St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter
December 8, 2017
A Message from the Principal...
Dear St. Louis Families,
 
This week, we lit the first candle on the Advent wreath, and we began our preparation for the coming of Jesus!  (see our Advent prayer service)  Our elementary grades spent the week practicing for our Christmas Program, "Lessons and Carols", learning how to process in and out, where to line up, how to sing for an audience, how to use the microphone and how to sing with accompaniment.  They have been working very hard and look forward to performing for you this Tuesday, Dec. 12th at 7pm.  Our performance will be in the church, and will be standing room only, so be prepared to be close to your neighbor!  It is always worth it, and is a beautiful way to start the season!
 
The Diocesan CYO basketball season starts its games this weekend in parish gyms all around Northern Virginia , including right here at St. Louis parish!  We are grateful to the efforts of Judy Conti and John Bednarek for organizing our parish sports teams year-round, and we are excited to have basketball games in our home gym thanks to their planning and organizing.  We are also grateful for all of the coaches who put tremendous time, effort and care into their work with the athletes. We want our children to learn about good sportsmanship, skilled fitness and the importance of teamwork, all with Christ at the center.
 
Many blessings as you begin your weekend - - it sounds like you might get to enjoy some of the powdery white stuff!
 
Peace,

Kathleen McNutt
Principal
Weekly Prayer Intentions
Each day our school community prays for the intentions of our families. This week the following families were included in our prayers: Fielder, Keefer, Keller, Kelly, Kennedy (5th), Kennedy (K, 3rd), Keyser, Kim and Knight.
School Announcements
Stay Connected - Follow Us on Social Media!
As the weather turns cold, please keep the following in mind...

Chapsticks & Cough Drops

Hand Sanitizer
Students may not carry alcohol based hand sanitizer at school. Please remove the travel sized sanitizer from backpacks. This is a Virginia state guideline.

Illness Policy
"Children with fevers, contagious or infectious diseases will be sent home promptly and excluded from school while in that condition, per Virginia Department of Health regulations.  Once the student is confirmed to be free of communicable illness by a healthcare provider or is fever free/symptom free for 24 hours without taking anti-fever medications, the student may return to school, afterschool and extracurricular activities." 
 
Please note that vomiting and diarrhea are considered contagious and students must be home for 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhea. If your child returns to school within that time period, they will be held in the school clinic and you will be called to pick them up.  
Advent Pajama Drive, December 4-15
This advent season, our school is participating in the annual Scholastic Book Clubs Great Bedtime Story Pajama Drive benefiting Pajama Program, a national nonprofit organization that provides new pajamas and storybooks to at-risk children living in shelters, group homes and foster care. If you and your child are able to participate, please bring in a new pair of pajamas to school between December 4-December 15, 2017. For more information, please see the attached flyer.
Lessons & Carols - December 12th
Information regarding the Lessons & Carols program is attached for parents of students in
K-5th grades.
Yearbook News!
To order a yearbook or upload photos for the yearbook, visit Pictavo Community at
www.commpe.pictavo.com. Use Google Chrome for best results. Please see the flyer for more information.
7th & 8th Grade 80's Dance - December 15th
Please see the attached flyer for more information.
PTO
PTO BOARD
Sharon Moss, President   srjones@hotmail.com
Carolyn Koch, Vice President   carolynlett@yahoo.com
Beth Burke, Secretary   burke62801@gmail.com
Melissa McGuire, Treasurer    straydog64@gmail.com
Thank you to all the families who submitted Box Tops for the Fall deadline. Those box tops were turn into cash that the school can use as needed! 
 
Now as we head into the Christmas season, please remember to clip any box tops and send them into school via kid mail to Laura Fannon - Ryan 3-15.
 
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support St. Louis School every time you shop, at no  cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you'll find the exact same prices, selection and shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to St. Louis School!

To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com. On your first visit, you will need to select "St. Louis Catholic School - Alexandria, VA" before you begin shopping. If you already have an Amazon account, you can login with those credentials and your shopping cart, Wish Lists, registries and other account settings will stay the same.
Silent Auction Donation Request
The annual silent auction is quickly approaching! While visiting with friends and family this holiday season, please share that the St. Louis Catholic School PTO is looking for getaways and unique items! Is someone you know crafty? Would they be willing to donate? Do the grandparents have a vacation home that they would be willing to share? Please see the donation letter and form for more information.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Parents are responsible for tracking their volunteer hours. Volunteer hours may be input online. Please contact the volunteer coordinator, Vanessa Milewski, with any questions.

Keep in mind, the following opportunities count toward volunteer hours:
  • Classroom party/celebration donations = 1 hour/donation
  • PTO Meeting attendance = 1 hour/meeting
  • Silent Auction purchase/donation = 1 hour/$20
  • Bake Sale items = 1 hour/donated item
CYO & Extracurricular Activities
Girl Scouts Winter Coat Drive
St. Louis Girl Scouts are collecting gently-used winter coats (adult and child-sized) for UCM during the month of December and through January 5. Collection bins are located just outside the front office.
Parish & Community
BI Hackathon for 8th Graders
Students from all over the Northern Virginia area are invited to learn about different subjects related to Computer Science and practice their skills with other high school coders like themselves. The environment is open to students of all skill levels, from beginner to advanced.  Eighth grade students are invited from 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM on January 20th. For more information, please see the attached letter and flyer.
Saint John Paul the Great H.S. Laudare Program
Saint John Paul the Great invites you to learn about our new Laudare Program  Wednesday December 6, 2017 at 7:00 pm. This innovative program focuses on enhancing our support and services for students with specific learning disabilities. During this evening you will have an opportunity to meet and ask questions to our certified special education teachers and administrators. This program will serve as an enhancement to our existing Academic Support Program. We look forward to seeing you there!
UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS

Please refer to the school calendar on the website for additional information. Subscribe to the calendar to automatically receive all of the latest updates.

Dec. 12 - Lessons & Carols, 7pm, St. Louis Church  (students to arrive in classrooms at 6:30pm)
Dec. 20 - 11:30 Dismissal (PM EDC closed)
Dec. 21-Jan. 2 - Christmas Break
St. Louis Catholic School
2901 Popkins Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306
Principal: Kathleen McNutt
Phone: 703-768-7732
www.stlouisschool.org
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