HOLY CHILDHOOD CATHOLIC SCHOOL

The Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsors two major national youth scholarship competitions each year: Voice of Democracy (for high school students) and Patriot’s Pen (for middle school students). Both programs promote patriotism, critical thinking, and civic engagement, and they award more than $1.6 million in scholarships annually.

For Holy Childhood, the most relevant program is Patriot’s Pen, open to students in 6th through 8th grade. Students write a 300–400 word essay on this year’s theme:

“What a Veteran Taught Me About America.”

Key details:

• Open to all 6th–8th grade students

• Essays must be submitted with the official 2026–2027 entry form

• Deadline: October 31

• Submissions can be turned in directly to VFW Post 7682 or emailed to Mr. Keefe.

National awards include scholarships up to $5,000, and every state’s first‑place winner receives at least $500. Last year, more than 800,000 students participated nationwide.

VISION & HEARING SCREENINGS will be conducted at HCS on Thursday, November 12, 2026 (3-year-old Preschool, 4-year-old 5 full days PreK, and Grades Kindergarten through 8) and on Friday, November 13, 2026 (4-year-old 3 full & 3 half days PreK).

This testing is mandated by Illinois State Law. Screening performed by the doctor’s office as part of the school physical DOES NOT fulfill the mandate. Preschool screenings performed prior to the current school year DO NOT fulfill the mandate. See attachment for screening requirements.

1. RED RIBBON WEEK BEGINS! (Flyer below)

2. IF POSSIBLE, GET THOSE BOXES OF JOY RETURNED! THANK YOU.

3. PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES (WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY EVENING)

4. TRUNK-OR-TREAT (below)

With a day off at the high school, you would think some kids would want to sleep till noon. McKenzie Eschmann, Noah Woodrome, Brandon Klein, Paisley Crow, Riley Smith, and Lilly Stumpf wanted to go up to school, visit their teachers, and help out where possible. McKenzie, Noah, and Brandon put together a poster for our Red Ribbon Week next week.

Thank you so much for coming to visit.....you are always welcome here. And thank you for being such great representatives of HCS!!

The 5th Grade at HCS, under the guidance of Ms. Tasker, will be holding our fantastic Living Saints Museum on Wednesday, November 4. Details are as follows:

1. Our 5th grade class will dress up as saints the students have chosen and present details on that Saint. The students work hard researching and "getting to know" their saint.
2. Time of the Museum will be 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM.
3. Open House-type presentation- Simply come to the office, sign in, and head to the HCS Gymnasium to hear their presentations.

Kaia wrote a story about Cinderella and read it to the class. Some kiddos wanted a challenge. Instead of writing 3 letter words, they worked on writing words with 5 letters.

We have many writers in Kindergarten.

Numbers are still coming in on the total amount raised last Saturday. We do know that for our Fund-A-Need, we were able to raise $52,000. Thank you to all that attended and/or donated to the school!

Gianna recently visited a doctor's office and was able to get from them a 3D-printed rendering of her heart. She was able to do a "show-and-tell" with her classmates!