Semester 2, Week 12
Dear Parents,
From Father Tim's column in the bulletin,,
"Palm/Passion Sunday, we enter Holy Week, and with our entrance into it, we enter the sad, devastating days that led up to the Crucifixion of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Masses this weekend commemorated the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem, during which palm branches were placed in his pathway. This weekend begins the last week of the solemn season of Lent, preceding Eastertide. Lent will end before the Mass of the Lord's Supper on
Holy Thursday, commemorating the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the first Holy Mass with Jesus as celebrant. Jesus is arrested on Holy Thursday night after the Last Supper. He is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he was praying.
Good Friday: Remember that Christ died on the cross for us.
Holy Saturday: This is when His body was in the tomb. Next weekend, we have
Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Enrollment for the 2024 - 2025 School Year
Enrollment is now open to the public for next year. If you have not had a chance to re-enroll your child but plan to, will you please do so as soon as possible? If you are not planning to return to our school, will you please come talk to me? I most definitely will not try to change your mind; as this is my first year, I would like to know what I should be doing differently.
Building the Cross at Morning Prayer
At morning prayer, Mr. Burnham is helping our students in building a huge cross with good deeds, and it is almost finished! Join us at morning prayer on Monday as 5th grade and Tuesday as middle school tell us about their good deeds and add their piece of wood to the cross.
Wednesday, March 27
To celebrate Easter and the end of Lent, we will attend mass on Wednesday, March 27, with music performed by our 3rd grade choir.
We will not have PE on Wednesday. We will have lunch with guests hosted by 1st grade. Farmington Schools changed our menu so that we can have a nice Easter meal that day. We will have baked ham, macaroni and cheese, garden salad, a dinner roll, a drink, and fruit. The cost is $5.00 for guests. Please reserve your meal by 3:30 PM on
Monday, March 25. Students can wear their regular Wednesday uniform.
Choir will not have practice on Wednesday this week.
Egg Drop
Our annual Egg Drop is this Wednesday, beginning at 1:30 PM. I hope this is an annual event because our students are eggstremely eggcited about it.
Click here for information and instructions.
Night to Remember
Night to Remember is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we need all of our families involved to make it a success as it has been in the past. If you or someone you know has a product or service they would like to donate, will you please let me know? Thank you for supporting this amazing event that not only raises a significant amount of money for our school, but also showcases our wonderful school to the community. Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 27 at 6:00 PM in the school. Everyone is welcome.
Easter Break
Our school is closed for Easter Break from March 28 through April 1 for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Monday.
Spirit Store Price Reductions
Remaining cold weather spirit wear has been reduced at our online store, and they are working on new items for warm weather. The store can be found on our website.
April Birthdays
April birthdays will be celebrated at morning prayer on Wednesday, April 3.
April Confessions
Confessions will be heard by Father Tim and Father Jeff on Thursday, April 4.
Choir Changes
We will not have music classes on Friday, April 5, and the choir will not have practice on Wednesday, April 10.
Altar Server Training
All those who will make their First Holy Communion and Confirmation on April 27 and any other young people who wish to train as servers 3rd Grade and above should come to the training on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10, in the Church at 4 PM each day. Those training to be altar servers need to be there each afternoon for about one hour. A parent should accompany their child or children to let us know what Mass or Masses they wish to serve.
ARK Testing
Our school will participate in ARK testing during the week of April 8 through 12. ARK stands for Assessment of Religious Knowledge and keeps track of our religious knowledge and growth. Students will test during their computer time with Mrs. Schwenk.
Walk and Roll on Wednesday, April 17
On Wednesday, April 17 we will have an opportunity for students to ride their bikes, ride a scooter, roller skate (anything that rolls), or walk to school. Parents will park in the Family Center parking lot, then walk, or ride with their students down and back up Allen Avenue. Then, parents will have breakfast with their student in the gym (Pastries with Parents,) stay for morning prayer and a student concert under the direction of Ms Gapinski.
View Coach Katie's letter.
Works of Mercy Spring Project
Our second big project for our Works of Mercy Family Club the weekend of April 20 and 21. We have settled on two projects: complete the greenhouse and begin to install a sprinkler system for landscaping. Mrs. Carla has it set up in Gradelink so you can let us know you will attend. We will serve hot dogs for lunch. Our Works of Mercy Family Club is one of the ways our students, staff, and parents have an opportunity to participate in service projects. If you still need service hours, this is a great way to get several.
Saints Bingo
Mrs. S will be organizing Saints Bingo during the week of April 22 to 26.
Confirmation and First Communion
We will have several SHCS students making their First Communion and Confirmation this year. Confirmation and First Communion practice is at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, April 24 in the church, and Confirmation/First Communion are at the 4:30 PM Mass on Saturday, April 27. Our SHCS choir will be performing at this Mass.
May Birthdays
May birthdays will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 1.
May Confessions
Our last confession for the year will be Thursday, May 2.
May Crowning
May Crowning will be at the 8:15 AM Mass on Friday, May 3.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6 - 10.
Field Day
Field Day is Thursday, May 9. FMS will be here here grilling hamburgers.
Picnic Friday
FMS will provide sack lunches on Friday, May 10 for class picnics.
8th Grade Graduation
8th grade graduation is Friday, May 17.
Last Day of School
Our last day of school is Thursday, May 23. We will go to Mass, then students will be dismissed at 9:30 AM.
Staffing for the 2024 - 2025 School Year
As of today, we have a few staffing changes for next year. More changes can and most likely will happen, but these are the changes as of now:
- Mrs. S is leaving us to take a job as a bookkeeper at San Juan Veterinary Hospital. Amanda Henley will be taking over the library part of Bonita's multiple job duties, and we are looking to hire a part-time computer teacher. We will also need someone to help with our technology needs. From Mrs. Bonita, "So I will be trading the collar for scrubs next year. I will be working for San Juan Veterinary Hospital as their new bookkeeper. This will a huge career shift for me as I apply my bachelor’s in business administration. Not once did I think of teaching fresh out of college. I had always planned on starting off as a bank teller and work my way up the various steps of the office ladder. Then I discovered this special little rock unnoticed by many, but a gem to those to take the time to stop and look. This has been a fantastic 6 years and despite my job description of teacher, I have found myself being taught by both kids and co-workers on the very meaning of virtue. This place is truly special as every day I bear witness to this tight knit community just being themselves. Everyone always make it a point to tell me how lucky they are to have me here. I am humbly awkward every time I hear this because I see it the other way around. I just teach computers and read a book. Don’t get me wrong, both are fun. But it really doesn’t compare to walking down the hall and listening to the teaching and learning going on the classroom. I am the lucky one to have experienced this place so full of dedication, drive, hunger for knowledge, consideration and most importantly, love. I kid you not that this place is exactly like a family. In true family nature, there absolutely are ups and downs, pseudo sibling and actual sibling rivalry, but when the chips are down, students and staff render aid and pick each other up. That is why this has to be one of the hardest switches I have ever made. God shifted my course when my oldest started Kindergarten here, but he knew what he was doing then. I sure enjoyed every minute of this ride. That is why I trust Him now that I must change roller coasters. Fun fact, roller coasters are my favorite. I want to someday take a roller coaster tour across America. Anyway, I am honored in taking the next step and starting work in June for such a recognizable and respected veterinary practice in the State of New Mexico. Please say prayers for me. However, this may be a change, but not a forever goodbye. My kids will remain, which means I still have to volunteer, and as I recall, the office said double hours because they know me. I happily said yes. So, after this school year, you’ll just be seeing me in scrubs (maybe a Star Wars t-shirt). Thank you everyone for being you and God Bless."
- Miss Chavez will be leaving us to be a Seton Teaching Fellow, so we also have a Kindergarten position. From Alyssa, "I have been accepted to Seton Teaching Fellows, a mission opportunity that brings the Catholic faith and the Gospel to children and their families in underserved communities. I will also get to grow in my own faith through holistic formation. For the 2024-2025 school year, I will be serving in a school either in New York, Ohio, or Texas."
- Ms. Gapinski will be increasing her hours so that we can offer more music opportunities for our students.
- Mrs. Lange will be staying with her 3rd graders so that she can be their 4th grade teacher.
- Miss Elmer will be teaching 3rd grade next year.
We are still hopeful we can add a high school, but that dream has not come to fruition yet. If it does become a reality, other shifts may occur. I will keep you informed if we have more changes.
I hope you and your family have a blessed Holy Week. Thank you for trusting Sacred Heart Catholic School with your student.
❤️, Kelly
Semester 2 - Week 12 March 25 - 30
Monday, March 25 - AI Club
Tuesday, March26 - Ukulele Club
Wednesday, March 27 - Mass; Easter celebration lunch with guests hosted by 1st grade; Egg Drop;
No choir practice
Thursday, March 28 - Holy Thursday / Easter Break — No School
Friday, March 29 -
Good Friday / Easter Break — No School
Semester 2 - Week 13 April 1 - 5
Monday, April 1- Easter Monday / Easter Break — No School
Tuesday, April 2 - Ukulele Club
Wednesday, April 3 – April birthdays at morning prayer; choir practice
Thursday, April 4 - Spirit Day; Confessions
Friday, April 5 - No music classes
Semester 2 - Week 14 April 8 - 12
ARK Testing
Monday, April 8- AI Club
Tuesday, April 9 - Ukulele Club; Altar Server Training at 4:00 PM in the church
Wednesday, April 10 –
No choir practice; Altar Server Training at 4:00 PM in the church
Thursday, April 11 - Spirit Day
Friday, April 12 -
Semester 2 - Week 15 April 15 - 19
Monday, April 15 - AI Club
Tuesday, April 16 - Ukulele Club
Wednesday, April 17 – Walk & Roll to school; Choir practice
Thursday, April 18 - Spirit Day
Friday, April 19 -
Saturday, April 20 - Works of Mercy School-wide Project
Sunday, April 21 - Works of Mercy School-wide Project
Semester 2 - Week 17 April 29 - May 3
Monday, May 6 - IA Club
Tuesday, May 7 - Ukulele Club
Wednesday, May 8 – Choir practice
Thursday, May 9 - Spirit Day; Field Day
Friday, May 10 - Class picnics
Saturday, May 11 - SHCS Choir at 4:30 PM Mass
Semester 2 - Week 19 May 13 - May 17
Monday, May 13 - IA Club
Tuesday, May 14 - Ukulele Club
Wednesday, May 15 – Choir practice
Thursday, May 16 - Spirit Day
Friday, May 17 - 8th Grade Graduation
Semester 2 - Week 20 May 20 - May 23
Monday, May 20 - IA Club
Tuesday, May 21 - Ukulele Club
Wednesday, May 22 – Choir practice
Thursday, May 23 - Spirit Day; Last day of school - dismissal at 9:30 AM
Friday, May 17 - 8th Grade Graduation
Dear Parents, I hope you had a wonderful Easter Break. Guess what our next break is? That's right...Summer Break! Can you believe it? Wednesday before break was a lot of fun. Thanks to Miss Elmer for organizing our field trip to see the King of Kings movie Wednesday morning. Our students were very well behaved, and the theater manager was very impressed with how they acted and how quickly they were able to get their snacks and get seated. Thank you to all the parents who drove students to the movie, especially Jessie Keating for driving our school bus for the middle school and for kindergarten. The weather was beautiful for our Egg Drop. Thanks to Mrs. Keating for organizing our Egg Drop, to Coach Katie for helping at the Egg Drop, Spivey Vasquez for dropping the eggs, and to each of you for making the egg drop a success. We had lots of unbroken eggs and some pretty cool contraptions. The last event of the day was our fundraiser at Slim Chickens. Thanks to everyone who was able to eat there. This week is an exciting week for our school. Our middle school girls will attend our first ever girls retreat, hosted by Joy Nee and Terry Dearen, on Wednesday. I am excited for our girls to get to spend a day learning about how much God loves them and all He has planned for their lives. Then on Saturday evening, we have our school's 32nd annual Night to Remember. This night is a celebration of our students, our families, and our school. Thank you to everyone who loves and supports our school. Next week will be busy! On Monday, April 28, Mr. Burnham will be dressed as a hotdog and get squirted with ketchup and mustard after morning prayer to continue our celebration of our Walk-a-thon's great success. We will meet for prayer outside in the grassy area. On Thursday, May 1 we will have confessions, then on Friday, May 2 we will have the Crowning of Mary at 8:15 AM Mass, and our First Friday Family Lunch hosted by Preschool and PreK. On Saturday, May 3 our choir will lead the music at the 4:30 PM Mass where our 3rd graders will be confirmed and receive their first Holy Communion. May 5 - 9 is Teacher Appreciation Week . If there is anything you would like to do for our teachers collectively, please let me know. Our school has several things planned, but this is one week where it is not possible to do too much for our wonderful teachers and staff. Thank you for loving our teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, and every week. On this Easter Monday, we pause to acknowledge the death of Pope Francis and pray for his soul: Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.
Dear Parents, Last week was a busy week at our little school. On Wednesday, our middle school students did a fabulous job representing our school at Sycamore Park . Our students painted a wall to get it ready for a mural, and they stuffed ten million Easter eggs. The city representative was so complimentary of our kids and made a very nice post about them and our school on Facebook. On Thursday, we had a great turnout for our 2nd annual Walk and Roll . Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. The kids had a great time, and it was wonderful to see our parents at school. I love when we can all get together like that. We had three students earn awards in state competitions this weekend: Congratulations to Ben Franchinni for earning third place at the State National History Day! Congratulations for Rosa Schwenk for earning second place at the State Science Fair and for winning the New Mexico Vacuum Award! Congratulations to Sofia Chavez for winning the CO2 and Greenhouse Award! This week is Holy Week . From hallow.com :The season of Lent gives way to the celebration of Easter in Holy Week, the most sacred period of the liturgical calendar. Holy Week includes both the Church’s most solemn observances and joyous feasts. Unique, beautiful liturgies fill the period of time that begins on Palm Sunday and culminates with Easter Sunday. Holy Week 2025 is a great time to recommit to prayer and draw close to God. We will only have three days of school this week. Our Easter break starts Thursday with Holy Thursday and goes through Easter Monday. Because of it being Holy Week, there are no after school activities this week, so no IA Club, Ukulele or Choir practice. Monday and Tuesday of this week do not have anything special planned, outside of what our teachers are doing with their classes. Wednesday is a different story. Our kindergarten classes will be going on a field trip to San Juan College Wednesday morning. Miss Elmer has been working with the manager of Allen Theaters to make it possible for our students to go to a 9:30 AM showing of King of Kings , also on Wednesday. The teachers who decide to take their classes will send home a permission form with all the information on Monday. Then at 1:30, we will have our annual Egg Drop . Please click here for all the details. Finally, beginning at 4:00 PM, we have our fundraiser at Slim Chickens . Students can wear spirit wear to school all three days this week. Any Sacred Heart Catholic School shirt or a plain red t-shirt can be worn with jeans or shorts. Night to Remember is less than two weeks away! If you were not able to turn in your family's ticket on Friday, will you please do so on Monday? Please know you are always welcome at our school. Thank you for making it possible for your child(ren) to attend our school.
Dear Parents, Well, we made it to April! I can't believe it is almost the end of Lent, almost May, and so close to the end of the year. Thank you, parents, for allowing our school to be a part of your children's lives. This Friday is our last Stations of the Cross and the Knights of Columbus last fish fry for Lent this year. The weather looks to be nice, so we will have Stations at 2:30 in the lower garden. Please join us if you can. Then, beginning at 5:00, enjoy some delicious catfish, salmon, or cheese pizza at the Knights of Columbus hall on Orchard. The Knights are very generous supporters of our school; it is wonderful when we can support them as well. As we come to the end of Lent, I wanted to share my favorite reminder from Bishop Ricken's Living the Faith : Be patient with yourself. When we're confronted with our own weakness during Lent, the temptation is to get angry and frustrated. "What a bad person I am!" But that is the wrong lesson. God is calling us to be patient and to see ourselves as He does, with unconditional love. I can tell you every time I have messed up this Lent, but I could not list five things I have done correctly. Loving myself unconditionally is near impossible, especially some days, when all I see are my faults. I am so thankful God does not see me the way I see myself! Thanks to our kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Benally and Ms. Beasley, for a super First Friday Family Lunch, and thank you to everyone who was able to attend. The gym was beautiful, and our students did a wonderful job of singing and dancing to "Jesus is my Superhero." Our last family lunch for this year is Friday, May 2, hosted by Preschool and PreK. Will you please purchase or sell your Night to Remember ticket by this Friday, April 11? Oh, how I hope you are buying the dinner ticket and planning to attend! Our co-chairs, Ashley Seyfarth and Jenni Strickler, have done a great job of continuing the traditions that make this event unique to our school, while adding new and exciting activities to make it even more special this year. The food will be great, with new options to match everyone's tastes; the band will be great, with just the right music to get everyone dancing; and the items in the live auction, silent auction, student art silent auction, and dessert auction are abundant and varied, with something for everyone. There is nothing more exciting than the auction of the boards, but there is nothing better than getting so many people together in one room who love and support our school. I sincerely hope all our parents can attend; it will truly be a Night to Remember . Previous Information If you would like to send pictures or videos of your kiddos to Mrs. S, will you please do so ASAP? The link is: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PoD35Fo0iVyqYjX6wFNzlSXIBC-CaFOjor you can send them through email to bschwenk@shcsfarmington.org . She is making a promotional video for our school to be shared on social media, and we would like all our students to be included. We will have our next local business revenue sharing fundraiser on Wednesday, April 16 at Slim Chickens , beginning at 4:00 PM. All you have to do is mention SHCS at the register, and they will give us 15% of your total. No flyer required! With the expansion of our Robotics program, we need more storage space. We will be getting rid of all the clothes in our storage closet, except the girls’ jumpers and communion dresses. If you would like to get some clothes for your kiddos, come get whatever you want by Tuesday, April 8. New Information Father Tim has made it possible for our old tile floor in the gym to be removed this summer. Enviro-Tech will begin work the week after school is out, and our building will have to be closed for at least two weeks. After the old flooring is removed, we will begin the process of having new flooring installed. We have looked into having a summer program for students, but that does not seem to be possible this year because of not having our gym available. On Wednesday, April 16 at 1:00 PM, we will have our third annual Egg Drop . Students will build contraptions that will hopefully keep a raw egg from breaking when dropped from various heights. This is such a fun activity for our school, and it is so cool to see some of the ideas our students come up with and create. Look for more information soon. This Week Students in grades 2 - 8 will be taking the ARK test this week in computer class. On Wednesday, all middle school students will be at Sycamore Park for a service project. On Thursday we have our Walk and Roll , beginning at 7:45 AM. Students can bring their bike, scooter, skateboard, or skate and roll, or just walk, around the block by our school. Parents can park in the Family Center parking lot and meet everyone on Allen Avenue. We will walk or roll for a while then meet in the gym for morning prayer and blueberry muffins. Last year's Walk and Roll was so much fun, and I know it will be this year, too! On Friday, Rosa, Angelina, Sofia, and Moira will be going to Socorro for the State Science Fair . Ben will be going to State National History Day . Good luck to all of them! Next Week We will have school only Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We do not have school Thursday or Friday because of Easter . We also get the following Monday off as well. On Wednesday, April 16 , we will send home Progress Reports with grades for the first three weeks of quarter 4; we will have our Egg Drop at 1:00 PM in the back of the school; and our fundraiser at Slim Chickens will begin at 4:00 PM. In the last twenty months that I have gotten to be the principal at Sacred Heart Catholic School, I have learned so much about so many things. I can truly say these have been two of the best years of my 39 years in education. One of the biggest things I have learned is how the small size of our school affects relationships between our students, sometimes looking more like sibling relationships than classmate relationships. There are times when our students are best friends, going to each other's houses for playdates and spending as much time together as possible. Other times, they are getting on each other's nerves and fighting like brothers or sisters. Our teachers do an excellent job of managing behavior in the classroom, but even then, they cannot see or hear everything that is done or said. Unfortunately, sometimes some of our sweet, kind, Christian, loving students will say something mean to another student. When our teachers hear it, they will handle it immediately. If it becomes physical or consistent, I will get involved. Please know that as a school, mean behavior by anyone is not accepted and we will do our best to address it every time it occurs. If your kiddo comes home and tells you that another student said or did something that was mean, please tell your student's teacher, or sit down with me in my office and talk to me. Every teacher and staff member at our school cares about your child. We want what is best for every child we get to have attend our school. Our school is filled with humans and not one of us is perfect; however, I know there is no better school anywhere for your child to be at, and no better group of adults to teach your child. Your child is seen. Your child is heard. Your child is loved. Thank you for trusting us with your student. Please join us for morning prayer, Mass, and Stations of the Cross this week if you can.
Dear Parents, I hope you and your student had a good first week back from spring break. We got to enjoy Stations of the Cross outside in the lower garden on Friday. It was wonderful to see our students following along and to hear their voices together as Father Tim led us on the 14 steps Jesus took so long ago. I stood up along the railing above the garden and had a front-row seat to watch our school participate in this Lenten Catholic devotion that commemorates Jesus's passion and death of the cross. I was so proud of our school and smile every time I hear their sweet voices replayed in my head. From Bishop Ricken's Living the Faith: Giving of ourselves in the midst of our suffering and self-denial brings us closer to loving like Christ, who suffered and poured himself out unconditionally on the Cross for all of us. Lent is a journey through the desert to the foot of the Cross on Good Friday, as we seek Him out, ask His help, join in His suffering, and learn to love like Him. Previous Information Thank you to everyone who has re-enrolled your student(s) for next year. If you are planning for your student(s) to return but have not completed the online registration, will you please do so as soon as you can? We use the enrollment numbers for staffing decisions. If you need to wait a few weeks to pay the registration fee, that is no problem at all. Thank you for selling your Night to Remember ticket. I truly hope that all our parents can attend this fun night of dinner and dancing. If you have not sent any pictures or videos to Bonita, will you please do so ASAP? You can send them through email to bschwenk@shcsfarmington.org . She is making a promotional video for our school to be shared on social media, and we would like all our students to be included. We will have our next local business revenue sharing fundraiser on Wednesday, April 16 at Slim Pickens , beginning at 4:00 PM. All you have to do is mention SHCS at the register, and they will give us 15% of your total. No flyer required! New Information Congratulations to Mrs. Lange's 4th graders who published a book titled The Wonders of New Mexico . Each student researched a different topic pertaining to our great state of New Mexico, wrote about it in cursive, and drew a picture to go with their topic. Attached is a proposal for a new grading scale . It would be for all grade levels first through eighth. The proposal also includes a change for Specials, and has already been approved by those teachers. Basically, the new scale would be the same one used for FMS high schools. Currently FMS elementary and middle schools use Standards Based Grading, which is a scale of 1 - 4. The new scale broadens the range for each letter grade to ten points and eliminates grades with a minus. The reasoning behind the requested change is that when our students apply for anything, such as San Juan College High School, our students are at a disadvantage. For example, if a student takes Algebra 1 in 8th grade at an FMS middle school and makes a 92, that grade is transcripted as an A. If a student takes Algebra 1 at our school and makes a 92, his grade is a B+. If you have any concerns with the new grading scale, will you please let me know ASAP? With the expansion of our Robotics program, we need more storage space. We will be getting rid of all the clothes in our storage closet, except the girls’ jumpers and communion dresses. If you would like to get some clothes for your kiddos, come get whatever you want. This Friday, April 4, the clothes that are in good shape will be given away to Catholic Charities, or someplace similar. ARK Testing is the week of April 7 – 11. This Week We will celebrate April birthdays on Tuesday, April 1 at morning prayer. Students receiving confirmation and their First Communion have a retreat with their parents in the church at 5:30 on Wednesday, April 2. Father Tim and Father Jeff will hear confessions on Thursday (Father Tim’s birthday) April 3 after morning prayer. Our two kindergarten classes will host our First Friday Family Lunch on Friday, April 4. We will go to Stations at 2:30. The Knights of Columbus will have their fish fry beginning at 5:00 PM. Our SHCS Choir will lead the music at 4:30 PM Mass on Saturday, April 5. Next Week Students, staff, and teachers will take the ARK test , which measures what they know about our Catholic faith. Students will test in their computer class. On Wednesday, April 9 our middle school students will go to Sycamore Park for a volunteer project. They will paint a wall to help prepare it for a mural, and stuff Easter eggs for the Farmington Easter Egg Hunt. On Thursday, April 10, Coach Katie will host our annual Walk and Roll , beginning at 7:30 AM. Students can bring their bike, scooter, skateboard, or skate and roll, or just walk, around the block by our school. Parents can park in the Family Center parking lot and meet everyone on Allen Avenue. We will walk or roll for a while then meet in the gym for morning prayer and pastries. Last year's Walk and Roll was so much fun and I know it will be this year, too! On Friday, April 11 we will have four girls compete at the State Science Fair in Socorro, and one 8th grader who will compete at State National History Day . Good luck Moira, Angelina, Sofia, Rosa, and Ben! As always, thank you for your continued support of our school. We would not be here without everyone reading this email. You are greatly appreciated. Join us for morning prayer when you can. It will change your life! I hope you have a wonderful week.
Dear Parents, I hope you and your family have had a wonderful Spring Break, and you are rested for the last nine weeks of this school year. It is going to go by fast! Today is the third Sunday of Lent. We will be celebrating Easter before we know it. During Lent we are called to focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. From Bishop Ricken's Living the Faith: Lent is essentially an act of prayer spread out over 40 days. As we pray, we go on a journey, one that hopefully brings us closer to Christ and leaves us changed by the encounter with Him. ...fasting is actually a form of penance, which helps us turn away from sin and toward Christ. Almsgiving...is about reaching out to others and helping them without question as a way of sharing the experience of God's unconditional love. I keep this article hanging in my office all year to remind me to pray more, live as sin-free a life as possible, and to help as many people as I can, not just during Lent but always. Lent is one of the parts of our Catholic faith that I truly love, and I am so blessed to get to work at a school where our faith is taught daily. Thank you for letting me a small part of your child's faith journey. As we go through the accreditation process, one of the tasks is to update our Mission, Vision, and Philosophy statements to make sure they are relevant to the current beliefs of our school. Our new statements are attached. Your feedback is welcome. Thank you for selling your Night to Remember ticket . We will have a Night to Remember meeting this coming Wednesday, March 26, at 6:00 PM in the school library. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. Thank you to everyone who has re-enrolled your student(s) for next year. If you are planning for your student(s) to return but have not completed the online registration, will you please do so as soon as you can? We use the enrollment numbers for staffing decisions. If you need to wait a few weeks to pay the registration fee, that is no problem at all. Bonita Schwenk is completing her volunteer hours by creating our school's promotional video to share on social media. Will you please share with her any pictures you have of your student(s)? We have reactivated her SHCS email so you can send any pictures you have to bschwenk@shcsfarmington.org . Thank you! We will have our next local business revenue sharing fundraiser on Wednesday, April 16 at Slim Pickens , beginning at 4:00 PM. Our calendar is packed for the rest of the year. I will go into more detail as needed, but below is a list of everything on our calendar (so far). I am certain there will changes and additions. Please join us for morning prayer when you can and at Mass on Friday. We love having you (and your student) here.
Dear Parents, We have almost made it to Spring Break! Four more days. We should be finishing up our parent/teacher conferences this week. If you have not met with your student's teacher, or do not have a time scheduled for a conference this week, I am sure you will hear from the teacher on Monday to schedule a time. Thank you for taking the time to visit with your student's teacher. Thank you to everyone who attended our First Friday Family Lunch that was hosted by Mrs. Atencio and her first grade students. They did a fabulous job of decorating our gym, welcoming everyone, and singing. Our next First Friday Family Lunch is Friday, April 4 and will be hosted by our Kindergarten classes. Congratulations to our middle schoolers who participated in National History Day and the Regional Science Fair. We had one 8th grader who competed at National History Day, Ben Franchini, and he won first place in Individual Documentary Junior Division. Thanks to Mrs. Head for helping him prepare for competition. We also had one 8th grader and five sixth graders who all won at least one award at the Science Fair. SHCS will be sending four students to compete at the state Science Fair in Socorro next month. Rosa Schwenk, our 8th grader, was the Junior Division Overall Winner again this year! Thanks to Dr. Grandjean for working with our sixth grade girls to get them prepared for the Science Fair. Good luck at state, Girls! Thank you to everyone who was able to go to the Knights of Columbus Fish Fry Friday night. The Knights are a HUGE supporter of our school. The men are cooking every Friday in Lent from 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. Thank you to everyone who was able to eat at Panda Express on Saturday. I was in there twice and it was packed both times. I love how our school can get a little extra money simply by supporting Farmington businesses. Thank you to everyone who sent pictures to Haleigh Bassing at PV. She was able to put together a video for us to remember Catholic Schools Week. Bonita Schwenk is going to create a promotional video for us and needs your pictures from the entire school year. We have reactivated her SHCS email address so will you please send her any pictures you have? Her email address is bschwenk@shcsfarmington.org . Thank you! Thank you to everyone who has reenrolled their students for next year. I am so grateful for you allowing us the opportunity to continue helping your children grow academically and in their faith. Thank you for trusting Sacred Heart Catholic School with your students. Thank you to everyone who sold tickets for our Dream Vacation Raffle . It was a huge success! Our goal was $40,000 and we raised over $42,000! And the winners are: 5th Prize - Outdoor theater package - Alexis Clark, sold by Oliver Cruz 4th Prize - Sky Ute Casino package - Charlene Brown, sold by the Seyfarth family 3rd Prize - Great Wolf Lodge package - David Walsh, sold by Bailey Bean 2nd Prize - Sandia Casino Getaway package - Jackie Golombowski, sold by the Derizotis family 1st Prize - Alaskan cruise - Rita Jaramillo, sold by Jaidyn Tallman Our last and biggest fundraiser of the year, Night to Remember , begins this week. We will be sending home a packet of information that includes all the details for this wonderful 21 and over event. We would love for all our parents to attend. Tickets for an evening of good food, dancing, and some fun competitive auctions is $200.00 for two people. That ticket also includes one raffle ticket for a chance to win the grand prize of $10,000. Every SHCS family is responsible for selling or purchasing one ticket. The ticket can the $200 ticket described above, or a $100 ticket that is only the raffle ticket. Look for your family's packet early this week. Thank you for supporting Sacred Heart Catholic School through this fundraiser. I hope your family has a great week and a wonderful Spring Break. Kelly March 10 - 14, 2025 - Parent/Teacher Conferences Monday, March 10 - IA Club Tuesday, March 11 - No Ukulele Jam Wednesday, March 12 – No Choir practice Thursday, March 13 - End of Quarter 3 Friday, March 14 - No School March 17 - 21, 2025 - Spring Break
Dear Parents, Can you believe it is already March? Soon it will be Spring Break, then Easter Break, and then Summer Break! From the US Conference of Catholic Bishops: Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It's a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. During Lent, we seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms ; and we practice self-control through fasting . We are called not only to abstain from luxuries during Lent, but to a true inner conversion of heart as we seek to follow Christ's will more faithfully. We recall the waters of baptism in which we were also baptized into Christ's death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ. SHCS will attend Ash Wednesday Mass and receive ashes at 8:15 AM. Students can wear their regular uniform . We will attend Mass on Friday as usual, then we will meet in the church at 2:25 PM for Stations of the Cross. This will be our Friday schedule through April 11. During Lent, the Knights of Columbus have their annual fish fry every Friday evening from 5:00 - 7:00 PM at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Orchard. This is a wonderful family event with delicious food, and also an opportunity for our students to serve others by helping the Knights. They always need help carrying food for some of the guests and refilling condiments. Please let me know if your student is available to help for one or both hours this Friday. This week we will celebrate March birthdays at morning prayer on Tuesday (instead of Wednesday,) and students in grades 2 through 8 will go to confession on Thursday. On Friday our fabulous first grade will host our First Friday Lunch . Mrs. Atencio and her students have been preparing for a while, so I know it will be wonderful, just like all the other lunches have been this year. Students in Preschool through 1st grade go to lunch at 11:00 AM. Students in grades two through five go to lunch at 11:30 AM, and middle school students go to lunch at noon. We will have the lower doors open for you to enter there. Please join us if you can. We only have two more family lunches remaining after this one! Kindergarten will host on Friday, April 4 and Preschool/PreK will host on Friday, May 2. Don't forget to eat at Panda Express on Saturday, March 8. They will donate 20% of their revenue when guests mention our school and show their flyer. (I will send it out separately before next weekend.) We have received over $1500 this school year simply by supporting local businesses. Also on Friday, March 7, Ben Franchini will be competing at the Regional National History Day in Santa Fe. On Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, several of our 6th grade girls will be competing in the Regional Science Fair at San Juan College. Good luck to all of our students as they represent our school. Closing out a very busy week, on Saturday, March 8 our SHCS Choir will provide the music at the 4:30 PM Mass. Our little school sure does a lot! Thank you to everyone who turned in their Dream Vacation Raffle tickets and money on Friday. If you did not turn yours in, will you please do so on Monday? I cannot wait for Mrs. Carla to get everything counted. I know this raffle will be a huge success! The prizes are wonderful, and our families work hard to support our school. Thank you so very, very much. Father Tim will draw the winning tickets after the 11:00 AM Mass on Sunday, March 9, 2025. Enrollment for next year is open for our current SHCS families through Sunday, then we will open it to the public on Monday, March 3. Thank you to all the parents who have re-enrolled their children for next year. Please see the attached flyer about the SHCS Foundation . The foundation has donated $140,000 over the last 14 years. We are extremely grateful for their support. Parent/Teacher Conferences for all students should be complete by the afternoon of Thursday, March 13. Some of our teachers have been meeting with parents during the last few weeks, and many will have conferences during the next two weeks. Our Spring Break starts Friday, March 14. Right on the heels of our Dream Vacation Raffle is our Night to Remember . This year's event is going to be fabulous! There is something for everyone, with new things added to the traditional activities that make our event so special. You can get a sneak peek at the plans for our Night to Remember on the SHCS website. Printed information will be sent home very soon. This year's Night to Remember is Saturday, April 26 at the Farmington Civic Center. I hope you have a wonderful week. Please join us for morning prayer when you can; everyone is welcome.
Dear Parents, Can you believe this is the last week of February? We only have three months of school left. It just doesn't seem possible. Thank you for enrolling your students for next year, if you have already done so. Registration for next school year is open on Gradelink. We will open it up for new students next Monday, March 3. If you are considering not enrolling your student for next year, will you please talk to me? Your perspective and thoughts are very important to me. If there is something I can do differently to help your family stay at SHCS, I will do it! This is the last week for our Dream Vacation Raffle. Will you please turn in your raffle ticket stubs and money to the office by this Friday, February 28? The family obligation for this fundraiser is to sell 12 tickets, or donate $300. Thank you so much for selling these tickets to help the school meet its financial obligations. Our parent meeting is this Wednesday, February 26 at 6:00 PM in the Family Center. We will talk about registration, tuition, our calendar, changes to our handbook, and fundraising including our fabulous Night to Remember. Please join me if possible. Guess what! Our 8th grade Robotics team was invited to Nationals! Mr. and Mrs. Idzerda opened it up to all Robotics students to travel with the 8th graders, so we have six students representing our school this summer. They will be traveling to Daytona Beach, Florida for competition June 24 - 28. Nice job, Junkyard Dogs (their team's name!) Guess what else! Our English Expo students competed yesterday in Albuquerque in 20 events, and they won 14 medals! We even have three state champions! This was the first time our school has participated in English Expo. Mrs. Alysia and Mr. Dylan did a wonderful job of preparing our students and our students did an outstanding job of representing our school. I am so proud to be at Sacred Heart Catholic School. Mrs. Isbell wanted me to let everyone know that we have some SHCS artists featured on the Jack and Jill Magazine Facebook page. You can vote for your favorite picture for their magazine cover through February 28. It is so cool to see our kids' artwork on Facebook! I hope you have a wonderful week. Please join us for morning prayer when you can. It will start your day off nicely.
Dear Parents, I hope you and your family had a nice Valentine's Day and you are enjoying our long weekend. I was fortunate to go to Albuquerque to watch our Robotics teams compete at state. They did great! One team earned a trophy for their innovation project, and we had another team that finished fourth overall! It was exciting to see our students work together under pressure to complete missions with their robot, and I loved seeing their team innovation projects on display. I am so proud of our students for their dedication to their team and for representing our school so well. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Idzerda for starting our Robotics program and for teaching our students all the skills this program provides for our students. English Expo This coming Saturday our English Expo students will be competing in Albuquerque as well. This is the first time our school has participated in English Expo and our students are excited. They have been working with Ms. Alysia in the computer lab on Thursdays and Fridays this year and I know they will do great. This competition is made up of individual events, including photographic essay, storytelling, poetry recitation, and Shakespearean Monologue. I can't wait to see how our students do. Parent Meeting Rescheduled I rescheduled our parent meeting for Wednesday, February 26 at 6:00 PM in the Family Center. I apologize for having to postpone the meeting last Wednesday. I hate doing that because I know everyone has such busy schedules. My six-week-old grandson got sick, and I needed to help my daughter. He's better now, thank God. I hope you can attend the meeting. I am required to share financial information, such as our budget, with families each year. We will also talk about tuition for next year and a few changes. Four Corners Federated Republican Women (FCFRW) Essay Contest Our students have been invited to participate in the FCFRW 6th Annual Essay Contest. The topic is "What the American Flag Means to Me". It is open to students aged 6 - 14. Students submit a paragraph of 100 words or less along with the attached form . The deadline to submit is March 12, 2025. The winner receives a flag that flew over the U. S. Capitol with a certificate of authenticity presented at the FCFRW June meeting. The winning paragraph will appear in the June FCFRW newsletter. Dream Vacation Raffle Thank you for continuing to sell your raffle tickets. Money is due February 28, 2025, and Father Tim will draw the winning tickets after the 11:00 Am Mass on Sunday, March 9, 2025. Enrollment for 2025 - 2026 Enrollment for next year is open for current students through Gradelink. We will open enrollment for new families on March 3, 2025. If you are not planning on your student(s) returning to SHCS next year, do you mind sharing your reasons with me? Your perspective and thoughts are very important to me. If there is something I can do differently to help your family stay at SHCS, I will do it! ACE Scholarship Mrs. Carla has added ACE Scholarship information to Gradelink, including income thresholds. The application process opened February 3, 2025. We encourage everyone to apply for this very generous scholarship that covers half of your student's tuition. Night to Remember Planning for our Night to Remember has begun! There are some exciting new activities mixed in with the traditional activities that make our annual event so special. Ashley Seyfarth and Jennifer Strickler have been working hard to make this year's event special and I hope that all our parents will attend. Yes, this is our biggest fundraiser, but it is also a time for everyone who loves SHCS to come together and enjoy an evening of good food, good music, dancing, and friendship. This year's Night to Remember is Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Farmington Civic Center. Please save this date and join us for a spectacular evening. Parents, thank you for trusting SHCS with your students and remember to join us for morning prayer when you can. I hope you have a wonderful week.
Dear Parents, We had a great first week of February at SHCS. Things calmed down a little bit after a very fun, and very busy, Catholic Schools Week. The rest of this year is going to fly by...I hope you are ready! New (to us) School Bus Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin for going to Thoreau to pick up our school bus. Coach Katie has gotten a donation to have our name put on the bus, so we will have our own Sacred Heart Catholic School bus! Mrs. Kristin in the church office is working on getting the bus insured and Father Tim is paying for the cost of the insurance. We are so fortunate to have a parish that takes such good care of our school. Once the bus is insured, I hope it will get used often. Third grade has it reserved for Friday, February 21, our first trip in our very own school bus! February First Friday Family Lunch Huge thanks to Ms. Jackson and her second grade class for a fabulous First Friday lunch. The decorations were beautiful, and the entertainment was wonderful. Thanks to Ms. Gapinski for helping with the three songs the second graders sang, and thank you to all the parents and grandparents who were able to attend our lunch. Next up is Mrs. Atencio and her first graders on Friday, March 7. School Dance On Friday night, we had our first school dance in a pretty long time. Someone said the last time our school had a dance was in the 1980s. The majority of our students in grades five through eight were here, and they seemed to have a great time. We had almost as many parents and many of them joined in the fun as well. Justin Anaya, one of our parents, was the DJ and he was amazing. Each grade created a playlist and Justin played their songs; the students danced to them all! You should have seen our gym. It was beautiful. We kept Ms. Jackson's decorations from the family lunch earlier that day and the parents added to them. I was hesitant to have a dance, but our students were very well-behaved, very thankful, and had such a great time I will happily do it again...just not too soon. Thank you to everyone who made this dance possible for our students. Thank you to all of the chaperones as well, including Mrs. Rita, Ms. Vickers, Mrs. Head, Mr. and Mrs. Idzerda, and Mrs. Troxell. Without the persistence of our students and the planning of our parents, this night would not have happened. First Reconciliation On Saturday, we had several of our second graders make their first confession. I am so proud of their hard work, along with their teachers Miss Alex and Ms. Jackson, in preparing for this important sacrament. We had some nervous students but, they did great and I know they felt God's peace after they made their confession. Congratulations to each one of them. Choir Also on Saturday, our choir lead the music at 4:30 PM Mass. We are so blessed to have a group of students who show their faith through song, under the leadership of Ms. Gapinski. I am very proud of our choir. Art This week, some of our Art students will be attending a presentation about recycling by Waste Management. Our Art classes are creating a huge piece of art out of the recycled bottle caps that many of you have been donating. They could still use some ink and purple lids if you happen to have any. Mrs. Isbell has created a fantastic Art program here at SHCS; we are so fortunate to have her as a teacher at our school. School Board Meeting On Tuesday, we will have a School Board meeting at 6:00 PM in the school workroom. I apologize for the late notice; it was just scheduled this past Monday. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting and listen to the topics discussed. Parent Meeting On Wednesday, February 12, please join me in the Family Center at 6:00 PM for a parent meeting. I will provide you with information regarding tuition for next year (no change for MOST grades,) our budget, next year's calendar, any changes that we know of for next year, and other topics. It is my responsibility as principal to share information about our school with teachers, staff, and parents, and I love talking about our school. Will you please attend the meeting if at all possible? Gym Closure This week, on Thursday and Friday, the gym will be totally closed to allow for the storage closet and PE equipment to be thoroughly cleaned and the closet painted to get rid of the mold that has been there for a while. On Thursday, Coach Katie will meet her PE classes outside if the weather is nice, or in the Family Center if not, and we will have sack lunches from FMS for the students who do not bring their own lunch. On Friday, we will have pizza for everyone in the Family Center. The gym closet project should be finished on Monday, February 17 when we are not at school. Everything should be back to normal on Tuesday, February 18. Before and after school care will be in the Family Center. President's Day Our school will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2025, in observance of Presidents Day. Robotics On Saturday, February 15 our four Robotics teams will be competing at State in Albuquerque. These middle schoolers have been spending many hours preparing. I know each team will do a great job and a trip to Houston for Regionals is a real possibility this year. Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Idzerda for sponsoring this fine group of students and for their parents' support; our robotics teams would not be successful without them. English Expo For the first time, SHCS is sending students to Albuquerque for English Expo. We have eight middle school students who will be competing on Saturday, February 22. Thanks to Ms. Alysia and Mr. Dylan for preparing these students for our first English Expo. Science Fair We currently have six middle school girls who have created projects for Science Fair. The San Juan County Science Fair is March 7 and 8, 2025. All six girls have been preparing under the direction of Dr. Grandjean, and we are excited to see which of the girls will compete. National History Day We also have one middle school student, Ben Franchini, who will be competing at National History Day on Friday, April 11, 2025. From the NHD website: Each year, students around the world discover history through National History Day ® (NHD) by creating historical research projects. Through the process, students develop skills in communication, project management, and historical thinking. Best of luck to all our middle school students who will be competing in Robotics, English Expo, Science Fair, and National History Day! Dream Vacation Raffle Thank you for continuing to sell your raffle tickets. Money is due February 28, 2025. Mr. Brandon Mohon has generously provided the school with a huge order of flyers to distribute at churches, individually, or at local businesses. Please let us know if you would like some flyers to share. Enrollment for 2025 - 2026 Enrollment for next year is open on our website! The web address is https://www.shcsfarmington.org/enrollments . If you are not planning on returning to SHCS next year, do you mind sharing your reasons with me? Your perspective and thoughts are very important to me. If there is something I can do differently to help your family stay at SHCS, I will do it! ACE Scholarship Mrs. Carla has added ACE Scholarship information to Gradelink, including income thresholds. The application process opens tomorrow, Monday, February 3, 2025. We encourage everyone to apply for this very generous scholarship that covers half of your student's tuition. Looking ahead... Parent/Teacher Conferences Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for the week of March 10, with no school on Friday, March 14. Spring Break is the next week. Some of our teachers may schedule their conferences outside of this week; they will communicate when they having conferences so you can schedule your child's time. Thank you for taking the time to visit with your student's teacher(s.) Walk and Roll Walk and Roll, where students bring their bike or skates and ride or walk around the block all together before school is Thursday, April 10. Field Day Field Day is Thursday, May 15. 8th Grade Graduation 8th grade graduation is Friday, May 16. Last Day of School We changed the calendar so that the last day of school for the students is Thursday, May 22 at 3:15 PM. We will go to Mass at 2:00 PM, then distribute final report cards, and dismiss students for summer break at 3:15 PM. (I cannot believe we are already talking about the last day of school.) I hope you have a wonderful week. Please join us for morning prayer at 8:00 AM in the gym when you can.