE” during Immigrant and Migrant Week this week. We are so fortunate to be living in the Valley of the Heart’s Delight that sometimes we take for granted that others, especially those who work in the background and margins so that we can have the freshest produce, eat the tastiest food and share in the richest traditions and culture, do not have as much as we do. What is our call to action? How can we make this place that has been as welcoming to us, become just as welcoming to ALL? While watching the Tony Awards tonight, one of the award recipients reminded us all that we need to make the “table” bigger so that we can invite more to “it”. We are who we are because of our differences. Let us become who we ought to be by uniting these differences to work together to include all.
PARENT-TEACHER-STUDENT CONFERENCES | October 5-7, starting at 1:30 P.M.
Kindly sign up as soon as your teachers post the conference schedule. If you could save teachers the time to have to reach out to you because you hadn’t signed up by Wednesday, it would be tremendously helpful. Here some tidbits for the week:
Monday, Oct. 4 is the only full day this week.
Dismissal for October 5-8 is 12:30 P.M.
All conferences are on ZOOM.
Conferences are October 5-7, starting at 1:30 P.M.
Grades 5-8 students attend and lead their conferences.
Conferences are 20 minutes in length.
Follow up meetings can be scheduled at a later time.
Grades 5-8 students must schedule conferences with their homeroom teachers first.
Middle school subject area teachers may offer time slots after all homeroom students have scheduled homeroom conferences.
CKZ will be available for all students who regularly attend. If you plan on attending as a drop in, please reach out to valerye.moore@dsj.org.
Sign up by Wednesday, September 29.
Your teachers will be communicating details including Zoom IDs.
INTRAMURAL SPORTS BEGINS SEPT. 27!
Practices begin at 3:15 on Monday, Sept. 27. Please consult message from Ms. Valerye. Kindly send in payments with your student. As of this evening, only one payment has been received. Thank you to our volunteer coaches and Mr. Nguyen!
CELEBRATING ST. FRANCIS AT FRIDAY’S MASS
We will celebrate the Feast of St. Francis at Mass this Friday. We are asking students in TK-8 to bring stuffed animals or pictures of pets to HOLD UP during the Blessing of the Animals at Mass. Your teachers will remind you of this as well.
THE ST. CLARE SCHOOL SILVER BOX CHOIR PERFORMED THIS WEEKEND
Mr. Joey reports the students did well at this weekend’s performance. If you have a video or a photo of the event, kindly share it with us (teresea.mckinnon@dsj.org). Thank you for allowing your students to share their talents!
SAVE THE DATE AND REMINDERS
OMG Tea St. Clare Community/PTG Fundraiser until Sept. 30
Wednesdays are ALWAYS 12:30 dismissal days
Drop off supervision begins at 7:45 and ends at 7:55. Gates are locked by 8 A.M.
Continue to follow safety guidelines and safe driving habits around school.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENCOUNTER
Even if volunteer opportunities have been filled for yard duty, if you are able to join us, kindly email Ms. McKinnon (teresea.mckinnon@dsj.org or stclare-office@dsj.org). We could always use your help.
Remember to log your hours in ParentSquare under PARTICIPATE>Volunteer Hours.
You can check your progress towards completing your volunteer requirement of 30 hours per family (15 hours for single parent households).
LAST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH: NON-UNIFORM DAY!
Please consult free dress/non-uniform guidelines. If your student has PE on this day, kindly make sure they come to school in clothing that will allow them to move freely. Tight/skinny jeans are not a good idea. Athletic shoes are required for PE.
We will also honor those who celebrated birthdays in September.
In humble service,
Mrs. Cecile Mantecon, Principal
A MESSAGE FROM THE HVAC COMMITTEE
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.
Reporting Attendance
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).
Picture Retake Day Wednesday, October 27th
2021-22 School Calendar
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
PUBLIC ADDRESS IN iCAL TO ACCESS FROM OTHER APPS
Our Beloved St. Clare
Photo by Ed Carlo Garcia www.edcarlogarcia.com
St. Clare School
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
