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ST. LOUISE SCHOOL PARENT BULLETIN
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There's a joke, that is not too far from the truth, about a teacher applying to the local public school for a teaching job. After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said:
"Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. I'm supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, and even censor their t-shirt messages and dress habits. You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons, and raise their self-esteem. You want me to teach them good citizenship, fair play, sportsmanship, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job. And I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, and recognize signs of anti-social behavior. I'm expected to make sure all my students pass the state exams, including those who don't come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments. All of this I am to do with just a whiteboard, a computer, a few books, a big smile...and on a starting salary that nowhere matches what other careers pay for those with college degrees. You want me to do all of this and then you tell me.....I CAN'T PRAY!?"
Now I'm hoping that none of my teachers would consider their task at St. Louise as daunting as the teacher in this story. Yes, we may have lice-checks and some disruptive classroom behavior incidents here, but most of this story is foreign to our experiences at St. Louise. Can our great environment at St. Louise School all be chalked up to the basic fact that WE CAN pray in class? No. But it certainly helps that we can pray!
What's the real difference between our school and the school in the anecdote is the common philosophy in which all of the players at St. Louise believe. Students, parents, and teachers all understand that the primary purpose of St. Louise Parish School is to form children as faith-filled people while providing a quality education in the Catholic tradition. The teachers, Mr. Fuerte, and I are so grateful that you parents match our belief that kids not only need heavy doses of love from the adults in their lives, but they also need the adults to help them set high expectations in behavior and academics. And of course, we believe that our children need the adults in their lives to pray over them, while we also must instill in them that they themselves should pray to God daily.
Each September, the Catholic Church celebrates "Catechetical Sunday" - a weekend of recognizing and blessing the teachers of the faith to children. Our teachers, along with the parish's volunteer faith formation teachers, will be called forward to the altar at two different St. Louise Masses this weekend -Sunday at 9AM and 6PM. If your family will be at one of those Masses, we will appreciate your participation in giving us a blessing.
And if you are busy at those times, the beauty of St. Louise Parish is there are SIX Masses every weekend from which to choose! Masses are also held Saturday at 5PM, and Sunday at 7:30AM, 11AM, and 1PM. (That last one is conducted in Spanish.)
There shouldn't have to be a "tangible incentive" for your family to attend Mass weekly. This and this are why you should attend. But I'm going to give you an incentive anyway.
If any student comes to any of the six St. Louise Masses this weekend - wearing his/her school uniform, complete with red sweater - there will be a staff member in the narthex/lobby with a "free dress" coupon. This coupon entitles the student to come to school this Monday the 16th in free dress!
When my kids were young, my wife and I would often entice them to Mass by saying, "There are donuts you get to eat afterward!" or "We're going out to breakfast afterward and you get to pick the restaurant!" This free dress coupon incentive - okay, call it a "bribe" - is similar to how I used to use donuts and pancakes.
I hope to see you at Mass this weekend. Find Mr. Fuerte, another school staff member, or me in the narthex/lobby of the church immediately before and after each of the six Masses. We'll be standing by the school banner, handing out coupons. And if you haven't started already, may this Saturday or Sunday be the start of a regularly scheduled family appointment for you! I can't promise your kids will get coupons every weekend when they attend Mass, but they will get God's graces.
Enjoy God's blessings today,
Mr. Fitz
p.s.
Last week, I wrote about the Sacred Heart of Jesus image (in flames, surrounded by thorns, surmounted by the Cross, burning with love) that is prominently displayed somewhere in our school building. The first parent last Thursday who emailed me with its exact location won a $5 Charger Card. The winner was Stephen O'Sullivan (new school parent!) who correctly replied that the location is on the 2nd floor next to the elevator.
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Upcoming Calendar of Events
Saturday & Sunday, September 14 & 15
- Attend Mass at St. Louise! If a student comes to any of these St. Louise Masses this weekend in a complete uniform (including red sweater/fleece), he/she will be handed a "free dress coupon," granting a non-uniform day on Monday the 16th: Saturday at 5PM; Sunday at 7:30AM, 9:00AM, 11:00AM, 1:00PM, 6:00PM. Find the St. Louise faculty member standing in the narthex near the school banner before and after each Mass to get your coupon.
- The junior high families will be having a Bake Sale after every Mass this weekend, raising funds for junior high events. Bring your $5-10-20 bills and buy dessert outside of the main doors.
- Sunday at the 9AM and 6PM Masses, the catechists of St. Louise Parish will be blessed, including our school faculty.
Monday, September 16
Wednesday, September 18
Thursday, September 19
- Mass of the Holy Spirit, 9AM - all parents are encouraged to attend; please wait for you child outside the main building or outside church, as they head to church at approximately 8:45
Wednesday, September 25
- Parent Education Class for parents of grade 6, 7, 8 students - 6:30PM in the library
- All gr. 6-8 parents invited to hear from family therapist and former school counselor, Mollie Lentz, on parenting topics such as signs of anxiety in your kids, how technology affects children, and how to balance your family calendar for a healthy family life - all focusing on this specific age level of 11 to 14 year-olds;
- All adults invited, so invite your friends who have gr. 6-8 children in other schools;
- Adults only, so thank you for finding childcare;
- No cost - thanks to your fundraising efforts in the Charger Cards program which allows Parents' Club to fund these parent education classes;
Tuesday, October 1
- Parent Education Class for parents of grade 3, 4, 5 students - 6:30PM in the library
- All g. 3-5 parents invited to hear from family therapist and former school counselor, Mollie Lentz, on parenting topics such as signs of anxiety in your kids, how technology affects children, and how to balance your family calendar for a healthy family life - all focusing on this specific age level of 8 to 11 year-olds;
- All adults invited, so invite your friends who have gr. 3-5 children in other schools;
- Adults only, so thank you for finding childcare;
- No cost - thanks to your fundraising efforts in the Charger Cards program which allows Parents' Club to fund these parent education classes;
Thursday, October 3
- Photo Day
- All students to wear complete school uniform, including red fleece or sweater
- Pre-order photos through Yuen Lui Studios
- Questions on Photo Day? Contact Cindy Wagner
Friday, October 4
- Mass on the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, 9AM - all parents are encouraged to attend; please wait for you child outside the main building or outside church, as they head to church at approximately 8:45
Monday, October 7
- Parent Education Class for parents of grade PK, K, 1, 2 students - 6:30PM in the library
- All gr. PK-2 parents invited to hear from family therapist and former school counselor, Mollie Lentz, on parenting topics such as signs of anxiety in your kids, how technology affects children, and how to balance your family calendar for a healthy family life - all focusing on this specific age level of 4 to 8 year-olds;
- All adults invited, so invite your friends who have gr. PK-2 children in other schools;
- Adults only, so thank you for finding childcare;
- No cost - thanks to your fundraising efforts in the Charger Cards program which allows Parents' Club to fund these parent education classes;
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Thanks to our Fall Fix-Up Gardeners
We had the first of two Saturday morning Fall Fix-Ups last weekend, and we want to thank the following who came and helped spread bark and pull weeds, helping to beautify the school and parish grounds: Jeffrey Hummer,
Gretchen Wiseman & Kemper Scott, Paul McCulloch, Ken Kincaid, Maria Gabriela Moreno, Arturo & Imelda Diaz, Eric Lund, Karel Blaha, Nicholle Miniero, Esther Stapleton, Adan Cardona, Sheldon Sequeira, Jose Cruz, Natalie Remedios, Brian Nartates, and John Yuen.
Our second Fall Fix-Up will be Saturday, October 12, 8AM-12PM. If that date doesn't work for you, but you like the idea of earning volunteer hours by doing outdoor yard work, please join our Adopt-a-Garden program. You can choose your own weekend or weeknight to come to school and work on a small section of the grounds with raking, weeding, pruning, etc. Please contact Eric Lund, the head of our Adopt-a-Garden program, and he'll give you more information.
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If Your Kids Wear Their Uniforms This Saturday or Sunday, They Get Free Dress on Monday
This coming weekend - Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15 - your children are encouraged to attend any St. Louise Parish Mass wearing their complete school uniform. (A complete uniform means polo shirt, skirt or pants, and of course, a red sweater or fleece.) We'll have a faculty member standing next to the school banner in the front entrance of the church (the narthex) with "Free Dress Coupons" at each of the 5PM (Saturday) and 7:30AM/9AM/11AM/1PM/6PM (Sunday) Masses. Any student at Mass at St. Louise this weekend wearing a complete school uniform receives a coupon - granting him/her permission to wear "Free Dress" to school this Monday the 16th.
Why are we doing this? First, to encourage families to get to Mass. Secondly, to "show off" to the parishioners the numerous and terrific students we have in their parish school. Thanks for trying to make this work, even if St. Louise is not the church you regularly attend.
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Have You Considered a Standing Order?
Sign up now and your standing order can begin in October! Place an order for basic stores you use monthly, like grocery and gas. Send postdated checks with your order and your cards will be delivered during the first week of each month. This is the best way to set a budget, determine your needs and meet your Charger Card requirement! Find the Standing Order Form on our
webpage
.
Bonus for September only
:
Place a Standing Order before September 30 and include at least one "Groceries or Gas" category store and receive a $5 Starbucks gift card with your first order.
Use Charger Cards This Fall
Get ready for fall sports!
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Big 5
- Fred Meyer
- Target
- Walmart,
- Red Robin
- Starbucks
Buy your Halloween candy and decorations with Charger Cards! We have:
- Target
- Fred Meyer
- QFC
- Walmart
Get ready for Auction night in November! Increase your contributions to St. Louise with Charger Cards from:
- Gene Juarez - 10% rebate
- Nordstrom - 4% rebate
- Spa and Wellness- 20%
- Pizza - order pizza for your kids at home while you are out on Auction night:
- Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Murphy's, Little Caesar's
Learn to Place Orders Online
Purchase a plastic card one time from the Charger Card program and reload the same card! No more wondering if you've used up the card! Purchase "reload" value online to fit your budget. This is a great option to treat the plastic card like a store credit card. It's easy to reload the cards online for everyone in your family that has them in their wallets!
Ask Charger Cards for Help
With the school year beginning, Charger Cards would like to help you with plans to reach your minimum rebate and/or earn rebates to reduce next year's tuition! Email us at
chargercards@stlouiseschool.org
or stop by during Friday morning office hours to make an appointment to help you understand the program and the many options to purchase. We will be happy to help you make a "plan" for your family based on your current shopping habits and budgeting!
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Thank you to all the families who have supported St Louise School with your purchases over the summer. We hope you enjoy your free cup of Starbucks coffee/tea OR Krispy
Kreme treat.
The Charger Cards sale office in the central wing of the original school is open on school-Fridays from 8:15-9:00AM.
Charger Cards...It's simple, it's thoughtful and it's truly the gift that
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Welcome, Seminarian Brody
As you know, St. Louise Parish often has seminarians who are studying for the priesthood come to St. Louise for a quarter or semester, as they engross themselves in parish life. (Our newest priest, Father Carlos, was a seminarian here a few years ago.) Our newest seminarian to spend time at St. Louise will be Brody Stewart.
Brody (pictured here) will spend an extra-long time with us, unlike other seminarian visitors - the entire school year through May. Although most of his engagement will be directly parish-related, such as helping at weekend liturgies and sitting in on parish meetings, Seminarian Brody will make sure he connects with our school and students, too. He will visit religion classes during the year and will assist the priests at our school Masses.
Please go
here to read Brody's bio. Please welcome him when you see him on campus, as he just arrived last week. Besides saying hello, please thank him for discerning a call to the priesthood - a noble yet rare occurrence from today's young men.
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If You Haven't Yet Taken a Retreat, Now's Your Chance
Christ Renews His Parish - or CRHP ("chirp") - is an established St. Louise Parish program in which you're invited to partake. The goal of CRHP is to support each of our parishioners with their continued growth in a Christian life and help them to find a greater sense of intimacy and connection within such a large parish community. It was established with everyone in mind - literally with the goal of every adult parishioner joining in a renewal-weekend-experience.
Many of your fellow school moms and dads have gone on a CRHP Retreat Weekend. The next one is October 19-20.
Please consider joining fellow school parents and/or parishioners by registering at:
http://stlouise.org/crhp.
"When we are too busy to reflect on how we are living our lives,
it is almost certain that we are not busy doing the right things."
Matthew Kelly
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WE ARE ONE
Auction News
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We Are One
is just 8 weeks away! While there is much to do before the big night, there are a few things you can do this week to get ready - here they are:
1) Donations Due! Turn in any items you have committed to donating for the auction. All items are due no later than 3:00 this coming Monday the 16th! Thank you to all of the families who have turned in all of their items and donations.
2) What to Wear! Think about what you want to wear for the big event. We recommend getting that '70s/'80s DISCO-vibe going.
3) Reserve Your Room! Make your hotel reservation now! Click this link to get the St. Louise special rate at the Westin Bellevue.
We have limited stock left of
limited edition glassybabys - Charger Blessings (gray*) - so get yours before they are all gone! They make wonderful Christmas, First Communion, Confirmation, and Graduation gifts! Just $85. ! Email the
auction office today to order one now.
*
Sorry - we are out of Charger Spirit (red).
There will be lots more auction info coming home in the next Red Envelope in two weeks! Watch for the invitation request form, Black & White Photo order form and more!
If you have any questions or need any more info, please let me know!
~Julianne Read
St. Louise Parent & Auction Director
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Walk, Don't Run, to This Opportunity to Serve & Lead
Interested in being a Walk-A-Thon co-chair and helping to raise $70,000 for St. Louise? By co-chairing the Walk-A-Thon, you can be part of one of the biggest fundraisers of the year. Find your fellow parent friends to join you in co-chairing, or ask the Parents' Club to help find you some co-chairs.
Last year's co-chairs (Marinell Zevenbergen, Jen Sharp and Julianne Read featured here at last May's Walk-A-Thon) will share their experiences and give guidance when needed.Templates are already put together so you can follow what's already been done or just put your own stamp on it for this May 1st event! You will have so much fun while raising money for the school.
The majority of your time will be spent volunteering in March/April/May, and you can expect you and your co-chairs to together log in 40 hours.
Make it a year you won't forget! If interested, Colleen Nowak, Parents' Club board member, is available to answer your questions. Text Colleen 425-417-5043 or email her at
Colleen.nowak2@t-mobile.com. Thank you for your interest!
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Meet Our New School Parents
We are excited to have a few dozen new families joining St. Louise Parish School this year! Over the next few weeks, we'll introduce you to a handful of these new St. Louise parents in this Bulletin. Below are some of our newest Chargers. Thank you, veteran St. Louise parents, for making the new members of our school community feel welcome.
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| left-to-right: Edelmira Munoz & Francisco Solares (son in 2nd grade); Yuliya Obshtyr & Antonio Garcia (son in PreK) |
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| left-to-right: Biya & Jo Chan Liang (daughter in 4th grade); Kam & Sasha Moinzadeh (daughter in 7th grade) |
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Start Ordering Your School Yearbook Now...and Save $
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St. Louise School Yearbooks are full-color, hardback, and truly terrific mementos. They are distributed on the last day of the school year in June, but you can put in your order for one NOW.
Besides purchasing your yearbook from our publisher, TreeRing, you'll have the opportunity throughout the year of adding your own memorable pictures. Every student has the option of getting a one-of-a-kind copy containing two free pages to customize with personal photos. Your two free custom pages will be in your book only and are optional. (If you choose not to personalize you'll receive the same book, without the two extra pages.)
If you order your yearbook before September 30, you will save 15% - bringing the cost down to $19.97 (which is less than a Starbucks-stop these days!). If you have questions, please email TreeRing or the St. Louise yearbook team.
To purchase and personalize your yearbook, go to: https://tr5.treering.com/validate or click on the TreeRing logo below. The St. Louise School passcode is
101439484318388.
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There's Still Time for Your Children to Join Before-School Band or After-School Spanish Club
Band is offered to 5th-8th grade students, and St. Louise has both a beginning and advanced band program. Mr. Michael White (pictured here) returns as our band director.
Band meets most school Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:30-8:20AM in the south wing of the original school. To register, go
HERE
.
Spanish Club is offered periodically throughout the year to grade K-6 students by our junior high Spanish teacher, Mrs. Sharilyn Lux. For the fall, Mrs. Lux is teaching a 5-week session to grade K-3 students every Tuesday after school. You'll find more information HERE.
If you have questions about these or other extra-curricular clubs, please contact Maria Zambrano, our director of extra-curricular activities.
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Study Group Beginning for Women
Only know Humanae Vitae as "the birth control encyclical"? It's so much more! Come join learning and conversation about authentic love and truth in human relationships at the parish's Humanae Vitae Women's Study Group which meets every other Wednesday morning from 10:00-11:30 in Room CW-A in the central wing of the old school.
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S
AINT OF THE
W
EEK
please read this with your kids
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Thank you for patronizing the following businesses and thanking these families who, through their generous sponsorship, help underwrite the costs of St. Louise School's Auction, Walk-A-Thon, and other events...
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See what's happening on our St. Louise Facebook page
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