January 7, 2008 Update

Dear Cathedral School Families,
During Catholic Schools Week it has long been a national tradition for all Catholic schools to reach out to those in need during this special week of celebration.  This year we at Cathedral would like to sponsor a free will Spaghetti Dinner for the benefit of our own Lorenzen family.  As you know from the Weekly Updates, Rob had surgery up at the Mayo Clinic during the Christmas holidays and will soon start radiation.  During the next two to three months he will be unable to work.  His employer, Aquila, has graciously offered to underwrite the cost of the dinner which is being prepared and hosted by the Cathedral faculty and School Board.  We hope lots of you will consider joining us on Sunday, January 27, from 12:00-2:30 PM in Ruggle Hall.  Take out dinners will also be available.  Thank you for your consideration. 

This Week’s Important Events!
Monday, January 7
Cathedral Homework Club begins 3:00-4:00 PM.  Thank you, Ms. Ridens and Mrs. Supple!

Tuesday, January 8
Parents Boy Scouting meeting at 6:30 PM in Ruggle Hall

Wednesday, January 9
Mass for Grades 1-8 at 8:10 AM-Please remember “Best Uniform.”
    Thank you to Mrs. Yarbrough and her 5^th graders for planning our liturgy!

Thursday, January 10
Optional $1.00 Dress Down Day for Advent Service projects
Report Cards go home.

Friday, January 11
Grade 8 students take the Explore High School Entrance exam
NO Chess Club

Looking Ahead-Exciting events are coming up!
Planning is already underway for this year’s Catholic Schools Week scheduled for Jan. 26-Feb. 2.  Activities will include parent lunches, a joint Mass, a Catholic Schools Blood Drive, the family stewardship meetings, and of course, the exciting volleyball game between the 8^th graders and the Fabulous Faculty as well as lots of other fun and enriching events.  Please plan to celebrate with us!

The annual St. Joseph Catholic Schools Open Houses will be Sunday, February 10.  Both Cathedral School and the Cathedral Early Childhood Center will be open for prospective families to tour.  Will Stuck, Cathedral alum and St. Joseph Librarian, will be on hand to entertain our young visitors.  If you know any prospective family, please send their names and addresses to Patrice Madden, Development Director, and to Mary Burgess, Principal.  Please remember that your family receives a $25 discount off your family’s own registration fees if you successfully recruit a new school family.  Thank you for your assistance. 

Policy and Procedure Review
A regular feature of our weekly update is a review of various school policies and procedures. 

Registration fees for the current school year were due in full by January 1, 2008.  These include an additional $180 for any school family who did not sell the required twenty (20) rolls of trash bags.  Other outstanding financial obligations, such as overdue tuition payments, are also due.   If your family has not paid or made payment arrangements, please know that your child(ren) will not receive their report cards on Thursday, January 10 .

Now that we are in the second semester students who are consistently tardy (those students who have been tardy 10 or more times) will be given a ten minute detention for every subsequent time a student is tardy during the remainder of this school year.  Detention is usually after school on Fridays and involves community service to our school and parish.  For more information the attendance policy is detailed in the family handbook and in the school directory/minihandbook. 

Stewardship-We Share Our Time, Treasure, and Talent
Please remember that parish pledge forms were due December 31, 2007.  Returning this form is a requirement for those families who wish to continue as parish school tithing families.  Tuition statements will be mailed on January 15 to those families who have not submitted their pledge for 2008.  Thank you for your continued support of Cathedral Parish.

Cathedral School’s Mardi Gras 2008 is Saturday, February 2, at Our Lady of Guadalupe.  This fun event includes dinner, dancing, a live and silent auction, prizes, and, of course, a whole lot of fun!  Tickets have already been mailed.  Please remember that the purchase or sale of this $100 ticket is one of the school’s mandatory fundraisers.  Thank you so much to Patrice Madden and all her committee members!

Servers-Jan. 12 at 4:00 PM-Anne Lierz and Labrozzi brothers; Jan. 13 at 9:00 AM-Ashley and John Chavez, Jessyka Campbell; Jan. 13 at 11:30 AM-will need 3 volunteers for Kelsi Fergison, Aislinn Goad, and Ashley Staggs.

“Over and Beyond” Wish List
Over the past few years, we have started a Wish List/Gift Catalog for items that are special needs, requests and/or items not in the budget.  Every week we list an item or two to benefit our students.

Mrs. Leone and Coach Faucett would like to request 4 tumbling mats valued at $159 each for the PE department.

Thank you so much to Dr. Ed Kammerer and Heartland for their donation of a large pizza oven for Cathedral!

Thank You!!
Thank you so much to De, Antonio, and Anna Marie DePastino for their donation of a beautiful marble bust of Jesus Christ from the Vatican!  They purchased it for Cathedral School during their recent trip to Italy!  It is on display in the prayer corner by the main office.

Thank you so much to Michelle Wolfe for her donation of stationery supplies!  They always come in handy!

Congratulations!!
Congratulations to our teams for their success in this past weekend’s Grade 5 Barbosa Tournament!  All our teams did well, including Coach Shepherd’s Boys team who won first, Coach Madden’s Boys team who won third, Coach Madden’s Girls team won fourth, and Coach Dicken’s 4^th Grade Girls team won fifth! Go, Ravens!

Congratulations to 31% of our 5^th graders who qualified for Duke University’s Talented Student program: Hunter Berten, Lombardo Hernandez, Katherine Johnson, Jacob Kammerer, Kate Lierz, Jacob Modlin, Cort Patrick, Emily Quinn, Jack Schanze, and Leo Shepherd!  These students will receive an informational packet in the mail this week.  Duke recently raised the qualifying criteria for this program from the 90^th percentile to the 95^th in selected subtests on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, so we are very proud of these students and their accomplishments!

Safety Patrol Schedule
Week of Jan. 7-11: Dayle Dickens, Emily Emmendorfer, Sarah Garver, Miranda Jones, Jenny Nabil, Sydney Olinger, Josh Prawitz

Week of Jan. 14-18: Lauren Goin, Kristin Gronniger, Isaac Justin, Chuck Kempf, Maria Llanas, Baxter Schanze, Shelby Surmeier

Prayer Requests
Please pray for all those in our Cathedral School Book of Prayers, our Cathedral alumni and benefactors, for world peace, for our Heartland Prayer Partner, the Emergency Room and Trauma Center staff and patients, and for our many special intentions, including the following: Msgr. Rick, Jeremy Brandenburg, Sue Burghoff, Betty Byrne, John Chavez, Jr., Peter and Mary Clune, Zita Cobb, Jennifer Curtis, Jim Danbury, Rev. Mr. Bill Dattilo, Anna Marie DePastino, Sara Edwards, Pat Enright, Marjorie Farley, Joanie Flanagan, Frank Flescher, Terry Gentry, Marilyn Gerhardt, Drennen Gwinn, Karen Hadle, Wilbur Hainline, Bill and Katie Hall, Mike Hare, Art Hoffelmeyer, Lori Holley, William Hurst, Tom Jaynes,  Justin Jennings, Christian Kemmer, Dona Kemmer, Frank Long, Robert Lorenzen, Veronica Middaugh, Gary Nadolski, Norma Nadolski, Nadine Owens, Stacy Piker, Sue Prawitz, George Riley, Dick Roth, Frances Schellhorn, Juanita Schott, Rick and Susan Smith, Leo Stock, Dorothy Struthers, Jack Teegarden, Bob and Marcie Thedinger, Cindy Thompson, Liz Thompson, Laurie Todd, Jim Tolan, Mary Verburgt, and Kenneth Wombwell.  We also offer prayers for our loved ones who are deployed: Craig Drummond, John Ian Graham, Kurt Kissel, David McKnight, Marty Schnabel, Nicholas Schneider, and Ray Staggs.

Cathedral School Mission Statement-The mission of Cathedral School is to provide an exceptional, faith-filled Catholic education!

May this be a very special school year as we “Encounter the Living Christ” through one another and as we work hard to ensure that “Faith and Friendship Really Do Rule” at Cathedral!

With sincere regard,
 

Mrs. Mary Burgess
Principal  

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