Grade 4

March 17, 2010

Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, March 17, 461. As a boy of fourteen or so, he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him.
During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. He wrote: "The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith. “

Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britain, where he reunited with his family.
He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."

Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop, and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many. He and his disciples preached and converted thousands and began building churches all over the country.

Why a shamrock?
Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and has been associated with him and the Irish since that time.

In St. Patrick’s Footsteps:
Patrick was a humble, moral, gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us. He feared nothing, not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission.

March 19, 2010

St. Joseph's Day is a Roman Catholic feast day commemorating the life of St. Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. March 19 is said to be St. Joseph's birthday.
During a famine in Sicily, when food was scarce and many people were starving, the poor people had only their faith to rely on. St. Joseph was known as the protector of the Holy Family and Italians had strong family relationships, so they prayed for St. Joseph to intercede for them so they could have successful crops. Their prayers were answered, and the famine came to an end. In gratitude, people promised to make annual offerings of their most precious possession – food – in St. Joseph's honor.

St. Joseph reveals to us the perfect model of Christianity through his purity of heart, patience, and fortitude. St. Joseph is the Patron of the Universal Church. He is also the patron of workers, carpenters, unborn children, happy deaths, fathers and families.

The purpose of Women's History Month is to increase consciousness and knowledge of women's history: to take one month of the year to remember the contributions of notable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day will soon come when it's impossible to teach or learn history without remembering these contributions.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.”
-Elizabeth Cady Stanton

March Book Reports

1. Genre:BOOK OF CHOICE

Approval Due Date: Monday, March 8, 2010

Report: Completed at Home: In honor of the academy awards, create an award for a character in the story. Be creative and make an award to represent your character. You can create the award or use a ready made object.
For example:

“Biggest Liar”- An award you might make for Pinocchio is a nose. The award would be a representation of what happened to him every time he told a lie.
“Animal Savior”- An award you might design for Nicky from The Raft might be a mini raft with a model of a deer on top. This would be given as a representation of his courageous acts and ability to calm and save the deer stuck in the mud.

On an index card, describe the award the made for your character. Tell why you chose the character and why you chose to create this award. Be descriptive; use evidence from the story to support your award. (7-10 sentences)

Award Due Date: Friday, March 26, 2010

2. Genre and Report: Completed IN SCHOOL: Poetry

April is Poetry Month. Students will be creating poems during class time.

3.Genre: Woman’s History Month: Biography

Approval Due Date: Monday, March 8, 2010

Report Completed in School:
Students will be given a Biography diagram to complete as a guide for this project.
Students will then create a “statistic” card for their Woman in History (this description will be given out on Monday, March 8, 2010)

Completed in School: Monday, March 29, 2010

REMINDERS:

Students should have a chapter book in school at ALL times. This can be the book report book or a book of choice.
Students should be completing their reading log daily. This is a homework grade.

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March 16, 2010	Report Card Day: 3:15-5pm and 6-7:30pm
March 17, 2009	St. Patrick’s Day
March 19, 2009	St. Joseph’s Day
March 28, 2010	Palm Sunday
March 31, 2009	NO SCHOOL Easter Vacation: March 31st-April 11th

PLEASE KEEP YOUR SCHOOL CALENDAR HANDY. THIS WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON SCHOOL ACTIVITIES!!!!
The Easter Triduum

The Easter Triduum is the three parts of the paschal mystery: the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Lent ends on the morning of Holy Thursday. Lent culminates in the Easter Triduum and Easter, which is celebrated for 50 days until Pentecost.

Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) April 1, 2010:

Jesus institutes the Eucharist, giving his body and blood to his disciples. As we share the
consecrated bread and wine, we experience the fullness of Jesus' gift to us of himself. It is
important, especially on this night, to receive the host and the cup, in memory of Jesus.

Good Friday- April 2, 2010

Recalls the death of Jesus on the cross. It is Good Friday because of the good that Jesus did by purchasing redemption for us by his blood.

Holy Saturday- April 3, 2010-

The Liturgy of Holy Saturday is divided into four parts:

New Fire and Light of Christ: Jesus is our light in the darkness and the new Paschal Candle is blessed and lit. All present, lights a candle from the Paschal Candle and processes into the darkened church. The Easter Proclamation is proclaimed.

Vigil reading of the Old Testament and New Testament

Sacraments of Initiation
Catechumens (those to be baptized) are initiated into the church with baptism and confirmation. We welcome our new members into the church and parish community.

The Mass continues as usual with the Eucharist.