PARENT BULLETIN
March 16, 2017
DAN'S BLOG  
March is the month when 8th grade families choose which high schools their soon-to-be graduating children will be attending. April is the month when St. Louise faculty are offered contracts and have to decide if they want to sign up for yet another year working under a certain boss. And May is the month when our teachers get together to create next year's grade K-8 homeroom lists.
 
But even though May is the month for finalizing next year's class lists, April is actually a critical month in this process. Keep reading to find out why.

This spring, teachers will create these new homeroom rosters for next year's grade levels, mixing up the current group of students in each grade and adding any newly admitted students. Let me remind you parents that, just as you are trusting the teachers this year with caring for and teaching your most precious possessions every day, so too do I hope you can trust them with making the decisions this May on which children to place in which classrooms. What will happen is the teachers of one grade level will get together and decide how best to create the next grade level's class placements for the fall. They take into account many things, making sure there is a balance in each class of: boys and girls; highly verbal and low verbal personalities; kids with strong academic skills and those who need extra help; etc. They also know which students would best be served by being separated from certain classmates or grouped with certain others. Finally, they try to match each child's learning style with the teaching styles of next year's teachers.

If one little change is thrown into the mix, such as a parent requesting that her child be in a specific class, the "domino effect" takes place and more changes need to be made to keep the balance mentioned above. It's not an easy task to create new class rosters for the succeeding school year. Therefore, I need you to trust the knowledge of our teachers in choosing the class placement that will be best for your child and best for the entire class of students.
However, should you have an important point you want us to consider for the best learning-atmosphere placement for your child next year, you have an opportunity to send me this information in writing by an APRIL 15th deadline. Please do not talk to a teacher about this, as all requests must come through me, and I will then work with the teachers to do our best to meet your request, assuming we agree and we're able to work through the "domino effect." There is no guarantee. Additionally, I ask that you written request focus on what type of "learning atmosphere placement" you want us to consider; please don't just name the "teacher" you want your child to have. Furthermore, note that I keep track of the number of requests a parent has made for a child's class placement request, as it would be too complex to accommodate a family's multiple requests during their one child's K-8 era. Finally, do you realize that the OVERWHELMING majority of parents NEVER place a request? :-)  Thanks for your understanding, trust, and support.
 
Above, as part of an Auction-item, "Principal for the Day" Richard got to sit at my desk and run the school on Monday. I'd like to think the real principal of St. Louise was this young at one time. Actually, when I was named principal at St. Louise at 28, I was the youngest principal ever in the Seattle Archdiocese. That means Richard can take over in just 17 more years!

Speaking of an April 15th deadline, another deadline on that same date (besides the one we all dread about paying taxes) is to apply for a Father Phil Wallace Tuition Assistance Endowment Fund Grant. The online application and the accompanying documentation must be submitted to the company we use to process these applications ( FACTS ) by April 15. Please see the information sheet in today's Family Envelope, and if your family will be struggling this coming school year with low earnings, please consider applying.
 
Thanks for reading,,
 
Mr. FITZ


 


 

 

p.s.

We're excited that Cherie McIntosh returns to the library this Monday after her weeks off following her surgery! And Chris Evans returned to work this week following his son's birth, although when little Logan Evans "graduates" from the neo-natal unit and gets to go home in a week or two, Mr. Evans will take another week or two off for family leave. Finally, Mrs. LaRussa Banton's husband continues to recover after his numerous surgeries, and she appreciates your continued prayers.

School Calendar
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TODAY & TOMORROW

Thursday, March 16
  • Grades 5 & 6 and the School Band Perform a Winter Concert.
  • For today's 1:30 performance for a grade K-4 student audience, Band students are asked to bring the instruments to school.
  • For tonight's 6:30 evening performance for their parent and family audience, student performers are to wear their school uniforms (sans sweaters) with the Band students reporting to the hall at 6:00, and the 5th and 6th graders reporting to their homerooms at 6:00. The doors open to the hall for family seating at 6:00.
Friday, March 17
  • St. Patrick's Day "Wearin' of the Green" FREE DRESS Day 

COMING UP NEXT WEEK
 
Friday, March 24
  • Grade K-8 Report Cards Sent Home
Saturday, March 25
  • Spring Spruce-Up, 8AM-12PM; earn volunteer hours while helping to weed, rake, prune, and spruce up the school grounds
  • CYO Coaches' Dinner, 6:30PM in parish hall
     
SAVE THE DATE
 
Thursday, March 30
  • Grade 6-8 Reconciliation Service and Individual Confessions, 10:30AM
Friday, March 31
  • Opera performance in parish hall for grade K-6 at 1:05; paid for by Parents' Club enrichment grant; parents welcome to attend
School Musical Tickets On Sale Now

          Our school musical - Seussical, Jr. - stars many of our 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, who have been working on it since November, and they will be performing at the Bellevue High School Theater on May 3 and 4. Below is a copy of our ticket order form, which you may print out, or use the paper copy sent home last week. Please return a check and the completed order form soon, as the best seats in the house will be filled on a first come-first served basis! For more information, contact the show's producer/director, Terry LaRussa Banton.


 
Join the CYO Track & Field Team
          Registration is open for 4th through 8th graders to join the 2017 St Louise Track & Field team at: https://reg.sportspilot.com/106300/leagues . Practices will be Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5:00 to 6:30 at Odle Middle School, from April 25, to June 1.  Track meets will be held on Saturdays in May, and on June 3.
           The Seattle University Track & Field team is once again offering a free day of Track & Field coaching on the SU campus. This fun event on April 2, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm, is an opportunity for St Louise athletes to receive training for track & field.  To sign up for this free event, email CYO coordinator  Joe Hueffed for further details.   
Send In Your Nominations
      Every year St. Louise Parish School honors an alumnus or alumna with the Distinguished Graduate Award. This award, co-sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association, goes to St. Louise School graduate who has made a positive contribution to American life and/or the Catholic church. Past recipients include: Sharon Betzler Huber, Janet Behrenhoff, Ken Cline, Maureen Heflin Still, Maureen Kelley Duckworth, Luisa Nava Orejana, Jane Bott Reynolds, Curtis Betzler, Sgt. Amy Winn, Erin Wagner, Millie Dorris Judge, Doug Glaze, Donna MacKenzie, and Commander William Dorris. If you know of a St. Louise graduate you would like to recommend be considered for this award, please contact Laura Leach in the School Development office. Please note that candidate must have graduated from St. Louise in 2007 or earlier.

March Madness Continues

How many of your purchases can you make this month using Charger Cards? Buy your gas, groceries and all other spending through Charger Cards first, and pay with your credit card. Get your frequent flier points AND support St. Louise at the same time!
> Until March 31, if you use your credit or debit card for purchases, there is no 'fee' for transactions in excess of $100.
> For the month of March, if you want to take advantage of MARCH MADNESS, stop by the Charger Card office to pay in person by credit card or complete the credit card authorization form and send it in with your printed order. This method lets you order and pay with a credit card even if it's not convenient to visit during Charger Card office hours.
> Please note - The credit authorization form is not needed if you will be using your credit card in-person at the Charger Card office.
> All Charger Card forms - drop off form, online registration, credit card form, teacher wish list - are available online at www.stlouiseschool.org/chargercards.


Buy Charger Cards for Your Business & Pay by Company Credit Card

If your company uses gift cards, buy them from St. Louise. Several families purchase gift cards from the Charger Card program for their company. This month, pay by credit card and there are no extra credit card fees! Contact the Charger Card program if you need a la rge quantity of gift cards for a promotion or employee program. In the past, we've had families order:
* 300 x $25 Amazon
* 250 x $10 Subway
* 200 x $25 QFC
* 80 x $10 Starbucks
* 40 x $50 Daniel's Broiler
We can provide an invoice for easy check request or expense purposes. Contact us with any questions.
Where Will You Be During Spring Break?
 
Charger Cards carries many cards useful for travel!
* Hotels - Best Western, Hyatt, Clarion Hotels, Comfort Inn, Econo Lodge, Quality Inn, Fairmont, Sleep Inn
* Rental Cars - Avis, Budget
* Air - Delta, Southwest
* Travel - Disney, Princess Cruise, Celebrity Cruise, Carnival Cruise, Royal Caribbean
* Gas & Auto - Chevron, Shell, 76, Texaco, Arco, BP, Safeway, Exxon, Circle K, Jiffy Lube, Sinclair, Sears Auto


Charger Card Office hours:
> Friday from 8:15-8:45am - Last day for March Madness is Friday, March 31 at 9am.
> School and Charger Card office will be closed April 1-9 for Easter Break.

Parent Liz DeBord (left) presented a fun science lesson to 1st graders about Sir Isaac Newton, teaching about the properties of solids & liquids, and solutions & mixtures.  Most interesting of all, the children learned about non-Newtonian fluids and were able to create Gak/Flubber/Oobleck/Slime.   
 
If you have a photo of your kids in a school or community event and/or at a CYO game, send it 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.
Click to bring you to the Treering site where you may place your St. Louise School Yearbook order. Yearbooks are published in June.