St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter
March 16, 2018
A Message from the Principal...
Dear St. Louis Families,
 
St. Patrick's Day is upon us!  I hope that you heard a bit about the Irish dancing assembly on Wednesday - the director had everyone up on their feet and dancing, including the older ones!  I pray that you enjoy some celebrating, as I, for one, will be eating some corned beef and cabbage (a good family tradition).  Much luck to our two Odyssey of the Mind teams who are competing on Saturday morning, and blessings for all of our Girl Scouts who celebrated National Girl Scout Day today! 
 
Our virtue focus this month is Respect - recognizing the dignity of all people. While that is our virtue this month, I truly feel that we work hard to teach our students this message on this all year long.  As I sing monthly with our preschoolers: "Look all the world over, there's no one like me, no one like me... Some people are short and some people are tall - God loves them all, God loves them all... Some faces are dark and some faces are light. Each one is special in God's loving sight."  My prayer is that we teach our students this message so that they can take it out into the world as a beacon of hope.
 
Please see the letter link below from the superintendent (a copy is also in folders today).  Beginning next school year, the Diocese of Arlington will be going to a trimester system for Grades K-8 rather than the current quarter system. Report periods would be 12 weeks long rather than 9. We would still maintain our interim reporting half way through each grading period.  Kindergarten would receive reports for the second and third trimesters (rather than second and fourth quarter). We look forward to implementing this change in the Fall.

Peace,
Kathleen McNutt
Principal

Weekly Prayer Intentions
Each day our school community prays for the intentions of our families. This week the following families were included in our prayers: Reeder, Reilly, Repeta, Richey, Ridenour, Rivera, Rivera-Robiou, Roberts and Robinson (1st, 3rd and 5th grades).
School Announcements
Stay Connected - Follow Us on Social Media!
New Family Coffee - March 21st
Families new to St. Louis School this year are invited to attend our final New Family Coffee of the school year on Wednesday, March 21st at 8:15am in the school cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome.

ALL school families are welcome to attend this coffee. Mrs. McNutt will be joining us to speak about safety and security at
St. Louis School.
Tissues & Paper Towels for the Clinic
Spring is coming! If you would like to donate paper towels or tissues to the clinic, we would be very grateful. We prefer the select-a-size style paper towels in order to reduce waste when wrapping up those ice packs, although any rolls are appreciated. The small box tissues are easier to store in our space, but again, we appreciate any and all donations!
Yearbook Online Order Deadline April 27th
We are accepting online orders for the 2017-18 yearbook. Follow the steps below to order yearbooks online.
  • Visit Pictavo Community at commpe.pictavo.com. Use Google Chrome for best results.
  • Find your school, St. Louis School, Alexandria, ID# 72704
  • Click or tap 'Shop My School'.
  • Find your product & 'Add to Cart'.
  • Enter student information.
  • 'Add to Cart' & 'Check Out' to complete your purchase!
The price for yearbooks ordered online is $25. The deadline for online orders is 4/27/18. After that date, we will only be accepting paper orders (first-come, first-served) and the price will increase to $28.
From the Counseling Department...
Great online Parenting Summit available for FREE!!!!!!  There is a great online resource next week that is available for free. All you have to do is click on the link and sign up for access. It's an intensive three days of talks with some of the best in the business in parenting, anxiety, and the brain. Dr. Dan Siegel will be one of the featured speakers and he is amazing! If you only sign up and watch that one, it will be worth your time.  

PTO
PTO BOARD
Sharon Moss, President   srjones@hotmail.com
Carolyn Koch, Vice President   carolynlett@yahoo.com
Beth Burke, Secretary   burke62801@gmail.com
Melissa McGuire, Treasurer    straydog64@gmail.com
Spring Bake Sale - April 14 & 15
We are now planning for our Spring Bake Sale. Volunteers are needed to bake and set up and sell baked goods on April 14th and 15th. 

Sign up to donate baked goods here:

Sign up to volunteer your time here:

A raffle for a Spring Cleaning Hamper will be included with the bake sale. To donate an item for the hamper, please use this sign-up:  www.signupgenius.com/go/4090c44aba923a6f58-stlouis2
Silent Auction Feedback Survey
The 2018 Silent Auction was a huge success, and we can't thank everyone enough for all their support. Plans are already getting started for next year's auction and the committee would greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment and fill out this short feedback survey . The last day to take the survey is March 29th. Thank you again! For those interested in joining in on the planning fun, the committee will be reaching out for new members in May.
Chick-Fil-A is Coming to St. Louis!
May 11 is an early dismissal day. Make a note because Chick-Fil-A is coming to St Louis! During carpool, we will be selling chicken sandwiches for 
$4 each and two cookies for $3. 

No pre-sale!  Cash only! Please anticipate your order and bring exact change.  Come early, park your car and walk up to one of two selling areas accessible to both carpool A and B. Give us your cash, we'll give you your food. Lunch! Done!

Last year we sold out in less than 30 minutes. We are getting an extra 200 sandwiches which we also expect to sell out. Plan ahead!
 
Do you need volunteer hours? Check this link to sign up and help with the Chick-Fil-A event on May 11.
PTO Distinguished Volunteer Service Award
The PTO Distinguished Volunteer Service Award was established to create a formal process for identifying and rewarding key volunteers. This award is given to individuals who have made a significant impact to the students through their volunteer efforts. You are invited to nominate someone who you believe merits this award. Perhaps it's someone you've served with on a committee, or a person who has made extraordinary contributions of time and energy to the school. Please see the attached rules and send your nominations to Sharon Moss by April 13, 2018.
Completed Volunteer Hours
Attached is the  updated list of completed PTO volunteer hours as of March 1, 2018.
 
If your name is on the list that means your family has met the complete requirement of 18 hours for a two-parent family or 9 hours for a single parent family. If your name does not appear on the list and you have met the requirement, please contact Vanessa Milewski ( vanessamilewski@yahoo.com) to insure your hours are recorded. 
 
Remember any donations and purchases at the silent auction count toward your PTO volunteer hours. Please contact Vanessa Milewski with any questions.
 
Thank you for your time and dedication to our school. Your involvement and help are what make St. Louis School a wonderful community.
CYO & Extracurricular Activities
CYO Track is Back!
The CYO spring track season is around the corner. We will again be practicing on Fridays after school at Bryant HS and on Sunday afternoons at Bishop O'Connell HS. All students, both girls and boys, in grades 3 through 8, are eligible to compete. You do not need to have experience or be fast to join the team. CYO track has a variety of events, including sprints, middle distance runs, long distance runs, and field events like long jump and turbo javelin. There are events for all athletes of all type.

You can sign up your athlete online at https://reg.sportspilot.com/106550/login.This is the same system used for other CYO sports. Practices begin March 25th! Contact Brian Nienaber ( bnienaber31@gmail.com) for more information.
4th Annual Chess Tournament
The 4th Annual K-8th Grade Catholic School Chess Tournament will take place on Sunday, April 29th at St. Rita School. Participants do not need to be USCF members nor participate in their school's chess club. Please see the attached flyer for more information.
A Great CYO Basketball Season!
Our CYO basketball season came to a close last week with some exciting results for our teams. The 8 th   grade girls team coached by Rich Hamer, Mark Ledbetter and George Breen , along with the 7 th g rade boys team coached by Ray Villareal and David Martinez  each captured their Division Championships!  We're equally thrilled that the 8th  grade boys team coached by Luis James and Nick Swetz , as well as the 5th  grade boys team coached by Luis James, Matt Conner, Joe DeLorenzo and Mark Jones  took second place in their divisions, each playing close final games! Congratulations also to the 6th  grade girls coached by Randy Davis and Dan Elling , 6th  grade boys coached by John Miller and Ted Koch , 7th   grade boys coached by Mike Bailey and John Bednarek , and 8th  grade boys coached by John Miller , all of whom made the second round of playoffs this year.
 
We are so proud of all of our teams, who represented St. Louis so well both on the court and with the respect with which they treated their opponents. In victory and defeat, they made us very proud this year.
 
And as the saying goes, it takes a village. And we are blessed to have a huge village of wonderful coaches who have mentored and guided our players this year, not just teaching them skills on the court, but the life skills that the ministry of CYO is designed to foster. Please join us in thanking them all for their service!
 
Head Coaches: Michael Day, Ernie Robinson, Dan Elling, John Gorman, Ted Koch, Tom McGuire, John Miller, Bill Buffaloe, Randy Davis, Mike Bailey, Martha O'Connor, Ray Villareal, Gerry Gipp, Geoff McNutt, Luis James, and Rich Hamer. (Coaches whose names are italicized coached more than one team).
 
Assistant Coaches:  Nate Ridenour, Rob Lentini, Pat Geary, Lauren McCarthy, Michael Nguyen, Joe Wallace, Daniel Sheehan, Ryan Kennedy, Sean Robinson, Steve Milewski, Melissa McGuire, Matt Conner, Joe DeLorenzo, Mark Jones, Debra Sotelo, Mike Wendy, Adam Berman, Paul Cuyler, Tim Kelly, John Bednarek, Jason Myers, Brian Nienaber, David Martinez, Jill Rough, Lisa and Glenn Anderson, Brian Stackpole, Mark Ledbetter and George Breen.
 
If anyone, especially parents of current 2nd graders, is interested in joining the ranks of our coaches next year, please contact Judy Conti at jconti@nelp.org. Mothers, big sisters, aunts and other women are especially encouraged to consider coaching! And please note, ALL coaches (lead and assistant) must be fully VIRTUS certified before the seasons begins so start the process now, not in the fall.
Parish & Community
Parish Fundraiser for Family in Need
The Spanish prayer group is having a fundraiser next Saturday March 24th selling bean tamales for $1.00 each (beans wrapped in masa dough, steamed in banana leaves).
Tamales are being made by order. The funds will be given to a parish family whose mom has stage 4 colon cancer. She has been sent home from the hospital and is being visited by the hospice nurses.  The dad is unable to work as he needs to care for his wife and 3 kids (ages 15, 12 & 5 ). These funds will help pay for their rent and other expenses. Please let Seferina at the rectory ( seferina@saintlouisparish.org) know if you are interested in purchasing any by March 22nd. Please keep this family, and all those dealing with cancer, in your prayers.
Virginia Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition
Three of our athletes made the finals of the Virginia Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition last weekend in Richmond.  Congratulations to Dmitry Shroeder who competed, Valentino Schroeder who came in 2nd pace in the 12 year old division, and Connor McNutt who came in 2nd place in the 14 year old division!  We're very proud of our sure-shot players!
Boyle School Irish Dance Camp
Please see the attached flyer for more information on the summer camps offered by the Boyle School.
Mathnasium Math Study Sessions
Mathnasium is offering free 90-minute study sessions for all 3rd graders through Algebra 1 students. Please see the flyer for more information.
Confession
Below are the confession times for St. Louis and Good Shepherd. Parents of students receiving First Communion in May are reminded that their child must attend confession in March and in April.

St. Louis Church
Sunday: 8:20-9:20am, 4:15pm (Spanish)
Mon-Sat: 9:15am
Wednesday: 6:30pm
Saturday: 4:30-5:30pm

Good Shepherd Church
Wednesday: 6:00-7:00pm (6:30-8:30pm during Lent)
Saturday: 8:00-8:45am, 4:00-4:50pm, 6:00pm (Spanish)
Sunday: 1:10-1:15pm (Spanish)
UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS

Please refer to the school calendar on the website for additional information. Subscribe to the calendar to automatically receive all of the latest updates.

Mar. 21 - New Family Coffee, 8:15am, cafeteria
Mar. 23 - Stations of the Cross, 2:30pm, St. Louis Church
Mar. 28 - Living Stations of the Cross, 2:00pm, St. Louis Church
Mar. 29 - Holy Thursday, 11:30 Dismissal (no PM EDC)
Mar. 30-Apr. 8 - Easter Break
St. Louis Catholic School
2901 Popkins Lane, Alexandria, VA 22306
Principal: Kathleen McNutt
Phone: 703-768-7732
www.stlouisschool.org
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