​Dear St. Sebastian Families,


Back to School Night was a huge success.  Thank you to all our faculty and parent volunteers who helped to make this an informational and fun evening.

Starting next week St. Sebastian School will be offering a study skills workshop for students in grades 4- 8.  The workshops will be on Thursdays for the next 5 weeks after homework club.  Included in this email is a flyer to be turned in by Tuesday, Sept. 29th.  Alicia Newman will be teaching the classes.  Last year Alicia worked at the school with 2nd and 3rd graders and we are delighted to have her back.  I highly recommend these workshops to all our middle school and 4th grade students.

Next week students will be voting on student council representatives.  This will be a difficult task for some of the positions because there are a number of qualified candidates.  Good luck to all our candidates, I am very proud of your efforts.

On Oct. 4th, we will be recognizing the Feast of St. Francis at the 9:00AM Mass together and joining in a blessing of the animals.  Please plan on attending with your student(s) and pet(s) (if appropriate).  Students will need to wear their school uniforms at mass.  All students who attend in uniform may have free dress on Mon., Oct. 5th. 


On Oct. 11th the church will be having their annual yard sale.  If you have any items that you would like to donate, please contact the church at 310-478-0136.  This is a great opportunity to be a part of the St. Sebastian school/church community.  Please come by with your family, the food is always excellent!

Important Dates to Remember

Sept. 29th    Student council elections
Sept. 30th    First Communion & Reconciliation parent meeting 5pm
Oct. 1st    Shakey’s pizza night
Oct. 2nd    Social Rights Presentation by Sr. Stella Enright (Human Trafficing) 2pm
Oct. 4th    Family Mass (Blessing of the Animals) 9am
Oct. 11th    Church Yard Sale

For other dates please check our web site at: www.saintsebastianschool.com

SPC
Thank you Spartan Parent Club chairs for all the great information on Back to School Night.  Volunteer Spot is getting rave reviews so be on the look out for opportunities to lend a helping hand!

Tweet from Pope Francis: (No Tweet, busy traveling to Cuba and the US)

Here are some of the messages Pope Francis wants us to hear:

●     Young people must stay courageous
●    Single mothers should never be ashamed
●    He loves the nuns
●    The pope wants us to care for immigrants—no matter how they got here
●    He wants to be close to us and he needs our prayers

God Bless,
Ms. McDugald

Dear St. Sebastian Families,
 
Back to School Night will be on Thursday, September 24th at 6pm, beginning  in the church.  The evening is for parents only, please begin to make arrangements for childcare.  The night will be full of important information
 so I encourage everyone to come!
 
St. Sebastian Parish will begin baptism preparation classes for children 6 and older.  If you are interested in having your child receive this sacrament, please contact the parish office to sign up.  Classes begin Monday, September 21st from 7- 8:30pm.
 
The first big rain that came to Los Angeles was a great indicator of what we need to prepare for at St. Sebastian school.  As many of you are aware, a drain was clogged, creating a backup of water resulting in the cafeteria being flooded.  With the help of Mr. Morenzie, Ms. Martinez, Mrs. Policarpo, Mr. Suk and Mrs. Mariano we were able to remove all the water in time for the children to have lunch.  A representative from the Archdiocese came to assess the damage and starting today, work is being done to dry and replace any structure that has been exposed to or damaged by water.  On Monday students will most likely be having lunch outside, arrangements are being made for extra shade.  God definitely works in mysterious ways.  I will keep you all posted.
 
Important Dates to Remember
Sept. 22nd   Student council meeting
Sept. 23rd   Student council speeches
Sept. 23rd   Canonization of Fr. Junipero Serra
Sept. 24th     Back to School Night 6pm
Sept. 29th     Student council elections
Oct. 1st       Shakey’s pizza night
 
For other dates please check our web site at: www.saintsebastianschool.com
 
SPC
Please be on the lookout for information on how to volunteer at our school.  This year families will be able to easily sign up online through Volunteer Spot .com.  This program will send reminders, keep track of hours and provide an easy format to participate in school events.
 
A sign up list will be going out to families for items needed for back to school night.  Remember items purchased may be used toward fundraising requirements.  
 
HELP NEEDED!
We are still looking for that special person or people who love to plan and host parties.  The hospitality chair is a person who is fun and creative and works to provide a platform to truly get to know the families and functions at the school.  
 
Interested parties, please contact Mr. Higdon or Ms. McDugald.  
 
Tweet from Pope Francis:
God loves the lowly. When we live humbly, he takes our small efforts and creates great things.
 
God Bless,
Ms. McDugald

Dear St. Sebastian Families,

Mrs. Mariano (aka Ms. Weiss) will return to school on Tuesday, Sept. 15th.  Congratulations and welcome back!  Thank you Mr. Suk as Ms. Littleworth for all your hard work in kickstarting the school year, you have both done a wonderful job!

On Tuesday I was fortunate to attend the ordination of three Bishops at the Cathedral, with Fr. German.  It was such a beautiful ceremony and the message of living our lives as Christ did, without judgment was the focus.  This continues to be a consistent message from Pope Francis and our clergy, in this year of mercy.

Today students prepared a special mass in remembrance of all of those who were affected by the events on September 11th.  Students in 7th and 8th grade led the homily, many of our 8th graders were born in 2001. They shared a message of hope and gave each student and parishioner a piece of yarn to tie around their finger, reminding them to do at least one good deed.  


We are still in need of someone to chair or co-chair the hospitality committee. This position plans and organizes refreshments for various activities throughout the school year.  Please call or email Mr. Higdon if you are interested.  Thank you parents for taking on these lead positions at the school!

Tweet from Pope Francis:
Do we say “Thank you” to God every day?

God Bless,
Ms. McDugald

Dear St. Sebastian Families,

Welcome Spartans old and new!  It has been a great week getting to know new families, students and teachers.  Please help me welcome Coach Yin to St. Sebastian School.  Coach Yin is coaching 1st through 4th grade in PE as well as running our after care program.  A picture and short bio is included in this email.

To help keep the school current with important information, please fill out and return the emergency contact and family information sheet that was sent on Tuesday.  Included in this packet were consent forms as well as the archdiocese acceptable use policy for technology, permission to use pictures of students and permission for students to speak to counselors from Outreach Concern when on campus. 

Today students (grades K-8) with birthdays in July and August received a special blessing at mass.  This year birthdays will be celebrated on the last Friday of the month.  If a student would like to share a special treat with classmates, parents of these students will arrange one treat to be shared in recognition of all birthdays.  For further information, please contact your student’s teacher.

We are still in need of room parents. Being a room parent is truly a great way to get to know the teachers as well as other families at the school.  Please express interest with your student’s teacher.

Volunteers

We are in need of volunteers for the following: morning drop off, recess duty and aftercare.  Please call the front office and let Mr. Higdon know if you are available. bottles.  With this in mind, we would like to install a water spigot on one of our water fountains outside.  If you have any experience with this or know someone that you could refer to the school, please send contact information to Mr. Higdon or Ms. McDugald.

Tweet from Pope Francis:
Mary’s life shows that God accomplishes great deeds through those who are the most humble.

Have a safe and happy weekend!

God Bless,

Ms. McDugald