St. Pius X / St. Leo School Newsletter March 15, 2019
Save the Date!

Please join us for the 4th annual Recognition Dinner on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 5:30 pm at St. Leo the Great Church. It will be a very memorable evening as we gather as a community to celebrate the following honorees:

Christy Vogel - Sr. Brigetta Burns "Teacher of the Year"

Luci Catalano - Sr. Viola Miksch "Servant of Mary" Service Award

Jacque Brink - Rev. George Kempker "Volunteer of the Year" Award

Judge Michael Pirtle - NCEA Distinguished Graduate ('67) Award

Joyce Gubbels - Hall of Fame Inductee

Our parent and alumni presence is a very special part of the celebration as many of us have been influenced and moved by our honorees. We invite you to come and share your stories in their honor.

Invitations were sent home with your youngest child the last week of February. If you did not receive your invitation or if you or your organization has an interest in sponsoring a table for our teachers and staff, please contact Bernadette Martens Chapman (bernadette.martenschapman@spsl.net or 402.551.6667). See you on the 9th!

NEBRASKA STATE CHESS TEAM TOURNAMENT

Congratulations to the students who participated in the Nebraska State Chess Team Tournament at Boys Town on March 9. The K-3rd grade team of Colby Bluvas, Leo Harr, Sam Harr, Judah Lynch and Ken Patch finished in 3rd place. The K-8th grade team of Caleb Hans, Connor Rudden, Alex ten Bensel, Tanner ten Bensel and Geoff ten Bensel also finished in 3rd place.
St. Pius X / St. Leo School is a diverse community forming students in the Catholic faith to excel in academics and service to others.
kids welcome
INTEREST IN SPSL?

Do you know parents of new families who are interested in sending their child/ren to our school for the 2019-20 school year? Please encourage them to call the school office at
402-551-6667 to arrange a tour.
LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE

Congratulations to seventh grader Ruby Cunningham who won first place in Nebraska in the Letters About Literature writing contest. Ruby, along with the winners in the elementary and high school levels, will be honored in April in Lincoln.

As part of Literature class, all seventh graders selected a book that affected their lives in some way and wrote a reflective letter to the author of that book. They then had the option of entering the contest. All entries were sent to the national judging committee first. The top ones were sent back to the individual states where the first and second place letters in each category were selected. Ruby wrote to Ishmael Beah, the author who wrote A Long Way Gone.
STORMCHASERS NIGHT

SPSL is hosting a Family Fun Night with the Omaha Storm Chasers on Friday, May 3. Please plan on joining us for a fun evening of baseball as we near the end of the school year. More information on this fun night will be shared in upcoming newsletters.
15TH ANNUAL RACE FOR EDUCATION

The 15th Annual  RACE FOR EDUCATION will be on Friday, April 26, 2019. This week your child(ren) brought home the  RACE FOR EDUCATION  Kick-Off Packet, which contained instructions and details of the event. Students bring back mailing label sheets with the names and addresses of potential sponsors (friends and family), and then students will write a short note at school asking their sponsors to contribute a monetary gift to our school. The more labels we bring in, the more money we raise for SPSL!

Our school goal is to bring in a total of  5,200 labels or 8 labels per student.  Student who return at least 14 labels will earn a  Dress Down Day  designated by the school!  We appreciate your help in returning the completed mailing label sheets by Thursday, March 21. Additional packets and labels are available in the school office. 

Donations for Race for Education fund an important part of the education SPSL students receive. These gifts are used for Star Math Tests, Accelerated Reading Programs, and needed textbooks and technology in our classrooms.  Last year we raised $52,000 after expenses and our goal this year is to raise at least  $53,000 ! Thank you for your help with this fundraiser!  

GO PANTHERS!
CHIPOTLE
RESTAURANT NIGHT

The SPSL Restaurant Night for March will be at Chipotle (147th & Maple Streets) from 4:00 - 8:00 pm. We will share more information on the restaurant night as we get closer to the date. Thank you for your continued support of SPSL School!  

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Important
Although tuition for the 2019-2020 school year has not yet been determined, we are sharing information about tuition assistance at this time because of application deadlines for Gr K-8 tuition assistance. If you feel that you will be in need of assistance with tuition costs for your child/ren in grades K-8 for the next school year, please read the following information. To be considered for tuition assistance you must apply each year. If you do not receive a financial assistance application and wish to apply, please call the school office at 402-551-6667 to request an application.

(Click here for more information on tuition assistance.)
ARCHOMAHA UNITE
Have you registered for ArchOmaha Unite yet? Thousands of Catholics from every corner of the archdiocese will gather together to celebrate ALL the things that make us who we are in the Archdiocese of Omaha through multimedia presentations, Cross and Light theatrical performance, comedy by Catholic comedian Jim Gaffigan, and Pentecost Vigil Mass with Archbishop Lucas. Check out their video (you may recognize one of the Kids Unite Ambassadors) and register at  unite.archomaha.org.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS FREE THROW CONTEST

Congratulations to Whitney Meier and Helen Christen who finished first and second respectively in the Knights of Columbus Regional Free Throw Contest. Both qualified for the state contest which will be held in April in Grand Island. Best of luck to Whitney and Helen as they prepare to compete in the state competition.
SUMMER SOLUTIONS

Summer learning loss puts students at a disadvantage, causing them to move backwards instead of progressing. Summer Solutions books are available again this school year to purchase. Ordering information can be found here . Orders must be submitted by April 28, 2019. The orders will be shipped free to school before school dismisses for the summer in May.
PARISH FESTIVALS

Our two wonderful parishes, St. Pius X and St. Leo the Great, support our school community in many ways, including approximately 50% of our school budget and also tuition assistance for many students. It is extremely important for our SPSL community, including parents and students, to support our parishes in as many ways as we can.

One of those ways in which we can help support our parishes is through supporting the parish festivals. This year, we are asking our parents to volunteer to work the game booths at either the St. Pius X Festival on June 2, 2019 or the St. Leo Festival in September 2019.

Each grade for the current Kindergarten through 7th grades has been assigned a game booth for the St. Pius X festival. Toward the end of this month or the beginning of April, keep a look out for an email from your Education Committee Grade Representative(s) that includes a “Sign Up Genius” sign-up form. The first sign-up sent will be for the St. Pius X festival. The St. Leo the Great sign-up will come out later as that festival is at a later date. Thank you for ensuring that all game booth sign-ups are filled in support of our parishes and our special school community.
Want to learn how the every day things you do – eating, reading, traveling, surfing the web, shopping, can earn money for St. Pius X / St. Leo School? Click here for a list of all our  on-going fundraising efforts .
p:402.551.6667
f:402.551.8123
6905 Blondo St, Omaha, NE 68104