January 24, 2021
Weekly enews
Dear St. Giles Families,

As we enter into the final week of January, which is hard to believe, we’d like to remind you once more of our re-registration process as it is different from previous years.  

  • All current students have been automatically re-registered for the 2021-22 school year.
  • The $200, non-refundable, registration fee will be on your FACTS bill on February 1. There is one registration fee per family, not per student.
  • Siblings of current students have priority for admission for next year as we do anticipate waiting lists in multiple grades. If you have a sibling you would like to register, please complete the Current Family Sibling Registration Form.
  • If you are registering a sibling for PreK 3 or PreK 4, please complete the PreK Program Selection Form to indicate your preferred schedule.
  • Financial Aid applications for the 2021-22 school year are now open!  Please scroll down to the ICYMI section for more details. 
  • If you are not returning for the 2021-22 school year, please contact either Meg Bigane or Michele Bibbey via email by Sunday, January 31st to avoid the automatic registration fee in February.
 
Next Sunday marks the opening of Catholic Schools Week! While we are not able to do our opening Mass or traditional activities in the same way, we do have a lot of fun planned, including themes for each day. Details for each day will be shared later in the week.  

On Sunday, January 31 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., we will be hosting a Virtual Open House for prospective families. Designed to show attendees what sets St. Giles School apart, the Open House will offer multiple sessions introducing grade units and Specials, financial aid/enrollment information, and social emotional learning and resources. Please consider sharing information about the Virtual Open House with your friends, family and neighbors who may be interested in St. Giles School. Encourage them to visit the website for more information about the Open House and to register to attend. (Friendly reminder: You can receive a $500 tuition credit for referring a new family to St. Giles who registers, is accepted and attends for the full 21-22 school year!)

Stay well,
Meg

We need disinfecting wipes!  
With all of our protocols and daily routines, we are beginning to run low on wipes in our classrooms. If you are able to find wipes and have extras, please send them to school with your Lion or drop them at the office.  We appreciate your help and generosity! 

Archdiocese Updates:
You should have received the revision to the recent Archdiocese change in quarantine due to travel. The quarantine remains at the full 10 days, regardless of a negative test (as first indicated) and 14 days for any exposure or possible exposure to a positive case. The full announcement can be found here. 
This week we are going to feature the Catholic Charities Counseling Organization.  They sent an updated flyer to our school this week with a few sentences about everyday stressors.  Every day we have different stressors that usually motivate us to make a change.  We may have a pile of dishes in the sink from our children which motivates us to immediately clean the kitchen.  We may have a child in the home who is upset about online behavior which motivates us to spend more quality time with our child. The flyer makes a statement about these everyday stressors seeming overwhelming especially during the pandemic.  We might not have access to our normal support system right now due to the pandemic and it is ok to reach out for help.  Click here to read more about Catholic Charities and remember it is ok to share resources with others.
REMINDERS: 2021-22 School Year Registration
  • All students will be automatically registered for next year. 
  • January 30, 2021 - deadline to email [email protected] if you are not returning so that we do not charge you a registration fee which will be posted to your FACTS account on Feb. 1. 
  • February 20th - $200 Registration Payment is Due. If you are set up on automatic withdrawal (ACH) in FACTS, there is no need to do anything and this will be deducted like all other payments. If you are set up with invoice payment, you will need to log in to FACTS to pay.
2021-22 Scholarship Information
  • January 4  through  April 15 - St. Giles Scholarship Application Opens. Log on to your Facts account and click on Grant & Aid when available. All applications will be reviewed after the April 15 deadline.
  • January 12, 8:00 am - Big Shoulders Scholarship Opens - Additional information and links will be posted as soon as we have more information. Scholarships are first-come, first-served, and usually fill up in the first 5 minutes.
  • January 13, 7:00 pm - Empower Illinois Scholarship Application Opens. Additional information and links will be posted as soon as we have more information. Scholarships are first-come, first-served, and usually fill up in the first 5 minutes.
Owen's Bench Service Project
Please turn in your collected caps!

The organizers of Owen's Bench Service Project have asked us to start bringing in our caps to get a sense of how many have been collected at the schools in our community.

At your earliest convenience, please drop off your collected caps at St. Giles (bin is under the archway between parish center and Frawley) anytime OR at the Mann School Vestibule from 8am-3pm on school days.

Please contact Kristen Reale with questions.

REGISTER NOW for the Spring Session 2021 of
Chess-Ed's Virtual EnrichmentProgram!

Chess-Ed is pleased to offer VIRTUAL chess lessons to your students this Spring!

Chess-Ed is pleased to offer VIRTUAL chess lessons to your students this Spring!  
The 10-week Spring session is offered Monday through Friday at a variety of times (4, 5, and 6 pm) with Beginner, Novice, Continuing, and Advanced program levels. The chess program runs from 2/22/21 to 4/30/21 and is taught by Chess-Ed instructors using Zoom, lichess.org, and other chess software. Please refer to the Eventbee registration site for chess level guidelines.  

To register, students must have a FREE username at lichess.org so they can be paired by the chess instructor during the game playing portion of the lesson. Winter classes end the week of 2/15/21. Register for the Spring Session NOW at http://www.r-spring-virtual-chess-ed.eventbee.com. Be sure to register early to take advantage of EARLY FEE pricing. For more information about the program, please refer to the program flyer and Eventbee website. 

Chess-Ed is looking forward to seeing your CHESS ENTHUSIAST this Spring!
Join a fun evening of Trivia on Zoom and a chance to raise money for a valuable faith community, Fraternite Notre Dame!

Your purchase of a Zoom connection will enable you to play the trivia game from the comfort and safety of your living room or kitchen table. You and your family members can play as a solo unit, or you can be grouped with people in other households to form a team!

Thanks to the Zoom "Breakout Rooms", after we read each question, you will have two to three minutes to discuss the answer with your remote teammates. Then we will bring everyone back into the Main Session where your team captain will submit the answer within the Zoom chat function. It's a fun way to connect (or perhaps re-connect) with people while playing a trivia game!

We will also conduct a 50/50 raffle at the end of the event. Anyone is welcome to purchase any number of raffle tickets in support of Fraternite Notre Dame.
Please join us as we raise funds for this great organization!
Follow and like us on social media. Stay up to date with what's going on at school and see pictures of your children engaging in educational activities with their classmates during the school day.