The Wildcat Way
SPCS Newsletter - Learning, Loving, Lighting the Way
December Newsletter #1
Season of Hope, Peace, Joy, & Love
🐾🍀 What's Happening at SPCS 🍀🐾
Hallway Highlights
🎶 Christmas Concert 🎶
Our Christmas Concert will be held on Thursday, December 11th, with performances at 1:30 PM and 6:30 PM.
Daily Mass at St. Pat’s is scheduled for 5:30 PM that evening. We invite all families to join us for Mass, which will be followed by the students’ Christmas Concert at 6:30 PM. If you are attending only the concert, please do not interrupt Daily Mass.
Our students have been working hard to prepare a special Christmas celebration for families, friends, and community members.
For the evening performance, please have your child(ren) arrive in the church basement at 6:15 PM. Teachers will be with students at this time. We kindly ask that students do not arrive earlier.
Please keep your child(ren)’s coats with you, as the church basement becomes crowded with students.
We look forward to seeing you at the Christmas Concert as we begin our holiday season with joyful music!
Concert Bake Sale
The parent group would appreciate cookies or bars for their bake sale. Please drop off anytime Thursday morning in the back of the church. If you are unable to bring a dessert, a monetary donation is appreciated. Thank You - St. Pat's Parent Group
ESA - Approving 2nd Semester Tuition
ESA funding for the second half of the school year is now available to ESA participants.
Please log into the parent portal to approve tuition and fees for the second half of the year.
Parent/Guardian action: Approve or deny tuition and fees for the second half of the school year.
To maintain ESA eligibility for the rest of the 2025-26 school year, ESA participants must approve payment of tuition and fees within the Odyssey portal no later than February 1, 2026.
Questions regarding the payment process can be directed to the Odyssey Support Team at help.ia@withodyssey.com or 515-368-9564.
Other questions may be emailed to studentsfirst@iowa.gov.
🥓🍳 Morning Breakfast - Trial Period 🍳🥓
We are excited to announce that SPCS will be trialing a new breakfast routine. This updated process will allow our cooks to serve more warm breakfast options and create a smoother start to the school day.
The trial will run Tuesday, December 16th through Tuesday, December 23rd.
This new routine will:
Provide students with more time to eat
Reduce mess in classrooms
Allow our kitchen staff to serve additional breakfast choices
We are grateful to Kellie and Lisa for researching this idea and helping us pilot it before Christmas break.
Latchkey Students
Latchkey students will walk over for breakfast at 7:40 AM.
After breakfast, staff will walk latchkey students to school and then bring over the first shift of students.
Any latchkey students arriving after 7:40am, will eat breakfast with the 8:10am shift.
Breakfast Shifts & Arrival Times
Students will be supervised and walked to breakfast at 8:10 AM and 8:25 AM.
Important:
Students must come into school first before going to breakfast.
Students will leave their book bags in a designated area before walking over.
If your child is not at school by 8:25 AM, they will miss the second breakfast shift.
We appreciate your flexibility as we trial this routine and work together to find the best system for our students. Please reach out with any questions.
Supervised Breakfast Times
Latchkey Breakfast - 7:40am
School Breakfast 1st Shift - 8:10am
School Breakfast 2nd Shift - 8:25am
East Elementary Bus Stop Reminders
Morning Bus Drop-Off Reminders
While waiting in the morning, students must remain under the awning or just inside the doors (inside only if the feels-like temperature is below zero). Please remind your child(ren) that they should not be playing in the snow or goofing around on the sidewalk. East Elementary staff will be present to monitor this area, and I am hoping to be able to stop by one morning each week as well if able.
Our two shuttle buses—Bus #5 and Bus #19—will transport students from East Elementary to St. Pat’s. Both buses are able to take any student.
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Bus #19 (Driver: Dave Blacker) is the first to arrive and remains parked at East. Students may board this bus right away to wait in a warm space.
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Some students prefer to wait for Bus #5 (Driver: John Egan) instead. This is perfectly fine, but please remind them that they will be waiting outside in the cold for 5–10 minutes until Bus #5 arrives.
During my visit last week, I noticed many students getting off the bus without coats, hats, or mittens. Please remind your child(ren) to wear appropriate winter gear when waiting outside in these colder temperatures.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.
Spreading Holiday Cheer
SPCS Advent Service Project
Fruit of the Spirit Spotlight - GENTLENESS 🍓
Gentleness is another Fruit of the Spirit. Gentleness means being careful with your words and actions so you don’t hurt others. It’s about treating people with care, love, and respect—even when you’re strong or could act tough.
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Gentleness looks like speaking kindly instead of shouting.
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Gentleness looks like handling someone’s feelings carefully so they don’t get hurt.
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Gentleness looks like helping a younger student without being rough.
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Gentleness looks like choosing kindness instead of meanness, even when you’re upset.
When we show gentleness, we act like Jesus, who was strong but always treated people with care and compassion.
🔆Important Events & Reminders🔆
November & December Events
⛪December 8th - 4th Grade Schafer Mass @ 10:00am
🎶December 11th - Christmas Concert @ 1:30pm & 6:00pm
📌December 11th - No Afternoon Latchkey
⛪December 12th - No School Mass
🎅December 17th- 23rd - 5 Days of Holiday Cheer
📌December 23rd - 1 Hour Early Out - No Afternoon Latchkey
🎅December 24th - January 5th - No School Christmas Break
Save the Date
SPCS Weather Chart
🐾 SPCS School Wide PBIS Expectations 🐾
I CAN BE...
Safe, Respectful, & Responsible
School Information
Contact Information
💻School Website: www.spcswaukon.org
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📱Download our St. Patrick School App
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📞St. Patrick Catholic School ph# 563-568-2415