May Calendar

You will notice that the May calendar is full of activities: May Procession, Confirmation, Primary Grades Mothers’ Day Mass, Student Council elections and installation, field trips, recitals, sports awards, Field Day, Mothers’ Club Mass and Installation Dinner, and Eighth Grade Graduation.

The recital dates for music students in Grades K-7 are listed according to their teachers’ names. The Eighth Graders will have their own recital on one night. Please refer to your calendar as an easy reference!

Confirmation

On Saturday, May 3, at 10:30 A.M., our seventh graders will be confirmed in our parish church. We pray that the Holy Spirit will be with these newly confirmed as they continue to grow and mature in their faith! Thank you to the sixth parents who will provide refreshments in the pavilion following the ceremony. This will allow you an opportunity for pictures with Archbishop Quinn.

Mothers’ Day Mass

The Primary Grades Mothers’ Day Mass this year will be on Friday, May 9th at 11:15 am. Note the time has been changed. It is a minimum day. We will have 12:30 pm dismissal for all students.

Mothers’ Club Installation

This week you should receive an invitation to the Mothers’ Club Installation Mass and Dinner on Friday, May 16th. If you do not receive your invitation, please contact the school office.

Principal for the Day

One of the main items for the raffles during the Mothers’ Club Fundraiser was "Principal for the Day" which always generates a lot of enthusiasm. This year’s winner is Julia Roy in Grade 5 and she has chosen Jena Jadallah and Sophia Balistreri as Vice Principals for the day. Ms. Roy, Ms. Jadallah, and Ms. Balistreri will reign over the Jog-a-thon on Friday, May 16, will visit classes, bestow privileges on the student body, and go out for lunch with Sister Marilyn, Miss Kays, and Mrs. Connelly. We are looking forward to a fun day!

Strawberry Day

Each year, on May 10, the Sisters of the Holy Names celebrate Strawberry Day or Founders’ Day. The community archives recount the story of six Sisters of the Holy Names from Hocheloga, Canada who were destined for Oakland, California and who boarded the "Ocean Queen" in New York. After a long ocean voyage they reached the Isthmus of Panama on the Atlantic side and crossed the Isthmus in a little train. They boarded another ship in the Pacific Ocean and after another long voyage entered San Francisco harbor on Sunday, May 10, 1868. The Mercy Sisters from St. Mary’s Hospital took them home and served luscious strawberries, the first of the season. We celebrate this special day by having strawberry ice cream on Thursday, May 8. Earlier in the year we asked about children’s allergies. We will follow that list and have vanilla ice cream for those students who are allergic to strawberries.

Sandwiches

You have been so generous all year providing lunches on Thursdays for the poor. Thursday, May 29, will be our last "Thursday Sandwich Day" for this school year. We will begin again next October. Thank you!

Altar Servers News

Altar Servers should have received two important forms: the Summer Commitment--2008 (to ALL Servers) and the Parental Permission form for the Monday, June 2nd Raging Waters Picnic for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who qualify. If your child did not receive the Picnic Permission form, there are missed Masses that have not been scheduled for a make-up, and therefore, your child does not qualify for the picnic. BOTH FORMS ARE DUE BY MONDAY, MAY 5.

School Supply List

Click here to download the supply list for 2008-2009. You can order teacher-approved school supply package (containing most items) through EPI. Click here to download order form. Please return this form along with your payment by May 22, 2008.

Celebrate Monsignor Harriman's 40 Years in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ

Mass on May 18, 2008, at 11:30 am

In Sacred Scripture, the number forty has special significance. In the days of Noah, after it rained for forty days and nights, there was a new beginning on the earth; in the days of Moses, the Israelites wandered in the Sinai for forty years before they entered the Promised Land; in the days of Jesus, after his baptism he spent forty days in the desert before beginning his public ministry, and in the Acts of the Apostles, it says that forty days after his death Jesus showed himself to the disciples in ways that proved beyond doubt that he was alive. In each case the number forty seems to describe a period of purification, preparation for something new. Now that I have come to my fortieth anniversary as a priest, for all that has been I say thanks, for all that is yet to be, with the help of God's grace, I say Yes! Read more »

Summer 2008 Music Lessons

The summer is a great time to study an instrument! Many of the St. Cecilia School music teachers keep their private studios open in the summer. Summer music lessons are not sponsored by St. Cecilia School. However, one advantage of summer music is that there is no contract. Summer is a great time for new students to discover if they like studying music before making a semester-long commitment and for continuing students to learn new pieces.

Lessons offered for piano, recorder, flute, clarinet, saxophone, violin, viola, cello, and guitar. Please note, if you choose the piano, you need to rent or own a traditional acoustic piano in your home.

If you have more questions about music lessons, feel free to call:
Bonnie Knight at home
(415) 665-1585.

Box Tops for Education Reminder

The final competition for collecting Box Tops for Education ends on May 2nd. Please turn in all of your box tops in a Ziploc bag marked with the student's grade and room number. The winning class will receive a free dress pass. Thank you for all of your collection efforts!

Scrip

Click here to download St. Cecilia Scrip registration form.

Sunshine Newsletter

Click here see our April Citizens of the Week and family condolences.

Lesotho Project Donation

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Your wonderful gift of $8,524.95 for Little Flower Primary School in Lesotho arrived here last week, so we will be sending it on to the Sisters of Lesotho at the end of this month. We thought that you would be interested in learning some aspects of the students' lives that will be influenced by your gift.

Last May when we visited Little Flower Primary, we turned off the highway at Kolonyama and began to struggle up a very steep and rocky unpaved road. Near the top of the convent and school are situated in the middle of a very poor section of the are. As the Sisters served us tea, the principal explained her concerns about the increasing number of students in the school who are orphans, over 90 of the 292 students enrolled...Read more »

Monsignor Harriman's 40 Years in the Priesthood Continues...

The school family has been an important part of my priesthood these past 13 years. I appreciate your faith and love. You are a gift to the Church, the parish and to me. On Sunday, May 18th, I will be celebrating a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Cecilia Church at 11:30 am, followed by a reception in the Durocher Pavilion. In many ways this is our celebration. My gift to you is the Eucharist and your gift to me would be your presence. Please, no other gifts. Sincerely yours, Monsignor Michael D. Harriman, Pastor