Prepare to fall in love with your garden .... um can you say AWESOME!!

Kindergarten Parents SPRING Onto the Scene with a PHENOMENAL Package!

ORAL AUCTION SNEAK PEAK

THE ART OF LANDSCAPING

Click on the image to enlarge (photography donated by Troy Witt)

Click on the image to enlarge (photography donated by Troy Witt)

Newbie parents Anne Green & Salli Schenk really stepped up to the plate this year & pulled together a stunning landscaping package worth $1350 (not to mention a priceless wheelbarrow).  Like most activities at St. Clare, pulling this package together turned into a true community building activity.  It was so great to be a part of this project with all of the new Kindergarten parents, and their unlimited energy and creativity.  We came together as a class to create this one of a kind wheelbarrow, and pooled our resources to bring you the following landscaping package;

GET READY FOR SUMMER!

Spring will be here and of course the first thing you want to do is yard work, right???

No way!!!

This package provides you with the luxury to enjoy those sparse spring days of sunshine while someone else beautifies your property.  Sit back and watch while your yard is prepared for summer.  You will not only have the best looking yard on the block, but you will have a wheelbarrow full of shiny new garden tools plus grilled Omaha steaks, and cocktails to enjoy in your new outdoor paradise after all of the work is done!!

Click on the image to enlarge (photography donated by Troy Witt)

Package consists of:

• An original piece of garden art that doubles as a wheelbarrow!  Thoughtfully decorated by our kindergarten class.  Also includes a  professionally photographed and framed image of the wheelbarrow 
• 5 yards of mulch 
• 5 hours of landscaping services which may include mulch spreading, weeding, planting, edging, mowing, blowing, bush trimming, general clean up, and debris removal 
• Shiny new garden tools to help be more efficient in the yard 
• Garden accessories-gloves, knee pads, tools, etc. 
• $100 gift card to A-Boy, which has a fantastic outdoor nursery and garden supply 
• $25 gift card to Portland Nursery, another local favorite nursery 
• 4 stepping stone kits for the family to create / imprint lasting memories in your yard 
• Birdhouse and sunflower to accent your newly beautified outdoor space 
• $100 gift card to Omaha Steaks 
• Cocktail pitcher and glasses

Um .... like I said, AWESOME, right?  See you on March 10th.


-- Barbara Soulé

 

 

Drop Your Kids and Run with Stephen Schmidt

Science tells us that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and there is no better way to test this than with Parents Night Out. I love my girls, and I can think of nothing that can strengthen that love more than leaving them with the preschool teachers for the evening so that I can take my lovely wife and hang out with other like-minded adults, eating pizza and drinking beer. And I don't feel bad for those kids, at Parents Night Out they'll have a blast playing in the gym, watching movies and having their own party, while my wife and I socialize with adults talking about anything other than Elmo and Justin Bieber. Can you put a price on that? I can, and that price is $25 per person.  Parents Night Out - strengthening family bonds through healthy separation.  
- Stephen Schmidt

Peter Haney is just a city boy, born and raised in...NJ, Illinois and CA?

It was the typical school dance scene … the cafeteria was decorated with a disco ball and paper streamers.  The guys all stood around on the fringes of the dance floor trying to get up the nerve to dance. It was almost the end of the night when ‘Don’t Stop Believin’!’ came blasting over the PA.  All the girls jumped up, mobbed the dance floor, clung to each other and sang along to Journey.   The guys stayed off the floor and let the girls scream and rock out to the fabled ‘last song of the night.’  Is this a flashback to my awkward freshman year of high school ?  Am I really dating myself here?


No, this was a scene from last year’s prom-themed Father Daughter Dance (and yes, I am dating myself).  It was a great night to throw on a tux and go to a school dance where there were two girls who actually wanted to dance with me.  The DJ rocked the cafeteria all night long. We had a blast doing the chicken-dance, the Macarena, and I was even on the dance floor for a Justin Bieber song (now I am not dating myself).   The volunteers did a great job in keeping the pizza and snacks coming and probably had a good laugh watching their husbands bust-a-move.


Sign up now and come join us this year for the Father Daughter Dance on Friday, April 13th: Dancing with the Dads. Waltz, foxtrot, and swing the night away! You will be in good hands as the wonderful Miss Lisa from Yellow Rose Dance (St. Clare Mom Lisa Kromminga) will be there to teach us all how to do some graceful ballroom dancing.  Dance with the stars and get your Astaire on!  It will be a night of great food, good friends and some stepped-on toes, all for $50 a family.


I promise you it will be the one night of the year where Dads will lead and daughters will have to follow! (Oh, and one other thing … ‘Hold on to that feelin’!)       
-- Peter Haney

REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED to MARCH 5th. Hmmm...why does that date ring a bell?

In honor of Lizzie O'Mahony's birthday that day? Possible. Just possible. Because Lizzie is a joiner. And she's in the 4th grade class. And as an enthusiastic member of an enthusiastic class that just HAPPENS to be in charge of the auction this year, I think she'd want you there. 


And because she gets a kick out of her parents and her teacher hanging around working on a paddle bid video til all hours that cracks them up -- if no one else -- she'd want you to plan to bring a little extra cash to support tuition assistance and classroom technology. 


And because she loves Harry Potter and has no idea the relative distance between cities in Florida, she might encourage you to bid on that oral package to South Beach. 


And because she loves stuffed animals, she'd like you to consider sending a group to Build-a-Bear with the primary teachers. 


But don't bid on the trip to Caldera. Because Lizzie would actual like her parents to buy that one. Seriously, have you SEEN that house? Unbelievable.


So let's all wish Lizzie a happy tenth birthday on March 5th by REGISTERING FOR THE AUCTION by that date.  Because seriously people, who needs another stuffed animal? 

5th Grade Does It Again .... 3rd Annual Mary Kate Poky Pedal

Once upon a time, a beautiful little girl named Mary Kate Booth skipped through the halls of St. Clare School....

The Mary Kate Poky Pedal is a community bike ride in honor of Mary Kate Booth.  Mary Kate left our physical world in 2009, and for the past three years our St. Clare community has been witness to the impact that this one little person had in her short life.  Mary Kate was a happy girl, a friend, a sister and daughter who brought a smile to everyone's face who knew her.  One of the greatest gifts that she left us with is the gift of love, joy and laughter.  Mary Kate always loved a party (the bigger the better), which is why our 5th grade class continues to host the Poky Pedal.


I encourage all families to join us for this special bike ride, whether you knew Mary Kate or not.  You will truly be amazed by the impact that this little girl had on our community, and you just might feel as lucky as I do to be a part of the St. Clare family when you witness a sea of happy faces filled with laughter and joy in honor of Mary Kate Booth.

-- Barbara Soulé

REGISTER NOW, and don't forget to wear yellow!

Saturday May 12, 2012

Start at Oaks Park

2:00pm - 4:00pm 

$50 per family

click on the image below to enlarge for more details

No excuses for Tricia Leishman

You know you only have one day left to register for the auction, right? With that in mind, Guest Blogger Tricia Leishman offers this inspirational stream of her consciousness:            

Why come to the auction?

1.    All the cool kids will be at the auction. If you want to be a "popular people," you must attend.

2.    What would St. Clare do? I think she would go to the auction. With her date Francis.

3. Peer pressure. It’s pure, it’s simple, and it works. All the Peer Mediatin’ in the world is not going to help you come up with an acceptable excuse NOT to come to the auction. Believe me. I have been trying to come up an excuse for weeks. 

Here are some of my top secretly entertained excuses, which probably should have remained secret, since I am going: 

1.    “I don’t want to get all dressed up and spend money I do not have. And spend money to do it.” My own internal guilt committee retort - You spend money every day you do not have. How about that daily Grande Soy Latte, can you afford that? Or the gym membership you barely use, can you afford that? 

2.    “My best friend, a priest, will be visiting that weekend” Like the addition of a priest would add validity to this complete FABRICATION. 

3.     “I am too fat this year to go to the auction.”  That one is true, and completely logical.

4.    “I am not starring in the auction this year.” It is hard to go from starring in something to simply doing voiceovers on the HILARIOUS technology paddle bid video. Click here to hear my moving tuition assistance paddle bid speech. I'm tearing up now.

5.    “I recently had a tragic surgical misfortune, and I am afraid I can’t lift the paddle bidding device so there is no point in my attending.” Again, true.

6.    “It’s really hard to watch people buy cakes for more money than my entire net worth.”

7.    “I am against Chinese astrology.”

AUCTION REGISTRATION CLOSES THIS TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28th!

That's it. 
That's the message. 
Auction registration closes this Tuesday Feb. 28th. 
You can go now. 
See you later. 

Joanie Quinn will NOT STAY SILENT

I've never lost my competitive nature.  It can be an asset when judging grocery lines and traffic lanes, and it is especially helpful at the Silent Auction.  When there is an item that I covet, and one of my St Clare friends attempts to outbid me, that's it - the gloves are off.  I don't even care who it is; it could be my own husband (yes, we do get two bid numbers, we have an open marriage like that) and I will not let go.  Letting go is for people who don't want to take things home from the Silent Auction!

I like the feel of the hunt in the Silent Auction.  I'll pace the rows and watch for just the right moment to make my move.  Some people don't take the bidding seriously and start chatting - I sneak up behind them and raise that bid.  I get a particular thrill raising bids in the last minute of the Silent.  My husband calls this maneuver "Why Did We Get All This Stuff?"  Well, I tell him,  "Honey, WE WON IT!"