Good Shepherd Catholic School

Mrs. Del Riego's News...

Our mission is to develop morally responsible Catholic citizens who will follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

Check out our monthly Newsletter on the web!

No more paper copies will be sent home.

August 2008 Newsletter

September 2008 Newsletter

October 2008 Newsletter

On behalf of Fr. Greer, Fr. Jorge, and myself I wish each of our families a very blessed Thanksgiving.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

by: Samuel F. Pugh

Oh, God, when I have food

help me to remember the hungry.

When I have work, help me

to remember the jobless;

when I have a warm home,

help me to remember the homeless;

when I am without pain,

help me to remember those who suffer.

And remembering, help me

to destroy my complacency

and bestir my compassion.

Make me concerned enough to help,

by word and deed,

those who cry out

for what we take for granted. AMEN.

REMEMBER, Wednesday, November 26th dismissal is at 1:00 PM and there is

NO AFTER SCHOOL CARE.

turkey animated gif

Classes will resume Tuesday, December 2nd at 8:00 AM.

Join us on Tuesday, December 2nd at 9:00 AM

in the Parish Hall for our

First Trimester Awards Ceremony

We will recognize those students who have excelled in:

- Academic Olympics
- Academic Honor Roll
- Spelling Bee
- Sports

Dress uniform is required.

(Please note that if your account is in arrears, your child may not receive his/her recognition. Please contact Mrs. Nancy Lopez at ext. 304 if you think this may be your case.)

"Evening of Giving"

Special thanks to all of you who support this event.

Our Choir sang and performed beautifully (as usual). Congratulations to our parents, Mrs. Rodriguez, and of course, our students.

We look forward to their upcoming performances at the Junior Orange Bowl, Downtown Disney, and Barnes and Nobel.

Our 8th Grade students visited the St. John Vianney Seminary on Thursday, November 13, 2008. It was a spectacular learning experience for all.

Picture link available on the "Student" page.

Good Shepherd Catholic School McDonald's Night

Every 3rd Tuesday of the month...next one is Tuesday, December 16th

Join us at the McDonald's Restaurant located at

13102 N. Kendall Drive

Miami, FL 33186

for an evening of food and fun.

Our school will sponsor this evening and a percentage of all sales will go to our school.

So, close the kitchen for one night and relax with friends and family.

Our first McDonald's night was SO MUCH FUN! We had many, many families and students attend this fantastic fundraiser.

Click on the link below to view a slide show!

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/CK2rh4gj

Our most special thanks to Ms. Alison Zayas-Bazan, mother of Giovanni (8th Grade) and Gianna (1st Grade) for offering our school this opportunity.

On November 4th, we held Mock Elections with our students.

John McCain was the winner here.

We thank Mr. Pages for sponsoring this event and Mrs. Debs for making the spectacular Voting Booth.

Click on the link for some pictures.

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/dg2DG8Ia

On Tuesday, November 11th we had a Veteran's Day Prayer Service at 9:30 AM in the Parish Hall.

Sgt. Nestor A. Paz who has served our country for two tours of duty in Iraq was our Guest Speaker.

Click on the link for pictures.

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/gH7Dx4Tk

I am proud to announce that we are now offering Algebra I to our 8th Graders who meet the requirements for the course.

The course is being taught by Mrs. Diana Fernandez.

Go Rams!

Our new Lectors and Ushers were officially installed during our school Mass on

November 4th at 8:30 AM.

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Vs3UM9rF

This day we also be celebrated All Saints' Day with our students in PK3 through First Grades coming to school dressed as their favorite Saint.

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/jd6tH4cX

We thank Fr. Jorge, Mr. Enrique Padilla, and Mrs. Cristina Fundora for making this celebration so special for our students.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF THE TRIP TO STRIKE MIAMI!

The following students were the top sellers and/or the raffle winners for the STRIKE Miami Bowling field trip. On October 23rd they went on their field trip via a LIMO. They were accompanied by Mrs. Ferguson and Miss Diaz.

Click on the link to see what a fun time they had!

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Fj6KM2Kt

They are:

1st Place - Valerie Chavez (First Grade)

2nd Place - Emily Espino (Third Grade)

3rd Place - O.J. Fernandez (Sixth Grade)

4th Place - Eddie Avila (Fifth Grade)

Raffle winners:

Angela Alejandro (Kinder)

Annabella Guerrero (First Grade)

Walter Rodriguez (Second Grade)

Genna Veliz (Seventh Grade)

We thank our Development Coordinators, Mr. & Mrs. Cardenas for making all this possible!

For Student Council election results, please go to the "News" page.

Academic Olympic News...

Our school has done very well earning 6 medals in the Academic Olympics.

More details will follow on the "News" page.

Congratulations to Coach Mike and the Flag Football Team!

They have earned 2nd Place in our Division.

Go RAMS!

Our Book Fair went well!

Special thanks to all our volunteers!

October 21st we celebrated our Hispanic Heritage Mass. We thank Fr. Jorge Rodriguez de la Viuda (Peru) for celebrating this Eucharist for our school.

Pictures can be found on the "Students" page.

Immediately following the Mass at the Parish Hall student projects were on display.

Students came dressed in typical costumes of the country.

Please make sure your account is up to date. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Lopez, extension 304 at the school office. Students whose accounts are not up to date will not receive their report cards and/or other official school documents.

Thank you.

Saturday, September 27th our 8th grade students were confirmed in a beautiful ceremony presided over by Archbishop John C. Favalora.

Our most sincere thanks to Fr. Jorge for all his hard work with/for our students.

Please keep our Confirmandi and their families in your prayers.

On Tuesday, September 23rd we celebrated our Grandparents' Day Mass and breakfast.

We began with our all school Mass and then proceeded to the Parish Hall where our Grandparents were treated to a delightful breakfast.

Each of our classes performed for their grandparents.

At the Mass, members of the Lemus, Mendez, and Fuentes Families take the gifts at offertory.

The grandparents of Lucas and Gabriel Gonzalez.

Pictured with Fr. Jorge (center) are the grandparents of the following children: Maxton and Matthew Torres, Michelle Storey, Alani and Anthony Lacaci, Natalie and Gabriel Diaz, Stephanie and Allison Cardenas.

Thanks to all the teachers especially Mrs. Mayra Rodriguez.

Thanks also to the Mrs. Pattie Fernandez, Mrs. Teri Munoz, Mrs. Yadira Cardenas, and Ms. Nery Felizola for coordinating the breakfast and to all our Room Parents for their help.

holy bible

Please keep Fr. Greer in your thoughts and prayers while he is away on sabbatical. Through my communications with him, I know that he is keeping each and every one of us in his prayers.

Each Tuesday we have our weekly all school Mass at 8:30 AM.

Please consider joining us for Mass!

Remember to have your child bring a stewardship offering with him/her to school.

Our ushers have been trained and will be serving us at Mass each week.

In an effort to teach future generations about the importance of taking care of the needs of our church, our school will be implementing a Time, Talent & Treasure educational component.

We will be introducing stewardship as a way of life for the children. They have been eager and interested observers of the adult efforts and many of our young people already practice stewardship as part of their family’s commitment.

Our program will be implemented as follows:

1. We will train school ushers who will serve at our school Tuesday Masses.

2. A weekly collection will be taken at each Mass. The purpose of this exercise will be to educate our children and teach them about the generous giving of ourselves.

3. At the weekly collection, the students may place money, which is to come from their own allowance, birthday money, etc. We do not want for the parents to have to put the money in for them. This is again to teach them that God is very generous to us and as such we have a responsibility to give back to Him.

4. Students may also place a “note” stating a kind deed or any way that they have shared of him or herself during the week along with their money or in lieu of their money. For example, a student may place a note in the basket that states, “I helped my Mother do the dishes”.

Thank you for your generosity of heart in supporting this effort to help our children care for our Church and be good stewards of God’s gifts.

We began our Ministry of School Ushers this year. Mr. Enrique Padilla, Head Usher for Good Shepherd Catholic Church, was the true example of an excellent steward giving of his time to train our students.

The ushers will begin their ministry at next week's Tuesday Mass by greeting, passing out the song sheets, passing the collection baskets, and ushering at Communion.

We thank Mr. Padilla for his love and dedication to our students and school and congratulate the students who were chosen for this ministry. They are:

Jaqueline Martinez, Stephanie Murasso, Amanda Alvarez, Melissa Alvarez, Brian Reyes, Gabriela Chaljub, Alyssa Garriga, Francesca Callejas, and Eddie Avila.

We thank Mrs. Aime Dominguez who will be coordinating this Ministry for our school.

Let us all be true stewards and share of our time, talent, and treasure!

At our first Sunday School Mass, students from the 7th grade dramatized the Gospel.

Ms. Maggie (PK3), Mrs. Del Riego and students take a picture with Willie the Traveling Bear after Mass.

country graphics

Please be prompt in picking up your child and do not try to engage the teacher in an on the spot conference as he/she is responsible for the rest of the students in his/her charge. Thank you in advance.

School hours are from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM/2:45 PM daily depending on the grade.

Office hours are from 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

Remember that students must be inside the classroom by the time the 8:00 AM bell rings in order to be considered on time.

In the event of a hurricane or other severe weather conditions, Good Shepherd Catholic School will follow the decisions made by the Miami-Dade County Public School System.

Helpful Websites:

National Hurricane Center

noaa.gov

miamidade.gov

weather.com

Faculty and Staff started the year with a Retreat given by Fr. Liam Quinn on August 15, 2008