The Scholastic Book Fair is coming!

August 31 - September 8

September 2 - During Mass Hours
September 3 - During Mass Hours
September 4 - NO SCHOOL
​September 5 - 12:00 to 4 PM
September 6 - 12:00 to 4 PM
September 7 - 12:00 to 4 PM
September 8 - 9:30 AM to 2 PM

Volunteers Needed
Volunteers needed to help setup on Aug 28-29 and teardown on Sep 8.
Please contact Mr. Jared Keating if you wish to help.

Our students ran thousands of laps in support of OMOS. The money we collected from this fundraiser will go toward our current school year's programming.  As you may know, the tuition is $6,800 but the cost to educate is closer to $8,000.  To fund the difference we promote a variety of fundraisers.  100% of the money we raise will go toward closing the tuition/cost to educate gap for our school this school year! 

Please sign up to bring in Soup for this Lenten event : 
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4eada629a1fac34-soup#/

Congratulations to our Middle Schoolers for completing and entering 61 projects for our OMOS School Science Fair. Our students worked hard individually and collectively to complete science and engineering projects spanning topics such as water filtration, best cleaning products, equestrian studies, and building structures. Our Science teacher, Mrs. Johnson, invited multiple scientists from the area, including teachers from St. Augustine's High School, to judge our students' projects. 
The follow projects received first place and will move on to SARSEF: 

7th grade
Environment and Plants
Electrolytes
Crushing Cans


8th Grade 
Water Hardness
 Artificial Pancreas
Fruit Oxidation
Enlightened Equitation

​When you learn a new skill, how do you know that you have become an expert? For the students in Ms. Nirschel's 4th-grade class, the answer is easy: "when you can teach it to someone else."

In 4th-grade, solving division problems is one of the exciting new math skills that students learn and master over the course of the year. Not only have the students in class been practicing the skill of computing long division problems, but many of her students are now experts in solving long division problems. They have moved beyond knowing how to independently solve a problem to be able to teach someone else how to solve a problem.

Last week, several experts taught their friends how to solve a problem. Equipped with a pencil, paper, and a lollipop (for some excitement), the students demonstrated that are ready to call themselves long-division experts.

​During Lent 2020, we shut down, and our students were no longer able to participate in Mass in the Church. In order to remain connected to the Mass, we offered a live-streamed Mass all last spring. This school year, we celebrated our weekly Mass in Mr. Krautscheid's classroom, and our students were able to live-stream the Mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist too.

Last Friday, we were able to begin our Easter season with Mass in the Church! While we cannot fit the entire student body in the Church, we were able to bring 3 grades to Mass. Grades 4, 6, and 7 participated in the joyous celebration. Over the coming weeks, all our students will be able to celebrate Mass in the Church.

We continue to follow all our mitigation protocols because safety is critical, but my heart was bursting with joy to see our children in the pews. Alleluia!

Last month, our 5th-grade students culminated their research and persuasion unit on whether or not humans should eat bugs, a practice called entomophagy.

As part of their research, the students learned about the benefits and dangers of eating bugs by watching videos, reading articles, and participating in class discussions. The students learned that bugs were high in protein and good for the environment because of the way they are raised compared to other protein sources like beef. They also learned that people have eaten bugs for thousands of years. On the other side of the argument, the students discovered that some bugs could make people sick. Some students also recounted that "bugs had lives too!"

Students were ultimately asked to write an essay defending whether or not people should eat bugs.

Regarding the debate for whether or not bugs tasted good, Mrs. Tucker provided the students with the opportunity to try crickets. If students wanted to try crickets, they could try crickets Tuesday morning. Mrs. Tucker provided "original" flavored crickets as well as spicy and ranch-flavored crickets to taste. Many of the students tried the crickets, and a few students even stated that they "needed to re-write their essay because bugs were good!"

If you would like to know whether you should try a bug, I highly recommend speaking with a 5th grader

On Friday, March 19th, we will be celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph with a food drive. Students and families are asked to bring in food to support our parish St. Vincent de Paul ministry. 

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?”
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for the one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”      Matt. 25: 37, 40

Here are some of the suggested food items, but all non-perishable foods are welcome!
 
Preschool – Cereal
Kindergarten – Mac & Cheese
1st –  Pasta
2nd – Rice
3rd – Beans
4th – Vegetables
5th – Canned Pasta such as Ravioli & Spaghetti
6th – Tuna & Canned Meats
7th – Pasta Sauce
8th – Peanut Butter & Jelly
 
Food can be sent to school anytime prior to March 19th! 

During this season of Lent, the children will participate in prayer opportunities at school. We will continue to celebrate Mass each Friday, but we will also pray the Stations of the Cross together.

Normally, each Lent, families have been invited to participate in the Parish Soup and Sacrifice on Friday nights. This year, the Soup and Sacrifice event has been canceled due to the pandemic. Even with the canceled event, there are still many ways that families can grow in faith together through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Are you looking for ways to grow in faith this Lenten season?

Prayer

• Pray a decade of the Rosary each evening together: How to Pray the Rosary
• Read the Gospel reading for the day together: Readings for the Day
• Attend the Stations of the Cross together on Fridays: Stations at OMOS
• Reflect on the Saints this Lent: Lent with the Saints

Fasting

• Focus on spending intentional family time together. Some ideas may include having dinner together each evening, playing a game together on Friday nights, going for a walk, etc.
• Discuss your family habits together. Have you developed any "bad" habits as a family? Make a plan to work together to create a new "better" habit? Some examples might include speaking to each other with kindness, listening to other members of the family without technology distractions, pitching in around the house to help keep the family living spaces organized.

Almsgiving

• Choose a charity and collect loose change over the course of Lent to donate.
• On Friday, eat a simple soup meal. Donate the money you would have spent on a normal Friday night dinner to the charity of your choosing.
• Donate gently used clothing that is no longer being worn to the charity of your choice.

The best way to grow in faith as a family is to work together and develop a plan. The season of Lent might look a little different due to the pandemic, but God is still calling us to a deeper relationship with Him.

Last week was nothing like a traditional Catholic Schools Week celebration, but at its core, it was still a celebration about one of the best things in Catholic education: the members of our community. Here at Our Mother of Sorrows, we have a wonderful community! Our school is truly blessed by each member. We all bring our unique gifts and talents, and we are able to accomplish so much more when we work together.

Earlier in the week, we were able to pray for and celebrate the contributions of our parish community, priests, faculty, staff, and students. On Friday, we celebrated our parents and families. The children are blessed to have the support of their families, and I am thankful for the opportunity to partner with you in the education of your child. Thank you for your support of Catholic education at Our Mother of Sorrows!

We had planned to open the registration for the 2021/2022 school year last week. Unfortunately, the registration will not be able to open until this week. We are working with Renweb to simplify the process for our families to register, and their developers have not quite finished the process yet. I will let you know as soon as the re-enrollment process opens. Thank you for your patience!

In the meantime, there are a few tax credit opportunities that are open. If you would like to begin working on the applications for tax credits in order to help fund your child's education, please speak with [email protected] or visit: http://www.omosschool.com/financial-assistance.htm

We are so blessed to have a vibrant community. St. Paul tells us that we are many parts of one body, and during Catholic Schools Week, I think it is a great week to reflect on the different parts of our community. Each member of the community contributes to the education of our children and the success of the school.

Next week is Catholic Schools Week! Thank you for letting us partner with you in the education of your children. We are grateful for the gift of our students and families here at Our Mother of Sorrows.
Each day we will celebrate a different group of people who make our school great. We hope that you and your family will participate in the events.

Sunday, January 31: Our Catholic Community

• Pray for our community who supports our students through financial support, volunteering on campus, and praying for us.

Monday, February 1: Our Parish Community

• Pray for the members of our parish
• Write a letter to a homebound member of the parish.

Tuesday, February 2: Our Priests

• Pray for Fr. Arnold and Fr. Tom
• Send them well wishes!

Wednesday, February 3: Our Students         

• Pray for our students
• Wear jeans and an OMOS shirt.
• Share your OMOS pride on our Facebook page and send pictures to Mrs. Baker at [email protected]

Thursday, February 4: Our Faculty and Staff

• Wear jeans and a college shirt
• Thank your child’s teacher
• Pray for our faculty and staff

​Friday, February 5: Our Parents

• Tune into Mass at 8:35 a.m. for a special blessing

We hope to celebrate "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" during the last week of school:
Jingle All the Way: Monday, December 14: Students will listen to holiday tunes at lunch!
Elves at Work: Tuesday, December 15: Students will participate in service by bringing in items to support the Angel Tree Project
Sleepy, Superheroes, Sports: Wednesday, December 16: Students up to grade 4 can wear pajamas to school. Students in grades 5-8 can wear a superhero shirt or a shirt representing their favorite team
Ugly Christmas Sweaters (and jeans): Thursday, December 17: Show your spirit by wearing an ugly Christmas sweater or holiday t-shirt and jeans
Share the Joy: Friday, December 18: Students will make a Christmas card for a family member who they will not see this holiday season. Bring a stamped and addressed envelope and we will mail the card from school. Students who do not bring the name of a family member can make a card for a parishioner.
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