Mission Statement: Our Lady of the Assumption School Commits itself to provide an education based on catholic values and academic excellence in a caring and safe atmosphere in partnership with the family and parish community.
From the Desk of the Principal…February 6, 2024
Tuesday, Week 5 in Ordinary Time
Saint of the day: Ss Paul Miki and companions
1 Kings 8:22–23, 27–30. How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, mighty God – Psalm 83(84):3–5, 10–11. Mark 7:1–13.
May we avoid mistaking shadow for substance
When the Pharisees confront Jesus about the seemingly mundane matter of his disciples eating without first ritually washing their hands, their deeper intention is not to understand Jesus but to find fault with him. This seems to set Jesus off. Rather than directly defending his disciples, Jesus redirects the conversation with the precision and sharpness of a seasoned courtroom lawyer. He pointedly addresses the Pharisees’ own inconsistencies and hypocrisy in a fusillade that, all these years later, still seems quietly devastating. What begins as a nit-picky question about simple hand-washing evolves into a profound discourse on our tendency to mistakenly prioritize human traditions over a genuine, internal commitment to God’s truth. May we avoid mistaking shadow for substance and remember that it’s not the rituals that define our faith but our heart’s true intention and alignment with God’s purpose.
Virtue: Prudence
Prudence is the “charioteer of the virtues” since it helps control and moderate all of the other virtues we possess. Prudence helps us apply what we know to be right and true to situations in everyday life and make good choices as a result. Put another way, prudence helps us to be “doers of the word , and not hearers only,” as St James says. It guides the other virtues by setting rules and measures. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience, and it is prudence that requires us to consider where our action - including our thoughts and wishes - will lead.
Prudence is often represented holding a snake, which symbolizes wisdom.
“ Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) The mirror refers to Prudence’s gift of self-knowledge and is a symbol of truth. Presence is clear-sighted and the mirror reflects what is , as opposed to what we imagine might be.
The Saints we are walking with this month in our classes are:
PK - 2: St. Junipero Serra
Gr. 3 - 5 : St. John Neumann
Gr. 6 - 8 : St. John XXIII
Calendar Highlights
February 7th | Art Trek Training 8:15-10:45 |
February 7th | Habit Fundraiser 4pm-10pm |
February 9th | OLA Works of Mercy-Non Uniform Dress $1 |
February 9th | Burning of the Palms 9am |
February 13th | APA Board Meeting 6pm |
February 14th | All School Mass-9:30 am Hosted by 6th grade |
February 16th | No School-Religious Education Congress |
February 19th | No School-Presidents Day |
February 23rd | No School-Deanery Meeting for staff |
Extended Day Care registration packets are available in the school office.
Contents of Weekly Brown Envelope
OLA Works of Mercy-Non Uniform Dress Flyer
Please remove contents, complete and return any forms in the signed Brown Envelope every Wednesday.
Collecting the Palms-Father Leon and the parish will be collecting palms from last years’ Palm Sunday. Palms will be added to the burning of the palms on Friday February 9th. This is done to prepare for Ash Wednesday. Students are welcome to bring palms to school this week or there is a collection box in the church.
The Habit Fundraiser-Tomorrow Wednesday February 7th. Skip the cooking and enjoy The Habit. Show the printed flyer that went home last week or the image below between 4pm and 10pm at The Habit, 4732 Telephone Rd and OLA will receive 20% of sales back to our school. Thank you for supporting OLA!
OLA Spring Dinner Auction
Fundraiser-Our APA Board has begun planning the annual OLA Spring Dinner Auction Fundraiser. The event will take place here at OLA on Friday April 19th. We will have a noon dismissal on 4/19 so our campus can be prepared for the evening event. We look forward to seeing all our school families at the event. If you have any questions or would like to be involved please contact Jennifer Bamieh, jenniferbamieh@yahoo.com
TK & Kindergarten Applications are now being accepted for the 2024-2025 school year. If you or someone you know is interested in our TK or Kindergarten program please have them complete an application on our website olaventura.org. Assessment will take place in March. Any questions please contact the school office 805-642-7198.
Amazon Wish Lists
“Fund the Classroom” Amazon Wish Lists-Thank you for all the wonderful items parents have been donating through the Amazon Wish Lists! The lists will remain active until the end of the school year. Share with out of town family and friends and check back often as new items will be added.
Each class has created a list of items that would be helpful in their classrooms. Please click on the class below if you would like to donate an item. Remember every $15 spent earns 1 parent hour. If you choose to have the item shipped directly to the school,Please complete the gift receipt when completing your purchase so we can get the item to the correct classroom and give you a little shout out.
Hot Lunch Helpers-Looking for a way to earn parent hours?
We are always in need of parents to help sort and deliver hot lunches on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Please arrive between 11:30 and 11:40. Lunch sorting is done by 12:10. Helpers will receive 1 parent hour for helping. Remember if you stay for lunch duty until 12:40 you receive 2 parent hours. That sounds like a win-win!! Lunch volunteers must be Virtus certified and fingerprinted through the Archdiocese.
Lunch cancellation due to absence-Reminder-If you placed an order for hot lunch and your child will be absent please notify the caterer at 805-754-6220 before 9:00 am to cancel and receive a refund. Thank you!
Lost and Found
Please check the lost and found located outside the school office. With the weather changing students are going to need their sweatshirts and jackets. The basket is very full and growing daily! We also have a jar of small items found in the parking lot and around the school. If you are missing an earring, necklace, etc. please stop in and take a look.
New OLA Long Sleeve PE Shirts-
We have added a long sleeve dri-fit PE shirt to our uniform options for PE days. Shirts are available in the school office all year long along with our standard PE t shirt, shorts and crew neck sweatshirts. The new long sleeve shirts are $16.00. Contact the school office to purchase or with questions.
Dolphin Nation
Girls-1/30 OLA 3 Santa Clara 20
2/6 vs St. Augustine-Rescheduled for Thursday Feb. 8-3:30pm at OLA
Boys-1/31 OLA 44 vs Santa Clara-2 21
OLA played their first game Wednesday against Santa Clara Elementary 2. The Dolphins started the game strong, scoring off the tip- off with a fast break.
The boys had many steals which led to many fast break lay-up opportunities. Good game Dolphins!
2/ 5. Vs OLG-Will be rescheduled due to rain.
Girls and Boys Basketball has started. Watch our app for games schedules and scores.
Goooo Dolphins!!
APA BOARD CORNER
Our annual spring auction and raffle is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We raise much needed funds for school improvements that benefit all families and children at OLA. This year, some of the improvements that Ms. Fussell plans include building a restroom for the TK classroom, upgrading the existing Boys' and Girls' Restrooms, installing light fixtures in the hallway of the main school building, and installing solar panels so that the school can eventually add air conditioning and not overwork our dated electrical infrastructure.
The APA Board has planned the auction this year on April 19, 2024.
There are many aspects to making sure this event is successful and goes off smoothly. The APA Board members are a small and mighty group, but we would love to have as many school families as possible join us in making it an even more successful event. To this end, we have formed committees to spread the work among all Board members. Event Committees include: Promotion and Marketing, Raffle, Food and Drink, Procurement and Auction, Decoration, Sponsorship, Entertainment, Venue Planning, etc), If you are interested in helping out, you can contact me and I can put you in touch with the appropriate Board Committee chairs.
As always, you will earn parent hours for all hours you volunteer helping out with the Auction and Raffle.
If you are unable to volunteer to help but have a connection for any potential auction donors please reach out to me. We are looking for time at vacation homes, local experiences, gift cards to local businesses, tickets to sporting events.....If you have a connection, please reach out and let us know!
Thank you for taking your time to help make our school the best learning environment for our children!
Jennifer Bamieh
(805) 340-9168
The digital marquee birthday flier is available in the office. Enjoy announcing your child's next birthday on the OLA marquee! Announcement cost is $15
The APA Board would like to thank all the wonderful families of OLA for volunteering and participating in the many fundraising efforts this year. If you are interested in joining for the 2023-2024 school year please contact Jennifer Bamieh jenniferbamieh@yahoo.com
Reporting an absence:
If your child will be absent from school, please complete the Absent Reporting form. This form can be found on our app, tap the menu button or on our website under quick links. This will generate a report that is given to teachers daily. Thank you!
Stay up-to-date with access to events, documents, news from administrators, student stories, and even emergency notifications.
You can download the app for free on Google Play or Apple App Store.
Download for Android https://bit.ly/3HRxTwQ
Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3JwStCO
School Office Hours
The best times to conduct school business in the office are:
Mornings
8:30 am - 12:00 pm
Afternoon
12:50 pm - 2:30 pm
Closed for Lunch(12:00-12:50)
After Dismissal hours:
3:00pm-3:30pm
Please do not come in during dismissal. On regular dismissal days the time is from 2:35-3:05 and noon dismissal days the time is from 11:50-12:15. We are calling students for pick-up and are unable to give you uninterrupted attention.
The office is closed for lunch from 12:00pm-12:50pm, if your child needs to leave early from school Please pick them up before 12:00 pm or after 12:50pm.
At Home Rapid Covid Test kits:
Test kits are available in the office. Please contact Jennifer Colitti at jennifer@olaventura.org. You are also welcome to come into the office and pick up tests for your family.
Office of Safeguard the Children
Zoom Protecting God’s Children and
Keeping the Promise Alive
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles mandates all clergy, staff, whether paid or volunteer, and all volunteers who work in any capacity with or around children, the elderly, or people with special needs to complete the initial three-hour VIRTUS® Protecting God’s Children for Adults™ program. The program helps clergy, staff, volunteers, and parents to understand the facts and myths about child sexual abuse, how perpetrators groom children and young people, and how they, as caring adults, can learn and implement the important “Five Step Plan” to Protect God’s Children in helping to prevent child sexual abuse.
More than 150,000 clergy, staff and volunteers have participated in these training sessions throughout the five Pastoral Regions of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Please know you are welcome to attend a training at any parish in our diocese. To learn where the training is taking place visit lacatholics.org and under the pull down menu titled PROTECT/REPORT move your cursor to Safe SafeGuard the Children then to Education and Training. In that section you will be able to navigate to all the training sessions. Our region is the Santa Barbara Region.
Training at OLA:
Protecting God’s Children (Initial Course). To register please call Dea Boheme for more information at 805- 390-1260.
Location: Santa Cruz Room
Keeping the Promise Alive (Re-Certification Course): To register please call Dea Boheme for more information at 805- 390-1260.
Location: Santa Cruz Room
Upcoming Santa Barbara Region Fingerprinting Sessions
February 16th - Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, Ventura
February 24th - Padre Serra Parish, Camarillo
Student Learning Expectations (SLE’S)
OLA Students aim for the S.T.A.R.S when they:
SHOW AND LIVE THEIR FAITH
THINK CRITICALLY AND WORK COOPERATIVELY
ACTIVELY MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
RESPECT OURSELVES AND OTHERS
STUDY AND LEARN