Merry Christmas!

A wee angel stands atop a first grader's nativity scene in the lobby of St. Gabriel's school. We celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

First Annual Giving Tree

Casa Angelina Orphanage in Guatemala is the object of this first year's giving tree. this orphanage was brought to our attention through mission work by a graduate of St. Gabriel's and St. Michael's, Rikki Dautel. The following is a touching quote from Rikki's bio: "Attending these shcools provided me with a great opportunity to learn about out wonderful Lord and his love for ALL his children. One specific bible verse from the book of James has always jumped out at me: 'Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look out for orphans.' James 1:27"

Fifty families provided gifts for all of the orphans here, giving these kids and our st. Gabriel's families a more meaningful Christmas this year.

Saradets Serenade Students

The week before school let out for Christmas break, students entered the building to the lovely music of Shelby, 6th grade, and Kyle, 8th grade. The Saradet siblings played Christmas carols for about a half and hour before school began one morning, putting all of us present in the spirit. Most kids stopped and listened for a while before heading up to their classrooms. What a nice way to start the day!

"Holy cow!"

(A note from Martin Wiggins...)

The generosity of St. Gabriel's families continues to be overwhelming and particularly at this time of year.
We rang the bell on coat collections this year outdoing any other single year since we began the drive in 2000.
Three hundred and eighty children will be warmer this winter thanks to your loving support of this campaign.

This was also a contest for the class with the most coats and our three divisional winners of cookie cakes are:

Pre-K thru Second……………………….Kindergarten
Third thru Fifth………………………….Third
Sixth thru Eighth………………………...Seventh

Student Council will get together with the winning teachers and the classes will get their cookie cakes sometime after the new year.

And a very special thank-you to Andrea Burrell (grade 8) for hauling these to Jack Brown each day!

Thanks Tons!

Halloween Treats for the Streets

Our kids donated many bags of their Halloween candy to Mobile Loaves and Fishes again this year. The local charity will distribute this candy throughout the next year in bag lunches. On top of a balanced meal these added sweets are always appreciated MLF and their recipients.