A Note from our Pastor
Dear School Parents,
It seems hard to believe, but we are only about a month away from the last day of school.
Of course, the end of this school year marks the end of a long history of Catholic school education here at Guardian Angels parish. We look forward with hope to a day when we can partner with neighboring parishes on a regional Catholic school to serve our area. Still, we know that the end of the school year this year marks the end of an era for our parish. Please know that you are in my prayers during this time.
I also want to remind you of the goal to have all family decisions about enrolling in neighboring Catholic schools made by May 1, so Lynn has time to work through scholarship arrangements with the school of your choice.
If you haven’t yet let Lynn or Roxie know which neighboring Catholic school you would like your child or children to attend next school year, please call Lynn at 952-227-4000 or Roxie at 952-227-4010 right away. Just let them know what Catholic school you want your child or children to attend, and Lynn will work with you and leaders at the school of your choice to finalize the scholarship details. Scholarships are available for up to $3,000 per student per year through 8th grade. The goal is for you to pay no more for tuition at another Catholic school than you are paying here at Guardian Angels.
As spring blooms around us and we celebrate the return of warmer weather, green grass and new outdoor activities, let us hold one another in prayer as we bring the school year to a fitting close.
May God bless you!
Fr. Tony VanderLoop
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A Note from our Principal
I am sharing my April 2021 newspaper column with all families today. It has been a joy working on these columns for the past five years. I hope you enjoy this one.
New Beginnings:
We look at the start of each new year as a new beginning and a fresh start. We may write down a goal for the new year and we hope that we are still working on that goal by the end of January.
I always look at the month of April as a new beginning for each of us. We continue to gain 3-4 minutes of precious daylight each day. We now have three more hours of daylight then we had at the winter solstice. I have been an early morning plodder now walker for over 40 years. During the winter it is very quiet outside, and the only sound is you hear is your feet on the snow and ice as you move yourself forward each cold morning. You start to hear some birds in March but by April you have an entire choir of birds singing and talking as you walk at 5:30 a.m. They all sound happy and it makes me smile and feel good to be outside walking and breathing in the fresh air of spring.
I love flowers and in April we see the first daffodils, crocus, and hyacinth. Some people have had the courage to put out bowls of pansies in early April. It is good for our spirit and our soul to see the small shoots of green coming up through the cold ground and snow to begin the process of blooming for everyone to enjoy. If you notice trees you can began to see the buds start to expand. On some mornings it seems like the trees turn green overnight.
I feed birds all year and in April we start to see some birds that were smart and got out of here for the winter start to return to our feeders and yards. I love the Cardinals and Chickadees all year, but you know it is spring when you start to see Robins, Hummingbirds and Orioles start to show up at our feeders in the mornings. They must shake their heads and wonder how we can be here all winter with the Cardinals and the Chickadees, but they always add their voices to the morning choirs each day.
This spring is truly a new beginning for me. I have already retired two times. This June I will retire for the third and final time as a school principal. It has been 35 years of joy serving as a principal. I hope to volunteer in some capacity and my dream job would be to serve as a greeter or server helping youth and senior citizens in some way. I encourage you to stop and listen when you are outside this month. You will see and hear the sounds of nature as birds are singing, flowers are starting to bloom, and trees are getting ready to open up and “leaf out” by early May. I know that April weather can be fickle, and we can even have snow all month. As nature has its new beginning make sure that you have a new beginning to. If your New Year’s resolution has already faded, set a new resolution in April. Make sure you include more time to drink good coffee, more time to walk and ride bike, and more time to hold the hand of someone you love in your new beginning resolution of April.
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The next two weeks are set for our NWEA Map testing. Grades 1-8 will be taking the tests in math, reading, and language skills. This is the third round of the tests for the year. They measure how much growth was accomplished during this academic year. Please make sure your child gets a good night's sleep and a healthy breakfast during testing days. Thank you!
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