SJDL Newsletter - Week of March 10

Heavenly Father,

With hearts full of gratitude, we come before You in this sacred season of Lent. Thank You for the gift of this time— a time to reflect, repent, and draw closer to You. Thank You for the grace that sustains us, the mercy that forgives us, and the love that never fails. Lord, we praise You for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who, through His suffering, death, and resurrection, opened the way to eternal life. May this Lenten journey deepen our faith, strengthen our hearts, and renew our spirits. We are grateful for the opportunities to fast, to pray, and to give—knowing that each sacrifice unites us more closely to You. Help us to carry the lessons of Lent beyond this season, living in the light of Your love every day.

Bless us, O Lord, and guide us to become more like Christ in all that we do. We offer this prayer in His holy name. Amen.

Find Peace and Purpose This Lent – Pray the Rosary in a Year with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames

Looking for a daily devotional that can provide time for prayer, meditation and peace during the Lenten Season and beyond. "The Rosary in a Year (with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR)" is the #1 podcast in All Categories on Apple, ahead of "Joe Rogan," "The Daily," and "Dateline." "The success of our podcasts reflects a growing desire in our culture to seek spiritual connection and purpose," notes Ascension President and CEO, Jonathan Strate. "Being at the top of the charts once again is a testament to the hard work of our team in leveraging digital media to reshape how people engage with Catholic content."

Guiding Our Children to Navigate Social Media with Integrity and Awareness

Memetic psychology is a field that draws on the concept of memes (a term coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene) to understand how ideas, behaviors, and cultural phenomena spread and evolve in societies. A meme, in this context, is a unit of cultural information—such as an idea, belief, behavior, or style—that spreads from person to person through imitation. In memetic psychology, the focus is on how memes influence individual behavior, cognition, and social interaction. It looks at how ideas or behaviors "replicate" through meme transmissions from one person to another, and how these ideas evolve over time based on social, cultural, and psychological factors. Meme transmissions are passed down through social interaction (in person or online), often through imitation, communication, and shared experiences, just as genetic traits are passed down through biology.

That being said, parents play a crucial role in first recognizing and understanding how meme transmissions are strongly influenced by social media and then eliminating access to behaviors and ideas that are strongly promoted, such as racist rehtoric. However, since restricting children from social media platforms seems to be of diminishing concern given the growing number of children accessing the various platforms, parents at least need to take the role of guiding their child(ren) to think critically about the content they encounter.

Parents MUST be aware of their child's online activity. They must recognize that if their child has access to a phone or a computer, they WILL click on content, even if they are a "good child." According to the Pew Research Center (2021), about 95% of teens (ages 13-17) report using a smartphone, and around 85% of them access and/or use social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. Common Sense Media (2021) reports that 53% of children aged 11 and younger use social media, with this number increasing significantly in older age groups. Given these statistics and the fact that this has only increased since 2021, the probability that a child, no matter how "good" or inocent they may be, regularly accesses social media at extremely high rates, especially for those aged 11 and older.

Open and honest conversations are key. Creating a space where children feel comfortable discussing what they see on Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube helps them process and evaluate information. Encouraging them to reflect on Biblical ideals, question sources, recognize bias, and understand the impact of algorithms empowers them to make informed choices rather than passively accepting harmful narratives. Social media algorithms prey on the vulnerability of children, with "content creators" normalizing meme transmissions that are not aligned with the values and character development we are attempting to instill in our students.

The example we set matters, too. The content we engage with and the values we uphold shape how our children interact with the world. Social media spreads fear, hate, and negativity at far greater rates than humorous or informative "after-school" style content. With our guidance, young people can learn to navigate "worldly messaging" with strong Gospel values and a desire to humbly serve and help, without the need to "post" and seek "likes." This is the mission of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic School, and we will continue to do all we can to inform and engage parents regarding influences of social media.

Wait Until 8th

The Bark Phone for Kids

PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE PURCHASING TICKETS

Tickets will be sold online starting Monday, March 24, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. and ending at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of each performance.

The face value of each ticket is $13.00 and a donation to our school. The online ticketing agency will charge a service fee of $2.00 per ticket purchased online. Parents, family members, and guests may purchase up to 10 tickets per transaction.

Before purchasing your tickets online, please read the following information as THERE ARE NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES OF TICKETS: When choosing your seats online, select carefully. Any unsold tickets will be available for sale one hour before each performance in front of the theater without a service fee.

If you need an ADA seat and a companion ADA seat, please contact directly Mrs. Z. at school. However, you may want to purchase other tickets right away for best seating.
***Note that the first two rows are not sold as they are reserved for some members of the cast performing during the show.

PLEASE DO NOT SIT IN THE FRONT TWO ROWS DURING THE PERFORMANCE.

Print tickets at home as each reserved seat is assigned a letter and a number corresponding to a specific row. You will need to present your tickets at the door. Once you are in the theater, please verify that you are seating in your ASSIGNED SEAT per your ticket and on the CORRECT DAY of the performance.

THE FIRST ROW OF THE BALCONY IS RESERVED FOR ADULTS ONLY. NO CHILDREN MAY SIT IN THE FRONT ROW, EVEN IF ACCOMPANIED BY ADULTS

Any questions, contact me by email at [email protected]. You may include your cell in your email if you would like to call you.

CHOOSE THE CORRECT DAY BEFORE BUYING! NO REFUNDS