The Ushering Committee is looking for a family that usually attends Sunday evening mass at 7pm to help with the offertory collection of envelopes. Fr. Meade generously donates all the loose money that is collected during this mass directly to the school. Any member of a school family can help with the collection as long as they are in high school or older. Each person helping can earn 1/2 hour for attending mass. How simple is that? Please contact Kim Morton at kmmarykay@comcast.net if you are interested in helping with this ministry.

Dear Parents:

In addition to our Lenten classroom collections for the Catholic missionaries of PIME, the Spiritual Growth Committee is also conducting a used book sale with all proceeds going to PIME.

We are now in the process of collecting any gently used children's/young adult books suitable for our students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. We will be offering these books for sale to our students during their lunch period March 17, 18, and 19.

If you have some books you would like to donate to this book sale, please drop them off at the school office during school hours.

If you have any questions regarding this project or would like to help during the sale, please contact Chris Hoover at choover@stpatsparish.org. or reach me at home at 926-3417.

Thank you for your support of this Lenten project.

Spiritual Growth Committee

Dear Parents, I apologize for the delay in getting back to you in regards to Thursday's incident. I came down with a bad case of the flu, which left me ill all week. On Thursday, March 4th, there was an incident involving police action in Chesterton. St. Patrick School went into a voluntary lockdown in the morning after being informed by another school of the possibility of dangerous activity. We felt it important to take precautions to protect the children. Later in the afternoon, a code red was issued, in which students were locked in classrooms, lights were turned off and students were sitting on the floor in a safe area. This action went into effect after an officer arrived at school informing us that police were combing the area, but he provided no details of the situation. The staff immediately went into action to keep the children calm and safe. The calling system notified parents of the code red and again when we received the all clear from the police department that it was safe to dismiss and the area was secure. The staff did everything in their power to protect and keep the children calm. During times like these, the students' safety is our number one priority and the school staff works together to protect each and every child. The staff did an excellent job in doing so. I commend them all.

Sincerely,Mrs. Lee Ann Cosh

Dear Parents:

In the recent Friday Folder, some of you received "Give Back"-related letters. Families exceeding their profit requirement receive 50% of the overage as a credit against next year's tuition. Unfortunately, the statement letters you received had some incorrect timeframes on them. To clarify, the credit you earn applies to the 2010 - 2011 school year tuition. Also, you can continue to earn profit credit in the current school year until 4/30/2010.

The financial information contained in the letters was correct and current based on the information received by the Hours and Profits committee as of 2/28/2010. Please note that Gala information has not yet posted to your account.

Sorry for the incorrect information...

Home and School

We are in need of more helpers for this Saturday at the State Park. This is a great way for Moms or Dads to get some hours and be home by noon. Please contact Marie Kirchner at mdkirchner@aol.com if you can help out.

The deadline for early registration for the 5k is this Saturday. If you wish to receive the reduced rate, please have your registration forms and payments in the office by Friday at 3:00. We hope to see everyone on race day!

Alisha BrownHome 929-4631Cell 928-3587Work 464-7894