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Parents, The weather forecasters threatened snow this week and we all breathed a sigh of relief that it didn't really impact our morning commute. Many of the children and teachers are looking forward to a snow event, but hopefully we can save that for January or February. This week has been filled with Christmas songs, acts of kindness, laughter and joy, and making preparations for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. We also added a beautiful new Nativity Scene in the front lobby, be sure to stop by and take a moment to enjoy the blessed vision of the Christmas miracle. Our teachers and students are working on group service projects for December and January. Next week the 6th and 2nd graders will make fleece blankets for the homeless. The Little Group, PreK, Kindergarten, and 1st grade students are collecting new hats, scarves, and mittens for children to make "winter bundles" that will be donated to the Coats of Many Colors Drive. The 8th grade students are making cards for the Little Sisters of the Poor. The 5th & 7th graders are making Christmas Cards for our parishioners at 7am Mass. The 3rd, 4th, & 5th graders are collecting money to purchase travel size toiletries for the homeless. We are very proud of all our students who are working so hard to think of others and their needs, especially at Christmas time. Selling OLOL shopping Bags & Christmas Cards
OLOL Choir Performs at the 9am Mass on December 15, please join us. 8th Tag Day & Bake Sale- Wednesday, December 18
Christmas Concert ~ Thursday, December 19, 2019 at 6:30pm
Friday, Dec. 20:
Coats of Many Colors Drive Please continue to help us with lightly used and new coats, new socks, hats, scarves and gloves. Items can be dropped off in the boxes in the lobby. Save the Date- Multicultural Night We are so excited about our 2nd Annual Multicultural Night on January 31, 2020. Sign up to contribute and/or volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e4daea72babfe3-olol  Parents,
"it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" You should all make sure to check out the front of our school and our front lobby. Thanks to Mrs. Copeland and Mrs. DuFour our tree has been set up, our nativity scene is on display, and our front steps have some lovely new holiday greens! Thanks to Mrs. Reilly and Mrs. Hussey we have a beautiful front desk, complete with fireplace, stockings, and lights! We are preparing our hearts for the birth of Jesus at Christmas and we have lit our first candle on our Advent Wreath. This is such a joyous time of year and a time to prepare a place in our hearts for Jesus. When I was teaching kindergarten I used to ask my students if their bedrooms were clean enough for a visit from Jesus. "If Jesus came by today would you invite him to your room or would you have to clean up first, make your bed, and put away your toys?" The responses from the children would vary, but mostly the students knew they would want to tidy up a bit (and maybe get mom to help). Then the students and I would talk about our heart, our soul, and wonder if Jesus would feel at home there, within our heart, knowing the truth of who we are, how we act, what we say or don't say, and if we always try to do the best for ourselves and those who love and care for us. Would Jesus want us to fight with our sister? Would Jesus like to hear us using mean or foul language? Would Jesus want us to exclude friends when we play? The answer to these questions was and is always a resounding "no". Like our students we look to the weeks of Advent to prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ. What will you do to make Jesus feel welcome in your heart? Advent is the time we wait, prepare, and rejoice that Jesus did come for all of us and that we are ready to accept His love in our lives and share that love and joy to others. We represent Christ when we share the love and joy of the Christmas Season. I pray that you and your families have a blessed Advent as you prepare for Jesus' birth. Thanks to Mrs. Rebeck! Sip & Shop is tonight! 5:30-8:30pm at Pink Dot in Kensington, MD. 20% of sales go to support OLOL's Annual Fund. We have already gotten off to a great start with orders placed on Grandparents Day! You can also order with order the forms that came home in yesterday's Wednesday folder, through Friday, Dec. 6. Breakfast with Santa- Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9-11am ADW Tuition Assistance Due Dec. 6 for all returning families. https://adwcatholicschools.org/tuition-assistance/ Coat Drive Thanks to Devona Glidewell and Magda Alarcon for again organizing our Coat of Many Colors Drive. We are asking for you to donate gently used coats, as well as new socks, hats, gloves & scarves. This drive will run through January 24, 2020, but we are hoping that during the Christmas Season our families will help to make this a successful collection for those in need. We will also need some volunteers. The coats will need to be picked up, sorted, cleaned and stored until the delivery date on 1/24/19. In the past, we have collected between 200-400 coats. We will also need help to drive and deliver the coats in January. If you would like to be involved in helping us with this project please click on the sign up genius link below. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f4ba5a82ba1fb6-coat. Choir Rehearsal on Monday, Dec. 9 after school, 3:15-4:15 Choir & Band Concert ~ Tuesday, December 10 at 7pm~ Please join us for a wonderful night! LOOKING AHEAD: Dec. 18 ~ $1 Bake Sale & $2 Tag Day 8th Grade Fundraiser Christmas Concert ~ Dec. 19 at 6:30 (students are dropped at school by 6pm) Dec. 20 ~ School Opens at 9am and dismisses at 12:10 with NO ASC ~ Free Tag Day! Last day of school before Christmas Break! School Resumes January 6, 2020 This was a wonderful day and a joy to share with all the students, families, grandparents, faculty, and staff at OLOL. I wish you and all your family a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thanks for all the support you offered to the Little Sisters of the Poor. Monday, the 8th grade, Mrs. Stallsmith, and Monsignor Filardi spent the morning with the Little Sisters of the Poor, interacting with the retired adults, attending Mass, and unloading the food and items off the bus. It was a wonderful morning. The pie sale was a huge success for our 8th grade fundraising efforts. Thanks to all the talented home bakers who made such "priceless" pies for us to share with our own families on Thanksgiving. Thanks to everyone who purchased a pie and for all the donations. The 8th grade raised $700 on our pie sale. Some announcements as we head off to Thanksgiving Break and prepare to return in the Season of Advent: Coat of Many Colors Coat Drive We are once again collecting gently used coats that are in good condition. We will be supporting the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in their drive to bring warm coats, hat, scarves, gloves and NEW sock to those in need. Please see the flyer below and on our homepage for more information. Christmas Sock, Ties, and Headbands Starting Monday, December 2, students (& faculty and staff) can wear Christmas socks, ties, headbands to school. (Headbands should be Christmas colors and patterns. Headbands that are hats on a headband, bells or lights, large Santa or reindeer, etc should not be worn) This will continue through the three weeks we are in school before Christmas. HSA Christmas Giving for Faculty and Staff Sip & Shop We are working with Pink Dot in Kensington, MD to provide some great Christmas shopping opportunities for our Lourdes families. We will receive 20% of the proceeds on anything sold online by Dec. 6 at 9pm and during the Sip & Shop hosted by Mrs. Rebeck at Pink Dot on Dec. 5 from 5:30-8:30pm. See the flyer on the homepage for all the details. Raffle Tickets & Online Auction for front row seats at the Christmas Concert (Dec. 19 at 6:30pm) Our online auction for front row seats at the Christmas Concert is open until Tuesday, Dec. 4. Get ready to outbid and win yourself a front row spot! Raffle tickets for a front row pew will be on sale from Dec. 4-7. Tickets can be purchased at school and at Breakfast with Santa. Santa will pull the winner on Saturday, Dec. 7! Breakfast with Santa Make sure to RSVP by Dec. 4! The fun is Saturday, Dec. 7 from 9-11am. Giving Tuesday, December 3 We are less than a week from Giving Tuesday, December 3. We have 100% of our faculty and staff participating in our Annual Fund and we have almost 30% of our families. Please consider making a contribution to support OLOL in providing quality Catholic education to our students now and into the future as we "sow the seed". All gifts are valuable. We are currently at $36,000 donated and want to get to $200,000 this school year. We can do it with your help. Thank you for your support! Donate online at: https://www.bethesda-lourdes.org/annual-fund.html St. Nicholas Day- Friday, December 6 Next week is the feast day of St. Nicholas. Students in Little Group through 5th grade will hang stockings out for St. Nicholas at the end of the day on Dec. 5. Please send in a stocking or Christmas sock for your child to hang in the classroom by Thursday, December 5. All items should be labeled with your child's name and they will be sent home on Friday, December 6. Parents, It is a fabulous time to work at an elementary school! Students are singing, rehearsing, sharing things they are thankful for, and there are lots and lots of turkeys everywhere! (not including the students) I am sure you will agree that it is also a busy time of year. Lots to prepare for as we plan our Thanksgiving dinners, clean the house, plan our travel times, and possibly pack up and travel off to be with family. What a special time of the year! I pray that we all will enjoy the preparation as well as the event. It is love that takes you to the grocery store to get all your family's favorite foods. It is love baked into the turkey, yams, green beans, stuffing, and apple pie. It is love that is shared as our families come together to give thanks. At school we are looking forward to spending some time with our Grandparents and family next Wednesday. It is a wonderful day at OLOL and such a special way to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family at school as we share our love of God and thanks for His presence in our lives. It really is busy and I feel like I have a hundred things to let you know about. Please check out all the flyers on our homepage as well. (I have included some in this post) Tomorrow is the final day to bring in your items for the Little Sisters of the Poor Collection. Remember if you want to donate a turkey or ham it must be brought to school on Monday morning by 8:30am. Recess Monitors & Hot Lunch Helpers are always needed. Please sign up using the links on the homepage. Hot lunch next week is Monday (first day Chick-fil-A as usual) & Tuesday (last day pizza) Grandparents Day, Wednesday, Nov. 27 (see the flyer below and on our homepage for details about Grandparents Day events and times)
Giving Tuesday, December 3 ~ Help us reach 100% participation in our Annual Fund by making a donation. Our teachers and staff have reached 100% participation. Right now we have 26% of our families participating. Please consider making your donation by Giving Tuesday, December 3. Donate now: https://www.bethesda-lourdes.org/store/p32/Annual_Fund_Donation.html Join us for Sip n' Shop on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at Pink Dot in Kensington, MD. OLOL will receive 20% of all sales! Items will be available at Grandparents Day also. You can shop online and enter OLOL in the comment section at checkout between now and Dec. 6 at 9pm. (Check out the homepage and flyer for more information) HSA Christmas Gifts for Teachers & Staff - if you would like to contribute to the faculty and staff Christmas gifts, you can contribute online or make a donation at Breakfast with Santa. We will be selling, auctioning, and raffling off three front row pews to the Christmas Concert. The funds from those events and contributions from families will support the faculty and staff monetary gifts. If you choose to give your own gifts that is fine. More information will be coming soon. If you want to make your contribution online you can do so at: https://www.bethesda-lourdes.org/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Breakfast with Santa is Saturday, December 7, 9-11am
Parents,
Today we recorded our daily Pledge of Allegiance with Producer Spencer White from WGTS 91.9. We recorded our pledge as a whole school and some individual classrooms. WGTS radio play the Pledge of Allegiance recordings from local schools each morning just after the 7:00am news. Each Pledge of Allegiance is introduced by a student and dedicated in the name of a soldier or veteran is Our school's recordings will play next week, Nov. 18-22. Set your radio dials this weekend so that you can listen to WGTS 91.9 on your way to school each day. Special thanks to Ms. Vivanco for setting up this opportunity for Our Lady of Lourdes. Here is the radio's website with pledges from other schools. This is where our recordings will eventually be as well: https://www.wgts919.com/going-deeper/say-the-pledge Good afternoon OLOL families, Now that the clocks have been set back and the cold weather has settled upon us, it is certainly starting to feel like the the holiday seasons are approaching. As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, only two weeks from today, let us all work to take on a spirit of praise and thanksgiving in our lives. About a month ago, when I was on a retreat with other principals from the Archdiocese, we were asked to consider the blessings in our lives and the blessings that we had been given that we did not recognize. I was struck by the phrase "blessings that we don't recognize". Are there things in my life that I don't appreciate or recognize as blessings? Is it a blessing when I get a last minute request to pick up my teenage niece and drive her to a friend's house 40 minutes away? Well, no, not at first, but when I take a minute, I realize I get her all to myself for 40 minutes... that's definitely a blessing to me. Is there a blessing to be found in sitting in traffic after leaving school at 6:30pm? Yes, if I look for it, time to think, time to pray, or just time to be still and enjoy a song. We are given the gift of each day and the blessings of God can be found all around us, our job is to look for the ones that don't appear as a blessing at first. In finding those blessings we are truly connecting with our creator and praising His presence in every moment. Our Annual Fund "Sow the Seed" Campaign 100% Participation Challenge is underway until Giving Tuesday, December 3. I am happy to announce that in addition to the 100% participation achieved by our faculty and staff last week, we are now up to 21% of our families participating in our Giving Campaign. Please consider making a donation to our Annual Fund between now and December 3. We have raised almost $30,000 of our $200,000 year end goal. Share our goal with family and friends who may want to make a tax deductible donation before the fiscal year ends! You can make your donation on our Annual Fund webpage. We are working on increasing our school's presence on social media. In the next week I will be posting short videos of the students expressing what they think makes our Catholic school special. Please follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and share with your friends, family, and neighbors all the wonderful things we are doing at OLOL. See the picture below with our social media platforms. You can click on the icons at the top of our webpage to get to any of these sites. Pie Sale Calling all bakers! The 8th grade is hosting our Pie Sale Fundraiser to raise money for their legacy gift and graduation donation to OLOL. We need your donation of homemade pies to make this another great success this year. All pies must be at OLOL by 8:30 on Nov. 27. We will sell the pies on Grandparents Day. It is a great way to complete your Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family. Sign up here if you can donate a homemade pie. Little Sisters of the Poor All donations must be at school by Friday, Nov. 22. If you would like to donate a frozen ham or turkey they must be brought to OLOL on Monday morning Nov. 25 by 8:30am. Grandparents Day A wonderful morning of family and friendship is planned for Wednesday, Nov. 27. We have our annual Turkey Bowl scheduled to start around 9:30 am on the field. We will welcome parents, grandparents, and friends at 10am for coffee and refreshments in the Library Media Center. Grandparents are welcome to visit their grandchild's classroom starting at 10:30 to 11:10am. We will get ready to start our Thanksgiving Assembly at 11:20am. All school dismissal is 12:10pm and there is NO After School Care.  Greetings Parents, Things are getting busy at OLOL as we prepare for many wonderful events including: our Book Fair which is currently underway, our service project for November to support the Little Sisters of the Poor, Grandparents Day, our 8th grade Pie Sale Fundraiser, and our Annual Fund Challenge. We need to partner with our community more than ever in order to make sure all of these events are successful. We rely on your generous support and the sharing of your time, talent, and treasure. We are one in Christ and we strive to be one strong OLOL school community. Please help us to achieve our goal of 100% participation in donating to our Annual Fund by Dec. 3. I'm proud to announce that our faculty & staff has met the challenge and we have reached 100% participation! All gifts are important, no matter the size. This is about all of us answering the call to participate. Book Fair The Book Fair is full of wonderful books and gifts and open for shopping!! You can still support our library and classrooms by making a purchase at the Book Fair today from 3 to 5:30pm and tomorrow between 7:30-9:00am (we will close for 9am Mass) or noon to 5:30pm. Friday is the final sale day. The Book Fair will not be open on Monday during Parent-Teacher Conferences, we will be packing the book fair up for pick up. Report Cards Your child's ADW Report Card from grades 1-8 is in the e-locker/e-portfolio of your portal. For parents of students in grades 4-8 you can also view grades from the 1st quarter in the portal. If your child receives a narrative report it is also in the e-portfolio. First Quarter Honors will be on display on the lobby digital sign board and below in this post. Congratulations to all the 1st Quarter Principal's and Honors Award recipients! Conferences Please make sure to sign up online for a Parent Teacher Conference. The sign up closes Friday at 4pm. Parent Teacher Conferences are Monday, Nov.11. School is closed for students. Click here for more information & to sign up for a conference time- https://www.bethesda-lourdes.org/parent-teacher-conferences.html Picture Day is Tuesday, November 12 Don't forget we are retaking all our individual student pictures. If you already completed an order it will be filled with the new picture. If you would like to order, you will receive a preview image with directions in your child's Wednesday Folder . Recess & Lunch Monitors Needed Come spend an hour or so with the wonderful teachers and students at OLOL during lunch or recess! It's a wonderful way to help out and to be part of what's happening at school. We appreciate the donation of your time and look forward to all our parents finding some time to come to school and work as a recess or lunch volunteer. (Please remember you must have completed all the Child Protection Program requirements first.) . See you at OLOL soon!! Sign up here for RECESS. Sign up here for LUNCH. NOVEMBER 13 is DINE OUT AT GUAPO'S IN SUPPORT OF OLOL!! SEE YOU THERE! Join us for Pizza Bingo!! Friday, November 15 from 6:30 to 9:00pm. Please remember to fill out and return your RSVP form by next Wednesday, November 13. Pie Sale Calling all bakers! The 8th grade is hosting our Pie Sale Fundraiser to raise money for their legacy gift and graduation donation to OLOL. We need your donation of homemade pies to make this another great success this year. All pies must be at OLOL by 8:30 on Nov. 27. We will sell the pies on Grandparents Day. It is a great way to complete your Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family. Sign up here if you can donate a homemade pie. Little Sisters of the Poor All families received a flyer in the Wednesday folder with a list of all the items we are collecting. The list is below as well. Each class is assigned different items. All donations must be at school by Friday, Nov. 22. If you would like to donate a frozen ham or turkey they must be brought to OLOL on Monday morning Nov. 25 by 8:30am. Grandparents Day A wonderful morning of family and friendship is planned for Wednesday, Nov. 27. We have our annual Turkey Bowl scheduled to start around 9:30 am on the field. We will welcome parents, grandparents, and friends at 10am for coffee and refreshments in the Library Media Center. Grandparents are welcome to visit their grandchild's classroom starting at 10:30 to 11:10am. We will get ready to start our Thanksgiving Assembly at 11:20am. All school dismissal is 12:10pm and there is NO After School Care. Box Tops for Education There is a brand new way to collect box tops to support our school. The app is available for Android and Apple devices. Just download the app, fill in your school, and snap shots of your grocery receipts. The app processes the items with box tops and credits our account. Tell your family members and friends to download this app and use it frequently. There is more information on the homepage of our website. Find out more at https://www.boxtops4education.com/ and download the Box Tops App on your phone or mobile device today! OLOL's Parish Invites you to the First Annual Advent Wreath Workshop: Please join us Sunday, December 1 at 12:00 p.m. in the school cafeteria for a live wreath-making workshop. The cost of each kit is $25 per wreath and checks should be made payable to OLOL. Please RSVP and drop off your payment at the rectory no later than Friday, November 22. All ages and skill levels are welcome! If you have questions, please contact Maureen Joyner at 301-467-4453 or maureenmj@verizon.net.   Parents,
What an exciting night lies ahead of us. The Washington Nationals are all tied up in the final game of the World Series. OLOL is busting with Nats pride and we ended our day today with playing "Baby Shark" to wish the Nats good luck! If the Nationals win the World Series, (as we all are cheering for them to do) then tomorrow will be a Nationals Tag Day, wear Nationals gear or red, white and blue, in support of the World Series win. Tomorrow is also Halloween. Please send your child's costume to school in a bag and make sure all the costume parts are labeled with their name. Remember to keep at home all scary masks and weapons. Father Barbieri has been assigned to serve as the Director for Spiritual Formation at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, in Hyattsville, Maryland. We are sad to say goodbye to Father Barbieri, but we are excited for this next step in his spiritual journey and religious service. We thank him for his care and friendship to the OLOL community. This move has happened quickly, so if you would like to write a note of thanks to Father Barbieri we would be glad to accept them at the front desk and make sure that he receives your good wishes. We will soon be welcoming Father Jorge Ubau to Our Lady of Lourdes. Today in your Wednesday folder you received our Annual Fund letter for this year. Please read this letter and consider helping us to meet the challenge of 100% participation by all faculty, staff, and families by Giving Tuesday on December 3. Blessings, (& GO NATS!) Ms. Moore Coming Up:
Parents,
Today we are all celebrating the Game 1 win of the World Series by the Washington Nationals. It's a beautiful fall day and we have a lot of wonderful things going on at OLOL! Coming Up:
What a fabulous day of pink, pink, pink we had at OLOL today!! Thanks for all your support and enthusiasm to make a great day and to help in some small way to be part of the fight against breast cancer. Under the leadership of our Student Government Association we had a great day and we raised just over $620! We will be making a donation to support efforts to find a cure and raise awareness. The 8th grade voted for the 3 students who were the "pinkest" and the winners were: Lula Leighton (gr. 2) - prize chosen: Free Tag Day Reese Stevens (gr. 4) - prize chose: No Homework Pass Blythe Batchelder (gr. 5) - prize chosen: No Homework Pass Special thanks to our Student Government leaders and the 8th grade class for a great day, wonderful bake sale, and a great fundraiser! A few reminders as we look ahead:
Also- we will have a Tag Day in honor of the Nationals making it to the World Series. The date has yet to be determined, but it will probably be next week or the week after depending on the dates and games of the World Series and the field trips and events going on at school. We will let you know by email, but it is probably good to start getting your Nats gear together or just line up your best red, white and blue items! |
