Dear St. Patrick families,

On behalf of the staff and teachers, I would like to wish all of our families a prosperous and happy Thanksgiving. This is a favorite time of the year for families to gather together and share their bounties. I hope you have been generous in contributing to the various food drives and other charitable areas.

School will not be in session Nov. 22nd, 23rd and 24th in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. School resumes on Monday, Nov. 27th, which is also a fifty cent dress down day.
Our annual Christmas pageant will be held on Friday, Dec. 1st, at 7 PM at the Kent Roosevelt High School auditorium at 7 PM. This show is well attended so I would suggest you arrive early to get the best seats.

Our Home and School Association meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 30th, at 6:30 PM in the church basement.

As the weather is changing, now is a good time to review our snow day policy. If Kent City schools close, we are also closed. If Kent remains open but all of our other districts close, I do have the option to close our school. As soon as I receive word of our closing, I will do a parent broadcast first. Then I will have our closing information placed on our local TV and radio stations. These both take a few minutes to be activated so be patient if you see Kent listed but not St. Pat’s.

Dec. 6th is the feast of St. Nicholas. We also celebrate Slipper Day on his feast day. St. Nicholas Day was brought to America by Dutch settlers. St. Nicholas was the patron saint of children because of his acts of kindness and charity. St. Nicholas may have also been the model for our version Santa Claus. All of our students are invited to wear slippers that day, while leaving their shoes in the halls in hopes that St. Nicholas will visit and leave them a treat. If students don’t have slippers they may bring an extra set of shoes to leave in the halls on that day.

Dec. 8th is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is a holy day of obligation. The primary grades will be attending Mass at 9 AM and the middle school will be attending Mass at 12:10 PM.

Our Advent prayer service is scheduled for Dec. 13th. The time is to be determined.

Also, on the 13th, is our evening Christmas band concert. It will take place at 7 PM in the church basement.

Our school band concert will take place on Dec. 14th, at 9:30 AM in the church basement.

Again, I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. If you are traveling this holiday, I wish everyone safe travels and that you return to school safe and sound on Monday.

On Thursday November 9th the student Council hosted a Veterans Day Mass and reception to honor all those who serve or have served in our armed forces. Veterans were an integral part of the Mass celebration. All veterans were welcomed with a special greeting and processed into the church with Fr. Pentello during the opening hymn.

Special petitions were offered for all veterans who lost their lives serving our country as well as those currently serving or discharged from one of the arms of our military. Patriotic songs were sung throughout our Mass celebration and a Veteran’s Tribute was read by Sydnie Leavery, president of student council. At the conclusion of the Mass all veterans and student council members were invited to a reception of coffee, donuts, and juice in the church hall. Students and veterans alike had time to share stories and insight into the sacrifices that made our country great. Veterans were then escorted to our school for a walk down our “Wall of Honor”. The wall depicted pictures and demographics of veterans who have family members attending the school. The day was a beautiful example of a lesson plan that does not need to incorporate formulas, sentence structures or problem solving techniques. It was a lesson of dedication, appreciation, honor, friendship and religious values. A priceless educational standard.

As we begin to gear up for the holiday season, have a great weekend. I hear that snow could be in the forecast in some areas. And, as always ….. GO PANTHERS!