Welcome to St. Helena

We are children of the light not of the darkness! We live by the light of our faith and hope in Jesus. We are waiting for Him to come again in glory. When He comes, he will judge us according to how we used His gifts.

Our Gospel today reminds us we have all received our talents or gifts. Are we good stewards of God’s gifts??

In our first reading from the Old Testament, Book of Proverbs, we hear the praises of a good woman—a good wife and mother. Nothing in the praise is extra ordinary. It is in the ordinary lives of ordinary people that the Kingdom of God is built!

This week our parish paid 27 bills totaling $8,531.24. Included was our Delmarva bill of $897.92 and $606.25—the second of 4 payments on the new missalettes/hymn books we will use in the coming year, and $771.58 for the cleaning of our church.

Pope John Paul II School paid 13 bills with a total of $7,958.13. Included was $659.04 to Delmarva, $1,707.28 for athletic expenses and $2,411.61 for food service.

The Offertory collection for the weekend of November 1/2 was $9,030.00, and for the weekend of November 8/9 was $9,449.00. Thank you so much!

HOSPITAL VISITATION: If a member of the family is in the hospital and would like to be visited, please call the rectory: 764-0325.

Just 1 week to go until the Holiday Festival! We hope you are making plans to attend on Saturday, November 22^nd and then again on Sunday, November 23^rd for the pancake breakfast. Come hear our new youth choir sing on Saturday evening, after the 5:00 pm Mass and then join us for a great meal in Masci Hall! If you’d like to help out during the Festival, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Sandy Salvatore at 762-6078 or email her at sands219@comcast.net. If you have questions concerning the Festival you may contact either of the co-chairs: Trish Horne, 764-3905 or Julie Easter, 1-610-361-1878. Get into the Holiday mood and sample some of the goodies at the Bake Table, find a “must have” item in our Attic Treasures section, or try your luck on some of our popular raffle items. Be sure and take the kids to Dougherty Hall where they’ll have all sorts of fun! There’s something for everyone at the Holiday Festival-hope to see you all there!

BAKE TABLE-Our Festival is fast approaching. While our dedicated ladies make every effort to contact parishioners to request a donation for the Bake Table, it is impossible to reach everyone. If you are not contacted, please feel free to bring your donation to Masci Hall on Friday, November 21 after 3:00 pm or any time Saturday, November 22^nd after 9:00 am. Any donation is greatly appreciated and helps to make our Festival successful!

The following household items are needed for a family of three people: dishes, pots and pans, glasses, tables and chairs, living room furniture, three single beds and mattresses, blankets, sheets towels, eating utensils, cooking utensils and comforters. Please call Parish Social Ministry at 765-0325x104. Thank you for your generosity!!

23 families received food from St. Helena’s food closet in October, 2008. The number includes 35 adults and 35 children.

Thirty-five families will receive food for Thanksgiving. Blessings upon our parishioners and the school children for their donations of food for the baskets.

Please remember: your donations for the Thanksgiving Food Baskets are due this weekend.

Due to all the hustle, hustle, busy, busy time of the month, there will be NO meeting this month of November. We are having our parish Holiday Festival on Saturday and Sunday, November 22^nd and 23^rd. There will be plenty of great gifts, good food, etc. This will enable you to do your Christmas shopping early and chat with the parish friends and neighbors. WOW!! The tables will be so awesome!

As time becomes more precious and seasons come and go, why not plan to come and join us for our Christmas Luncheon? Remember how great it was last year? Well, we will be going back again. The full course menu is just great. The place is Holiday Inn Select at 630 Naamans Road in Claymont. Gathering time is 11:30 am. Lunch will be served promptly at 12 Noon. The date is Wednesday, December 10, 2008. This certainly will put you in a festive mood. So, for reservations please call Betty O’Connor, 764-2063 or Mary Friel, 764-7620 ASAP.

High School Youth Group meets tonight, Sunday, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the Religious Ed Office.

The Religious Education Family Prayer Service will be on the Monday BEFORE Thanksgiving, November 24. Please come directly to Church at 6:30 pm. Children will be donating food for the Outreach Pantry.

Pope John Paul II Football Program

Jr. Varsity Coach–Rocco Barbuto. Coach Barbuto has been coaching for 5 years with the last 3 for our football team. He has a long history of playing football for Ridley Elementary, Ridley Junior High and Ridley High School. He then attended Drexel University and Delaware Technical Institute. He is an electronic technician at Agilent Technology. He has been at St. Helena Parish for 6 years and has 2 sons who attend PJPII: Vincent, a 6^th grader on the JV football team and Dominic who is in 3^rd grade.

Jr. Varsity Coach-Don Harlam. Coach Harlam has been coaching for 10 years. He played football at Concord High School and attended West Virginia Tech where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He is an automation engineer at Siegfried, a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. Coach Harlam and his wife Sheila have been Holy Rosary parishioners for 17 years. They have 3 children: Tara is in 8^th grade and plays PJPII varsity volleyball, Tim is in 6^th grade and is a lineman on the PJPII Junior Varsity team and Victoria is in Kindergarten.

Jr. Varsity Coach-Robert Dion. Coach Dion has been coaching for 4 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University and recently completed his MBA from the University of Phoenix. He served 10 years in the US Navy as a Submarine Service Fire Control Technician Guns. He is a member of the Delaware Veterans and is currently a Manager of Process Control and Automation at Claymont Steele. Coach Dion will soon marry Ruth Ann Grace. Ruth Ann has 2 sons: Josh is a freshman at Drexel University and in the ROTC Program and Jeremy is in 4^th grade at Claymont and is a lineman for the PJPII JV team.

Football Manager-Jean Sowa. Coach Jean has been a parishioner at St. Helena’s for 15 years. She coached for 6 years on the volleyball and basketball teams. She graduated from College Misericordia with a nursing degree and obtained a Master’s in Nursing Administration from Villanova University. Coach Jean currently works at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals where she is running a Phase II Melanoma Research Study. She has 3 children: Amanda is a freshman at Padua, Luke and Isaac are in 8^th and 6^th grades at PJPII and play for the varsity and JV PJPII Cardinals football teams.

PJPII School Info

Notes from Mrs. Malseed…

Food Drive continues—Our 8^th grade is spearheading a good drive to fill both Holy Rosary and St. Helena’s Food Closets. Please be sure to send in canned meats and tuna, spaghetti and ravioli, beef stew, chili, soups, vegetables and fruits, macaroni and cheese, instant mashed potatoes, pancake mix and syrup.

Talk to me…

If you have a complaint, call me. Please don’t discuss your issues in the parking lot or on the sports field UNTIL I’ve had a chance to hear your issue. Often parents will say, “At the game, somebody said that…” and the story goes on to spin out in all different directions. And when you hear something that you know is not true, speak up, defend our school and our teachers. We are all called to speak truthfully. Gossip is a monster. If you feed it, it grows.

If you hear gossip, ask for the facts.

Say something positive.

Parent/Student Handbook

The Parent/Student Handbook is complete and will be available through our website very soon. In these notes each week, we will feature parts of our handbook to familiarize you with policies and procedures of PJPII.

It’s on the WEBSITE:

www.popejohnpaulschool.org

Everything sent home is available on the PJPII Website. Visit it often and click the refresh button to ensure that you get the regular updates.

Nominations, Please…

Step right up! You are just the person we need! You are willing to help where needed…

You are willing to share ideas…

Won’t you consider joining the

HAS Leadership Group?

Your involvement will make the difference.

Send in your nomination.

WE NEED YOU!

Student Council

2008-2009 Elections

President – Coby Owens

Vice-President – Hannah Jo Harmon

Secretary – Sarah Simpson

Treasurer – Kevin Creedon

Representatives at large-

Caitlin Tharp & Quinn McGee

8^th Grade Rep. – Jim Coates

7^th Grade Rep. – Michael Crowley

6^th Grade Rep. – Alexis Evans

5^th Grade Rep. – Sophie Elliott

4^th Grade Rep. – Peter Walsh

PJPII elected its first Student Council on November 4^th. Student candidates submitted letters of intent and addressed grades 4 through 8 about their qualifications for the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. PJPII Student Council’s goal is leadership and service. Outreach activities, collection for the needy, good works around the school are some types of things the Student Council will do this year. They will meet this week to plan activities.

Come and enjoy a night out and bring in the NEW YEAR at the Brandywine Hundred Volunteer Fire Company. December 31, 2008 from 7:00 pm ‘til 1:00 am. Live Band, open bar, food and a Champaign toast at midnight. $35.00 per person or $60.00 a couple. For further information call Sheila at 302-764-7964. Call ASAP to reserve your seat. Proceeds benefit Brandywine Hundred Volunteer Fire Company.