Weekly Newsletter: Dec 8, 2019
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MONDAY - DEC. 9TH
Ambrose wears House T-shirts with regular uniform.
TUESDAY- DEC. 10TH
In appreciation for our amazing school participation in iGiveCatholic, students get to wear their regular clothes (just be sure to follow Tag Day guidelines.)
DEADLINE FOR SANTA SHOP DONATIONS
(details below)
Youth Choir Rehearsal (details below)
(Grades 2-8 only)
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
3rd & 4th Grade Basketball Practice
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Girls' Basketball Practice
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
WEDNESDAY - DEC. 11TH
EISTC Social
(details below)
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
St. Anselm Hall. Adults only.
RSVP
.
THURSDAY - DECEMBER 11th
School Mass - Feast Day: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Middle school wears dress uniform.
8:30am - 9:30am
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
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FRIDAY - DECEMBER 13th
Santa Shop
!!
Be sure your shoppers have a couple of dollars to buy presents!
TAG DAY
Bring $2 to participate and wear your festive Christmas clothing.
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
6:45 PM - 7:45 PM
SATURDAY- DECEMBER 14th
8301 Willis Church Road
(Optional but encouraged! Details below)
8:30 AM
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
St. Anselm Hall. $5 per child (Details below.)
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Message from the Principal
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The season of Advent provides many wonderful opportunities for families. The word Advent comes from the Latin
adventus
, which simply means "coming." There are many devotions and traditions associated with Advent that help us commemorate the coming of Jesus into the world. Many families have an Advent wreath and light candles for each Sunday in Advent. Advent calendars mark each day as we count down toward Christmas. A Christmas nativity scene may be set out, leaving the manger empty until Jesus is born on Christmas day. Another activity is having a manger that children can fill with straw as they make little sacrifices. Christmas caroling is a longstanding tradition throughout the world. All of these little things remind us of what Christmas is really about and give us an anticipation for the coming of Jesus.
St. Ambrose Feast Day
The Feast of St. Ambrose is this Saturday, so Ambrose House will get to wear their (green) House t-shirts on Monday, December 9. The rest of the uniform should stay the same.
Parent Survey
Please remember to fill out the
PARENT SURVEY
that was emailed home recently.
It is very important that everyone completes the parent survey, so your feedback is heard.
This survey provides very valuable information for our administration and School Board to use for improving our school.
The deadline for completing the survey is December 16.
A Final Thanks
Just a final and heartfelt THANK YOU to share my deep appreciation to every family that participated in our #iGiveCatholic effort for our Centennial Fund. It was so exciting to see our participation rate climb over the past 2 weeks - and to achieve #1 in Virginia was simply incredible. Raising $1M is a big challenge for our small, hardworking school, so being able to tell prospective donors and grantmakers that we achieved 98% family support for this effort really is a difference-maker. It shows our dedication to our children's school, and I feel blessed to be a part of such a caring and devoted school family - I hope you do too.
Sean Cruess, Principal
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Get Ready for Santa Shop!
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Tis the season for the Annual St. Benedict
SANTA SHOP!
Friday, December 13th
Every Comet’s favorite shopping day is just around the corner! Clean out your gently used or new items around the house and donate them to our Santa Shop!
JK – 5
classes will shop Friday, December 13
th
,
to hand pick gifts for family and loved ones.
SUGGESTED ITEMS:
Candles, Christmas decorations, Ties, Scarves,
New
socks*,
New
gloves*,
New
hats* (never worn), Books, Wrapping Paper, Picture Frames, DVDs, Vases, Jewelry, Kitchen and Dining Ware, Stationery, Toiletries, Tools, Board games, Stuffed Animals, Baby Items, and other new or gently used gifts.
*For hygenic reasons, please only donate these items brand new.
We can also use donations of wrapping items, including:
paper, gift bags, ribbon, bows, tape and gift tags.
DEADLINE FOR DONATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO TUESDAY, DEC. 10TH!!
Families
: Please send in some gently used or new items to the school
BY TUESDAY so our shop will be ready.
Money collected from the sale will go towards the 8
th
grade field trip.
Thank you for your help!
Volunteers are needed to set up the shop, manage gift wrapping, oversee the cash register, and clean up afterwards.
See our signup for where you can help out:
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End of Year Tax Savings (EISTC) Presentation and SOCIAL!
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Parents and Grandparents - You are invited to join Father John David Ramsey, Principal Sean Cruess and Gretchen Ridgely this WED. DEC. 11TH from 6-7:30PM in St. Anselm Hall for an informative presentation about end-of-year tax savings for you and/or your business through the
Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credits (EISTC) program
. This program provides scholarship help for our parish school families and a 65% state tax credit for you and/or your business.
This program is quickly becoming a game-changing funding stream for all Catholic schools - especially ours.
Over the past 5 years since the program began, we have been able to award 205 partial scholarships totaling $191,159 to qualifying students. And while this is good news indeed, our
St. Benedict students actually qualified for just over $1,000,000 in aid
during that same time frame - so there is great opportunity to grow our participation in the EISTC program, while providing substantial tax advantages for participants. We'll have wine, cheese and festive treats, along with time to socialize, so please plan to join for fellowship and a wonderful opportunity to explore how we can ensure the financial strength of our school for generations to come, and benefit from significant tax savings.
RSVP to Gretchen Ridgely by December 9th
.
(Adults only.)
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PTO Movie Night! Dec. 14th - 5pm-8pm
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1st Annual Christmas Movie Spirit Night
Drop the kids off for a fun night of watching Dr. Suess' The Grinch, eating popcorn & enjoying treats while Mom & Dad can take a break, get stuff done or even steal a date night!
All current students of SBCS along with their siblings age 4 and up are invited to attend.
$5 per child for Movie pack (pizza slice, candy and bottle of water).
Members of the PTO will be on hand to supervise the kids. Blankets and chairs to sit on are recommended.
**PRE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS TO SUPERVISE THE KIDS**
Click
HERE
to register!
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Wreaths Across America - December 14th
REMEMBER the Fallen. . . HONOR those who Serve. . . TEACH our children the value of Freedom.
On Saturday, 12/14/19 at 8:30am, Wreaths Across America will be at our local Glendale National Cemetery at 8301 Willis Church Road to Remember and Honor our veterans through the laying of Remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country's fallen heroes and the act of saying the name of each and every veteran aloud. As another beautiful Act of Service, our school community is invited to participate in the wreath laying ceremony and/or by sponsoring wreaths. Please click
here
to help this most worthy effort.
Homeward
As part of our school's 100th anniversary - 100 Acts of Service commitment, Mrs. Cisik's Language Arts classes are collecting
travel size soap, shampoo/conditioner and lotion
for Homeward. Their mission is to prevent, reduce and end homelessness by facilitating creative solutions through the collaboration, coordination and cooperation of regional resources and services. If you are traveling over the holidays and have hotel stays planned or travel regularly for work, please collect your unused hotel soap, shampoo/conditioner and lotion bottles for our classroom donation drive. Thank you!
Coats for Kids
Clear out those closets for another great service project! We'll be collecting coats OF ALL SIZES
now through Dec. 19th
for Coats for Kids. Help us keep others warm this winter season by donating that coat you or your kids can't fit anymore! Just send in your coats in a plastic bag to their homeroom teacher today! We'll deliver them to Coats for Kids collection partner and our neighbor in Scott's Addition, Puritan Cleaners on the 19th!
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Thursday, December 12 - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Choir: 8th Grade
Lectors: Segura Students
Servers: Liam Cruess, Gabriel Bevc, Isaac Fitzpatrick
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MONDAY - Create Toothpick Towers
TUESDAY - Play the Movement Chain Gang
WEDNESDAY - Go on a Lego Hunt
THURSDAY - Create a Scavenger Hunt
FRIDAY - Dance Party!
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Check Lost and Found by Dec. 20th
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Parents! Please check our Lost and Found closet in the Cafeteria if your child has misplaced something at school. We will be cleaning out our Lost and Found closet over the Christmas break and donating any items to charity.
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You are
Needed &
Appreciated!
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A big THANK YOU! to the 83 of 125 families who have completed and logged their Fall volunteer hours! You should have received an email confirming your completion this past Friday.
We appreciate the hard work everyone has put in, so don't forget to log those hours in RenWeb. We encourage you to do it now! Remember that you are expected to perform 8 of your 20 service hours
before Christmas
. On January 1st an hours list will be pulled, and the business office will reach out to any family with less than 8 hours for the Fall - to either monetarily assess for those hours ($40/hour) or to obtain a completion plan for those hours.
THANK YOU to everyone for your hard work! Your work is essential to the success of the school!
Virtus Training
All volunteers who work with or around children MUST have a current background check and completed VIRTUS training. In order to keep your status active with VIRTUS you should read your monthly email bulletins and answer the 1 multiple choice question until you get it right.
Thank you for all you do and for helping keep our children safe.
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Lunchroom Volunteers Needed
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School lunches are
delivered and labeled
for each ordering child by Yay Lunch. It's easy-peasy, but we need parent volunteers to help give them out!
And your kiddos will love to see you during their lunchtime. You just have to be VIRTUS trained and background checked to participate.
Here are the times - CHOOSE ONE or CHOOSE ALL we're just grateful for your help:
11:30am - 12:00pm
11:45am - 12:15pm
12:15pm - 12:45pm
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St. Benedict Parish Religious Education for grades Kindergarten through 5th takes place on Sunday mornings from 9:45am to 10:45am at St. Benedict Catholic School. The next several classes are December 15, January 12, and 19. There will be no Religious Education on December 1, 8, 22, 29, or January 5.
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Edge
,
St Benedict Parish Middle School Youth Ministry and Religious Education, takes place on Wednesday nights in St. Anselm Hall from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The next several meetings are Wednesdays December 11, 18, and January 8. There will be no meetings on December 25 or January 1.
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Youth Choir
Saint Benedict Youth Choir is assembling in preparation to sing at the 5:30 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve (December 24.)
Students in grades 2–8 are welcome to join the Youth Choir. Rehearsals will be held on Tuesdays, December 3, 10, and 17, from 3–4:00 p.m. in Saint Benedict School library.
The Youth Choir allows young people to deepen their appreciation and love for liturgical music, and provides basic instruction in singing and musicianship. For more information, please contact our Choirmaster and Organist,
Joel S. Kumro
.
Midnight Mass Choral Program
Prior to Christmas Midnight Mass, beginning at 11:30 p.m., musicians from Saint Benedict will present selections from Camille Saint-Saëns'
Oratorio de Noël,
Op. 12.
Premiered in Paris in 1858, this cantata-like oratorio for choir and soloists features texts taken from and inspired by the Church’s Christmas liturgies. Following Christmas, choir rehearsals will resume on Wednesday, January 15, and are traditionally held from 6:30–8:00pm in the choir loft. For more information, please contact our Choirmaster and Organist,
Joel S. Kumro
.
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Based on a true story, Miss Virginia stars Emmy® winner Uzo Aduba as a struggling single mother who is losing her fifteen-year-old son to the rough streets of Washington, D.C. Unwilling to see him drop out and deal drugs, she places him in a private school. But when she can’t afford tuition, she launches a movement to change the system that is destroying him and thousands like him. Attacked and threatened by those who don’t want change—from corrupt politicians to the local drug lord—Virginia must discover depths of strength she never knew she had. Her efforts created D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program. Meet representatives from private schools, the Virginia Parents Network, and the Institute for Justice for free snacks and beverages starting at 5:30pm. The movie will begin at 6:30pm. During the film, we will be providing free professional childcare for children under the age of 13 at Cartwheels and Coffee (2820 W Cary St.). Please register by Monday, December 16 at
https://tinyurl.com/MissVirginiaRichmond
. Email mbenit@ij.org if you have any questions or comments.
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