March 2, 2023 Newsletter

St. Louis Catholic School Newsletter

March 2, 2023

Dear St. Louis Families,

Happy Thursday! Our school year is moving fast--the 2nd trimester ends next Thursday, March 9th. As teachers are working with students to get late work turned in and finishing up unit studies, they are also continuing to add in the goodness, beauty, and truth of our faith into all content areas. The Lenten season allows us to bring in more reflection, prayer, and contemplation. It is a great time for us to help our students re-focus.

Throughout the month of March, our school community will be concentrating on the virtue of temperance, finding balance and moderation in our lives. Lent is the perfect time for us to dwell on this particular virtue where we seek to pause an emphasis on material things/goods and overindulging and those things that clutter our lives. Please consider joining us at Mass on Wednesdays or for Stations of the Cross on Fridays. Students love to see their parents in this way.

We have some big things going on next week. The Science Fair is on Wednesday, March 8th in the evening for our 7th grade students. This is for the students and judges only, but we are thrilled for this excellent way to display the hard work of our young scientists. There is no school for students on Friday, March 10th. Faculty will be participating in a professional development training day across the diocese. Please keep our faculty in your prayers as they participate in this training day and acquire new skills to enhance and shape their instruction.

Wishing you a lovely, quiet weekend.

Peace,

Anne Dyke

Principal

2023-2024 Enrollment

2023-2024 Preschool Registration for New Families

Registration for new families is now open. We have limited availability in our three-year-old and afternoon PreK class. If you have family or friends that are interested in learning more about St. Louis Preschool, please have them contact Beth Burke, Preschool Director at bburke@stlouisschool.org.

2023-2024 Parish Acknowledgement Form

ALL current families returning for the 2023-2024 school year are required to submit an annual Parish Acknowledgement Form to determine tuition rates. Families who wish to be considered for a Catholic tuition rate must have their pastor sign the form.

2023-2024 Financial Aid Applications Due March 15

Financial Aid is available to qualifying families. Submission of a financial aid assessment application and all supporting tax documentation is due by March 15, 2023. Applications must be completed online through FACTS. Financial aid awards are made for one academic year and are based on demonstrated financial need. Qualifying families are notified by the end of May 2023 of any financial assistance.

School Announcements

Stations of the Cross - Every Friday During Lent

During Lent, parents are welcome to join St. Louis students at Stations of the Cross on Friday's at 2:30pm in St. Louis Church.

If you must sign your child out early on a Friday during Lent, please do so before 2:15pm. Our office staff will not interrupt Stations of the Cross to locate students for dismissal.

From the Attendance Desk...

A reminder to parents that you will need your child's SchoolPass Quick PIN number to sign your child in for late arrival or out for early dismissal. If another family member will be signing your child in/out, please be sure to share this PIN number with them. Thank you!

This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) over “30 million Americans will struggle with an eating disorder or disordered eating/body issues in their lifetime” (NEDA, 2018). Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating affect both boys and girls. Below are some links with valuable information. I highly recommend reviewing this information or passing it along to a friend/family member that might find this information beneficial. Please reach out to your pediatrician right away if you suspect your son or daughter may have an eating disorder. If you have any questions, please call me or the counseling team.

How to Help a Loved One | National Eating Disorders Association

Eating Disorders What Every Family Needs to Know - YouTube

Eating Disorder Signs & Symptoms | Learn | NEDA (nationaleatingdisorders.org)

Where Do I Start? | National Eating Disorders Association

The CATCH MY BREATH Vaping Prevention Program has come to St. Louis School for grades 5-8. We are finishing up our first week of the vaping prevention program for our students in grades 5-8. Ms. Lauren Hitz from Fairfax County has been meeting with students for 45 minutes and will continue for the next 3 weeks. The lessons focus on education and awareness.

Please check out the parent toolkit so that you can see what your students are learning. Please do talk about it and ask them what they’ve learned. It has been fascinating and eye opening to sit in on the lessons. The students have been respectful and full of curiosity. It’s a wonderful tie-in with Science and helping our students develop skills around good decision making.

If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Jennifer Cotnoir at jcotnoir@stlouisschool.org.

ANNUAL FUND MARCH MADNESS

Wow! What a great start to the Annual Fund Challenge with our March Madness Elmination Round. There were a lot of ups and downs and even a tie-breaker showdown between 2 teams tied for 16th.

The Sweet 16 teams have been awarded a Team Spirit Comfy Clothes Day, Fri., March 3. The 4 teams eliminated in this round will receive ice cream tickets to redeem at lunch (on scheduled ice cream sales dates) before the end of the year.

The Sweet 16 teams have been randomly paired to face off in this next round to determine who will advance to the Elite 8. Pledge cards received between now and March 10 = points for these teams!

Enter the Hawk Bracket Contest to Win Up to $500!!

Get in on the fun with the Hawk Bracket Contest! For a $20 entry fee you can take a chance on correctly picking the teams that will advance through our March Madness Challenge and win up to $500! Plus, your favorite team will receive 5 bonus points with your entry! Entries accepted now through 11:59pm, Friday, March 10th. Download the Entry Form and Team Stats to help you make your picks.

Entries may be submitted with check/cash via kidmail or online at www.stlouisschool.org/MarchMadness/

Donation + Prayer e-Pledge Card

Prayer only e-Pledge Card

Paper Pledge Card Download

40 Days 40 Acts

This Lenten season, students will continue to perform daily acts of love with a school-wide participation in 40 Acts of Love and Kindness both in the classroom and at home. We will be sharing these acts of love and kindness as part of our Lenten social media campaign. Families are encouraged to send photos of your acts of love and kindness to development@stlouisschool.org between now and April 4th.

Hawk Happenings: March 3 - 10, 2023

Friday, March 3

Lunch: Pizza*

Monday, March 6

Lunch: Chicken Patty*
Ice Cream Available

Tuesday, March 7

Lunch: Macaroni & Cheese*

Wednesday, March 8

Lunch: Beef Nachos*
7th Grade Science Fair

Thursday, March 9

Trimester 2 ends
Lunch: Cheeseburger Meatloaf*

Friday, March 10 - NO SCHOOL

Professional Development
March Madness Sweet 16 round ends

FULL SCHOOL CALENDAR

Did you know you can subscribe to our school calendar for real-time updates, convenient links to SUGs and flyers, and more? Subscribe to auto-populate your iCal, Outlook 2007+ or Google calendar

*Hot lunch must be ordered monthly in advance.

Order March hot lunch HERE.

April orders due March 30, 9pm

Order Ice Cream tickets HERE.

March Dates: 6, 13, 21, 28

PTO

We are so grateful for Laura Carlson who has served as the Hawks 5k/FunRun Chairperson for the last 4 years. Laura has given us years of exciting races, impressive running times and so much fun for our entire community! Thank you, Laura!

HELP WANTED

It’s time to pass the torch to another Chairperson for the October 2023 event, the 10th Anniversary Hawks 5k/FunRun. Do you want to make it the best one yet? It’s a great way to promote wellness in our school community and complete your volunteer hours with one event. Planning usually begins by the end of the school year. Interested? Please reach out to Laura Carlson at stlouishawks5k@gmail.com by 4/1 with questions about the position details and responsibilities.

PTO Volunteer Hours

As a reminder - don't forget to log your volunteer hours! All St. Louis K-8 families are required to fulfill volunteer hours (18 for two parent families and 9 for single parent families). Please make sure to log your hours here so that we can give you credit. Families that do not fulfill their volunteer requirements by the end of the school year will be charged at the end of the year ($25 per unfulfilled hour) via the FACTS system. Don't wait until the last minute - we have lots of opportunities coming your way! Questions? Contact Kerry Kaminski - stlouisvolunteercoordinator@gmail.com.

Family Bingo Night - Save the Date!

Save the date for an evening of family bingo fun on Friday, April 28th! Prizes, pizza, class baskets, and more! Stay tuned for more details!

PTO Contact: Alli Parmiter, allisimms@gmail.com

Extracurriculars & CYO

Spring CYO Coaches & Volunteers Needed - Track and Volleyball

Must be VIRTUS cleared. Please reach out to us at SaintLouisCYO@gmail.com as soon as possible if you are able to assist.

Spring CYO Sports - Track and Volleyball - are coming!

Sports Pilot Registration is now open.

Volleyball is opened to girls in 3-8th Grade – registration closes 3/10/2023

Track is opened to students in 3-8th Grade – registration closes 4/15/2023

See flyer here.

Questions? Please contact the CYO Team at SaintLouisCYO@gmail.com

Parish & Community

Mount Vernon Knights of Columbus March Events

March 11 - St. Patrick's Day Party

March 16 - Knights of Columbus Catholic Invesetment Program Presentation

March 25 - Wild Game Feed supporting vocations

Summer Camps

Bishop Ireton Summer Camp Registration Open

Bishop Ireton High School is excited to offer six weeks of Summer Camps beginning June 20, 2023 through July 28, 2023. Come explore what Bishop Ireton has to offer! We’ve added new camps and expanded choices in the areas of Sports, Fine Arts and STEM! Please see the attached flyer for descriptions of the camps and registration link.

St. Louis families can use code STLOUIS for $50 off.

Love | Learn | Lead