PARENT BULLETIN
September 8, 2016
DAN'S BLOG  
If you have children in the 5th grade or older, do we have the perfect parent-education class for you?! It's called "Engaged Parenting: Raising Morally Strong Kids in a Technologically Toxic Culture," and this free course is right here in our parish hall this Wednesday the 14th at 6:00PM.  Parents of children in St. Louise School are encouraged to attend, and please invite as your guests neighbors and co-workers who also have upper elementary or middle school aged children. (Note this evening is for adults only.)
 
Even if your 5th-8th grader doesn't own his/her own smartphone, I-pad, or laptop, his/her friends do. And when kids get together with no parents around, you never know what could happen, as social media hijinks or danger could occur with today's kids and today's technology.  We live in a technical world, and our phones and devices generally make our lives easier, more efficient, and more productive. But what are they doing to our kids' lives? What happens to our pre-teens, teens, and young adults when their forming minds are exposed to pornographic images, group chat rooms with explicit topics, and cyber bullying?   Maybe you believe that your child is not exposed to these things, doesn't hang out with those kids, or knows how to turn away from temptations. Many parents assume this, but are surprised to find out just how much their child has been exposed to when they choose to "get engaged."
  
The presenters of "Engaged Parenting: Raising Morally Strong Kids in a Technologically Toxic Culture" are Tom and Kari Curran. The Currans direct My Catholic Faith Ministries, a non-profit ministry dedicated to helping Catholics understand, explore, and live out their faith more deeply. In their presentation on Wednesday, Tom and Kari Curran will lift the curtain and expose the reality of what is happening in the world of our youth on a daily basis. Armed with statistics, church teaching, and personal experience, the Currans not only open your eyes to the dangers, but give wise, practical guidelines and tools to help parents make decisions about the use of technology that will protect their children.
  
Here is more on the class's presenters, Tom and Kari Curran, who live in Federal Way with their nine children.
  • Tom is the host of the local radio program Sound Insight, Tom can be heard at 8 am every Mon - Fri, on Sacred Heart Radio, 1050 AM. Dr. Curran is the author of The Mass: Four Encounters with Jesus That Will Change Your Life, Confession: Five Sentences That Will Heal Your Life and Shepherd Me Lord: Daily Reflections for Your Lenten Journey. He is a popular speaker at Catholic events around the Archdiocese and the country, speaking to more than 300,000 Catholics in 30 states and 6 countries in the past decade. In addition, has spoken extensively on the Catholic Church's teaching on human sexuality as the lead trainer for the Formation for Love and Chastity project of the Archdiocese of Seattle. Tom holds a Ph.D. in Theology from Catholic University in Washington DC.
  • Kari is a wife and homeschooling-parent who passionately promotes the glorious vocation of being a mother with honesty, humility and hilarity. Kari completed her B.S. in Education at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, spent a year teaching as a missionary in Nicaragua, completed her M.A. in Educational Leadership along with a Certificate in Special Education. She taught for nine years at the grade school and high school levels in both public and Catholic schools before God blessed her with children. Since then, Kari has used her educational gifts in her home to raise her kids while also homeschooling some of them. Kari is a weekly co-host with Tom on his radio program, Sound Insight, and also speaks with Tom at conferences and retreats on themes of marriage and family life.
  
 
I hope to see you Wednesday night in the parish hall!
  
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Fitz
  
p.s.
The Adopt-a-Garden program and our occasional Fall Fix-Up Saturdays are two ways parents can earn volunteer hours at more convenient times for working parents. To join the Adopt-a-Garden program, where you 100% control what day and time you come to campus to volunteer, please contact coordinator Megan Kirk. To help on a Fall Fix-Up, where you will work in small groups doing yardwork under the direction of head landscaper, Jeffrey Hummer, for a 4-hour time block on a Saturday morning or two (September 10 and/or October 1), please email Jeffrey. For our first Fall Fix-Up THIS SATURDAY, please gather at 8AM outside the north wing - with yard gloves, yard tools (weed-digger, rake, and shovel), and a wheelbarrow if you have one.
School Calendar
        Please subscribe to the school calendar. You may also subscribe to receiving updates from a teacher's individual webpage by choosing your teacher here, and then clicking on the +Subscribe link.
    
COMING UP...
  
Tonight - Thursday
  • Grade 1-6 Parents' Curriculum Night at 6:30PM in the Parish Hall. Each family should have at least one parent attend. (adults only)
  
Saturday, September 10
  • Fall Fix-Up - gather outside the north wing at 8AM with your yard tools
  
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK...
  
Monday, September 12
  • Tech Committee Dinner Meeting in faculty room at 6PM; RSVP to Dan Kirby
Wednesday, September 14
  • "Parenting in Digital Age" free class - 6:00PM in Parish Hall (adults only)
Thursday, September 15
  • Bake Sale - held monthly for all K-8 students at lunch time; baked goods and treats on sale for 25 cents to $1; proceeds benefit the 8th graders' graduation events
  • School Commission and Parents' Club hold executive meeting, 6:30PM
Sunday, September 18
  • Catechetical Sunday - school faculty and staff recognized and blessed at the 9AM & 6PM Masses
Have You Completed this Required Process?
A required task to be completed by each St. Louise Parish School parent (and any volunteers who are not school parents) is the Volunteer Background Check process. This process - overseen by the Seattle Archdiocese and run by the company, VIRTUS - helps confirm the safety of our students when parents are helping at school, coaching a team, supervising an after-school program, or even driving on a fieldtrip. (All of our employees undergo this same background check process.)
 
To begin this required process, please either read the steps on the back page or go to http://web2.stlouiseschool.org/volunteer  and click on the "Required Background Check" link on the right-hand side of the page.

Each parent in the family must complete this process separately. Besides answering questions, both you and your spouse (if applicable) will also be asked to read Archdiocesan policies on safety, and then to each register for an initial training session of "Protecting God's Children - for Adults." You may register for your training session(s) at this time, or you may defer that and take your training session(s) later, realizing this initial training session must be completed within 90 days of your volunteer position beginning or of your family's acceptance to St. Louise School - whichever occurs first. 
 
Please note: Conveniently, an upcoming "Protecting God's Children - for Adults" training session will be held right here in the St. Louise Parish Hall on Tuesday, September 27! When you register online for your required initial class, choose the 9/27 offering at St. Louise if that date works for you. Otherwise, you'll notice 10 other King County-located trainings available this month, including one in Bellevue and one in Issaquah.
  
Once you have been accepted as a school parent at St. Louise, you have in turn been brought on as a volunteer within the Archdiocese of Seattle. So we want to thank you for keeping St. Louise in  compliance with the Archdiocese's required process by following all of the steps and making sure you fulfill the "within 90 days-requirement" of taking your training session! 
  
Please direct any questions to the Archdiocese's Safe Environment Office at (206) 274-3188 or to the St. Louise Parish office through Pam@stlouise.org .
  
 Naval Sea Cadets Enrolling 5th-8th Graders       
  
           Two of our 7th graders (pictured at left), Justin and Mason, are enrolled in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. This program for kids age 11-18 teaches leadership and respect, as well as explains how the Navy operates. Justin wanted to let other St. Louise students know about the program in case they were interested in joining. Cadets take part in trainings such as culinary, marksmanship, special ops, flight, firefighting, robotics, diving, medical, land mapping, and sailing. There is no commitment to the military and you no required length of service.
          Justin explains, "Even if you don't want to join the military, Sea Cadets will give you many good qualities and life lessons. Sea Cadets has helped me in school too. I am more respectful to others, and I am more organized and i can manage my time better." Justin and Mason are stationed at the Coast Guard Base in Seattle, going there one weekend a month for drill. His "Blue Angels Squadron" unit is having open-enrollment day this Saturday, September 10.
          For more information, contact Justin's mother, Renee at reneemcraddock@yahoo.com or go to http://www.seacadets.org  or  http://www.blueangelssquadron.org.
  
Should you ever have a possible article or topic you'd like Mr. Fitz to include in the Parent Bulletin, please email him. This would include if your older children who are alumni of St. Louise have a high school or college accomplishment worth bragging about. The same goes for photos. If you have a fun pic of your kids at a CYO game, or doing some service/charity work, or participating in an extra-curricular program, please send it to Dan, and he'll insert it in an upcoming Bulletin.
 
  
Do You Want to Work at St. Louise?
       We are sad to see one of our after-school Kids' Club supervisors - Kelsey Moore - leaving us later this month. Kelsey, herself an alum of St. Louise, has been providing after-school childcare here for the past four years, but she is resigning to prepare to begin a Masters program in social work. Good luck and thank you, Kelsey!
        Her departure opens up an opportunity for someone new to join our staff! Our school is currently seeking an assistant-supervisor for our after-school childcare program for kindergarten through sixth grade students ("Kids' Club"), held in the Lavelle Center/gym.  There is an upcoming opening for an assistant-supervisor to join our staff of four to work throughout the school year from 1:30-6:00 p.m. on Mondays and 2:30-6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, for a total of 18.5 hours weekly. The position begins on September 23, and runs through the school year until June 8, 2017.
        Minimum qualifications include experience working with children, demonstrated responsibility and follow-through in previous employment, and an ability to independently lead an activity with a group of students.  This might be a great job for a school parent (whose own school-age children will be allowed to enroll in Kids' Club) or a local college student with morning classes. Hourly wage begins at $16.00, and this is a non-benefited position.
        Interested applicants are asked to please e-mail Dan Fitzpatrick with a resume and cover letter (danf@stlouiseschool.org) and also complete the Archdiocesan employment process at http://www.ocsww.org/employment.php.
Here's How to Log In Your Volunteer Hours
         Marinell Zevenbergen is the Parent's Club's "volunteer coordinator" - here to help all parents with completing and logging in volunteer hours. There are many opportunities to complete the minimum of 40 hours required for the school year. This weekly Parent Bulletin will have the most up to date volunteer needs, and your child's teacher will also let you know if he/she needs help in the classroom. Additionally, if you visit http://web2.stlouiseschool.org/volunteer periodically Marinell will add new requests for volunteers as she receives them from school staff or school/parish event leaders.
         Here is a reminder about how to log in your volunteer hours. Please follow these steps:
 
1. Log on to the St. Louise website: http://www.stlouiseschool.org.
2. Click on "Resources" menu.
3. Click on "Submit Volunteer Hours."
4. You will be asked for a password. Enter the email address you have registered at school as your primary email address, then click the button "send password to email entered above."
5. Once you receive the password, you are ready to start entering hours.
 
        Please do not hesitate to email Marinell if you need additional information or help logging in. Marinell may also be able to suggest ways for parents to volunteer if they're having difficulty reaching the minimally required 40 hours per family. For example, if you contacted Marinell today she would suggest you join the Fall Fix-Up this Saturday from 8AM-12PM to help beautify the parish and school grounds. If you can't make Saturday, but volunteering to do yard work on your own schedule interests you, Marinell would suggest you contact the coordinator of our Adopt-A-Garden program, Megan Kirk. 
          Thanks in advance for all the volunteer hours you'll be giving to St. Louise School and Parish! 
Calling All Techies
        We are so fortunate at St. Louise to have many school parents in the tech industry who are able to support our students' and staff's computer and technology needs. The volunteer Tech Committee is comprised of a couple dozen parents who work under the direction of our IT support, Dan Kirby, and offer anything from consultation help to the pure "roll-up-the-sleeves and pull-some-cable" type of help. If you have some experience in computer hardware or software, you should consider joining the Tech Committee. You can volunteer based on what is convenient for you - showing up some evenings or weekends to do some onsite help, or virtually calling in/logging in to offer advice to Dan and the teachers.
        The Tech Committee is gathering this Monday, September 12, for their first meeting of the year. If you can attend, please RSVP to Dan Kirby. Dinner will be served first at 6:00 in the faculty room, and then Dan will demonstrate the various technology being used in the school and talk about various ways parents can help throughout the school year with technology projects and troubleshooting.  
 
John D'Costa and Hector Sandino are two of the many parents who come to school on their own schedules to help us with technology fixes and improvements.
  
 
Thank You for Turning in Procurement Forms & Donations Now
  
Up & Away will be a success because of the wonderful items you have procured and donated! Remember that the final date to have those items turned in is September 15th ! We ask that our new families turn in the procurement form with the tangible item. Families who turned in forms last spring also need to turn in their tangible items on this date! Thank you!
Be sure to turn in any auction items promised by September 15.  You may leave them in the school office or drop them off at the Auction office between now and then. Also, we will be sending out an email early next week to families who have not yet paid their grade project fee of $15 per child. After the 15th, the fee increases to $25 per child. You are welcome to send a check into the office, or pay online at https://www.osvonlinegiving.com/1369 .
  
We know that school has just started - but, we are just 9 weeks out from the biggest event of the year! Up & Away - A Red and Black Soiree will be held November 12, 2016 at the Seattle Marriott Bellevue. This year we are celebrating 55 years of Faith, Family and Friendship at St. Louise! We are so excited to again have Fairway Mortgage sponsoring our incredible STL After Party at Amuse (in the Seattle Marriott Bellevue). Thank you, Fairway Mortgage, for hosting this event to cap off what will be a remarkable evening!

8th Grade Spotlight
New this year - we are offering a chance for parents of 8th graders to commemorate their 8th graders' final year at St. Louise by recognizing them with a business card sized spotlight ad in the catalog. Feature your 8th grade child's picture and some words of encouragement in a self-designed ad! Watch for an email with the form and formatting instructions, arriving in your email next week!

Join the List of Begin a Generous Sponsor & Underwriter
Our event would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. W e are grateful for the following businesses and families who have underwritten much of the cost to offer this fundraising event! If you'd like to join in the ranks of these amazing companies and families, please email auction@stlouiseschool.org , or call Julianne at 425.761.9996. We look forward to having you lift our event to an even higher level!

  • Fairway Mortgage
  • Dev9
  • NaviaBenefits
  • A Luise Aviles, DDS Endodontics
  • Bruce Company
  • Costco
  • Rainier Surgical
  • Tribolet Family
  • Parker Smith & Feek
  • Advanced Orthodontics
  • Hilling Design
  • Pierce Family
  • Sharp Family
  • Storniolo Family
  • Lambert Family
  • O'Beirne Family
  • Seattle Moms Deal Finder
  • Curran Family
 
We thank you for your continued support! And, we wish our fundraising partners over at Walk-A -hon, a great event! Great work, friends!
Up & Away we go!

Julianne & Esther
Get to Know the Newest "St. Louisers"
          This year we are welcoming over two dozen families brand new to St. Louise School - with their children entering various grade levels from Pre-K to 7th grade! As a way to help learn their names, we'll post photos of a small handful of moms and dads in the next few Bulletins until we get around to naming them all. If you are a "veteran" St. Louiser and your children are in the same grade, please make an effort to introduce yourself at the next CYO soccer game, school Mass, or St. Louise event.
 
        This week we highlight these new school families...

Mike Avalos & Estefanie Bazan

(Laelah in KA)


 
  

Arturo & Imelda Diaz

(Arlette in 3A)


 

Rob & Angela Thompson

(Luke in 4A; Olivia in 2A)


 
 

John & Anna Jung
(Olivia in PreK)

 
Begin a 'Standing Order' and Earn a Free Starbucks Card
Place a Standing Order before September 30, and include at least one "Groceries or Gas" category store and Charger Cards will send you a $5 Starbucks gift card with your first order! Find the Standing Order Form on our webpage: www.stlouiseschool.org/chargercards . Start your school year well and Set up a Charger Card plan during September!  You can meet and exceed your Charger Card requirement with a simple plan! Remember the goal is not to meet the minimum but to exceed so you earn tuition credit and St. Louise receives additional funds! Below is one sample plan that could work for some school families...
 
 
Place an order for basic stores you use monthly, such as grocery and gas. Send postdated checks with your order, and your cards will be delivered during the first week of each month. This is the best way to set a budget, determine your needs, and met your Charger Card requirement.
 
If you go to the Charger Cards webpage, you'll also see a video and step-by-step information on everything you need to know about Charger Cards. Please take some time to educate yourself on this fund raiser in which every school family is required to participate. 
 
Thanks in advance for making Charger Card purchases a regular part of your shopping/budgeting plans!
  
  
Get Organized!
Organize your life and budget with Charger Cards online. You can meet and exceed your Charger Card requirement with gas and groceries alone! Many stores offer reloadable credit as an online option. Some of the most popular are:
  • Grocery - Safeway, Albertsons, Whole Foods and Target
  • Gas - Chevron, Arco, BP, 76
Purchase a plastic card one time from the Charger Card program and reload that same card. No more wondering if you've used up the card. Purchase "reload" value online to fit your budget. This is a great option to treat the plastic card like a store credit card. It's easy to reload the cards online for everyone in your family that has them in their wallets.
 
With the school year beginning, Charger Cards would like to help you with plans to reach your minimum rebate and/or earn rebates to reduce next year's tuition! Email us at chargercards@stlouiseschool.org  or stop by during office hours to make an appointment to help you understand the program and the many options to purchase. We will be happy to help you make a "plan" for your family based on your current shopping habits and budgeting!
 
Office Hours
Charger Card office hours this year are:  8:15-8:45 on every Friday school morning.
Available for online purchases at www.shopwithscrip.com  24/7!
  
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