St. Pius X / St. Leo School Newsletter August 5, 2022
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OPEN HOUSE UPDATE
We will once again have Open House before school starts. Students will have an opportunity to meet their teachers and find out their homerooms.
Open House is Tuesday, August 16 for students in Pre-Kindergarten (except Mrs. Saucier's Pre-K class) through Grade 8 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.
Please utilize any of the school and church parking lots for parking. All entry doors to the school will be open at 5:30 pm. Homeroom class lists will be posted near each grade level in the building.
Subway sandwiches, chips, cookies, soda, and bottled water will be available for purchase in the cafeteria, while supplies last. A portion of the proceeds from these sales will go to SPSL. Thank you for supporting SPSL School.
You are also welcome to walk around the entire school. Please stop by the gym to meet representatives from various activities. SPSL socks, school sweatshirts, and water bottles will also be sold in the gym.
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IMPORTANT TUITION REMINDERS
The 2022-2023 ‘pay in full’ tuition option was due August 1. If you have already submitted payment, thank you. If you have not remitted payment yet, please drop off payment to the school office or stop by and enroll in the SMART payment plan. If you have any questions regarding your balance, please call the school office at 402-551-6667.
Pre-Kindergarten tuition is payable to the school office on a monthly basis. Pre-Kindergarten families remit nine monthly payments, by the first of each month, September through May.
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SCHOOL THEME
The school theme for the 2022-2023 year is: “Shining Our Light Together as One". "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
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St. Pius X / St. Leo School is a diverse community forming students in the Catholic faith to excel in academics and service to others. |
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SCHOOL TIME
We ask that students not arrive at school before 8:00 am, nor enter the building unless he/she is enrolled in the Extended Care Program or involved in a school-sponsored organized activity or duty. We ask that students who walk or get a car ride to school do not arrive before students are allowed to enter their classrooms. The teachers and administrators are in meetings many mornings and are not able to supervise students before 8:00 am. It is also unfair to those parents who are paying for babysitters or the Extended Care Program before school if some students are dropped off early. If students walk to school they should arrive sometime between 8:00 and 8:15 am. Students will be marked tardy if they are not sitting at their desk by 8:15 am.
Please remember that school will dismiss at 3:25 pm (3:30 pm for 8th grade) each day this year, unless otherwise noted on the calendar of events on the school website (www.spsl.net). Children need to be picked up on time each day. If this is not possible, the child(ren) needs to be placed in the Extended Care Program.
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ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PARKING PROCEDURES
You may only drop-off students in the morning at the following parking lots:
* Church front parking lot (north side). You may not make a left turn onto Blondo Street from this parking lot when you exit. When leaving the church front parking lot, you may turn right onto Blondo Street and head east or you may directly turn right from the lot onto 69th Street and head south.
* Lot east of 69th Street
* South church parking lot.
Please do not use the lot west of the north school building for dropping off students unless you have a Pre-K student. If you do, you may park in the west lot.
Students are encouraged to use the following doors to enter the building, but we realize some may be walking siblings into the building and entering at different doors:
North doors (church front lot) – Grades 6 through 8
East cafeteria doors – Grades K through 3
South gym doors – Grades 4 and 5
Pre-K doors (lower west lot) – Pre-K only
You may use the following lots for parking if you need to come in the building in the AM: Outside area of the lot east of 69th Street or the north church lot after 8:15 am. If you are picking your child up for an appointment, you may use the 'Five Minute' parking spots by the school office doors on the west side of the building (by the flagpole).
Please do not park in the church front (north) parking lot until school has begun at 8:15 am. You may use this lot in order to park for our school Masses.
For picking up your children after school you may park in any of the lots except the church front parking lot or the west parking lot. At dismissal time we need to keep the church front lot free of cars as most of the students come out of school directly into this lot. Safety is a major concern, therefore the lot must be free of cars. The west lot and the small north lot for Pre-K is only for picking up Pre-K students. If you wish to meet your children, you may park in one of the other lots and walk to meet your children.
Students will be dismissed at the end of each school day from the following doors:
North doors (church lot) – Grades 3 and 6
East cafeteria doors – Grades K, 1, 2, 7 and 8
South doors - Grades 4 and 5
Pre-K doors (lower west lot) – Pre-K
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 is the first day of school. Students in grades K-8 will attend school from 8:15 am until noon. This same schedule will be followed on FRIDAY, AUGUST 19. Lunch will not be served on these days. Parents, please feel free to send a snack with your children on these two half days. Please ensure that the snack is nut-free. Beginning MONDAY, AUGUST 22, students will attend school for full days - 8:15 am until 3:25 pm (except for 8th graders who are dismissed at 3:30 pm).
Reminder: Picture day for Grades K - 8 is scheduled for Monday, August 22. More information will sent home to families.
NOTE: Five-day and Three-day Pre-Kindergarten students will begin classes Monday, August 22. Two-day Pre-Kindergarten students will begin classes Tuesday, August 23.
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ST. PIUS X TOGETHER AGAIN:
A CELEBRATION OF THE PIUS SPIRIT
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WHEN: Sunday, August 21
WHERE: Church - Mass at 11:30 am, South Lot/Grass Area - Picnic at 1:00 pm
WHY: To recommit to the Pius Mission and to celebrate the St Pius X Feast Day
The regular Mass schedule will still happen on August 21, but the 11:30 am Mass will be a special recommitment to our St. Pius X mission. We hope as many people as possible will join us. The picnic, a long standing tradition organized by the Knights of Columbus will follow! There will be food, music, and lawn games for family fun. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and baked beans will be provided. We ask that each family bring a side dish to share.
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EXTENDED CARE UPDATE
August 18 and 19 are noon dismissal days and Extended Care is available for children that are registered in the program. Lunch is NOT served at school on those days, so please make sure your child brings a lunch. Extended Care only serves a mid-afternoon snack on early dismissal days. August calendars were mailed out in late July. Your August calendar and payment are due by Tuesday, August 16. If you did not receive your calendar in the mail or are in need of one, please direct your questions to Cat Flores at cat.flores@spsl.net. An email was also sent out to every family registered in Extended Care for the 22-23 school year by August 1. Any additional families interested in Extended Care will be placed on a waitlist pending open spots in our program. Please note we accept Title 20 if you qualify.
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FUTURE NEWSLETTERS
This newsletter will be the only one emailed before the start of the school year. After school starts, we will email out a school newsletter approximately two times per month. We do not send home paper copies of the newsletter. Please keep us posted with any email changes. The newsletter will also be linked on the school website, www.spsl.net. As you are partners with us in your child's education and since this is one of the main forms of communication we use, we trust that you will read the newsletter on a consistent basis.
As a school our goal is to utilize email communication more and truly send less paper notes home. Information sent previously via paper can be found on the school website (www.spsl.net), including the lunch menu and calendar of events.
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NOTES FROM THE NURSE
All immunization records and physical forms (physical exams are required for students entering kindergarten, 7th grade, or students transferring from an out-of-state school) were to have been turned in to the school office or uploaded to the Blackbaud Student Management System. If they have not been turned in yet, you need to do it as soon as possible - do NOT wait and send them with your child on the first day of school. Your child will not be able to attend classes until the records are in the school's office. Thank you for keeping our school in compliance with the Nebraska school laws.
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IMMUNIZATION RULES
Please note the following requirement for 7th grade students. Students entering 7th grade will be required to provide proof of a booster immunization of diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (Tdap), given on or after your child's 7th birthday. Thank you for your cooperation in keeping your children up-to-date with this immunization requirement.
If your child is fully vaccinated for COVID-19, please send immunization information to the school office. St. Pius X / St. Leo School will continue to follow CDC and Douglas County Health guidelines pertaining to COVID-19. As of this date, masks are optional.
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SCHOOL UNIFORMS
School uniforms can be purchased either from Dennis Uniform, located at 726 N 109th Court, or from DiGiorgio's Sportswear, located at 14111 Q Street. Uniform skorts, jumpers, or skirts can also be purchased online from French Toast.
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SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
SPSL School is contracted with Westside Nutrition Services to provide our students lunch.
The price for a student school lunch will be $3.60. For the past two years there was no cost for a student lunch due to a government program. Before the free program, the student lunch cost had been $3.50/lunch. Westside Nutrition Services increased their lunch price by 10 cents, thus the school has raised the lunch price by said amount. As a whole, we are all feeling the effects of rising food costs. If a student only needs a milk, there will be a milk charge of $0.60.
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications will be provided to families at Open House. Eligible families are encouraged to complete the application as soon as possible.
The cafeteria staff is still in need of volunteers to help serve the lunch. It also is a great volunteer opportunity for grandparents. To sign up as a volunteer in the cafeteria, click here.
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ASSIGNMENT NOTEBOOKS
Student assignment notebooks are available for purchase in the school office. The price for each notebook is $5.00. The books will be available at Open House outside of the office. Students purchasing assignment notebooks on the first day of school should bring their money to their homeroom teacher. Students in grades 4-8 use these assignment notebooks or similar ones.
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SPIRIT WEAR
The St. Pius X / St. Leo School Spirit Wear Store will open just in time for back to school! Visit the Spirit Wear webpage on the school website here for more information. The online Spirit Wear store will be open between August 15 through August 28. Orders will be delivered to SPSL School by September 19. Questions to Michaela Smith at michaela.smith@spsl.net or 402-551-6667.
As a reminder, school spirit wear is not part of the regular school uniform. Spirit wear items can be worn on dress down days.
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The SPSL Annual Fall Fundraiser, Planting Seeds of Success, will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2022 at Creighton Prep. The SPSL Fall Fundraiser is a parent sponsored event and the biggest fundraiser of the year for our school. Funds raised support our school operating budget, teacher education, technology, capital improvements, and the SPSL endowment trust fund. The goal is to raise critical funds needed by SPSL in the amount of at least $160,000. We hope that all who are able will join together to support our amazing faculty, staff, and school. For information about the event click here.
You are also invited to a Fundraiser Seed Party on Saturday, August 27 at 7:00 pm at the Mendenhall home (315 S 51st Ave). You will have the opportunity to reconnect with SPSL friends and learn more about the Planting Seeds of Success fundraiser. This event is hosted by SPSL parents Christine and Josh Henningsen, Maureen and Rick Kubat, and Bridget and Mark Mendenhall. To attend, register here.
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CALENDAR FEATURE
SPSL has an interactive calendar through our website. Click here to see what events are going on at school. If you want to add an event to your personal calendar, click on it and pick your platform. The school calendar is set up to sync with Apple Calendar, Google, Outlook, Outlook.com, and Yahoo.
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ASBESTOS
As most of you are aware, we removed all of the friable asbestos in our school many years ago. We do have some non-friable asbestos in the floor tiles of a few of our rooms, most of which are covered with carpet. In addition there are two secured and plainly marked heating chases on the second and third floors of the main building. We also have two cubbyholes with locked doors that have asbestos on the heating coils. These are located on the second and third floors of the main building. We are not required to remove these tiles or the asbestos on the coils but to inform you that we do have a management plan available in our office concerning the care of these tiles and coils if you wish to inspect the plan. As part of the asbestos management plan, the campus buildings are inspected by a certified asbestos abatement service.
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IMPORTANT MEDICAL BULLETIN
SPSL School is in compliance with the state mandated “Emergency Response to Life-Threatening Asthma or Systemic Allergic Reactions (Anaphylaxis) Protocol.” The protocol involves the use of an IM EpiPen and nebulized albuterol and calling 911.
The protocol is to be administered by trained responders to ANY student showing life-threatening asthma attacks or other allergic reactions. Responders will be available during the course of regular school hours.
This protocol and its emergency medication is not meant to replace the health care provider's plan for students with a diagnosis of asthma and/or anaphylaxis. The emergency medication (such as inhalers, epinephrine) prescribed for students with known asthma and/or anaphylaxis is provided by the student's parents to the school according to the school's Medication policy.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR DAUGHTER / SON TO BE TREATED FOR THESE LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCIES YOU NEED TO SEND CORY SEPICH, PRINCIPAL, WRITTEN NOTIFICATION PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.
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Want to learn how the every day things you do – eating, reading, traveling, surfing the web, shopping - can earn money for St. Pius X / St. Leo School? Click here for a list of all our on-going fundraising efforts.
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p:402.551.6667
f:402.551.8123
6905 Blondo St, Omaha, NE 68104
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