Merry Christmas !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

We wish each of you and your families a warm and joyous Christmas and an amazing New Year filled with many blessings!

We will see you on January 6, 2020!

Looking Ahead..

• Wednesday, December 18th - Gift Mass at 9:30 in the Church - Please consider sending in a wrapped toy for a child that is less fortunate. Please put a tag on the gift specifying the age and gender the gift would be best for. 
• Friday, December 20th - 4th Grade Christmas Party from 9:30 to 10:30 - Please note that dismissal this day is the regular time of 12:50 and there is NO aftercare this day. 

English Language Arts

Reading - Students will finish reading about the various Holidays Around the World and complete the graphic organizer.

We will also do several activities themed around "The Grinch" with a Grinch Day where we will talk about character traits, compare and contrast the book and movie, and much more!

Writing - Students will continue to work on persuading Santa to hire them as an Elf in the workshop.

Social Studies

We will be preparing for an activity with the second grade classes as we go on a scavenger hunt to learn all about the traditions and customs of Christmas in Germany.

Math

We will be working on division with and without remainders.

The students will take a x6 timed test this week for a grade on Thursday. They will take the pretest today, Monday.

Science

We are continuing the Mixtures and Solutions lab. This week, we will mix liquids with solids and liquids with liquids. There is NOT a vocabulary test this week.

Religion

We will continue to work in our Absolutely Advent booklet.

Third Week of Advent prayer

Our week begins with “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin.  It comes from the first word of the Entrance antiphon on Sunday.  The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.”  This joyful spirit is marked by the third candle of our Advent wreath, which is rose colored, and the rose colored vestments often used at the Eucharist.

The second part of Advent begins on December 17th each year.  For the last eight days before Christmas, the plan of the readings changes.  The first readings are still from the prophesies, but now the gospels are from the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke.  We read the stories of faithful women and men who prepared the way for our salvation.  We enter into the story of how Jesus' life began.  These stories are filled with hints of what his life will mean for us.  Faith and generosity overcome impossibility.  Poverty and persecution reveal glory.

Preparing our Hearts and asking for Grace

We prepare this week by feeling the joy.  We move through this week feeling a part of the waiting world that rejoices because our longing has prepared us to believe the reign of God is close at hand.  And so we consciously ask:

Prepare our hearts
and remove the sadness
that hinders us from feeling
the joy and hope
which his presence
will bestow.

Each morning this week, in that brief moment we are becoming accustomed to, we want to light a third inner candle.  Three candles, going from expectation, to longing, to joy.  They represent our inner preparation, or inner perspective.  In this world of “conflict and division,” “greed and lust for power,” we begin each day this week with a sense of liberating joy.  Perhaps we can pause, breathe deeply and say,

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
     my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

Each day this week, we will continue to go through our everyday life, but we will experience the difference our faith can bring to it.  We are confident that the grace we ask for will be given us.  We will encounter sin - in our own hearts and in our experience of the sin of the world.  We can pause in those moments, and feel the joy of the words,

“You are to name him Jesus,
  because he will save his people
  from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

We may experience the Light shining into dark places of our lives and showing us patterns of sinfulness, and inviting us to experience God's mercy and healing.  Perhaps we wish to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconcilation this week.  We may want to make gestures of reconcilation with a loved one, relative, friend or associate.  With more light and joy, it is easier to say, “I'm sorry; let's begin again.”

Each night this week we want to pause in gratitude.  Whatever the day has brought, no matter how busy it has been, we can stop, before we fall asleep, to give thanks for a little more light, a little more freedom to walk by that light, in joy.

Our celebration of the coming of our Savior in history, is opening us up to experience his coming to us this year, and preparing us to await his coming in Glory.

Come, Lord Jesus.  Come and visit your people. 
We await your coming.  Come, O Lord.

Second Week of Advent

Good Morning Families,

As we enter into the second week of Advent, please take a moment to read the below reflection. 

Preparing our Hearts and asking for the Grace

We prepare this week by stepping up the longing.  We move through this week by naming deeper and more specific desires.

Each morning this week, if even for that brief moment at the side of our beds, we want to light a second inner candle.  We want to let it represent “a bit more hope.”  Perhaps we can pause, breathe deeply and say,

“Lord, I place my trust in you.”

Each day this week, as we encounter times that are rushed, even crazy, we can take that deep breath, and make that profound prayer.  Each time we face some darkness, some experience of “parched land” or desert, some place where we feel “defeated” or “trapped,” we hear the words, “Our God will come to save us!” 

The grace we desire for this week is to be able to hear the promise and to invite our God to come into those real places of our lives that dearly need God's coming.  We want to be able to say: 

“Lord, I place my trust in your promise.  Please, Lord, rouse your power and come into this place in my life, this relationship, into this deep self-defeating pattern.  Please come here and save me.”

Each night this week we can look back over the day and give thanks for the moments of deep breath, that opened a space for more trust and confidence in God's fidelity to us.  No matter how difficult the challenges we are facing - from the growing realization of our personal sinfulness, to any experience of emptiness or powerlessness, even in the face of death itself - we can give thanks for the two candles that faithfully push back the darkness.  And, we can give thanks for the graces given us to believe that “Our 

God will come to save us” because we were given the courageous faith to desire and ask boldly.

Come, Lord Jesus.  Come and visit your people. 
We await your coming.  Come, O Lord.

Looking Ahead...

• Wednesday, December 11th - All School Mass @ 9:30 in the Church 
• Thursday, December 12th - Salt Dough Map Project @ 1:45 - parent volunteers are needed, so please contact Mrs. Ezell if you are able to join 
• Wednesday, December 18th - All School Mass @ 9:30  in the Church - This is our annual Gift Mass, where we ask students to please bring in one wrapped toy for a child in need. Please place a tag on the gift that states if it is for a boy or girl and the age. 
• Friday, December 20th - 4th Grade Christmas Party from 9:30 to 10:30

English Language Arts

There will be a spelling test on Thursday, December 12th. 

Grammar - We will talk about Pronouns. The "check-in" quiz will be pushed back to Friday, December 13th. 

Reading - We will be looking at a story called Holidays Around the World. Students will complete a graphic organizer about the customs and traditions celebrated in other countries.

Writing - Students will begin the rough draft process for their persuasive writing piece: Elf for Hire.

Social Studies

We will be talking about how Arizona has three different types of regions: plateau, desert, and mountain. Then, we will prepare to do our salt dough map on Thursday.

Math

This week we are going to understand and solve division problems with a remainder using an array and area models.

We will take a timed x5 quiz on Friday, December 13th.

Science

We are Combining Matter, and we will investigate how solids interact with solids, how solids interact with liquids, and how liquids interact with liquids.

No vocabulary quiz this week.

Religion 

The students are continuing to work on their Absolutely Advent book.

Hello December

Hello December!

Happy First Week of Advent! Below you will find a simple prayer for the first week. As a school community, we will be praying the Examine daily during the next three weeks!

First Week of Advent Prayer

As we begin Advent, we light one candle in the midst of all the darkness in our lives and in the world.  It symbolizes our longing, our desire, our hope.  Three “advents” or “comings” shape our desire.  We want to be renewed in a sense that Jesus came to save us from our sin and death.  We want to experience his coming to us now, in our everyday lives, to help us live our lives with meaning and purpose.  And we want to prepare for his coming to meet us at the end of our lives on this earth.

So, we begin with our longing, our desire and our hope.

When we wake up, each day this week, we could light that candle, just by taking a few moments to focus.  We could pause for a minute at the side of our bed, or while putting on our slippers or our robe, and light an inner candle.  Who among us doesn't have time to pause for a moment?  We could each find our own way to pray something like this:

“Lord, the light I choose to let into my life today is based on my trust in you.  It is a weak flame, but I so much desire that it dispel a bit more darkness today.  Today, I just want to taste the longing I have for you as I go to the meeting this morning, carry out the responsibilities of my work, face the frustration of some difficult relationships.  Let this candle be my reminder today of my hope in your coming.”

Each morning this week, that momentary prayer might get more specific, as it prepares us for the day we will face.  And as we head to work, walk to a meeting, rush through lunch, take care of errands, meet with people, pick up the phone to return some calls, answer e-mail, return home to prepare a meal, listen to the ups and downs of our loved ones' day, we can take brief moments to relate our desire for the three comings of the Lord to our life.

If our family has an Advent wreath, or even if it doesn't, we could pray together before our evening meal.  As we light the first candle on the wreath, or as we simply pause to pray together our normal grace.  Then, as we begin to eat, we can invite each other, including the children, to say something about what it means today to light this first candle. 

And every night this week, we can pause briefly, perhaps as we sit for a minute at the edge of the bed.  We can be aware of how that one, small candle's worth of desire brought light into this day.  And we can give thanks.  Going to bed each night this week with some gratitude is part of the preparation for growing anticipation and desire.

Come, Lord Jesus!  Come and visit your people. 
We await your coming.  Come, O Lord.

Looking Ahead....

• Tuesday, December 3rd - All School Mass @ 9:30 AM 
• Wednesday, December 4th - Reconciliation for students in grades 4, 6, and 8 @ 8:30 AM 
• Wednesday, December 11th - All School Mass @ 9:30
• Wednesday, December 18th - All School Mass @ 9:30 AM 
• Friday, December 20th - 4th Grade Christmas Party in the morning 

English Language Arts



There will NOT be a spelling test this week. We will resume next week.

Reading - We will looking a Biography this week and the skill of Author's Purpose. There will be a reading quiz on Friday, December 6th. 

Grammar - We will be looking at the skill of Pronouns. Students will have a "check-in" quiz next Tuesday, December 10th. 

Writing - We will be working on a fun Persuasive Writing project, Elf for Hire. Students will be learning about ways to persuade Santa to hire them to work in his workshop.

Social Studies

We will be finishing our Navigating through Maps packet Monday and Tuesday. We will begin to work on creating our own digital map via Google Slides during our tech time. Lastly, we will be preparing for our Salt Dough Map Project, which will take place on Thursday, December 12th. We will need parent volunteers to help students mix the ingredients, so if you are available, please join us. We will be creating our maps the last hour of the school day, 1:45 to 2:45.

Math

We will continuing to multiply but using 3, 4-digit numbers by single digits. The students will use three strategies to solve the problem: the area model, partial model, and the standard algorithm. They will also complete two-step word problems.

We will also have a x4 graded test this Thursday. The students will take a pretest today.

Science

We are continuing Chemistry and Matter. In Investigation 2 we will be measuring matter using a triple beam balance. The students will have a vocabulary quiz on Friday, December 6th on words 6 through 10, which can be found on page 11 in the Lab Learner. 

Religion 

We are starting our Absolutely Advent workbook. This will be graded at the end of Advent. Students are required to fill them out daily. We will be working in class, and the students will file these in their Religion slot of their accordion file.

This coming Wednesday is Reconciliation. The students are practicing the Act of Contrition and we will do an Examination of Conscience.