Parent Bulletin
May 14, 2020
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You probably recall that just when we were mandated to close school in March, Lola Bazan was ready to retire and have her last day as our school secretary. Tracy Brown has since come on board as our new part-time secretary, teaming with Mindy Morgan, and Tracy has been hard at work during our closure, helping new families enroll and preparing for the 2020-21 year.
We have previously announced some departures of other staff, to take place after this school year ends: Lauren Samson is leaving to become a school counselor; Christina Reynolds will be teaching at a Catholic school closer to her home in Snohomish County; Nancy Danforth will be retiring; Vicki Cam will return to being a full-time mom.
We hope we'll be able to have a public celebration of all of the above departees around September.
I've told you about some of our new staff hired to replace these departing St. Louisers, but let me do it again to make sure I've announced them all...
Lauren Yount - soon to be LAUREN NEAL - will be our new kindergarten teacher in KB. She is a graduate of the University of Portland and grew up in the Olympia area. Lauren finished her student teaching this spring, so this will be her first classroom of her own! As exciting as that, she also will be getting married this July, thus the name change from Ms. Yount to Mrs. Neal by the time school starts in the fall!
NATALIE DOGGETT will be Mrs. Neal's instructional assistant in KB. Ms. Doggett will also be helping in 1B and with recess supervision. She has degrees in both biology and Spanish and has spent the past two years working for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and Catholic Charities. Natalie's little brother, Tim, was a recent graduate of St. Louise School.
LISA MCKENNA is returning to St. Louise to teach in 2B. Lisa left us for a while to finish up her Master's degree in teaching, and we're excited to have her returning, this time with her own classroom!
In 4B, we welcome KAILA CROSBY. A graduate of Bishop Blanchet High School and Gonzaga University, Kaila is currently the grade 3-4 teacher at St. Edward School in Seattle. This experience will be a perfect fit as she moves to St. Louise.
Unfortunately, one more personnel move had to be made, as Theresa Bannick recently informed me she will be semi-retiring after this June. I say "semi-retiring" because Theresa isn't ruling out the possibility she will find something else to do in the near future, but for now, she is stepping back from teaching after her long history with St. Louise. Theresa started out as a school parent, with she and her husband Joe enrolling their three boys here. As they were graduating, Theresa was ready to switch careers from accounting to teaching, and we hired her in 2005 to be our middle school math specialist. She has helped us create a terrific, award-winning math program, and will be sorely missed!
Theresa wanted to share this message with the St. Louise families...
"I am writing to you to let you know that after much prayer and discussions with my family, I will not be returning to St. Louise next year. God is calling me away from classroom teaching and into a different vocation. While I am not sure what this path will be, I do know that it will allow me to spend more time with my family, slow down a bit and discover what God has planned. One of the many things I have learned from being a two-time cancer survivor, is to value every minute of life and to listen to God’s call. I believe that God had a plan for my life when we walked through the doors of St. Louise with our three sons 25 years ago. I had no idea that I would be teaching math at St. Louise 10 years later. I have been truly blessed over the last 15 years to be teaching among the kindest and most caring people. I also thank you for helping me to discover one of life’s greatest joys, is loving and educating a child. I am looking forward to my next adventure.
With love and gratitude,
Theresa Bannick"
Fortunately, we have hired a new middle school math specialist who will begin in the fall, teaming with Mr. Glaser and Mrs. Williams to teach grade 6-8 algebra, as well as to continue with zero-period Math Booster classes for grades 5-8. BRAEDEN NEAL will be our new math specialist teacher, and it's not just a coincidence that his last name is the same as our new kindergarten teacher. Braeden and Lauren are getting married this July! Braeden is currently teaching middle school math in Olympia. He graduated from WSU with a teaching degree and emphasis in mathematics. The newlywed Neals will be searching for a home in the Bellevue area later this summer.
I've been doing this administrating at St. Louise for 31 years, and even though every single year it's not a novelty to go through this "circle of life" with school staff endings and farewells, it's still sad to say goodbye. Happily, we always find fantastic staff to initiate their entrances, beginning new legacies as St. Louisers.
ALLELUIA!
HAPPY EASTER SEASON!
MR. FITZ
p.s.
Thank you during this unique time we find ourselves in this spring to still make sure you are fulfilling your commitments to St. Louise School. Families are expected by June to:
- Volunteer 40 hours or pay a $19.50 per-hour fee in lieu of hours less than 40;
- Donate to the 2020 Auction with a minimum $225-value donation or procurement (for returning families only);
- Purchase Charger Cards so to accumulate a minimum $125 profit/rebate to the school or pay $250 cash to buy-out of participating;
- Participate in the Walk-A-Thon with cash donations (no minimum amount required this year for our transformed "Walk-E-Thon");
- Donate to the 2020 Annual School Gift Campaign;
- Be consistent financial stewards of your Catholic parish if paying the contributing-parishioner tuition rate.
If you have questions, please direct them to the head of each program/event or to me. Thank you for fulfilling your commitments in support of St. Louise!
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EASTER SEASON REMINDER
"
God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God's power and being obedient to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any situation."
~
John C. Broger
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CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Tonight
- Virtual School Commission Meeting at 6:30PM; if you would like to join the meeting, please email Commission chair, Sean Manne, for the log-in information.
Tomorrow
- The school is open today from 8:00-4:00 for:
- parents to drop-off and/or pick-up assignments ONLY IF teachers have requested;
- grade 8 families to come in to pick-up cap/tassel/gown ONLY IF they have signed-up for a specific time through Mrs. Herridge's Signup-Genius (the alternate date for 8th graders to sign-up is June 1);
- CYO volleyball/soccer/basketball uniforms to be dropped off in designated boxes in the lobby;
- claiming lost items in the lost & found bin outside the 5th grade classroom;
- picking up in the lobby your personalized Auction gift bag (see article below).
Tuesday, May 19
- Only specialists' lessons are on the schedule for today; homeroom teachers will not be sending any assignments or holding any online-lessons today; instead, this is a bonus day for specialist classes in computers, art, PE, and music; the specialists will be emailing families with today's lessons, and any assignments are to be worked on and completed today
Thursday, May 21
- No online-learning will take place today.
- Students are asked to focus today solely on the Walk-E-Thon; use today to accumulate a lot of minutes exercising and moving; use today to contact neighbors and extended family members and ask for their support as you walk and exercise for St. Louise; they can give HERE.
Sunday, May 24
- Feast of the Ascension of Jesus: Celebrate the Son returning to the Father!
- The Walk-E-Thon ends! Please have your child's walking and exercising minutes uploaded HERE; please have all donations submitted HERE.
Monday, May 25
- Memorial Day: God Bless Our Fallen Heroes!
- No online-learning this day.
Saturday, May 30
- Saturday Spruce-Up of the grounds from 8AM-12PM. (See the article below.)
Monday, June 1
- Donations due from current school families for their 2020 Auction procurements.
- Only specialists' lessons are on the schedule for today; homeroom teachers will not be sending any assignments or holding any online-lessons today; instead, this is a bonus day for specialist classes in computers, art, PE, and music; the specialists will be emailing families with today's lessons, and any assignments are to be worked on and completed today
- The school is open today from 7:00AM-5:00PM; grade PK-6 families are asked to come to school to:
- clean out desks or lockers;
- find lost and found sweaters and jackets;
- bring home PE shoes;
- gather the summer-work packets the teachers have prepared for all current PreK-7th grade students;
- pick up your Yearbook (if you ordered one);
- drop off your CYO volleyball, basketball, soccer jerseys;
- drop off a gift for your teacher (if you would like to gift him/her).
- NOTE: Grade 7 families do not come to school today; they will sign-up for a check-out time on June 9 or 10; Grade 8 families only come to school today if they signed-up for a specific time
CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE SCHOOL CALENDAR
HERE
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Walk-E-Thon Continues Through Next Weekend
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As you know, this year's Walk-E-Thon has a primary goal of getting your kids moving, having fun, and showing school spirit. Your kids still have 11 days left to log in hundreds of minutes of exercises and movements for the Walk-E-Thon. These can be anything from walking around the block, to dribbling basketballs or soccerballs, to performing exercises from some of Mr. Evans' daily videos.
Every school family received a separate email two weeks ago from the Walk-E-Thon chairs with your child’s individual page for pledges and donations. This can easily be sent via email or social media to your family and neighbors. Remember also that pledge donations are eligible for corporate matching! (If you can't locate that email or have questions, please contact the chairs,
Ann/Eugene/Jim/Cari
.)
To help students keep track of their minutes you were sent an optional
activity tracker
. This is for your use only and to help your child be responsible and to help you stay organized! After the Walk-E-Thon, you are asked to please enter the child’s total on the
online log
Spirit Days are for your child to show off his/her creative spirit by sending to this
form
photos and videos of moving and exercising while wearing the spirit outfit of the day. The remaining Spirit Days are:
- Today - Red/White/Blue Day
- May 19 - Crazy Hat or Crazy Hair Day
- May 21 - Fancy Facemasks Day
Remember, no academic lessons will be presented by teachers and no online-learning classes will be held next Thursday, May 21, so to give students the entire day to do physical activity and talk to their neighbors and relatives. It would be great to help your child develop a workout schedule for next Thursday, with the activities spread-out so lots of minutes can be logged throughout the day, with a variety of exercises or games, and enough breaks built-in to rest.
May 21 is also to be used for donation-collecting - a great day for your children to call or email neighbors and extended family, asking if they'd like to support their school and support them as they work hard on their Walk-E-Thon exercises and movements. Direct donations to
https://app.99pledges.com/fund/StLouiseWalkethon
.
Important Walk-E-Thon Dates:
- May 1-29 - Collect donations
- May 11-24 - Have fun and track your minutes
- May 24-29 - Enter your child’s total minutes in the online log and collect final donations
Thanks for joining in the spirit of the Walk-E-Thon!
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Tomorrow, if you are coming to school, please watch
THIS
now, and then Friday stop in the lobby where we'll have a table set up with a gift bag waiting just for you. Grab one bag per family and inside you'll see we have created a Vesper Martini Kit! While you'll need to provide your own glass, ice, shaker, and vermouth, we are sending home a lemon, small bottles of vodka and gin, and the original James Bond Vesper Martini recipe!
YOU HAVE CERTAINLY EARNED A COCKTAIL BREAK WITH ALL OF THE DISTANCE LEARNING AND WORKING! If you want to send in pics of you enjoying your martini, please do! Please send to
julianner@stlouiseschool.org
.
I'd love to share them on Instagram and Facebook!
We are halfway through May, and 40 families have donated to our November Auction or committed to donating via their procurement form. Your commitment is due by June 1st, so if you are struggling with what to donate, here's a simple way to make that requirement:
2.
Commit to donating and item, certificate, wish or gift list by filling out your
procurement form here
.
The minimum donation required is $225, and if you'd like your kiddos to receive the coveted benefit of Free Dress for a date TBD in September, you'll want to donate $400 in cash or item value.
Physical items and gift certificates are not due to the auction office until 9/18. For more information about our November 14th event, visit our
website
!
Thank you so much to the following families who have already completed their requirement and those that have exceeded* the minimum donation! We sincerely appreciate your incredible generosity!
Adamson + Aitken* + Anyichie + Blaha* + Brown* + Cam + Cambridge + Colby + Cone + DeBord + Fawcett * + Flaat + Hairston + Jensen* + John-Britto/Vimal + Khedy* + Kincaid + Kujath + Macias/Soto + Magnotti + McHugh* + Miller (Robin & Kelly) + Newton + Nightingale* + Nowak + Pardo + Rabon* + Read* + Russell (Tim/Andrea) + Sequeria + Spencer + Suttles* + Weber + Wilhelm + Wiseman + Wu + Zappala + Zope
And special thanks to those who have chosen to be School Sponsors:
Barros* + Catorcini* + D'Costa* + McCulloch* + Pierce + Salmon* + Schmidt* + Widodo*
Again, I cannot tell you how much your support means to our students and our community. We are incredibly grateful for your continued support, even during the most difficult of times!
Take care,
St. Louise Parent & Auction Director
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Sarah joins in an online-lesson with Mrs. Curry and Mrs. Cam
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Keeping Your Faith Strong During COVID-Time
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This
recent article
in
Catholic Stand
discussed how, just as each of us is uniquely created by God, so too do each of us has a unique
spiritual or worship
personality - our primary way we connect with God. God did not create us all to worship Him in the same way. Just as we are different in our physical appearance, so are we diverse in our spiritual giftedness, and therefore, in the way, we get to connect with God.
Consider the personalities below, as taken from the
Catholic Stand
article, and see which one resonates with you. Maybe you will continue to grow spiritually with just one personality type, or maybe you will stretch yourself to experiment with different ways to talk to God.
The Naturalist Loves God Outdoors
The naturalist wants to connect with nature and to love God in nature. Therefore, you may consider going for a prayer walk around your neighborhood, as you pray for each neighbor individually (by name). You could read the Bible outside (in the garden, while sitting at the balcony, etc), and memorize Bible verses that tell of nature declaring the glory of God (such as Psalm 19, Psalm 29, Job 38-41). You could worship God while watching a sunrise or sunset, and delight in His artistic expression while you praise Him with each changing color of the skies. Try meditating on God’s majesty when you go hiking. Allow yourself to be inspired by what you see in the skies, the trees, the rocks, the waters. Think about how these praise God.
The Sensate Loves God With the Senses
As a sensate, you love perceiving by the senses. You like to live in the present, being aware of your surroundings. You are keen on noticing details. Therefore, get your connection through listening to worship music from different countries and enjoy a foretaste of heaven. Maybe lighting a candle during your devotions or using incense to engage your sense of smell in the act of worship will stir you on. Allow yourself to be absorbed in worship-producing art. Try to meditate on God’s Truth as revealed in sacred art (paintings, sculptures, film, music, dance, etc). If you play an instrument, have a private time of worship by playing for God as your audience. Use your imagination as you read the Bible: create the scenery; listen to the birds; feel the warmth of the sun on your face; taste the roasted fish; hear the roaring thunder; smell the smoke; be one of the characters in the passage.
The Traditionalist Loves God through Rituals and Symbols
The traditionalist advocates the upholding or maintenance of tradition and tends to resist change. Therefore, you may want to read scripture out loud to yourself and discover the power of the Word read out loud (such as Nehemiah 8:8, 1 Timothy 4:13). Apply the use of a guide-book for your prayers; you might just learn how to pray…deeper, effectively. You may want to have a fixed date with God, where you meet with Him at the same time and place every day (do you have a prayer altar at home?). Also, reading the Bible chronologically to gain a new understanding of how the events in the Bible fit together will help your perception of the rituals. Perhaps you could celebrate significant days in the church calendar, and be investigative in your approach to practicing the associated rituals. It might be useful to practice “prayer breaks” throughout the day by pausing for a few moments of prayer every hour or so.
The Ascetic Loves God in Solitude and Simplicity
The ascetic practices severe self-discipline and refraining from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons. Therefore, you may want to cultivate the habit of rising up early in the morning for prayer in the stillness of night (Mark 1:35). You will need to create daily rhythms that center your heart on Jesus. You may begin each day by making the morning offering as soon as you open your eyes (
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/morning-offering-394
). Fasting from food and using meal times to pray may be the thing for you. Practice solitude on a regular basis; get away from people, phones, social media, tv, and chores for a quiet respite. Seek to “be still and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10).
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Parenting Advice During this Time of Home-Supported Learning
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How can parents best help their children learn and complete work while avoiding counterproductive power struggles?
Much of the answer involves sharing control within the boundaries of firm yet loving limits. It’s an old concept made even more relevant by the current situation. Most of us feel that our lives have been turned upside down. We’re experiencing little or no control over so many things.
Do we all yearn for control? What happens when we feel like we’ve lost it?
Obviously our kids are also experiencing many difficult feelings, including a sense of losing much of their freedom. That’s why small choices around schoolwork represent one of the most powerful ways of minimizing the chaos during these already difficult times. Listed below are some examples. Please remember that the choices you provide will depend on your unique situation and value system.
•
Will you be starting your schoolwork now or in five minutes?
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What do you want to start with - math or reading?
•
Do you want to make a goal of working for 30 minutes before your break, or would 25 minutes be better?
•
Will you be doing your work while sitting or standing?
•
Do you think it would be best to draft something on pencil or paper… or begin your work directly on the computer?
•
Would you like my help or would you prefer working alone?
•
Do you want to learn in the kitchen or in the family room?
•
Should you start with the hardest part first or the easiest?
•
Would you rather help me with chores or get started on your schoolwork?
The key to success with this technique involves remembering three things:
1. Give most of your choices before your child becomes resistant… not after.
2. With each choice provide two options, each of which you like.
3. Be prepared to choose for your child if they don’t select an option you provided.
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Volunteer While Staying Physically-Distant
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We have some great ways for you to volunteer during our closure-time.
First, we could use more Mentor families - current school families who would be assigned a newly enrolled school family to contact from May to August to answer their questions, such as how to purchase school uniforms or what volunteer opportunities you suggest. Once it's okay to get together later this summer, as a Mentor family you would find a time to set up a playdate with your child and other kids in the class with the new family, as you would be assigned a newly enrolled family to mentor who has kids your same age. This is a great act of service, and we could use more Mentors! Please contact
Daisy Mendes
or
Laura Bonner
, our Mentor program co-chairs, if you would be able to mentor a new school family this summer.
Most years, your children help us wipe-clean the inside and outside of their desks during the last week of school. If we have any parents out there who could come into school anytime between June 2-5 to help with cleaning a classroom or two of student desks, it would be a big help to the teachers! We'll supply you with cleaning supplies; you just need to put in a few hours of "elbow-grease." If you can help with this simple cleaning, please contact
Mike Fuerte
and suggest a date and time that works best for you.
Another way to earn volunteer hours while staying away from others physically is to help us promote St. Louise School admissions. If you have a friend or coworker whom you think would be interested in enrolling their children in a Catholic school, tell them that St. Louise is still accepting applications for admissions for the upcoming school year. You can also promote us by tagging St. Louise in your posts about distance learning and by sharing
our school posts. You'll find our school posts
HERE
and
HERE
. Figure out the time it took you to email/text friends and/or to tag/post and count this as volunteer hours. We figure that connecting personally with a specific friend/coworker to discuss the benefits of enrolling at St. Louise can count as at least 1 volunteer hour, depending on how much time you spend with them. Also, each time you tag a post about our school on Facebook/Instagram, you can count this as 1 volunteer hour. So get your social media promotions going please, to help out your school and to earn some hours!
Finally, how would you like to earn one volunteer hour for simply typing a few sentences about why you love St. Louise School?! We would appreciate having parents write positive reviews about our school on the various sites prospective parents check-out when deciding on choosing a school. If you love St. Louise School and would be willing to write a few sentences about what makes our school special, please contact
Cindy Wagner
in the development office. Cindy will send you the link to the review sites that need your positive comments.
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An Update on Commitments of St. Louise Parents Regarding Charger Cards
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Knowing that most school parents are not affected financially by our pseudo-quarantine…and understanding that you can buy/reload Charger Cards online…and realizing that a cash payment can always be made in lieu of buying Charger Cards…and remembering that there will not be any minimum requirement for the other Parents' Club fundraiser, the Walk-A-Thon….
….
school parents are still expected to fulfill their Charger Cards commitment.
Please note: if any parent's employment/earnings has been affected by the lockdown at a point where fulfilling their Charger Cards commitment will be an impossibility, please contact Mr. Fitzpatrick.
One modification we are making due to our unique circumstances this spring is if a family can’t foresee themselves buying enough Charger Cards by June to earn the
required minimum $125 contribution/rebate
, they can pay the difference between the $250 opt-out payment and how much in contribution/rebate they’ve already earned. For example, if a family’s purchases of Charger Cards so far has earned the school $50, and they can’t foresee buying enough cards in the next month to earn another $75 in rebate, they would be asked to pay $200 cash, so to bring their total contribution to $250.
Thanks for working with our Charger Cards chair,
Marsha
, if you need to know the amount due to fulfill either your $125 contribution/rebate through purchase or the $250 buy-out.
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Thanks to Jeffrey Hummer for His Years of Landscape Leadership
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Thank you to the following volunteers for helping beautify the grounds at last Saturday's Spring Spruce-Up:
Jeff Hummer; Ken Kincaid; Allison and Paul Weber; Owen Weber (alum); Adan Cardona; Maria Moreno; Karel and Anh Blaha; Lisa Podaca; Mark and Karen Salmon; the Solares family.
The next Spring Spruce-Up is Saturday, May 30, at 8AM.
Please save the date and join in this time to help us clean up the gardens on campus. If you can attend, please email
Jeffrey Hummer
, our volunteer head-landscaper.
Speaking of Jeffrey, after more than two-dozen years overseeing our landscaping, Jeffrey will be ending this volunteer position. If you saw what our grounds looked like prior to 2000, compared to what they look like now, you can credit much of the transitions and additions to Jeffrey's vision and hard work. He has given so much to St. Louise Parish and School, and we are so appreciative! (Jeffrey is a past recipient of our
Volunteer Extraordinaire Award
.)
With the news of Jeffrey's "retirement" from this volunteer position,
St. Louise is looking for a new person to help us with our Saturday Spruce-Ups.
This person would work with Mr. Fuerte and Mr. Fitzpatrick, along with parish administrator, Jonathan Taasan, to come up with projects that can be accomplished on four select Saturdays during the school year (September/October/April/May). You don't need to have professional landscaping credentials, but just a love for working in the yard and an ability to help serve as a leader on these Saturdays, directing volunteers to various yardwork/landscaping tasks. If you are interested, please talk to
Mr. Fitz
.
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School Accessible Tomorrow
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Families may come to school tomorrow - Friday, May 15 - between 8:00-4:00, if any of the following pertain to them:
- Need to drop-off and/or pick-up assignments ONLY IF teachers have requested;
- Grade 8 families are to come in to pick-up cap/tassel/gown ONLY IF they have signed-up for a specific time through Mrs. Herridge's Signup-Genius;
- Claim lost items in the lost & found bin outside the 5th grade classroom.
- CYO volleyball/basketball/soccer uniforms are to be dropped off in designated boxes in the lobby;
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Saint of the Week
please read this with your kids
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