ST. LOUISE SCHOOL PARENT BULLETIN

September 14, 2017

Dan's Blog
On September 11, 2001, terrorism hit our country like never before, as Islamic-terrorists killed 3,000 Americans and injured 6,000 others in the deadliest such action in world history. It was the most devastating attack on American soil since the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor during World War II. 

Throughout that fateful day, and the days the followed, the people of our nation prayed like never before, asking God to comfort the grieving and thanking Him for guiding the hands of the first responders. This week, on this 16th anniversary of 9/11, like on all the other September 11th anniversaries, Americans continued to take a knee to pray for those who lost their lives that day, to pray for their families, and to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel.
 
This past Monday the 11th, we began the school day with an all-school prayer on the 9/11 anniversary. I realized that none of our students were alive in 2001, and for our youngest students, Monday might have been their first time they ever heard of this event. But I believe it's important that they hear of this historical date, just as our parents made sure we understood "December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy." 

This is the prayer I read over the intercom to your children this Monday:
 
Almighty Father,
We pray for all of the people who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. Comfort them and continue to guide them in your hope. Help us to honor the lives of those who died, through our thoughts and our actions, and grant them the happiness and joy of heaven with You. Fill us with love and forgiveness, and help us to live peacefully with each other. As we see pictures and hear memories of the suffering and confusion of September 11, help us to remember all the good that you have put in Your world. Help us, as disciples of Christ, to be shining lights of Your love and promises with those we may meet in the future who are suffering and confused.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
  
I vividly recall the original September 11th day. It occurred before 6:00AM Pacific time, and I was in my office at St. Louise and heard on the radio the report of the first plane hitting the twin towers. As our teachers started reporting to work before the school day started, I had time to make a plan with them on how they would hold age-appropriate discussions and prayers in class that morning. Our parents were so grateful that they were dropping off their children at a Catholic school, where the parents could be assured discussions were handled through the lens of a moral, Biblical context, and the day would end with the student body gathering in church for an impromptu liturgy. 
 
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 sixteen years ago, there seemed to be one truly UNITED States of America. There was not divisive fighting between political parties or ideologies, as there was prior or has been since (on steroids). It's too bad that it takes a tragedy to bring people together.
 
...But then I wonder... was TRAGEDY what actually brought Americans together following 9/11... or was it PRAYER.
 
Prayer has a way to bring the walls down. Prayer crosses over the perceived barriers of politics and race, bringing down the walls that divide us. It was that inner-calling inside each and every one of us Americans to want to reach out to the Lord in prayer that brought the country together. We were all doing the same thing - praying together. Praying privately. Praying in groups. Going to evening prayer services that churches were adding to their schedules. We started hearing the anchors on the TV news saying things such as, "Let's all pray tonight..." 
 
Prayer was big in September of 2001. But I think we all can agree that our country needs prayer now more than ever in September of 2017! We need to pray for a stop to future terrorism, and what seems to be an attack in an international city every month. We need to pray for those suffering from the storms in Texas and Florida. And on an endless loop, prayers are needed for the approximately 1 million babies aborted in our country each year. (Do you realize there have been well over 16 million American babies aborted since 9/11?!) All these events going on in our country and in the world remind us to pray. And when we pray, we are reminded we need God.
We don't just pray for the dead, the injured, and the suffering. We also need to pray for ourselves. As Christians, we know that each of us needs to get right with God. We get right with God by trying to be the best Christian we can be, and by trying to strengthen our relationship with the Lord as much as possible, which can in part be manifest through strengthening our relationship with our closest bond - our family.

You see, our hope can't be in Olympia politics, in Washington DC politics, in world leaders at the United Nations, or in Rome's religious leaders. Our hope is in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And so that starts by becoming stronger in our faith, and making sure our family members have this same opportunity to strengthen their faith.
 
For some, the weak part of our faith may be we need to spend more time with God. If that describes you and/or your spouse, check out St. Louise Parish's CHRIST RENEWS OUR PARISH.
 
For others,, the weak part of our faith may be we have hurt our relationship with God and need to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness before we can go any further. If that describes you and/or your family members, I suggest you take advantage of St. Louise Parish's schedule for RECONCILIATION. 
 
Finally, and most fundamentally, for some of us, the weak part of our faith - and of our family unit's faith - may need strengthening from the BENEFIT OF ATTENDING SUNDAY MASS.  By doing so, we encounter Jesus through the other families we are in communion with in church, through the Scriptures we hear there, through the Eucharist, and through the priest.

Prayer is always available to us. Nothing can keep us from approaching God in prayer except our own choices.

***

Most of you grade 1-8 parents attended Curriculum Night last week and heard me promote an upcoming special event. Our Parents' Club is hosting a screening of the movie Screenagers on Monday, September 25, at 6:30 PM in the Parish Hall. This is a one hour film that reveals how tech-time - your children's time spent in front of a computer screen, a video game screen, a cell phone - impacts kids' development. Screenagers' filmmaker - a fellow parent and a physician - offers solutions on how parents can empower their children to best navigate the digital world and find balance. You can watch the movie trailer HERE.
 
Did you know that it was reported that Apple co-founder and tech-wizard Steve Jobs did not allow his own teenage children to use his own creation - iPads - and he limited their technology use at home? Jobs purposely regulated his kids' exposure to screen time, and made sure that instead, they read books and spent time as a family conversing at the dinner table nightly with no technology present. You could say, Steve Jobs found balance in his family's life! (But he helped create imbalance in most of ours!)
 
We want all St. Louise parents to attend Screenagers in 10 days regardless of if you have a preteen or teenager who has a cell phone or is into video gaming. Because before you know it, your little one will be a bigger one, so it's good to get the information now. That way, you'll be prepared for the coming years of what rules and decisions your household will set up for cell phones, computer use, and screen time in the home.

In addition, we are asking you parents with 5th grader or older children to bring your kids to the parish hall on Monday the 25th. The movie's content is too mature for younger children, but the content should be appropriate for students ages 11-14. (Watch the trailer above to judge if you think your 5th-6th grader is mature enough; definitely 7th-8th graders should attend.) After the movie, you and your 5th-8th grader can have great conversations at home about what you viewed. No young children may attend Screenagers.
Oh, and by the way, if you have a neighbor, co-worker, or sibling who would like to attend Screenagers with you, by all means, bring them to the Parish Hall. They don't have to have a child attending St. Louise in order to attend the viewing. The Parents' Club would love to host them too.

The movie begins at 6:30 on the 25th, so please arrive on time to find a seat in the Hall up close, and so we can start on time so to get you home at an early hour. No, there won't be buttered popcorn or reclining seats. Yes, we will ask you to silence your cell phones.

Thanks for reading,
Mr. Fitz

p.s.
The Church celebrates Catechetical Sunday nationwide this Sunday, September 17, and at St. Louise we'll be recognizing and blessing our catechists - teachers - at both the 9AM and 6PM Masses. Those in our St. Louise Parish and School serving as catechists - our school teachers and instructional assistants, and our weekend faith formation instructors -  will be called forth to be commissioned for their ministry. Catechetical Sunday is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the role that each person plays, by virtue of Baptism, in handing on the faith and being a witness to the Gospel. Catechetical Sunday is an opportunity for all to rededicate themselves to this mission as a community of faith. Perhaps you can make an effort to attend the 9AM or 6PM Mass this weekend, and go up to your child's teachers you'll see at church (homeroom teacher, specialist teachers, instructional assistants) and thank them for their ministry.
Upcoming Calendar of Events
Today, Thursday the 14th
  • Bake Sale - proceeds benefit junior high programs and events; baked goods and candies for sale; most items selling for $.50 or $1.00
  • School Commission & Parents' Club Board Executive Session
  • Safe Environment VIRTUS Training Session required for new parent volunteers - 6:30PM; register HERE
Friday the 15th
  • Auction Procurement/Donation Deadline for New School Families; contact Sue Richards for more information
Saturday the 16th
  • Safe Environment VIRTUS Training Session required for new parent volunteers - 8:00AM; register HERE
  • Bake Sale after the 5PM Mass put on by the JH families; proceeds benefit JH programs

Sunday the 17th
  • Catechetical Sunday - our teachers and instructional assistants receive a blessing at the 9AM & 6PM Masses
  • Bake Sale after the morning Masses put on by the JH families; proceeds benefit JH programs
Tuesday the 19th
  • Technology Committee Dinner Meeting - 6PM in the faculty room (inside the school office)
  • Speech Team Info Meeting for Gr. 6-8 - 7PM in room 6B
Sunday the 23rd
  • CYO Cross Country Meet at Lake Sammamish St. Park

Monday the 25th
  • Chess Club begins Monday sessions - 2:00-3:00PM; Register HERE
  • SCREENAGERS movie for ALL PARENTS (and grade 5-8 students) - 6:30PM in the parish hall


   We have 34 new school families joining our St. Louise School community this fall, and below are a few of the new parents. Each week, we'll show you a few more...but don't worry...there won't be a test!
        As you see these newest St. Louisers around school, and see the other new parents whose portraits we'll be showing you in upcoming editions of the Bulletin, please reach out to welcome them!
 
 
Matthew & Marie Gallanar
(new 1st grader)
 
 
 

Max & Elisa Engel

(new preschooler)
 
 
 

Joseph & Ashley Dickinson

(new kindergartener)

 
 

Patrick & Kelly D'Ambrosio

(new 1st graders) 


 
Henry Cyril & Jenifer Jeyaraj
(new preschooler)
 
Set Up a Standing Order for Charger Cards & Earn a FREE Starbucks Card 
 

If you place a "Standing Order" before September 30, and include at least one "Groceries or Gas" category store, you will receive 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 by setting 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!

Here is one sample plan:


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!

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 - Whole Foods and Target
* Gas - Shell, Chevron, Arco, BP, 76

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.

      

We Have Childcare Openings
 
          Kids' Club is St. Louise's before-school and/or after-school childcare program. Currently, we have openings in after-school care Kids' Club, which runs until 5:45PM each school day. The activities in which children engage while outside of school hours are critical to their development. That is why when school is out, you can trust Kids' Club to provide experiential, hands-on learning choices in a safe and familiar setting.  Our goal is to ensure a smooth transition between the school day and the before-school and after-school program. Activities are designed to spark academic interests, recreation, physical fitness and nurture social-emotional growth. We also provide the time, the place, and the assistance to ensure your children have enough time to complete their homework. Please contact Kids' Club director, Maria Zambrano to inquire about our program.  Maria and our entire Kids' Club team (Marilu De La Torre, Peggy Kirk, Sheila McAllister) would be happy to assist you.
Auction News
         
         
Procurement Donations Due Tomorrow!
 
Thank you for making sure to turn in by tomorrow, Friday the 15th, all procured,
tangible items. Donations may be turned in to the Auction Office (in the north wing by the pre-k classroom) or to the Main School Office.
 
 
Join this List - Our Generous Sponsors and Underwriters
 
Our event simply 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 these amazing businesses and families, please email call Sue Richards at 425-746-5457.
  • Fairway Independent Mortgage
  • Advanced Orthodontics
  • A. Luis Aviles, DDS Endodontics
  • Bruce Company
  • EDCA Roofing
  • Honda Auto Center of Bellevue
  • Parker Smith & Feek
  • Rayme Teders, Windermere
  • iSpot.tv, Inc.
  • The Richards Family (Will '10, Riley, Jack '17)
  • The Teplicky Family (Allie '07, Joey '10, Dominic '14)
 
New at This Year's Auction - Kendra Scott Jewelry Pull
 
Kendra Scott Jewlery is all the rage, and for the first time at this year's auction we'll have 50 various pieces of beautiful Kendra Scott jewelry available to purchase, with 100% of the purchase price going directly to St. Louise! Each of the 50 pieces will be beautifully wrapped - for just $65 you choose one of the packages to open and take home. Each piece is unique and ranges in value from $65 to $250. Buy a box or two for yourself as well as a few for Christmas gifts! Thank you to Kendra Scott Jewelry for this amazing donation to our school! Check out the beautiful collection at KendraScott.com .
 
 
Grade Project Fees
 
Thank you to all who have already paid their $20/family grade project fee! If you haven't taken care of this yet, please make a payment here . Please note that after tomorrow, September 15, the fee increases to $30 per family.
 
 
Thank you for all your support - our Schoolhouse ROCKS!
~Sue Richards, Auction Director
 

Volunteer Thank Yous
         
          We appreciate these volunteers who helped with hospitality at the various curriculum nights: Shawna Shaules & Liz DeBord (our hospitality committee co-chairs),  Jennifer Magnusen, Diane Smith, Anh Phan, Annabelle Gegus, Taryn Reed, Elisa Engel, Jennifer Engle, Tarun Ratnam, Victor Phan, Victoria Bermel, Doreen Green, Anne Dominic, Darcie Currie, and Sharon Victor.
 
         We had a successful first Fall Fix-Up last Saturday, beautifying the parish and school grounds with weeding, pruning, and raking. Thanks to Jeffrey Hummer (our volunteer head landscaper), Arturo Diaz, Ken Kincaid, Laure Mittelette, JoAnn Beggerly,  Michelle & Chad Cone, Hung Phan, Joe Kosiara,  Dick Hess, Natalie Remedios & Patrick Cimprich, Vince Rabon, Esther Stapleton, Karel Blaha, Christie Allemand, and alumnus Jackson Allemand.
 
If you hold an event or run a program and want to give recognition to your volunteers, please email Mr. Fitz with a list of the volunteers' names, and he'll thank them publicly in a future Parent Bulletin.

Calling All Techies
         
          If you have knowledge in technology - software or hardware - our school's Technology Committee could use your volunteer help. The Tech Committee is a group of over two dozen parents who work under the direction of our part time IT person, Dan Kirby. Dan uses Tech Committee members for advice on advancing our school's technology into the future, as well as to ask them to roll-up-their-sleeves and help solve technology glitches that may occur with something as simple as a teacher's desktop printer to anywhere on the parish-wide network.
          Some Tech Committee members are able to be "on call" and come in to help after work or some evenings on their own schedules (such as the two pictured below), while others help remotely via phone or email as they are able. If this sounds like something you have interested in, please contact Dan. The first gathering of this year's Tech Committee is this Tuesday, September 19, at 6:00PM. Although you don't have to attend these approximately every-other-month meetings, they are informative...and you get fed! Please  RSVP to Dan Kirby, and he will have dinner for you in the faculty room (just inside the school office) on Tuesday!


Testing to Begin in Grades 2-8

          MAP testing - the new computer-adaptive test being given to every grade 2-8 student in the Seattle Archdiocese, including St. Louise students, begins implementation in some St. Louise classes next week. It continues in certain classes into mid-October, with each grade 2-8 homeroom taking three tests, each lasting approximately one-hour, according to the following schedule:
  • Week of September 18-22: Homerooms 2A, 3B, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7A
  • Week of October 2-6: Homerooms 2B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B
  • Week of October 9-13: Homerooms 3A, 4A, 8A

         Homeroom teachers will send home more information to parents prior to your child's testing week. Results will be shared in the spring, which is the second time students take the MAP each year. In this way, results are shown as growth over time. We show parents and teachers a measurement of how much growth each child made in the three tested areas - math, reading, and language arts. You may find out more about MAP at this website.
 
Only Two More Weeks to Collect Pledges for Walk-A-Thon
Hat Days & Reward Party Added to W-A-T Prizes
September's required fund raiser for all families is our famous Walk-A-Thon. Although the Walk-A-Thon will be a special day on the last Friday in September to come together as a community to celebrate fun, fitness, and our great school, NOW is the time for you and your kids to gather Walk-A-Thon pledges from family and friends. You only have two more weeks to collect pledges online!
 
Your family's minimum required contribution to the Parents' Club is as follows:
  • For a 1-child school family, $85;
  • For a 2-children family, $170;
  • For a 3+ children family, $200.
     
Beyond these minimum requirements, there will be special prize rewards given for those who go above and beyond!
  • The boy and girl in each of the 10 grade levels who walk or run the longest distance during the Walk-A-Thon will be recognized by having his/her name engraved on a perpetual plaque to be hung in the gym. Plus, those top distance-traveling students will each receive a $25 Amazon or Target gift card.
  • For each student (not family) who has $175 donated in their name by tomorrow, September 15, the child will be rewarded with a free dress day on Monday, September 25.  
  • The top fundraising student in each of the 10 grade levels* will get to select from the prize list sent home in last Thursday's red envelope. *(To qualify, must have a minimum of $250 in donations per student.)

For added fun, if your child - or you parents - would like to purchase this St. Louise hat to wear on Walk-A-Thon day, all proceeds will help us reach our goal of raising $60,000 for the Parents' Club. If...when...we reach $60,000, the student body will have a fun reward day party in October!

 
As an added incentive to purchase these "Property of STL Hats" for your kids, the hats will be allowed to be worn by students indoors - in class - on selected Fridays throughout the school year! The first day will be Friday, September 29. More STL Hat Days will be announced throughout the school year.

 

 
 
For more information on the Walk-A-thon, and for the online link to gather pledges, please go to the  Walk-A-Thon page  on the website. 
Please contact our super Walk-A-Thon chairs if you have questions: Erika Mervin, Michele Baker, Jolla Sumido, and Laura Dark at  Walkathon@stlouiseschool.org .

And save the date and these times for the Walk-A-Thon, Parents are encouraged to attend and cheer on the kids on Friday, September 29:
  • Gr. PK-2 from 10:00-10:45
  • Gr. 3-5 from 11:15-12:30
  • Gr. 6-8 from 1:00-2:15
Students will soon be given special Walk-A-Thon t-shirts to take home and decorate in their grade level colors, and the bring back to school and wear on the 29th. It's a free dress day on W-A-T day on the 29th, and besides the t-shirt, on that day students must wear appropriate athletic-style clothing and shoes that will help them accomplish the most laps possible.

Assigned Grade Level Colors in Which to Decorate the T-Shirt and Wear As Much Colored-Clothing as Possible on W-A-T Day:
·  Pre-K = light blue
·  K = purple
·  1st = red
·  2nd = green
·  3rd = yellow
·  4th = white
·  5th = blue
·  6th = grey
·  7th = orange
·  8th = black
We Have a Winner!

           Congratulations to Louis Ta (6th grader), Maya Wong (2nd grader), Bridget Weber (5th grader), Katarina Pacheco (kindergartener), and Asher McCaslin (1st grader) whose completed "Passports" from Passport Day were randomly drawn last week. These students each won a giant box of candy from Mr. Fitz.

    For parents who would like to treat a teacher, administrator, instructional assistant, or school staff member with a gift on his or her birthday, please note when the special day takes place. The school faculty appreciates your acknowledgement in any of a variety of ways: an iced mocha? ... a flower for the desk? ... a homemade card from your child? Or perhaps you want to purchase a Charger Card as a birthday gift?  If so, the Charger Cards' office and website  has a "faculty wish list" of the teachers' and staff members' favorite cards.
          The teachers and school staff thank you in advance for your generosity!

 

Spread the word to alumni you know & parents of alumni.

Prizes to the Class with the most attendees!

 
See what's happening on our St. Louise Facebook page