Thursday, October 23, 2014

ICS Newsletter 10.23.14

Incarnation Catholic School Newsletter
October 23, 2014

Upcoming Events
10/23 - Family Supper; Moms and Tots Group
10/24 - End of Quarter 1
10/25 - Sabor Latino, St. Michael Hall
10/29 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC; Q1 grades posted in Sycamore
10/31 - 1/2 day of School, Halloween Celebration (*details below)
11/4 - Time-on-Task Free Dress Day
11/5 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
11/7 - 1/2 day of school
11/8 - ICS Auction
11/12 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
11/13 - Family Supper; Prospective Family Open House, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m., ICS Media Center
11/14 - Friday Morning Assembly, 8:30 a.m., St. Michael Hall
11/19 - Household Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
11/21 - Club Picture Day
11/24 - 11/28 - Thanksgiving Break
12/3 - Household Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
12/5 - First Friday Morning Assembly, 8:30 a.m., St. Michael Hall
12/6 - Santa's Breakfast
12/8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics), School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
12/10 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
12/17 - School Mass, 8:30 a.m., ICC
12/18 - Family Supper; ICS Advent Program, 7:00 p.m., St. Michael Hall
12/19 - 1/2 Day of School; Skating Party / Winter Wonderland; NO AFTERCARE AVAILABLE
12/22 - 1/2 - Christmas Break


Prayers
We lift the following intentions up as a School Family:

We continue to pray for Mrs. Harris and her family over the loss of her father. May God continue to offer comfort, strength and peace.


We also continue to pray Carson Phillipp's uncle who passed into eternal life last week. May God bring His peace, comfort and strength. 

We continue to pray for Ms. Kelly Decker, an ICS alum, who is recovering from a second surgery, and Mr. Mario Mora, Gustavo Chaviel's step-father, who continues to undergo chemotherapy. May God speed the recovery of these two members of our ICS community. 


We lift up in prayer Mrs. Rosa Estrada's father-in-law. 

We continue to pray for an end to all domestic violence.

We pray for a cure for cancer and all incurable diseases. 

We pray for an end to abortion and euthanasia and pray for greater respect for all life from conception to its natural end. 

We pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

We pray in thanksgiving for a successful first quarter of our 2014 - 15 school year!

Have a prayer request? Send it to: icsmzele@icstampa.org. Prayers will run for two weeks unless otherwise specified.


Thank You
Thank you to Ms. Rachel Noto and Mrs. Jo Roark for their efforts in getting ICS's VPK program for 4 year olds up and running. We officially opened our VPK program this past Monday and will look forward to growing this foundation component of our school! 


ICS Student Council
The ICS Student Council's annual Candy Kettle Raffle runs through next Friday. Help support our student leadership team through this exciting fundraiser. 


ICS Athletics
The Irish Athletic program continues to live out its Mission of offering a wide variety of sports and at various levels: 
It is the mission and consistent goal of the Incarnation Catholic School Athletic Department to provide a wide range of sporting activities that not only allow for maximum participation of our students but also provide an opportunity for each of our students to find an activity in which they can excel. The purpose of the athletic department of Incarnation Catholic School is to promote the intellectual, physical, and moral development of students. In the words of Pope John Paul II “When sports are played and understood in the right way, they are an extraordinary expression of a person’s best inner energies and of his ability to overcome difficulties, to set goals to be reached through sacrifice, generosity and determination in facing the difficulties of competition.” 
Over the past two weeks, ICS student-athletes from a wide range of age groups have participated in the following sports: bowling, billiards and tennis!

Girls basketball has begun practicing and begins competition soon. Stay tuned for details. 

For more information about the Irish Athletics Program, please visit Coach Garofolo's Coach's Corner website.

GO Irish! 


ICS Auction
The 17th Annual Dinner, Dance and Auction is Saturday November 8 - Saturday Night Fever! You should have received your tickets last week in the mail. We hope you will prayerfully consider attending this event as a part of your $150 fundraising commitment to the school. 

This is the school's largest fundraiser - all families are expected to help support this effort which helps ICS to continue to offer its dynamic programs.

Remember that all families are expected to help raise at least $150 for the school through the Auction and/or the Payday Sweepstakes Raffle (which will run in March this school year). 

Furthermore, of your 20 commitment hours to the school, at least 5 hours must happen at either the Auction or the Carnival. For details about your family's commitment to the school, visit our Student-Family Handbook. Donations of goods or services can fulfill commitment hours (these do not have to be donated by you, just solicited and secured by you). Every $25.00 donated fulfills one commitment hour. 

If you have any questions about the ICS Dinner, Dance and Auction please contact the Main Office: 813.884.4502. Similarly, if you have questions about fundraising or commitment hour requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us. 



ICS Family Challenge


-St. John Paul II
Eat together at least once per week. 

Pray together at least once per week.

Play together at least once per month.

Your family is worth it. God will bless these intentional efforts to strengthen the most valuable gift He has bestowed upon us. 

GO: Love. 


ICS Early Childhood Education News
*VPK at ICS
Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten officially began at ICS this past Monday! Please contact the Main Office or Miss Noto for details: notor@icstampa.org


*Moms and Tots

Today (10/23) is our next Moms and Tots Group hosted by ICS. This event is open to moms and toddlers ages 2 - 3. The group begins at 9:00 a.m. There is no charge for this ministry! Contact Ms. Rachel Noto for more information or to sign-up: notor@icstampa.org and please help us spread the good news of this initiative.
*3 Year Old Program
As an extension of the work accomplished and mentioned above (VPK and Moms and Tots), ICS will look to begin an Early Childhood Program for children 3 years of age for the 2015 - 16 school year! More details will be coming soon!



FaithICS

Please visit this link for the Gospel passage of the day as well as a short reflection offered by ICS Faculty, Staff and Students: FaithICS! ICS 8th Graders are prepared to start to post next quarter. 


GO: Pray!




Cold Weather Gear

Please consult the 10/9/14 ICS Newsletter for details about Cold Weather Gear for your ICS student(s) before it gets too cold! 



Halloween Celebration
Students should adhere to the following guidelines for our Halloween Celebration on Friday October 31.


*Storybook Character Costumes:
-Pre - K to Grade 5


-Any easily identifiable character from literature: Cinderella, Aladdin, Harry Potter, Fancy Nancy, Clifford, etc. No blood, weapons, etc. The purpose of our dress is to promote school spirit, promote a love of reading and have fun. It is not to scare or sicken. Thank you for maintaining this rationale for this celebration.


*Any student not participating in Storybook Character Costume Day should wear their regulation school uniform. 

*Crazy Hair Day
-Grades 6 - 8


-Horrible hair -- different size ponytails, braids, curls, spikes, messy, wigs, rubber bands, colors, etc. ALL HAIRDOS MUST BE DONE AT HOME.


-Students in grades 6 - 8 are permitted to wear Spirit Shirts, jeans and sneakers. School uniform is the alternative. 



Sabor Latino
A note from Sra. Casanas about this Saturday's Sabor Latino:

A few reminders for the students who will be performing:
  • Please meet Mrs. Casanas or Mrs. Owens in St. Francis room, right next to St. Michael's at 6:15. Children will process in promptly at 6:30. Please be on time.
  • Students have only two choices for dress: either a costume that represents one of the Spanish-speaking countries or their school uniform. Students will receive a coupon for a free dress day for Monday, October 27, 2014.
  • Children will perform and are then free to leave with their parents. We should be finished by 7:00 p.m.  Families are also welcome to stay for the event. Tickets are $10.00 per person. Children who perform have complimentary admission and may eat at no charge. 
  • All the money raised goes to our mission projects and Helping Hands charity. It is an affordable and fun family event and a worthy cause for our parish and school to support!
On Saturday, October 25, 2014, Incarnation Parish will be hosting an event called “Sabor Latino” (Latin Flavor), in St. Michael Hall. The Parish has asked for participation from our schoolchildren. This participation is optional. However, we would like to have as many students in Grades 1 - 3 there as possible. The students will be saying a prayer and singing a song in Spanish. Contact Sra. Casanas with questions or for details: icsmcasa@icstampa.org






ICS Advent Program

Ms. Maniscalco has been hard at work preparing ICS students for our ICS Advent Program on Thursday December 18. Students should be at the school no later than 6:15 for a 7:00 p.m. start time. Dress code for 3 - 8 is solid white on top and black on the bottom (no leggings and nothing above the knee).  


More details will be coming as we move closer to this school-wide and spirit building event! 



GO: Sing!




From the Florida Catholic Conference of Bishops: Florida Tax Credit Scholarships


ACTION ALERT
Support Parental Empowerment in Education via Petition Drive


BACKGROUND: On August 28, 2014, the Florida Education Association, Florida School Boards Association, and several other parties filed a lawsuit, McCall v. Scott, claiming the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship Program is unconstitutional. This is a serious challenge, and our concern is for the children who would be harmed if the program were ruled unconstitutional.

Florida's Catholic bishops have long supported the rights and responsibilities of parents as the primary educators of their children. In fact, Catholic schools in Florida were among the first nonpublic schools to embrace scholarship programs such as this one to extend opportunities to families which otherwise might be pushed to the margins of society. The program currently serves 68,000 children in Kindergarten to 12th Grade from low-income families.

ACTION: Earlier this month, a FTC Scholarship Program parent in Marion County started a special petition drive to show support for Florida's students who need these scholarships.


MORE INFORMATION: For an additional perspective, please see a recent one-minute video which features a former FTC scholarship student named Denisha Merriweather. Watch Denisha's story here.

You can also see how Florida candidates in the November 4 general election stand on the issue of parental empowerment in education and several other issues of concern to the Church. See our 2014 Candidate Questionnaire Project.


Please consider signing the online petition to help ensure that parents have the right and ability to choose the best education possible for their child(ren)!

IN KEEPING WITH OUR TRADITION, WE AT INCARNATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL:
Inspire life-long learners,
Challenge each individual to be a disciple of Christ, and
Strive to live our Catholic faith through service to each other and the community.

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