PARENT BULLETIN
May 11, 2017
DAN'S BLOG 
 
Today we are opening up your access to the online link that welcomes you to sign-up for volunteer jobs for the 2017-18 school year. We are asking at this time for all returning school parents to note in which ways you'll be able to help out around school and with school events, committees, and fund raisers in the coming school year. This early sign-up helps the school staff and Parents' Club figure out if we'll have enough volunteer support to run our programs, and it helps you create your 40 hour (minimum) schedule for volunteering for next year.  You have until June 19, to note your jobs for the 2017-18 school year here at the 2017-18 volunteer jobs sign-up link.
 
If you have questions about the overall volunteer process, please contact the Parents' Club's Volunteer Coordinator, Marinell Zevenbergen. Remember, as we wind down this current 2016-17 year, by mid-June all parents must have  logged in online a minimum 40 hours. Thanks for giving your time!

Finally, I want to congratulate our First Communion families! Last weekend, our parish experienced the joy of sharing the Lord's Table with most of our 2nd grade students for the first time. It was so special to see how serious and solemn the kids were at the First Communion Mass, and at the same time so thrilled and giddy. Thank you to the volunteer catechists and to Geri Hanley for
their yearlong work leading our parish's Sacramental Preparation program, along with the added preparation Miss Kroon and Miss Casey provide in our school's 2nd grade religion classes. I especially want to thank the parents of our 2nd graders for guiding your children to this special day, and desiring to form your kids in the full meaning of Christ's presence in the sacred bread and wine, and in the community of faith. The First Communion event is just that - the FIRST - of what needs to be an INFINITE number of experiences with Christ in community, and I applaud you for making Mass attendance a priority in your family's schedules in the months and years ahead.

Thanks for reading,
Mr. FITZ

p.s.
 
Our annual Grandparents' Mass is tomorrow at 9:00AM. If K-8 students have grandparents who can visit them at school (or if not, other relatives/special friends may substitute), they should meet their grandkids outside their classrooms at 8:45 so they may walk to church with them and sit with them at Mass. There will be special recognition of the grandparents during the liturgy. Immediately following Mass, a reception follows over at the main building until 10:30, at which time the students need to get back to work and will have to say goodbye to their special visitors.
 
Please note that parking is congested for this event, so please arrive early tomorrow and realize you may need to park on the soccer field or find neighborhood parking.
School Calendar
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TODAY, TOMORROW, AND THIS WEEKEND
 
Thursday, May 11
  • SPRING CONCERT - Grades 3 & 4 perform along with our school Band; 6:30 PM in the parish hall; performers to report to classrooms at 6:00
  • The Book Fair will be open immediately after the Concert
Friday, May 12
  • Grandparents' Mass - 9:00AM; Grandparents (or other relatives/special friends) should meet students outside their classrooms at 8:45 to walk to church with them and sit with them at Mass; a reception follows over at the main building until 10:30
Saturday, May 13
  • CYO Track Meet, 3PM at Renton Stadium
Sunday, May 14
  • CYO 8th Grade Pentathlon
  • Happy Mothers' Day
      
NEXT WEEK
 
Monday, May 15
  • Presentation for parents about reading, brain development, and dyslexia, in the school library, 7PM (see flyer in today's red Family Envelope)
Tuesday, May 16
  • Kendra Scott "Gives Back Party" for the Auction at Bellevue Square, 6-9PM (see flyer in today's red Family Envelope)
Thursday, May 18
  • Bake Sale (to raise funds for 8th grade graduation) - final sale of the year!
Friday, May 19
  • Grade 6 - no school (after their 4 days at camp)
  • Grade 5 - early dismissal (after returning from Pioneer Farm by noon)
Saturday, May 20
  • CYO Track Meet, 10AM at Highline Stadium
  • Congratulations to Father Fabian on the anniversary of his 40th Ordination!
SAVE THE DATE
 
Monday, May 22
  • Final School Commission and Parents' Club meetings of the year, 6:30PM
  • Tryouts for 2018 school musical for next year's 6th-8th graders, 2-4PM
Wednesday, May 24
  • Tryouts continue for 2018 school musical for next year's 6th-8th graders, 3-5PM
Friday, May 26
  • Science Showcase in the parish hall
The 2017-18 School Calendar Is Now Ready to Print Out
          If you go to our school's website and click on the EVENTS section of the main page, you will bring up the monthly calendar. By either clicking on the right-arrow to scroll through the months, or clicking on the small-worded "Calendar View" on the far right-side of the page, you will be able to get to the July 2017 through June 2018 school calendars. Here you will see - and can print out - the various school events and vacations for the upcoming school year. In today's red Family Envelope, we're giving you a quick-view, one-sheet calendar for you to stick on your frig at home.
Announcing our Yearbook Cover Design Winners
Each year St. Louise 4th-8th graders are asked to help design the cover for our yearbook. The Yearbook Cover Design Contest was presented to our students this year with the challenge to design a cover that highlighted one of our SLE's:  "A St. Louise Student is a Life-Long Learner." The students did an incredible job, and it was a very difficult decision for the school faculty to determine the winning covers for the yearbook among over 250 entries!    

We are excited to announce that the top design, which will grace the front cover of this year's yearbook, will have artwork created by Katie Bruce of the 8th grade (at left). Katie did an phenomenal job combining different materials and using words and STL images to make a collage piece of artwork.  Her use of color, unique fonts, and impactful statements truly illustrate the different ways our students are life-long learners.

Our back cover of the yearbook will have the artwork created by the runner-up of the contest - sixth grader Emily D'Costa (below).  Emily's beautiful cover showcases fantastic color blending along with a very creative composition.  Her detailed 3-dimensional drawings do a great job highlighting the different subjects and values our students learn. Nice work, Katie and Emily!

We would also like to highlight the following students who were selected as finalists in the Yearbook Cover Design Contest:  
  • Macee Cruz, grade 8
  • Elsa Kammereck, grade 7
  • Kate Leach, grade 6
  • Emma Saffel, grade 6
  • Raizel Lagunero, grade 6
  • Ruby Salmon, grade 4

 

To see all 8 of these beautiful covers, swing by the main office where Mrs. Walker has showcased them in the front windows.   
Please Make Sure Your Child Is Safe After School
         We've been having an issue with some students not following our after-school rule of being properly supervised during the 3:00-3:20 (2:00-2:20 on Mondays) carpool pickup time. Please remind your children they are required to wait on the sidewalks along the original school wings during this 20 minute timeframe when the safety patrol are on duty and the teachers and Mr. Fuerte are outside supervising. Unfortunately, we're finding kids straying, and ending up on the west end of the property instead.
          Students are not allowed to shoot baskets, dribble balls, or play around the soccer field or basketball court, as it's too dangerous and too distracting during this time with so many cars driving around. If their vehicles are parked over in those areas, the students must be sitting in them, not playing outside of them during this busy 20 minute timeframe.
          Furthermore, the BigToy play area cannot be played on from 3:00-3:20 (2:00-2:20 on Mondays) unless the child's parent (or carpool driver) is physically present and supervising. This means we must easily be able to visibly see the parent is standing nearby and supervising. It doesn't work for us to have to walk over to the BigToy to be told by the student, "My mom told me to wait here after school until she drives up and parks," or "My mom is sitting over there in that SUV 10 cars down the way with the darkened windows."
          We get concerned there are sometimes students playing on the BigToy without supervision, as that is unsafe. The teacher supervision is over at the school wings on the sidewalk. If a student is caught playing on the BigToy (or soccer field, basketball court, etc.) during this carpool pickup time without his/her parent physically present, he/she will be disciplined with a time-out, and a repeat infraction will result in a conduct referral.
          Thanks for your support. We have 400 kids to keep an eye on with 200 cars driving by! We certainly need this support!  
  
AUCTION NEWS

We are so excited to announce a new event at this year's auction - A Kendra Scott Jewelry Pull! The night of the auction, Kendra Scott will be donating 50 boxes of jewelry each valued at $65 or more. For the price of $50 you can pull one of these boxes, open it to reveal which lovely piece you've selected, and take home the beautiful Kendra Scott jewelry inside. 100% of the funds raised will go toward St. Louise School
 
You won't want to miss this - we are holding an event at the Kendra Scott store in Bellevue Square on Tuesday, May 16, from 6-9 pm. See below for details. Please join us, and you will be able to custom design and purchase beautiful Kendra Scott jewelry of your choice - with 20% of your purchase going to St. Louise! Please invite your family and friends to stop by the store on the 16th. Kendra Scott Jewelry would make a great Mother's Day gift!  Thank you to Kendra Scott for their generous support of St. Louise School. Check out Kendra Scott's beautiful designs at http://www.kendrascott.com/ .
 
The Auction kick-off packet you received last month gave you the information you need to donate to/procure for the auction and to pay the  required project fee, and you can also find this information here online . In addition, auction director Sue Richards  can help you if you need some suggestions of what items to procure.

All 2017-18 school families will need to donate or procure the minimally required $200 donation to the 2017 Auction by the early date of May 31. (If you procrastinate, this minimal donation amount increases in June to $250, so please get started now.)

Wondering what to donate to the auction? Please consider making a cash donation to help underwrite one of our live auction items or your choice raffle items! See the "Underwriting Opportunities" flyer below for details. Minimum donation to help underwrite an item is $300 - and as a thank you for going above and beyond the minimum family requirement of $200 - by helping underwrite one of these items you will earn your students FREE DRESS for Monday, June 5!


In addition to the donation/procurement requirement, each returning school family needs to please pay a $20-per-family grade project fee by May 31. This is a change from past years when we had a $15-per-CHILD fee.
Please note that we are unable to accept art, clothing, shoes, software, used items, or most professional services - included but not limited to haircuts, photographers, chiropractic care, or financial services. Items with a value of less than $25 are also not able to be accepted.

Finally, the Auction's procurement subcommittee is busy putting together exciting packages for the live portion of the Auction, and we are interested in hearing what type of items and experiences you'd like to see up for bid. Please email auction@stlouiseschool.org with your suggestions.

 
Thanks for your participation in making Auction 2017 a success!
Our St. Louise School House truly rocks!  


Organize Your Life and Get Ready for Summer with RELOAD Charger Cards
Buy a plastic card from the Charger Card Office once and register it online. You can order RELOAD value for these cards online and never need to make an in-person Charger office visit again! You may RELOAD your cards at your convenience online:
> RELOAD late at night after the kids go to bed!
> RELOAD on your phone when you are out and need to buy groceries!
> RELOAD all summer and support St. Louise year-round!
 
Here are a few of the most popular RELOADable cards:
 
* Grocery: Safeway, Albertsons, Whole Foods, PCC
* Gas: Shell, Arco, BP, 76, Exxon, Mobil
* Restaurants: Dominos, Papa John's, Starbucks, Subway, Burger King
* Clothing: Athleta Gap, Gymboree, JCP, Old Navy, Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works
* Retail: Target, AMC, Lowe's, Jiffy Lube
 
Your assignment...should you choose to accept it:
1. Buy any of the many RELOADable cards from the Charger Card office.
2. Register online.
3. RELOAD!
 
We would LOVE to help you set up RELOAD cards. If you'd like one of us on the Charger Cards team to walk you through each step of online process in person or by phone, please email us and we'll be happy to coordinate a time to help you!
 

Less Than 30 Days Until School Year End
Make plans now to complete your Charger Card requirement. Don't delay! Please contact us if you would like help with ordering, planning, or understanding how to fulfill your commitment to the program! We are happy to help you make a plan that will fit your family's budget and habits.
  

Don't Forget Mom on Mothers' Day
Charger Cards will make it easy for you, and include a free gift bag/wrap for all Mother's Day orders. Mother's Day is this Sunday. Stop by and pick up the perfect gift for your wife, mother, or grandmother tomorrow morning. Great Mother's Day Packages you can create include:
 

* From Dad and the Kids to Mom ($50): $25 Marshalls, Macy's or Nordstrom & $25 Starbucks.
* The Mom's Day Out package ($100): $50 Gene Juarez, $50 Macy's, $10 Starbucks.
* The Spoil Mom ($110): $100 Gene Juarez & $10 Starbucks.
Date Night for Mom ($200): $100 Gene Juarez, $100 Daniel's Broiler.
* Dinner and a movie at Crossroads ($45): $25 Regal (2 single tickets), $20 Chipotle
* Dinner and a movie at Lincoln Square ($75): $25 Lincoln Cinema, $50 Maggiano's
 

It's Auction Procurement Time... And Charger Cards Can Be Connected
Buy Charger Cards before you make your donation-purchases from the Auction Wish Lists, and increase your support for St. Louise. Here are the rebate amounts for the Wish List stores:
 

* Amazon - 3%
* Williams Sonoma - 8%
* Pottery Barn - 8%
 

Or donate Charger Cards directly to the Auction. The Auction committee requests the following gift cards to help them complete some exciting bid-packages:
 
* Amazon
* Disney
* Nordstrom


New Co-Chairs Are Found!
We are excited to announce that Megan Kirk and Shawn Roduin have agreed to be co-chairs for the Charger Cards program beginning in the 2017-18 school year! After four years of chairing Charger Cards, Kathy Hueffed and Darlene Kraft will be turning over the reins to Megan and Shawn. We are grateful to have such enthusiastic, capable parents stepping forward to continue this vital fund raiser for our school, and want to thank Megan and newly entering parent Shawn! And when you see Darlene and Kathy, please applaud them for their tireless efforts since 2013 in co-chairing Charger Cards! What terrific leaders they have been!


Please return Charger Card plastic envelopes to the main school office once you have received your Charger Card order.

 For more information on Charger Cards and online ordering, please visit www.stlouiseschool.org/chargercards or email chargercards@stlouiseschool.org.
  
Charger Card Office hours: Fridays from 8:15-8:45am.
We Love Our Volunteers!
          Mrs. McIntosh wants to thank the parents who helped her in either the library or the computer lab this year:  Amy Manne, Carolyn Yepez, Sharon Victor, Jacintha Vimal, Kristina Abueg, Anu Vincent, Rebecca Nightingale, Gabriella Schmidt, Didi Burrington, Eleanor Malabanan, Alice Shaw, Marinell Zevenbergen, Verene Woelfl, Veronique Tano, Angela Fernandez, Lilibeth Tiotuico, Milton Milton, Raquel Almeida.

 

We Certainly Could Use Your Help
          Each newly enrolled school family for the upcoming school year is going to be paired up with a current school family whom we call their "Mentor." These Mentors' job is to contact the new family via email or phone to welcome them to St. Louise School and answer any questions they may have about anything from purchasing uniforms this summer to how to drive into morning drop-off in September. If schedules work out, many Mentor parents also initially meet the new school parents on New Parent Orientation Night on June 5 and/or set up a playdate for the kids to get together over the summer. We are in need of more current school parents to step up to be a Mentor to new parents, especially if you will have children entering grades PK, Kindergarten, or 1. Can you please volunteer today? Contact one of our Mentor co-chairs and please volunteer to help: Laura Bonner or Daisy Mendes.
 


  Scarves Up!
Register today for the
ANNUAL ST. LOUISE
MOTHER/SON EVENT
SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 5:30PM

We are so excited for our annual Mother/Son event this year! Get ready to cheer on the Sounders to victory as they play the Houston Dynamo on Sunday, June 4. Our event begins at 5:30 p.m. and includes a catered dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the fixins' in one of the Sounders Lofts!  Come early so you can eat and get your pictures taken before the game!  Game time begins at 7, as we will head to our seats after dinner.    

Register online NOW, as seats are limited. The final deadline in Friday, May 19.  We do have a minimum number of tickets to sell, so early registration is much appreciated! Click on the "Give a New Gift" link HERE  to register. Then select "Mother/Son event" and list the names of all your family's attendees for whom you're purchasing tickets (and feel free to add in the comments-section the names of one or two families you would like to sit near).

We look forward to seeing you on the pitch! If you have any questions, please email Social Activities co-chairs, Teresa Brosche & Rebecca Ort.   


Soccer Registration Begins Next Thursday
           St. Louise's CYO soccer registration opens May 18th.  Soccer is open to all incoming students in grades K-8. The season starts at the end of August - please note this is before school begins.  If you have questions, please contact coordinators Maria Kelly-Dogget or Christie Allemand at  soccer@stlouise.org .
  We Are So Proud of Our Alumni
            Last week, we were proud to welcome three of our St. Louise School Alumni to our annual "Alumni Career Day" event. Joining us were:
  • Lindsey Thiry, Class of 2001;
  • Aoife (Gallagher) Groppo, Class of 1996;
  • Tom Lindley, Class of 1992.
          The three alums spoke to our 7th and 8th graders about their experiences, education, and career paths since graduating from St. Louise. Each of them were so inspirational and had unique words of wisdom to share with our students.
            Lindsey is currently working as a sports reporter & broadcaster with Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports West, and the Los Angeles Times. You can get a feel for what she does in her job by taking a look at this video. In addition, Lindsey sent out this special Instagram message.
          Aoife is currently working as director of alumnae relations at her alma mater, Holy Names Academy, after working as an attorney for seven years. Tom is a senior financial analyst at Pokémon Company.
          We are so grateful to our alumni for taking the time to visit St. Louise and share with our junior high students. If you know of an impressive St. Louise alum, have him/her contact Laura Leach as a possible presenter for a future career day event.



Left to right: Aoife (Gallagher) Groppo, Lindsey Thiry, Tom Lindley

 

The Washington Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (WABIDA) is excited to host the final lecture in their 2016-2017 lecture series right here at St. Louise School THIS MONDAY NIGHT.
 
Up to one in five individuals may show symptoms of dyslexia, such as difficulty learning to speak, learning letters and their sounds, organizing written and spoken language, memorizing number facts, spelling, and learning a foreign language. Dr. Jason Yeatman of the University of Washington will present on what science can teach us about reading, brain development, and dyslexia.
 
All St. Louise parents and friends are invited to this presentation in our school library. A suggested donation helps to ensure WABIDA can continue to offer education and resources to the community. Please contact info@wabida.org for more information.


"Bravi!" to the cast and crew of the school musical, Seussical, Jr.!