September 17, 2021 Newsletter

St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter

September 17, 2021

Dear St. Louis Families,

What a week! As we conclude our 4th week of school, we are reminded that learning full time is hard work. Our hallways are decorated with student work, and we completed our first week of Scantron and PALs assessments. We continue to review safety procedures, having our first Code Yellow Drill this week. Code Yellow is called when there is a perceived potential threat outside of the school building requiring students and staff to remain in the building. It is good to practice and become familiar with safety processes so we know what to do in an emergent situation. Next week, we will practice a Code Red Drill—teachers will be working with their students to discuss proper procedures for dealing with a threat inside the building, and we will talk through the process prior to performing the drill so students know what to expect throughout it. We are required to do these drills throughout the school to reinforce safety which we take seriously.

Throughout this week we have also been reminded that we are still dealing with a pandemic. In many ways, this year is a bit more challenging for everyone. Protocols and procedures change with new information and guidance by the national and local health departments. Where there are different recommendations, St. Louis must adhere to the local health department recommendations. We have had students asked to quarantine because of exposure to COVID in their household or extracurricular sports. We also have had our first diagnosis of COVID-19 this week, and families in the impacted class were notified. Please understand, that procedures changed, and we did not need to pause in-person instruction for the whole class at this time due to how the county is considering close contacts. Every situation is different, and we continue to work on a case-by-case basis as we partner with Fairfax County Health Department. We are becoming pros at pivoting and know that we will pivot quite a few more times this year—thank you for your grace, patience, and flexibility as we navigate through it.

We pray for one another this weekend and always.

Peace,

Anne M. Dyke

Principal

School Announcements

Students of parents who attended the PTO meeting last evening will be awarded a comfy clothes day on Wednesday, September 22. Please refer to the dress guidelines in the Handbook.

From the Counselor:

September is National Suicide Prevention month. Our bishop Michael F. Burbidge has a special message that you can view HERE. There is also a great article from the Catholic Herald that was written by a former St. Louis parent, Claire Chapman. You can read that article which includes resources and a touching story about a family who lost their son to suicide HERE. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255 and the Crisis TextLine is 741741 where you can text the word HELLO and be connected with a crisis counselor. We are living in difficult times and parenting our children during a pandemic is not easy. You are not alone and help is available. If you have any mental health concerns about your child, please feel free to contact me at jcotnoir@stlouisschool.org. I am happy to assist and support you.

STL Fundraising 101

Wonder where your fundraising dollars go? STL Fundraising 101 has the answers!

Together, the Annual Fund Campaign and PTO fundraisers provide for the betterment of our classrooms and campus. PTO fundraiseing dollars serve to enhance and improve the daily classroom experience of your child and our teachers. The Annual Fund is a long-term investment to cover funds for capital improvements, technology and tuition assistance.

What to do if your child is absent on a day lunch is ordered:

To cancel your order for a full refund, email info@yaylunch.com before 9am that day.
To pick up your child's order at school, email attendance@stlouisschool.org before 10am. Your child's lunch will be available for pick up between 12-12:30pm.

All unclaimed lunches are disposed of in accordance with food handling safety guidelines. We cannot hold lunches for another day.

Note: In the case of an inclement weather closure, or all-class or all-school transition to virtual learning, lunch orders will be cancelled. Students and staff who may individually need to quarantine are responsible for cancelling their orders.

Hawk Happenings - Week of September 20, 2021

Saturday, September 18

Yay Lunch! order before midnight!

Wednesday, September 22

Comfy Clothes Day for students of parents who attended the PTO meeting.

Friday, September 24

SYNCHRONOUS VIRTUAL INSTRUCTION, 8:00-11:30am

Synchronous instruction includes live virtual class meetings, where the teacher and students are online simultaneously engaging in a learning activity. Students will NOT be in the school building but will be logging in from home on their school-issued device. This is not an attendance optional day; students are expected to login to their class(es). Students missing from class will be marked absent.

FULL SCHOOL CALENDAR

Did you know you can subscribe to our school calendar for real-time updates, convenient links to SUGs and flyers, and more? Subscribe to auto-populate your iCal, Outlook 2007+ or Google calendar

PTO

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Used Uniform Sale Volunteers, Oct 2-3

VIRTUS not required. Volunteers still needed to help out during the sale. Sign up here.

Bake Sale Bakers, Oct 2-3

VIRTUS not required. Sign up here.

Bake Sale Volunteers, Oct. 2-3

VIRTUS not required. Sign up here.

Cafeteria Helpers - October, November

Parent volunteers are needed to assist with receiving, sorting and distributing Yay Lunches AND selling ice cream and snacks. This is a 2-hour a week commitment from 11:15am-1:15pm. VIRTUS required. Sign up HERE.

Recess Monitors - October

We are in need of recess monitors during outdoor recess in October. You MUST be VIRTUS TRAINED to sign up. It includes supervising all grades from K-8 between 11:30am and 1:40pm daily. Fill out and send in the interest form.

Extracurriculars & CYO

Parish & Community

Bishop Ireton Cheerleaders' Fundraiser for the Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia

The Bishop Ireton Varsity Cheerleading Team has supported the Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia's (DSANV) Annual Buddy Walk® For over 10 years! This years event is a hybrid of online and in-person activities on Saturday October 2nd. Join our squad with your support and help the team to celebrate, advocate and educate everyone of the value of our members with Down Syndrome. We're moving in the right direction!

Bishop Ireton Prospective Families Events

Prospective Bishop Ireton Students! We invite you and your family to join us for a variety of admissions events to get to know our school community. Click on the links below to RSVP or Register and learn more accordingly.

Football Game and Ice Cream Social, 9/18/21 1pm - RSVP Here
STEM Day 10/2/21 8:45am-12:15pm- Click here to Register (Open to 6th - 8th graders, register by 9/13 and get a tshirt!)
Open House 10/17/21 1-4pm - RSVP Here

Stay tuned to our website for other opportunities. They will be listed here as they are scheduled throughout the year. Should you have any questions about these events or admissions, please email Nicole Mahon, Director of Admissions, nicole.mahon@bishopireton.org.

Saint John Paul the Great Soccer and Volleyball Clinics

Register today!! John Paul is hosting a Boys Soccer Clinic (open to 4-8th graders) and Girls Volleyball Clinic (open to 4-8th graders) on September 25th, 9am-12pm! Participants will get to work with the JP Boys Soccer team and JP Girls Volleyball team respectively! Join us for the opportunity to develop your skills, meet new friends, and have fun! The cost is $25 per child. Parents - there will be a group tour opportunity shortly after the clinic has started! Click here to register today!

Love Learn Lead