“"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
~ Philippians 4:5

Dear Panther Families, 

Students may observe a  dress down day tomorrow.  As a special treat, we are allowing sweatpants, athletic pants, dangle earrings, and leggings. Students are encouraged to wear Christmas colors and accessories! Please do not send kids to school in pajamas. While we know there are many cute Christmas PJs, Mrs. Bogol isn’t quite ready to go there just yet. 

This week our virtue of focus was the virtue of patience - which is perfect as we await Christmas. We appreciate how supportive everyone has been in adjusting to circumstances related to virtual learning and COVID.  We continue to learn and adjust. As always, we appreciate your feedback. 

With the two week break upon us, Father Ben and I would like to offer a reminder to families on the importance of checking in with your children and their devices. School devices and accounts are filtered and monitored (even when off our network) and we have safeguards in place. With the two week break upon us, we know children will have increased time and access to the internet. We also know how difficult it can be to avoid content that challenges Catholic virtues and teachings. An open line of communication with your child, as well as reviewing browser histories, are two ways to help ensure children are being safe and have support to process content they may encounter on-line.   Recently, I was recommended to watch “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix.  After watching it, I feel better prepared to talk about the internet, device usage, social media, and their impact on society with my own children. It ends with some  suggestions for parents including prohibiting devices in bedrooms after a certain time each night and allowing children to help develop time limits for device usage. 

Thank you for choosing St. Anthony. We hope everyone has a peaceful Advent and Merry Christmas. Please be sure to join us for Mass on Christmas.  Masses for Christmas Eve will be at 4pm and 8pm and Christmas Day at 10:00 am (with incense).  Extra seating will be available in the gym with live-streaming. Drive thru communion will be offered at 9 am Christmas morning as well. 

Sincerely,

Karen Bogol