22 April Letter from Mr. Kelly

Dear SJS Catholic School Community,

It’s exciting to make such great progress here at SJS as we have just a month of school left.  We hope your Easter was a time of renewal and relaxation with family.  I read recently that many consider Christmas to be the most important day in the Catholic calendar, but from the earliest days of the Church, Easter has been a central Christian feast.  Saint Paul wrote, “If Christ had not been raised, then empty is our preaching, empty too, your faith.”  Without Easter and the resurrection, there simply is no Christian faith.  Easter symbolizes the fulfillment of our faith as Christians.  So, thanks to God for the many blessings of our Easter season.

Kids make mistakes.  That’s what they do.  It’s our job as parents and teachers to help them learn from those mistakes.  And, that can be difficult as no one wants to see their child struggle or be uncomfortable.  But, facing consequences, and learning from mistakes, learning that parents will not be able to save them from poor decisions, is a very important skill for students later in life.  Let’s learn from little mistakes now, so big ones can be avoided later.  If we look back at our own childhoods likely many of the best lessons we learned were when consequences were faced and lessons learned.  So, supervise your student, keep them safe (pay attention to online and cell phone activity) but your support of school and teacher decisions is vital for growth and future success.

Each student signed a Pledge for Catholic Kindness, we have found this to be a way to engage in and review our Catholic expectations.  We want our students to use appropriate language and have Catholic interactions at all times, and overall, our kids do very well.  Feel free to make these expectations a part of your student’s home life as well.

We are excited for our 8^th graders who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation tonight and next week.  The sealing of the Holy Spirit, and the blessing of this sacrament are an important step in the faith.  Thanks to Mrs. Walters, Ms. Kusek, our pastors, and all our parents for all their hard work in preparation.

Nest Fest if off to a great start, thanks for your support.  We hope to have such a successful event that a new gym floor can be put in, perhaps even over the summer.  See this Virtual Backpack for the details of upcoming event days.  And, thanks to Raye Nord and the Nest Fest Committee for all their hard work in preparation.  The Home and School does much to support the school and students and this event is a fun way to lend your support.

Monday is a free-will out of uniform day in support of the pro-life organization, Essential Pregnancy Services.  This is completely optional.  We appreciate your support of this worthy organization.  Thanks for all you do.