READ THE SHEPHERD
FRIDAY OCTOBER 20, 2023
The
ST. COLUMBA SHEPHERD FORMERLY THE FRIDAY FOCUS GUIDANCE FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
EACH WEEK THE ST. COLUMBA SHEPHERD provides all the information you need to know and links to things that you might need to cross off your list. Stay organized by reading it every week and making sure that you add events and deadlines to your calendar!
LET'S DO IT!
DATES TO REMEMBER 10/25 - School Mass - 8th Grade Leading Liturgy - 8:15 10/26 - Kindergarten & 1st Grade Field Trip to Jackalope Acres 10/28 - Oktoberfest - After 5:00 Mass 10/31 - Preschool Early Dismissal - 12:30 10/31 - K-8 Halloween Parade - 1:45 Trick-or Treat Stations After Parade 11/1 - School Mass - 6th Grade Leading Liturgy (Class Change) - All Saints Day - 8:15 11/1 - 7th Grade All Souls Field Trip - 9:30-2:00 11/2 - Prayer & Praise/ 2nd Qtr Honor Roll - 8:15 11/7 - Picture Make ups / Retakes 11/8 - School Mass - 1st Grade Leading Liturgy (Class Change) - Veterans Mass - 8:15 11/10 - No School - In Observance of Veterans Day 11/13-11/17 - Book Fair 11/15 - School Mass - Kindergarten Leading Liturgy - 8:15 Thanksgiving Collection 11/16 - Thanksgiving Lunch - More Info to Come
WWW.STCOLUMBASCHOOLDURANGO.ORG/
970-247-5527
OKTOBERFEST A COZY EVENING OF PUMPKIN CARVING + PAINTING, FALL FARE AND COMMUNITY IN SUPPORT OF THE LA PLATA COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY We are exci ted to see you at Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 28th, i mmedi atel y fol l owi ng the 5pm Fami l y Mass i n the Park. Thi s wi l l be a f un and f esti ve communi ty event benef i ti ng the La Pl ata County Humane Soci ety and honori ng St. Franci s f or hi s l ove and care f or creati on. We are happy to support thi s cause and model gi vi ng, abundance, and God' s l ove to our chi l dren. The need has never been greater f or the humane soci ety, as the number of homel ess ani mal s conti nues to ri se i n our regi on.
REMINDERS: GET YOUR MEAL TICKETS, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, & EVENT INFO: Help us plan ahead by purchasing food and drink tickets HERE . It's quick and easy. Craft beer, cider, and wine will be offered for a suggested $5 donation. Grab a friend and sign up HERE to work the grill, the bar, or one of the other fun Oktoberfest stations. This is also a fun opportunity to get your service hours, and these slots go quickly. Middle school students are also needed to work the student bake sale. Sign up your middle schooler for a bake sale shift and donate bake sale items HERE Middle school students will also be offering handmade goods for sale and face painting at the event. Please reply to this email if y ou are interested in having your student provide an art or craft item, or take part in painting faces! We would love to see our young alumni high school students, older siblings, and former teachers and staff! We will have tables reserved for these guests to visit with one another, carve pumpkins, and catch up on post-St. Columba life. Spread the word! Special furry (and adoptable) guests from LPCHS! GIFT (Growing in Faith Together) activities for the whole family to enjoy! P R O C E E D S B E N E F I T T H E L A P L A T A C O U N T Y H U M A N E S O C I ET Y
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES Our annual K-8 Halloween Costume Parade and Trick or Treat celebration will take place on Tuesday, October 31st at 1:45. The students will parade and trick-or-treat around our campus. Families are encouraged to come and watch the parade! The Halloween celebration includes the parade and trick-or-treating, and afterward, students will enjoy a fun activity in their classroom with their teacher if there's time. This IS the celebration and there will not be a separate classroom party. Please click HERE to review the costume letter from Mr. Chick that was emailed out this week.
HALLOWEEN CANDY NEEDED We are in need of candy donations for the trick-or-treating. Please drop off your unopened bags of individually wrapped candy to the front office. We are hoping to have all candy donations by Thursday, October 26th.
VETERANS MASS We will be having a special Mass for our Veterans on November 8th at 8:15. Remember that there we will not have school on November 10th in honor of veterans day. If you are a veteran, please email office@stcolumbaschooldurango.org so we can add you to our list. If you have a special veteran in your life, please also let the office know so we can send them a personal invitation and honor them.
DAY OF THE DEAD Following St. Columba tradition, we are ready to prepare our school altar for the Day of the Dead. If your family wishes to participate in this activity, we are asking each family to send with the students the picture of the loved ones they would like to remember in the altar by next Thursday, October 26. Please write your student’s name on the back of the photo so we can get them returned. This celebration will be part of the Spanish class with the cultural tradition of the celebration. Please make sure each student knows the name of the person that they are remembering and something that they used to enjoy. Please reach out to Senora Santiago with any questions: esantiago@stcolumbaschooldurango.org.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS FR. KEVIN PROVIDES WEEKLY SCRIPTURE REFLECTION QUESTIONS TO HELP INDIVIDUALS ENRICH THEIR FAITH BY CONTEMPLATING SUNDAY READINGS.
Based on the readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings: 45:1, 4-6/1 Thes 1:1-5b/Mt 22:15-21 Cyrus, king of Persia — the new superpower in the ancient world, has allowed the Israelites to return to their land, and he is hailed as a chosen agent of God’s salvation. But Cyrus has no knowledge that God has chosen him. Can you tell of how another in your life has been an agent of salvation for you though they themselves would not know it? St. Paul often lavishly praises the recipients of his letters for their keeping the faith they have received. Praise has the power to move other, to empower others to reach for even more. Are you a person who finds it easy or challenging to give praise to others? Have you ever knowingly given more praise than was due? Two opposing political groups have now joined together to try and trip up Jesus. Whether to pay the census tax or not would both trap Jesus in an unfortunate worldly affair. We were minted in the divine image. We are called to render to God that which bears his image. This past several weeks, in whom have you seen the very image of Christ? Has anyone seen it in you?
THE PARISH CONNECTION A T S T . C O L U M B A C H U R C H , W E A R E D E D IC A T E D T O C RE A T IN G A V IB RA N T A N D W E L C O M I N G C O M M U N IT Y F O R F A M IL IE S A N D IN D IV ID U A L S S E E K I N G F A I T H F O R M A T I O N . H E R E A R E S O M E O F T H E E X C IT IN G A C T I V I T I E S T H A T W E O F F E R E A C H W E E K . W E IN V IT E Y O U T O J O IN U S F O R T H E S E E V E N T S A N D E X P E R IE N C E T H E W A R M T H A N D H O S P IT A L IT Y O F T H E S T . C O L U M B A C O M M U N IT Y .
VITA Middle School, this Sunday 10/22, 11:15am - 1pm, open to all 6th - 8th graders, Lunch will be served.
THE PARISH CONNECTION continued...
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
HTTPS://WWW.STCOLUMBASCHOOLDURANGO.ORG/ OFFICE@STCOLUMBASCHOOLDURANGO.ORG ATTENDANCE LINE: 970-828-9356 SCHOOL OFFICE: 970-247-5527
Enjoy the long weekend!