"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking." - Henry Ford
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…January 9, 2024
Happy New Year! Welcome 2024!
Tuesday, Week 1 in Ordinary Time
1 Samuel 1:9–20. My heart rejoices in the Lord, my Savior – 1 Samuel 2:1, 4–8. Mark 1:21–28.
Our bold and brave Savior
‘He spoke as one having authority’. The lovely musical Godspell presented Jesus as a wise clown. Sometimes representations of him make him seem almost cuddly. These well-intentioned portraits do not resemble the Jesus of history, the Jesus encountered by the Galileans during the early days of his ministry as Mark records them. Jesus came across as a force to be reckoned with. His strength of character could partially be seen in the ferocious, impudent, demonic opposition he encountered: ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?’ But Jesus gave as good as he got: ‘The evil spirit made the man shake violently and, after giving a loud shriek, came out of him.’ Jesus was the toughest guy around. He was hounded, harassed, almost stoned, nearly thrown off a cliff, and finally brought to trial on a trumped-up charge. We pray to a bold and brave Savior – and mustn’t forget it.
The Virtue this month is Fortitude ~ Being brave and strong in the face of trials. Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens our resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in our moral life. The virtue of Fortudide enables us to conquer fears, even fear of death. And to face trials and persecution. In short, fortitude is the ability to choose what is right even when everything inside of us and outside of us is telling us to run away in fear. It is the ability to stand firm in pursuing good in the face of danger and potential suffering.
The Saints we are praying walking with this month in our classes are:
PK - 2: St. Bernadette
Gr. 3 - 5 : St. Joan of Arc
Gr. 6 - 8 : St. Paul Miki & Companions
Calendar Highlights
January 9th | APA Board Meeting 6pm |
January 10th | Art Trek Training 8:15-10:45 Mulcahy |
January 10th | Panda Express Fundraiser 10am-8pm |
January 11th | Spelling Bee 8:15am in Mulcahy |
January 15th | No School-Dr. Martin Luther King Day |
January 19th | Jeans for Jesus-Disney Theme |
January 26th | All School Mass-9:30 am Hosted by Grade 5 & K |
January 28th-February 2nd | Catholic Schools Week |
February 1st | Open House |
Extended Day Care registration packets are available in the school office.
Contents of Weekly Brown Envelope
Please remove contents, complete and return any forms in the signed Brown Envelope every Wednesday.
Jeans for Jesus Flyer
Panda Express Flyer
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
Panda Express Fundraiser-Wednesday January 10th is our Panda Express Fundraiser. Dine in or take out between 10:00 am and 8:00 pm at 3301 E. Main St. inside the Pacific View Mall Food Court-Ventura. Make sure to take the flyer provided in today's brown envelope or snap a photo and show it on your phone. 20% of sales will be donated back to OLA.
Jeans for Jesus-Friday January 19th-Disney Theme. Students may wear a Disney Theme shirt and blue jeans (or uniform bottoms). Don’t forget to bring $1.00. All funds raised will be donated to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to support their mission following Christ’s call to serve the poor and those in need. Thank you for your support!
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.
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 Basketball-Our girls team will start practice this week. There is still time for girls in grades 6-8 to join. Please contact the school office if your daughter is interested.
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
jenniferbamieh@yahoo.com
(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
January 26th - Sacred Heart Parish, Ventura
February 4th - St. Sebastian Parish, Santa Paula
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