Welcome Back
Giving Garden
Thanks to all of the volunteers that made this year a success for our Giving Garden. We always need more volunteers but this was our best year to date. Over 1300 pounds of organically grown produce was grown and harvested this year. The shed has been restored thanks to the Milata family and we have others working on completing our outdoor classroom that will have a chalk board and student seating. Thank you to Mrs. Kuester for your coordination and labor. We appreciate you!
Material Pick Up
Our next pick up date is from 5PM-7PM on Tuesday, January 19th.
Read-A-Thon - Starts January 20th
St. Monica Catholic School is excited to start our 4th annual Read-A-Thon!
The Read-A-Thon is motivating students to read more, both in the classroom and at home by pairing reading with a reward system.
Participating students will all receive a St. Monica bookmark. Students receiving $15 in donations will receive a St. Monica draw string back pack with an out of uniform pass and students receiving $50 in donations and reaching their reading goal will be entered into a drawing to win an Amazon Kindle.
Best of all, all participating* teachers will be asked to wear funny or embarrassing face coverings throughout a day if we reach our $450 classroom goal and Principal Schommer will wear one while live on Facebook if we reach our $10,000 overall goal while all students will enjoy an out of uniform day.
Past Read-A-Thon fundraisers raised money towards the purchase of a school bus, eagles nest renovations and PTO Gift and Grants Initiatives such as the new furniture in the art room. This year we will be raising money for shortfalls in the school budget, specifically supplementing teachers pay.
Please join the other dedicated parents of St. Monica students by supporting this year's Read-A-Thon. More information will come home on Tuesday, January 19th.
COVID and YOU
We have had a successful first ½ of the school year in terms of positivity within our building. To keep that trend we need your help.
- Follow protocol: Wash hands with soap & water, wear a Mask, & stay 6 feet apart
- Everyone stays home if anyone has symptoms
- If you are not sure, email nurse@smsindy.org
If we all follow these 3 activities we will be successful.
Marion County COVID Update
Starting Monday, January 18th, the Marion County Health Department (MCPHD) will be tracking school specific positivity rates compared to the County as a whole. This new method will determine what actions need to take place in each school such as classroom or school closures. This is a change from the previous metrics which only considered Marion County positivity rates. That method is no longer being used by MCPHD.
CLICK HERE for the MCPHD Dashboard.
U.S. Capitol
CLICK HERE for a link to some recommendations for parents about the violence on Wednesday. We have included Fr. John’s letter for you to read as well.
Dear St. Monica Family and Friends,
As your pastor I want to share my reflection with you following the events in Washington D.C. on Wednesday January 6th, the Epiphany of the Lord. I suspect that for most of us this was a shocking and disturbing event. Never in my life had I imagined such a possibility. As I think about these past 8 to 15 years I have witnessed the growing hostility among people that has created a type of ideological tribalism. This hostility seems to have brought us to this point of angry and bitter divisiveness. I think that St. Ignatius of Loyola would recognize that an angel of darkness, the enemy of love, is at work in all of this.
Our temptation might be to blame this divisiveness on the politicians and the Washington D.C. swamp. With honest introspection I suspect we will recognize that the divisiveness that is occurring in our politics is a reflection of the divisiveness among the people of our nation. Rather than pointing fingers, it seems to me that the real solution is for each of us to look inward. Pope Francis’ recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti- On the Fraternity and Social Friendship invites us to do just that. Pope Francis invites us to reflect on fraternal love through the lens of the parable of the Good Samaritan.
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10, vs. 25-37)
A beautiful and powerful element of this parable is the challenge of “who are we to love?” In the time of Jesus the Samaritans and the Jews did not socialize or worship together. A Samaritan helping a Jewish victim of the robbery was both scandalous and convicting. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor in a way that breaks down the barriers that humans create. Neighbor is not who we choose it to be, rather it is everyone. This includes those who think, look, speak, believe and sin differently than you or me. This radical call to love invites us to see God’s image in everyone and all creation.
So I invite us to lead this transformation, first, within ourselves, then our community, and those whom our community touches. Let us work to be better communicators by committing to listening to others in seeking understanding before responding. Can we pick up a phone and speak with another person? Can we be more thoughtful and intentional about our choice of words and be conscientious of the weight that they may carry?
Can we examine how we utilize social media? During this pandemic social media has been a wonderful way to remain connected with family, friends, and Church. It helps us to share important moments of our lives with loved ones near and far, offer spiritual support and uplifting messages, share the gift of humor, and other ways that lift up the human spirit. In this way it is a gift. Often it is used in hurtful or divisive ways. I encourage us to utilize social media in the spirit of Christian charity. How can it be an instrument of love? Consider excluding memes that only serve to fortify the division between people. So many memes do not elevate the heart and mind nor do they elevate dialogue or conversation. Let’s not share memes or posts that are filled with misinformation or falsehoods. Instead we should seek the pursuit of knowledge and truth, the engagement in dialogue, and healthy and respectful conversation. This requires our openness to listening, learning, sharing, and integrity. In this way we can debate issues with a spirit of charity where we can disagree without demonizing the other. We can choose to love.
Frequently people want to blame the media and media bias. Rather than blame the media I invite each of us to take personal responsibility to be informed through a variety of diverse and reliable resources, both written and broadcast, that include different areas of knowledge. With technology so much information is at our fingertips. This may mean reading substantial articles rather than those with only short bits of information. Be open to engage in conversations with people who see things differently than you or me. This can help us all to grow together rather than apart.
There is an age old question, what is love? St. Paul offers us this answer, “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (NAB 1 Cor 13: 4-8a).”
“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world and forfeit their his life (Mark 8: 36, NAB).” As a faith filled welcoming, loving, generous, diverse community of disciples of Jesus that seeks to build God’s Kingdom of Love we have much to offer others. The Epiphany means “the manifestation of God. Let us accept this call to be the Good Samaritan, to love all as neighbor. Let us share this invitation with our family, friends, and those we encounter. Let us bring that light of Christ to others.
May this New Year be filled with countless blessing, hope, and above all love!
