Principal's Corner

Dear Parents, 

Happy Monday, happy first week of Advent, and first day back from break! 

Advent is a time of preparation. We are preparing our hearts for the arrival of the infant Christ! We must make room for Him in our hearts! Advent is a wonderful time to assess our lives and to take a look at our priorities. If Christ has lost His proper place, it's time to make some changes! It's a wonderful journey! 

And now for some housekeeping:

NEW MESSAGES. 

• We will be starting a giving tree this Monday, November 28th. We are asking for winter items and travel-sized toiletries to benefit those at St. Francis Inn in Kensington and St. Vincent Homes. The attached flier has more information.
• We have an Open House December 4th following the 10:00am Mass. Please meet in the gym if you're interested and share with any prospective families. 
• The December calendar is attached. 
• Please find the attached with a breakdown of our Walk-a-thon fundraiser. 
• Report Cards will be sent home Friday, December 2nd. 
• As a reminder, our Christmas Concert is December 15th. We have two shows: 1:30 and 6:30. Students should be at both shows. 
• Did you know: You can now treat a teacher to lunch through @yaylunch? Registered Yay Lunch users can head to yaylunch.com to automatically add credits to a faculty or staff member’s Yay Lunch account (Psst faculty and staff members… make sure you’re registered!)   
• The National Junior Honor Society is also beginning their annual Toys for Tots collection. Various bins will be set-up to collect the toys. The attached flier has more information. 
• Another way to help Our Lady of Grace is through smile.amazon.com. If you go to that website, 0.5% of your purchases can be donated back to support Our Lady of Grace. There are more instructions here. 

• We are in the midst of our accreditation process. Your input is important. Please fill out the linked survey.
• We are beginning a Board and Card Game Club after-school on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:00-4:00 for second grade and above. The club will start this Wednesday. To sign-up, please email Mr. Harper. 
• Here is a message from Yay Lunch: Our Give Thanks Gift Card Sweepstakes will run from November 14 - December 11, and it’s incredibly simple for your parents, faculty and staff to enter. Every Yay Lunch order during the sweepstakes period counts as an automatic entry, and you can also enter by nominating someone to win a Yay Lunch gift card — which secures an entry for you and your nominee, too. There is no limit to the number of entries, and two winners will be drawn every week during the sweepstakes period. (So that’s eight winners + eight teachers total!)
• The IU has hired a new Catapult teacher. Jennifer Radditz will start with us the week of December 4th. Thank you for your patience.
• The parish will be hosting Lunch with Santa again this year on December 3rd. Please fill out the attached form and return to Betsy Casey. 

Go Gators! 

In Christ, 
-Mr. Harper