Heart Beat Weekly Online Newsletter

Principal's Corner

Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.
~ St. Francis of Assisi.

Dear Sacred Heart Families,

Of all the great saints I'd like to meet one day, St. Francis is first on my list. For one thing, he had a great sense of humor (see above quote.) As a Catholic, I've always had a lot of secret pride that St. Francis is ours! The great Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton converted to Catholicism apparently because "only the Roman Church could produce a St. Francis of Assisi." He's the one saint I can point to and say, "He's the guy," and everyone understand clearly what I mean. I've actually done that with people many different faiths, in many different countries, and it's amazing how many of them also identify with St. Francis. Pope John Paul II held his great conference with leaders of many faiths in the village of Assisi for this very reason. At this time of the year, when all the school's animals come together for their yearly blessing, it's good to remember what an amazing representative St. Francis is for our church.

Last week, I mentioned a few important "thank yous." Here are a few more:
Mrs. Harter for all her work planning the One Heart Week.
Mrs. Anderson and all the Yard Duty parents for all their work on the yard.
Mrs. Giammona and Mrs. Verhofstadt for taking the 8th graders to Yosemite.
All Parent Drivers going to Yosemite.

INNISBROOK FUNDRAISER: The recently-ended fundraiser was a great success! Four classes posted over a 90% participation rate, and the overall rate was over 83%. That is amazing. Total sales were just shy of $30,000. The award for top sales, by class, goes to the FOURTH GRADE. Congratulations Fourth Grade parents and students.
And thanks again to Mrs. Ratra, Mrs. Zoco and everyone else who helped make this fundraiser a success, and for all their hard work and support for our school.

WE WELCOME: We welcome the Sands Family to our family. Katie is in kindergarten and Ian is in 3rd grade. We are so pleased the Sands joined our community, and wish them many years of joy and learning.

ONE HEART WEEK: A fun and memorable time was had by all last week. The One Heart "families" met several times over the course of the week, engaged in some fun activities, and even shared a donut or two. Of particular note was Mrs. Foehr's one-woman "No-bully / Respect" show last Tuesday for all the schools students. She prepared an excellent lesson and brought it home with the help of the 8th graders. Well done everyone.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS: Thanks to Deacon Don Sifferman for bravely blessing all the dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, and all creatures great and small yesterday morning. What a cacophony of noise that was! St. Francis must have been smiling!

IMPROMPTU LUNCH: Online ordering began last week. Please remember to get on line and order your lunches through the website. It's convenient and easy.

YOSEMITE: We wish a fantastic week to Mrs. Giammona, Mrs. Verhofstadt, and the 8th Graders. The trip is something the students have looked forward to for a long time, and their teachers have spent countless hours preparing for it all. It will be a bit quiet around here with out them about. Have a great week next week.

PROGRESS REPORTS: Please look for progress reports this Friday. We've looked for ways to improve them and make them more meaningful and helpful for parents and students. If you have any questions about your child's progress, please let the teachers know.

COLUMBUS DAY: Next Monday is a holiday-please enjoy your three day weekend (if you get one!)

God bless,

Tom Pulchny

Notes from the Bookkeeper
by Diane Grosso

When writing a check to the school, please remember to memo what it is for. With all the new school year activity, there have been checks turned in with no form or activity indicated. We don't want your child to go without pizza or ice cream or hotdogs!!

All families that have elected to pay via the SMART payment plan should have already received notification from the company regarding their monthly payment. If paying by credit card, remember to update the card's expiration date so payment will not be denied. Remember that all late fees are your responsibility. If you elected to pay by invoice-there's an easier way! Contact me at the school office, bring in a voided check and I can set you up on automatic payment-no more envelopes and stamps!

Enclosed in today's envelope is an invoice for Extended Care if your student has attended. Please refer to the Extended Care policies on pages 38 and 39 in the 2009-2010 Parent and Student Handbook. Any questions with regard to attendance, please call Mrs. Walker at Ext. 147. Payment is due by October 15th.

Open House at St.Francis

We would like to invite all parents and students to attend our annual Open House on Sunday, November 1st from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Tours leave from Raskob Gym every 15 minutes, and last about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Registration is not required and you are welcome to join us when it is most convenient. Saint Francis High School is located at 1885 Miramonte Avenue, Mountain View, CA.

Sports News

Our athletes got off to a good start with some exciting games! Good job!

This Week:
10/5     8-1VB is at Lucy at 3:45, 6VB is at Lucy at 4:45, 7VB is at Lucy at 6:00
10/6     5VB is at Holy Spirit 1 at 3:45
10/7      7/8FB plays Lucy at 3:45, 8-2VB is at Clare at 4:45
10/8     5VB plays Mary at 3:45, 8-2VB plays Mary at 4:45 & 8-1VB plays Mary at 5:45
10/9     5/6FB plays Holy Spirit 5 at 3:45

Next Week:
10/13 6VB plays SFC 1 at 3:45
10/15 5VB goes to Clare at 3:45
10/16 6VB plays Holy Spirit 1 at 3:45, 7VB plays Holy Spirit 2 at
4:45, 5/6 FB plays Mary at 3:45

Good Luck everyone! Have a great week, Sandy.

Faith Formation
by Patrick DeLorenzo

Take MST

The Music Spirit Team is doing a great job. Mrs.Wyant is very excited about all the potential for this group. So if you are still interested please join MST at lunch time on Wednesdays. If it is a short Wednesday the MST will gather from 12:30-1:10 pm in front of the church for lunch and rehearsal. The MST has the full practice Wednesday nights in the church from 7-8 pm for all those in grades 3-8. Don't miss this opportunity to give back to God the musical gifts He has given you! Questions call Mrs.Wyant at 408-867-4103.

Twice a week I teach catechism to the children in the morning at the general assembly before school begins. This year I have been focusing on God's Word, the Bible and the Sacred Scriptures. We must ask ourselves what is the purpose of God's Word? Why God's Word so important? The New York best seller list will not even put the Bible on its list because it by far out sells every other book consistently. Throughout history they estimate that there has been between 2.5 billion to 6 billion Bibles sold. The next biggest seller is from Communist China the sayings of Mao Zedong with about 800 million sold and many more freely distributed.

The Bible - is the revealed truth about God, the way God wanted it told. We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. Meaning inspiration by the Holy Spirit was imparted to the writers. Not that God dictated to these writers what to say, but God used people in their time, culture and experiences to convey a message about who He is through the ages. There will be no new revelation about God until He returns. This means that our understanding of God must be found in the Scriptures - one could not make up things about God and pass it as truth if it is not somehow found in the Sacred Scriptures. As Catholics, we believe, Tradition is as important as Sacred Scripture. Scriptures, however, come from tradition and that the Holy Spirit continues to guide us, but in like manner Tradition could never contradict Sacred Scripture.

Why study the Bible? Why is it so important? Simply, the Bible is the owners manual on life. Now imagine getting a new Tivo, or a new camcorder that came without any instructions - it can be frustrating trying to figure out how to use it. I think about software and the people in the office using it for years without ever knowing all the other functions the software could do. They are so surprised and grateful when I have shown them. If we wonder why our lives might be out of sync, if we feel unfulfilled or lack of joy, we simply need to start going through the owners manual to figure out how to live this thing we call life. If you are interested in a Bible Study we will be beginning Thursday at 9 am in the Parish Center. For more info call me, Patrick DeLorenzo at 408-867-1530 all are welcomed to join.

Grade 2 and Grade 8 Parents Please Note:

Grade 2 Parent/Child Reconciliation Meeting
Sunday, October 18 (10:15-11:30), Geary Hall

Grade 8 Parent/Child Confirmation Meeting
Sunday, October 18 (3:30-5:00), Geary Hall followed by Blessing of Candidates at 5pm Mass.

SHS Halloween Carnival Black Cat

The Halloween Carnival will soon be upon us, Friday October 30, 2009. Please download your forms and turn them into the school office via the Tuesday envelope. A seperate email with the Halloween forms have been sent to all school parents by email! Thank you!

Impromptu Catering @ SHS

Parents please note:

The entrees for October 12 and 13 are reversed.
If you have any questions or need assistance please contact us anytime. 605-1777. We apologize for the change the week of October 12.
Thank you for your continued support.

Christian Living Outreach Foster Care Walk

Sacred Heart School and Parish/Christian Living Outreach Opportunity

Are your children willing to go the extra mile? If so, there is a wonderful opportunity available to volunteer their time for a few hours to help support the Foster Children of Santa Clara Valley (KAFPA). This organization is hosting a 5K walk on Saturday October 24, 2009, and they need volunteers to help run it. This is a great way to fulfill your Christian Living Outreach hours for the 1st Trimester!

Arrival time: 8:30am-registration (10:00 walk). Duration is as long as you can offer your time.
Location: History Park-Corner of Senter Rd. and Phelan Ave. in San Jose. (Next to Happy Hollow/Kelly Park).

They need youth volunteers (preferably 5th-8th graders) to help:

pass out waters and packaged snacks to the walkers,

registration, sign-in, passing out their merchandise,

cleanup at the end of the walk

If this sounds like something you or your kids would like to help with, please contact the 7th grade Christian Living Rep, Trudi Dionne-Reid at tdreid@comcast.net or fill out the signup sheets in the School office. The spots will fill up fast so please hurry! Deadline to sign up is Oct 9th @ 3:00pm.

More information click on the link below:
5K Walk Information

Box Tops

Sacred Heart School needs FREE money and because you collect and clip Boxtops all year long, our school receives FREE money from Boxtops For Education. This year is no different. Please begin to send to school all Boxtops that have accumulated over the past couple of months. Please help out by clipping them down and submit with your child's name.

The month of October we will award prizes to our TOP CLIPPERS!

Thank you for your support!

Our Lady of the Rosary
Saint of the Week

Pope St. Pius V established this feast in 1573. The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto-a victory attributed to the praying of the rosary. Clement XI extended the feast to the universal Church in 1716. The development of the rosary has a long history.

First, a practice developed of praying 150 Our Fathers in imitation of the 150 Psalms. Then there was a parallel practice of praying 150 Hail Marys. Soon a mystery of Jesus' life was attached to each Hail Mary. Though Mary's giving the rosary to St. Dominic is recognized as a legend, the development of this prayer form owes much to the followers of St. Dominic. One of them, Alan de la Roche, was known as "the apostle of the rosary."

He founded the first Confraternity of the Rosary in the 15th century. In the 16th century the rosary was developed to its present form-with the 15 mysteries (joyful, sorrowful and glorious). In 2002, Pope John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light to this devotion.

Heart Beat Weekly Deadline for Submissions

The procedure for placing articles, information, flyers or announcements in our weekly Tuesday bulletin is as follows: All "blurbs" are due by email to the school office by Friday of each week at noon. Please send your emails to c.parra@sacredheartsaratoga.org

Non-Discrimination Information

Sacred Heart School does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and/or ethnic origin, age, sex or disability in administration of educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.