Mary Immaculate School Parents/Teachers Club Newsletter

www.mischool.org

December 2015

Krause’s Korner Although this is after the date, Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope your holiday was a joyous and family filled one. In November, we completed the 7th and 8th grade retreats with Father Zach and the staff of the church helping out. These wonderful events led to a lot of thoughtful introspection by our students and positive interaction with each other and with the Lord. For both grades these are preparations for their confirmation with 8th grade growing closer on the horizon. At the end of the day the students attended mass and I thought this was a beautiful new tradition here at MIS. Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat! There are lots of events to participate in and enjoy coming. Watch your weekly events calendar and Mustang Mail for information on the Christmas Concert, parties, the new PTC Gingerbread Decorating night, 8th grade Lip Sync, Toy Drive, First Reconciliation, the band concert and the grade level Christmas parties! Add into that academics, finals for the upper grades and wrapping up the quarter and that makes for a very busy month. I hope you are able to make some of these events but if not, remember to keep your Advent full of preparations for the coming of our Lord. All of these events are meant as a way to prepare for Christmas and as a family, prepare ourselves.

Wishing you and yours a very happy Christmas and a blessed New Year!

God Bless, Matthew Krause, Principal

URGENT: READ CAREFULLY Eligibility Requirement for Next Year’s Tuition CONTENTS Community News .....................3 Community Events ...................6 Serving Our Community .........7 Photo Finish ......8

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As a ministry of Mary Immaculate Parish, our school offers reduced tuition to Catholic families with students baptized Catholic who are registered parishioners supporting Mary Immaculate Parish at a minimum of $800 during a calendar year. To receive supportive family tuition rates for the 2016-2017 school year, a family must have contributed a minimum of $800 to Mary Immaculate Church by Dec. 15, 2015. Families that do not complete the minimum donation of $800 by December 15, 2015 will be assessed the non-supportive rate for tuition for 2016-2017. There will not be a grace period for this, so if you have any questions regarding your current support to Mary Immaculate Parish, please contact Marisa Walsdorf in the church office at [email protected] or at 972-243-7104.

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MIS PTC BOARD President Maria Ilarina Curran Vice President Amy Smart President-Elect

Ania Linkiewicz-Gawel Treasurer Christina Palacios-Martin April Breen Secretary Vipul Patel Volunteer Services Angie Meenan Community Enrichment Dyan Dalton Kristi Montemayor Spiritual Enrichment Rita Ford Angelica Ortiz Hospitality Chair Susan Ratz-Thomas Kristin Lebon Teacher Liaison Sandra Loshelder

MIS ADVISORY COUNCIL President Craig Senick Vice-President Ana Schaller

From the PTC President Happy new liturgical year! During this season of Advent, we look forward to and prepare for Christmas. The PTC is looking forward to hosting a new community enriching event, gingerbread house decorating and movie night on Saturday, December 5. Spread the Christmas cheer and invite your extended family, friends and prospective MIS families as the more the merrier. Please pre-register and pay by December 1, so PTC can purchase the house kits in advance. When our Father gave us Jesus as the supreme gift of love, He certainly set the bar high on gifting and encourages us to give generously and from our heart. In the spirit of giving this Christmas season, the PTC is collecting money on behalf of all of the MIS families for the annual Teacher & Staff Christmas stocking gift fund. This is a blessed opportunity for us to give grace away on His behalf and show our appreciation for all our hard-working teachers and staff. All funds collected will be distributed equally, and each teacher and staff member will receive a gift card. The PTC offers two easy ways you can gift:

Wishing you and your loved ones the fondest of blessed memories this Christmas season. In Christ’s service, Maria Ilarina, PTC President

(1) send your check payable to MIS PTC in an envelope marked MIS Christmas Stocking to the school office or (2) use PayPal with your debit/credit card by logging in to www.MySchoolAnywhere.com; click on “Our Store” and then click “Christmas Stocking Fund”. Please make your contribution on or before Monday, December 14th as time is needed to purchase and distribute gift cards before the Christmas break.

Secretary Diane Kucera Members Pat Gasper Pamela Krakosky Jennifer Calvin Pete McMahon Steven Bristow Sean McIntyre

City wide Fire Prevention Poster contest winners: 1st place: Samantha Groman, 2nd place: Mackenzie Burkhart and 3rd: Fulton Lawrence. It’s open to all 3rd graders in Farmers Branch and it is the 20th year of this program.

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We’re only three and a half months away from the Heart of Gold Auction, so save the date for Saturday, March 19. The auction committee, chaired by Kristin Rogers. and subcommittee chairs have been working diligently and enthusiastically to prepare an exciting community building and fundraising experience for our MIS families and alumni. Please consider gifting your time, talents and/or treasures by helping on various subcommittees: Live and Silent Auction, Corporate Giving, Online Presence, Class Gifts, Underwriting, Data Entry and Thank You Notes, Decorations, Gift Gathering, Photography, Video, Communications, Gift Certificates, Seating Chart, Graphic Design, Website and Raffle.

The PTC Volunteer of the Month for November 2015 is Bob Wyly! Bob always greets everyone with a smiling face at the front desk. He is highly organized — a skill he learned in the military. He is so great at organizing the portable storage units used by the church and school. He is always asking what can he do to help which is why we chose him as our volunteer of the month! In Bob’s words, “I hope to be a servant of God for the rest of my life. The love for Jesus continues to grow in my heart. I love Mary Immaculate and all its people!” We love you too Bob! Show your appreciation and MIS spirit to Bob and congratulate him when you see him at school!

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Community News

Our 7th Grade D2 Volleyball tam won the DPL Championship for their division!

Fr. Michael working with 6th grade to plan the homily for their Mass.

Fifth grade using iPads to create animated stories as part of a reading assignment.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

The MIS 7th Grade Girl Scout Troop participated in the annual Dallas Rose Show hosted by the Dallas Rose Society at the Farmers Branch Senior Center in late October. The girls gathered flowers and pruned roses for the show. Our scouts were judged on Most Pleasing Presentation of Blooms. And the winners are... 1st place – Miller Kerr 2nd Place – Mary Kate Jones 3rd place – Savannah Ramirez Honorable Mention – Kristi John

6th graders researching diseases to create informational brochures.

8th graders learn more about local Catholic high schools through tours and presentations. On left, the girls visit Ursuline; on right, The Highlands tells their story.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Q1 Honor Roll 6A 1st Honors Emilia Castaneda Charlotte Meenan Ethan Ong

7A 1st Honors Charlie Cook Emma Edwards Gracie Ford Brian George Robert Hunt Matthew Kucera Nick Lazzara Luis Osorio Sue Slater Kailey White

8A 1st Honors Catherine Cablas Rachel Cook Abigail Hess Olivia King Ainsley Koch Mia Krusinski Luke Skaggs

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2nd Honors Adrienne Brunel Emily Edgar Thomas Gasper Alex Haydek Bernie Jezercak Alejandro Landry Katie MacMaster Cate Nicodemus Katherine Norman Mark Villalba

2nd Honors Valentina Garcia Millie Kerr Hannah Megarity Joshua Montemayor Cavan Saravanakumar Grant Senick Michael Villalba

2nd Honors Hannah Bookout Hayden Clark James Martin Aidan Rogers-Malone

6B 1st Honors Zach Bartholomew Ryan Groman Ethan Knox Cady Lambert Maddie Mulenex Grace Nguyen Abigail Pierce Olivia Pivonka Matthew Taylor Andrea Torcates Adam Tullis 7B 1st Honors Eric Angyal Kristi John Mary Kate Jones Will Kolassa Lena Marshall Vy Nguyen J.J. Quinones Kyle Reeves Ale Rodriguez Grant Ryan John Schaller Zach Thibodeaux 8B 1st Honors Isabella Aguilar Anisa Daou Katy Durkee

2nd Honors Philip Coyle Paige Gross Andrew Hejnar Katherine McMahon Christian Nguyen TD Norra Emily Pham Montse Spencer

2nd Honors Emmanuel Barajas Michael Hamilton Gardner Lawrence Hayden Rozier

2nd Honors Jacob Bartholomew Zoe Garcia Leah Joseph Wes Marshall Grayson Pelton Cole Pfaffenberger Reagan Whisler

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HOLIDAY EVENTS THIS MONTH

Gingerbread Houses! Sat. December 5

Important Dates This Month Wed Dec 2

Mass (7th & 8th)

MIS families and friends are invited to assemble walls, put on a roof and decorate a house for Christmas… a gingerbread house that is!

Thu Dec 3

Safe Environment Training

Fri Dec 4

Mass - 5th - Prayer Buddies 8th Grade Lip Sync

Sat Dec 5

Gingerbread House Decorating

Mon Dec 7

School Reconciliation

Tue Dec 8

Feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass PTC Board Meeting

Wed Dec 9

Mass (K-3rd)

Thu Dec 10

Choir Performance at MIC Senior Breakfast in Parish Hall Rosary Making Group

Fri Dec 11

Svc Project-SVDP Toy Drive Mass - 4A

Tue Dec 15

Jr High Exams/Early Dismissal

Wed Dec 16

Jr High Exams/Early Dismissal Mass (4th-6th)

Thu Dec 17

Jr High Exams/Early Dismissal Rosary Making Group Parish Christmas Concert Church

Fri Dec 18

8th Grade Christmas Mass Christmas Parties EARLY DISMISSAL DAY

Dec 21 - Jan 1

NO SCHOOL: Christmas Break

Thu Dec 25

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Mon Jan 4

Classes Resume

The MIS Parent Teacher Club will get it all together for you and your family to have fun creating your house while enjoying each other’s company and watching a Christmas movie on the big screen in the Parish Hall on Saturday, December 5th - 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. $32 per family includes everything you need to build your house, movie, plus drinks and snacks! $25 for additional gingerbread houses. Pre-registration by Tuesday, Dec. 1st is required so we know how many house-kits to pre-buy!

Parish Christmas Concert: Thurs. Dec. 17 Mary Immaculate Parish presents our 12th annual Parish Christmas Concert on Thursday, December 17 at 7:00 pm in the Church. Handel’s Messiah is a Christmas production bursting with good news and great joy, creating a truly unforgettable Christmas worship experience. Directed by Thomas Woods, this event features the Mary Immaculate Community Choir and Orchestra and guest vocalists. Join us for this much needed spiritual reminder to look beyond the tinsel and giftwrap to rediscover the true reason for Christmas. If you have not yet taken the opportunity to join us for a Christmas Concert, you have been missing out on a beautiful and amazing professional performance! No tickets are required... cash donations to support the parish choir are gratefully welcome.

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SERVING OUR COMMUNITY

Toy Drive Service Project: Fri. Dec. 12 On Friday, December 12, MIS will host its annual Christmas Toy Drive in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul, benefiting needy children in and around the parish. Please send an unwrapped gift to your child’s homeroom on or before Friday’s Mass, as the children will take the gifts to the altar during the offertory. Click here for suggestions for each grade.

Senior Breakfast Mary Immaculate Church’s “Feast of the Immaculate Conception” Senior Breakfast is approaching. MIS families traditionally provide for this event by baking/buying brunch items and donating them to the church. If you know of a senior citizen in our parish, please invite him/her to join us on Thursday, December 10.

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MIS SPIRITUAL MENU Daily Mass - The Great Feast • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 8:00 – 8:30 AM Drop off the kids then come to Mass! You’ll be out the door by 8:30! • Wednesday: 8:15 – 8:45 AM Parents welcome! Attended by groups of students each week. • Friday School Mass: 8:15 – 9:15 AM Parents welcome! • Weekends: Saturday Evening Vigil: 5:00 – 6:00 PM; Sunday, English: 7:30 AM, 10:30 AM (formal Mass, business attire), 12:00 PM (Noon), 5:00 PM; Sunday, Spanish: 8:45 AM, 1:45 PM, 6:30 PM Reconciliation • Wednesday, 6:00 – 6:30 PM • Saturday, 8:30 – 9:00 AM • Also by appointment Eucharistic Adoration • Come and worship in the presence of Our Lord! First Friday after 8:15 AM Mass The Saint Therese Study • A 10-Week Group Study, based on the book I Believe in Love: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teachings of St. Therese of Lisieux by Father Jean CJ D’elbee. • Contact Rita Ford [email protected] Rosary Guild • Join other parents every Thursday afternoon at 2:00 in the cafeteria to make rosaries for the school and other organizations. No experience necessary. • Contact Christina Palacios fmartin08@ verizon.net Parent Prayer Groups • Would you like to deepen your spiritual life by praying with and for others? Groups forming now! • Contact Kristin Lebon [email protected] That Man Is You! • A men’s program designed to support men in their journey to be better Catholic husbands and fathers by tackling issues unique to men. Meets every Friday morning in the Parish Hall 6:00 – 7:30 am beginning September 11th. • Contact Scott Ford [email protected] A Well-Built Faith • Need a refresher course on what it means to be Catholic? Then this study is for you! • Contact Rita Ford [email protected]

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Photo Finish: kinder Halloween

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/pwsf81BAHk8tkPP27

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Photo Finish: 3rd grade Gods eyes

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/sDzJVu7VN9VQbCjT6

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Photo Finish: 3rd grade zoobooks

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/iieYB3iYB76MhKCc8

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Photo Finish: 7th & 8th grade halloween

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/uZHYSYoKw7MGtWfH7

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Photo Finish: 8th grade Service Project

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/AygT1DgFrVCs1id4A

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Photo Finish: book fair

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/VzbGqJN2XnTyn97UA

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Photo Finish: MIDs Basketball

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More photos for this event can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/5go1N4rNwKKvs9si6

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