Parent Weekly Update 12/08/25
Parent Weekly Update 12/08/25
St. Rose of Lima Elementary School, rooted in Catholic values, strives to achieve educational excellence by facilitating the intellectual, spiritual, and physical growth of each child and promoting a community of faith, hope, love and service.
Parent Weekly Update
December 8, 2025 through December 12, 2025
Important Dates at a Glance
Monday, December 8, 2025 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception - mass at 8:30 AM
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - Band Practice and Lessons
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - Ice Cream sold at both lunches
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - Picture Retake Day
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - Reconciliation at 1:15 PM for students in grades 3-6
Friday, December 12, 2025 - PreK 3-4 Christmas Show and Gingerbread House Day 9:15 AM
PreK 3-4 Christmas Concert and Gingerbread House
On Friday, December 12, 2025, our PreK 3 and 4 classes will have their Christmas Concert in the auditorium at 9:15 AM followed by making Gingerbread Houses in the classroom. We ask all families to RSVP to the school office by calling 717-792-0889. We can’t wait to see you there!
Christmas Concert and Art Show
We hope families will join us on Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM. Students in grades K-3, band, and dance club will participate in this concert, with art displayed from all grade levels. There will also be a dress rehearsal at 1:15 PM, where grandparents and other guests may attend. If you have guests who will attend the 1:15 PM rehearsal, please call the school office at 717-792-0889 to RSVP.
Picture Retake Day
On Wednesday, December 10, LifeTouch will be back at St Rose of Lima for picture retake day. If your child was absent when we took pictures in October, or if you wish to have your child’s picture retaken, please send an email to Mrs Raetz to let her know that your child should be seen by LifeTouch that day.
Christmas Pageant and Children’s Mass
St Rose of Lima Church will hold a Christmas Pageant and Mass on December 24, 2025 at 4:00 PM. This pageant and mass will have parts for the Christmas Story, altar servers, choir members, gift bearers, and readers. There will be a mandatory practice on Saturday, December 20 at 10:00 AM at the church. If your child is interested in participating in this service, please call the office at 717-792-0889.
Dressing Warmly
As the weather begins to change, please make sure your child has the appropriate outerwear for recess. Students should bring jackets with them to school. Additionally, remember that sweatshirts may only be worn with the gym uniform. Students must wear the royal blue St. Rose sweater with their daily winter/spring school uniform.
The St Rose of Lima Gala Returns!
The 8th annual St Rose Gala will take place on Saturday February 7, 2026 at the Yorktowne Hotel. Additional volunteers and helpers are always needed. Anyone who would like to help out with the gala committee can contact Neal Liptak at 717-676-7853. Tickets will be available for purchase soon.
Weis 4 School
Do you shop at Weis Markets? If you do, you can help our school by linking your Weis card to our school. This is an easy way to help our school earn money that can be used for a variety of things here at St Rose of Lima. Just log onto www.Weis4School.com, link your Weis Rewards Card and then start shopping at Weis Markets! We thank you for your support!
Virtue of Generosity
During the month of December, our students will focus on the virtue of generosity. Generosity is giving of yourself without counting the cost. Children can demonstrate generosity through acts like sharing their belongings, helping with chores, offering kindness and compliments, volunteering their time, or donating items like old clothes and toys. Modeling generous behavior is a key way to teach them, as is discussing the importance of giving and involving them in charitable activities like donating to a food drive or supporting a local cause.
Counselor’s Corner
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. I’m not sure how we are already in December!! Now that we have had lessons in Kindergarten and First grade about feelings, the students are beginning to learn about the Zones of Regulation. This gives students another way to express how they are feeling, especially when they don’t have the full feelings vocabulary necessary to explain their feeling accurately. Our next class lesson will cover coping strategies they can practice using to help them get back to the “Green Zone” to feel calm, happy, and ready to learn. Second grade also reviewed the Zones of Regulation and did a Gratitude activity in preparation for Thanksgiving. Second grade will also be moving into a lesson about coping strategies for the different Zones before we leave for Christmas break. This can be especially helpful this time of year as children may also find it to be a time filled with a lot of big emotions.
Mrs. Smith’s students finished their two-part lesson about perspective, and why it’s important to our friendships and relationships to understand that everyone sees things from a different perspective or point of view.
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth graders all had lessons about gratitude. Mrs. Yinger’s students watched this
video about gratitude and wrote a thank you letter to the person of their choosing. Mr. Eyster’s class watched this
Gratitude video and completed an activity, and Mrs. Locke’s class read an article about the
Science of Gratitude and completed a gratitude activity.
This was a short week, but fourth and fifth grades had a Guidance lesson about Stress. The students learned what stress is and how it can affect the body. Mrs. Yinger’s class watched this video about
Understanding Stress and completed an activity to evaluate their own worries and stressors. Mrs Eyster’s students watched this video about
Stress and also completed a self-assessment to help them better understand how stress impacts them. Our next lesson before the break will focus on strategies to manage stress.
As always, if you have any questions, need additional resources, or would like to discuss any of our class lesson topics, please feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Mrs. Melissa Waltersdorff, M.S. (a.k.a. Mrs. W.)
School Counselor
