Heart Beat Weekly Online Newsletter

Dear Sacred Heart Families,

REFLECTION:
For this Thanksgiving, some thanksgiving food for thought by the great Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004):

Gift

A day so happy.
Fog lifted early.

I worked in the garden.

Hummingbirds were stopping over the honeysuckle flowers

There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.

I knew no one worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot
To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me
In my body I felt no pain

When straightening up, I saw blue sea and sails.

~ Czeslaw Milosz

COLONIAL DAYS: Today Mrs. Ramage is "in character" and the 5th graders are boning up on their quill skills. You never know when that "font" might come in handy. Watching the students trek through made me think of how important it is for us to "create memories" for our children. What a memory this was!

In the First and Second grades, Mrs. Biss and Mrs. Martin are also in character, and their students as well. I saw a lot of curtsies and standing up before speaking. What manners! Thank you parents for your help getting your children ready for the day-they all look awesome. A special thank you to Mrs. Biss, Mrs. Martin, and Mrs. Ramage.

COLONIAL CRAFT DAY: Last week was superb, and I thank all the parents who helped Mrs. Ramage make it happen. Special appreciation goes to Mr. LaRoue Kirwan for his long time service to the project. Today as well, Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Biss are also leading their students in colonial costume and activities. Sacred Heart is blessed to have excellent and dedicated teachers... and parents!

REPORT CARDS and SCHOOLSPEAK: Today you will receive your report cards. This will be the last time the report cards are filled in by hand. Beginning the 2nd quarter, we are moving to a new system for communication with parents. It's called "SchoolSpeak" and after Thanksgiving, I will update you all on the great things it has to offer our school. For one thing, SchoolSpeak will make possible your child's grades and homework to show up all in one place. It will also allow us to do Report Cards (in the Diocese format!)

THANKSGIVING: On behalf of all of us on staff at Sacred Heart, I wish you and your family a very happy, safe, and blessed Thanksgiving.

God bless,
Tom Pulchny

Thanksgiving Holiday Reminder Little Pilgrims

by the School Office

Please note the Thanksgiving schedule for school closure is as follows: Wednesday November 25 through Friday November 27, the school is closed. School will resume on Monday November 30.

The Heart Beat Weekly will go out on Tuesday as normal; however, Tuesday Envelopes will not go out this week.

From our families to yours, Have a Happy Thanksgiving .

by Holly Anderson

The Committee is hard at work preparing for the big event. Our theme is Under the Sea. Don't forget to save the date on your calendar: Saturday, February 20th, 2010, 6:00pm at Villa Ragusa in downtown Campbell. You can participate with sponsorship or volunteering the night of the event, or by just attending the event. Sponsorship includes direct underwriting as well as placement of your message in the event program. Tickets are available now!

We'll enjoy dinner together, be entertained by the live band Exodus, experience the excitement of the auction, and end the evening with dancing and conversation. Get hooked by new friends and old friends Under the Sea.

Gala Volunteer Update

"Under The Sea" Sacred Heart Dinner Auction 2010! Help us 'make a splash' for an enchanting evening! For more information on how to volunteer for the event click on the link below:

Gala Volunteer Form

Impromptu Lunch Orders
December Ordering closes Saturday November 28

DSJ Logo

The December ordering for lunch and dinner to go opened - Tuesday 11/17 at 6 p.m. and will close Saturday 11/28 at 6 p.m.

Dinner to go - Will be offered Wednesday 12/09 and Wednesday 12/16 pick up for those dinners will be two Wednesday mornings in the kitchen after you drop your child off

$1.00 from each entree is donated back to the school.

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us at: impromptulg@aol.com or 408-605-1777

Thank you for your continued support.

Impromptu Catering Website

Volunteer News
by Anita Ratra

We are coming to a close on another trimester. This is just a reminder to make sure your envelopes are returned next week as we will be logging in the service hours. We would appreciate if you would total your hours and Separate the Fundraising Hours and Regular Hours.
Any questions or concerns please let us know.

Anita Ratra aratra@comcast.net
Louise Crisham lcrisham@westak.com

The Pulse
by the SAC

Welcome to "The Pulse" - your connection to the activities of the School Advisory Council (SAC). Here's the latest news, click on the link below:

SAC Update

Christmas Eve Children's Liturgy-4pm Mass Baby Jesus

by Ruth Ann Juliano

Again this year children will be part of the entrance procession, dramatization, and gift procession. Angels, banner carriers, and candle bearers are needed from grades K through 12. Please contact Ruth Ann Juliano 408-867-2863 or rajcostumes@yahoo.com or Dawn Juliano 408-247-1898 or drjuliano@sbcglobal.net to participate.

There will be 2 rehearsals, December 19 at 9:30am to 12pm (costumes will be assigned at this date) and on December 22nd from 10am to 12pm. We would like the children to be able to be at both rehearsals.

St. Francis High School "Christmas At Our House"

The Women's Club of Saint Francis High School in Mountain View will be hosting its 21st annual "Christmas At Our House" home tour on Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, 2009, together with a Twilight Tour and Preview Party on the evening of Thursday, December 3. For more information, click on the link below.

Christmas At Our House Information

Sports News

Sports News will be back next week.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and an awasome week, Sandy!

Faith Formation

The Birth of the Messiah - Luke's gospel

Luke is not writing a historical documentation of Jesus' birth, but is telling a story. The story has more to do with who Jesus is and our response. "The writers of Scripture were not trying to write to preserve history as much as they were writing to rescue the future," (Alice Camille, Faith Formation Conference, Santa Clara 2009).

The word of God is living (Hebrews 4:12), therefore it is not stuck in the past but is speaking to our situations and circumstances. The question presents itself - what do we need rescuing from? What does our society need rescuing from? What do our school and parish need rescuing from? Perhaps a bigger question is not about being rescued from something-but to be rescued to do something. If the Word of God is living and speaking to us, why is it so difficult to understand?

Ask the Holy Spirit, who inspired the authors to write, to help open our eyes so we can see. Read Luke chapter 2:1-20 and see who comes to visit Jesus, who is poor, who rejoices, who is lying among the food for the animals. Jesus becomes the living bread for each of us to eat. This Thanksgiving may we give Him thanks for the food, and more importantly, thanks for the spiritual food that nourishes our soul.

Patrick J. DeLorenzo
Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation

Saint of the Week: St. Catherine of Alexandria
Thursday November 26

According to the Legend of St. Catherine, this young woman converted to Christianity after receiving a vision. At the age of 18, she debated 50 pagan philosophers. Amazed at her wisdom and debating skills, they became Christians-as did about 200 soldiers and members of the emperor's family. All of them were martyred.

Sentenced to be executed on a spiked wheel, Catherine touched the wheel and it shattered. She was beheaded. Centuries later, angels are said to have carried the body of St. Catherine to a monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

Devotion to her spread as a result of the Crusades. She was invoked as the patroness of students, teachers, librarians and lawyers. Catherine is one of the 14 Holy Helpers, venerated especially in Germany and Hungary.

Thanksgiving Fun Facts

by The School Office

Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.
A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour. They can also break into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.
The first Thanksgiving celebration can be traced back to the Plymouth Pilgrims in the fall of 1621.
The first Thanksgiving feast was held to thank the Lord for sparing the lives of the survivors of the Mayflower, who landed at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. The survivors included four adult women and almost forty percent children.
The Wampanoag chief Massasoit and ninety of his tribesmen were also invited to the first Thanksgiving feast. Governor William Bradford invited them for helping the Pilgrims survive and teaching them the skills of cultivating the land.
The celebration in 1621 lasted for three days and included games and food. The president to proclaim the first 'National Day of Thanksgiving' in 1789 was George Washington.

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 12pm.

Please send your emails to c.parra@sacredheartsaratoga.org

Any items received on a Monday will be placed in the next week's bulletin. Please be prompt with sending in your bulletin items.

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.