St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter
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A Message from the Principal...
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Dear St. Louis Parents,
This was quite a full week with some long days! I was grateful to see so many of you as we gathered for the first PTO meeting and elementary Back-to-School-Night on Tuesday evening, and then for the Middle School Back-to-School-Night and Preschool Parent Night on Thursday. I know how helpful it is to see and hear the teachers firsthand, to experience the atmosphere of the classroom, and to walk through the hallways. The home-school connection is crucial to student success, so we thank you for coming!
Today is an 11:30 dismissal day at all the diocesan elementary schools. Professional development training has been set up for all of our teachers - some will be working on support tools for our mathematics program, others are collaborating on our work with student assistance plans. Please pray for your teachers as they grow professionally and have the opportunity to focus on providing the best for your children.
We have completed our second week of standardized assessments for grades 3-7 and will begin our final week on Monday. Grades K-2 have begun adaptive online testing with the HMH Math and Language Arts Inventory assessment tool, and they will continue over the next couple weeks. All the data that we receive from the testing results will be shared with you at parent-teacher conferences.
I look forward to meeting with room parents next week, as they begin planning the year’s celebrations and seasonal activities with teachers. Room parents are vital to the home-school connection, so I am grateful for all of those who have volunteered to serve our students in this way. Just a reminder to all families that our school website, official school newsletters and school constant contact messages are the school’s way of sharing information with you. Some parents have set up social media accounts to help connect families within grades - - please know that information shared on these sites is for social purposes and is not an official message from the school. We couldn’t and wouldn’t deter the chances for families to communicate, but it is important to know that these aren’t official school sites with official school information. If you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to call the school front office for more information or details.
Peace as you begin your weekend,
Kathleen McNutt
Principal
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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: Buchanan, Buffaloe, Bunch, Burke, Burns, Candia-Soecht, Canty, Carcamo, Carlson, Carow, Carter and Chandler.
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LAST CALL!
October Lunch Ordering Period Closes Saturday, Sept. 22
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Please follow this
link
to go directly to the online order form.
REMINDERS
- You will receive an email confirmation after successfully submitting an order online. If you do not receive an email confirmation of your order that means it has not gone through. Please try again.
- You must include your child's FIRST and LAST name in the "Student or Staff Name" field at the top of the order form.
- Do not use hyphens, spaces, etc. for your child's class in the "Grade/Classroom" field at the top of the order form. All entries should be alphanumeric, i.e. K9, 55, 7105, Staff, etc.
- Do not use spaces or special characters when entering your credit card number.
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VIRTUS: Protecting God's Children Safe Environment Continuing Education
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The Safe Environment Continuing Education program for all volunteers and employees is currently on hold. Volunteers and employees are normally required to complete this program every three years from the time they begin volunteering or from the start of their employment. Once the new updated program is launched an email will be sent to individuals on their anniversary date. For those who have already been employed or have been volunteering for more than three years or were hired in FYI6, the anniversary date will be July 1, 2015. The new program can be viewed and completed online. Please make sure your email address is updated on your VIRTUS
online
account.
You may log in to you account by visiting
www.virtus.org
.
*Individuals are required to attend the initial 4-Hour safe-environment VIRTUS training seminar and complete paperwork and background checks clearance before they can volunteer.*
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Penelope March is Melting
by Jeffrey Michael Ruby - Pre-order Your Signed Copy
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St. Louis School is delighted to welcome author Jeffrey Michael Ruby on Thursday, September 27th. Mr. Ruby will talk with 3rd through 7th grade students about his
career as an author and his book
Penelope March is Melting.
To guarantee a personalized copy of his book, please return this
order form
with payment (cash or check payable to St. Louis School) by Thursday, September 27th.
If you miss that date, there will be a limited supply of signed books available for purchase.
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Help Keep the Computer Lab Germ Free
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Have any extra
tissue
boxes
, Lysol disinfecting spray
or Clorox wipes
? The computer lab would be a grateful recipient as we h
elp stop the spreading of germs
! Just send them through kidmail to Mrs. Coronado. Thank you!
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Virginia 529 for K-12 Tuition
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As of 2017, funds put into a Virginia 529 plan can be used, up to $10,000 per year, for tuition at a K-12 private or religious school. The attached
529 FAQ
gives more information on this benefit.
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Hawks Day is Saturday Oct. 20th!
Walk, Run or Fly! Register for the Hawks 5K & Fun Run!
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Whether you are casual or competitive, this is the event for you. Hawks Day kicks-off off at St. Louis School with a 5K Race and Fun Run/Walk. Our Hawk recommends:
- If you walked last year, try the RUN.
- If you ran last year, try to FLY (or at least, beat your time).
- If you slept in, get up and PARTICIPATE!
The exercise and accomplishment will make for happy, healthy Hawks. Funds raised benefit the PTO - and that makes everyone feel great.
8:00am: Hawks 1.5 Mile Fun Run/Walk
(registration required)
8:30am: Hawks 5K Run/Walk
(registration required)
Forms are also available in the school office.
Play, Bounce, Shop, Dance and Dine at the Hawks Day Celebration!
Whether or not you Walk or Run, join us from
9am-1pm
for Hawks Day. This year will feature:
- Bounce houses
- Kids' crafts & games
- Arts & Crafts Fair
- DJ Bob Artman
- Bake Sale
- Golf games hosted by Fairfax County Parks
- Flu clinic
- 1st responder demonstrations
- Food and a beer tent
Plenty of great activities for all!
Proceeds benefit the St. Louis School PTO.
Hawks Day Arts & Crafts Fair
ATTENTION ALL ARTISANS AND CRAFTERS!!! The Hawks Day Arts and Crafts Fair is looking for you!!! The fair will be from 9am-1pm on Saturday, October 20th! 10ft x 10ft booths are $50 (tables and chairs will
NOT
be provided). Spaces are limited! Check out the
flyer
and
vendor application
in this week's Friday's folder for more details! Questions or ready to submit your application? Please contact us at
StLouisHawkVendorFair@gmail.com
.
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Hello Parents, Our Back to School Bake Sale was a huge success, THANK YOU!!! We are now planning for our St. Louis PTO FALL BAKE SALE which is on Hawks Day, October 20th. We are in need of volunteers to set up, package, and sell baked goods, or clean up/tear down the sale. Slots are allotted for one hour and we need multiple volunteers in each time slot.
1 Hour of Service = 1 Volunteer Hour
Bake Sale Volunteer Hours: Friday, October 19th from 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Saturday,October 20th from 8:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Fortes at 703-650-8503 or
pastryred@hotmail.com.
To sign up, see the links below in the Volunteer Opportunities. We look forward to your support and making the BAKE SALE a GREAT SUCCESS!!!
Thank You, Carolyn Fortes
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Individual families are required to track their volunteer hours throughout the school year and to submit them to the PTO Volunteer Coordinators for credit.
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VIRTUS REQUIRED
Library Volunteers
Contact Jennifer Stackpole
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NON-VIRTUS
Hawks 5K & Fun Run, Oct. 20
Contact Tania Jones
Hawks Community Day, Oct. 20
Contact Grace Cross
Fall Bake Sale, Oct. 20
Silent Auction
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Girls on the Run & Heart and Sole - Last Weekend to Sign Up!
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Girls on the Run (grades 4-5) and Heart and Sole (grades 6-8) are back this fall!!! The season begins the week of September 24th and ends in early December. The fall will be the only season for this school year. The 10-week curriculum teaches girls to be strong, confident and healthy. GOTR practices will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school and Heart and Sole will be Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. You may register online at
www.gotrnova.org
. The fee is $175, but there are lots of opportunities for financial assistance if you need it. Any questions regarding that or anything else, please contact Mrs. Cotnoir at
jcotnoir@stlouisschool.org
.
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New CYO Banner
Huge thanks to Heather Raetz and Kieran Mitchell for conceiving of and designing the beautiful new St. Louis Parish CYO Banner that’s now hanging in McClunn Hall. It recognizes all the sports at St. Louis and is a great way to show our school spirit!
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CYO Cross Country Meet Saturday
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On Saturday morning, starting at 8:15am, there will be a CYO developmental cross country meet. The meet is at Ft. Hunt Park, right up the road from the school. All are welcome to come cheer the St. Louis athletes who will be competing.
Also, this developmental meet is allowing athletes in 2nd grade to run as well. If you have a 2nd grader who loves to run and wants to give this event a try, please contact Brian Nienaber (
bnienaber31@gmail.com
) or Chris Richey (
cwr20878@yahoo.com
) and we can get them added to the race.
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Father O’Hare has invite
d
all groups within the parish
to participate in this year’s annual “40 Days for Life.” This is a nationally organized opportunity to pray for the protection of all life, especially life in the womb. (Check out this site for background:
https://40daysforlife.com
)
St. Louis Parish will be praying near the abortion facility located near Landmark Mall (101 S. Whiting St. Alexandria, 22304).
Below you will find the dates that Father has designated for inviting your group/community to participate. The timeframe is 9:30am-10:30am on Saturday mornings. (This permits people to attend the 8:45am Mass and then carpool together after Mass if they would like.)
- Saturday September 29th - Mother’s group; St. Louis School
- Saturday October 6th - Legion of Mary
- Saturday October 13th - Adorers; Hispanic Community
- Saturday October 20th - Catechists
- Saturday October 27th - Knights of Columbus
- Saturday November 3rd - Ushers, Lectors, EMHCs
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Bishop Ireton High School Hackathon
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The 2nd Annual Hack BI event is taking place on Saturday, November 3 from 10am-10pm. This is a free hackathon with food provided for all those 8th graders interested in technology and coding. Hackathons are competitive programming events in which teams and individuals create their own custom projects to showcase. We are especially proud of this event because it is student run. Our Bishop Ireton students have organized this event in totality. Take a look at the website to get a better idea of the day and some of the work of BI's great students.
www.hackbi.org.
Along with learning some new skills and having a great time, there are also prizes! There will be cup stacking and typing contests along with prizes for the actual coding event. Registration ends October 14. It is open to all 8th graders! See
flyer
for more information.
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Queen of Apostles School 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament
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Queen of Apostles School will be holding a 3 on 3 basketball tournament fundraiser October 26-28. See the attached
flyer
for more information.
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Knights of Columbus Youth Soccer Challenge
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The Knights of Columbus Council 5998 is sponsoring its annual Soccer Penalty Kick Challenge through Sept/Oct at Good Shepherd and St. Louis School fields. The competition is open to girls and boys ages 9-14 who will compete in their respective age divisions. Parents are required to sign the attached
consent form
and provide proof of age for competitors. The challenge will take place at St. Louis September 24-29.
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Bishop Ireton Cheer Clinic
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Bishop Ireton Cheer Clinic - Calling all 1st-8th grade girls! Come spend the day with the three-time CCA National Grand Champion Bishop Ireton Varsity Cheerleaders at their annual Cheer Clinic! The Cheer Clinic will be held on Saturday, October 13th and is sure to be lots of fun. You will learn cheers and dances and get to perform at the halftime show during the varsity football game. To register, please go to
www.bishopireton.org/cheerclinic
or mail in the attached
form
. Feel free to send questions to
bicheerclinic@hotmail.com
. Go Cardinals!
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Bishop O'Connell H.S. Open House
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Open House at O'Connell -
October 14, 1:00-4:00. Presentation begins at 1:00. Families are invited to see a presentation, meet our faculty and coaches, and tour through our building.
Click here for more information
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St. John Paul the Great H.S. Events
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Saturday - September 29th 9:00am - noon -
Super Science Saturday.
This is a great chance for middle school science fans to work high school level labs in Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Environmental Science ... they'll be able to meet our phenomenal science teachers, National Science Honors Society students and have a great time with other science fanatics! The cost is $30 (to cover supplies) and space is limited. The
registration form
is attached. Registration closes on Wednesday, September 26. NO REGISTRATIONS will be taken at the door.
On Sunday, November 4th from 1:00-4:00pm, we will host our annual
Fall Open House.
On Thursday, November 15th our Drama Club will host a Middle School matinee of our Fall 2018 play,
Sherlock Holmes
. Admission is free. The play starts at 12 noon and will end by 2:00.
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Tuesday, Sept. 18 - PTO Meeting & K-5 Back-to-School Night, 7pm
Thursday, Sept. 20 - Middle School Back-to-School Night, 6:30pm
Friday, Sept. 21 - 11:30 Dismissal (PM EDC open)
Tuesday, Sept. 25 - PTO Room Parent Meeting, 6:30pm
Thursday, Sept. 27 - Annual Fund Benefactors Reception, 7:30-9pm
Friday, Oct. 5 - 11:30 Dismissal (PM EDC open)
Monday, Oct. 8 - No School, Columbus Day
Tuesday, Oct. 9 - Winter Uniform Begins
Thursday, Oct. 11 - Coffee with the Principal, 8:15am
Thursday, Oct. 11 - K-8 Picture Day
Saturday, Oct. 20 - Hawks Day 5K and Fall Fair
Friday, Oct. 26 - No School, Professional Development Day
Tuesday, Oct. 30 - Make-up Picture Day
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