GIFT Snow Day!

Cancelled school means no GIFT tonight. Stay safe and enjoy the spring snow!

The Shortest Slideshow Ever!!!

Here are some photos from Kid's Club 2010. Thank you to all of the participants, parents & of youth leaders for making it a GREAT High Seas Adventure!!!

GIFT's Out for Summer... (Kid's Club Coming Soon!)

With these not-so-warm days, it's hard to believe that another GIFT year is over. Once again we had a WONDERFUL year. We are truly blessed with caring and hardworking catechists here at St. Joe's. THANK YOU catechists!!!

There was a lot going on during the last GIFT class. Ice cream sundaes, root beer floats, a scavenger hunt, some final touches on a Mass Book project, a picnic, and Q&A with Fr. Tom were just some of the activities. Here are some pics of what the 4th grade did that night...

They hosted an indoor picnic (thanks to those April-showers-in-May!)

It was a tasty spread of food...

...share with a close bunch of friends :)

They ended the class with some questions for Fr. Tom...

Note: Pretzels & a plant make great spur-of-the-moment Visual Aids to explain a concept more clearly!

Next up???

Summer Kid's Club!!! Mark your calendar:

July 6th-8th, 2010

More details will follow!!!

Holy Week

We are in the midst of Holy week. There's lots happening at St. Joe's as we gear up for the beautiful Masses we will experience this week.

Just so you don't miss anything, here are some important dates & times to put on the calendar:

Wednesday, March 31st - Shadow Stations in the Church at 7:30 PM

Thursday, April 1st, the Easter Triduum begins. This is a "three-day festival" of prayer and worship, composed of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil - the heart and core of the whole Church year - on Saturday evening.

Please join us for these special masses:

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper - 8:00 PM (Will you participate in the washing of the feet?)

Good Friday service - 1:00 PM

Easter Vigil - Saturday, April 3rd, 8:30 PM (Come celebrate as we welcome Tim Dolan, Nolan Dowd, Craig Anderson, Ryan Galbreath & Brian Fuhrman into the Catholic church, celebrate the sacraments of Confirmation & First Eucharist with Jessica Boone & Jason Micek, and the sacrament of Confirmation with Priscilla Fuhrman).

Easter Sunday Masses are at 8:30 & 10:15.

Blessings to you and your family!

Next Time Won't You Sing With Me

We had a very special closing to our GIFT classes on March 3rd. After singing the Zacchaeus song in class earlier this year, one of the first graders found the music to accompany his class on the guitar. He was generous (and brave) enough to share his gift with the entire GIFT group!

And now, to the video...


GIFT Zaccheus Song from Emily Revak on Vimeo.

Thanks 1st graders for singing with us all! (And thanks Fr. Tom for quickly producing a working camera!)

Looking Toward Lent

The 3rd Grade GIFT class was working on their Lenten project last night.

A lot of work went into each and every one.

First was the rolling...

Then came some braiding...

Followed by the transfer to a plate...

Then it was the very careful placement of the toothpicks...

And finally, a finished Crown of Thorns.

During Lent, the 3rd graders will work to remove the thorns by doing good deeds. By Easter time, the crowns should be free of thorns and ready for Easter decoration!

Something For The GIFT Alum!!!

I spent the weekend on retreat at Beaver Creek Reserve in Fall Creek with some AWESOME former GIFTers who are now 9th graders - time sure moves quickly :) By their request, here is the YouTube link to some fun happenings that took place in November, 2009 at the Chula Vista retreat...

Traditional Division, a band with members from Holmen, WI, performed their popular "Jesus Chant" for the crowd. If you look closely (and quickly!), you may even spot a familiar face or two!

Deck the (Charles) Hall!

The 5th grade GIFT class has been working hard this Advent season. They've collected lots of great items... spent some time making them into ornaments... and even more time decorating the trees and the tables (and even the ceiling) in Charles Hall.

The 1st graders helped them to create the ornaments, and the 6th graders pitched in as well, making fleece tie scarves.

What for?! For Tuesday's Table guests, of course!

"Watch" the story on the slideshow below :)

You all did a beautiful job turning Charles Hall into a Christmas Wonderland :)

It's Beginning to Sound A Lot Like Christmas...

We're still fully immersed in the Advent season, but because of the upcoming holiday pile-up, GIFT doesn't meet again until after the Christmas season has ended...

So we have to recognize it somehow :)

Here's a BEAUTIFUL rendition of a Christmas song (I'll let you discern which song it is!) by the 5th grade "Jar Choir."

hint: you may have to crank your volume :)

A Beautiful Advent Wreath...

Once again proving that the most beautiful things come not from the store but from the work of our very own hands :)

The Genesis class made an Advent wreath. If you look closely, you'll find that they've written out good deeds & great actions that they can do with their family this Advent season.

What a great way to count down the weeks to our celebration of Christ's birth at Christmas, as we recognize his actions in our lives today, and look forward to when he comes again.

This is one amazing wreath!

Book Fair News (and Thanks Too!)

Thank you to everyone for volunteering and shopping at the book fair in November. The fair was very successful! Many interesting and fun books were donated to the library. I took the library profit in Scholastic dollars. This method gave a return to the library totaling 60% of all sales. We are able to purchase library materials and books using this process. Thank you everyone for your support.


On the weekend of February 14, in the church basement, I will have Catholic books for the Lent and Easter season. The books will be sold at cost. This is not a fundraiser, simply a means to provide families who are interested in spiritual enrichment. Thank you ---- Cindy Marach


Thanks SO MUCH Cindy for all that you do to bring Book Fairs to St. Joe's :)

The Wreath In Action!

The 6th graders led our Advent prayers and lit the first candle last night during our GIFT gathering.

                   

Pardon the poor pictures - the camera was on an odd setting - or maybe the camera operator was a bit distracted!!! Either way, I apologize!

                   

 The items in front of the podium are some of what has been contributed so far for the 5th grade GIFT Advent service project. These items will be made into ornaments and hung on a tree in Charles Hall for all guests of Tuesday's Table.

There's still time to contribute... drop off items at the Parish Center, or have your child bring them to GIFT on December 16th. Hats, mittens, candy canes, Little Debbie snack cakes -

"if you bring it, the 5th graders will string it!!!"

Moooooooore Turkey, Please!!! (Bowling, That Is!)

Turkey Bowling has long been a tradition - a messy one in the past - here at St. Joe's. TYME youth would gather to throw very frozen (and well-wrapped) turkeys down the lanes in Charles Hall. But, with Pam's brainstorm to use cleaner, more durable "turkeys," & Mary Allison's skills in weighting the "turkeys" with rice, Turkey Bowling can now be enjoyed by everyone!

This morning in Little Church, after practicing our listening skills as we heard the story of Samuel, who listened when God talked to him, and creating our own Thankful Turkey centerpieces, we headed off to the gym for some bowling!

Check out the pics of our star bowlers (and find out why the word turkey often appears in quotes in this post!)

Take Time to Give Thanks...

As we all get ready to celebrate the holiday set aside to give thanks, don't forget in the midst of planning where you'll go for dinner at what time, what you'll bring to the meal, or who can pick up Great Aunt Milly :) to take some time to call to mind all of the blessings in your life... and give thanks for each one!

Here are a few ideas from the Genesis class to get you started...

GIFT Goings-on...

Here's a peek at a few of the fun things that happened tonight during GIFT :)

Gathering in the gym to kick-off the night

6th graders putting their personal touch on the 2009 GIFT Advent wreath

The finished wreath - with a contribution from all GIFT students

3rd grade made some beautiful & "handy" Advent wreaths of their own

The Genesis class participated in an age-old St. Joe's tradition...

Can you figure it out?

These are some pretty big hints!

Why it's Turkey Bowling, of course!

The 2009 Bowling league :)

That was just a small taste of the fun "goings-on" on a Wednesday night. Thanks for following us on the blog! Have a Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving :)

A Saintly Segue!

Here's a note from Cindy Marach on the upcoming bookfair. Note that the bookfair will be open during GIFT classes on Wednesday, November 18th, so parents and students, come ready to shop & support St. Joes!

"I am unpacking Saint books for the upcoming bookfair. Be sure to stop in to the Parish Center Nov. 18 through Nov. 25. There will be Catholic books and Scholastic books for sale. Hours are: Wed., Nov. 18, 4:30-8:30p.m. School days Thurs, Nov. 19 through Tues., Nov. 24, 8:00-4:00 p.m., Wed., Nov. 25 8:00 - noon, after all Masses on Nov. 21 and 22. Something new; Books N' Breakfast 6:30a.m.-8:00a.m. Parents only, Thurs. Nov. 19 and Tues. Nov. 24. See you at the book fair!"

                                                            Cindy Marach

Thanks Cindy for all of the work you do setting up the fair, and keeping us informed :)

The Saints Go Marching In

We had a special procession at the 10:15 Mass for All Saints' Day. Several of St. Joe's youth dressed as a saint, wore a saintly crown, or carried a symbol of that saint as they processed in before the Mass.

Many saints were represented, including Saint Katherine and Mary, the Mother of God. Saint Maria Goretti (left), Saint Francis of Assisi (middle) and Saint Vincent de Paul (right) are pictured below :)

Thank you to all of those who participated. And if you weren't able to be there? No worries... just start thinking of who you'll be next year!

Growing in Faith Together

It was wonderful to see all of the youth and the KIND & FAITHFUL catechists (though I may be a bit biased!!!) at our first GIFT session.

I did have a bit of a shock when I realized that the students currently in the 6th grade were brand new 1st graders in my first year here at St. Joe's! The title of the program - GIFT: Growing in Faith Together - certainly took on a whole new meaning for me!!! It's such a joy to witness them grow (in faith and in life) through the years.

I had intended to post pictures from the first night of GIFT, but though I thought of it many times, I just never had the camera in hand!!! So please tune in on Thursday for pictures from our equally special second night of GIFT!

GIFT Begins This Wednesday!

The textbooks have arrived... the catechists have their materials... it must be time for a new year of GIFT to begin!

I'm looking forward to kicking off the year this Wednesday! I'll see you all on Wednesday, 5:00, in the school gym!

Fall Festival & Catechetical Sunday...

St. Joe's parish is a hoppin' place this weekend!

Fall Festival Activities start up at 4:00 today with the Liturgy with the Lima Polka Choir. The KCs will be serving a pork dinner from 4:30-7:30; there will be entertainment in the "big tent" after the mass with the Lima Polka Choir immediately after mass, followed by Ranger Rudy and the Swingin' Wingtips from 7:00-10:00 PM.

There will be cake walking, chalk drawing, scarecrow building, veggie racing, movie watching, bingo playing and MUCH MORE, so come down and check it out tonight and tomorrow!

At the 10:15 Mass on Sunday, we will call forward all catechists and teachers of the faith for a blessing at the mass as we celebrate Catechetical Sunday. If you see a catechist or a teacher or a mentor out and about this weekend (and all year), please thank them for the wonderful work they do in forming our youth in faith.

I'll see you at the Festival!