St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter
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A Message from the Principal...
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Dear St. Louis Families,
It is such a joy and a blessing to welcome our students and families into our school building as we begin a new school year! Every grade has experienced a smooth transition back into the classroom. Our students have spent the first week learning classroom procedures and adjusting to new routines and practicing evacuation routes in case of emergency. Fire drills, tornado drills and security code drills will continue during the month of September and then at various times throughout the school year - your child’s safety is paramount. Next week will bring the remaining "new days" as our Kindergarteners begin full days, and our preschoolers begin classes!
I am grateful that so many of you were able to stay for coffee and fellowship on the first day of school. It is such a lovely way to connect with both old and new faces while sharing stories of summer trips and adventures. Both Ms. Lagos and I enjoyed the opportunity to meet and talk with many of you. Our pastor, Fr. O'Hare, opened our spiritual year with the first school Mass today, and we look forward to having him for our first morning assembly on Tuesday, September 3rd as we begin our year growing in Christ together. Fr. O’Hare, Fr. Haissig, and Fr. Dudzinski are excited to visit classrooms throughout the school year! They will be blessing the classrooms next week to ensure our year is successful and virtuous.
I hope you have accessed our school website at
www.stlouisschool.org
. We post the most recent electronic newsletters so that you can refer back to them when needed. We also have a link to our new online school lunch ordering system. We will let you know as each new month’s lunch order opens - - and be sure you get your ordered place by the closing date deadline!
As school events, homework and extra-curricular activities begin, please know that we are here for you! Our focus this year is on growing in Christ, making sure that we are encountering others as the face of Christ -with love and understanding. We must help one another in making the conscious choice to do what Jesus asks: love God with our whole heart, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We will be brainstorming ways to help those in need and share our love of Jesus as we work on this month's virtue of focus - Hope.
Enjoy a lovely long weekend!
Peace,
Anne Dyke
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: Ahern, Albert, Alexander, Allison, Amaya-Portillo, Amedome, Arias, Arib, Asesor and Atubiga.
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Diocesan/State Attendance Policy
Reporting an absence is a two-step
process:
- Notify the office by phone (703-768-7732) or email (attendance@stlouisschool.org) prior to or on the day of the absence to let us know where your child is and the reason for the absence.
- Send written notification on the day that the child returns to school, confirming the days of and reason for the absence. This can be sent in through kidmail or email attendance@stlouisschool.org.
Thank you for your assistance with this policy – Mrs. Schymanski is happy to help you with the process!
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Cafeteria Policy
Parents may come in and eat with their children in the cafeteria after following sign in procedures at the front office. Parents are permitted to purchase food items in the cafeteria only for their own children.
Parents are not permitted to bring in fast food, soda, or food from an outside restaurant
for these visits to be fair to the other students in the cafeteria as well as to avoid any potential food allergy complications students sitting nearby may have. Parents may, however, bring siblings to these lunches. Parents are not permitted to attend recess with their children as it interferes with the intention and purpose of recess.
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We have about 100 families who have not yet submitted their
Constant Contact
or
2020 Directory
form. If this is you, you can conveniently fill out the forms online:
Don't miss out on communications from the school and being included in the annual directory! Please submit your form by Sept. 15th.
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Summer Readers are Ice Cream Eaters!
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Mrs. Krut would like to treat all St. Louis School students who have finished a summer reading program to a cool treat! This year, we are handing out ice cream tickets to be used in the cafeteria. Please send in all reading logs by Friday, September 20th. If you did not enroll in a sponsored reading program, you may submit a personal log of books you have read that is signed by a parent (10 books for rising K-5th; 5 books for 6th-8th).
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PTO Sign Up Genius Email Form
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Our larger event committee chairs often use Sign Up Genius to request donations and volunteers. The links are shared with the school community through weekly Friday newsletter. To receive the sign-up genius emails and the reminders, please add your email address
here
.
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Spirit Dinner - September 9 & 10
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The first Spirit Dinner of the new school year! New to St Louis? About once a month we will pick a nearby restaurant that will donate a percentage of sales to our supporters in a designated date and time frame. It is a great way to connect with the school community outside the school and the proceeds benefit the PTO. It is a win all around!
Come to McAlisters Deli in the Mt Vernon plaza September 9 or 10 from 4-8PM. Lots of sandwiches, soups, stuff baked potatoes, salads and more! Check out their menu:
https://www.mcalistersdeli.com/menu
The PTO will receive 20% of sales. Come see your friends you missed over the summer and meet some new ones too!
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Hawks 5K & Fun Run - October 19, 2019
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Registration is Now Open for the Hawks 5K & Fun Run
Did you know that "training for a 5K will improve your overall health, decreasing your risk of chronic conditions like
heart disease
, high blood pressure, and diabetes?”*
Get a healthy start the school year and kick-off Hawks Day right! Register today for the Hawks 5K & Fun Run. It's a great chance to enjoy an official course with friends and family. Advanced registration can save families up to $60 for 4 runners.
Or, print a
registration form
and send it in with a check. Forms are also available in the school office.
Stay for the Hawks Day Celebration!
After the race, join us for fun and fellowship at St. Louis School. This year will feature an Arts & Crafts Fair, kids' crafts & games, great food and music.
Proceeds from both events benefit the St. Louis School PTO.
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Please Complete the Volunteer Interest Form
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Please review the new
Volunteer Opportunities Guide
for positions that fit your interests and availability. Select the opportunities you’re interested in and complete the
Volunteer Interest Form
no later than September 15th.
Your volunteer interests will be shared with committee chairs for follow up.
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Call for Room Parent Volunteers!
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Are you interested in helping your child's teacher by becoming a room parent? As a room parent, you will plan celebrations, recruit volunteers to assist with the celebrations and assist the teacher with other classroom activities. Some grades also assist with sacrament and graduation celebrations. VIRTUS clearance is required for this position.
If you are interested in volunteering for this position, please fill out the
online form
. Be sure to include your child's name and homeroom.
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There is an option to opt-out of volunteer hours
at the beginning of the school year
by paying $500 for two-parent families or $250 for single parent families. If you choose this option, please print this
form
and return it with a check made payable to St. Louis PTO by September
6
, 201
9
. Please note, the decision to opt-out must be made at the beginning of the year. If a family fails to meet the volunteer hour requirement by the end of the school year, that family will be required to pay the school a penalty fee
of $525 for two parent families and $275 for single parent families. If a family completes some, but not all hours, the fee will be prorated based on the hours completed.
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Don't forget!
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
Volunteers must have completed the VIRTUS training seminar AND have a background check clearance to participate in these volunteer opportunities.
Call for Room Parents!
Catholic Schools Week Volunteers
Please see the
flyer
for more info.
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NON-VIRTUS
Hawks 5K & Hawks Day - Oct. 19th
Please see the
flyer
for more info.
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Extracurricular Activities & CYO
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Baroody Enrichment Programs at St. Louis - Robotics & Chess
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Baroody Camps is offering Robotics and Chess after school to St. Louis students.Registration is now open. Please visit
bc-alx-stlouis.jumbula.com
for more information and to register.
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CYO Track & Cross Country are Back!
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We plan to start practices on Friday, September 6th. You can sign up on SportsPilot at
https://reg.sportspilot.com/106550/login
Fall track will be a short season with the CYO fall track meet being held on October 5th. All athletes in 3rd through 8th grade are welcome. No prior experience is necessary. This is a track and field competition so even if your athlete is not a strong runner, there are other events like long jump and javelin toss for your athlete.
Cross country will train with the track team through October before switching to cross country specific practices until the CYO fall cross country meet on November 2nd.
Please see the parent
flier
for more information. If you have any questions, you can email Brian Nienaber at
bnienaber31@gmail.com
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Calling All Cheerleaders!
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The St. Louis Cheerleading team will begin practices on Friday, Sept. 20, 3:30-5 pm in the school cafeteria. We welcome all girls and boys in 3rd-8th grade. Practices are just once a week, and we cheer once each weekend during the basketball season, in addition to participating in a Diocese-wide cheerleading exhibition in February. We have a lot of fun and help foster school spirit. No try-outs – all who are interested are welcome! Please contact Judy Conti at
jconti@nelp.org
if your children are interested.
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Tennis Anyone? St. Louis will be participating in CYO Fall 2019 Tennis. Grades 2-8 are welcome but matches are limited to grades 4-8. The proposed season will be from September 13, 2019 through November 3, 2019. Practices will be held on Fridays and will begin on September 6, 2019. The fee will be $40 but will be waived if it presents a hardship. If your child is interested please email Marcy Grzadzinski at
gatorlady10@yahoo.com
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Third Grade Basketball Coaches Needed
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If you are interested in coaching our Third Grade Basketball Clinic, please contact Judy Conti at
jconti@nelp.org
. This is a fun program involving skills building and game-like scrimmages in our gym on the weekends during the basketball season. Clinic coaches will become the team coaches beginning in 4th grade. We welcome all parents who are interested and VIRTUS certified.
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Hawks CYO Spirit Wear T-Shirts Available for Order!
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We are making our first offering of CYO Spirit Wear available for order. These t-shirts are sanctioned for wearing on PE days with the rest of the gym uniform, and kids need not be on any CYO team in order to buy and wear one. There are shirts specific to basketball and cheerleading, a generic Hawks shirt not specific to any team, and there is a performance wear t-shirt that track team members should buy, but anyone can purchase any one of these shirts and show your Hawks spirit.
The deadline for orders will be midnight on Saturday, September 7th, and we hope to deliver shirts to the kids about 2 weeks later.
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Good Shepherd International Festival This Weekend!
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Good Shepherd Catholic Church 44th Annual International Festival
Labor Day Weekend: August 31 - September 2, 2019
8710 Mount Vernon Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309
Join us for 3 days of fun to raise funds for the Shepherd's Gate Grant Program, which awards grants to local and international charities.
- Saturday: Huge Indoor Yard Sale; 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Run, and a Bloodmobile
- Sunday: All Masses celebrate our multicultural community
- Monday: Festival Day with music, food, entertainment, Bingo, raffle and much more!
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St. Louis Pack 680 Cub Scouts Recruiting Night
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Pack 680 will be holding a recruiting night on on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7pm in the school cafeteria. Cub Scouts is for boys in grades K-5th. Please see the
flier
for more information.
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Mon., Sept. 2 - Labor Day, No School
Mon., Sept. 9 - Spirit Dinner at McAlister's Deli, 4-8pm
Tues, Sept. 10 - Spirit Dinner at McAlister's Deli, 4-8pm
Wed., Sept. 11 - New Parent Coffee, 8:15am
Tues., Sept. 17 - PTO Meeting, McClunn Hall, 7-8pm
Tues., Sept. 17 - K-5 Back-to-School Night, 8-9pm
Thurs., Sept. 19 - Middle School Back-to-School Night, 6:30pm
Tues., Sept. 24 - PTO Room Parent Meeting, 6:30pm
Fri., Sept. 27 - 11:30 Dismissal (PM EDC open)
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