Thank you for your flexibility this week as we work through a very short-handed lunch staff. Many people worked together to ensure that the lunch program continued without interruption. Thanks today to Karla Schuff, Jana Freeman, Angie Steffen, Jessica Pfeiffer, Kay Staudacher, Shelly Adams who all jumped in to help! A huge thank you to Jackie Barnum for holding up the fort and Gabe Coates for assisting today. Jackie Barnam also stopped by my office to express her gratitude. She was moved to tears with everyone's willingness to help especially the staff and parents. The students showed their gratitude as they went throught the line today. And she said she really saw God at work in our school community. Thank you!

I also wanted to let you know that Ann Waltermyer will be leaving her position as our School Secretary at the end of this calendar year.  Ann is a making a career change that she has long been passionate about. Of course we wish Ann the best but she will be greatly missed here at St. Matthew School! She has been and will always be an exemplary Jaguar!  We thank her for her 20+ years of service to St. Matthew and to our countless families. 

More details on the school secretary position will be forthcoming.

Your student(s) have been working very hard this year and I appreciate all they have done to help make St. Matthew such an amazing place. To reward them for their hard work and the amazing test results (we will share these school-wide in an email in early January), we will be having a Christmas celebration week with a fun activity planned for Friday morning as well. I am grateful for all they do and the work they put in. Thanks also to you for your partnership in this effort.

Monday: Christmas Socks (in dress code)

Tuesday: Holiday Hat/Headband Day (in dress code)

Wednesday: Christmas Shirt with dress code bottoms

Thursday: JK = Pajama Day; K = Polar Express Pajama Day; 1 = Pajama Day (they may also bring a stuffed animal); 2 = Grinch Day; 3-5 = Pajama Day 

(Please remember that for all grades, casual dress rules apply. They will still be going out for recess and need appropriate clothing and shoes)

Friday: Ugly Christmas Sweater Day with any bottoms (casual dress rules apply)

I have been putting a note about the STO program for the last couple of weeks but wanted to share some insight to help you understand the magnitude of this program. For this school year, 2019-2020, the STO program has helped 50 students across 43 families for a total of over $106,000 to help make St. Matthew affordable. This is an amazing benefit to our community, but this program needs your help.

Please consider making a donation to this cause by visiting the website below.  One easy click provides you the opportunity to make a donation that benefits students at St. Matthew, while also providing a tax incentive to you as well.  Your support of this organization helps so many of our families.  Please join me and give today, there is no amount too large or too small.  Please prayerfully consider, the deadline to take advantage of this opportunity is December 31, 2019.

As we shared earlier this year, St. Matthew (along with many other Xavier Catholic Schools) is participating in a long-term strategic planning process for the betterment of our school.  Throughout this process we will look at a variety of factors from admissions to marketing to financials, etc.; one of our first steps is to review and update our mission and vision.  

Thank you to Lauren Shovein and Eric Thuente for their assistance and work on this committee.  Below is the most recent version of our updated mission and vision; we would love your feedback.  Please use the link below to solicit any updates or changes by Wednesday, December 18th.  This will be a discussion item at the board on Thursday, December 19th with approval to follow.

If you are interested in helping out, we are always looking for additional assistance. One of our next tasks is a marketing committee that is part of our strategic plan. Please email Amy at aconlon@stmatthewcr.org to indicate any interest in helping out. The strategic planning committee meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month from 11-12AM.

To grow young people in education, faith and as disciples of God.

We exist to provide a safe and accepting community to develop young people in education, faith and as disciples of God.  Serving families and students from preschool to fifth grade, our collaborative work environment helps students to be the best they can be. As a legacy school system, we attract students from the Cedar Rapids and surrounding communities. Through faith based practices students engage in progressive and relevant academic endeavors designed for individual needs. Our dedicated faculty and staff integrate technology for needs today and to be future-ready. The fundamentals of education are installed through a STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts, Math) approach infused daily. Through everyday interactions students model discipleship through their faith and relationships with one another in the communities they live.  We empower our students to create a lasting legacy by being innovative thinkers, morally responsible and by giving back.

There is a luncheon for the families whose names were on the Giving Tree at church.  The luncheon is on Sunday, December 15 and they are in need of volunteers for various duties.  If you can help it would be very much appreciated! The link below will take you to the sign up page.  

On Tuesday December 13 Xavier will be playing a basketball double header at Linn Mar: Girls at 6:00PM/Boys at 7:30PM. This is designated as an Alzheimer's awareness and fundraising event. Fans are encouraged to wear purple. There is currently a web store open for the purchase of t-shirts at a cost is $12. The web store is open until November 20. The link to the web store is below. When checking out, in the address section indicate YOUR SCHOOL NAME. On the following page, select Xavier High School as the delivery location. Shirts will be brought to the school for pickup and then we can arrange to have all shirts arrive at St. Matthew for distribution.

We are now using Flocknote to sign up for bringing food (salads and desserts) to funeral luncheons hosted here at St. Matthew Church. If you would like to be a volunteer in this capacity and receive notifications when we need contributions, please sign up here.

Congratulations to the Xavier Dance Team on earning a state championship at the 2019-2020 ISDTA State Dance Competition last week! The Saints placed in the Top 3 in all categories (1st place in Pom, 2nd in Hip Hop, and 3rd in Lyrical).  Way to go!

We have some joyous news on the alumni front! The number of XHS alumni who are now pursuing/living religious vocations has grown to 16! This fall, Jonathan Francois (X16) entered St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver and Peter Binder (X18) began work at Loras College. We continue to pray for ALL men and women who are discerning religious vocations, and for the daily work of those who have taken their vows. We also encourage you to write/email them or visit with them in person to remind them that they are appreciated and always thought of.