FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Dear Parents,

How is your Lenten journey coming along? I find it’s helpful to do some spiritual reading during Lent (and all the time, actually). Many of you are so busy that this proves difficult. That’s one reason that I share some interesting and poignant thoughts in the Wednesday Bulletin. Following is an adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer by Jane Deren. This prayer emphasizes a kingdom of justice.

Our God who is in heaven and in all of us here on earth: the hungry, the oppressed, the immigrant, the excluded. Holy is your name.

May your reign come and your will be done; in our choice to struggle with the complexities of this world and to confront greed and the desire for power in ourselves, in our nation and in the global community.

Give us this day our daily bread; bread that we are called to share, bread that you have given us abundantly and that we must distribute fairly, ensuring security for all.

Forgive us our trespasses; times we have turned away from the struggles of other people and countries, times we have thought only of our own security.

Lead us not into temptation; the temptation to close our minds, ears, and eyes to the unfair global systems that create larger and larger gaps between the rich and the poor; the temptation to think it is too difficult to bring about more just alternatives.

Deliver us from evil; the evil of a world where violence happens in your name, where the wealth of a few is more important than economic rights for all, where gates and barriers between people are so hard to bring down.

Do not judge us only by whether we have fed the hungry, given clothing to the naked, visited the sick, or tried to mend the systems that victimize the poor. Spare us this test for none of us can stand before the gospel scrutiny. Give us, instead, more days to mend our ways, our selfishness, and our unjust systems.

Teach us, Oh God, to be more like you…one who always stands with the weak, the powerless, the poor, the abandoned, the sick, the aged, the very young, the unborn, and the immigrant. May we be living words of your compassion and love. Grant us peace and justice. May your reign come.

PRAYER CORNER

We pray for the people of Haiti and Chile; for Olivia Zertuche and Kendra Roberts’ grandmother Beatrice Zertuche who died this past Friday; for Mark and Connor Robinson’s grandmother, as well as their friend Mrs. Ordaz; for Sr. Pat Davis; for Fr. Hugo’s father; for Mrs. Wheeler’s brother-in-law Walt; for Bryan Pipkin’s grandmother; for Amanda, Hannah, and Joey Ronsse’s great grandpa Papa Dean; for Emily Callen’s brother Will; for Mrs. Cathers’ sister-in-law Genie Cathers; for Sr. Helene; for Sam, an 8^th grader at St. Lucy School in Campbell; for Tom Brozene’s wife Marcia; for Madison and Brandon Hammer’s Abuelita; for J. R. McFarland’s uncle; for Aidan Grissom’s Papa Jess; for Jasmine Fernandez’s uncle; for Mary Sanchez’s friend Gary; for Sabrina Aragon’s grandmother; for Deacon Steve; for Becky Kaiser; for Jaevan Cordia-King; for the needs of our parish and school community; for all our friends and benefactors.

Congratulations to SMS March

Students of the Month

K: Julia Donovan—is very excited about learning! She is a wonderful artist and loves to write stories. She is a kind and good friend.

1: Ryan Luna—is an extremely hard worker. He is happy all the time! He is a good friend to all!

2: Josh Marshall—is a loving and excited student. He tries his best and gives his best. What a great guy!

3: Gaby Agustin—brings a delightful energy to our class and always gives us great work!

4: Kathryn Gutierrez—is a fun-loving and outgoing young lady! She is like sunshine in our classroom. She works hard on her studies and is a wonderful addition to the St. Mary Community.

5: Annette Palomo—is an extremely hard working student and a fine role model to others. She is studious, kind and compassionate. Annette is a wonderful young lady!

6: Kyle Watts—has really poured on the effort this quarter! He has improved the quality of his work and his class participation. Way to go!

7: Jessica Martin—is a kind, polite, respectful, and caring friend and sister. She is a shining example as someone who lives in Christ’s light.

8: Drew Gipson—is an incredible musician with a wonderful sense of humor and a very inquisitive mind.

TONIGHT @ 7PM, the Fundraising Subcommittee of the SAC meets at Stubby’s under the leadership of Catherine Lowney. This group will report its findings at the March 25 SAC meeting.

THU, MAR 11: If you haven’t had a chance to eat at or take home a delicious meal from THE CLADDAGH, today is your last chance! Be sure to bring your flyer with you to ensure credit for our DC students. Thank you, parents, for your support; thank YOU, Lesley and Mike Benson for your on-going support of SMS.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

•The school’s LENTEN COLLECTION: Please help the people of Haiti with your support of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) as we continue to respond in the aftermath of the massive earthquake. CRS is responding to the growing need for food, water, shelter and health supplies. Haiti is our poorest neighbor and was still recovering from deadly 2008 hurricanes when the quake struck. The people of Haiti desperately need your help. Online donations may be made; check out the Home Page for a link or visit http://crs.org/haiti/post-eq-shelter-interview/

FRI, MAR 12: It’s SPIRIT DAY!

•St. Mary School will also be observing SCOUT DAY: The Girls Scouts of Northern California, Gilroy Service Unit 604, along with the Boys Scouts, Gilroy Unit, will be holding an All Scouts Day to show their spirit and enjoyment of scouting. The girls and boys will show their spirit by wearing their scouting uniform to school on this day.

•The movie in Extended Care will be Pippi Longstocking.

•Have you RSVP’d for Mother/Son Bingo, beginning at 7PM in the Gym? Mothers’ Guild will host a Nacho Bar with great snacks, prizes and a lot of fun! This event is reserved for boys in Grades 4-8 and for Moms, Grandmas, Aunts or any special adult female family member or friend. Please let us know you’ll be attending: RSVP to Tammi Blundo at tblundo@ctbt.com or 710.8357.

MON, MAR 15: Your SEE’S CANDY orders are due!

TUE. MAR 16: Grade 3 walks to the Gilroy Museum.

It’s time for AUCTION FREE DRESS! Your child has received a FREE DRESS PASS; if there is a concern that your child brought in a donation before the collection date, please contact the Office. Many donations arrived unmarked to the Office.

6:30PM, DC 2010 Trip parents must attend a meeting in the 8^th grade classroom. All paperwork (including Shield the Vulnerable online class) must be complete.

WED, MAR 17: It’s ST PATRICK’S DAY—WEAR GREEN!

It’s a 12:30 Dismissal; teachers will be attending a Diocesan In-Service; 6:30PM, Sports Awards begin with an Ice Cream Social in the gym.

THU, MAR 18: 7^th Grade Parents interested in finding out more aobut the 2011 trip to Washington D.C. will meet in the 7^th grade classroom at 7PM.

(this meeting was originally scheduled for Mar 9)

FRI, MAR 19: Dads (Grandpas, Uncles, Brothers, or any special male family member or friend), you are invited to join us in celebrating the FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH at the 8:45AM Liturgy in the Church. Please RSVP on the form found in the bulletin (also online) or RSVP to Vicki at vcampanella@stmarygilroy.org

SAVE THE DATE:

MAR 26: 10:45AM & 7PM, 8^th Grade Play

MAR 27: ALUMNI BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

APR 1: PASSION PLAY PRAYER, 11AM

APR 5-9: EASTER BREAK

APR 14: AWARDS; SPAGHETTI DINNER TICKETS GO HOME

APR 21: RE-REGISTRATION PACKETS GO HOME

APR 28: SLP INTERVIEWS; DOLLARS AND SENSE, a presentation of the 2010-11 budget and parent information night; light hors d’oeuvres social begins at 6:30PM. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PARENT MEETING. (Childcare will be available.)

APR 30: SPAGHETTI DINNER!

MAY 19: SPRING OPEN HOUSE & FINE ARTS NIGHT—students in all classes will be performing, 6:30PM

AROUND SMS

•Letters were sent from the Finance Office to SMS families informing them if their Parish Supporting/ Out of Parish status has changed in any way since the last review. If, after receiving your letter you have questions, contact Shelley Webb at finance@stmarygilroy.org.

•An excerpt from Second Grader Lorelai W.’s Journal: The things that make me happy are in the word happy. Let’s take a look at what these things are:

Having the best parts of life with my teachers;

Always understanding people or people

understanding me;

Perfect love and care at school, home and almost

anywhere;

Pillows, they make me think sleep over time!

Yapping little puppies make me feel happy too.

That’s what really makes me happyJ

•THANK YOU so very much, MRS. DOYLE, for answering the plea in last week’s bulletin—your help at MONDAY YARD DUTY is greatly appreciated!

•Your very generous donations of REAMS OF PAPER have been a tremendous aid to keeping our office expenses down. If you are able to make a donation of a ream, or two, of copy paper, we are grateful.

•Second graders made rainforest terrariums. The Janisch family and Mr. Nick brought all of the supplies and plants for the class to assemble their very own little eco-systems. The class learned about the water cycle (evaporation, condensation and precipitation) and how important plants are for our own survival! Way to go, Second GradersJ

•To celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday, first graders completed a book report on their favorite Dr. Seuss book; however they had to come up with a new ending. On March 2, Dr. Seuss' birthday, first graders brought in a pillow and Dr. Seuss books for a read-a-thon in the afternoon.

Recently, 3^rd Graders visited History San Jose for Victorian Days. View more photos on the Gallery in the SMS webpage.

•On March 7, 14, and 21, 7^th graders will be dramatizing the Gospel readings for these Scrutiny Sundays at the 5 P.M. masses. It is a way for us to give back to our community by responding via dramatization to the message of Christ in the readings from John (Woman at the Well, Man Born Blind, and Lazarus), hoping that the interpretation will aid in the assembly's understanding of his message; it is part of 7^th grade religion outcomes to evaluate the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and Children and how this brings new members into our Church; and it is a response to our Content Theme in 7th grade religion: that our faith calls us to listen and respond to the message of Christ.

Sunday, March 7, director and co-director Melanie and Margaret presented Woman at the Well with Macey as narrator, Brother Tito Cartagena as Jesus, Matisse as the Samaritan Woman, and various others to play the crowd.

Sunday, March 14, director Drake and Props/ Costume/Co-Director, Aubrie presented Man Born Blind with Hannah as narrator, Michael as Jesus, Anthony, man born blind. The man’s father is Jose; the man’s mother is Macey and Pharisees are Daniel, Margaret, Michael, Antonio, Alyssa

Disciples: Melanie, Amanda, Aubrie, Julia, Sabrina.

•90 students from nine schools in the Diocese of San Jose participated in the Fifteenth Annual Academic Junior High Decathlon on Saturday, March 6. Teams competed in a Logic Quiz, a Super Quiz, and eight individual subject areas.

The following students from 8th Grade and 6th Grade represented St. Mary School: Brittney Sousa (Religion), Anna Reeves (Current Events), Jasmine

Fernandez (Literature), Paige Novak (English), Andrew Blankley (Math), Drew Gipson (Social Studies), Callie Camacho-Light (Science), Alyssa Zoppi (Fine Arts), Jack Wall and Stephanie Blankley (Logic and Super Quiz).

The team won five ribbons at the Decathlon. Alyssa, Paige, and Anna won Second Place in their subject areas. Jasmine took Third Place in Literature and Andrew Blankley won Fourth Place in Math. Congratulations and thanks to our Decathlon students!

Special thanks go to Ms. Hanson and Mrs. Mantecon, who volunteered at the event, and to the Gipson, Zoppi, Sousa, Reeves, and Blankley families for bringing lunch. The team really stood out wearing

their eye-catching team t-shirts. Thanks to Mrs. Campanella and Mrs. Lemon for their work!

•Congratulations to 5^th grader Molly Lowney who recently competed and won (for her age division), the Elks Club competition on “The American Dream.” Here is her winning essay:

The American dream can be different to many people. Perhaps a family with little money would have the American dream of sending their children to college, or maybe a young student’s American dream is to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Many people could have these American dreams and many people could have different dreams.

What do I think the American dream is? I believe the American dream is to make a difference in our world. The American dream is freedom, peace, and love. The American dream is to heal the planet, harvest clean energy, and stop pollution. The American dream is to wipe out poverty and give school to those in places where they don’t have school. I believe these things and many more are the American dream.

America has accomplished so much of this dream already. We have a country where people have freedom. Our dream is to spread that freedom all over the world. Other countries must see our dream and look at it the way we do. If we can achieve our dream, soldiers will come home and we will have peace in our countries. I may be wrong, I may be right, but I believe this is the American dream and in time we might achieve it. People may say it’s impossible, but I believe that nothing is impossible. That is what I think the American dream is.

•8^th graders created their masks today as the first step in their “Self Discovery” project. After masks dry, students paint them and write a companion piece describing a personality trait through their art and their words.

OUR SMS STUDENTS AND ALUM

•Do you recognize these two SMS alums?

Matt Carroll and Zach Colton!

•Parents who recently registered their SMS student son at Palma High School, Salinas wrote to share the good news: (We) are proud to say that he was placed in advanced classes in English, Math, and Science.  (He) is very excited! In addition to his testing well on the placement test, the teacher who guided us told us that St. Mary’s does prepare their students well for high school.  Thank you very much for your dedication.

•Congratulations, St. Francis HS Lancers Soccer Team—you are CCS Division II Champs! In a match up with Willow Glen this past Saturday at Gilroy High School, SMS Alum (Class of ’06) Nick Salvemini, Senior Captain, kicked the winning goal in the 70^th minute. This is the Lancer’s first CCS crown since 1993 and the third in school history. Nick is the nephew of Mrs. Wheeler, 1^st Grade teacher; her son Garrett (also an SMS alum) played the entire game for the winning team. What a great win!

•The third grade class is sad to announce that our aide, Mrs. Conchas, will be moving to Southern California to join her husband who found work in San Diego several months ago. We are happy for them that he no longer has to commute back and forth, but we will miss her greatly. In order to fill

her shoes the class needs a special person with the following characteristics:

- experience with school age children

- an ability to juggle numerous tasks that are instructional and clerical (like homework collection and small group work)

- a willingness to be firm and kind at the same time

- and a desire to get the ball rolling with our class every morning from 7:45 until 10:30.

Contact Mrs. Campanella for more information or send your resume to the front office.

SCRIP CORNER

Easter Break is only 4 weeks away!  So, whether you are taking the kids to Disneyland, or planning some spring skiing in Tahoe or just staying in town to spend time with family and friends, Let Scrip help you spend smarter!  You can purchase Scrip now so you are ready for anything. Scrip has Gas Cards, Disneyland Cards, Hotel Cards and Rental Car Cards.

Do you have family coming into town?  If you need to make a run to Costco, purchase American Express Scrip! If you want to plan dinner out, Scrip is supported by many local restaurants in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose, San Francisco and Monterey.
Check out the order form attached or stop by the front office and "shop" the box.
It's never too early to plan for Easter Break!

OH, WHAT A NIGHT. . .

Culminating months of meetings, planning, procuring and perfecting every detail, Cathy Broch and her outstanding Auction Committee shared the fruits of their labor last Saturday night as the 23^rd Annual Blue and White Auction took place. Rock Around the Clock brought out all the cool guys and hot chicks decked out in their 50’s finest.

Everything about the evening was amazing—if you didn’t attend this SELL-OUT event, you really missed out! [Look for pics in the Gallery on the school webpage.]

THANK YOU to donors, sponsors, attendees and all who purchased items online or in the beautifully displayed Silent and lively Auction after dinner. Special thanks to Auctioneer Bill Christopher and to the amazing committee: Cathy Broch, Trina DeMare, Denise Garibaldi, Shelda Reynolds, Heather Watts, Tiffany Oetinger, Scott Higgins, Kelly Barbazette, Adina Austin, Christina Dimas, Rhonda Motil, Kelly Leal, Bryan DeMare, Tricia Nardone, Amy Tripoli, Lara Orradre, Monica Green, Patty Kahn, Brenda Maggiora, Michael Dowd—with a HUGE “shout-out” to Catherine Lowney, Past Chair, for her dedication and commitment to this event.