February 11 Auction Committee Meeting – 7:00 PM – Margarita’s
February 14 Red, White, and Pink Valentine’s Day Free Dress
February 15 Hot Lunch ordering ends at midnight on Boonli.com
February 18 NO SCHOOL – Presidents Day
February 19 Yearbook Group Photos
February 20 Paper Wednesday News
February 23 – March 3 NO SCHOOL – February Vacation
March 4 School Resumes
NEW! Thank You – This week’s thank you’s go to everyone who sent in the bags and bags of non-perishable food and toiletries for our Corpus Christi Food Pantry Brown Bag drive! The Food Pantry was so pleased to receive such a large load…donations usually drop after the holidays, but the need is often greater. Our donations will go a long way to serving the Food Pantry’s vulnerable clients. Thank you so much for your generosity!
UPDATED! Annual Fund– We are so thankful for all those who have chosen to support our students through the Annual Fund! As of today, we have raised $25,451 towards our $34,000 goal! All of these gifts, along with any made before April 1st , will be included in our Honor Roll of Donors published in our summer News and Notes publication!
Every gift to the Annual Fund is important, no matter how large or small! All gifts remain here at St. Chris and directly benefit our students. In addition to providing advanced academics, updated technology, and exciting extracurriculars, the Annual Fund assists in covering the cost of educating students that is not funded by tuition. In other words, EVERY family receives financial aid through the Annual Fund!
Please support us in our mission to provide an excellent Catholic elementary education to all students by donating today! Thank you!
Donating to the Annual Fund is easy! You may make your donation using any of the following methods:
- Return the remittance envelope included in your Annual Fund letter along with a check, cash, or credit card number.
- Send a check or cash in to school in an envelope marked “Annual Fund”.
- Call Business Manager Murrayann Abucewicz at 882-7442, ext. 113, to have your credit card charged manually.
- Or donate online through Paypal HERE.
However you choose to donate, please know that we are MOST grateful!
UPDATED! Day of Giving Errors – Oh no! If anyone attempted to donate to the Day of Giving and received an email saying their donation was not made because “Could not find specified token for merchant,” please let Marta know at [email protected]. We are trying to figure out the issue with FACTS, the company who administered the campaign. Thanks!
NEW! Registrations OVERDUE -- If you have not yet completed the online registration for any child who will be a student at St. Christopher School in Fall 2019, your registration is now overdue and your child is at risk of losing his or her seat. We are currently drafting our budget for the next school year and tuition is based on the number of enrolled students for 2019-202. Because late registrations can not be counted towards our enrollment numbers in the budget, every late registration causes our tuition rate to be higher. If you are intending to send your child/children to the school in the Fall but have not registered, please do so immediately. Thank you for your help with this!
Morning Drop Off Reminders – The snow in the streets has made morning drop off in front of the school just a little bit more tricky! Please keep these notes in mind:
- Do not park in front of, or in, our neighbors’ driveways, even if you are just going to be there a minute. The driveways are private property and our friends need to be able to leave whenever they would like. Several neighbors have called to complain, and while they are being as patient as possible, they have mentioned calling the police.
- If you need to get out of your car to assist your child (to bring in a project, get his/her coat on, etc.), please pull around to the back of the school and pull into a parking space in the middle of the lot. Your child is welcome to enter the back door of the school with the PreK/Kdg students if he or she has a lot to carry. Stopping in the drop-off line at the front of the school creates a bottleneck for all those who are waiting behind you.
- Please pull allllll the way up to the second sidewalk when dropping off, and use the entire length of the drop-off zone (including the spots without a sidewalk). With so many parents driving to school in the morning, the line often wraps around the corner onto Manchester St. We need to use all the space in front of the school we can to keep the line moving!
- Finally, please, please, please do not pull up to drop your child off on the opposite side of the street…even if you are running late. The extra few minutes required to drive around the block and drop off on the correct side of the school is well worth the safety it provides! With the snow, the street is constricted and many views are blocked, making it extremely hazardous for our students to cross the street, Thank you!
St. Chris at the Red Sox! – The deadline of February 20 is approaching quickly! Join our Saint Christopher community for some family fun at Fenway Park! Our Parent Group has secured two blocks of tickets for the Saturday, June 8th 1:05 PM game vs. the Rays!! Tickets for St. Chris will be available in the bleachers ($40 each) or the grandstand ($68 each) and we will all be sitting together. This is not a fundraiser, just a great opportunity to get together and cheer on our World Champion Boston Red Sox! Tickets must be purchased HERE by February 20. No additional tickets will be available beyond the 20th, so reserve your seats today!
Hot Lunch Ordering – Reminder! Hot Lunch ordering is open through midnight on February 15 and no late orders can be accepted. Log into Boonli.com HERE.
Valentine’s Free Dress – How sweet our school will be on Thursday, February 14th with our annual Valentine’s Free Dress day! All students are invited to wear red, white, and pink that day! Please be sure that students follow our free dress rules!
Yearbook Group Photos – Lifetouch will be here on Tuesday, March 19 to take photos of all of our school groups (Chess Club, Ski Club, Altar Servers, etc.). Students should wear their regular school uniforms that day. Group photos will not be retaken if a student is missing that day.
February No School Dates – Mark your calendar! We will have Monday, February 18, off from school for Presidents Day and February vacation will run from February 23 through March 3!
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Auction News -- Our 15th Annual St. Christopher School Auction will be here before you know it! The “St. Chris Rocks” Auction will take place on Saturday, March 23 at Sky Meadow Country Club…and we need your help! Please consider getting involved in any of the following ways:
Item Donations: Item donations are at the heart of the evening’s action! We need over 200 items to make the night a success! We are looking for both “small” items like restaurant gift cards or popular electronics for our Silent Auction, and “large” items like vacation rentals or concert/sports tickets for our Live Auction. Looking for some ideas? Check out this list HERE!
Donations this week include:
VIP Tickets with parking to see Dierks Bentely at the Xfinity Center
Pat’s Peak Lift Passes
Auto Detailing and VIP Memberships to AutoCare Plus
Gift certificates to Castro’s Back Room, Frederick’s Pastries, & the Butterfly Place
Vineyard Vines tie
And more! Check out the list HERE!
Business Participation: We love to have local and national businesses participate in the Auction through item donations, program advertisements, and sponsorships! This is a great opportunity for businesses to reach over 200 potential patrons! Chat with your boss, ask your barber, talk with your dry cleaner, reach out to your dog groomer….almost any local business is happy to participate! If you need an Auction information packet to pass along to a local business, you can download the Auction packet on the school website HERE or contact Marta at [email protected] for a printed copy. Thank you!
Businesses can get involved through:
Item Donations –Businesses are welcome to send along business cards, brochures, or other information for display with any item they may donate.
Sponsorships -- Sponsorships run from $250 to $5,000 and include many perks, like Auction tickets and at-event promotions.
Thank you to these current sponsors:
St. Joseph Hospital – Bronze Sponsor
Catholic Medical Center – Copper Sponsor
Center for Physical Therapy and Exercise – Copper Sponsor
The Valade Family – Copper Sponsor
Advertising -- Program advertising runs from $50 to $250. Every Auction attendee receives a program for the evening. Because the program describes EVERY Live Auction item in detail, these are guaranteed to be read by everyone!
Thank you to our current advertisers:
Platinum Tan
Forcier Contracting and Building Services
Kalil and Kress Dentistry
PAL Force Football and Cheerleading
Auction Committee Meetings: Our Auction planning is in high gear! Many hands make light work…please consider joining us at our next Auction Committee meeting on February 11 at 7:00 PM at Margarita’s!
UPDATED! Ticket Purchases: Invitations are in the mail! If you didn’t receive one (or know someone who should receive one!), please email Marta! To reserve your seat, return the RSVP card to the school with your payment (and be sure to make your meal selection on the reverse side of the RSVP card!) or you can also click HERE to purchase your ticket online. Tables of 10 or 12 can be also reserved ahead of time by sending a list of attendees to Marta at [email protected] or Ellen Valade at [email protected].
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NEW! Calling all Box Tops! -- Now‘s the time to bring in all the Box Tops your family has been collecting! The next submission deadline is just around the corner, so be sure to have your child drop them off in the bin next to the computer lab. Every little bit helps! Send them in today!
Financial Aid Applications for 2019-2020 – As always, our goal is to make a St. Christopher education affordable for any family! To that end, applications for Financial Aid for the 2019-2020 school year are open and will run through March 15 and all families in need are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. All oldest and only students were sent home with a packet of information regarding the Financial Aid process today. The packet can also be accessed HERE. Please read the information carefully. All families interested in financial aid MUST follow the packet instructions or aid will not be given. If you have any questions, please contact either Mrs. Clarke at [email protected] or Business Manager Murrayann Abucewicz at [email protected].
NEW! Parish Support Financial Aid -- If your child is entering grades 1 through 6 and you are an active member of a parish in the Diocese of Manchester, you may be eligible for Parish Support. This financial aid available through this program is substantial, and worth applying for if you qualify…this year’s support was $1,006 per student! The Diocesan Support Program requires the timely identification of families who meet the minimum diocesan support criteria and qualify for the supported student tuition rate.
The minimum support criteria include:
- registration in a parish or mission;
- contributor of record in a parish or mission; and,
- active participation in the life of a parish or mission.
All three criteria must be met and verified by the Pastor as indicated by his signature on the Supported Student Form. The form should also be stamped with the parish seal. It is the responsibility of the parent, after the signature of the pastor is obtained, to return the signed form to the school by March l, 2019.
Supported Student forms are available from Jackie Langenfeld at the school office or can be downloaded HERE.
NOTE: If your child received the supported student rate for the 2018-2019 school year, you do not need to fill out another Supported Student Form. The names of those students who are currently supported will be forwarded to the pastors, and the pastors will notify the school whether or not the student is still eligible for support. The school will then notify the parents of the pastor’s decision.
Diocesan Excellence in Education Awards: The successes of our Catholic schools and their students would not be possible without the selfless support of committed educators, administrators, clergy, and lay partners in the community. This year, the Diocese of Manchester is holding its second annual Recognizing Excellence Awards Gala at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord on Thursday, June 20, 2019. All are invited to attend this exciting event to officially honor the School Leader of the Year, Clergy Member of the Year, Community Partner of the Year and most especially our Teacher of the Year.
Nominations from the St. Christopher community are now being accepted. To nominate someone you think deserves to receive this special recognition for this year, please read the award descriptions HERE.
The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2019. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Catholic Schools Office at (603) 663-0140.
NEW! Youth Ministry News:
Junior Group News – Our next regular Teen/Junior Group meeting will be Sunday, Feb. 10 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM in the Pennell Center. See you then! Also, please let Emily know if you’d like to join our upcoming service project: trail cleanup at Squam Lake on February 17.
Kid Group Movie Night – Join us in watching “The War of the Vendée,” a movie based on a true story about ordinary French Catholics who fought for their faith and became heroes. Pizza and popcorn provided! See you in the Pennell Center from 5:00 – 8:00 PM on Feb. 9. All 3rd-5th graders are welcome to join us.
For any questions, email Emily Murphy at [email protected].
Hot Lunch Schedules – Thank you to everyone who stepped up to volunteer for the Hot Lunch program! Your help is MUCH appreciated. Volunteers for the next week are below:
Thursday, February 7
Joanne Thurston
Danielle Pray
Tara Stolz
Friday, February 8
Lisa Blanchard
Catherine McQuaid
Kate Aquino
Monday, February 11
Marilyn Hogan
Svetlana Yanushkevich
Carol Cyran
Lisa Censabells
Tuesday, February 12
Emily Uong
Heather McCorry
Kathleen Kenosian
Theresa Scanlan
Wednesday, February 13
Beth Dargin
Ginny Dargin
Jessica MacDonald