ST. COLUMBA SHEPHERD
GUIDANCE FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
EACH WEEK THE ST. COLUMBA SHEPHERD
provides all the information you need to know and links to things that you might need to cross off your list. Stay organized by reading it every week and making sure that you add events and deadlines to your calendar!
LET'S DO IT!
DATES TO REMEMBER
9/9 - Middle School Volleyball vs Mancos - 4:30
9/11 - School Mass - 7th Grade Leading Liturgy - 8:15
9/11 - Middle School Volleyball @ Escalante - 4:30
9/14 - K-8 Open House - 3:45-4:45
9/14 - Back to School Mass - 5:00
9/16 - Middle School Volleyball @ Bayfield - 4:30
9/18 - School Mass - 6th Grade Leading Liturgy - 8:15
9/18-9/20 - 8th Grade Retreat to Santa Fe
9/18 - Middle School Volleyball @ Escalante - 4:30
9/20 - Professional Development - K-8 Early Dismissal - 11:30
9/23 - Middle School Volleyball vs Bayfield - 4:30
9/25 - School Mass - 4th Grade Leading Liturgy - 8:15
9/25 - Middle School Volleyball vs Miller - 4:30
9/26-9/27 - 6th Grade Retreat to Cross Bar X
9/26-9/27 - 7th Grade Retreat to Stations of the Cross & Sand Dunes 9/30 - Middle School Volleyball vs Ignacio - 4:30
10/1 - Living Rosary - 2:15
10/2 - School Mass - 3rd Grade Leading Liturgy - 8:15
10/2 - Middle School Volleyball vs Miller - 4:30
10/3 - 5th Grade Field Trip to Mesa Verde
10/4 - St. Columba School Student Field Day
CAMPUS PLANNINGWE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!
Thank you so much to the more than 100 people who participated in our architectural design town hall this week providing a progress update on our 30year vision for campus improvements. In the coming weeks the campus planning committee will finalize our 10-year plan, and your timely feedback is important to us!
In case you missed the town hall, you can watch a recording on our YouTube channel here.
In addition, the presentation slides from our architects can be found on our website here.
We want to hear as many views and voices as possible as we discern the best first steps on this exciting project. Please click here to use this Google Form to provide your comments, questions, ideas, and suggestions. There are also baskets in the back of church and in the parish and school offices where you can drop off a notecard with your comments. Feedback throughout the discernment process is welcome, and immediate feedback provided before Wednesday, September 11 will be most helpful.
Beginning September 27 and throughout the month of October we are offering 10 separate events to gain your input about our finalized 10-year plan, which will highlight the first phase of proposed construction. Specific event dates and times can be found on our website and below.
Here’s a brief recap of some of the details shared at the town hall:
St. Columba church and school are called by Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching all that Jesus has taught us. (Matthew 28:19-20a). As a community, we have realized that we can no longer just maintain what was done in the past, but we must step out into the future. By living this discipleship in everything we do, we will become the Living Stones we are called to be. Through prayer and discernment, we have identified three pillars to guide us into the future: vibrant worship, evangelization (with Catholic education), and care for the poor (both physical needs and spiritual care). These three values have guided us as we look at our aging campus to discern and prioritize our way forward.
In this discernment, we have also addressed the practical condition of our buildings. As requested during the visioning process, we had preliminary assessments that were perfunctory evaluations of the integrity and usefulness of our buildings. As the scope and engagement of professional building consultants has formalized the vision of our 30-year master plan, we have performed more fastidious inspections of our campus facilities. In particular, the Hauser building has been evaluated using destructive inspection strategies, opening the ceilings in multiple areas and conducting a detailed and up-close study of the structural integrity of the building. All reports on the structural integrity of the Hauser Building came back positive, stating that the building is safe for use for years to come, and it is recommended for remodeling and building additions in the future.
We cannot complete everything in our 30-year vision right away, so we need your feedback on the different 10-year plan options.
Thank you for your continued prayers for the future of our facilities and ministries at St. Columba.
All of this information can be found on our website as well as future updates. It will be where we add all resources.
Capital Campaign Prayer Cards will be
Sent Home on Tuesday
As a way to keep prayer at the forefront of our Campus Planning and Capital Campaign, the Prayer Team has created a beautiful Campaign Prayer which has been printed on a prayer card. The prayer card can serve as a reminder for you and your family to say the prayer regularly during the Capital Campaign. The Prayer Team hopes you will find meaning and direction in the coming weeks through the gift of prayer. Prayer Cards will be sent home to families on Tuesday. You may also pick up a Prayer Card at the school office. Thank you!
BACK TO SCHOOL MASS & OPEN HOUSE - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH
This year’s Back to School Mass will be held on Saturday, September 14th, at 5:00pm in St. Columba Church. This is an important community event and we look forward to seeing you all there!
We will also be hosting an Open House event before Mass at St. Columba School from 3:45-4:45. This is a great opportunithy for you to swing by your child’s classroom to visit with their teacher and see their classroom. There will also be light refreshments in the gym during the open house for you to enjoy with other St. Columba families. Please regularly check the St. Columba Activities Calendar on the St. Columba App, Website, and Blackbaud to add school events to your family calendar!
From St. Columba’s
Parents Association:
Help Serve Pizza Lunch on Fridays!
We are looking for parent volunteers to help in the kitchen on Fridays from 10am - 12pm, serving pizza lunch to our students. This is a fun and heartwarming way to get involved at the school and even visit with your own student at lunchtime!
We have three Fridays to fill each month and are looking for either one parent or a team of three to rotate. If you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to parentsassociation@stcolumbaschooldurango.org.
Sign Up to Serve on a Committee!
The Parents Association is also seeking out volunteers to serve on short-term committees for the 2024-25 school year. Our parent volunteers are the backbone of the PA, and we rely on many committee members to support our events and fulfill our goals throughout the year. To respect everyone's busy calendars, we have listed the event dates to allow you to pre-plan. This allows you to provide a commitment for this activity in advance. We understand schedules change and we are doing our best to get information out earlier. Sign-ups close at the end of September. It truly takes a village and we thank you for considering. Please find the signup link below. If you have any questions please email parentsassociation@stcolumbaschooldurango.org
CLICK HERE: Committee Sign Up
Please keep an eye out for information coming soon about Room Parent Sign-ups and Field Day, which will take place on October 4th. Thank you so much!
Please call our attendance line at 970828-9356 and leave a voicemail to excuse your student’s absence.
PARENT DROP OFF & PICK UP
Thank you for all of your patience as we get in the habits of the parent drop off and pick up routine!
A few friendly reminders:
We ask those who are getting out of their cars to please not park in the pick up lines. Across the street works best!
Preschool parents - Please don’t park on the south side of 19th St at morning drop off. Our middle school families use that space to safely dropoff our 5th-8th graders.
Thank you!
SCHOOL MASS
We invite families to join us every Wednesday at 8:15 for School Mass. Each class takes several turns leading the liturgy throughout the year and you can find our Mass schedule HERE (subject to change). If you can’t join us in person, you can always stream our School Mass on the St. Columba Youtube Channel HERE
School Lunches
We have still have several families that haven’t made their selections for hot lunch plans for the 1st semester. Please take a moment to complete the appropriate form below:
p y
I am writing on behalf of St. Columba’s STEAM education program. STEAM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Arts-Mathematics) aims to expose students to a wide variety of scientific fields while also fostering creative thinking and expression. We do this by exposing students to the following fields of science:
Animal Science, Behavioral/Social Science, Biomedical/Health Sciences, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, Energy, Engineering , Environmental Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Micro and Molecular Biology, Physics and Astronomy, Plant Science
Through our STEAM class we will explore careers in these fields, cutting edge discoveries, as well as hands-on investigation. Students are encouraged to think creatively, ask questions and present findings in unique and captivating ways. If you believe in students' natural curiosity is a gift we should harness and encourage, then you can help! I am currently seeking STEAM professionals to volunteer 20 minutes of their time. We would love to hear from you, the boots on the ground, about what you and your teams/organizations are working on right now in STEAM. If you have a desire to share your scientific passions with kids, please reach out so that we can set up a time for you to come speak to our class about what you do, how you do it, and why it matters! Additionally if you know community members who may be interested please feel free to forward this message along to them.
Please email me at npatrick@stcolumbaschooldurango.org to find out more and tell me about yourself, and your work.
Thanks,
Nicole Patrick
St. Columba Middle School Explore STEAM instructor
THE PRESCHOOL CORNER
