We did it...

 and I am still amazed and very grateful!  I do believe this was our most successful Walkathon ever.  $42,000!  Thank you to everyone who supported this with money or cheering on the students.  The winning team was Pink.  They raised $6400, with the Blue team not far behind.  The real winner was the White team, which raised $17,800!!  Even though this team had double the number of students, they raised far more on a per-student basis. The White team raised approximately $150 per student versus $128 for the Pink team.  Great job everyone!!

You may have noticed I was absent for most of the second half of the Walkathon.  I was busy walking the property with two gentlemen looking at holes.  It is my hope that we get a quote this week and they can take care of the issue during Thanksgiving break.  It will require a lot of digging, excavating, repairs, cleaning out drain pipes, and putting it all back.  I am told they can do it in three days.  They will need to bring in equipment through the PK gate from the sidewalk, so please be sure everything is off the turf between the gate and hole before leaving on Friday.  I will confirm by then if this will happen next week.  If not, it will most likely happen over Christmas break.  I also hope, to get the estimate on the Angel's Wing so we can start those repairs soon too.  

There is not too much happening this week, except Friday when volunteers will be transforming the school in preparation for Christmas.  

Lastly, for those of you who were during the time Fr. Bill was the pastor, I received word this weekend that Mike Juran recently passed away.  I do not have details, but I do know he was 76, and his body was in decline for some time now after years of being a stunt car driver.  He is being buried near Buffalo, where he was from.  If you don't know who Mike is, a video was produced at the old church when he was Fr. Mike and interviewed about his stunt car driving days (see below).  Legend has it that he was the stunt driver for Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit II.  Enjoy the video, and have a great week!

Link to YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sCY9mmtqAs  

With Respect, Honor, and Gratitude...

 we remember our Veterans.  Please be sure your Morning Show is running on time Monday for a special Veteran's Day prayer service.  There may even be some singing :)

Teachers, please be sure all ATLs and comments are completed by Monday morning.  Mary and I will start going through them as there is a quick turnaround this week.  The faculty meeting this week is the second part of the Socratic Seminar.  For those teachers who have completed their conferences, you are still required to be here (if normally scheduled to be here Friday afternoons) until 3:30 pm.  

Here is what I learned at the principal's meeting Friday, we are doing a great job of sharing our Catholic Identity with our students and our parents.  I also learned the consensus is, throw away the religion books, but that's another conversation.  We talked about hurricane make up days.  What I know and what I feel good about are two different things.  I know we do not have to make up any days.  I would not feel good about not making up some of these days.  This will be a discussion before a decision is made.  

I will resend the Walkathon schedule tomorrow to everyone.  Please be supportive and wear you team's colors.  

Lastly, I have hired someone part-time to help with maintenance at the school.  His name is Kenny and his first day is Wednesday.  He will work from 12:30-4:30 so that he can make repairs after school hours and is here to help Ken with lunch clean-up.  

Have a wonderful week!

Wait your Turn!

 This is how I usually feel right after Halloween (although I saw Christmas decorations in one store in mid-October). 

In case you missed it in Tidbits, we will still have our full week off for Thanksgiving (Yay!).  I have a principal's meeting this Friday, at which time I will get more information about making up days missed.  Until turkey time, we have three weeks of uninterupted school (with the exception of the Walkathon on Nov. 15).  This week is the time to wrap up the Trimester and then transition into Trimester II next week.  If students have been struggling, let them know that the start of a new trimester is a great opportunity to set goals and aim for success.  

Some updates on happenings around the school and parish:

• Fr. Dermot will be away this week visiting family in Ireland.
• The health department is finally submitting my application for the FLC and I'm hoping they review it quickly.  I sent them everything they needed about a month ago but the hurricane put them behind like everything else.
• I am still waiting on a quote for the Angel's Wing and PK room repairs and hope to hear from them this week.
• There are two holes on the playgrounds (one on the main near the sidewalk) and one on the PK playground.  They should be covered with a cone and a table.  They have been reported but please be patient.  We do not have a facilities director right now (Tony resigned) and Ken has been out so hoping to address them this week.
• I have been searching high and low for someone to come out and fix the gate.  Everyone is booked out 2-4 weeks.  I have also reached out to a few parents to help too.  Please know I am working on it.  If anyone knows a guy, I'm all ears.  

Have a wonderful week!