Mrs.+McLean

__A Call for Help__ Thank you for enquiring about the orphanages in Sri-Lanka that our family is committed to. My uncle, father Paul Satkunanayagam, is a Jesuit priest and the director of two children's homes (one for boys and one for girls) and of multiple programs established to provide counseling and re-habilitation for the children. Sri-Lanka (my mother country) has suffered 30 years of civil war and the disastrous tsunami of 2004, resulting in orphaned children, children displaced from their homes, child soldiers, and single mothers left unable to care for and educate their children. The psychological scars left by the civil war where public shootings and bombings were an everyday occurrence, was yet another difficult issue to deal with. Hence in an effort to reach out to these children, rehabilitate them and continue to provide education for them, (the latter my uncle recognized as vital), he started the homes in 1992. Until this year he received funding from Loyola University where he received his masters, and from other organizations in Netherlands and to a lesser degree from Canada. Unfortunately due to the the new Government's policies, the larger funding organizations have chosen to pull their support. My uncle has never asked us for anything but last Christmas he approached us for help and hence we have made this our mission. In fact on the 27th we are having a garage sale and bake sale at our house to collect money for this purpose and I have been trying to think of other means of raising the funds. Sanjee, our second son, as president of an organization at U. Penn dedicated to the medical and social issues of children also raised $1000 for this cause. Of course, we would be very grateful for any help we receive. Warm Regards and thank you again,Shashi

=**7th Grade Religion Girls class will be creating and selling unique stocking stuffers **= =**after our school's ****Christmas concert on December 16, 2014 **= =**7th Grade Religion Boys Class will offer an afternoon of babysitting for students in grades preK4 - 4th **= =on December 15th from 12:30 to 4:30PM so parents may Christmas shop.= =Details to follow.=

__A Principal's Wish:__ May this school always be the home of Truth and wisdom,faith and good will toward all others, helping to build up our community and our Father's Kingdom of justice, love and peace.

__A Principal's Wish List:__  Volunteers   More S.E.E.D sponsors   A laptop charging cart   30 Ipads   30 calculators   K'Nex construction toys

__// Defining Characteristics of Catholic Schools //__ Centered in the Person of Jesus   Contributing to the Evangelizing Mission of the Church   Distinguished by Excellence   Committed to Educate the Whole Child   Steeped in a Catholic Worldview   Sustained by Gospel Witness   Shaped by Communion and Community   Accessible to All Students   Established by the Expressed Authority of the Bishop