St. Juan Diego

Today is the day of the feast of St. Juan Diego. Juan Diego had a wife who died. Then he became a widower. Juan Diego was walking 14 miles to Mass when he met a beautiful lady. The lady requested a shrine where she was standing. She told him that she was Mary Immaculate. She said to go and tell the Bishop for permission to build a shrine. The bishop did not believe Juan Diego. He asked for a sign that she was Mary.

Juan Diego went to go tell Mary to give him a sign, but his uncle was very ill. Mary had told him to come the next day, but he couldn't because he had to look out for his uncle. The next day he felt embarrassed because he did not come the day before. His uncle was dying, and Juan Diego was going to get a priest. On the way he met Mary again.

She said that he shouldn't worry about his uncle, and that he would be safe. She said to use his cloak to go get roses from the old rock and take them to the Bishop. She arranged the flowers in his cloak, and he went to go show the Bishop. The Bishop was surprised to find roses in winter. As he let the roses fall to the floor, a picture of Mary Immaculate appeared on his cloak. The Bishop felt sorry for not believing him, and he fell to his knees and prayed for Mary's forgiveness.

A shrine was built as Mary requested. Juan Diego's cloak is still seen at the church: it's color is unfaded to this day. We celebrate this day for St. Juan Diego, who was cannonized on July 31, 2002 by Pope John Paul II.

Written by Lauro and Emily S.

St. Nicholas

Saint Nicholas is the patron Saint of our class. St. Nicholas's feast day is December 6th. St.Nicholas gave our class candy on his feast day! St. Nicholas is known for leaving gifts for children. One of St. Nicholas's stories is about when he gave the father of three daughters three bags of gold. They needed the gold so the father would have a dowery to give to the grooms. Three bags of gold, three girls, and three gold balls are symbols related to St. Nicholas. St.Nicholas is now named Santa Claus in the United States.

Written by Stephen and Sarah S.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

This morning the entire school celebrated Mass together in honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This is a special feast day to honor Mary. She was born without sin because God knew ahead of time that she was going to be the mother of his son. All other people were born with Original Sin, but Mary was pure. God later sent the Angel Gabriel to ask Mary to be the mother of Jesus. Mary said "Yes." Also on this day we honor the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. They are a model for everyone in how to love God.

Written by the 3rd grade class.

Super Class!

I had to post today to tell everybody that I have an amazing class! This 3rd grade class is fantastic when it comes to helping their school. They consistently bring in Box Tops, Mall Receipts, and Campbell's Soup Labels to earn money for our school. They are also great at participating in projects and events around school. We had the most parents and students show up to the school Book Fair. We also brought in TONS of roasting pans and yams for Thanksgiving. I am very proud of the positive and helpful attitude this class has towards others.

We brought in the most receipts to be counted in the program at Fashion Fair Mall. As a congratulations, we got to enjoy donuts and hot chocolate this morning. Thank you Mrs. Serrato for providing the yummy treat for us today! It was delicious. The hot chocolate was perfect on this overcast and chilly day.

Mrs. Forcey

Going to Confession

Today all the 3rd graders went to confession. We all felt kind of nervous. This is what we did. We all got ready to go. We all walked to the church. One by one we all sat down and waited for our turn. One by one we all went to confession. We all sat down next to father and one by one said, "Good morning Father. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen." Then we told him our sins. We said the Act of Contrition. Then our sins were forgiven. Now our hearts are free of sin. Now I feel excited because I know that I can try not to sin anymore. I also feel free of sin because I was forgiven.

Written by Emily V. and Tyler

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! No, Mrs. Forcey hasn't gone crazy! Why do you think I am saying Happy New Year in November? Let me know on Tuesday!

Mrs. Forcey

News about comments

Hi Kids and Families,
It's Mrs. Forcey. I just wanted to let you know that I had to make a change to the comment section of our blog. For safety purposes, I had to change the way comments show up on the blog. You can still sign in and leave your comments, but they aren't going to show up right away. I have to read them first to make sure they are acceptable to be published on our site. Once I read the comments, I will post them. Don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away. I know it is exciting to see your comment appear right away, but I promise to check the blog often so comments will show up pretty fast! I hope you are all enjoying your vacation.

Love,
Mrs. Forcey