A letter from Valley Catholic Early Learning School Principal Amber Ploussard
Dear VCELS Families,
September has been a wonderful month at Valley Catholic Early Learning School as we welcomed a new academic year and settled into our classroom routines. It has been a month filled with faith, learning, friendship, and lots of fun. We were especially blessed to welcome Archbishop Sample to Valley Catholic. He visited our Early Learning School, met our students and staff, and celebrated Mass with us. Our preschool classes also enjoyed a special visit to Maryville, where they spent time with their “Grand Friends.” These visits are such a beautiful way for our students to practice kindness, compassion, and service. Throughout the month, we have also been gathering together for all-school prayer and starting our Beginner’s Bible lessons as we continue growing in our faith.
Our students are also getting into the heart of their curriculum. Our preschoolers have been working hard on phonics through Heggerty, which aligns with the phonics instruction they will experience in our VC Elementary School. We are also learning important social-emotional skills through Second Step. Outside the classroom, our students have been enjoying the changing season, exploring outdoors, learning about fall, and creating fun projects using leaves and other natural materials.
We celebrated the Feast Day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, on Oct. 1. Since our school is under the patronage of St. Thérèse, this was a very special celebration. We gathered in the lobby, sang special songs, and each student placed a flower at our altar to honor the Little Flower. This month we also celebrated a Blue Mass with the entire Valley Catholic School community to honor the service members in our community.
We are excited for even more October fun! We will continue learning about community helpers, welcome a pumpkin patch to our school, and have our students decorate pumpkins with their high school friends. And, of course, our Halloween Costume Parade on Oct. 29 is sure to be a highlight! Our students will parade through all of the buildings on campus, sharing their costumes and smiles with our SSMO Campus community. We are looking forward to another wonderful month of learning, faith, and fun together.
In honor of the Feast of St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, I would like to share a special prayer that we have been using with our students and staff. May we all remember St. Thérèse’s “Little Way” and find simple ways each day to show God’s love to others:
St. Thérèse, help me to always believe, as you did, in God’s great love for me, so that I might imitate your “Little Way” each day. Amen.
Blessings,
Amber Ploussard
