St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter
January 5, 2018
A Message from the Principal...
Dear St. Louis Families,

Happy New Year and Happy Epiphany!  We celebrate the beginning of 2018, and we welcome the three wise men praising God and adoring the baby Jesus.  It was a blessing to have our students back on Wednesday, and then alas our first weather challenge on Thursday and Friday.  Snow delays and closures are never my favorite (not fun for an administrator!), but they are for safety and health.  There are often internal issues with heat and power and road/sidewalk clearings that also impact our campus on inclement weather days, and these last two days were no exception.  We look forward to having our students back on Monday, and we pray that the rest of January and February weather will be mildly uneventful!     
 
For grades 3 through 7, students will be taking their second round of diocesan Scantron Performance Series assessments over the next few weeks.  The same process used for our September assessments will take place now, with students using computers/chromebooks to complete the online assessments in Math, Language Arts and Reading.  Student results will go home with second quarter report cards at the beginning of February.  We are grateful for the ease of the process and the stress-free format, and we look forward to using the data to drive instruction in the classroom.
 
Next Thursday afternoon (January 11th), as your students head home on a scheduled 11:30am dismissal day, our teachers will be heading to West Virginia for staff professional development and an overnight spiritual retreat.  We will be there through Friday, so keep us in your prayers and enjoy the long weekend with your families.  Know that all of you will be in our prayers in a very special way! #RaiseThePraise!

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: Ledbetter, Lembelembe, Lentini, Ligonde, Little, Lodewick, LoGrande, Lorenzo Y Losada, Lowe, Loza, Lucas, Lugo and Lyons.
School Announcements
Stay Connected - Follow Us on Social Media!
Student Artwork Featured in the Mount Vernon Gazette Children's Issue
The artwork of several St. Louis students was selected by the Mount Vernon Gazette to be featured in the Children's & Teens' Gazette 2017. A link to the publication can be found here.
Join Us for Family Code Night - January 30, 2018
Family Code Night  is a fun, interactive family-school event for kids (grades 2-5) and their parents or guardians to experience computer programming for the first time -  together ! Playing in teams to complete puzzles and challenges at their own pace, families learn foundations of coding in just one hour. Instead of  watching  screens, parents and kids will learn to  create what's on their screens!
 
Tuesday January 30, 2018 | 7-8pm  | Media  Center

Hurry! Space is limited.   Click here to sign up now:  http://signup.com/go/XbfjmfE

Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact Mrs. Ruth Cody and you can be signed up manually.
                                                                                      
Fun & Memorable Family Screen Time!
  •  A great experience to share with your kids grades 2-5
  •  No coding experience needed
  •  Use our computers and headphones, no need to bring your own
  •  This is a family activity; no child drop-offs
Volunteers Welcome!  Parents & kids with tech experience, or kids who have participated in Hour of Code are encouraged to sign up as volunteer coaches. Please email Mrs.Cody at [email protected].
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.
QUICKLINKS
PTO
PTO BOARD
Sharon Moss, President   [email protected]
Carolyn Koch, Vice President   [email protected]
Beth Burke, Secretary   [email protected]
Melissa McGuire, Treasurer    [email protected]
Spirit Dinner @ Moe's, January 10th
Come to Moe's Southwest Grill Wednesday, Jan. 10 from 5-9PM for our next Spirit Dinner. We will receive 20% of sales for the PTO. Please come out and support the PTO and hang out with your friends. In addition, some spicy food will warm you up in these cold winter months! Please bring the flyer so the school receives credit.
PTO Meeting - January 16
Join us for the January PTO meeting on Tuesday, January 16 at 7pm. Babysitting will be provided by the 8th Grade. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
Catholic Schools Week  January 28 - February 3

Praise, PJs and Pastries - Wednesday, Jan. 31
The students and staff will have "Praise, PJs and Pastries" to begin the day! All will be allowed to come to school in fleece/flannel pants and sweatshirts for the day (Mrs. McNutt will send out the dress code policy reminders and details beforehand).

After morning prayers, the students and staff will enjoy a muffin snack! The muffins (including allergy free muffins) will be provided by Krystle Island and Bag Lady Catering. We are asking you to please help us make it a wonderful treat, and we will need some help in the halls in the morning during set-up.


Community Service Day - Wednesday, Jan. 31
During Catholic School's week, we are partnering with Carpenter's Shelter, which supports the homeless to achieve sustainable independence through shelter, guidance, education and advocacy, and is serving more than 600 formerly homeless, and homeless, children and adults each year.

The Shelter has asked for 100 toiletry bags (50 men, 50 women) -- with full size items -- that shelter residents can take with them when they transition to permanent housing. Similar to last year's Community Service Day activity, this effort involves the whole school community, from kindergartners decorating the bags and older grades placing items in bags, to middle schoolers forming a chain passing the bags through the gym to delivery vehicles (aka parent volunteer cars).  With your generous contributions, plus a few volunteers sorting items and helping students fill bags on Community Service Day, the entire St. Louis School community will participate in this Community Service project on Wednesday, January 31, 2018.

If you would like to join us in this community service effort, please use this sign-up for toiletry and/or volunteer donations.
 
Silent Auction Donations
Similar to the wise men in search of the Christ child, the Silent
Auction committee is in search of donations and assistance for the
upcoming auction on February 3rd, 2018. Please see the attached letter and flyer for more information. Contact Emily Chuma at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
St Louis Families, it is the start of the new year, and I have attached the updated list of completed PTO volunteer hours as of January 1, 2018.

If your name is on the list, that means your family has met the complete requirement of 18 hours for a two-parent family or 9 hours for a single-parent family. If your name does not appear on the list and you have met the requirement, please email me so that I can make sure I have your hours recorded. My email is   [email protected]. Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you for your time and dedication to our school. Your involvement and help are what make St. Louis School a wonderful community.
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.
St. John Paul the Great HS - Upcoming Middle School Events
  • 3v3 Soccer Tournament - January 27    Calling all soccer students in Middle School thru 9th  grade: you are invited to participate in the annual JP 3v3 Soccer Tournament. The indoor JP 3v3 is a great opportunity for soccer players of all skill levels to come sharpen skills, work with JP soccer coaches and players, and have a great time during the cold blustery days of January! See the attached flyer for more information.
     
  • 7th Annual Band & Choir Festival - January 27  All Middle School musicians are invited to participate. For more information, please see the attached flyer.
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.

Jan. 9 - PTO Board Meeting, 7pm
Jan. 10 - Spirit Dinner at Moe's Southwest Grill, 5-9pm
Jan. 11 - 11:30 Dismissal, no PM EDC
Jan. 12 - No School
Jan. 15 - No School
Jan. 16 - PTO General Meeting, 7pm
Jan. 19 - March for Life
Jan. 22 - Winter Band & Chorus Concert, 7pm
Jan. 23 - Coffee with the Principal, 8:15am
Jan. 26 - End of 2nd Quarter
Jan. 28 - Catholic Schools Week Mass, 8:45am
Jan. 28 - Open House for Prospective Families, 10am-1pm
Jan. 30 - Open House for Prospective Families, 9am-11am
Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 - Catholic Schools Week
St. Louis Catholic School
2901 Popkins Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306
Principal: Kathleen McNutt
Phone: 703-768-7732
www.stlouisschool.org
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