View this email in your browser

Newsbrief

January 3, 2023

Dates to Remember:

January 5: $2 Casual Dress
January 6: 8:30 AM First Friday Mass- Mass Uniform Required (Incl. Red Sweater)
January 11: Noon Dismissal- Extended Daycare Available
January 14: Parish Crab Feed (See Info Below)
January 16: No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

Click here to download a 2022-2023 calendar of days off and noon dismissals.

Items being sent home from the office:

Nothing from the office

A New Year's Greeting from the Principal

Dear St. Luke’s families,

While Thanksgiving is the titular holiday for being grateful, for me New Year’s gives that opportunity to reflect on all of God’s blessings. In fact, the new year affords a great transitional opportunity to both look back at the past with gratitude and look to the future with hope. There have been so many moments of learning, celebrations, field trips, and community over the first half of this school year, and there are so many more to come. I hope that your break was not only a time to rest and be with loved ones in celebrating our Lord’s Incarnation, but that it was a time of rejuvenation. Once we have spent time in adoration of our Infant Lord, we can more fully see Christ in one another. Our beloved late pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI, put it well in his mass on Christmas Eve 2008, “Only if people change will the world change; and in order to change, people need the light that comes from God, the light which so unexpectedly entered into our night.” I wish you continued blessings during this Christmas season (it’s not over yet) and a wonderful start to the second half of this school year!

God bless,
Harrison Brehm

A note on attendance:

It has come to our attention that there has been some misunderstanding with the attendance codes, and we do not wish for this to be a source of confusion or frustration. Therefore, beginning in January we have updated our attendance codes to be more intuitive and reflective of parents' needs and our handbook. While we will not go back and try to alter prior attendance codes, we hope that this new system makes more sense. Also, just to clarify, students' permanent records and files do not track whether a student's absence or tardy was excused or not, just whether or not it happened. As this improved system is put into place, please let us know if you have any questions moving forward. Thank you for understanding.

Accepting NEW STUDENT Applications

We are now accepting applications for new students. If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2023, you can submit a kindergarten application. If you submit an application for a new student by February 4 the application fee is only $30 (instead of $50).

We will be having our Annual Catholic School's Week Open House on January 29 where new families can come take a look at our school and meet teachers. If you know anyone who is interested in sending their child to St. Luke's, have them come to the Open House. A flyer will be included in next week's Newsbrief.

We do offer a New Family Referral Bonus. Ask the office for more details!

Please Note: We are only accepting applications for NEW students. Students who are currently enrolled will have a re-enrollment packet assigned to them in March or April. Please do not complete a new student applications as refunds will not be given.

In Need of a Temporary Volunteer Librarian

Mrs. Tinder will be away for the coming weeks. Nevertheless, we don't want our students to miss out on the opportunity to continue their journey with reading, fluency, learning, and fun! Therefore, we are in need of a few volunteers to assist with the library during the school day over the next few weeks. This volunteering opportunity does come with requirements.

The volunteer must:
- Already be Safe Environment Cleared to volunteer in the school
- Must be available to work during the school day (it doesn't have to be every day, just one or two days a week)
- Must work well with children
- Must have a basic understanding of computers and general organization skills.

If you meet these criteria and are interested, we would love to have your help. Please reach out to ltinder@stlukestockton.com as soon as possible.

Did you know that Bancroft Uniforms (our uniform supplier) sells optional jackets? This St. Luke School logoed jackets are 100% water repellent as well!

Visit their website (https://bancroft-uniforms.com/) to purchase.
Need help? Follow this link to download the instructions.

Tuition Assistance for 2023-2024 School Year

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The schools in the Diocese of Stockton are blessed to have generous benefactors who understand the growing costs of educating a student and the impact these costs have on families. SEEDS – Growing Faith through Student Scholarships was founded with the sole purpose to help children from families of lower socio-economic backgrounds to have the opportunity of a Catholic education.

ELIGIBILITY: All families registered in one of our Catholic elementary schools are eligible to apply for a SEEDS Scholarship.

PROCESS: If a family is interested in applying for a scholarship, the application timeline is as follows.

Applications are accepted from December 1st through March 15th for the following school year.
A family is to complete the application process by March 15th.
There is a $40 per family application fee, which is paid by the family.
An application is considered complete and eligible for consideration when all the required documentation has been filed and verified by March 15th.
Please note it can take up to several weeks to verify information, so it is important to start well in advance of March 15th.
Applications which are incomplete on March 16th will not be eligible for a scholarship.
No later than early June, recipients of a SEEDS scholarship will be notified by the school administrator.
Scholarships will be applied to the following school year.

SEEDS Scholarships are awarded as follows to qualifying families:

FIRST CHILD: $1,100
SECOND CHILD: $800
THIRD CHILD: $600
FOURTH CHILD: $400

To apply for SEEDS, please click here. If you currently have a FACTS account, please use your login information.

Lunch ordering is now available for
the week of January 9 - 13

The deadline to order hot lunch for next week is noon this Friday, January 6.

For questions about the hot lunch program. please email lunch@stlukestockton.com

Prayer Corner

"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."

- 1 Chronicles 16:11

Please pray for
...Jim Tinder
...Dave Moore
...Sarah Maldonado
...Lydia Tinder
...Barbara Moore
...Mary-Ly Le
...James Gomez

If you have an intention that you would like to add to the Prayer Corner, please email Miss Nance at lnance@stlukestockton.com.

Mustang Matrix 2023
Congratulations to all the Matrix winners for January:

January 3: Giselle Murillo

December Matrix Winners:
December 5: Ellison Batino
December 12: Christina Rodriguez
December 19: Maria Soliven
December 26: Michael Pagaduan
*Christmas Drawing Winner: Paulino Moreno Jr.

From the Parish:

View the St. Luke Parish Bulletin

FACTS Education Parent Engagement Newsletters:

January 2023

Elementary Newsletter

Middle School Newsletter