Christmas Music Programs

This year we have a new choir teacher and a new band teacher at school.  Mrs. Sehi and Mrs. Hahn have been working hard with the students for weeks getting ready for the Christmas Music Programs.

 This year both the elementary and the high school programs were held on the same day with about an hour break in between performances. 

 The elementary school students presented "Twas One Crazy Night Before Christmas".  Justin was in a group of 1st & 2nd graders that sang "Slippers Again for Christmas" and "Holly Jolly Christmas".  They had to wear robes and slippers for the performance.  Justin does not have a robe or slippers; therefore, he wore Ashlin's.  He could have cared less, but his sisters informed him it was embarrassing.

 Ashlin performed with the 5th & 6th Graders, "Touchdown in the Kitchen" and "Something to Believe In".  Ashlin's group could either dress up or wear football jerseys.

 The musical play was very entertaining and it was evident that the students were having a good time performing for the crowd.

 The Junior High 7th Graders sang "Rockin' Down the Chimney Tonight!" and "Unto You This Night".

Take care,
Michelle

4-on-4 2nd Grade Basketball

 Justin has started playing basketball games last week.  He plays every Saturday a game at the YMCA.  2nd Grade league is 4-on-4 still with no refs.  The coaches call the game with very few fouls and no violation calls either.

You can't see the basketball, but he made this shot for the first two points of the game.

 Justin didn't really want to play, but we told him that he was playing.  He is not very patiently waiting for wrestling season to begin.  We reminded him that wrestling does not start until January and that he needed to work on some basketball skills for now.

 Justin is a shooter and needs to be better about passing the ball to open teammates. 

 Justin's team won the game and he finished with 8 points on the day.  Yes, he is the shortest kid on his team too.

Take care,
Michelle

A Little Christmas Music

Ashlin had her Christmas piano concert last week at The Meadows.  I love this concert because it is so relaxing.  With all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it is an hour to just sit, relax, and listen to a little Christmas music.

 Ashlin played "Whirling Leaves" and "Do You Hear What I Hear?" for our listening pleasure.  Also, she was pretty proud of herself and how far she has come in her piano lessons.  Mrs. Nissen arranges the program from least proficient to most proficient and Ashlin was number 11 out of 15 students.  I was pretty proud of her too!  She has come a long way from just plinking with one hand/one finger. 

Take care,
Michelle

Cookie Extravaganza

 During the month of December, the students at school work on service projects for the Advent Season.  The classrooms discuss those less fortunate than themselves.  One of the service projects was completed on Wednesday morning when the 2nd and 6th Grade students frosted and decorated 750-800 cut-out sugar cookies.  A lady in our parish bakes the cookies as her personal Advent service project and she has the students finish the job.  The cookies are donated to the Soup Kitchen to be served with a meal or two.

 Just like his three sisters, this was Justin's year to complete the project.  I was the Mom in charge when Cara, Erica, and Ashlin were each in 2nd Grade taking a year off between each one.  But since Ashlin has been in 2nd Grade, I have not had a year off and run the project each year at school.  I direct the other parents as we set up, clean up, figure out what supplies we need each year, and how much frosting needs to be made.  The project runs smoothly and doesn't take the students very long to complete.  It takes us longer to set up than it does for the students to frost.

Some other projects going on around school include:  collecting food for the food bank, adopting a few families in the parish and providing the family with gifts for the holidays, collecting cleaning supplies for Bright Horizons, collecting toiletry items for Bright Horizons, collecting books for Bright Horizons, collecting pairs of pajamas for the Salvation Army, etc.  Each grade completes a project during the month.  Justin's 2nd grade along with the 6th Grade have adopted two families in the parish.  Justin donated a t-shirt along with a fleece jacket for each mother.  Ashlin's 5th Grade is donating toiletry items to Bright Horizons.  Ashlin donated four sets of shampoo/conditioner sets.  Cara and Erica haven't shared what their homerooms are doing yet for projects.  In years past, the high school students also adopt families in the parish.

I even wore my Santa apron for the cookie decorating.  Not sure why I didn't think to take a photo with each of the girls when they did this project.  Oh well, at least I remembered with one of them.

Take care,
Michelle

7th Grade Basketball

 Since volleyball ended, Erica has been in the gym practicing and playing a few games of basketball before the Thanksgiving break. 

 Junior high girls basketball is a short and fast playing season.  They will be done with games before the Christmas break.

 The girls have travelled to O'Neill and to Boone Central for games before Thanksgiving.  After two games the 7th Grade girls are 1-1 and the 8th Grade girls are 2-0.

 The 7th Grade girls have 12 girls out for the sport.  Against O'Neill Erica scored 2 points in the "A" game and 2 points in the "B" game.

 Erica scored 6 points in the "A" game against Boone Central and 4 points in the "B" game at Boone Central.  Erica is not afraid to shoot the ball.  She plays either a post or center depending on what girls are on the floor.  She doesn't play very many minutes in the "A" game, but she makes the most out of them.

 The smile on her face when she scores is priceless! 

Cara has decided not to play basketball anymore.  Ashlin will not start until after Christmas and Justin will start practices this week.  We are gearing up for more time in the gym.

Take care,
Michelle

Going for Gold!

A few weeks ago the volleyball season came to an end with the State Championship games in Lincoln.  Although the Norfolk Catholic girls did not make it to state, other area teams were playing for gold on championship Saturday.  Area local team, Stanton, played for the C2 title.  This was their first trip to the state tournament and to make it to the championship game was great for them.  I enjoyed the day watching the championship games for Class D2, D1, C2 and C1.  Excitement was in the air from the moment I stepped into the sports center.  It was a day to enjoy and watch some of the best teams in the state play a sport that they love to play.

 This last week on Tuesday, the kids and I travelled to Lincoln to Memorial Stadium to watch our Norfolk Catholic Knights football team play for the Class C1 championship.  They played the Columbus Scotus Shamrocks for the title.

 The team captains at the 50-yard line for the coin toss.  Representing the Knights were David Englehaughpt, Aaron Hoff, Aiden Burroughs and Matt Miller.  David and Aiden are both Division I football recruits to continue playing football next fall.  David will play for the University of Wyoming and Aiden will play for Liberty University.

 The game had its ups and downs.  Very proud of the way our boys played, they got down early and fought back into the game.  They never gave up and had a chance to win with a little over a minute left in the game.  They were driving before a fumble ended their drive.

 The dancers performed at halftime.

 Both teams shaking hands after Scotus won the game 32-27. 

 After the game both teams knelt at mid field to say a prayer with the priests from both catholic schools.  During this moment of silence for prayer, a NSAA official holding the medals in a loud voice told the teams to hurry up because the medal stands were up and they needed to get moving.  Not appropriate comments during a prayer when the TV cameras were rolling and filming it all. 

Our team may not have won on this day, but they gave it their all!  On this day, the better team won, but there will be another day to go for the gold!

Take care,
Michelle

5 Years of 4-H

The 4-H year has ended and the county always has an afternoon to pass out awards.  Cara received her certificate for being a 4-H member for 5 years.

She doesn't realize the life lessons that she is learning and how learning these skills is shaping her life, but someday she will.  Every time she wants to quit, I respond with a "NO" because these skills will come in handy some day when she leaves our home and has a home of her own.

The 4-H year starts again in a few months.  Next year we will have all four in 4-H.  Justin turning 8 years old made him old enough to give it a try.  There will be many projects to take to the fair next summer.

Take care,
Michelle

Birthday Party

 For Justin's 8th birthday, he invited a few friends over to celebrate and have fun! 

 Justin invited Tyler, Nolan, Gage, Corbyn and Callen to spend the night.  They played the Wii, watched movies, ate a ton of food, and played other games.  It was a great time!

Take care,
Michelle

First Reconciliation

Second Grade is a big year for Justin.  Second Grade is a big year of preparation for First Holy Communion.  Sunday was Justin's first big step when he completed his First Reconciliation. 

Some area priests came to Norfolk on Sunday afternoon to listen to the first confessions of 116 students.  This is one of our parishes largest classes getting ready for First Communion in the spring.  Justin gave his confession to Fr. Lim.

After his confession, he said his penance and then received his certificate from his 2nd Grade teacher, Mrs. Pfeifer.  On Monday, the second graders were treated to donuts and juice at school to celebrate the event.

Take care,
Michelle

Turning 8!!!

Justin turned 8 years old on Wednesday!!!  He had been counting the days and stalking the mail box for days.  He was up bright and early that morning.  He did get a few birthday cards in the mail.  We gave him some Legos, a new Wii game and his favorite candy bar.  It doesn't take much to make him happy!

 Justin took fruit snacks to share with his class for birthday treats.  Grandma Leader stopped by after school with a rice krispy cake for him to celebrate with.

 We went out to eat as a family at Applebee's.  Justin made sure that we sat in a booth where we could watch the Royals playing baseball.  Now he is counting the days until his birthday party/sleepover with a few of his friends this week.

The kids have two half days (Monday & Wednesday) and no school on Friday because of Parent/Teacher Conferences so his birthday party will work well this week.

Take care,
Michelle

Bake for Good

The 4th -6th Grade students had a presentation last week by the King Arthur group about "Bake for Good".  This group demonstrated to the students how to bake bread. 

 At the end of the presentation, each student was given a bag that contained two small bags of flour, a packet of yeast, a plastic scraper and instructions.  Each student was to bake two loaves of bread - one loaf for their family and one loaf to donate.  Ashlin baked these two loaves with a little help.  I was impressed how much she had learned in the demonstration.  She can't wait to bake break again.

 Monday at school we loaded up 8 boxes of loaves of bread to be donated to the Salvation Army.  This service project was completed by students Norfolk Catholic, Christ Lutheran, and Norfolk Junior High. 

Mr. Lafleur delivered the bread Monday afternoon and said these ladies were very thankful for the donation.  They serve three meals a day at the Salvation Army, plus they give food out to families that need help.

Take care,
Michelle