Newsletter & Blog

Every year Bishop Flores, though the Diocesan Catholic Schools Office, honors Cathlic School staff who have served in the diocese for 5 year increments. This school year we were blessed to have the following OLSS faculty & staff receive their service pins:

5 Years

• Ms. Yesenia Molina
• Ms. Diana Solis

10 Years

• Ms. Yari Gonzalez

15 Years

• Ms. Norma Garcia
• Ms. Yuri Guerra

25 Years

• Ms. Mary Ann Aguilar
• Ms. Luisa DeLeon

35 Years

• Ms. Oliva Garza

Our prayers and thanks go out to these OLS faculty & staff membes for their dedication, their service, their sacrifice and their fidelity to the vocation of Catholic education.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo De La Rosa III

“Sleep is the prayer of a creature secure in God’s love.” - Unknown
Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. - Exodus 20:8

After taking an informal poll of students on campus, it seems some of them are not sleeping as much as they should, either because of extracurricular activities, homework, digital time, or other activities.

However, children need sleep to help them develop appropriately. Studies show that children who don't get enough sleep find it easier to fall asleep or zone out during class, have a harder time concentrating, have lower overall grades than their peers, and have a harder time remembering schoolwork or retaining memories. Especially for children, lack of sleep may also lead to an improper diagnosis of ADHD. Many children who don't get enough sleep become hyperactive, making it hard to accurately diagnose ADD or ADHD instead of just lack of sleep.

Physically, sleep releases a growth hormone that helps tissues grow properly, forms new red blood cells, helps deliver oxygen to the brain, and helps in promoting bone growth. Sleep also rejuvenates the body after physical exertion, and it restores our mind after mental exertion (especially needed for children with demanding classwork and homework!).

Spiritually, sleep is part of living out the Third Commandment (quoted above). When God asks us to keep holy the Sabbath, he is not just talking about regular Mass attendance (as important as that is). We are called to give equal time to our God, our family, our responsibilities, and our full self: body, mind, soul & spirit.

When we follow through on the full implications of the Third Commandment, we come to realize that God calls us to take care of ourselves. And part of that care is sleep.

The deeper issue, however, comes to our priorities—where we put the emphasis of our lives.

Most Americans spend much of their waking lives working. In and of itself, that's good. We work to provide for our families, to ensure our survival, and to have the means to help others. However, according to the US Census Bureau, Americans work an average of twenty more days per year than we did 25 years ago. And according to numerous studies, almost half of all employed Americans don't take any vacation time each year. We've become a nation of workaholics.

In the midst of this, God calls us to peace and rest. God challenges us to let go of our fantasies: that we're in charge, that we're indispensable, that our work is more important that our families or our health, that rest equals laziness, and that money is more valuable than time.

Only in letting go of these power trips can we let the grace of the Spirit into our lives. And part of that letting go, as simple as it sounds, is in getting enough sleep.

When we sleep, we're no longer in control—we can't make decisions, send email, or give orders. The rest of the world goes on without us. We learn to let go. As the first quote states, we learn to trust in God, to have faith that the God who works behind the scenes during our waking life is also working behind the scenes as we sleep.

My prayer for our whole OLS community is that, contrary to our American mind-set, we sleep more, relax more, unwind, calm down and slow down, so that when we do, the freedom of Christ will rule our hearts, and we will no longer be held in bondage by our watches, cell phones, calendars, or planners.

How Much Sleep Should My Child Get?

The following are rough guidelines on the amount of sleep children need (the listed amounts can vary by up to an hour more or an hour less needed sleep for different children). The amount of sleep needed may also vary depending on physical or mental  activity, time of the year, emotional strain, and other factors.

Age Range / Sleep Needed
0-1 / 13-17 hours
1-3 / approx. 13 hours
3-8 / 10-12 hours (day-time naps "count")
8-12 / approx. 10 hours
12-15 / approx. 9 hours
15-19 / 8-9 hours
19+ / 6-8 hours

Help for Getting Kids (and Adults) to Sleep

The following tips may help children and adults who have trouble turning in for the night:

• Establish a bed-time ritual. Include time to wind down, and give your children “bedtime alerts” a 1/2 hour and 10 minutes before it is time to go to bed.
• Choose and stick to a bed time—it’s easier to fall asleep if there is consistency in the routine.
• Create a comfortable bedroom—dark, cool & quiet are three great keywords to help induce sleep.
• Engage in exercise or some form of physical activity in the late afternoon/early evening to help the body wind down by bed time. Don’t engage in physically strenuous activity right before bed time.
• Limit drinks before bedtime. Drinks with caffeine (and alcohol, for those over 21) should be limited (or not taken at all) after lunch.
• Avoid large meals close to bed time. However, try not to go to sleep without eating anything at all—some yogurt, fruit, or other nutritious snack before going to bed will help ward off the midnight munchies.
• Keep the whole house quiet at bedtime—it’s hard for kids to fall asleep with loud music playing or a loud TV blaring.
• Limit screen time (phone, tablet, laptop, computer, TV) before bed-time—bright lights signal the brain to wake up, not fall asleep.
• Limit napping during the day.
• Try and keep the same sleep and waking schedule during the weekend, especially for younger children—having to adjust and re-adjust sleep schedules is hard. If you must adjust, do not adjust by more than 1 or 2 hours.
• Set consistent homework/study time every evening, so that children (especially older ones) don’t have to stay up late and cram for tests the night before.
• Assess the amount of time spent on extracurricular activities—if it’s taking time away from study and sleep, consider cutting back, especially if children are involved in more than one after-school activity. Stress and over-stimulation are not conducive to restful sleep.

Keep in mind that bed time is the time that sleep actually occurs. If it takes your child 20 minutes to fall asleep, adjust his or her bed time routine so that it starts a little earlier and gives the proper amount of sleep.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo De La Rosa III

Principal’s Report

Every month Mrs. DeLeon will offer a brief glimpse into OLS life with highlights and upcoming events.

• Our water fountain for the playground has been installed! Thank you parents and PTO. 
• Students took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in Reading/Language Arts and all Math. These Fall tests serve as a baseline for teachers to assess skills and plan for reinforcement. They are used in the Spring to assess progress after the ITBS full battery tests are taken.
• OLS School and Incarnate Word Academy in Brownsville volunteered to serve as pilot test schools in administering the ITBS online. OLS 8^th graders took the online test over two days. The feedback from the students was positive.
• Teaching staff received training from Riverside Publishing Personnel at the Diocesan In-service on September 5^th. Riverside is the company that produces and manages the data and reports information for the ITBS for all schools. The training encompassed how to interpret the scores, how to print reports, and how to use the data in lesson planning.
• Other workshops attended by staff since summer include making math fun, cyberbullying, science, religion, interpreting testing scores, CPR, and Safe Environments, just to name a few.
• OLSS will be using the weather make-up day of January 26th in place of the instructional day lost due to Hurricane Harvey. It will be a ½ day with early dismissal.
• The National Junior Honor Society held their induction ceremony on September 8th for 7^th & 8^th grade students who qualified.
• Book Fair begins the week of September 25th.
• Grandparents Day is scheduled for Friday, September 29th at the school Mass with a light breakfast provided afterwards in the gym.
• SAVE THE DATE: The school play will be held over two weekends on February 16th / 17th & 24th / 25th.

Our Principal, Mrs. DeLeon, is usually at school before 7 am daily. She begins her day by making sure all is well within the school building and opens any classrooms where a substitute may be needed. Then she returns to her desk, reads a Bible passage, gets her coffee and answers emails while the building is still quiet. Sometimes she will meet with a parent.

By 7:30 am until assembly, she will walk to the arrival areas to make sure all is running smoothly or do a teacher’s duty who may be running late. Mrs. DeLeon makes any needed announcements at assembly but mostly lets the students run the assembly because they do a very good job of organizing it. She returns to her office after assembly to do any needed paperwork like order teaching supplies or books or return phone calls. This is the time, especially early in the week, when Mrs. DeLeon checks the lesson plans that all the teachers have to send to her every week through their computers. She wants to make sure the learning is happening.

Halfway through her morning, Mrs. DeLeon does a daily walkthrough of all the classrooms. She will walk into a classroom to see what the students are working on or to watch how the teacher presents the lessons or just to say "Hi." Students say that many times they don’t even realize she has been sitting there watching until she walks out! Mrs. DeLeon says sometimes she just peeks in because she doesn't want to interrupt.

Students and teachers often see Mrs. DeLeon in the cafeteria at lunchtime helping serve food, clean tables, and sweep the floors. Sometimes the students will see her eat a quick lunch in the courtyard but most of the time she forgets to eat.

The afternoons are spent in her office doing paperwork, back in the halls checking on students and teachers, and visiting the church office. And almost every day, she has meetings with parents, with students, with Monsignor, with the Superintendent, and many other things that concern the school. You also might see her with a plumber telling him to fix a leaking toilet, or with the air conditioning man telling him it’s too cold in the classrooms, or you might see her after school at a volleyball game jumping up and down and yelling at the referees.

Mrs. DeLeon is usually the last person to leave the school after all students have been picked up. She is a busy Principal! But the most important thing is that no matter how busy she is, her door is always open to students! She keeps a jar of jelly beans on her desk just for them!

Greetings OLS Community!

Our 8th grade class is working on a year-long student run newspaper called the Cougar Chronicle under the direction of Ms. Nevanen. Their inagural September issue came out last week, and it's full of school news from a students' perspective. Please take a moment to download it off of our school website (it's on the right hand side of this post once you're on our site). Be on the lookout for more editions to come!

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo De La Rosa III

Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary

On September 15th we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of our school. Devotion to her sorrows has traditionally been promoted during this month.

The practice of meditating on the Seven Sorrows of Mary began in the 13th century by the Order of the Friar Servants of Mary (Servites). There are almost 5,000 members in the order today, and they still promote devotion to the Seven Sorrows.

In this devotion, reflection is given on seven moments in the life of Mary. There is a chaplet (a mini-rosary) that is prayed in conjunction with the meditations on the seven sorrows. This month, spend some time remembering how much Mary gave of herself. In doing so, we will take up the Servite mandate of prayer, unity, service and devotion to Our Lady. Praying the Chaplet will give you a path of meditation that will draw us closer to Jesus by being drawn closer to Mary.

Praying the Chaplet

1. Begin the Chaplet with the Sign of the Cross.
2. State your intentions for the chaplet.
3. Pray an Act of Contrition.
4. Announce one Sorrow (list is below).
5. Pray one Our Father & seven Hail Mary’s.
6. Repeat steps 4 - 5 for all seven Sorrows.
7. Pray 3 Hail Mary’s (in honor of her tears).
8. Pray one Our Father.
9. Finish with the closing prayer (see below).

The Seven Sorrows

• 1st Sorrow: The Presentation / The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:22-35)
• 2nd Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-21)
• 3rd Sorrow: The Child Jesus Lost in the Temple (Luke 2:41-50)
• 4th Sorrow: Mary Meets Jesus Carrying His Cross (Luke 23:26-32)
• 5th Sorrow: The Crucifixion / Mary at the Foot of the Cross (John 19:18, 25-30)
• 6th Sorrow: Mary Receives the Body of Jesus Taken Down from the Cross (Psalm 130; John 19:31-34, 38)
• 7th Sorrow: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb (Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42)

Closing Prayer
Leader: Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin
Response: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray:

Lord Jesus, we now implore, both for the present and for the hour of our death, the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Your Mother, whose Holy Soul was pierced during Your Passion by a sword of grief. Grant us this favor, O Savior of the world, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo De La Rosa III