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PARENT BULLETIN
September 15, 2016
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DAN'S BLOG
At last Thursday night's Curriculum Night for grade 1-6 parents, I began the evening with a brief address to the parents. Afterward, a few parents told me they wished their spouse would have been able to attend so they could have heard what I said. So following are the notes I had written as the guide for my speech...
This Sunday - on 9-11 - we will commemorate that horrific day 15 years ago when Islamic Terrorists killed thousands of Americans in the East Coast.
15 years ago -- It's amazing that none of our current student body had yet been born on that day in 2001 - yet I can remember it vividly.
I remember that September morning - I had called the teachers together in the faculty room before school, and we began with a prayer. Some of those same teachers are sitting right here tonight. Then we planned how we would handle the discussions in each classroom - at age appropriate levels - and we set up a time for each class to go to the church for prayer. Our teachers handled everything so delicately, so intelligently, so lovingly. As horrific as that morning began, St. Louise parents felt some solace in knowing they were dropping off their children at a school where there would be the comfort of prayer and the ability for the words "God" and "Jesus" to be mentioned.
If there was anything good that came from the 9-11 attacks, it was that it brought our country together. You remember how unified America was the days and months that followed? It didn't matter if you were from the East Coast or West Coast, black or white, Republican or Democrat - if you were an American, you mourned together and resolved to work together on the same mission.
In other words, it was a feeling about 180 degrees different from the divisiveness that is felt in much of America today between differing groups of people.
It was "unity" or a "shared mision" that made Americans 15 years ago stick together - albeit for not long enough.
Another group that has stuck together for unity and a shared mission 15 years ago...and 15 years before that...and still will 15 years from now...are the parents and faculty in Catholic schools.
That's what makes Catholic schools so special. That's why the teachers sitting here have chosen to work at St. Louise. That is why I have never been tempted to go work for more pay for a public school. It's because you parents and we faculty are unified.
We share similar objectives and similar values. We are here for the same reasons.
As our Student Learning Expectations - or SLEs - state, we want our kids to develop into
We are unified in our belief that to receive a well-rounded education, you can't just teach about math, reading, and science - you have to also teach about music, civics, and penmanship.
But more than those, giving a well-rounded education includes putting emphasis throughout the school day on Gospel values and trying to develop in our children a strong faith life.
So when you say a prayer this Sunday to ask God to comfort the family members of the 9-11 victims, who are still grieving 15 years later, say another prayer to thank God for giving us Catholic schools and for unifying St. Louise parents and teachers in our shared mission of providing academic excellence in an atmosphere fostering Catholic faith and values.
This Sunday is called "Catechetical Sunday," and throughout the nation in every parish the teachers and staff in Catholic schools will be recognized by their congregations for their noble ministry of educating the "future Church," and will receive a blessing. Here at St. Louise, this special recognition/blessing will take place at both the 9AM and 6PM Masses.
You school parents are so good at recognizing our teachers and staff on their birthdays and at Christmas, and that's very much appreciated. It's extra special when you recognize them specifically for choosing the ministry of being a Catholic educator (a "catechist"). Whether it be through a simple thank-you that you email or via a handwritten card or drawn picture from your child, might I suggest that this upcoming Catechetical Sunday-week might be a good time to send along your family's appreciation/recognition.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Fitz
p.s.
The Walk-A-Thon event is just one week away, but the pledge-collecting & donating are going on now! Thanks for every school family's efforts this month at fund raising! Remember, you can combine any Magazine Sale profits (calculated at 40% of total magazine sales) with your Walk-A-Thon donations to reach your family's required fund raising goal:
- $85 for 1-child families;
- $170 for 2-children families;
- $200 for 3+ children families.
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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...
Sunday, September 18
- Catechetical Sunday - school faculty and staff recognized and blessed at the 9AM & 6PM Masses
LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK...
Monday, September 19
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SPIRIT WEEK BEGINS: Free Dress ONLY for those who submitted $175 in Walk-A-Thon pledges by Sept. 9; Homerooms are creating "Spirit Posters" today to be displayed at Friday's Walk-A-Thon.
Tuesday, September 20
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SPIRIT WEEK CONTINUES: Homerooms are creating "Spirit Cheers" to be shouted at Friday's Walk-A-Thon.
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Grade 7-8 is off-campus today - meeting at Camp Sambica for their annual junior high retreat
Wednesday, September 21
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SPIRIT WEEK CONTINUES: It's "Spirit Socks Day" and every student can wear today the most spirited (the silliest) socks they want.
Thursday, September 22
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SPIRIT WEEK CONTINUES: We celebrate the "Mass of the Holy Spirit" in church at 9AM; all grade K-8 classes will attend, and parents who would like to sit with their children should arrive outside the classroom by 8:45.
Friday, September 23 - WALK-A-THON DAY!
- Free Dress for all - wear walking shoes and dress for the weather; wear grade level colors.
- Grades PK-2 walk from 10:20-11:50: parents are welcome to walk with (if they have pre-registered online) or stand on the sidelines to cheer.
- Grades 3-8 walk from 12:20-2:30; parents are welcome to walk with (if they have pre-registered online) or stand on the sidelines to cheer.
- No parking allowed onsite from 8:30-2:55 - please park legally curbside in the blocks surrounding the school and walk onto campus.
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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
.
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| What a wonderful sight! In this photo we have two school parents, one current student, and one alumni student pitching in on Fix-Up Day! |
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Next Fall Fix-Up in Just Two Weeks
Thanks to the volunteers who came to our first Fall Fix-Up last Saturday and helped spread bark and pull weeds! Along with thanking our resident, volunteer head-landscaper,
Jeffrey Hummer, we also thank these fix-up crew volunteers:
Vince & Janey Rabon; Dick Hess; Joe Kosiara; Laure Mittelette; parishioners
Barb Keefe and
Trina Legnon; alumna
Maddie Hummer.
In two weeks, we'll hold Fall Fix-Up #2. It's a great way to earn at least 4 hours on a Saturday morning (or 8 if you can talk your spouse or high school-age or older child to join you), and it's fulfilling to see the beautiful results of your work afterward.
If you can be here from 8AM-12PM on Saturday, October 1, please RSVP to
Jeffrey and join him that morning outside the north wing with you yard tools and work gloves.
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You May Start Now to Pre-Order School Photos
Student photos are scheduled for Wednesday, October 5th. Throughout the day, every grade PK-8 student will have his/her individual photo taken in a complete school uniform, along with a class photo. Regardless if your child will be purchasing an individual photo, the photos need to be taken for the School Yearbook.
The preferred method to pre-order school photos is to go online to
www.mylifetouch.com
and use our school code:
LS116972Q0
. Print out the confirmation sheet after you complete your online order - which will contain a bar code that corresponds to your order - and have your child bring this sheet to school on Photo Day.
A second option for ordering photos is to complete and return a paper-form which you'll find in next week's Family Envelope. You must submit a check if you don't pay online.
All grade PK-8 students are to come to school on the 5th in their complete uniforms, wearing the traditional red sweaters or red fleece (no hoodies, track jackets, or polo shirts not covered by the sweaters/fleece).If you have any questions concerning school photos, please contact Cindy Wagner.
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Free Concert Tomorrow Night
Come join us for an evening of song by several of our parish choirs. This family event is Friday at 7PM in the church. Refreshments will follow in the Hall.
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There Is Still Time to Fund Raise via Magazine Sales
Thank you to those families who have started submitting their magazine sale orders online! If you have paper order forms with cash/checks, please turn them into the front office. All magazine orders need to be submitted by next Friday, September 23. If you have questions about your sales totals, please contact Rebecca Nightingale. The online ordering link is www.gaschoolstore.com
, and our school code is 674661.
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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 the last week of September 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.
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The Parish Photo Directory Has Its Last Call
Last year at this time, many school families had their family portraits taken for the Parish Photo Directory. The Directory was delayed in getting published, which is both good and bad news. It's bad we're still waiting for these Directories - which will eventually be given free to everyone who had a photo taken - but the delay is good in that recently arrived St. Louise Parishioners have a chance to get into the Directory.
Lifetouch - the publisher of the Directory - will be at St. Louise on September 30, October 1, October 2, October 15, and October 16, to take portraits of any St. Louise families who missed the chance last year. There is no cost involved. (Please note, these upcoming photo sessions are only for people who did not get their photos taken last summer - either families who procrastinated last year, or newly arriving families who weren't here last year. If you took a family portrait last year, you need to do nothing at this time but to wait for the directory to be distributed in early 2017.)
We need you to make our parish family album complete, so
if you did not get your family's photo taken last year, please make your online appointment for one of the available dates at
www.stlouise.org/264
. Each family will receive a complimentary 8x10 portrait and a complimentary directory for participating!
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Are You a Eucharistic/Extraordinary Minister?
A retreat for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion is coming up on September 24, from 9-12. If you are a current EM or interested in joining this ministry, please join Fr. Gary and members of the Liturgy Commission for the 1st Annual EM Retreat. A light breakfast buffet will be served. This retreat is required for all EMs wishing to serve the first Sunday in Advent and beyond. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Trina Legnon, 425-643-9416 or em.stlouise@gmail.com.
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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:
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 might suggest you email the coordinator of our Adopt-A-Garden program, Megan Kirk, and sign up through her for a project you can do any day of the week, any week of the month, based on your availability.
Thanks in advance for all the volunteer hours you'll be giving to St. Louise School and Parish this year!
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Fourth grader Luke felt good to have his 2nd grade sister Olivia at his inaugural football game last weekend, cheering him on.
If you have a photo of your kids participating in school, parish, or community events, send them to Dan Fitzpatrick for possible publishing in an upcoming Parent Bulletin and/or to Catherine Saffel for possible inclusion in the end-of-year School Yearbook.
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Today Is the Day! Thank You for Turning in Your Procurements/Donation by Today!
Up & Away will be a success because of the wonderful items you have procured and donated! Today is the day to turn everything in! These great donations turn into fabulous packages available for purchase the night of the big event!
We will be in the Auction Office all day TODAY to accept your procurement.
Forgot to turn something in? The item you procured didn't come through? It's ok! We will still accept your check for $200 to underwrite items for
Up & Away.
8th Grade Spotlight
In last week's red envelope 8th grade families received a form to request an 8th Grade Spotlight in the Up & Away catalog! Feature your 8th grader's picture and some words of encouragement in a self-designed ad! Ads are due October 1st.
Grade Projects
Your kiddos are getting started on creating beautiful works of art under the creative genius of Mika Walker! These masterpieces will be available for purchase during the Auction. We've changed the way this has been done in past years, so the coordination and creation of the projects are being completed in Art class. For those who have already volunteered, Mika and Esther will be in touch with you soon.
If you haven't already volunteered to help, but would like to, please send a note to auction@stlouiseschool.org!
Join the List of Generous Sponsors and Underwriters
We are grateful for the additional families who have joined our
Sponsors
list -
thank you!
Our event would not be possible without the generous support of our
Sponsors.
We 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. Luis 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
- Thompson Family
- Do Family
- Equinox
Upcoming Events
Watch for our upcoming wine contest. It's time to build our cellars and we need your support!
In just a few short weeks, we'll be sending out invitations and catalogs - we are so excited to share this great night with you!
We are so grateful for you - your generosity will continue to support all of the many needs of our students, faculty and staff here at St. Louise - thank you!
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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...
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| Todd & Nikki Craig (Delaney in KA) |
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| Alphonse Giltus & Anu Vincent (Allan in KB; Alice in PreK) |
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| Gregory & Fabiola Ward (Selah in PreK) |
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| Ryan & Angie Ogilvy (Oliver in KB) |
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Have You Considered a 'Standing Order'?
Sign up right now and your standing order can begin in October! Place an order for basic stores you use monthly, like 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 meet your Charger Card requirement! Find the Standing Order Form on our webpage:
www.stlouiseschool.org/chargercards
Bonus for September
Place a Standing Order before September 30, and include at least one "Groceries or Gas" category store, and receive a $5 Starbucks gift card with your first order.
Use Charger Cards This Fall
- Get ready for fall sports! We have cards for: Dicks Sporting Goods, Big 5, Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart, Red Robin, Starbucks.
- Buy your Halloween candy and decorations with Charger Cards! We have: Target, Costco, Fred Meyer, QFC & Walmart.
- Get ready for Auction night in November! Increase your contributions to St. Louise with Charger Cards to:
o
Gene Juarez - 10% rebate
o
Nordstrom - 3% rebate
o
Pizza - order pizza for your kids at home while you are out from: Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Murphy's, Little Caesars.
Learn to Place Orders Online
Purchase a plastic card one time from the Charger Card program and reload the 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.
Ask Charger Cards for Help
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 are from 8:15-8:45 on every Friday school morning.
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