The Rhodes Ahead - Dec. 8, 2023 - https://shoj.edurooms.com/engage/shoj-catholic-school/newsletters/the-rhodes-ahead-dec-8-2023
"Nothing is so strong as gentleness - nothing so loving and gentle as strength.”- St. Frances DeSales
Last week, Cali (4 legs, pictured in front locking eyes with the camera) stopped by one our 1st Grade Classrooms. Cali’s “dad”, David Caton of KC Elite Dog Training, has taught Cali lots of tricks. Our favorite trick captured in this picture is simultaneously bringing joy and peace to the hearts of these sweet 1st grade souls.
“Deo Gratias”: Thanks be to God.
The Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas (CFNEK) is an Archdiocesan group that exists to gather financial support for parishes and organizations to carry out the mission of the Church.
Sacred Heart School was blessed to be a recipient of a CFNEK grant that allowed us to host our “Thankful Thursday” event November 9th. This event celebrated the domestic church with a family meal, prayer time, and games. Prizes for the games were religious icons to be displayed and shared in the homes of our school families as a reminder of our Catholic faith.
As a recipient of a grant, we were invited to the annual Deo Gratias dinner. We were excited to see that Mr. and Mrs. John and Claudia Caton, in-laws of Mrs. Caton, SHOJ 4th Grade teacher, (family picture here) were the 2023 Deo Gratias distinguished family honorees.
Grateful to the Catholic Foundation of Northeast Kansas and the generous donors for investing in the Sacred Heart community.
Sincerity: truthfulness in words and actions; honesty and enthusiasm toward others.
We asked Middle School Writing Teacher Mrs. Jones to step out of the room so some of her 7th graders could talk about her behind her back. Normally, that would be a scary proposition. Not when you’re Mrs. Jones. If this is how they talk about her behind her back, can you imagine how they feel when she is in the room?
The Question: How does Mrs. Jones exhibit the virtue of sincerity?
Eve- When I have questions about writing, she is positive about helping me.
Kennedy- She is always giving us honest reviews of our writing and is enthusiastic about what we are doing and how we are doing it.
Jack- If you make a small mistake she is kind, and if you make an even bigger mistake, she is kinder.
Gabe- She is excited about what she is doing and it makes it more fun.
Sophia- She is enthusiastic about working at a Catholic School.
Vincent- She is always really cheerful about what we have done and what we are about to do.
Genevieve- No matter what question you ask, she makes us believe that every question is worth asking.
Emme- She is enthusiastic about God and sharing personal experiences with us.
Maddy- She takes time out of what she is doing to help us.
Mrs. Jones, we sincerely love you!
“It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope.” Pope Benedict
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School is throwing open the “doors of hope” this Advent Season. We are joining forces with Catholic Charities to collect an item that satisfies hunger: Peanut Butter. We are on a mission to share what satisfies the soul: Hope.
See the details on the flier sent via email, FB, Instagram, or school.shoj.org for details. Questions? kathleen.hess@shoj.org
Please check out The Rhodes Ahead for this week - https://shoj.edurooms.com/engage/shoj-catholic-school/newsletters/the-rhodes-ahead-dec-1-2023
The SHOJ Christmas Fund is now open. Click to donate: https://web4u.forms-db.com/view.php?id=1975133
Seventh graders shared some time Monday with the kindergartners.
Seventh graders have been learning about St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, a missionary who traveled to Kansas in 1841. She shared her love of Jesus with the Potawatomi Indians.
Kindergarteners help support Duchesne House (in our MS House Community System) throughout the year. Now they know why we celebrate the life of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne!
8th graders have been learning about all the different types of figurative language. Each student chose a topic and created a book to read to his or her 2nd grade buddy. We enjoyed reading the silly sentences, looking at the funny pictures, and spending time together before Thanksgiving break! We are thankful for these students and the joy they bring everywhere they go.
“If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family.”- St. Teresa of Calcutta
We celebrated how deeply loved our students are today. The friendship and love of others is the remedy for loneliness in the world. Thank you to these witnesses who share their love and their Christian witness to our students. Our prayer is that our students use the investment of love planted deep within them to produce a harvest that changes the world; all for the Glory of God!
Special thanks to the 4 beautiful souls pictured together here as they are Near and Dear to SHOJ. Thank you Mary, Stacy, Kylie, and Kimberly for coordinating a beautiful family centered event!
The Rhodes Ahead - Nov. 17, 2023 - https://shoj.edurooms.com/engage/shoj-catholic-school/newsletters/the-rhodes-ahead-nov-17-2023
“St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great things." - St. Josemaria Escriva
St. Joseph Superfan, 5th Grade Teacher, Mr. Craig Whalen, seemed like a good candidate for this week's edition of, "How does your teacher show the virtue of the week?" The question posed to his students while he stepped out of the room: How does Mr. Whalen model the virtue of prayerfulness?
Cohen- He prays before every class. He gives us ways to meditate before the Blessed Sacrament. He says to “Rest before God.”
Sean- He tells us about his prayer life to help us in our own.
Lorelei- He doesn’t judge you for who you are or how holy you are.
Sadie- He helps us come closer to God.
Anna- He shares stories about how he has seen God in his life.
Marie- He tries to help us find God in the little things.
Makes me want to say some prayers thanking God for Mr. Whalen!
“Catholic education aims not only to communicate facts but also to transmit a coherent, comprehensive vision of life...”- St. John Paul II
Our hearts tell us that Saint John Paul II would love these pics. Our middle school service students practicing math facts, spelling lists, letter recognition, letter sounds and sight words with our K-3 students. There is joy here. The littles are being mentored by the bigs and the bigs are discovering their ability to serve God through serving others.
YAY!
The Rhodes Ahead - SHOJ Newsletter for Nov. 10, 2023 - https://shoj.edurooms.com/engage/shoj-catholic-school/newsletters/nov-10-2023
A peek at some of the STREAM activities on this Friday morning. Thanks to all those who supported the Fund the Need at Brown Bottle.
I maybe wasn't working hard enough, but I took some pictures. Thanks to everyone for a great night.
We did some celebrating tonight. We had an event called "Thankful Thursday" and we walked away with REALLY full hearts.
We didn't stop to take pictures. We were just present in the moment and it was good.
We love our Sacred Heart families and are thankful to Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church for breathing life into our school!
God Bless America! Sacred Heart honored the Veterans in our church and school community. Many of us were moved to tears as Father Zarse spoke of the many battles in the Bible and how our veterans share that same courage as they work for peace and justice. The veterans in attendance received a blessing at the close of the Mass. Thank you to our veterans for the tremendous witness they give by offering their life to the service of others.
"We all have a vocation. We believe that God has placed us in this life to fill a special need that no one else can accomplish." St. Francis De Sales
It's vocation awareness week. At Sacred Heart we will say an additional prayer to hear our vocation and have special lessens during the week. Today Deacon Nicholas visited the third graders to teach them that the way that we serve God in our church is our vocation. He reminded them that we need silence to hear what God is asking and should discern one thing at a time.
We continue to pray for those serving the church with a religious vocation and those discerning as well.
“Music is capable of opening minds and hearts to the dimension of the spirit and leads people to lift their gaze to the Most High, to open themselves to the absolute Good and Beauty whose ultimate source is in God.”
-Pope Benedict XVI
Congratulations to these East Central Kansas Music Educators (ECKMEA) District Band & Orchestra Middle School Students! We are inspired by the way they honor God through the gift of music.
We also LOVE to see the face of a former (and forever) Cardinal as she shares her musical gifts playing cello alongside the choir at All School Mass.
Thank you to Dr. Helen Harrelson-Director of Instrumental Music at Saint James Academy, Mr. David Kaemmer-Saint James Academy Chamber Orchestra, and SHOJ's Music teacher-Mrs. Cindy Reynolds for their collaboration of talents to help our students make beautiful music, all for the glory of God!
