Dear Parents, The 2nd Trimester concluded on Monday, March 7. It seems amazing that we are now entering the last trimester of school for the 2010 – 2011 school year. Spring Break begins this Friday with a 1:00 dismissal. Remember there is no After School Care available this Friday. We resume school on Monday, the 21st of March. I wanted to thank you all on behalf of the entire faculty and staff for being such an involved and supportive group of parents. This year has been a wonderful school year with great strides being made toward our original goal of being the year of “Math Attack.” Another goal was to update and improve technology at Mary Immaculate. The computer classes adopted and implemented a new program called “K to the Power of 8.” It has been very successful through the cooperative efforts between teachers and Computer teacher, Kim Gorton. Through the generous donation from a parish family, classrooms now have high definition flat screen televisions, new DVD players, Think Pads and ELMOS. Everyone is excited about these new learning tools! Tomorrow the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. The word Lent, from the Middle English word Lenten, meaning springtime. It is a very significant time for Christians and developed into its current length of forty days because this was the length of the fast and temptation of Jesus in the desert. It is a time of fasting, prayer, and penitence before Easter, a time of renewal. Catholics are taught as children to “give up something” for Lent. Many Christians now add something during Lent rather than giving up something. It might be a time to address personal habits that need work or reach out to others in need. Our 1st graders under the direction of teacher, Monica Allen, are reaching out to the new residents of the nursing home. They made welcome cards that were there when the new patients arrived last week. They will continue to do something special for the 13 residents during the period of Lent. Talk with your children about a family project that you could all work on together. It is not necessary to give something up but it would be a tragedy to do nothing. Ashes will be distributed tomorrow following the 9:00 a.m. mass. This tradition of distribution of ashes in mentioned in official documents that go back as far as 1091. Catholics 14 years of age or older are asked to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent. In closing, may this special season be just that “special” for your family. I hope your holiday week be filled with rest and peace. Please keep safe and know that all your do to help at Mary Immaculate does make a difference. Beth Harris – Principal